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Video: Hyundai Bayon Puts the New Mercedes-Benz S-Class to Shame in the Moose Test

If you’ve lost track of how many crossovers Hyundai has in its portfolio, don’t worry about it, because their number will only go up at this point. The smallest is named the Bayon, and it was shown earlier this year.
Hyundai Bayon 7 photos
Photo: Screenshot Youtube | Km77
Hyundai BayonHyundai BayonHyundai BayonHyundai BayonHyundai BayonHyundai Bayon
Positioned under the Kona, it is only a hair smaller and shares its construction with the i20 supermini. Like its hatchback sibling, it is offered solely with front-wheel drive, and comes with two engine choices, an 84 ps (83 hp / 62 kW) 1.2-liter, and a turbo’d 1.0-liter with 100 ps (99 hp / 74 kW) and 120 ps (118 hp / 88 kW).

Equipped with the base power unit, it was subjected to the moose test, with 195/55 Michelin Primacy 4 tires hugging the 16-inch wheels, by Km77. The Spanish YouTube channel found it rather average, which isn’t a good nor a bad thing. It has a considerable amount of body roll if you keep pushing it, but the ESC does kick in every time, helping lower the car’s speed.

In the first attempt, it completed the course at 75 kph (46.6 mph), 2 kph (1.2 mph) below their norm. The Bayon’s response between the cones is said to have been predictable. Other attempts were performed at 76 kph (47.2 mph), during which it hit a cone, and at 80 kph (50 mph), where it was pretty much all over the place.

Thus, Km77 had to call it a day and note the 75 kph (46.6 mph) as the highest entry speed, yet not before subjecting it to the slalom, explaining that it’s not nimble and that it has a lot of body roll. However, the latter isn’t uncommon for a small crossover with front-wheel drive.

Even if the Hyundai Bayon basically failed the test, it performed much better than cars such as the 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, which did it at 74 kph (45.9 mph), and the 70 kph (43.5 mph) result obtained by the Jeep Renegade 4xe. The model matched the Audi RS e-tron GT and came right behind the new BMW M4 Coupe.

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About the author: Cristian Gnaticov
Cristian Gnaticov profile photo

After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s.
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