Hyundai Kona VS Mazda CX-3
Hyundai Kona
Likes
- Range and efficiency
- Relative value
- Balanced drive experience
Dislikes
- Held back by ICE underpinnings
- 7.2kW AC charging
- Cramped back seat
Mazda CX-3
Likes
- Design, inside and out
- Sharp handling
- Fun steering
Dislikes
- Small boot
- CarPlay still not fixed (it's coming)
- Engine can sound like it's working hard
Summary
Hyundai Kona
I was a huge fan of the original Hyundai Kona electric. When I first drove it in 2019, I considered it the best EV on sale in Australia.
And it wasn't just because it was relatively good value and offered the right amount of range for Australian commuters. It also offered the feedback early adopters would be after, with the convenience first-time EV owners would need.
Now that this entirely new-look facelift has arrived, will those factors still ring true in a rapidly expanding electric car landscape? We’ve driven a top-spec Highlander to find out.
| Safety rating | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | — |
| Fuel Type | Electric |
| Fuel Efficiency | —L/100km |
| Seating | 5 seats |
Mazda CX-3
Some cars are just so desirable, so delectably tempting to look at, that they cause people to abandon all logical and practical concerns and buy them anyway. Fortunately, most vehicles in this category of dangerous desirability are stupidly expensive, but when you combine the cuter-than-a-puppy looks of a car like Mazda's CX-3 with a price range that starts in the low $20,000 range, anything can happen.
Throw in the fact that this diminutive darling of a thing is a small SUV - one of the most desirable categories in the Australian market, with sales in the segment doubling in the past five years - and Mazda may need to reinforce the doors in its showrooms with the launch of this new one.
I speak from experience here because my wife loves the look of the CX-3 so much she wanted to buy one. So I explained that it is built on the Mazda2 platform, which means its boot is too small for a family of four, and that the rest of it probably wasn't suitable for us either. But she was still keen.
I know of a young family who bought one because they were so taken with its prettiness, but when they got it home they remembered they had a small child and realised that their pram would never, ever fit in the back. Oh dear.
If you are a young single or a childless couple, of course you can enjoy its alluring looks all you like, and the tight rear seats and small boot volume probably won't bother you at all.
Mazda happily admits the way this car looks is the main reason people buy it, which is no doubt why the new one looks so much like the highly successful old one (more than 58,000 CX-3s have been sold in Australia since its launch in 2015).
So, what actually is new about this incorrigibly cute crossover? We went to the local launch drive to find out.
| Safety rating | |
|---|---|
| Engine Type | 2.0L |
| Fuel Type | Regular Unleaded Petrol |
| Fuel Efficiency | 6.6L/100km |
| Seating | 5 seats |
Verdict
Hyundai Kona8/10
I’m pleased to say this update of the Kona Electric confirms my initial thoughts about it. This is still my favourite electric car on sale in Australia. It’s the most approachable for first-time EV buyers while also offering enough of a futuristic touch and all-important feedback for keen early adopters.
It faces tough competition, however, from Tesla’s very good entry-level Model 3, which is an impressive but perhaps less approachable package - which also offers slightly less range, at a slightly higher price.
We hope to bring these head-to-head at some point, so stay tuned. For now, Hyundai’s Kona Electric updates have served to make an already-good EV even better.
Mazda CX-37.8/10
If you liked the previous Mazda CX-3 - and just about everyone did - then you're going to love this one even more. It's got a tiny bit more presence, a less busy and more classy interior and marginally better engines with slightly improved fuel economy. Basically, it's a little bit more of the same for this little gem of a compact SUV.
Would you have a Mazda CX-3 over a Mitsubishi ASX, on looks alone? Tell us in the comments section.
Design
Hyundai Kona
One look at the EV, and the Kona’s most recent facelift starts to make a lot more sense. While the petrol variants come across as a bit wacky and divisive, the sleek and pared back look of the electric version has me thinking Hyundai designed this facelift for the EV alone.
The front three-quarter is eye-grabbing, with its distinct lack of facial features, and the look pairs nicely with the new hero 'Surfy Blue' colour. Some may consider the EV's eco-look 17-inch alloys a bit dorky, and again, it’s a shame Halogen headlights take away from the Elite's futuristic design points.
On the topic of futuristic design, the Kona electric’s interior is almost unrecognisable from the petrol variants. This is good news given the price discrepancy, with the brand not only adopting the floating ‘bridge’ console design, adorned with fly-by-wire controls from its more upmarket models, but also upgrading the materials throughout to make for a much nicer cabin environment.
Door cards and dash inserts are clad in soft-touch materials, while many of the finishes have improved or been switched for a satin silver to lift cabin ambiance, and the heavily digitised cockpit makes it feel as cutting-edge as any electric car should.
That said, it doesn’t have the over-the-top minimalism of the Tesla Model 3, and is perhaps better for it, especially when it comes to appealing to someone coming out of a combustion vehicle. The layout and feel of the Kona is futuristic, yet familiar.
Mazda CX-39/10
In the right light, in the right colour, (obviously the hugely popular red), the CX-3 can move beyond being just small and sweet looking and reach the point of genuinely striking. There's a lovely, criss-crossing line that swinges down the sides, crossing over at its mid point. It's what Mazda calls pure Kodo design - simple, sleek and slightly sexy.
The angle most people fall in love from, though, is front on, with the CX-3's toothy grin only slightly changed for this new version with a new "more assertive" grille, with a solid, detailed design featuring horizontal bars of different thicknesses.
The goal here, as CX-3 program manager Takata Minoru explained, was to make "no unnecessary changes" and only to "refine the beauty and enhance the quality feel".
The new grille is supposed to give the car a sharper look and a greater feeling of depth, but to us it just looked like a new grille. Mazda says the new car is defined by being "exquisite" and "edgy", but it's not clear what that means in terms of new-ness.
The sTouring and Akari grades get a new line of chrome along the front bumper and sides, which is pleasant enough, while there are also new fog light bezels in gloss black on Maxx Sport variants and above.Â
Oh, and the rear lights, in the top two grades, have adopted a cylindrical shape for the facelift version, because round things are classier than square ones. Apparently.
Colours, of course, in a car so pretty and feminine, are a big deal, and there are now eight to choose from - 'Soul Red Crystal Metallic' (as opposed to just Soul Red Metallic) and 'Machine Grey Metallic' are new and join 'Dynamic Blue Mica', 'Titanium Flash Mica', 'Jet Black Mica', 'Snow Flake White Pearl Mica', 'Ceramic Metallic' and 'Eternal Blue Mica'. Brown is not an option, happily.
In short, it's a good looking car, much like the old one, and it's hard to imagine a vehicle of this size and shape being any more attractive. It's surprising, then, to learn that the CX-3 is only the second-best seller in its segment, behind the Mitsubishi ASX.Â
Ground clearance for the CX-3 is 160mm unladen. So, no rock hopping then.
Practicality
Hyundai Kona
Hyundai has done its best to lean into the benefits of the Kona’s electric underpinnings. The front seats are where this is most felt, as the brand’s new bridge console allows for a huge new storage area underneath, complete with a 12V socket and USB outlet.Â
Above, the usual storage areas remain present, including a small centre console armrest box, decent size dual cupholders, and a small stowage bay below the climate unit with the primary USB outlet and a wireless charging bay.
In each door there is a large bottle holder with a small trench for objects. I found the cabin very adjustable in the Highlander, although one thing worth noting is the light seat trim in our test car was wearing dark from jeans and the like on the door side of the base. I’d be picking the darker interior trim for practicality purposes.
The back seat is a less positive story. The rear seat of the Kona was already pretty tight for an SUV, but it’s worse here because the floor level has been lifted up to facilitate the huge battery pack beneath.Â
This means instead of having a small gap for my knees, they are lifted to a position hard-up against the driver’s seat, when set to my own (182cm/6'0"tall) driving position.Â
Thankfully, the width is okay, and the improved soft-touch trims continue into the rear doors and drop-down centre armrest. There are also small bottle holders in the doors which just fit our large 500ml test bottle, flimsy nets on the backs of the front seats, and an odd little tray and USB outlet on the back of the centre console.Â
Rear passengers don’t get adjustable air vents, but in the Highlander the outboard seats are heated, a rare feature usually saved for high-end luxury vehicles. Like all Kona variants, the Electric has two ISOFIX child-seat mounting points on these seats, with three top tethers across the rear row.
Boot space is 332L (VDA) which is not great, but not bad. Smaller cars in this segment (petrol or otherwise) will land a bit over 250L, while really impressive examples will sit above 400L. Take it as a win that it’s only around 40L down on the petrol variant. It still fit our three-piece CarsGuide demo luggage set, with parcel shelf removed.
The boot floor comes with a convenient net for when you need to carry around a public charging cable as we did, and under the floor there is a tyre repair kit and a tidy storage case for the (included) wall socket charging cable.
Mazda CX-37/10
Considering the external dimensions of the car, the CX-3 does quite well. Allow me to illuminate you with my own example, which is that I recently spent 10 days driving one of these around Italy, with my wife and two young children on board, plus a significant amount of luggage.Â
I had sleepless nights before picking up the car, because I was sure we'd never get it all in, or be able to breathe if we did, but not only did we fit, we were quite comfortable and happy with the luggage capacity.
Rear leg room is just bearable for an adult, but no problem at all for small kids (although it wouldn't suit teens). The boot space, at 264 litres, is very small, and even calling it adequate seems generous. What it will not fit, though, due to its narrow dimensions, is a pram of any sort, so young families should look elsewhere. Although if they don't, there are two ISOFIX points and two top-tether points for child seats.
The biggest change for the new model in cabin terms is the inclusion of an electronic park brake, which has allowed Mazda to include a new centre console/armrest, with two handy cup holders of different sizes, there are also bottle holders in all four doors, and (for Maxx Sport spec and above) a rear armrest with two more cupholders). Â
Indeed, Mazda says the cupholders have had their depth and diameter revised so they can now fit giant, American-sized cups if required.
That centre console also offers useful, deep storage and there are two USB points handily located in front of the shift lever. The control buttons for the MZD media system are also more ergonomically positioned thanks to the electronic park brake.
The rear seat armrest, with built in storage box, is said to "embody the human-centred philosophy by increasing comfort and reducing fatigue". I know I always find that armrests make me less tired, but then I wouldn't volunteer to sit in the back of a CX-3 anyway.Â
The overall goal with the new interior was to make it more minimalist and Japanese, and when you compare it with photos of the old one it does look less busy and less cluttered, with classy touches here and there. That is only slightly offset by the cheaper, harder feeling plastics around the doors on their armrests.
Top-shelf Akari models come with genuine leather seats in black or white, sTouring gets grey with black leatherette and everything beneath that gets a black interior with black cloth seats.Â
A sunroof is available on the Akari models.
Price and features
Hyundai Kona
The Kona Electric is still expensive, don’t get me wrong. There’s no denying small SUV buyers will be turning their collective noses up when the electric version costs literally twice as much as its combustion equivalent.
When it comes to electric vehicles, though, the value equation is quite different. When you place the balance of range, features, size, and price against its rivals, the Kona actually comes out a lot better than you might think.
Look at it this way, the Kona is significantly more expensive than the base Nissan Leaf and MG ZS EV, but also significantly cheaper than rivals which offer more range, like the Teslas, Audis, and Mercedes-Benz models now sitting within Australia’s broadening EV landscape.
And range is the key. Able to make use of a whopping 484km range (on the WLTP test cycle), the Kona is one of the few EVs actually capable of matching a petrol car between ‘refills’, essentially removing the idea of range anxiety for suburban commuters.
The Kona electric is also much more than just another variant, with some significant changes to its specification and interior to at least partially make up for the massive price delta between it and the petrol version.
Leather seat trim is standard on the base Elite, as is a fully digital instrument cluster, 10.25-inch multimedia touchscreen with EV-specific function screens, an overhauled bridge centre console design with fly-by-wire controls, a wireless charging bay, extended soft-touch materials throughout the cabin, halogen headlights with LED DRLs, acoustic glass (to deal with the lack of ambient noise), as well as rear parking sensors and a reversing camera.
The top-spec Highlander gains LED headlights (with adaptive high beams), LED indicators and tail-lights, front parking sensors, power adjustable front seats, heated and cooled front seats and outboard heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, the option of either a glass sunroof or contrast roof colour, auto-dimming rear vision mirror, and a holographic head-up display.
A full suite of active safety functions, which we’ll explore later in this review, is standard across both variants, and each is motivated by the same motor, so no differences there.
It’s disappointing to see the Elite, or any electric car in 2021, with halogen light fittings, and the plethora of heating functions for the seats and wheel are interesting as we’re told they’re a more battery efficient way of heating the vehicles occupants, and therefore maximise range. You have to keep some things for the top-spec car, but again, it’s a shame Elite buyers won’t be able to benefit from these range-saving measures.
Mazda CX-38/10
Comparing the differences between the CX-3 range, there really is a variant for all budgets, with an entry price of $23,990 drive-away for the Neo Sport with a six-speed manual, cloth seats and steel wheels, rising all the way to $37,490 for the leather-filled, sunroof-topped Akari LE, which gets some impressive tech previously only seen in German cars, like a driver-attention monitor and radar cruise control with full stop and go functionality.Â
Prices have risen over the previous model, but Mazda says this pricing reflects the fact that you're getting more equipment in the new version.Â
You are also, undeniably, getting a less busy and more classy interior, although the changes to the exterior design are so small you wouldn't want to be paying for them. Nor would you want to change a look that is this pretty, and successful.
Standard kit for your $23,990 drive-away Neo Sport (that's manual, auto adds another $2000) includes 16-inch steel wheels, body-coloured powered mirrors, black cloth front seats with height adjustment, electric parking brake, Bluetooth functionality, a 7.0-inch full-colour 'MZD Connect' touchscreen to control your infotainment and sound system with DAB and six speakers (but no CD player and no GPS), and a multi-function 'Command Control', plus keyless start, rear parking sensors, a reversing carer and 'Smart City Brake Support', which works in both forward and reverse. It's a (very) good-looking package at a tempting price. Apple CarPlay, which would helpfully allow you to run navigation from your iPhone in the base model, is not yet available, but it's coming soon, and a kit to retrofit it will be available at Mazda dealers in the near future.
The Maxx Sport adds 16-inch alloys, auto headlights, rain-sensing wipers, a fold down armrest with two cupholders for the rear passengers, leather-wrapped gear shift knob and steering wheel, climate-control air con, sat nav, 'Blind Spot Monitoring' and 'Rear Cross Traffic Alert'.
Step up to the sTouring and win 18-inch alloy wheels, LED lights all round, slightly nicer black 'Maztek' and cloth seats, a handy head-up display, keyless entry and start, 'Driver Attention Alert', from parking sensors and 'Traffic Sign Recognition'.
The Akari does feel noticeably nicer inside with its softer dash material and leather seats in white or black, plus 'Mazda Radar Cruise Control' with start-stop function, a 360-degree view monitor and adaptive LED headlights and lane-departure warning.
Personally, I'd be quite happy with my value at $25,490 for a manual Maxx Sport. Indeed, it's a bit of a bargain.
The prices we've listed here are drive-away (no more to pay!), which is something new for Mazda and does provide wonderful clarity.
Under the bonnet
Hyundai Kona
No matter which Kona electric variant you choose, it is motivated by the same permanent magnet synchronous motor producing 150kW/395Nm, which drives the front wheels via a single-speed ‘reduction gear’ transmission.Â
This outpunches many lesser electric cars, as well as most small SUVs generally, although it falls short of the kind of performance offered by Tesla’s Model 3.
Three levels of regenerative braking are available through this car’s paddle-shift system, and the motor and associated components sit in the Kona’s usual engine bay, so there’s no extra storage up front.
Mazda CX-37/10
Mazda is offering a new SKYACTIV-D turbo-diesel engine with the CX-3 -Â which has increased in capacity from 1.5 to 1.8 litres, which takes power from 77kW up to 85kW, while torque stays at 270Nm - but you have to wonder why. Mazda Australia predicts the diesel will make up a measly one per cent of sales, which probably explains why they didn't bring one along to the launch for us to drive.
Almost everyone, then, will be choosing the revised SKYACTIV-G 2.0-litre direct-injection petrol engine, which makes 110kW at 6000rpm and 195Nm of torque at 2800rpm, an increase of exactly one kilowatt and three newton metres from the previous model.Â
Changes to the engine have focused on improving fuel consumption, and variations in that consumption caused by seasonal changes and usage patterns. Apparently the new version offers improved combustion efficiency when under heavy load - climbing hills for example - and thermal-management tech to reduce excess fuel consumption when it's cold outside.
New high-pressure injectors also help to improve torque delivery, with the amount of torque on offer throughout the rev range increased by "one to two per cent". Fuel economy is also improved by the same percentages. Not huge improvements, then.Â
You can also choose between a six-speed manual and a six-speed automatic transmission, and between front-wheel or all-wheel drive (not on the base Neo Sport, though). Not surprisingly, for a city crossover like this, 92 per cent of CX-3s sold will be FWD, and 90 per cent will be automatics.Â
Having driven the manual version myself on holiday, I would highly recommend it, because it allows you to get the most out of the engine. With a weight of 1266kg it's useful to be able to get involved in shifting.
The CX-3's engine uses a timing chain rather than a belt and you should check our problems pages to see if there are any reports of problems with automatic transmissions.
Efficiency
Hyundai Kona
Now the interesting stuff. A few weeks before this review I tested the updated Hyundai Ioniq Electric, which impressed me with how efficient it was. In fact, at that time, the Ioniq was the most efficient electric car by kWh I'd ever driven.
I didn’t think the Kona would best it, but after a week of testing in mainly urban conditions, the Kona returned a stellar figure of 11.8kWh/100km against its large 64kWh battery pack.
Â
Alarmingly good, especially since this car’s official/combined test figure is 14.7kWh/100km, which would normally grant 484km of range. With our as-tested figure, you’ll note it could return well over 500km of range.
Important to remember that electric cars are significantly more efficient around town (thanks to the constant use of regenerative braking), and note the stark difference the new ‘low rolling resistance’ tyres have made to this car’s range and consumption.
The Kona’s battery pack is a Lithium-ion type and is charged through a single European-standard Type 2 CCS port located prominently at the front. On DC combo charging, the Kona can power up at a max rate of 100kW, allowing for a 10 – 80 per cent charge time of 47 minutes. Most chargers around Australia’s capital cities, however, are 50kW locations, which will do the same in around 64 minutes.
Frustratingly, on AC charging, the Kona’s max rate is just 7.2kW, charging from 10 – 100 per cent in nine hours. It would be nice to see at least the option of an 11kW inverter in the future, allowing you to add much more range in an hour or two at convenient AC spots which are popping up around local supermarkets.
Still, the Kona has excellent range and the best efficiency for the money you’re paying.
Mazda CX-38/10
One of the aims of upgrading the CX-3's engine was better fuel economy, and yet the Mazda engineers admit they managed an improvement of just "one to two per cent" on the 2.0-litre petrol engine and 3 per cent with the diesel, which has grown from 1.5 to 1.8 litres and still manages to use slightly less fuel, at an impressive 4.7L/100km.
The 2.0 petrol has claimed figures of 6.6L/100km for the FWD manual, 6.3L/100km for the FWD auto and 6.7L/100km for the AWD automatic. People who are chasing better economy would go for the diesel, but customers for this car obviously aren't that bothered, or are happy with mid-sixes, because Mazda tips just one per cent of sales will be the diesel.
Driving
Hyundai Kona
The Kona EV drive experience matches its familiar-yet-futuristic looks. From behind the wheel everything will be instantly familiar for anyone coming out of a combustion vehicle. Aside from the lack of a shift lever, everything feels more or less the same, although there are plenty of areas where the Kona electric will delight and surprise.
For a start, there's the ease of using its electric features. The car offers three levels of regenerative braking, and while I prefer diving it with the maximum setting. In this mode it's essentially a single-pedal vehicle, as the regen is so aggressive it will bring the vehicle to a halt quickly after letting your foot of the accelerator.
It also has a familiar zero setting for those not wanting any braking from the motor, and an excellent default automatic mode, which will only max out the regen when the car thinks you’re pulling to a halt.
The steering is nicely weighted, feeling assisted but not overly so, and allowing you to position this heavy little SUV with ease. I say heavy because the Kona electric feels it in every sense of the word. A 64kWh battery pack is a lot of weight, with the Electric tipping the scales at around 1700kg.
It’s a testament to Hyundai’s focus on suspension tuning, globally and locally, that it still feels so under control. While it can be abrupt at times, the ride is generally great, balanced over both axles with an edge of sportiness in the corners.Â
It’s easy to take this for granted, as I learned the week prior in my test of the MG ZS EV. Unlike the Kona Electric, this small SUV newcomer struggles to deal with the weight of its batteries and tall ride height, serving up a spongy, uneven ride.
Points for taming gravity, then. Push the Kona too hard and the tyres will struggle to keep up, with dabs of wheelspin and understeer when pushed, perhaps related to the fact that this vehicle started life as a petrol car.Â
It doesn’t quite have the surreal grip of, say, a Tesla Model 3. Nor does it have the raw power and acceleration the Teslas provide. At least the motor feels like it has a little too much power rather than not quite enough as can be the case with the tame-but-smooth Nissan Leaf. Either way, the Kona’s ride and demeanor is a pleasure around town.
Key to this car’s success for early adopters, though, is not just its balance of ride and performance, but its powertrain feedback. Those who are looking for how their driving behaviours are directly affecting efficiency and range will love this car’s numerous screens and functions, tied in with the nav system which will point you to the nearest charging bays and give you a top-down view of your max range on the map as you drive.
Again, it’s not as sleek and internet-era ready as the impressive Tesla operating system, but it’s familiar and accessible for someone looking for an EV which is a bit more approachable.
On a final note, this car makes a cool sci-fi noise. It’s a pleasant choral ringing sound it generates at low speeds to alert pedestrians of its presence (who are often puzzled by the note it emits). It also makes a quiet bonging noise in reverse.Â
Sounds like a small thing, but in my recent Tesla Model 3 review I found its silence annoying and potentially dangerous when there are pedestrians around.Â
Mazda CX-38/10
In a world of constant downsizing, a 2.0-litre engine might sound brutish and bold in a car of this size, but 110 is certainly not an overpowering number of kilowatts. As a result, the petrol-powered CX-3 feels spry and sprightly, but certainly never sporty.
There is a Sport button you can press, but all it seems to do is hold the gear you're in for longer, causing the engine to drone on like a Peter Dutton speech, and not really making much happen in excitement terms.
A sports car this is not, obviously, so perhaps the words "more than adequate" are best for describing the car's performance. You're not going to fly up any hills, but you can zip off traffic lights with reasonable aplomb, and you're never genuinely found wanting for power. More torque would be nice for overtaking, but you could choose the diesel for that (if you're a ‘one percenter').Â
One of Mazda's goals with the new CX-3 was improving NVH and they've done a stellar job with that. While the old car was bit of a buzz box at times, the new one is far quieter and more refined in terms of road-noise intrusion, but if you are tempted to push on, the noise from the engine remains strident, and at times strained.Â
In most driving conditions, however, it's a pleasant cabin to be in, with negligible road noise (although it's more noticeable with the optional 18-inch wheels). And if you do enjoy a slightly lower driving position, you have the ability to drop your chair to a point where you feel more like you are sitting in the car rather on it.
The newly fettled electronic power steering is sharp and fun to use, falling at that point just before it becomes too light and wafty to give proper feedback. The engineers concentrated on "rolling plushness", which is the feel you get through the wheel, basically, and produced an 18 per cent reduction in buzziness through the steering wheel.
Ride control is good over most surfaces - and with ground clearance of 155mm you won't be going too far off road - but there's still a bit clatter over really sharp impacts. Overall, it's a very comfortable cruiser, even on our more brutal country roads. Mazda says it worked on "reducing choppiness", or vertical body movement, and it seems to have succeeded.
Cornering is something you can actually enjoy, if you care for that kind of thing, and this CX-3 benefits from Mazda's 'G-Vectoring Control' (GVC), which is meant to provide "neutral cornering" by minutely reducing torque output to the appropriate wheel to cancel out understeer, or oversteer moments.
It's all about giving the driver that sense of "oneness" with their vehicle that Mazda likes to call "Jinba-ittai" - horse and rider as one. In terms of horsepower and performance figures, they're not something CX-3 buyers are going to worry too much about, clearly, as Mazda makes no mention of the car's 0-100km/h time. A bit of research uncovered the fact that it ranges from 9.0sec for the manual to 9.5 for the auto. Not terrible, then.
Overall, much like the Mazda2 this vehicle is based on, the CX-3 is one of those cars that is genuinely as much fun as it looks, and slightly more fun than you expect it to be.
Throw in its good looks, economical engines and reasonably affordable pricing and it's a complete package. Up until the point where you have kids, and you're forced to upgrade to something that can actually carry a pram.
Safety
Hyundai Kona
There’s no compromise on safety in these highly specified electric variants, with both getting the full Hyundai ‘SmartSense’ treatment.
Active items include freeway-speed auto emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keep assist with lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring with collision assist, rear cross-traffic alert and rear auto braking, adaptive cruise control with stop and go function, driver attention alert, safe exit warning, and rear occupant alert.Â
The Highlander grade scores the addition of auto high-beam assist to go with its LED headlights and head-up display.
On the expected front, the Kona has stability management, brake support functions, traction control, and the standard suite of six airbags. A bonus is tyre pressure monitoring, rear parking sensors with a distance display, as well as front parking sensors on the Highlander.
It’s an impressive suite which is up there with the best in the small SUV segment, although we should expect this on a $60K+ electric vehicle. As this Kona is a facelift, it will carry over its maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating it was awarded back in 2017.
Mazda CX-38/10
Mazda says its new CX-3 is part of its "aim for a safe and accident-free automotive society", which means the company is living slightly in dream land, but at least you know it's thinking about safety.
The 360-degree view monitor is very handy, but you can only have it on the Akari, where you'll also get eight parking sensors, while the base model makes do with rear ones only.Â
Indeed, the base model goes without most of the safety goodies that are sprinkled across the more expensive variants - blind-spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, lane-departure warning, traffic-sign recognition, adaptive LED headlamps, driver-attention alert (with a coffee cup popping up to remind you that you might be tired) and the very handy, almost autonomous radar cruise control with full stop and go function.Â
What you do get on the entry Neo Sport is 'Smart City Brake Support', which works when moving forwards or backwards and is basically Mazda's name for AEB. The system works with both cars and pedestrians at speeds of up to 80km/h. The previous CX-3 received a maximum five-star ANCAP rating.
Ownership
Hyundai Kona
The Kona is covered by the brand’s industry competitive five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, with its lithium battery components covered by a separate eight-year/160,000km promise that appears to be emerging as the industry standard. While this promise is competitive, it is now challenged by its Kia Niro cousin which carries a seven year/unlimited kilometre warranty.
At the time of writing Hyundai had not yet locked in its usual capped price servicing program for the updated Kona EV, but the pre-update model was outstandingly cheap to service at just $165 per yearly visit for the first five years. And why shouldn’t it be? There aren’t as many moving parts.
Mazda CX-37/10
Surprisingly, Mazda claims its customers are completely unconcerned by the fact that it doesn't offer free roadside assistance as part of its new and improved five-year warranty, although it does occasionally offer it as a promotional thing. I'd be negotiating hard to have it included in the price.Â
The five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, from Mazda Motor Corporation itself, is a real selling point, however.
Servicing is due every 10,000km or 12 months and the first one will cost you $289, the second $317, third $289, fourth $317 and fifth $289. Seems to be a pattern there.