KONA VS. Millennials

When Hyundai launched the 2018 Kona at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, it touted the crossover’s “urban smart armor” styling, which is both eye-catching and brash for the subcompact SUV segment. Normally, armor protects, but in this case it also reveals. Smart-everything urban millennials are the primary market for the Kona, and Hyundai is wasting no effort attacking that front.

With that in mind, we find ourselves in Kona, Hawaii (like Hyundai would waste that branding opportunity). But the Korean automaker didn’t bring two Motor Trend millennials to the Big Island for the gram. Instead, we’re here to see what the latest entry in an increasingly competitive market can do.

Ford, Chevrolet, Subaru, Mazda, Honda, Jeep, Fiat, Toyota, and Nissan all have players in this segment. But rather than