Yahoo Autos Performance and Driving Impressions
Performance and Driving Impressions Rating:
The Kona is a pleasure to drive. When equipped with the turbo four-cylinder, it’s zippy when you’re liberal with the throttle, and its chassis is playful despite its SUV mission. Braking performance is decent but unremarkable, and the Kona’s steering leaves us wanting more feedback from the road.
Acceleration
Driven aggressively, the turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder moves the Kona around with ease, and it outaccelerated nearly all of the crossovers in this comparison with a 6.6-second run from zero to 60 mph. When putzing around town, the Kona’s power feels less impressive but is nonetheless satisfactory. We haven’t yet tested the base nonturbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the new Kona, but in our experiences with other Hyundai models powered by this engine-such as the Tucson and Elantra-it provides enough power. But what it doesn’t provide is excitement.
Test Results: Acceleration
Ride, Handling, and Steering
The Kona delivers agile handling and a surprising amount of fun. This doesn’t translate to a rough ride over choppy roads; in fact, the suspension offers quite the opposite, damping out bumps and providing occupants with a cabin that is well isolated from pavement imperfections. Cornering grip approaches sports-sedan territory. The steering is perhaps the Kona’s biggest dynamic downfall: it’s an uncommunicative helm that requires frequent corrections when cruising the highway despite its heavy-weighted feel.
Results: Maximum Cornering Capability
Braking
In our emergency-braking test, the Kona stopped in 171 feet from 70 mph-about average for the class. Underfoot, the pedal feels agreeably firm and offers easy modulation of braking pressure when stopping.
Test Results: Maximum Braking Capability
Test Results: Curb Weight and Weight Distribution
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