Compact on the Outside, Ready for Alberta Underneath.

The Kona’s look changes quite a bit across the lineup. The Essential keeps things clean and simple, while the Preferred adds roof rails, rear privacy glass and turn signals in the mirrors. The Preferred Trend and Luxury bring dark grey cladding and chrome window trim for a tougher look. The N Line Ultimate goes sporty with its own front fascia and grille, a rear diffuser, N Line badges, body-colour cladding and an available two-tone paint job.

On the Preferred Trend and Luxury, the Kona measures 4,350 mm long, 1,825 mm wide and 1,610 mm tall on a 2,660 mm wheelbase, and the N Line Ultimate stretches to 4,385 mm. Wheels grow from 17 inches on the Essential to 18 inches on the middle three trims and 19 inches on the N Line Ultimate. Ground clearance is 205 mm on AWD models, 170 mm with FWD and 210 mm on the N Line Ultimate, which helps when a chinook leaves rural roads rutted and slushy. The Luxury and N Line Ultimate add full-width LED running lights.

Materials step up with each trim: cloth on the Essential and Preferred, leatherette on the Preferred Trend and Luxury, and leather and suede with red stitching on the N Line Ultimate, which also adds metal pedals, scuff plates and paddle shifters. Heated front seats are standard on every Kona, a heated leather-wrapped steering wheel starts at the Preferred, and ventilated front seats are exclusive to the N Line Ultimate.

There’s room for five, with 60/40 split-folding rear seats and a two-level cargo floor. Front legroom is 1,059 mm and rear legroom is 970 mm. Dual-zone automatic climate control starts at the Preferred Trend, 64-colour ambient lighting starts at the Luxury, and every Kona has two USB-C ports up front and two in the back.

The Essential, Preferred, Preferred Trend and Luxury share a 2.0L four-cylinder with 147 hp and 132 lb-ft, paired with an Intelligent Variable Transmission and a 47 L tank of regular fuel. Combined ratings are 7.5 L/100 km for the FWD Essential and 7.6 for the FWD Preferred, while AWD models come in at 8.5 to 8.6. On the highway, expect 6.7 to 6.8 L/100 km with FWD and 8.1 with AWD.

The N Line Ultimate uses a 1.6L turbo four making 190 hp and 195 lb-ft, with all-wheel drive standard and paddle shifters on the wheel. It’s rated at 9.9 L/100 km city, 8.1 highway and 9.1 combined, with a 50 L tank. Every AWD Kona includes Active Cornering Control. AWD is optional on the Essential and Preferred and standard on the three trims above.

A 12.3-inch touchscreen is standard on every trim, with built-in navigation on the N Line Ultimate. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth and BlueLink connected services come on all five trims. The first three use six speakers and a 4.2-inch cluster, while the Luxury and N Line Ultimate step up to an eight-speaker Bose system and a 12.3-inch digital cluster. Wireless charging and Hyundai Digital Key, which turns your phone into a key, start at the Preferred Trend.

Every Kona includes Lane Following Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Blind-Spot Collision Warning, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, Safe Exit Warning, Driver Attention Warning and Rear Occupant Alert. The Essential has Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist with pedestrian and cyclist detection, and from the Preferred up it adds junction-turning detection and stop-and-go adaptive cruise. The N Line Ultimate gets the full list, including Highway Driving Assist, Surround View Monitor, Blind View Monitor and Remote Smart Parking Assist.