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2018 Hyundai Kona Filmed Testing at the Nurburgring

The Hyundai Kona was recently filmed on the track. Why do we care? Because Hyundai has plenty of other small crossovers, but this is the only global model that undergoes testing at the Nurburgring right now.
2018 Hyundai Kona Filmed Testing at the Nurburgring 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
They've got the Creta, which is already their No.1 best selling car in India. In South America, there's the Kicks, which was launched during the Rio Olympics. But the European market is very profitable, yet competitive, so they won't sell any of those.

That could be why the Kona is so bold. It's got a double headlight design, like the Citroen C4 Cactus, but with a mush sportier body. Despite this, it's not looking that fast. The purpose of the Nurburgring testing session is to ensure the reliability of all the components, not to challenge the GLA 45 for hot crossover supremacy.

If we were to guess, this prototype is powered by a small displacement gasoline engine, like the 1.0 or 1.4 T-GDI. In America, the 147-hp 2.0-liter from the Elantra sedan could serve as the base engine, helped by a six-speed auto. But if the market allows for a more expensive model, they are surely going to drop the 1.6-liter turbo in as well.

The B-segment SUV is going to be based on the same platform as the all-new i20. That's hardly inspiring, but a longer wheelbase should help the Kona ride a little bit better. Despite recently introducing the Niro (hybrid) crossover, Kia has a sister model to the Kona under development. Bu the Stonic should come a little later.

Together, the two will compete against things like the Toyota C-HR, Mazda CX-3, and Honda HR-V. But unlike the Hyundais of old, which were only popular because they were cheap, the Kona will come at a premium. We expect starting price of around €20,000. It's more of a high-riding alternative to the i30 than anything else.

Korean cars usually debut in Korea first, but all signs point towards the Kona being shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show this fall.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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