Is performance SUVs the future of small steel cannons? After all, the world's SUVs are crazy, subverting the traditional norms of the world auto market and pushing automakers to come up with more and more derivatives. So much so that now, the classic hot incubators are under threat. Can a hot cross really be that fun? We brought Hyundai's new Kona N to face the Ford Puma ST – its closest competitor – as well as their popular model.
Pre-flight briefing: Hyundai Kona N
Why is it here?
This is the first SUV to get N processing. Aimed at keen drivers with families, it tends to be more comfortable over long distances than the i20N and i30N while still being trackable.
Is there anything clever about it?
It uses an electronically controlled differential lock hydraulically driven by an electric pump. The only transmission option is the eight-speed wet dual-clutch transmission with crawl mode that can be opened to meet the needs of drivers accustomed to torque converters. The engine is the development of the i30N's familiar 2.0-litre engine, with a very flat torque curve and a peak of 276 horsepower. Due to the switchable exhaust dampers, there is a harsh noise.
Which version is this?
There was only one Kona N. All feature 19-inch wheels, heated steering wheels, suede and leather seats, HUDs and adaptive shock absorbers.
Pre-flight briefing: Ford Puma ST
Puma has less firepower than the Kona N, but it's a natural competitor. Its power output is the same as that of the Fiesta ST, at 197bhp, but with an increase in torque to 235lb ft.
The engine is Fiesta ST's 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine. Unlike the regular Puma, it doesn't have a mild hybrid system, but the engine can deactivate one of the cylinders at low loads, making it sometimes a two-cylinder SUV – and with the option of an all-mechanical limited-slip differential. There's also torque vectoring, which helps tighten Puma's lines at corners, and the suspension gets new springs, anti-roll bars, and a much stronger torsion beam at the rear.
A decoration that applies only to Puma ST. Our test vehicles have performance packages that include differentials, shift lights and emission control software.
Pre-flight briefing: Hyundai i20N
Because it's a cracked hot hatch and enough to be a reliable replacement for Fiesta ST. It's also a good benchmark for Kona N, which tries to escalate that attitude to a family car.
Mechanical limited-slip differentials do a good job of reducing power and torque with almost no torque steering. The automatic throttle prompt when downshifting is smooth, and if you like heels and toes, you can turn them off. The 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine delivers far more power than it canache at 202 pound-feet. This is a new unit with a high-pressure 350 bar direct injection system.
There is only one model, and the list of options is limited to paint selection, contrast roof colors, and three-dimensional upgrades. The only extra of this is dragon red paint. At the time of writing, any i20N has a 20-week waiting list.
Pre-flight briefing: Ford Fiesta ST
The best small hot hatch today. Puma has a lot in common with it, including its engine – can it also share the same irrepressible fun?
Purchase the optional Performance Pack and you'll get a mechanical limited-slip differential that has a big impact on traction and handling. The suspension of a regular ST is very clever. Curved "force vector" springs help control rear wheel position. Puma got them too.
The ST version sounds like one word missing, but it's not. It features manually adjustable suspension, special paint and wheels, and motion buttons on the wheels. All 300 UK versions are sold. Anyway: the regular ST2 and ST3 versions are spectacular, and if you're really keen, you can buy the suspension separately.
This is a stretch of road I've driven hundreds of different cars countless times before. Just down the road from automotive headquarters, a skewed, right-angled right-hander transforms into a curling, whirlwind descending left-handed spiral. (My imaginary rhythm note reads "90 top right, don't cut to the left third.") Depending on the time of day, I might add "Left Two into Starbucks" further afield. ）
Earlier this morning, on CAR's Hyundai i20N long-term test vehicle, I couldn't help but let out an involuntary laugh as the speed of the sturdy 1.6-litre small engine rose rapidly, and I downshifted the gear lever through the door almost as fast as I could (I didn't have enough caffeine yet, so I decided to turn on auto-speed matching mode).
Now I'm driving another N car back on the same path: the same push-button steering wheel, the same harsh exhaust tone, the same ability to swing its inner rear wheels in the air. Same, but different. First, I sat higher. There is a button on the right side of the steering wheel for ramp ramp control, as with serious buggies. Also, in the Driving Mode menu, there are traction control settings for snow, mud and sand. Hyundai's latest N car is not a hatchback, but a steaming crossover.
Of course, it's inevitable: crossovers are successes for hatchbacks, SUVs and full sales. (According to the Uk Association of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, crossover and SUVs sales have grown 150 percent over the past 10 years; sales of ultra-mini cars have fallen by a quarter over the same period.) ）
It's a car, and if you're a purist, it's easy to scoff at it. Why buy a car that looks a bit like a 4x4 but is highly unlikely to be off-road? If the weight is reduced and the car handles better, why sit higher? As for the reinforcement subtypes of performance crossovers – the Volkswagen T-Roc R, the Cupra Ateca, BMW's XM model, etc. – why, isn't that the best of both worlds? All the dynamic disadvantages of being high and heavy, due to low ground clearance and lower profile, fatter tires, can't cope with muddy fields better than the average car. Wouldn't it be better to use the right hot hatch or the right buggy?
Volkswagen T-Roc R with competitors
But...... I ride heavier mountain bikes into town more often than I ride lighter road bikes, because sitting straight feels more comfortable, I feel less susceptible to potholes, and it's easier to get up and down the curb if I need to. I haven't stepped on skateboarding in the last decade, but I still buy skateboard sneakers because they're comfortable, I love the way they look, and, a lot of other people buy them too, so they must be a good choice. Glass houses, stones, etc.
So here's a test within a test: in the main plot, the new Hyundai Kona N will face off against the Ford Puma ST. As a secondary episode, we brought with us a smaller traditional hot-tank version: the i20N and the Ford Fiesta ST. Do incubators really feel more flexible than their taller siblings? If they did, would that really make them more interesting? Are mini SUVs significantly more practical? Is it time to reset our parameters, or does the purists make sense?
While Puma can claim to be a larger version of the Fiesta mechanically, Kona doesn't use the same foundation as the i20, but sits on its own standalone platform designed to meet all-wheel drive and EV power (in the actually excellent Kona Electric). However, the Kona N is front-wheel drive and shares its 2.0-liter, 276-horsepower four-cylinder turbocharged engine with the i30N. It automatically pairs with an option in the i30N but is the only transmission available in the Kona N with an eight-speed dual-clutch.
Thump closed a door with a strange little door box, which isn't ideal for a family car, and you'll find yourself inside the best in this test. Kona's suede/leather seats support your back well, and they're easier to climb up than Puma ST's mountain Recaro cushions. Head-up displays are standard, and there are also heated rear seats, as well as heated and cooled front seats. It's the most upscale car here, but it should be – it's priced close to £40,000, or the best part of £10,000 more than Puma. In exchange, you can also get more features and performance.
It's easily the fastest of the four cars here, as evidenced by the data: 79bhp and 54lb ft more than puma, a full second faster than the Fiesta, and 62mph. It was a very fast car. There is also a sense of seriousness. Commensurate with its higher price, it's the only car here equipped with adaptive shock absorbers — but even in their most flexible mode, it travels uncompromisingly (or compromised), just like its smaller N stabilizers. Even on a two-lane, it's a bit clumsy in normal mode; turning the damper to Sport+, it's almost impossible to drive. It can bounce off rough roads and find fresh air at 19 inches of Pirelli.
Compared to the i20N, its firm four-way posture makes it feel purposeful, but also a bit dull. You won't be surprised to hear that Kona reacts more lazily and has a thicker layer of insulation between you and the steering wheel. When I tilted it to the corners of the same sequence we entered at the beginning of this story, the car's movement became heavier and slower, and it was more prone to falling into understeering. This time the i20N appeared in my rearview mirror, and I was sure that CAR's Alan Taylor-Jones was more interesting behind its wheels than my shadow in Kona.
That's not to say I don't like myself, though. Nor is it that Kona N really doesn't handle it well. For the heavy beast, its desire to change direction is impressive (Puma is 1510 kg, puma is 1283 kg, i20N is 1190 kg, Fiesta is 1262 kg), and if you give it a stopper, it can do a good job of oversteering on take-off.
You can sit very high if you wish, a feeling strangely similar to the "command" driving position of range Rover. Similarly, you can sink into the car like Ewan McGregor's Renton, into the carpet in Trainspotting, and sit in the car like a motorhome racer. Your hand hits the exact same wheel as the i20N, but with one difference: since the Kona N is automatic only, the red button in the i20 for toggling auto-speed matching for downshifting is changed to "NGS", which stands for N Grin Transfer.
Press it to remap the gearbox and engine for maximum torque and 20 seconds of turbocharging – better performing overtaking, sweeping side roads or enjoying a series of corners. A brightly colored timer on the dashboard counts down to the last few seconds turning red, which frankly makes you feel a little stressed to make the most of it.
There are also the same N shortcut buttons on the steering wheel that you can use to access all-N mode or switch your own combination of aggressive settings for engine response, steering weight, suspension jitter, and electronically controlled differential lock. If you cleverly drive out of the intersection, the latter can be very intimidating and pull the steering. But it helps the Kona N launch itself from corners at the speed of knots, even if you can't help but feel like you're having a hard time with the front tyres every time.
The dual-clutch transmission does a very good job: responsive on the paddles and smooth in automatic mode. Tapping the N-mode switch, the heads-up display gives you an mid-air tachometer and gear indicator to better keep your eyes on the road ahead. Maybe the manual transmission will give you a little more exposure to the driving experience. But for me, higher hip points and a greater mass remove the drive from the process more than the gearbox.
Automatically fits Kona's terms of reference; Hyundai expects Kona N customers to drive more miles than i30N and i20N owners. That said, there's quite a bit of road noise on the highway, and coupled with the rugged drive, it's not the most relaxed car. Overall, I'd rather travel long distances in Kona than i20, but the difference wasn't as noticeable as I expected.
Modern times also don't have that big gap in practicality. Sitting behind my own Kona driving position, I actually have less legroom than the i20. Headroom was ok for my long-legged, short 5'10-inch frame, and while it was better than the i20, it was closer to the side of my head than I wanted.
While the hatch extends down to the trunk floor, you can place something in Kona that is close to a flat loading area with the rear seats folded down. But compared to some station wagons, the tailgate aperture is round and not easily accessible.
There was a huge transmission channel console mold, but it had unusable cup holders, at least for the cups—one was too big to hold my water bottle, and the other was too small. Overall, Kona's cabin isn't as spacious as the i20's, though it will undoubtedly be easier to reach in and pull children out of the higher rear seats through the larger rear door. The i20N has as many USB ports as the more home-oriented Kona.
Let's switch to Puma. It has as many kits as hatches, almost as many as Kona's: cordless phone charging, heated seats and steering wheels, parking sensors — but they all come in a package that feels cheaper. Tough plastics and bland designs look cheap in carnivals, but in the environment of large cars, fixtures and accessories feel even more so.
Ford's tendency to install LEDs in the cup holders of its SUVs has made plastic beverage bottles light up like a lighthouse at night, which is a bit distracting. The same goes for the dashboard, which is bright shades of blue in normal mode, turquoise in eco mode, and retina black for easier retinas in track mode (which also turns off stability control).
If you push the Puma's seat straight down to the floor, it's actually not far from Fiesta's hip point — though that might say more about how high the Fiesta's seating position is than how low Puma it can be, but there's a good range of adjustments, even if I can't sit comfortably behind the wheel as I did in Kona. According to Fiesta, the seats are strongly supported by Recaros, and if you raise the seats in the Puma a little higher for a better view, they go deep into your back in an all-too-familiar bear hug. Puma's Megabox is a thumbs up, a drainable 80-litre wine cellar (or muddy boot rack, or pretty much anything you like) on the ground floor of two layers of boots, giving it an edge in terms of luggage carryability.
Forget about the décor and ergonomics, though, because Puma ST's trump card is the way it drives. This one has an optional performance package, and it brings a mechanical limited slip differential and launch control software, just like it did in Fiesta ST. The steering is equally sharp, and its pure responsiveness initially requires a slight adjustment. The lack of power is less serious; if Ford ever tried to squeeze a larger engine into the Puma ST to compete with a more expensive 300bhp hot crossover such as the Cupra Ateca, it did the right thing in sticking with the Fiesta ST's raucous three-cylinder engine.
If it lacks absolute power at 197bhp, it compensates for it with its sharp throttle response and memorable properties. Its engine and gearshifts (a short-range six-speed manual) are as eager as its handling. Its feet are lighter than the Kona, the understeer tendency is smaller, and there are more opportunities to tighten and adjust its lines by slightly closing or opening the accelerator pedal.
The ride was noisy but not as good as Kona. The car was very sturdy, and puma was quietly fidgeting. Even on the highway, background suspension noise is constant. It gives the car a feeling of uneasiness, so long journeys can be more tiring. But this is not a deal breaker.
Puma has slightly less legroom than Kona, with similar headspace at the top and sides – its sloping roofline doesn't reduce headroom as it does from the outside. The measurable difference isn't huge, but the overall feel is lighter and more airy than any hatchback, and has clear benefits for luggage and rear-seat passengers.
Moving to the carnival, all the good memories of the former hot Ford come to life. This is a limited edition with a manually adjustable suspension suspension. This allowed the car to achieve silky body control on the bumpy B-road, achieving a wonderfully smooth ride (far better than the i20N), but made me feel like I was sitting inside the cocktail mixer on the highway and discovering the presence of bumps that I didn't even know about. Curious; A setting worth playing. But the main thing to know is that this is still one of the most interesting cars for sale at any price today.
Jekyll, Hyde, and Hyde-in-a-really-angry-mood driving modes are an important part of the i20N personality, and Fiesta also has switchable modes, but even at the default settings it's rogue and you're less inclined to switch between modes. The engine has more urgency and personality than a modern engine. The i20N starts with more impact, but the Fiesta is more eager to get on the bus, which is more important for enjoyment on the go. The speed at which it gains and loses its rpm also makes it feel easier to adjust the throttle. It's undoubtedly the most satisfying Ford since the Mk2 Escort, but somehow it also feels completely safe. With just a slight adjustment of the steering wheel, Fiesta turns sideways. But it is completely controllable and never panics. It's just fun. Within minutes I was smiling bigger than I'd been in weeks. And, it must be said, it is more extensive than either of the two crossovers.
Second Opinion: Parkers Consumer Editor Richard Kilpatrick
Puma ST reminds me of the Mk2 VW Golf GTI because of its solid feel and ability to handle or handle long drives with equal ability. In contrast, the Kona N feels like a car that's been modified to be fun instead of being designed that way, with raucous patterns, resilient suspension, poor visibility, but lots of crackling, bangs, and beautiful dashboard graphics compared to Puma or Fiesta. Admittedly, it's very fast, but it's not particularly beneficial or enjoyable. What all four cars have in common is that they share the GTI tradition of a quick version of a car bought by the average family, which is different from the madness of the Audi RS3.
Second Opinion: Alan Taylor-Jones, New Car Editor, Bauer Automotive
Spending a day shuttling back and forth between ST and N pairs reveals two very different approaches. While Hyundai seems to prefer to achieve thorough cornering speeds on smooth roads, Ford's efforts on ordinary roads are much happier. The i20, especially kona in all-N mode, is more susceptible to acne and curvature, which makes the latter particularly wet on a ditch-lined Finnish road. ST is better at absorbing bumps, and Fiesta ST's stunt dampers have proven to be particularly good at controlling excessive movement. The Ford's steering is also sweeter, with a more interesting maneuvering balance at sane speed.
Ford vs Hyundai, Crossover vs Hatchback: The Final Reckoning
The hatch is better to drive than an SUV. You don't say, Sherlock. But we don't want to just assume that's the case, so we drive these cars back-to-back on the same road, jumping from one to the other, to pinpoint exactly where the real difference lies. But yes, it's pretty much what you'd expect: smaller cars have more elegant handling, changes in orientation are more flexible, and sitting low means you're thrown less. On the other hand, the crossover's higher van van van compared to the Fiesta or i20N allows you to see the top of the hedge and draw farther.
Peer-to-peer, I bet the Kona N can cover the ground faster than any car here. Driving is really fun. But as fun as it is, it's also the least satisfying driving car here due to its power and exciting rapid acceleration. It felt like a car forced to run faster than it really cared about, rather than a high-performance car designed from scratch (although the Hyundai N department did a thorough job, including adding extra welding points to the body).
Although the Kona N is designed to handle the occasional track day (I suspect it's fast enough to surprise a lot of cars), you realize that your brakes heat up faster than the i20N and take more out of the bigger tires.
Puma is slower, but ultimately more satisfying. It reacts faster, is less inert, and is more interesting. The same desire, with its strongly responsive steering and pattern rides, also makes it easier to get along with than mainstream crossovers.
And the Puma ST is still not as fun as a traditional hot hatchback. If these cars are ranked purely by practicality and livability, Puma will only cover Kona, while Fiesta will be ranked behind. But each of these cars has driving pleasure as its primary goal, and that's how we rank them here.
In their private battles, the i20N is easier to get along with than the Fiesta, with a more comfortable interior and a more mature personality. But Ford is still a more exciting car to drive. It really feels like a classic hot incubator, and we'll remember it in 30 years in the same way as the Peugeot 205 GTI. I don't believe Puma ST or Kona N would be remembered in the same way. But they proved that with the rise of the roof line and hip points, it is still possible to make a great driving car, which is worth celebrating.
Ford vs Hyundai, Crossover vs Hot Cabin: Verdict
1st place
Ford Fiesta ST
Still the biggest giggle on four wheels
Second place
Hyundai i20N
More mature and easier to get along with than Fiesta, but not as fun
Third place
Ford Puma ST
70% driving pleasure is the same as the carnival – which still makes it more valuable than most cars on the road
Fourth place
Hyundai Kona N