The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Three powertrain options
- Good infotainment tech
- Electric-first design
- Roomier interior
Dislikes
- Blinding colors
- Wired smartphone connectivity, still
- Kona Electric sales limited to 26 states, for now
- Kona N hasn’t returned
Buying tip
Edgy styling, a range of powertrain options, and value pricing elevate the 2024 Hyundai Kona over other small crossovers.
What kind of vehicle is the 2024 Hyundai Kona? What does it compare to?
Redesigned for 2024, the Hyundai Kona small crossover slots between the smaller Venue and larger Tucson in Hyundai’s crossover SUV lineup. It competes with everything from the related Kia Niro to the Subaru Crosstrek and Honda HR-V.
Is the 2024 Hyundai Kona a good SUV?
Larger, roomier, and designed with an electric-first focus, the second-generation Kona builds off the daring style and loaded feature set of its predecessor. Hyundai has not announced the return of the Kona N performance model, but three powertrain options present shoppers with a lot of choice that’s unusual in the small crossover segment. We can’t rate it until we drive it this summer, but we expect it to continue to be one of the top candidates in the class. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What's new for the 2024 Hyundai Kona?
The redesigned Kona grows nearly six inches in length, has a 2.4-inch longer wheelbase, and is also nearly an inch wider than the first-gen Kona that launched in 2018. The Kona Electric gets a slight boost in range to 260 miles, but the mechanicals in both the gas and electric versions mostly stay the same. The big difference comes from the design, which Hyundai says started with an electric platform instead of a gas platform first as in the outgoing Kona.
The result is a body with more curves, less chunks, and a holistic design that wraps around the car. In both electric and gas models, the nose dips into a light bar spanning the front end. A lower, horizontal theme replaces the broad mesh grille, with aerodynamics overtaking the more upright face of the old model. A lower grille flanked by intakes and bookended by vertical LED headlights and running lights looks like nothing else in the Hyundai lineup. On the Kona Electric, the aero-mindedness results in a low 0.27 coefficient of drag.
In profile it takes on more traditional Kona cues, with flexed wheel arches slathered in black cladding in gas models but with body color in the Electric. Kona N Line models ride on 19-inch alloy wheels, but the Electric rolls on more efficient 17-inch wheels and tires. Parallel body lines rise up along with the windowline toward the rear, where an integrated rear roof spoiler wags from the tail. Another light bar hugs the rear, and the taillights and reverse lights clap the ends to accentuate the horizontal theme. N Line models flex dual exhaust tips, a rear spoiler, and red accents.
The inside features dual 12.3-inch display screens housed under one piece of glass curved toward the driver, similar to the Ioniq electric models. The Kona’s gear shifter also moves from the console to the steering column, freeing up space in both models for seat heater buttons, a drive mode dial, cupholders, and a wireless smartphone charger. Climate buttons, a menu bar, and audio dials underscore the center touchscreen, so most on-the-fly functions can be done without touching the screen. The dash and vents carry over the horizontal theme.