Hyundai confirms Kona N pricing and launch date

Tuesday, 14 September 2021

The Hyundai Kona N is here, with sharp performance at a sharp price.

Hyundai New Zealand has confirmed the launch date and pricing of its latest performance machine, the Kona N small SUV.

At $69,990 for a single variant, the fast SUV drops in at the top of the hot N range, sitting above the DCT-equipped $65,990 i30 N hatch and $68,990 i30 N fastback.

While the hatch and fastback are also available in manual transmissions forms (at $58,990 and $62,990 respectively), there is no manual option for the SUV.

The Hyundai Kona N is here with hot-hatch performance plus SUV practicality.

The Kona N expands the Kona family to three, following the Kona and Kona Electric, both of which received updates earlier this year, including a sportier N Line variant. This is the real thing, however, with proper N-spec mechanics to go with the aggressive styling.

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Those big drain pipes should mean the Kona N sounds as good as it goes.

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The cockpit is racy, with an N-specific steering wheel.

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Power comes from a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine making a maximum of 213kW/392Nm with the awfully-named N Grin Shift’s overboost function, connected exclusively to an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic.

Also factor in new bits and pieces like N Power Shift, which “mitigates any reduction in torque by using upshifts to deliver maximum power to the wheels” (whatever that means) and N Track Sense Shift, which activates automatically when the road conditions are right and enables faster shifting.

To help cornering, Hyundai has included the “N Corner Carving Differential”, which is an electronic limited slip differential (E-LSD) to control torque distribution to the front wheels. Hyundai said the Kona N was developed to bring hot-hatch thrills to those who need the extra practicality of an SUV.

Styling is ramped up compared to the vanilla Kona, although it’s still pretty restrained in the grand scheme of things. The front end has a red-striped chin splitter and a trio of bonnet vents near the grille, while the profiles feature bulging arches and side skirts. Around the back is a double-wing roof spoiler and two fat exhaust outlets.

Inside is a 10-inch infotainment screen and digital instrument cluster, which gets a new ‘N mode design’, for track information, a driver-focused head-up display and N-specific seats and colour accents. Naturally, there are a bunch of active safety features like active cruise control, which is the first time this has been offered on an N model.

“The Kona N not only provides an excellent halo model to the every increasing Kona range but adds to our N range. N models are popular amongst performance car enthusiasts. With the introduction of the Kona N, we anticipate it will attract more new customers to either the Kona range or the N brand,” said Andy Sinclair, Hyundai New Zealand General Manager.

The Kona N goes on sale across the country this month.