Hyundai KONA SUV 2019 review - carwow
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Date: 2022-04-11
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Comments and reviews: 10
Peppermint
It is a well designed car, small on the outside and big on the inside. Plenty of legroom for 6ft drivers and still enough space on the rear seats. Beautiful interior (but dark) with nice buttons and ergonomics. High sitting position is very pleasant, however the leather seats were hard and not comfortable on long drives. Be aware if you want to own a Hyundai: even recent Hyundai cars still have plenty of problems even with little miles, extended warranty is strongly recommended. We had several issues with our 2015 Hyundai Sonata even during the first 15000 miles: several engine sensors and also a radar sensor, extremely expensive and the dealer didn't want to replace it. The engine would also loose power (faulty knock sensor, expensive to replace because the intake had to be removed. The radar sensor (for blind spot system) is located inside the bumpers and are problematic on all Hyundai cars, search on forums: dealerships refuse to replace them, they say -you must have bumped into a car which caused the sensor to fail or to loose calibration-. These sensors are shockingly expensive, in US is close to $1000/piece, there's two in the rear bumper and not easy to replace. On the Hyundai Genesis these cost twice as much each. Don't listed people saying -they never had a problem-, everybody wants to defend their car on internet. So the Kona is a nice car, I really liked it, but be ready to visit Hyundai for repairs and take the extended warranty. To resume, this is a perfect car for those who like sitting 'high' and have plenty of legroom and space inside, without having to buy a large or medium size 'SUV', crossover, etc
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It is a well designed car, small on the outside and big on the inside. Plenty of legroom for 6ft drivers and still enough space on the rear seats. Beautiful interior (but dark) with nice buttons and ergonomics. High sitting position is very pleasant, however the leather seats were hard and not comfortable on long drives. Be aware if you want to own a Hyundai: even recent Hyundai cars still have plenty of problems even with little miles, extended warranty is strongly recommended. We had several issues with our 2015 Hyundai Sonata even during the first 15000 miles: several engine sensors and also a radar sensor, extremely expensive and the dealer didn't want to replace it. The engine would also loose power (faulty knock sensor, expensive to replace because the intake had to be removed. The radar sensor (for blind spot system) is located inside the bumpers and are problematic on all Hyundai cars, search on forums: dealerships refuse to replace them, they say -you must have bumped into a car which caused the sensor to fail or to loose calibration-. These sensors are shockingly expensive, in US is close to $1000/piece, there's two in the rear bumper and not easy to replace. On the Hyundai Genesis these cost twice as much each. Don't listed people saying -they never had a problem-, everybody wants to defend their car on internet. So the Kona is a nice car, I really liked it, but be ready to visit Hyundai for repairs and take the extended warranty. To resume, this is a perfect car for those who like sitting 'high' and have plenty of legroom and space inside, without having to buy a large or medium size 'SUV', crossover, etc
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Dan
If you buy a Hyundai be prepared to spend minimum of $175-$500 every month on BS problems you will never experience in a quality car like an Honda. Every other month you will have to replace 1 0f 6 to 8 catalytic converters that go out for no reason like clock work one after the other. Your gas line will need replacing, then your gas tank that rotted from the inside for no apparent reason. Your check engine light will be on more than it is off. When you finally replace the entire engine and decide you've had enough, and sell it for next to nothing, you'll buy yourself an Acura and realize that it never needs maintenance, that it isn't normal to be without your car every other month because it's in the shop again, and you'll swear like I did to NEVER buy another Hyundai again!
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If you buy a Hyundai be prepared to spend minimum of $175-$500 every month on BS problems you will never experience in a quality car like an Honda. Every other month you will have to replace 1 0f 6 to 8 catalytic converters that go out for no reason like clock work one after the other. Your gas line will need replacing, then your gas tank that rotted from the inside for no apparent reason. Your check engine light will be on more than it is off. When you finally replace the entire engine and decide you've had enough, and sell it for next to nothing, you'll buy yourself an Acura and realize that it never needs maintenance, that it isn't normal to be without your car every other month because it's in the shop again, and you'll swear like I did to NEVER buy another Hyundai again!
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KUMAMOTO
But actually carwow judged this car properly.
In fact, that has plenty of practical features and it-s low priced. But so does Suzuki Vitara.
And unfortunately that interior was totally rubbish boring, i have to say Vitara-s interior is more sophisticated.
And Vitara is lighter and has good fuel efficiency and It-s surprisingly fun to drive.
I-d say this Hyundai is still Consider, not Avoid.
But It-s so hard to accept this ugly face which reminds me Citroen.
Yup I will avoid it.
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But actually carwow judged this car properly.
In fact, that has plenty of practical features and it-s low priced. But so does Suzuki Vitara.
And unfortunately that interior was totally rubbish boring, i have to say Vitara-s interior is more sophisticated.
And Vitara is lighter and has good fuel efficiency and It-s surprisingly fun to drive.
I-d say this Hyundai is still Consider, not Avoid.
But It-s so hard to accept this ugly face which reminds me Citroen.
Yup I will avoid it.
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David
Matt I really respect you and admire your honest reviews, but I have to agree with most commentators that the Hyundai Kona is actually a decent cross-over which does its job without any frills, it may look slightly bland inside but the reliability a Hyundai Car gives you is all you want, so its pointless to have all those super nice and cool interior trims, navigation systems, in car entertainment system when it spends much more time at the dealer rather than on the road! Food for thought I guess.
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Matt I really respect you and admire your honest reviews, but I have to agree with most commentators that the Hyundai Kona is actually a decent cross-over which does its job without any frills, it may look slightly bland inside but the reliability a Hyundai Car gives you is all you want, so its pointless to have all those super nice and cool interior trims, navigation systems, in car entertainment system when it spends much more time at the dealer rather than on the road! Food for thought I guess.
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Sloeginandsleep
I'm lucky. if that's what you want to call it, but we have 6 or 7 Kona's on our company car fleet and I've driven them all. They are hideously dull, but functionally capable. Until they hit around 60k miles, then all of them rattle and creak like a wardrobe being thrown down the stairs.
When you consider that a decently specced one will cost you as much as a Mazda CX30 with a little judicious haggling. I know which I'd put my money on.
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I'm lucky. if that's what you want to call it, but we have 6 or 7 Kona's on our company car fleet and I've driven them all. They are hideously dull, but functionally capable. Until they hit around 60k miles, then all of them rattle and creak like a wardrobe being thrown down the stairs.
When you consider that a decently specced one will cost you as much as a Mazda CX30 with a little judicious haggling. I know which I'd put my money on.
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Loek
Complaining about a plastic interior in a car you can apparently get sold for less than 15 grand. Yeah, then the car is the problem. The Kona is an awesome little B Segment crossover and in terms of price/equipment ratio it-s probably the best in the business. Every enlarged criticism is nitpicky at best and shouldn-t influence how you-re talking about this car.
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Complaining about a plastic interior in a car you can apparently get sold for less than 15 grand. Yeah, then the car is the problem. The Kona is an awesome little B Segment crossover and in terms of price/equipment ratio it-s probably the best in the business. Every enlarged criticism is nitpicky at best and shouldn-t influence how you-re talking about this car.
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Haymaker
2022 and I bought this new in 2019. Made a bad decision.
Inside cab is loud as hell while driving, always feels like a window is cracked.
Sound system is a joke.
Bought because of long warranty but going on year 3 and few things have gone wrong and what do you know, not covered beyond 2 years even though 5 year bumper to bumper warranty claim.
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2022 and I bought this new in 2019. Made a bad decision.
Inside cab is loud as hell while driving, always feels like a window is cracked.
Sound system is a joke.
Bought because of long warranty but going on year 3 and few things have gone wrong and what do you know, not covered beyond 2 years even though 5 year bumper to bumper warranty claim.
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Cat
Oh, it's the SE model. SE model is very cheap, and you don't get much for your money, but it's still probably not that bad. I have the Limited AWD, and I really enjoy it. I was thinking between Audi Q3 and Kona Limited, and ultimately, I went with Kona because you just get more benefits, AND I don't have to get premium fuel, despite the turbo engine. :)
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Oh, it's the SE model. SE model is very cheap, and you don't get much for your money, but it's still probably not that bad. I have the Limited AWD, and I really enjoy it. I was thinking between Audi Q3 and Kona Limited, and ultimately, I went with Kona because you just get more benefits, AND I don't have to get premium fuel, despite the turbo engine. :)
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Kevin
I generally love your reviews but this one has a weird negative vibe to it. I just bought a 2019 kona 1. 6 with AWD and all the options. It is a fantastic car and so fun to drive. I agree that lower trim level versions of the kona do not look as good as the higher ones (like almost every car, but in general the kona is a very, very good car.
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I generally love your reviews but this one has a weird negative vibe to it. I just bought a 2019 kona 1. 6 with AWD and all the options. It is a fantastic car and so fun to drive. I agree that lower trim level versions of the kona do not look as good as the higher ones (like almost every car, but in general the kona is a very, very good car.
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songmingi
Just drove a rental kona about a week now, and I actually think the review is bang on. Car's not slow, it reacts slow. Automatic transmission is laggy. The suspension is not harsh, but very bumpy. Even as an economy compact, there are definitely better value out there.
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Just drove a rental kona about a week now, and I actually think the review is bang on. Car's not slow, it reacts slow. Automatic transmission is laggy. The suspension is not harsh, but very bumpy. Even as an economy compact, there are definitely better value out there.
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