Fuel Economy Figures Released for Hyundai's Littlest Crossover

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Hyundai’s smallest utility vehicle arrives as the automaker tries to put a troubling year behind it. Sales fell significantly in both the U.S. and Canada in 2017, the first annual drop since the recession. The blame for the 13.4 percent U.S. drop and 6.1 percent Canadian decline lies in our growing aversion to small, fuel-efficient cars, of which Hyundai has many, and our insatiable lust for large utility vehicles, of which Hyundai does not have enough.

There’s nothing large about the Hyundai Kona, but it’s still an important player in the raft of new or revamped crossovers bound for Hyundai’s stable. And, just like in the small car segment it’s slowly replacing, economy matters in the small crossover segment. So, now that the Environmental Protection Agency has seen fit to test the Kona, how does its thirst stack up against its rivals?

Fairly well, as it turns out, though it’s no class leader.

The front-wheel drive Kona, when equipped with the volume 2.0-liter four-cylinder and six-speed automatic, earns a rating of 27 mpg city, 33 mpg highway, and 30 mpg combined. The same combined figure also applies to the FWD 1.6-liter turbo variant.

The latter model gains a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, plus an extra dose of power. Turbo buyers can expect 175 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque, compared to the 2.0-liter’s 147 hp and 132 lb-ft.

As for its FWD fuel economy, the Kona’s combined rating tops that of the Toyota C-HR and Chevrolet Trax by 1 and 2 mpg, respectively, and beats the manual-transmission version of the Honda HR-V by 1 mpg. (The CVT-equipped FWD HR-V and base Mazda CX-3 top the Kona by 1 mpg.)

If more traction is on your must-have list, adding all-wheel drive shaves three miles per gallon off the rating of both the turbo and naturally aspirated models. Compared to its competition, the AWD Kona’s 27 mpg combined figure matches that of a similarly outfitted (but significantly less powerful, in the case of the 1.6T) Trax. However, both the AWD CX-3 and HR-V beat the Kona by 2 mpg.

Hyundai’s newest addition should start arriving on dealer lots early this year. Despite rumors to the contrary, no Konas found homes in North America before New Year’s Eve, 2017.

H/T to CarsDirect!

[Image: Hyundai]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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