SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Hotline: 2021 Hyundai Kona 1.6T N-Line

Something dramatic

Posted: August 9, 2021

The numbers
Price: R579 900
Engine: 1598 cc, DOHC 16-valve turbocharged four-cylinder
Power: 145.6 kW at 6000 rpm
Torque: 265 Nm between 1600 and 4500 rpm
0 to 100 km/h:7.7 seconds
Top speed: 210 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 8.4 l/100 km
Tank: 50 litres
Luggage: 544-1296 litres
Ground clearance: 178 mm
Turning circle: 10.6 metres
Standard tyre size: 235/45R18
Spare: Spacesaver
Towing, braked/unbraked: 1100/750 kg
Warranty: 5 years, 150 000 km plus additional 2 years, 50 000 km on powertrain
Roadside assistance: 7 years, 150 000 km
Service plan: 5 years, 75 000 km at 15 000 km intervals

N-Line. Ho-hum. Just another GT-, Sport-, S-, M-Line or AMG appearance pack tacked onto an ordinary car to make it look sexier and, possibly, fool the public?

Well, no. When Hyundai facelifted its Kona lineup recently, it dropped the little 1.0-litre turbo-motor (pity; I rather liked it) and replaced it with a sizzling-hot 1600 T-GDI to join its 2.0-litre, naturally aspirated, Executive car.

The engine is quite special, being currently the most powerful 1600 available in South Africa. And with power and torque numbers of 145.6 kW (195 bhp) and 265 Nm (195 ft-lb), it puts out similar figures to 3.4-litre Jaguars of times gone by. It’s far from ordinary although still nowhere near as potent as the genuine, 2.0-litre, i30 N-car.

N-Line is a jazzier version of the above mentioned 1.6-litre Executive model. Appearance-wise it adds ventilation slits above the grille, LED lights in front, less black padding along the sides and a slightly different rear end. The interior offers bespoke leather seats with electrical adjusters and lumbar support, red stitching and highlights, a 10.25-inch supervision cluster rather than the others’ 4.2-inch screen, electrical parking brake and more safety kit. That includes adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection and collision avoidance, lane keeping aid with departure warning, fatigue detection, forward collision avoidance and rear cross traffic alert with avoidance.

Dimensionally, N-Line is 10 mm longer than its sisters and stands 10 mm taller with ground clearance 8 mm higher. Brakes are as per the previous range but rear suspension now features multi-links. I have no idea how Hyundai did it but luggage volume, under cover, is now rated at just over 50 percent bigger than before although overall length increased by only 40 to 50 mm. Rear seat legroom remained the same, as did the fuel tank.

With each change of drive mode; Eco, Normal, Sport and Smart, the virtual instruments change colour. Sport is very red, as expected, but Eco and Normal are in wishy-washy shades of light blue and silver. I think Hyundai should change that. Image, you know.

Because the seven-speed gearbox is a DCT, there is little sensation of kicking down when applying urgent pressure with the right foot. The gear indicator confirms that something dramatic is happening but the car just goes faster – no thump in the kidneys like one feels with normal automatics.

Dialling drive mode from Normal to Sport leads to changes in behaviour. Everything becomes more urgent, more responsive, sharper. Dr. Hyde morphs into Mr. Jekyll, Eve White becomes Eve Black. And N-Line feels almost like N. One could get used to it.

Traction control modifies responses between Normal, Snow, Mud and Sand but don’t be fooled into thinking this car might have all-wheel drive. It doesn’t.

But the ride stays the same in every mode; sporty, firm. Older folk might find it too harsh for modern city streets littered with asphalt patches and potholes, but the end goal is handling, so much is forgiven.

Luggage space: 68 cm above ground level, tidily shaped, one bag hook, four lashing rings, a light, small side box and cargo net. Compartmented storage tray under floor. Seats split 60:40 and fold almost flat.

Back seat: Adequate head- and foot room for 6’1” passengers. Knee space cramped. Armrest with cup holders, two seatback pockets, second courtesy light, three seatbelts and head restraints, two ISOFix mounting sets, tiny door bins.

As more things change so do more stay the same. This is still a grand little SUV with greater luxury and performance than you might have anticipated. Just don’t expect it to be cheap.

Test car from Hyundai SA press fleet

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
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