2018 Hyundai Kona subcompact SUV revealed in Korea

Hyundai has finally taken the wraps off the Kona, its new subcompact SUV, in Korea. The Kona is set to go on sale in the Korean market soon, after which Hyundai will launch the SUV in North America and Europe. The Kona, in international markets, slots below the Tucson. For now there is no clear indication if the Hyundai will launch the Kona in India to fill in the gap between the popular Creta and the Tucson.

The Kona certainly looks quite distinct, and quite a few design elements help it stand out in a sea of cars. Take the front end, for instance. The cascading Hyundai grille is just the right proportion, and the designers have cleverly reversed the norm of placing the DRLs below the headlamp. What you get instead, in the Kona, is a sleek LED DRLs with integrated turn indicators housed in a narrow slash, just below the bonnet. The LED headlamps are placed below the DRLs in a separate housing with plastic cladding all around. The fog lamps are placed below the grille, again in an unconventional position instead of the extreme ends of the bumper. Overall, the front end looks quite bold and distinctive.

The side profile also looks modern with big wheel arches and crease lines that run from the front fender to the rear tail lamp. The plastic cladding around the wheel arches is straight from the crossover design book and lends a rugged look to the Kona. The diamond-cut alloy wheels look quite stunning while the blacked-out roof and mirrors also look quite tasteful.

The tail end looks very Hyundai with a set of sleek LED tail lamps. The number plate holder is integrated into the bootlid while the turn indicators, reflectors and reverse lamps are housed in a cluster that's similar in shape to the one that houses the headlamps. The Hyundai Kona looks quite striking and its design will certainly turn out as one of its strongest USPs.

Internationally, Hyundai will offer a range of petrol and diesel motors, including the 1.6-litre CRDi engine. The Kona will also come in either front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive versions. The AWD variants get a more sophisticated multi-link suspension at the rear instead of the torsion beam set-up in the front-wheel-drive version.

Like every Hyundai, the Kona is also packed to the gill with features. Some of the notable bits include a console-based phone charger that also has a reminder in case you forget your phone in the car after parking. The Kona also gets a neat head-up display, a feature usually seen in much expensive cars.

Furthermore, the Kona is kitted with radar-based safety features such as collision avoidance, lane assist and a lot more. This is in addition to multiple airbags and ABS.