Photo: S.Baldauf/SB-Medien
Hyundai's engineers are working on the next-generation Kona, and the prototype is more advanced than it was the last time we saw it. In other words, development work on the 2023 Hyundai Kona has advanced as expected, and now the company is benchmarking the next-gen model against a Volkswagen T-Roc.
The Korean marque's engineers were testing the prototype of the next-gen Kona in Germany, near the company's development center. As you may be aware, Hyundai Motor Europe established a Technical Center in Russelsheim, Germany, many years ago.
While the company still develops some elements in South Korea, European vehicles get developed on the market where they are meant to be sold.
From what we can discern, the Kona will grow slightly in size, while sticking to the shape that made it what it was. To be specific, Hyundai is going to keep the split headlight design, although the lower lamps will not sit vertically instead of horizontally like they did on the ongoing model.
Bigger changes will be found under the sheet metal, where Hyundai will offer both gasoline variants with varying degrees of electrification and full-on electric vehicles. The latter will have the internal designation SX2e EV, while the regular next-gen Kona will be just SX2e. The small “e” is meant to signify Europe, mind you, as unnamed sources have explained.
On the inside, the gauge cluster will be changed with a fully digital screen, and the dashboard is also different. The Ioniq 5 is an inspiration, but the Kona will not be a mini-Ioniq 5 from this point of view.
Despite the thick layer of camouflage, the upcoming Kona is bound to have styling influences from its bigger brother, the Tucson. While that will remain to be seen, it will come as no surprise if Hyundai decides to apply the same styling philosophy on the Kona as it had on the Tucson.
The next-generation Kona is expected to be launched in early 2023, so we are bound to see more prototypes in the future, especially in the coming months. With the increase in size, it is now clear that Hyundai wants to compare its 2023 Kona with the VW T-Roc, so we can have a good idea of how much it will grow.
While the company still develops some elements in South Korea, European vehicles get developed on the market where they are meant to be sold.
From what we can discern, the Kona will grow slightly in size, while sticking to the shape that made it what it was. To be specific, Hyundai is going to keep the split headlight design, although the lower lamps will not sit vertically instead of horizontally like they did on the ongoing model.
Bigger changes will be found under the sheet metal, where Hyundai will offer both gasoline variants with varying degrees of electrification and full-on electric vehicles. The latter will have the internal designation SX2e EV, while the regular next-gen Kona will be just SX2e. The small “e” is meant to signify Europe, mind you, as unnamed sources have explained.
On the inside, the gauge cluster will be changed with a fully digital screen, and the dashboard is also different. The Ioniq 5 is an inspiration, but the Kona will not be a mini-Ioniq 5 from this point of view.
Despite the thick layer of camouflage, the upcoming Kona is bound to have styling influences from its bigger brother, the Tucson. While that will remain to be seen, it will come as no surprise if Hyundai decides to apply the same styling philosophy on the Kona as it had on the Tucson.
The next-generation Kona is expected to be launched in early 2023, so we are bound to see more prototypes in the future, especially in the coming months. With the increase in size, it is now clear that Hyundai wants to compare its 2023 Kona with the VW T-Roc, so we can have a good idea of how much it will grow.
Google News