Will Hyundai bring the Kona SUV to challenge Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza in India?
The compact SUV segment is here to stay as more car manufacturers are venturing into it. Hyundai is already reaping the benefits of the same with the highly successful Creta. The South Korean car manufacturer will soon be debuting a new compact SUV, called the Kona, at the New York Auto Show. It is believed to be based on the i20 Active platform and will be positioned below the Creta and above the i20 Active.
Hyundai SUV teaser image
The Hyundai Creta is priced between Rs 9.79-15.45 lakh, whereas the i20 Active is available for Rs 7.14-10.32 lakh. Comparatively, the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza is priced between Rs 7.72-10.26 lakh where we believe the Hyundai Kona will be positioned, if launched in India.
There is not much of information on the Hyundai Kona SUV except for a teaser image that was recently released by the carmaker. The company states, "The Hyundai Kona will be an important milestone of Hyundai Motor's journey to become the leading Asian automotive brand in Europe by 2021 by launching 30 new models and derivatives."
Hyundai Kona SUV spied testing (Image source: caradvice)
The Kona name has been derived from the Kona district on the Big Island of Hawaii, maintaining Hyundai's naming tradition. The camouflaged test mules that have been caught testing recently reveal a i20 Active-like silhouette, giving it a raised hatchback profile instead of a conventional SUV design like that of the Vitara Brezza. The only bit that is visible from the teaser image is the two-tier headlamp design similar to that of the Nissan Juke. Though Hyundai has not let out any information on the powertrain options for the Kona SUV, we believe it might be shared with the i20 Active. Additionally, there might be also a Kia offering based on the Kona SUV. We shall wait for more concrete details from Hyundai.
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136
395
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1462cc
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19.80 Kmpl
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242
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