Hyundai Kona Previews Future Designs, But Don't Expect Russian Dolls

“Each model will have its own identity.” – Luc Donckerwolke,

Finally, long after the Nissan Juke, Subaru Crosstrek, Chevrolet Trax, Jeep Renegade, Honda HR-V, and Mazda CX-3, Hyundai is ready to launch the Kona subcompact crossover, at least in moderate volumes.

The Hyundai Kona is hardly a Tucson Lite; not remotely an Accent Allroad. An unusual face and bizarre use of cladding are all the more obvious because of the Kona’s tidy dimensions.

But while the 2018 Kona showcases a new Hyundai utility vehicle design language, Hyundai’s design leadership promises that future models won’t merely be enlargements of the same.

Luc Donckerwolke, formerly a designer at Peugeot, Audi, Skoda, Lamborghini, and Bentley, apparently doesn’t want Hyundai to follow the trend of many premium brands, which apply the same face and profile to models of varying sizes: X1, X3, X5, for example, at BMW.

It’s been obvious at Hyundai that the Tucson, Santa Fe Sport, and larger Santa Fe are close relations, but as Hyundai becomes a more well-known entity, emphasizing the genetic similarities becomes less necessary. “The family look was necessary because Hyundai’s brand recognition was not really strong 10 years ago, let’s face it,” says SangYup Lee, Hyundai’s vice president of styling.

The Hyundai of 2017, though struggling to reproduce the sales growth to which the company became accustomed, is not the Hyundai of 2007, however. As the company’s utility vehicle lineup grows (albeit later than it should have) with a crossover smaller than the Kona and a larger replacement for the Santa Fe, Donckerwolke wants each model to be recognizable as Hyundais, but uniquely identifiable.

“It’s a bit different from what has been done so far,” Donckerwolke told Automotive News. “For me, it is more fascinating than having to adapt a design to another model,” the Hyundai design boss says, speaking of simply upsizing the Kona’s themes. “That is boring. That is something I don’t want to do.”

As Hyundai gradually fills in the gaps and replaces existing models, one goal is to distinguish the Tucson and Santa Fe Sport not only with design but also in size. The third-generation Santa Fe Sport is now in its fifth model year.

Hyundai has proven a laggard in the move away from passenger cars to crossovers. While the overwhelming majority of new vehicle buyers now reject cars, Hyundai still relies on the Accent, Elantra, Sonata, and their few cohorts for two-thirds of its U.S. volume. Sales of the Santa Fe lineup and the rapidly-growing Tucson are both on the rise in the U.S., but so sharp is the decline in Hyundai car sales that brand-wide volume is down 10 percent this year.

A design flourish, following the recent conservative redesigns of the Elantra and Sonata, could be just what the Donckerwolke ordered.

[Images: Hyundai]

Timothy Cain is a contributing analyst at The Truth About Cars and Autofocus.ca and the founder and former editor of GoodCarBadCar.net. Follow on Twitter @timcaincars.