The new Hyundai Kona N is available to buy in the UK now, priced from £35,395. At that price, it undercuts the Volkswagen T-Roc R by a lot more than £6,000 and the Audi SQ2 by nearly £5,000, both of which are also vying for attention in the performance crossover class.
Hyundai’s tuned Kona N is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, which produces 276bhp and 392Nm of torque. That’s enough for a 0–62mph time of 5.5 seconds (with launch control engaged) and a top speed of 149mph.
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Unlike its rivals from the Volkswagen Group, the Kona is front-wheel drive only. However, the Hyundai does have a rather creative eight-speed automatic gearbox with three settings, each of which are created to screw the maximum possible performance out of the engine.
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The first setting, called “N Grin Shift,” is generally a push-to-pass function. It boosts the engine’s output to 286bhp for 20 seconds and shifts down to supply the best acceleration. once used, though, the motorist has to wait 40 seconds before it can be activated again.
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“N Power Shift” automatically engages when the motorist uses a lot more than 90 percent throttle and sharpens up the gear changes to keep power flowing to the wheels. Finally, “N Track sense Shift” supposedly optimises gear changes for track driving. Hyundai says the system makes decisions on gear changes based on “motorsport data and the driver’s behaviour.”