Hyundai Kona N | Test Drive
Forget supercars for a moment. Well no, don’t do that. After all, I would continue to prefer the N over various sports cars with five zeros and triple the power.
Words Andrea Balti / Photos S. Lomax
In 2017 Hyundai ended up on our radar and on those of driving purists with a model – the i30 N – that shocked the hot-hatch landscape without half measures. After five years, a restyling that saw the introduction of the DCT automatic transmission, the N treatment is now also declined on the little i20 and on the crossover Kona. To demonstrate that progressing and evolving does not just mean looking at an electrified future, the Korean brand has managed to represent what is commonly considered a benchmark and has done that in that iconic segment such as that of hot hatches, those cars that more than any others represent driving fun within everyone’s reach.
Forget supercars for a moment. Well no, don’t do that. After all, I would continue to prefer the N over various sports cars with five zeros and triple the power. With these things in mind and with the experience behind the wheel of the first sports car born from the alignment of Namyang (the brand’s research and development center) and Nürburgring (which certainly needs no introduction), I am looking for a road full of curves for the simple need to satisfy my need for adrenaline.
The Kona N therefore completes the already rich range of the South Korean crossover, available with petrol, diesel, hybrid and 100% electric engines. However, the N is the one that will be impossible to forget, especially once seated in the driver’s seat. Already from its profound aesthetic transformation, the concepts of speed and performance are made clear in a package that includes 19-inch burnished light alloy wheels, enlarged bodywork, lowered suspension and eye-catching air intakes such as the “nostrils” you get at the base of the engine hood. At the rear we then have a huge spoiler that integrates a triangular brake light and a diffuser that embraces the two exhaust pipes, another point that elevates the driving experience making the 4-cylinder here one of the noisiest that can be found in the list.
It is usually said that not everything that glitters is gold, but this is not the case, since under so much stylistic malice, accentuated by each of those millimeters that make the on road presence extremely threatening, we find the same mechanical riot that made the i30 N the best hot hatch in recent years. 2-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged engine, 280 horsepower and almost 400 Nm of torque (392 Nm, ed.), 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and self-locking differential on the drive axle, the front one. Containing the dimensions thanks to the starting model, the Kona N is a bit like an entity on its own as it stops the scales at 1,510 kg and promises to move from one point on the map to another in the shortest possible time, provided you want to be shaken on its sports seats. Yes, because although it is obviously possible to drive in full relax, taking advantage of the comfort offered by a b-SUV/crossover, it will be difficult to resist those big N buttons positioned in the lower part of the steering wheel.
From here it is possible to recall on the fly the N modes configurable according to your tastes, while the round red NGS (N Grin Shift) button – available only with DCT gearbox as in the case of the Kona N – offers an overboost of 10 horses for 20 seconds. In this moment you really realize that every little detail has been carefully thought out for one purpose only: have fun. Although weight and dimensions are contained and the overall power is exactly what it should be on this type of car, it is not sterile figures that make the Kona N the joyful carousel from which I would never want to get off.
In N mode, every feedback is accentuated, the dual clutch gear changes are smooth at less frenetic pace, but soon become violent kicks in the back the very moment you ask the Kona to leave a groove on the asphalt with its sharp claws. The set-up is so rigid that it seems to travel on a marble table. Every roughness is perceived with the same vigor you would feel a Mike Tyson punch straight on your nose. I find myself almost hopping between the tightest bends, with a steering wheel that gets nervous in a way directly proportional to the intensity with which I press the throttle pedal. Keep pushing and the Kona N manages to splash from corner to corner without losing the set lines, tire grip is absurd and traction management eliminates any hint of understeer.
When common sense finally peeps into my skull and I lighten my right foot, I begin to make the obvious comparisons with the i30 N, at the moment my ultimate reference in terms of high-performance hot hatches, as well as the sister of the Kona N of our test. With the necessary differences granted by a fast and precise automatic gearbox (the i30 N was equipped with a manual gearbox), the behavior between curves is similar, with the overall height of the crossover that seems to move a bit more on the vertical axis, especially during the most sudden directions changes, differentiating the driving approach but not the final result. However, we are talking about a sports car born on the basis of a crossover for families and capable of guaranteeing a 0-100 in just 5 and a half seconds, reaching 240 per hour and crackling from the exhaust at the back from when it starts up until the destination is finally reached.
It makes sense that everything that makes the Kona N special involves significant fuel consumption, but in this specific case it is a secondary detail, just like the capacity of the load compartment (474 liters), or the fact that some may argue that it looks too flashy, but after all, why compromise and accept half measures when our fun is at stake? With a price starting at €42,800 you have everything, absolutely everything. Heated seats and steering wheel, a rich supply of driver assistance systems, mechanical handbrake (I haven’t seen one for a long time!) and enough space to make Konan, oops the Kona N, the one car for the most diverse need of a family or a free spirit who still needs to get excited once tightened a steering wheel and set the satellite navigator for the most fun road possible.
HYUNDAI KONA N 2.0 T-GDI DCT
Engine 4 cyilinder Turbo, 1.998 cc Power 280 hp @ 5.500-6.000 rpm Torque 392 Nm @ 2.100-4.700 rpm
Traction Front-Wheel Drive Transmission 8-Speed Automatic Gearbox Weight 1.510 kg
0-100 kph 5,5 sec Top Speed 240 kph Price from€42.800