Hyundai Kona – Malaysian debut in Q4, CBU Korea, SmartSense safety suite, Apple CarPlay, from RM115k

Hyundai Kona – Malaysian debut in Q4, CBU Korea, SmartSense safety suite, Apple CarPlay, from RM115k

Hyundai Sime-Darby Motors (HSDM) has announced that the Hyundai Kona will be officially launched sometime in Q4 this year. Earlier, the company had teased the compact SUV’s impending arrival on its Facebook page, and had also opened the order books for the car via its website.

The Kona – which was spotted testing on local roads earlier this month – will go on sale here as a fully-imported CBU unit, and while final pricing has yet to be revealed, it has been stated that the price of the B-segment offering will start from RM115,000. Its arrival is well due – the Kona was initially planned for introduction sometime in the second quarter of last year following its preview at the 2018 KL International Motor Show (KLIMS).

When it arrives, the Kona will join the seven-seater Santa Fe and five-seater Tucson to make it a three SUV line-up for the company locally. It will compete against the likes of the Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3 and Toyota C-HR in its segment.

Hyundai Kona – Malaysian debut in Q4, CBU Korea, SmartSense safety suite, Apple CarPlay, from RM115k

The exact number of variants that will go on sale here remain unknown, but the booking mention of “prices starting from” implies that there will be more than one. As for engine options, that also remains a mystery, although there are quite a few to pick from.

These include a 2.0 litre MPI, 1.0 litre T-GDI three-cylinder and a 1.6 litre Gamma T-GDI. The 1.6 litre unit, which comes with 177 PS, 265 Nm of torque and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, was seen in the car previewed at KLIMS.

No indication of whether the all-electric powertrain option is on the cards – Cohesive Mobility Solution (COMOS) had previously announced a leasing plan for the Kona Electric, but that may be an entirely separate affair.

The local specification for the car will include LED headlights with LED daytime running lights, LED tail lights and a number of bold exterior colour options. Inside, the Kona will feature contrast elements, including for the stitching on the steering wheel and seats, as well as coloured seatbelts.

Kit will include a head-up display with an active pop-up screen, wireless device charging and a seven-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto support. Available equipment from the global catalogue includes a premium sound system by Krell, but no word on whether that has been specified here.

As for safety, the Kona will come equipped with the automaker’s SmartSense system, which includes forward collision avoidance assist (AEB), lane keeping assist, blind-spot collision warning and downhill brake control, among other things.

GALLERY: Hyundai Kona 1.6 Turbo at KLIMS

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Anthony Lim

Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.

 

Comments

  • romance on Aug 27, 2020 at 12:19 pm

    (Like) Kona
    (Dislike) HRV

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 7
  • Ghani on Aug 27, 2020 at 12:38 pm

    Better launched now, since got car loan moratorium

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 1
  • eeeriz on Aug 27, 2020 at 12:44 pm

    Perhaps Paultan team needs to do a review on this car. It does look enticing but in Carwow channel in youtube, it was not recommended car and we all should avoid buying it. What say you Paultan team?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1
  • Safety is Paramount on Aug 27, 2020 at 12:58 pm

    Yes finally, option for Smartsense active safety system, a well-praised autonomous system. Eat dust, Toyota, BMW, Audi.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 5
    • Safety is Paramount salah on Aug 27, 2020 at 11:49 pm

      It doesn’t eat dust to Toyota and BMW. Toyota comes with Toyota Safety Sense for most toyota models. BMW obviously also come with Driving Assistant Package for BMW models. So, it will eat dust to Honda and Audi. As Audi still doesn’t come with AEB to all models except for A7, A8 and Q8. While Honda doesn’t get Honda Sensing for Jazz, BRV, HRV and even lower variants such as City and Civic.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
  • M & B on Aug 27, 2020 at 2:32 pm

    Looking handsome. Well loving car. With Smart Sense, wow, that’s awesome too. Hoping also to bring 1.6 Turbo engine into here.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 4
  • So its Rm 119,999?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 3
  • Wilson on Aug 27, 2020 at 7:51 pm

    No adaptive cruise control

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 4
  • Semi-Value (Member) on Aug 27, 2020 at 9:03 pm

    dead on arrival. proton x50 so much better.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 4
    • PitStop on Aug 28, 2020 at 9:35 am

      Yup, that’s why they never mentioned it inside the article. Only the HR-V,CX-3 and CH-R are mentioned, because they know, all of it will be done once X50 come to the market.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 5
 

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