Family Car Review: 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid

How big is the boot of the new 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid?

The 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid's boot space is spacious and practical for families losing no space to batteries unlike some hybrids. When empty, it can fit eleven shopping bags, the same as the ICE model Hyundai Kona and Mitsubishi ASX. This is also comparable with the Kia Seltos and the Nissan Qashqai, which both hold twelve shopping bags, and the Subaru XV, which will hold ten shopping bags.

The Thule Sleek, future-proof, multi-configuration pram with a single seat…

…will fit in the Kona Hybrid boot with two shopping bags.

The Thule Urban Glide 2 single is the ultimate all-terrain stroller…

…with the back wheels on, it will fit in the Hyundai Kona Hybrid boot with two shopping bags.

The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as the kids lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.

Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.

I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.

The Thule Spring, lightweight and one-handed folding stroller…

…fits in the boot of the Hyundai Kona Hybrid with six shopping bags.

The Hyundai Kona Hybrid's boot can accommodate one 90L and two 40L Thule Chasm duffle bags.

You can transport a small/medium-sized dog in the boot of the Hyundai Kona Hybrid.

How good is storage in the 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid?

In the front cabin of the new 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid, the interior is quite minimal with good storage.

There are two cup holders in the central console that rotate out to hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup. There is a phone storage space beside them and a wireless phone charging station ready in front of them.

The central console box, under the armrest, has a shelf with some space underneath.

The 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid's glove box is practical in size and will hold an iPad and wallet with the manual. Above it is a shelf in the dash, which is handy for popping the passenger phone, etc. The kids will always fill it with little trinkets, too!

Rear passengers are well looked after, with two cup holders in the central seat fold-down armrest. Reusable or disposable coffee cups fit for older passengers, or a child's cup will fit in them too.

Net map pockets on the back of both front seats will hold an iPad or book but not conceal it, and there is a phone storage tray in the back of the central console box, too. With USB and USB-C sockets for rear passengers to charge their devices while travelling.

The rear door bins are quite small and will just hold a small disposable water bottle.

The door bins in the front are bigger and can hold a refillable water bottle and an iPad and purse fit too.

How noisy is the new 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid? How good is the media system in the 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid?

The 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid is fairly quiet in terms of wind and road noise; however, the onboard safety features are noisy (although Hyundai is rolling out a software update that enables you to easily mute some of the more annoying ones).

The 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid has Hyundai's new, modern and minimal media system. I find it a little wordy to navigate and use while driving.

There are lots of things within the menu you can customise about the vehicle…

… or the sound, which is a good one for families.

The 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which allows you to easily access your phone's navigation, listening and communication apps while driving.

The hybrid screen allows you to monitor your battery usage and watch the energy flow and relationship between the electric motor and the engine.

You have the weather forecast on the media screen, too.

The climate controls are physical controls on the dash.

In reverse, the camera images are crisp and clear…

… and you can change camera views on the right of the screen to the 360 degree camera.

… You can turn the parking sensors off quickly with a button down in the central console. You can also turn the camera on and off with a button there too.

… This can turn the rearview camera while you are driving.

The 2024 Hyundai Kona Premium Hybrid N-Line I tested has an indicator camera as well, which you see in the driver's display screen.

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

The indicators are not too loud in the Hyundai Kona Hybrid and you can lock the doors and windows separately using the buttons in the driver door panel.

How many child seats fit in the new 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid?

When it comes to installing child seats, there are ISOFix points in the two outer rear seats, not within plastic guides but nice and easy to connect to, and because they match the exterior body colour of the car, they are high-vis too and very easy to locate.

There are top tether anchorages on the back of all three rear seat backrests, within plastic guides that are clearly labelled and easy to access through the boot.

Two child seats fit very comfortably in the back seats of the new 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid. I installed two forward-facing child seats. One each of the outer seats, and there was not really room for me to sit between them without being squished!

I have also tried rear-facing child seats in the Kona. With a rear-facing child seat, we could fit about a 175cm driver in front of it. With forward-facing child seats, 180cm or taller drivers can fit. For families with only one child in a child seat, you can comfortably sit two passengers beside a child seat.

Posting Bub into their child seats in the back from inside and outside the car is nice and easy. The door openings are big and there is plenty of interior space.

Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!

I found room to feed Bub in the back of the Kona Hybrid with one child seat installed.

How comfortable is the new 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid? And How good is the 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid to drive?

The front seats of the Hyundai Kona are comfortable, they are divided by the slim central console.

For a mum travelling in the back with bub, the seats are very comfortable. There is a hump in the footwell, which means a central passenger has to straddle the hump or put their feet on it. I found I could sit beside two seats in the back but not between them.

The seats are perforated suede fabric throughout in this 2024 Hyundai Kona Premium Hybrid N-Line.

For the first year of my first daughters life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with her so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!

The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down. The cruise controls are on the left on the steering wheel and are easy to use.

The gears are a rotating stalk behind the steering wheel, saving space in the central console.

There are four air-conditioning vents in the front of the 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid. Two below the media screen and one at either end of the dash…

… and air-conditioning vents in the back of the central console box for rear passengers.

There are climate controls on the dash, that are lovely and easy to use while driving.

There are handles above both rear doors that are well-positioned to hang a toy for rear-facing passengers.

I have found our kids do not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.

Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a five-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!

It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.

Visibility is excellent in the new 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid; even with two child seats installed, you can see well out of the rear windscreen.

There is a rearview camera you can turn on while you are driving.

You also have indicator cameras in the 2024 Hyundai Kona Premium Hybrid N-Line tested here, so you can see down the sides of the vehicles when turning or changing lanes.

It also has a 360-degree exterior camera.

One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and my daughter has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, but the Hyundai Kona Hybrid is simple to park as the visibility and cameras are very good!

How safe is the 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid?

The new 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid has seven airbags as standard;

Dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting airbags are standard. A centre airbag which provides added protection to front seat occupants in side impact crashes is also standard.

The Kona Hybrid has a four-star ANCAP safety rating. Scoring 84% for child occupancy and 80% for adult occupancy.

Of the child occupancy testing ANCAP wrote;

In the frontal offset test, protection of the neck of the 10 year dummy was WEAK, while the protection offered to all other critical body regions of both the 6 and 10 year dummies was GOOD.
In the side impact test, protection of all critical body areas was GOOD for both child dummies, and maximum points were scored.
The Hyundai Kona is fitted with lower ISOFix anchorages on the rear outboard seats and top tether anchorages for all rear seating positions.
An indirect child presence detection (CPD) system, which provides an alert when a child may have been left in the vehicle, is fitted for all rear passenger seats as standard.
Installation of typical child restraints available in Australia and New Zealand showed most child restraints could be accommodated in most rear seating positions, though one of the selected Type A convertible seats could not be correctly installed in rearward facing mode in the centre rear position.

The 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid comes with 

Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) – Car-to-Car/Vulnerable Road User/Pedestrian/Motorcycle/Junction/Crossing, Automatic emergency call (eCall), Blind spot monitor (BSM), Child presence detection/alert, Cyclist dooring detection/alert, Driver monitoring system – Direct, Forward collision warning (FCW), Lane departure warning (LDW), Lane keep assist (LKA) – LKA (Car-to-Car), LKA (Car-to-Motorcycle), Secondary/multi-collision brake, Speed assistance – auto/intelligent speed limiter, Speed assistance – manual speed limiter, Speed assistance – speed sign recognition & warning are standard.