Hyundai Kona Launched In Malaysia - From RM 115,888

After much teasing, Hyundai Sime Darby Motors has finally launched two out of three variants of the first-of-its-kind Kona compact SUV.

In a segment rife with strong contenders comes something new from Korea in the form of the Hyundai Kona. The compact SUV has been touted and teased for months now, and it's poised to be quite the hot seller as these products have been extremely popular among entry-level consumers. With 361 litres of boot space and a cascading front grille, you can tell the Kona is a blend between practicality and style.

Advanced High Strength Steel is the name of the game when it comes to Hyundai's products- after all, South Korea is known for their steel production, and Hyundai has touted this manufacturing process for generations. But with each new model comes improvements, and for the Kona the focus was on making a compact car less susceptible to noise, vibrations, and harshness - or NVH.

As you may know by now, there are two powertrains and three variants on offer. The 2.0 Nu MPi petrol engine makes 149 PS and 180 Nm of torque, and is the beating heart of both the entry level and Active variants of the Kona. Both variants get the same six-speed automatic transmission, as well as the three drive modes that are common across all Kona variants: ECO, SPORT, and COMFORT.

The entry-level Hyundai Kona will go on sale for RM 123,888, but with the current rebates the pricing stands at RM 115,888. It comes with 17-inch alloys, halogen projector headlamps, a 7-inch touch screen head unit that has Android Auto and Apple Car Play connectivity, a fabric interior, and a 3.5-inch Supervision TFT-LCD instrument cluster.

Bumping up to the Active model, the price jumps to RM 138,888 with an introductory price of RM 130,888. Going up to this level adds a number of SmartSense active safety features - namely Blindspot Collision Warning, and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning. The instrument cluster goes up to a 4.2-inch unit, the interior is swapped for leather and cloth materials, the headlamps are Bi Function Projector Beam LED units, and automatic climate control, automatic wipers, and a colour Heads Up Display are added as well. Oh, and the wheels are 18-inches in size.

The top of the line model gets the entirely different 1.6 T-GDi engine that pushes 177 PS and 265 Nm of torque, making it the best in class. Power gets sent to the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, and pricing stands at RM 151,888 with an introductory price of RM 143,888. In terms of kit, this full fat model gets a wireless charging system, a full leather interior, and far more features for the SmartSense system: Forward Collision Warning, Forward Collision Avoidance Assist, Smart High Beam Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Driver Attention Warning, and Smart Cruise Control.

You can have your Kona in a range of colours, both inside and out. The 2.0 is exclusively available with either Phantom black or Lake silver, while the Active comes in Phantom black and Pulse red (with red stitching and seatbelts), Chalk white (with lime seatbelts and stitching), or Blue lagoon (with grey stitching and black seatbelts). Finally, the top-of-the-line 1.6 T-GDi comes in two-tone paint with same colourways as the 2.0 Active, but the addition of a Ceramic blue exterior with grey stitching and black seatbelts.