2025 Hyundai Kona Review | NEW Trim Levels for 2025!

What is up you guys? Welcome back to another one. If you are new to this channel, I am GoldPony. I do new car, truck, SUV reviews on YouTube. And today we are in the brand new 2025 Hyundai Kona, courtesy of Jackie and Balbo Hyundai in York, PA. For more information on their inventory, please feel free to check out the link in the description box below. So we are in this one today because there's actually some new trim levels for the 2025 Kona. You also, of course, do get three years or 36,000 miles of complimentary maintenance. That's going to save you some money there. And you also get America's best warranty being five years, 60,000 mile bump on a bumper, 10 years, 100,000 miles on the powertrain. So you got to love that as well. But 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 clip, 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 itself. Like I said, there are some new trim levels and there are plenty of them for the 2025 model year. SE trim level is the first one starting at $24,350. Then you have the SEL for $25,700. SEL convenience, which is one of the new trim levels for 2025 starting at $27,900. Got the N-Line S for $29,350. That's also new. You got the N-Line, which is the one we're in today, starting at $30,900. And lastly, the Limited going for $31,900. And so that was all pricing for the front wheel drive configuration. If you wanted to add all wheel drive, you can do that. Simply add $1,500 then to any of those prices. And so as you can imagine with all of these trim levels, there are a couple different power plants to go along with all of those. First power plant is going to belong to the SE and SEL trim levels. That one is powered by a two liter naturally aspirated inline four cylinder, putting out 147 horsepower at 6,200 RPM, 132 pound feet of torque coming in at 4,500 RPM. That power being sent to the front wheels or all wheels through an IVT, that stands for intelligent variable transmission. Zero to 60 time coming in at approximately 9.2 seconds for that one. With MPG numbers coming into 29, the city 34 on 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 engine configuration and the one that we have with us here today, belonging to the inline trim levels and the limited. This one is powered by a 1.6 liter turbocharged four cylinder, putting out 190 horsepower at 6,000 RPM, 195 pound feet of torque coming in at 1,700 RPM. Power sent to the front wheels or all wheels yet again, but this time through an eight speed automatic with paddle shifters, which of course you guys know we will be testing out here in a little bit. Zero to 60 time for this one, 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 taking regular unleaded fuel. Anyways, before we do any kind of fun acceleration or paddle shifter test here in the Kona, I did want to mention to you guys the drive modes. There's a circular dial located just in front of the cup holders and then there's a lock button that says as well in the middle, if you press it down, you got the all wheel drive lock. So when it starts snowing out here in PA, that's going to be there for you. But if you turn it to the left or to the right, that's going to be your drive modes, including normal, sport and snow. Adjusting things like the shift points, the 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 and find it straight away. Let's put the paddle shifters here to the test first and let's see how quickly these paddle shifters are going to react for us here. All right, so we can't put it in full manual shift mode. Unfortunately, I'm trying to do that right now. It's not letting me. So here we go. Second gear. Yeah. All right. There is a little bit of a delay to this paddle shifters, unfortunately. The other downside is there's no full manual shift mode. So what are the paddle shifters even there for? It's something I probably would not use in the Kona whatsoever, but anyhow, I guess they're there for if you're going down the hill, you can use the paddle shifters, do a little bit of engine braking if it's snowing out, so you're less likely to slide off the road. But having said that, would have loved to have seen a full manual shift mode. Otherwise, why are the paddle shifters even there? This is my opinion, but let's go ahead and find one more straight away. Let's put the acceleration here to the test real quick and let's see how quickly the Kona can get us here up to speed. All right. Pulling out on the road here. Go. Ooh, delay, turbo lag. But there it is. It's not that bad after you get over that little bit of turbo lag at the very beginning, but this thing actually definitely gets up and goes after it hits gets higher up in the RPMs. I'll put it that way. So you're not going to have any issues emerging onto the highway. I do wish there wasn't that turbo lag at the beginning. Possibly a mild hybrid system could fix that. And I don't know, maybe you get used to it, so it shouldn't have any issues there. But anyways, to go along with that acceleration, as always, braking is equally important. So believe it or not, the braking configuration is going to differ whether you go with the front wheel drive or the all wheel drive. So for the front wheel drive configuration, you're going to find 11 inch ventilated front discs. However, for the all wheel drive, you're going to find 12 inch ventilated front disc. So a little better stopping power with the all wheel drive. Then in the back, 11.2 inch solid rear disc. As far as that 60 is your stopping distance goes, that is going to come in at 129 feet, which is not the best number on paper, unfortunately. But as far as braking feel goes, it's not bad. It's a little bit on the softer side of things, but it's not bad. I don't mind the braking feel itself. But having said that, what you want to look for as far as that 60 zero number is mid 120s, if not maybe the lower 120. So 129 feet, it's just a little bit on the higher side of things, but no big deal for me. But then touching on suspension and handling up front, you're going to get an independent Maffierson strut front suspension. In the back, independent multi-link rear suspension for the all wheel drive configuration only. So if you go with the front wheel drive, you're going to get a Torsen beam rear axle. But then actually the stabilizer bars are going to differ dependent upon the front wheel drive as well. For the front wheel drive, you're going to find a front stabilizer bar only for the all wheel drive. You're going to get front and rear stabilizer bars. So essentially what I'm trying to tell you guys is if you go with the all wheel drive, you're not only going to get better ride quality, but you're going to get better handling as well. So just keep that in mind when you're making a decision. But as far as ride quality goes in my short little test drive here today, it's actually been perfectly fine. It's, I would say above average for its class. So I've driven basically all these SUVs at this point. So it does tend to absorb the road imperfections a little bit better than a lot of the competition, like for Honda, let's say. So I don't have any issues with the ride quality in this class. As far as steering feel goes, it changes dependent upon the drive mode that you put it in. If you want a heavier feel to the steering, go ahead and put it in that sport driving mode. But honestly, even in that sport driving mode, it's still maybe a little bit on the looser side. Wouldn't have minded if they made that even a little bit heavier, but overall it does tend to lean on the looser side of things as far as steering feel goes. In typical Hyundai fashion, that's what they do a lot. But as far as cabin noise goes, it's pretty darn good. I don't have any issues there. Perfectly on point and touching our rear visibility. I can see perfectly fine out of my rear view mirror, so not going to have any issues there either. But that pretty much rounds out the performance segment of this review, you guys. Let's now go ahead and take a look at the exterior of our brand new 2025 Hyundai Kona. All right, so here she is, you guys. The new 2025 Hyundai Kona finished in ultimate red metallic with the black roof combination. I think it looks pretty darn good with this color combo, but as always, let's go ahead and start with where the Kona is made. Taking a look at the bin, first character is the letter K, indicating that the new Kona is built and assembled in Korea, as it should be. But starting up front, LED projector headlights do come standard on all trim levels across the board. Do get LED daytime running lights with that. You also get the automatic feature along with automatic high beams. So if you have your high beams on at night and it senses 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 high beams for you there. So you got to love that. The only thing that's kind of questionable for me is the front grill is kind of integrated with active grill shutters. You guys can see this front grill is open right now. You can see the intercooler and radiator and all that behind it. However, that front part, the top part does close as well. So it looks kind of funky with it open, but then when it closes, it looks a heck of a lot better. So again, it open and closes dependent upon the engine cooling that is needed at any given time. So I don't know. It's just an interesting little feature. I guess you could say you got the end line badging for the end line trim levels up there as well. But overall, when I step back a little bit, it looks pretty darn good. I love the light bar up top. I think that's a nice little touch there, but that pretty much rounds out the front end. Let's now go ahead and swing around to the side. All right. In some analysis, we are around to the side of the Kona. Black roof rails do come standard on the SEL trim level and up. Rear privacy glass coming standard for all trim levels across the board. Going to find some black body cladding for the SE and SEL trim levels. Premium black for the limited and then body colored accents for the end line. So you guys could see those kind of fender surrounds, fender flares around the front and rear wheel arches there. That's going to be body colored for the end line. That's what you guys are looking at. So I love the body colored look. Otherwise, it's going to be finished in matte black, like I said, for the SE and SEL. So definitely a better look with the end line. I will say that. Body colored power adjustable side mirrors though do come standard. They will be gloss black for the end line trim level only, but then heated with LED integrated turn signals for the SEL trim level and up. Then take a look down at the wheel setup. Of course, that's going to differ amongst the trims as well. 17 inch alloys for the SE, 18 inch alloys for the SEL trims, and then 19 inch alloys for the end line trim levels and the limited. Of course, the end line and limited are going to have different wheel designs. We've got the end logo for the center caps because we've got the end line. We also have some end line badging on the front fenders. Didn't want to forget to mention that as well, but overall pretty nice looking side profile. But now let's go ahead and swing around to the back. All right, so now since we are around to the back of this one, this is one of the most aggressive looking rear spoilers that I think I have ever seen. That's specific to the end line, of course. If you get up under this a little bit, just look how beefy that thing is. It looks pretty darn good. This looks like a rally SUV type of spoiler. I don't know, like a Mitsubishi Eclipse cross rally yard or something like that. I think it looks pretty darn good. But anyways, that more aggressive rear spoiler is just for the end line trim levels. But there is, of course, a rear window wiper just below that. You got LED taillights coming standard for all trim levels across the board. You don't always find that, so I like that as well. Got the 1.6 liter turbocharged engine badging down to the bottom corner there. I think that looks pretty darn good. Matte black rear diffuser down below. And to the side there, you will find a single exhaust outlet. Typically, it is going to be tucked away, however. But with the end line trim levels, it is going to be exposed with dual satin chrome tips. I think that looks pretty darn good. So having said that, I do believe you guys know what we have to do next here. As always, here is that exhaust clip. All right, so now since we are around to the back of the Kona, when it comes to opening that rear tailgate, it is going to be a manual tailgate for all trim levels across the board. So simply just walk up to the back. There's a rubberized button and it'll open up for you. But once opened up, it comes in at 25.5 cubic feet behind that second row. If that was not enough space, there is a 60-40 split, meaning the rear seats do fold down, bumping that up to 63.7 cubic feet then. Grocery bag hooks do come standard. Of course, LED cargo lighting as well. You got tie down anchors. And then if you were to lift up underneath of that cargo floor, you will find a spare tire as opposed to the fix-a-flat, which you guys know, of course, I love. So then make your way up to the rear legroom that comes in at 38.2 inches. For reference, I'm even six feet tall. This is how much space I had back there, but plenty going on for the rear passengers. If you want a rear ventilation, go with the SEL trim level and up. Dual rear USB charging ports though for all trim levels across the board. And you do have a rear center armrest with cup holders back there as well. But now let's go ahead and make our way up to the front seats because these seats are actually very nice. So you got cloth seating for the SE and SEL trim levels. You got an Alcantara combination seating. It's like an Alcantara leatherette kind of combo for the N-line trim levels. You get a full leatherette seating for limited trim. Eight-way power driver's seat for the SEL trim level and up. Heated front seats for the SEL convenience trim level and up. And then ventilated front seats for the limited. Overall, as far as seat comfort goes, I actually did not have any issues whatsoever. I really liked the seating. Love the N logo in the upper portion of the seats as well. Like the red contrast stitching and the red lines in the middle. Overall comfort, perfectly fine. I don't have any issues there. Now let's go ahead and take a look at the steering wheel. It is tilt and telescoping. It is going to be leather wrapped for the SEL trim level and up. And in case anybody was curious where the H logo is in the middle, you don't have the H logo. You do have the four dots, which is Morse code for the letter H. So they're being tricky with that one. I like it, but anyhow, you got the N logo towards the bottom as well for the N-line trim levels. But now let's go ahead and make our way to the startup. Let me start by showing you guys the key. All of your buttons are located on one side of the key. And then you kind of have the Hyundai logo kind of separating all the buttons, which is kind of unique, but you got lock, unlock, that circular hold button that is going to be a remote start, but it is all keyless entry with a push button start. So all I'm going to do here is simply put my foot on the brake and press that engine start button located just kind of to the left of the air vents there. So once started up though, there's a 12.3 inch digital gauge cluster for the SEL convenience trim level and up. Otherwise for the SE and SEL trims, you're going to have analog gauges. So anyways, we do have the digital gauge cluster. So that's what you guys are looking at right now. Cool thing about that gauge cluster is it is going to change the look kind of dependent upon the drive mid that you put it in. So if you put it in sport, it's kind of like these red and magenta hues. If you put it back in a normal drive mode, it's kind of like blue and tan. And then the snow driving mode is the same. It's like a cyan and a tan kind of color, but you do have your outside temperature up there. How many miles you'll have left until you hit empty, which is saying 350 miles right now ish. Trip A, trip B, so pretty much everything you could possibly want on a digital gauge cluster there. But now let's go ahead and make our way to overall interior quality. A power sunroof is going to come on the N line and limited trim levels. However, I do want to specify not the N line S, just the regular N line that we have today. LED interior lighting for the SEL convenience trim level and up. You got ambient lighting for the N line trims and limited. Wireless phone charger for the SEL convenience trim level and up. Auto dimming rear view mirror for the SEL convenience and the N line trim level and up. Home light controls for the limited. Dual zoom climate control for the SEL trim level and up. Overall, I think this is actually pretty darn nice as far as interior quality goes. So just above the passenger side glove box, you have a cool little shelf kind of thing where you can put some stuff there. Maybe passenger can put their cell phone up there. Perhaps that's probably what that is for. Got some nice red kind of contrast colors found just above that as well as just through the center air vents here. I think that looks pretty darn cool. Wouldn't mind it if they carried that onto the doors. The doors are just straight black. But anyways, just behind the wireless phone charger, you do have a couple cup holders and to actually push the cup holders out, you push some buttons and I think they do that so you have more space to store other stuff if you weren't using the cup holders, which makes sense. A little bit of storage behind that and then within the center armrest. Oh, that is the center armrest. That is the extra storage. So never mind. The little bit of storage is actually the center armrest. But overall, it's not bad. Nothing that's going to blow me away, but it certainly gets the job done. But now let's go ahead and take a look at the infotainment screen here. There's a 12.3 inch color touchscreen display that just comes standard actually for all trim levels across the board. Get Bluetooth and audio streaming up there. Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, which by the way, is wireless for all trim levels. So that's pretty stinking cool. Factory navigation system coming with the SEL convenience, N line and limited trims. Get a voice memo system up there as well. I always like playing around with that so you can record your voice and play it back at a later date. Some weather information up there, which is pretty cool. Not all SUVs get that. And of course, your radio information. So when it comes to the sound systems, there are two of them. You're going to find six speakers coming standard, but then an eight speaker Bose sound system for the N line trim and the limited. So therefore, that is the one that we have with us here today. 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. It was okay. That was pretty darn good. Don't get me wrong. I don't know why I was expecting more because it's Bose, I guess, but it was pretty darn good. Ton of bass, plenty of clarity. It was pretty darn good. Bose has been around for a while, so it's definitely a reputable company that made that sound system. So I don't have any issues with that. But last thing I wanted to mention to you guys on the infotainment screen is when you do put the Kona in reverse, you will find a rear view camera coming standard across the board. Pretty darn high definition as well, so I don't mind that. But then if you wanted a surround view monitor, that can be had with a limited trim level, in case you were curious. And that, as always, is going to lead us into safety. And so first, let me start with the best part. IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus, which is the very highest rating given by IIHS. So it doesn't get any better than that. Frontside side curtain airbags do come standard. In the back, you're going to have latch, aka lower anchors to tell the children for the rear car seats. Rear child door locks, tire pressure monitoring system, but also coming standard. A blind spot monitoring system with rear cross-traffic alert. Yes, for all trim levels, you got to love that. Forward collision avoidance assist with pedestrian and cyclist detection. Lane following assist, lane keep assist, driver attention warning, and safe exit warning then as well. So overall, when it comes to my final thoughts here of the Kona, great safety. You can't beat an IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus, and that should always be the first thing that you look for. It's always the first thing I look for these days, because I got kids now. So yeah, that's definitely very nice. Great tech as well. Love the digital gauges. Love the infotainment screen. They always do a wonderful job with that. Having said that, wouldn't have minded a bit more customization with the gauges, kind of like BMW or Mercedes does. I know this isn't a luxury vehicle, but it is certainly possible. Overall, I think this is just an excellent value though. You get complimentary maintenance. You get America's Best Warranty. The price point is perfectly on point as well, and you get a lot of features for the price point as well. So overall, an excellent value. Really, the only thing I could think of as far as constructive criticism goes, comes down to, I guess, the engines. So there's two engine options. The first one is really slow. I remember driving that one last year. It's zero to 60 in 9.2. That's quite slow, but it is going to be more reliable though than the turbocharged engine that we have today. I don't mind this turbocharged engine. I believe it's in the Sonata as well, but it does have a good bit of turbo lag when you initially hit the gas there. So that's the only downside with that. It's something that you do learn to kind of control. It's something that you learn to accommodate for, but it is there just like it typically is in other turbocharged four cylinders as well, unless they have a mild hybrid system. But let me know what you guys think of the Kona in the comment section below. That's about it for this one, you guys. Thank you so much for watching. Feel free to follow me on social media at the bottom of the screen if you want 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 into new car reviews. That is what we do here on this channel. After all, I do appreciate you guys watching. More than you know, I will see you guys all in the next video. Stay gold.