Hyundai Kona revealed in pictures ahead of global unveil

Hyundai is all set to enhance its dominance in the hot selling compact SUV and crossover segments, which, in the recent times, have been ruling the sales charts across the world.

The Kona crossover is the company’s completely new model being developed in this space and will be placed below its well established SUV, Tucson. The crossover is based on the same platform as Hyundai’s i20 hatchback and from the pictures released by the company; it also seems to borrow some design cues from its smart cousin.

The front of the crossover gets the signature trapezoidal family grille, making it resemble the i20. The headlamps are divided into two parts, with a sleek pair of LED units adorning the grille and large projector housings placed right below in the bumper.

The swept back LEDs give way to squared wheel housings, which bring in a butch element to the Hyundai Kona. The side profile sees large multi-spoke alloy wheels and a significant character line running across the doors to the edge of the tail lamps.

The roof slopes significantly towards the rear, and drops to merge into the large wrap-around LED tail lamps. The roof rails look sturdy and the bumper at the back is laden with massive elements of body cladding treatment, which also runs across the crossover.

The Kona is expected to come powered by 1.0-litre and 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol motors, along with a 1.6-litre diesel unit. An optional AWD system is also expected to be on the cards. The crossover is being pitted against rival Nissan’s Juke and Qashqai crossovers.

Apparently, the Hyundai Kona is not in the company’s product strategy for the Indian market, where it has a roadmap of introducing 8 new models by the year 2021. The company, however, is focusing on the compact SUV space in the country, and will be coming up with the production version of the Carlino concept, which was showcased at the 2016 Auto Expo.

It will also bring the locally assembled Ioniq Hybrid sedan in the country, which is expected to be unveiled at the 2018 Auto Expo. The company is eyeing an 8 percent growth rate for FY2018 and will also be introducing newer technologies, including AMTs and mild-hybrids in the near future.