HYUNDAI KONA N
05 HYUNDAI HAS LEANT INTO THE KONA N’S ADDITIONAL SUSPENSION STROKE TO BROADEN ITS DYNAMIC BANDWIDTH
⋆ Rating 4.5
ENGINE 1998cc inline-4, DOHC, 16v, turbo
POWER 206kW @5500rpm
TORQUE 392Nm @2100-4700rpm
0-100KM/H 5.5sec (claimed)
WEIGHT 1510kg • PRICE $47,500
LIKE: Fantastic e-diff; fun loving personality; quality of character
DISLIKE: Interior materials; road noise; internecine rivalries
WHAT DO YOU do with a problem like the performance SUV? It is a conundrum that has taxed the minds of motoring enthusiasts and manufacturers alike. For enthusiasts, they are perceived as an unfortunate but necessary evil – an inherently compromised product that needs to be made and sold so that manufacturers can build the low-margin cars we all love. For car companies, the genre can at first seem like a licence to print money. But get it wrong, and you’ll squander all that consumer goodwill for nothing.
This is compounded by the fact that through its very nature a performance SUV falls afoul of the
