 We are in the brand new 2024 Hyundai Kona, courtesy of Jack Tumbal of Hyundai and York PA. For more information on their inventory, please feel free to check out the link in the description box below. So today we are in this one because the Kona has of course been completely redesigned for the 2024 model year. Not only that, you do get 3 years or 36,000 miles of complimentary maintenance, so that's going to save you some money there. And we also get American's Best Warranty being 5 years, 60,000 mile bumper to bumper or 10 years, 100,000 miles on the powertrain, so that is plenty of peace of mind as well. So ultimately in this video, we will be testing out and going over everything about this one from acceleration to braking, steering feel, ride quality, sound system, exhaust clutch, all that fun stuff. So having said all of that, what do you guys say, let's just go ahead and jump right into it. And as always, let's start with pricing. As you can imagine, there are several different trim levels for the 2024 Kona. First one being the SE starting at $24,100, SEL which is the one we are in today going for $25,450. Then you have the N-line for $30,650 and lastly the limited going for $31,650. By the way, that was all pricing for the front wheel drive variant. If you wanted to add all wheel drive, you can do that simply add $1,500 then to any of those prices. So you can imagine with all of those trim levels, there are a couple of different power plants available for the Kona then as well. The first power plant is going to belong to the SE and the SEL trim levels and the one we have today being a 2 liter multi-port Akatsen 4 cylinder putting out 147 horsepower at 6,200 RPM, 132 pound-feet of torque coming at 4,500 RPM, power being sent to front wheels or all wheels through an intelligent variable transmission, 0 to 60 ton for this one coming in at approximately 9.2 seconds. We'll test that out here in a little bit, but MPG numbers coming in at 29 the city 34 the highway for the front wheel drive 27 in the city 29 then on the highway for the all-wheel drive taking regular unleaded fuel. But so then there is that other power plant that one is going to belong to the N-line and the limited trim levels. That one though is powered by 1.6 liter turbocharged 4 cylinder putting out 190 horsepower at 6,000 RPM, 195 pound-feet of torque coming in at 1,700 RPM, power being sent to front wheels or all wheels yet again. But this time through an eight-speed automatic with paddle shifters which by the way the paddle shifters are optional on our particular IVT we do have them. So we'll test this out as well but 0 to 60 time for the turbocharged engine approximately 7.5 seconds with MPG numbers coming in at 26 in the city 32 on the highway for the front wheel drive 24 city 29 then on the highway for the all-wheel drive but taking regular unleaded fuel yet again. So you got to love that. So before we do any kind of fun paddle shifter or acceleration test here in the Kona I did want to mention to you guys the drive modes there's a circular dial kind of located just in front of the cup holder as you turn it to the left and to the right when you do that you have different drive modes like normal eco sport and snow that snow driving notice for the all-wheel drive configuration only but essentially adjusting things like the shift points of throttle response and the steering sensitivity. So now having got all of that out of the way what do you guys say let's go ahead let's test out the paddle shifters here first keep in mind this is an intelligent variable transmission so you're technically not going to be shifting through any gears but I do want to see how quickly they are going to react for us let's see if they're fun. All right got us some first gear here let's make sure it doesn't shift for us hey it's not cool let's go it's okay it really doesn't feel like you're shifting through anything like it doesn't simulate an automatic whatsoever some of them do some continuously variable transmissions or IVTs in this case do some don't this one definitely doesn't so it still felt like you were doing absolutely nothing unfortunately so not sure really the point to the paddle shifters I mean you can do you can use them to do a little bit of engine braking like we're going down a hill right now for where to be snowing outside you're gonna hit the brakes and let the engine do a little bit of the braking they are there for that and it does work for that instead of actually hitting the brakes and we're sliding off the road so they're good for that reason but other than that as far as the fun factor goes it doesn't do anything but anyways let's still go ahead and find one more straight away let's put the kona here to the test and let's see how quickly now this kona this naturally aspirated engine here is going to get us up to speed all right here we go in three two one go loud all right it is quite punchy when you originally hit the gas so I did like that having said that it's just loud it's not the quickest thing in the world for sure it's one of those vehicles where you learn how to drive it over time you shouldn't have any issues emerging on to the highway just kind of kind of know with the kona or at least what this kona is capable of because the other turbocharged engine you're definitely not going to have any issues with anything that's going to be plenty quick with this one this is going to be the more reliable engine but not as quick of an engine I'll just put it that way but it'll get the job done but to go along at that acceleration as always braking is equally important it's to the braking configuration though is going to differ dependent upon whether or not you go with front wheel drive or the all-wheel drive for example if you go with that se front wheel drive you're going to get 11 inch ventilated front disc but for the se all-wheel drive and up you're going to get 12 inch ventilated front disc so in the back 11.2 inch solid rear disc as far as s60 stopping distance goes it comes in at 129 feet which is definitely a little bit on the higher side of things but having said that I do like the braking feel it doesn't feel like it's a soft braking feel like what that number would lead you to believe it's actually a decently firm braking feel so it does bring you to a stop quite nicely so for me personally I haven't had any issues whatsoever when it comes to braking in this thing then touching on suspension and handling up front you're going to get an independent McPherson strut front suspension in the back independent multi-link rear suspension if you go with the all-wheel drive only I'll put it that way because if you go with the front wheel drive configuration you get to get a torsion beam rear axle so that is a big difference front stabilizer bar coming standard on all trim levels rear stabilizer bar again for the all-wheel drive configuration only essentially what that means is you're going to get better handling and you're going to get better ride quality if you were to go with the all-wheel drive configuration of any Kona so keep that in the back of your mind when you're deciding on this one we do have an all-wheel drive with us here today I can tell you although these roads are freshly paved the the whole entire drive so far has been completely fine in terms of ride quality it's definitely absorbing the road and perfection absolutely fine so really one of the better ones when it comes to ride quality honestly I've had no issues here then in terms of steering feel you can tell the difference dependent upon the drive mood that you put it in so we'll say that in the sport driving mode it's a much heavier feel to it not the heaviest feel still it's nothing crazy but you can notice the difference I'll put it that way when you take it out of that sport driving mode it's a much looser steering feel as you traditionally find from Hyundai specifically so really no issues it has something for everybody I prefer the sport steering feel but both of them are perfectly fine then touching on cabin noise we are going 30 miles per hour right now the only thing in terms of cabin noise I'm really getting because it is a pretty windy day believe it or not today and this thing is relatively quiet so we'll give Hyundai credit for that it's a very nice cabin for it not being a luxury vehicle there's not a heck of a lot of road noise coming in either but it does get loud when you really get on the gas especially this naturally aspirated four cylinder so the engine gets noisy but if you're a car person that's not necessarily a bad thing I'm just saying but that touching over your visibility I can see 100% perfectly fine out the back absolutely no issues whatsoever in terms of visibility on the Kona but that pretty much rounds out the performance segment of this review you guys listen we'll go ahead and take a look at the exterior of our brand new 2024 Hyundai Kona all right so here she is you guys on this beautiful windy day this is the new 2024 Hyundai Kona finished in Soltronic orange pearl cool name for an exterior color if you ask me but again this has been completely redesigned for the 2024 model year let me know what you guys think of comments but let's go ahead to start with where this one is made taking a look at the VIN first character is the letter K indicating that the new Kona is built and assembled in Korea as it should be in my opinion but let's go ahead to start up front on this one LED projector headlights now come standard on every single trim level across the board didn't used to be that way so I like that even a lot of times manufacturers will use LED reflector headlights but the projectors are the best they give you the best illumination at night so I am a big fan that they did that you do get LED daytime running lights you get the automatic feature meaning when it starts to get dark at night the headlights will turn on automatically for you there but you also get automatic high beams so if you have your high beams on in night and since the vehicle coming in the opposite direction it's going to automatically dim them back to low beams and when that vehicle is gone it's going to automatically bounce it back up the high beams for you there so I did like that now I do want to also mention the end line trim level specifically is going to give you revised styling all the way around specifically a lot in the front end so much more aggressive looks with the end line that's kind of the sporty trim level of course but all the other three trim levels are going to look the same basically but also wanted to show you guys where the headlights are actually located because that is a little different from a lot of other manufacturers out there so the headlights are down here below whereas the daytime running lights are kind of above there so did want to mention that as well and active grill shutters actually do come standard but again let me know what you guys think of the styling it's definitely unlike anything else out there it definitely gives it more of a modern look in my personal opinion for 2024 but nonetheless that pretty much rounds out the front end let's not go ahead and make our way to the side and so now since you are around to the side of the Kona black roof rails do come standard on the SEL trim level and up so you're not going to get them with the SE rear privacy glass does come standard on all trim levels across the board you're going to get some black body cladding for the SE and SEL trims that's just above the fenders there the the side skirts there as well but then body colored cladding for the end line and then premium black for the limited in case you're curious take a look at the side mirrors they are body colored power adjustable side mirrors that does come standard they're going to be gloss black of course with the end line because that's the sporty trim level of course and then they will be heated with led integrated turn signals for the SEL trim level and up so that is what i'm showing you guys right here so then taking a look down at the wheel setup 17 inch alloys coming on the SE trim level 18 inch alloys then on the SEL and then 19 inch alloys on the end line and the limited but that pretty much rounds out the side profile let's now go ahead and make our way to the back all right something else since we are around to the back of this one all the way to the top you will find a gloss black shark fin antenna just below that rear spoiler with kind of a integrated brake light there in the rear spoiler as well but i do want to mention of course with the end line you're going to have a much more aggressive rear spoiler back there and almost looks like tuner-esque really in my opinion do you have a rear window wiper affixated to the rear glass of course you also have that led light bar and by the way led tail lights do come standard across the board so you got to love that got the conal lettering just below the Hyundai logo there that h-track badging in the bottom corner that's if you get the all-wheel drive because every manufacturer names their all-wheel drive systems and in the case of Hyundai they named there's h-track and then just below it all you will find a single exhaust outlet i did want to mention with the end line you do get dual chrome tips however if you don't go with that end line you get what you are currently looking at right now so having said that i do believe you guys know what we have to do next as always here is that exhaust clip it's something else since we are around to the back of the Kona when it comes to opening that up it is a manual lift gate in the back there so just simply lift up on the lift gate itself it is going to open up for you then but once it opened up cargo capacity comes in at 25.5 cubic feet if that was not enough space there is a 6040 split meaning the rear seats do fold down bumping that up to 63.7 cubic feet now this is substantial because for the previous generation Kona that came in at only 45.8 cubic feet so that is a substantial jump in space from the previous generation so i did want to mention that but there is actually quite a bit going on in that cargo area for our SEL trim level you got a couple grocery bag hooks that isn't even always the case in SUVs so we did like that you have LED cargo lighting typically most manufacturers will put halogen bulbs back there so i like that they didn't overlook that as well if you were to lift up underneath of that cargo floor you will then find a spare tire which you guys know i always personally prefer so i liked that as well but the maker way up to the rear legroom that comes in at 38.2 inches for reference i mean even six feet tall this is how much space i had in the second row there but again for reference the 2023 Kona came in at 35.2 so you went from 35.2 to 38.2 that's a pretty substantial difference yet again so yes the Kona got larger but they actually did the rear seats pretty darn good you do get rear ventilation for the SEL trim level end up so i liked finding that you get dual rear usb charging ports for all trim levels across the board so i also like that there is a rear center armrest with cup holders then as well so for the price point that's pretty much all you need back there they definitely hit a home run with that because again that isn't always the case on some of the competition but the maker way up to the front seats cloth seating coming with the se and se l alcantara combination for the end line i liked that h-tex leatherette coming with that limited trim level of course eight-way power driver seat for the se l trim level and up heated front seats for the end line trim level and up but also with the se l with convenience package so we do have the se l with convenience package today so we got that convenience package which means i got the heated seats on because what is it 42 degrees out here in pa today ventilated front seats then coming with the limited overalls for seat comfort goes it was perfectly fine and again i love the heated seats so no issues in my short drive here then take a look at the steering wheel this is kind of unique let me tell you we're on a second but tilt and telescoping of course it is leather wrapped for the se l trim leveling up so i like that but gone is the hunday logo in the middle it has been replaced with kind of the ionic theme which is simply four dots what are those four dots well if you look up morse code you will see that four dots is the letter h for hunday so creative hunday i like it but then make your way to the startup let me start by showing you guys this egg shaped key here you do have the hunday logo kind of built into the egg shape so in case you didn't notice that it's kind of different but you got lock unlock and that hold button that is going to be your remote start but there is a digital key on the end line trim leveling up or with the convenience package but it is all keyless entry with a push button starts all i'm going to do here simply put my phone in the break and press that silver engine start button located just to the left of that volume knob there and so once started up 12.3 inch digital gauge cluster is what you're looking at you get that with the end line the limited or the se l with convenience package so not the regular se l you do have to have the convenience package here otherwise you're going to get analog gauges but taking a look at it you got your speedometer on your left tachometer is on your right there is a fair amount of information front and center you control what is on there using the steering wheel mounted controls of course but cool thing is in typical hunday fashion when you change the drive mode it does adjust those gauges slightly so i am a big fan of that sport driving mode looks a lot of red and white hues and normal and snow basically look the same but of course you have things like your outside temperature how many miles you have left until you hit empty so pretty much everything you could want is digital gauges you could put whatever you want up there basically but now let's go ahead and make our way to overall interior quality of power sunroof is going to come on the end line and limited led interior lighting for the end line limited and se l with convenience wireless phone charger and line limited and se l with convenience auto dimming rear view mirror and line limited and se l with convenience home light control is coming for the limited trim level only dual zone climate control for the se l trim level and up overall as far as interior quality goes it's actually not too bad i don't mind it i like this cool little ledge above the passenger side glove box i wish it was rubberized storage there so you can actually put things there and it wouldn't slide around as much but i do like that that's there nonetheless pretty clean look to the doors it's all one color so i don't mind that as well i like how they put kind of a nice kind of fabric design to the left of the gauge cluster here previously they put like a a plastic design with a little circle with a minus sign in it so i do like kind of the speaker cover look right there i don't know if it's an actual speaker cover or not but i like the look of it i'll just put it that way just behind that wireless phone charger in our case you do have a good bit of space there you have a couple cupholders it looks like the setup to the palisade kind of cupholders and then within the center armrest let's see how much space we got here it's okay it's not a ton of space but it'll certainly get the job done but now let's go ahead and make our way to the infotainment screen and so again here's one of the coolest parts about the cone and you do get a 12.3 inch color touchscreen display for every single trim level across the board i love that that typically is in the case though bluetooth and audio streaming coming standard android auto apple carplay factory navigation system for the n-line limited nscl with convenience you do have a voice memo system up there in typical hunday fashion where you can record your voice and then play it back at a later date there is a weather information available up there as well i did like seeing that and of course you can check out your radio information up there as well and so when it comes to the sound systems there are two of them you're going to find six speakers for the s e and s e l trim levels but then an eight speaker bow sound system for the n-line and the limited of course we don't have that bow sound system with us here today so do you have the six speakers so let's go ahead and turn on the radio see what we got playing today and let's test out the clarity of this one that's not bad actually i didn't mind that i mean six speakers is pretty much what i expected a six speaker sound system to sound like but with a little above average bass that i'm typically used to for six speakers so it's perfectly fine that'll get the job done but last thing i wanted to mention to you guys on that infotainment screen is when you do put the kona in reverse you will find a rear view camera coming standard across the board surround view monitor coming standard on the limited and this is the point where i actually want to show you guys the shifter real quick because this shifter is unlike any other shifter i've seen from hunday essentially you turn it forwards for drive you turn it backwards for reverse and then you push in the outside for park so this thing is really different i'm not sure how i feel about it it's probably just something i got to get used to but anyways that is always is going to lead us into safety and so first let me start by saying the kona has not yet been tested by iihs i usually start by mentioning the rating there but there's no rating to mention front side side curtain airbags do come standard in the back you're going to have latch aka lower anchors to tethers to children for the rear car seats rear child door locks tight pressure monitoring system but also coming standard a blind spot monitoring system with rear cross traffic alert for collision avoidance assist with pedestrian and cyclist detection lane following assist lane keep assist driver attention warning and safe exit warning then as well then if you were to go with the end line trim level and up that is going to add to that and navigation based smart cruise control system and highway driving assist as well which is kind of like hunday's level two autonomous driving system which by the way is amazing hunday does an amazing job with that system but overall when it comes to my final thoughts here of the new kona it is a new modern look i'm still 5050 on it quite honestly i don't know what to think so i really need to read you guys's comments in the in the comment section because i'm 5050 on it substantially more space than the previous generation i think that is the big win for the 2024 kona so i love that great tech as well hunday usually absolutely crushes it with their tech and they still do digital gauges look amazing the fact that the 12.3 inch infotainment screen comes standard on even the bottom trim level that is an amazing thing as well now i will say it is a bit of a slow base engine so as far as constructive criticism goes you're gonna have that but there's a turbocharged engine if you did feel like you needed more power but having said that this is going to be the more reliable engine for sure but overall quite honestly the kona is still an incredible value at the price point what you get when you consider you get america's best warranty in three years of 36 000 miles of complimentary maintenance still a solid pick here nonetheless so let me know what you guys think of the kona in the comment section below that is about it for this one you guys thank you so much for watching feel free to follow me on social media if you wanted to see what's coming next on the channel before it gets to youtube be sure to hit the subscribe and the bell notification button if you're new car reviews because that's what we do here on this channel after all do appreciate you guys watching more than you know and i will see you guys all in the next video stay gold