My FH5 Log: Detective Kona N

Nobody move! Someone arrived in Forza Horizon 5's 30th series update, the Lunar New Year, to crack the case.

No, you're not expecting some kid in a blue coat, red bowtie, glasses, and tranquilizer watch. What you're looking at is the first and only high-performance crossover from the Hyundai N garage, the Kona N. Does the name ring the bell? Man, I love a good pun.

Deduction time, kids.

The Hyundai Kona N is the first and only high-performance crossover SUV from the N range. Based on the facelifted first-generation Kona, it features unique N aesthetics inside and out while being powered by the same 2.0L 280PS Turbo GDi engine and the 8-speed wet-type N DCT gearbox as the Veloster N. It does 0-100kph in 5.5 seconds with a Launch Control set and a top speed of 240kph. Apart from that, it comes with numerous high-performance functions such as the N Power Shift, N Grin Shift, and the most clever of the three, the N Track Sense Shift which optimizes adaptive shift for racetrack driving.

The addition of the Pirelli P-Zero tires, R-MDPS, ECS, TCS, N Corner Carving Differential, and N Power Sense Axle really made a difference to this front-wheel-drive hot crossover in terms of handling.

Digging deeper through the Kona N's case, my thorough deduction and mystery-solving pointed out the way this crossover performs, and because being front-wheel-drive only, it feels easy to drive only on the tarmac. Still, no regrets. This is the new normal, you know.

Having obtained from the Lunar New Year Wet Season playlist, it's time to give Detective Kona a speedrun to the festival before everyone else does. Glasses off, seatbelts on. Detective Kona's on the case!

Swift justice is served...sort of.

And so, the mystery of the Hyundai Kona N is solved. The first and only hot crossover from the Hyundai N range has proven to be either a head-turner or a head-scratcher. Either way, the detective's work is never done for now but in the meantime, let's enjoy more with our new favorite mystery solver as he's busy solving Lunar New Year's surprises in store.

CASE CLOSED.

Hyundai Kona SX2

Hyundai's kicking off the new year with the arrival of the second-generation Kona crossover, packed with new and improved features fit to become your first ride for the first day of your driving life, whatever the reason.

2024 Hyundai Kona

Priced at 24,680,000 Korean Won (around $25,000) plus additional costs, the all-new, second-generation Kona is the evolution of Hyundai's first-ever compact SUV sold in the Korean market and although no longer as compact as it looks because its youngest brother, the Casper, takes the spot, it's still worth enough to humiliate crossovers like the Nissan Kicks and the Toyota Yaris Cross in a heartbeat.

2024 Hyundai Kona

2024 Hyundai Kona

Beginning with the design, the new Kona adopts the Staria's front face, which is rather unorthodox because with Hyundai took a liking to the Staria's front face, they've decided to plaster it on newer and future models like this and last year's Grandeur GN7. Apart from the face, the sleek side view and the rear lamps inspired by the IONIQ 6 really made a clear statement about the all-new Kona, and when kitted with the N Line variant, it's the first impression in a nut shack.

2024 Hyundai Kona interior

Inside, the new model matches the theme of today's Hyundai interiors while jam-packed with heaps of gadgets to play with. On the driver's side, you will be greeted by the massive split horizontal monitor where the 12.3-inch instrumental cluster and the 12.3-inch touchscreen mean business for the all-new Kona. The gear lever is positioned near the steering wheel rather than below, just like the new Grandeur, it's got dual full-auto aircon, ambient lighting, and other stuff you can find on the new model. In terms of spacing, the all-new Kona is slightly more spacious compared to the previous model thanks to the added wheelbase provided by its new platform. It's packed with smart features such as the Digital Key 2 Touch and the Smart Power Tailgate for added convenience.

2024 Hyundai Kona

Petrol and hybrid are the only powertrain choices offered in the all-new Kona at launch. On the petrol side, it's offered with a choice of a Smartstream G 2.0L and the powerful Smartstream G 1.6T engine. The one with the Smartstream G 1.6T engine produces 198PS of power and 27kgf-m of torque. They're all mated to an 8-speed AT and can be fitted with an HTRAC All-Wheel-Drive system for better driving on and off the road. Handy if you're itching to have a picnic at Hannibal's.

The FF-only Kona Hybrid's Smartstream G 1.6 petrol engine is bolted into a 32kW electric motor and Li-ion battery as well as a regenerative braking system, producing 141PS of power output. The only gearbox offered in the hybrid is a 6-speed DCT. Despite being FF-only, the Kona Hybrid comes with e-Motion Drive and rear multilink suspension for a dramatic driving feel that can upset the Nissan Kicks full stop.

Coupled with the Hyundai Smart Sense and parking assist features, the all-new Kona is by no means the safest compact crossover in its class, which is rather surprising and annoying at the same time for the yuppies behind the wheel.

The second-generation Hyundai Kona truly is all-new from top to toe and it really is a class apart compared to the likes of the Nissan Kicks and the Toyota Yaris Cross. Like it or not, this is the Kona that everybody deserves, and looks like Hyundai is doubling down on the all-new Kona. That's the new normal for you.

Photo: Hyundai Motor Company

Hyundai Kona N

It's been three years since Hyundai brought us their first and only N car available in South Korea, the Veloster N, and now, the N family's slightly expanded with the addition of the first-ever N crossover based on the recently facelifted Kona compact crossover. An N SUV sounds like a stupid idea because we all live in today's motoring world where SUVs are superheroes but the first-ever Kona N gets a shot of life by showing its newly found superpowers for the greater good on the road and track.

2022 Hyundai Kona N

2022 Hyundai Kona N interior

Starting at 34.18 million Korean won plus additional costs, the first-ever Kona N transformed the ordinary nimble Kona crossover into a superhero. A superhero that is ready, willing, and able to show its quirk on the road and track with its hot-hatch-like handling and performance.

Based on the recently facelifted Kona compact crossover, the N features signature red accents, large air openings on the front end, a lowered center of gravity, a double-wing roof spoiler, and other exterior upgrades to differentiate it from the normal Kona as well as its lesser N Line variant. With such upgrades, the Kona N now has a striking image of a hot hatch, making first-timers' skins crawl, hoping they want a piece of that action.

It's the same story on the interior as well because the Kona N is packed with additional features that will make speedo boys hooked for more such as the N steering wheel with two customizable buttons, a proper handbrake in case you want to ruin this ride doing backseat twist, Performance Blue accents, and some added functions on the speedo and sat-nav to check your progress on the track. Despite the additional performance-oriented goods, it still fits like a normal Kona and it's loaded with tech as well.

Under the hood, the Kona N is powered by the same 2.0L 280PS Turbo GDi engine and the 8-speed wet-type N DCT gearbox as the Veloster N. It does 0-100kph in 5.5 seconds with a Launch Control set and a top speed of 240kph. Apart from that, it comes with numerous high-performance functions that will get speedo boys hooked for more such as the N Power Shift, N Grin Shift, and the clever of the three, the N Track Sense Shift that optimizes adaptive shift for racetrack driving. It's like that signature Gran Turismo feature where it tells you the recommended gear shift while going through the corner. Long story short but you get the idea.

Anyway, there's a weird saying that the "Nurburgring ruins cars" or "when a car's built on the track, it won't be as good on the road at all". Yes, speedo boys got that memo and the Kona N may be fit for that scenario because of the fact that all N cars are developed and engineered at the Nurburgring. The addition of the Pirelli P-Zero tires, R-MDPS, ECS, TCS, N Corner Carving Differential, and N Power Sense Axle really made a difference to this front-wheel-drive hot crossover in terms of handling but as a daily driver's car, despite the list of SmartSense active safety features festooned into it, there's one major caution with this ride though; it's going to be as tense as seeing your Grandma watching disaster flicks for the thrill of it. Yes, it's front-wheel-drive only and the only good thing this hot Kona does is behave like a 2X Spicy Noodle mukbang.

The Kona N joins the long list of high-performance SUVs available in the market because, in today's motoring world, SUVs are like superheroes. You get the point but because of its hot-hatch-like dynamics and performance, this mild but menacing Kona is worth salivating for if you are prepared to spend your hard-earned cash on this. While it's not as good as the Veloster N, the Kona N is the super crossover hero you wish to have.

Available colors: Cyber Gray Metallic, Dark Night Gray Pearl, Ignite Red, Atlas White, Performance Blue, Phantom Black Pearl, Sonic Blue, and Gravity Gold Matte.

Photo: Hyundai Motor Company

Hyundai Kona

SUVs, the automotive equivalent of obesity, and by this decade 50% of the cars sold worldwide are mostly SUVs, meaning the cars of today are getting fatter and fatter and in the case of crossovers in the world, it's a case of "Supersize Me" in near-biblical proportions. However, there are some SUVs that doesn't look like they're suffering from automotive obesity and they behave like pretty much like normal city cars and in the case of Hyundai, their latest offering will make you go hmmm.

2018 Hyundai Kona

Meet the Kona, Hyundai's first-ever compact SUV sold in the Korean market it's known to be a cheaper alternative to their latest offerings such as the Tucson, the Santa Fe, and the Maxcruz. The name "Kona" comes from a tropical island located in Hawaii, in the tradition of calling their crossovers from American cities, and while it sounds like it's made to brew up your Monday brews like the finest beers from Kona Brewing (pun intended), you would never dare to say "Kona" and "me" on the same sentence because the result will be rather, let's just say depressing.

Depressing aside, the exterior of the Kona is somewhat a mashup between the Jeep Cherokee and the Citroen C4 Cactus and the end result is a compact crossover is promises to be proven around the world while it looks so rugged, don't be fooled that this is basically a front-wheel drive car and cross-country isn't its specialty for the Kona. Although cross-country isn't its specialty, trailblazing and city driving are what matters for this compact crossover and that is just half of the story.

2018 Hyundai Kona interior

2018 Hyundai Kona interior

For a robust exterior, the Kona features a much premium, yet spacious interior that is very accommodating even for compact crossover standards. It may be small but its five-seating capacity sounds very promising for first-time buyers and its real beauty lies in its boot space that can accommodate the list of creature comforts you bought at your nearest grocery and for some extra stuff, the rear seats can be folded flat to accommodate bigger stuff, especially stuff you would need for your grandma's birthday party at a nearby three-star hotel.

As a car designed for millennials, the Kona features smartphone connectivity that is compatible with your iPhones or Androids (via MirrorLink). It even has a wireless phone charger, the HUD is where it should be in the windscreen's safe zone for health and safety purposes, KRELL Premium Surround System, and much more. That stuff you would commonly get on luxury cars is right here in this smart and tiny little compact SUV built with young urban professionals in mind.

2018 Hyundai Kona

The Kona utilizes a brand new platform that promises to utilize its four-wheel drive layout without sacrificing interior space and in the case of this compact crossover, it handles like a city car, contrary to popular belief about SUVs being obese in the handling department. For a crossover of this size, the Kona really is somewhat above average for a fun-to-drive car but under normal circumstances, it is not too bad at all.

Under the bonnet, the Kona comes with two engine powerplants such as the 1.6L diesel engine which produces 133PS of power and 30.6kg-m of torque while the more powerful and very nippy Gamma 1.6L T-GDi engine produces 177PS of power and 27kg-m of torque, all mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Take note that only the T-GDi variant of the Kona has a four-wheel drive that suits perfectly well on any road condition at any weather condition, making it the ideal trailblazing partner for your quiet Sunday drives.

For safety, the Kona comes prepared with Hyundai SmartSense which comes with an array of safety tech such as Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, High Beam Assist, Driver Attention Warning, Blind Spot Collision Warning, and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning, among many others.

Should you buy it? The Kona starts at 18,950,000 Korean Won and this is the cheapest SUV in the lineup. You can really afford one for starters but in comparison against noteworthy rivals in this category such as the Nissan Juke, Toyota C-HR, the Mitsubishi RVR, Honda Vezel, Peugeot 2008, Ssangyong Tivoli, and the others, can the Kona really stacks up. I think it can because with its handy-capable four-wheel drive, its nippy turbocharged engine, above-average potential in the handling department, and its wide array of tech in store, the Kona might just be one of the most demanding compact crossovers of this late decade and because summer's already here, the Kona is always prepared for any kind of season for the drivers because, for this one, it's going to be a long holiday for this newcomer.

Available colors: Chalk White, Rake Silver, Velvet Dawn, Dark Night, Phantom Black, Blue Lagoon, Ceramic Blue, Tangerine Comet, Pulse Red, and Acid Yellow.

Photo: Hyundai Motor Company