KONA has quite a few meanings.

Itโ€™s origins are said to be ancient Scandiwegian, where it meant โ€˜wifeโ€™ but its also means โ€˜yellowโ€™ in Japanese, and itโ€™s the name of the Hawaiian village where the Ironman competition is held.

From there, it was adopted as the name for a superb – and very expensive brand of coffee – plus itโ€™s the short form for the Irish name Oโ€™Connor in Fiji and now itโ€™s one of Hyundaiโ€™s hottest new models.

The small SUV, with frontal looks possibly inspired by the phidippus audax four-eyed jumping spider, comes in two versions that look alike, but are quite different under the skin.

There are in fact 10 versions of Kona, five with a 110kW/180Nm 2.0litre engine, six-speedย  transmission, a basic torsion beam rear suspension and priced from $24,500 and another five with a 130kW/265Nm 1.6litre turbo, 7-speed DC Trannie, better multi-link springing and all wheel drive.

Buyers also have the choice of Active, Elite or Highlander trim.

Our steed? The top-ranking $36,000 Kona Highlander.

Itโ€™s an eye-arresting vehicle with its underslung LED headlights, high-mounted daylight running lights and fog lights on the outer extremities.

It has two-tone paint, black wheel guards protecting those striking 18-inch alloys and a jaunty tail that adds to its chutzpah.

Inside, itโ€™s colour coded to the exterior paint and even the stitching and seatbelts are colour matched.

Thereโ€™s ample room for four in the leather-trimmed cabin, a tad tighter in the back, with easy entry and egress via the wide-opening doors and it comes with a lot of features to keep drivers and passengers more than happy. The boot is of 361-litre capacity and has a cargo net to keep the milk bottles upright.

Thereโ€™s a regular speedo, but touch a dashboard button and wee screen pops up in front of the driver to reveal a clear head-up display.

The powered front seats can be heated or cooled, the steering wheel with its function buttons can also be heated, it has wireless phone charging and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, a 7.0-inch touchscreen and a smallerย  digital instrument cluster, a big glass sunroof and a decent infotainment system.

Well, the whole car is pretty sporty, with a trio of drive modes that make quite a difference, and in Sport it was a hoot.

The pep is matched by good brakes with perfectly placed pedals and that accurate steering and a 10.6m turning circle all contribute to the carโ€™s appeal.

It scoots to 100km/h in a claimed 7.9 seconds (we got 8.1 on our hand-held old skool wind-up stopwatch) and it cruises along the highways at 110km/h without any effort.

Handles well too.

Itโ€™s primarily an urban vehicle, but standard fare includes a centre differential lock, just in case it gets stuck in the muddy patch at the end of your driveway.

The ride is Euro-firm, it feels well planted through the corners and runs like an eager rabbit in Sport mode.

Official fuel usage figure is 6.7litres/100km, but we used a bit more to record 8.5 on our travels, most of it in Sport because we like to have smiles on our faces.

Warranty? Five years, unlimited distance. More smiles.

Verdict: Stylish, sporty and sophisticated, the Kona 1.6 is a joyous little full-featured SUV, well built and near faultless.

Like:

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  • Great looks
  • Eager engine
  • Fast DC transmission
  • Big warranty
  • Fully featured
  • Safety systems
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