[Surferdude]

My son has had a Mazda CX3 for the last two years under lease.
He tells me he's in the final stages of changing over to a Kona, having researched his options pretty thoroughly.
Given his CX3 was a TOTR, I reckon the Kona will also be.

Watch this space.

[mickd]

👀

[i30premy]

TOTR ???

Google doesn't supply an answer

[Surferdude]

TOTR ???

Google doesn't supply an answer

Top Of The Range. 

[Dazzler]

Look forward to hearing more! 

[Tassie Craig]

Nice One.

The safety features are certainly impressive.

Will be interested to see how things go with it.

[Surferdude]

Nice One.

The safety features are certainly impressive.

Will be interested to see how things go with it.

Even back when HA took me to Sydney for the PD launch, the HA guys were frothing, waiting for the Kona.

[Surferdude]

Got a call from my son tonight.
He picked up his new Kona Highlander yesterday and was frothing. Honestly, I have never heard him so excited about anything.

We're going down on Sunday to see it.

Apparently it's  the 1.6 turbo engine and he reckons it is "fast".
Android Car Play just to keep his technical interests up.
Much quieter than the CX3.
I asked him about the seats as someone said they were heated on here. I wondered why he would want that. Oh no, he said. They are also COOLED. 

More to come.

[CraigB]

Congratulations to your son Trev, they're a nice car, Highlander would be the model I'd like if I did the change.

From memory the front seats have vented cooling.

[sundiz]

Pictures would be nice. A "cheaper" 4wd would be nice after i30. Looked little bit about suzuki vitara and dacia duster. We don't have kona here, yet. It will be interesting to see how they price them here. I guess it will come at some point in 2018.

[Lakes]

Trev my nephews wife got a new red top of range cx3 a few years back very nice looking car. I don't know what the Kona looks like as only seen them in add's on tv. funny looking car from looking at the add's I'd keep the cx3

[Surferdude]

Nah John..
He liked the CX3 but didn't "love it".

[CraigB]

Trev my nephews wife got a new red top of range cx3 a few years back very nice looking car. I don't know what the Kona looks like as only seen them in add's on tv. funny looking car from looking at the add's I'd keep the cx3

Personally I prefer the Kona's look over the Mazda which is looking rather outdated nowadays, but looks ain't everything...the Kona beats the CX3 in most areas Hyundai Kona v Mazda CX-3 2017 Comparison - motoring.com.au

[Dazzler]

Trev my nephews wife got a new red top of range cx3 a few years back very nice looking car. I don't know what the Kona looks like as only seen them in add's on tv. funny looking car from looking at the add's I'd keep the cx3

Personally I prefer the Kona's look over the Mazda which is looking rather outdated nowadays, but looks ain't everything...the Kona beats the CX3 in most areas Hyundai Kona v Mazda CX-3 2017 Comparison - motoring.com.au

Feedback I've had is, the i30 is selling like hotcakes, but the Kona sales have initially been disappointing. One of the problems I think is it sits only a couple of centimetres higher than the i30 so getting in and out isn't quite as easy as in some rivals. The drivetrain is excellent (as it should be being shared with the i30). It also looks better in the flesh provided it gets the brighter colours and contrasting roof /stitching etc..

I'm sure your son will really enjoy it Trevor.

[Surferdude]

I'll let you know about the seating after Sunday.

[Dazzler]

I'll let you know about the seating after Sunday.

I found the seats pretty good (similar to the standard PD i30) Not as shaped as the SR, but still comfortable. 

[The Gonz]

We had a look at one at Yarra Hyundai in Collingwood last weekend and could see a lot of recycling of i30 bits in a slightly more bulbous body. The seats were pretty ordinary after taking a drive in the Veloster.

[Lakes]

Trev my nephews wife got a new red top of range cx3 a few years back very nice looking car. I don't know what the Kona looks like as only seen them in add's on tv. funny looking car from looking at the add's I'd keep the cx3

Personally I prefer the Kona's look over the Mazda which is looking rather outdated nowadays, but looks ain't everything...the Kona beats the CX3 in most areas Hyundai Kona v Mazda CX-3 2017 Comparison - motoring.com.au

Feedback I've had is, the i30 is selling like hotcakes, but the Kona sales have initially been disappointing. One of the problems I think is it sits only a couple of centimetres higher than the i30 so getting in and out isn't quite as easy as in some rivals. The drivetrain is excellent (as it should be being shared with the i30). It also looks better in the flesh provided it gets the brighter colours and contrasting roof /stitching etc..

I'm sure your son will really enjoy it Trevor.

I think the new i30 pd outstanding love the looks. I felt the fd looked good but mirrored a Honda slightly, then the gd mired a Mazda, the Kona mirrors a cx3 from the size and a cactus from the front by look of pic's.
 latest nrma open road say in 2019 they are going to have free recharging points all over nsw. to get more in full electric, the recharge points free to recharge but I know nrma sell battery so they will get there money back.

[Surferdude]

First things first.

The Kona drives like a dream. And as Cam told me, it's a rocket ship. No turbo lag, just GO! I got to do a run around the Mount Coot-tha circuit and back to Jindalee. Four people and a bit more rear seat legroom than my Corolla or my FD. Plenty of headroom too.
Someone commented on the seats. Whilst they probably aren't as nicely wrap around as those in my Corolla Ascent Sport (the best I've ever had in a road car), they are comfortable and there is no suggestion of you moving around so that's a pass from me.

The other big thing and something which drew me to the Kona in the first place is the access height. IIRC, someone above suggested there were unfavourable comments about the fact that they were very little different to the height of the i30. I can't see that at all. For comparison I had my FD, my Corolla, my wife's Corolla and the PDs I sat in and drove at the national launch earlier this year. The Kona seating is definitely higher and much more easy to access. You basically just put your bum in and slide your legs into the foot well. I'm 6'2" and they are a perfect height for me. My wife who is about 5'5" also has no problem.

Cam tells me it is much quieter in the cabin than the CX3 and from what I remember of it, I agree. It's very quiet and smooth to ride in, even over the questionable Brisbane roads.

The colour coded trim apparently only comes with some colours so he doesn't have that. No big loss. 
Whilst it has lane assist etc etc, it apparently it doesn't have intelligent cruise control. The lane assist is really quite good and you can see how close we are to self drive cars.

Two issues come to mind. At least at town speeds the cruise control seems to  vary its speed a couple of KPH each way once set. He's off to Glenn Innes next weekend so he'll check if it's any better on the open road at highway speeds. I can't imagine using CC around town anyway so I don't know if this is unusual or not.

Secondly, the accessories etc don't turn off after you hit the STOP button. The engine does, but the rest waits until you open the door. His dealership tells him this is normal and can't be changed. I'm interested to hear from anyone else about this. Is the PD the same? On the CX3, everything cut off when you hit STOP. Whilst it's not a major issue, I'd be interested to hear why Hyundai feels it should be this way.

He loves the Hyundai link and its diagnostic features. And the fact that Google Car Play (? is that the right term), let's him communicate with his house (lights etc).

Also nice that the cool air can be directed up into the front seats although there are no rear vents (Meh. Rear seat passengers don't count anyway.  )

To my mind the fact that it is based on the PD platform makes it all the more desirable. Noticeably larger than the CX3 which sits on a puny little Mazda 2 frame.
As others have suggested, it is infinitely better in the flesh than in photos. Having said that, I reckon the two pics below DO actually do it justice. Or perhaps that's because I am mentally associating those pics with the actual car.

Front and rear pics and one of the dash screen.

[John B]

Personally I think it looks great. 

[CraigB]

 

I can understand your son being very happy with the car Trev, they're great looking imo

[Surferdude]

I can understand your son being very happy with the car Trev, they're great looking imo

Ironic isn't it. Thanks to my i30 FD, my sister in law has an Accent, our daughter has an Accent, our daughter in law has an i20 and now our son has a Kona.
And we have two Corollas.   

[CraigB]

Has the thought passed through your mind yet on how to turn two Corollas into Kona's

[Surferdude]

Has the thought passed through your mind yet on how to turn two Corollas into Kona's

In a couple of years............. Kona - singular.

[mickd]

Thanks for the info and pics.
That blue looks horn , saw a grey one the other week and thought yucky,  yuck,  yuck, poo 
A trip to Glenn Innes, not seeing any relo's there is he ?
Seat height does become a factor. Our challenger is higher, 650mm ground to clear of door sill, still ok for me,  Anita is using the running boards more and more to get in.
Keep us posted  .

[Surferdude]

Thanks for the info and pics.
That blue looks horn , saw a grey one the other week and thought yucky,  yuck,  yuck, poo 
A trip to Glenn Innes, not seeing any relo's there is he ?
Seat height does become a factor. Our challenger is higher, 650mm ground to clear of door sill, still ok for me,  Anita is using the running boards more and more to get in.
Keep us posted  .

His wife, our daughter in law is working down there ATM, overseeing the building of the solar farm.

[Dazzler]

Thanks for the pix Trev. I like the colour and the Hylander wheels are the nicest. Yes, it does run away a bit on cruise down hills, particularly at town speeds as does the PD without Autonomous Cruise. Should be better on the Highway. 

[beerman]

London Symphony Orchestra who is trying to look posh 

[Surferdude]

London Symphony Orchestra who is trying to look posh 

Wondered who'd pick that up.
He has very wide music tastes.
And his wife sings in two choirs. 

[The Gonz]

Not to detract from what is a stunning range of cars, and in fact it's an all-too-common feature across the industry, but who else thinks that the touch screens on the current crop of new cars seem to stick out uncomfortably? They look as if they're glued on top as an add-on, no cowling to smooth it into the rest of the dash. Comments?

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