Staria-inspired but all-new: Next-generation Hyundai Kona revealed

Seoul – The first pictures of the new generation Hyundai Kona have been released, showing off the company’s new ‘EV-led’ design language.

Hyundai said it designed the electric variant of the new Kona first, before adapting it to the internal combustion models, which will also include an N Line variant.

A key design feature is the Staria-inspired ‘Seamless Horizon Lamp’, which is pixelated on the EV version.

The Korean carmaker refers to the new Kona as ‘upscaled’ as it is quite a bit larger than its predecessor. The overall length has grown by 150mm to 4,355mm, with an extra 60mm going into the wheelbase, and the width has increased by 25mm. This makes it slightly larger than the Creta, which could very well become redundant one day if the emerging markets that build and sell it switch to the Kona.

At this stage there is no word on whether the new Hyundai Kona is destined for South Africa.

Hyundai hasn’t gone into any detail on the powertrains as yet, but we do know that it will be offered with internal combustion engines as well as hybrid and fully-electric variants.

The carmaker refers to the cabin as an “evolved in-car experience” that accommodates diverse lifestyles.

There’s also a new 12.3-inch dual wide-screen display with a floating effect, while the shift-by-wire has been relocated from the centre console to behind the steering wheel to provide an uncluttered layout.

That’s as much as we can tell you for now – Hyundai says more details will be released in the coming months.