2021 Hyundai Kona N Line v Toyota C-HR GR Sport comparison
Australians love SUVs, and we love cars with a bit of attitude. Sam Purcell grabs two small and sporty SUVs to see which one does it better.
The popularity of small SUVs is growing fast as Australians discover the many charms of these compact but roomy, efficient but zippy, and generally well-equipped conveyances. And nothing attracts new entrants like a burgeoning marketplace, which is why we’ve seen five newcomers enter the fray in the last 12 months.
The Hyundai Kona and Toyota C-HR are two appealing stalwarts in this space, and historically place in the top three for sales in the small SUV segment – although Toyota has struggled for supply in recent months. In this comparison, we’ve grabbed SUVs with a sporting twist: Toyota’s C-HR in GR Sport trim, and Hyundai’s Kona N Line.
Introduction
Hyundai Kona
The Hyundai Kona N Line is priced from $36,300 plus on-road costs, pitching it below the Kona Highlander ($38,000), N Line Premium ($42,400) and other more expensive electric Kona variants. This specification is set apart mostly by its more powerful turbocharged 1.6-litre engine that drives all four wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. This powertrain produces 146kW at 6000rpm and 265Nm at 1600–4500rpm, making it more potent than the C-HR.
The Kona N Line’s chassis is also fettled for a sportier overall tune, and multi-link rear suspension replacing a more basic torsion beam set-up. Its 305mm ventilated front disc rotors are nine per cent larger than non-turbocharged Konas, matching the C-HR exactly.
Toyota C-HR
The Toyota represents the most expensive variant in its range at $37,665 before on-road costs.
The GR Sport gets fetching 19-inch smoky chrome wheels with (mechanically unchanged) white GR-branded brake callipers behind. There’s also a stiffened chassis – via a floor brace – and retuned suspension components like springs, shocks and anti-roll bars. The C-HR also gets a variety of unique exterior touches and branding, but is missing out on a handful of gear that the similarly priced, non-GR Koba Hybrid gets.
And while the broader C-HR range is available with a mixture of hybrid, non-hybrid, all-wheel drive and front-wheel drive powertrains in different grades, the GR Sport is only available with one: a 1.8-litre naturally aspirated engine matched with a 6.5Ah nickel metal hydride battery and electric motor powering the front wheels only.
With 72kW/142Nm from the petrol engine and 53kW/163Nm from the electric motor, the hybrid powertrain delivers its combined total of 90kW through an e-CVT transmission.
Interior Comfort
Hyundai Kona
The Kona’s interior feels more conventional in terms of layout and design. It is comfortable, feels well-made and ergonomically pleasing. Elements that set it apart from regular Kona models include red stitching on the perforated pleather seats and leather steering wheel, and some accents around the vents and shifter.
The Kona has two cupholders and a USB outlet flanked by twin 12-volt sockets. There’s also a wireless charging pad in the generously sized central storage nook, plus a couple of extra storage nooks as well, making the Kona more practical overall for daily useage.
This comparison showed that looks can be deceiving sometimes. Before the comparison, and especially after sitting in the second row of the C-HR, I thought the Kona would have it beat for overall space. But I was wrong. There wasn’t much in it, but the Kona saw my knees grazing the front seat behind a typical driving position.
What there is more of, however, is outward visibility. The seating position is relatively high in the back, and there’s more glass on offer as well. Even with less knee room, I’d prefer to spend long periods of time in the Kona.
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Toyota C-HR
Interior comfort plays a little bit of second fiddle to exterior styling in the Toyota, especially from the second row. So, let’s start from there.
First impressions for the C-HR in the back seat is that it feels quite closed in, almost claustrophobic. This comes from the small windows, low seating position and huge C-pillar, as well as the sports-style front seats that partially obscure outward vision.
It’s something you’d notice but live with as an adult, but I imagine kids wouldn’t enjoy it at all. Leg room and head room are both in good supply for a small vehicle. It leaves the C-HR feeling more of a choice for couples without kids or perhaps empty-nesters with a taste for something less ordinary.
Cupholders are located in the doors of the C-HR in lieu of a regulation fold-down centre armrest. There are no air vents or USB outlets in the rear. The single USB outlet is located up front, and there is a 12-volt outlet in the small centre console.
The basics of storage and amenities are covered off up front, with the regulation dual cupholders surrounded by a shiny piano-black centre console. There’s a phone slot and wireless charging pad further forward, but we noticed that larger modern phones – especially when they have a case fitted – might not fit.
The sports-style seats – trimmed in faux leather and suede-look materials – look and feel sporty. But more importantly, they’re plenty comfortable with good adjustment and ergonomics on offer.
At a glance | 2021 Hyundai Kona N Line | 2021 Toyota C-HR GR Sport |
Seats | Five seats | Five seats |
Boot volume | 361L | 318L |
Length | 4215mm | 4395mm |
Width | 1800mm | 1795mm |
Height | 1575mm | 1550mm |
Wheelbase | 2600mm | 2640mm |
Turning circle | 10.6m | 10.4m |
Infotainment and Connectivity
Hyundai Kona
With most of the specifications mirroring a non-sporty Kona Elite, our Kona N Line picks up a larger 10.25-inch infotainment display. Thankfully, Hyundai has included some physical controls on this system with a line of buttons and dials below the display that allows for easy operation.
The boxes of Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, digital radio and native navigation are ticked with the Kona N Line's infotainment display, and the Kona’s Harman Kardon sound system carries more oomph: eight speakers (including a subwoofer) and an external amplifier beats the six-speaker system in the C-HR.
The Kona gets a 4.2-inch multifunction display in front of the driver flanked by an analogue speedometer and tachometer. If you want a digital instrument cluster, you’ll need to spend up to the N Line Premium.
Toyota C-HR
Toyota’s C-HR GR Sport has an 8.0-inch infotainment display with six speakers and carries the requisite Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, digital radio and satellite navigation features. It’s easy to use as well, thanks mostly to the buttons and dials that flank the screen.
While many users will go straight to their own phone-mirroring technology, the infotainment display’s native operating system is fast to respond and easy to navigate through the basic functions on offer. This is backed up by a 4.2-inch multifunction display in front of the driver, which lets you scroll through things like the hybrid powertrain, fuel efficiency and driving aids.
Safety
Hyundai Kona
The Hyundai Kona range scored a five-star ANCAP safety score in 2017, although individual percentage scores have not been logged by the Australian crash safety authority.
The 2021 Kona’s bolstered suite of advanced safety equipment includes a forward-facing camera and radar system. There’s autonomous emergency braking (with pedestrian and cyclist detection), blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert (including braking), safe-exit warning, lane-keep assistance and lane-follow assist.
Toyota C-HR
Toyota’s C-HR GR Sport comes with a five-star ANCAP safety rating from 2017. Breaking that score down further, it scored 87 per cent for adult occupants, 77 per cent for child occupants, 65 per cent for pedestrians and 68 per cent for safety assistance.
As a part of this, the C-HR includes autonomous emergency braking system that includes day/night pedestrian and day cyclist detection. There’s also a blind-spot monitor, rear cross-traffic alert, reversing camera, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist and lane centring.
At a glance | 2021 Hyundai Kona N Line | 2021 Toyota C-HR GR Sport |
ANCAP rating | Five stars | Five stars |
Year tested | 2017 | 2017 |
Safety report | Link to report | Link to report |
Value for Money
Hyundai Kona
While the Kona N Line asks for $5600 more than a similarly specced non-sporty Kona Elite, a lot of that comes from the more powerful turbocharged engine, dual-clutch transmission and all-wheel-drive system. Throw in a sportier suspension tune and tweaked aesthetics, and the Kona N Line does cover a lot of ground for the asking price.
The Kona is also reasonably equipped without being the top dog in the range. You get more interior trinkets with the N Line Premium, including full LED headlights, heated front seats and a digital instrument cluster. However, first impressions show that the non-premium N Line might be the better value proposition.
Toyota C-HR
This is a tricky one to quantify because the C-HR GR Sport carries the same list price as the C-HR Koba specification, although it does miss out on a few features. Instead, buyers will need to value the aesthetic styling and sporty chassis tune for the GR Sport to make sense.
The C-HR ticks all of the right boxes in terms of being a modern and well-presented small SUV, but the asking price is certainly high. There’s no chance of bagging an all-wheel-drive powertrain in this specification or opting for a non-hybrid powertrain.
Having no extra herbs under the bonnet does blunt the appeal and value equation of the C-HR, notwithstanding the low running and service costs that the hybrid powertrain enjoys.
At a glance | 2021 Hyundai Kona N Line | 2021 Toyota C-HR GR Sport |
MSRP | $36,300 | $37,665 |
Options as tested | None | Black roof ($450) |
Warranty | Five years/unlimited km | Five years/unlimited km |
Servicing costs | $957 (3yr)/$1595 (5yr) | $600 (3yr)/$1000 (5yr) |
Driver Technology
Hyundai Kona
The Kona’s 4.2-inch multifunction display is useful and ups the ante with tyre pressure monitoring – which could save serious tyre damage by notifying the driver of a puncture.
Hyundai’s own version of lane-departure warning and lane-keep assistance can be an annoying bedfellow, especially when the quality of road markings vary. It’s good technology to have but becomes less useful when you feel forced to turn it off.
Hyundai’s adaptive cruise control works in stop-start traffic, which can help ease the annoyance of slow progress.
Toyota C-HR
Elements like blind-spot monitoring and a reversing camera feel like essential equipment for the C-HR, because natural rearward visibility for the driver isn’t so good. The lane-departure warning system seems to be well tuned and doesn’t step over the line of intrusiveness during day-to-day driving.
Lane trace – a form of semi-autonomous steering assist – helps peel off the kilometres on a road trip. When ploughing through the drudgery of gridlock, the all-speed adaptive cruise control operates all the way down to a stop, giving assistance in heavy traffic.
Otherwise, the 4.2-inch multifunction display offers up typical forms of information and settings. We spent most of our time keeping an eye on the hybrid drive system as well as using the digital speed readout.
Powertrain and Performance
Hyundai Kona
The Kona is quite a different experience in comparison to a normal Kona. With more power and torque, it’s a more lively experience to drive overall. Without breaking into a properly exciting sports experience, the Kona N Line does a good job of providing ample amounts of express enjoyment on the right patch of road.
If you really start focussing on finer details, the dual-clutch transmission might be missing some of the low-speed smoothness of a torque converter or continuously variable automatic gearbox. It’s minor, however, and Hyundai has done a good job of tuning the temperament of this transmission. It’s also a sharp and smooth shifter on the fly.
The 1.6-litre turbocharged engine feels particularly strong through the mid-range and provides a fun, elastic run up to the redline. Shifting into a sports mode livens up throttle and gearbox characteristics and makes for a more engaging experience.
On the flipside, the Kona handles the day-to-day drudgery well. Push the drive mode back into Eco, Comfort, or even Smart, and you’ve got something docile enough for easy traffic driving.
Toyota C-HR
It’s a strange dichotomy to find Toyota’s most efficient powertrain – finely tuned to hoard every possible millilitre of fuel as it crawls and cruises around town – in Australia’s first taste of a ‘GR Sport’-branded Toyota. It’s a wonderful powertrain, seamlessly blending petrol and electric drive that brings a big benefit at the bowser while remaining a smooth point-and-shoot affair.
But in a sporting application – however casually – it feels something like a duck out of water. It gets off on the wrong foot for a driving enthusiast: pressing that bold GR Sport start button yields no noise beyond a muted hum and a beep to let you know the system is ready.
The combined maximum of 90kW feels sprightly enough and lets the C-HR escape feeling slow. However, it’s still not particularly fast.
The biggest let-downs in this regard is engagement and experience, both of which are lacking. Considering how well the C-HR GR Sport handles tight corners and direction changes, it feels like it’s missing a more lively engine.
Key details | 2021 Hyundai Kona N Line | 2021 Toyota C-HR GR Sport |
Engine | 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol | 1.8-litre naturally aspirated petrol hybrid |
Power | 146kW @ 6000rpm | 72kW (petrol), 53kW (electric), 90kW (comb.) |
Torque | 265Nm @ 1600-4500rpm | 142Nm (petrol), 160Nm (electric) |
Weight (tare) | 1504kg | 1420kg |
Drive type | All-wheel drive | Front-wheel drive |
Transmission | Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic | eCVT (continuously variable transmission) |
Power to weight ratio | 97.0kW/t | 63.4kW/t |
Tow rating | 1250kg braked, 600kg unbraked | Unrated |
Energy Efficiency
Hyundai Kona
Unsurprisingly, the turbocharged Kona was the least efficient of the two. Over the same driving loop, we found it consumed 9.0 litres per 100 kilometres. With a lot more straight-line performance and response on offer, however, it’s forgivable.
This compares to Hyundai’s claim of 6.9L/100km on the combined cycle, which does seem possible if driven very gently. At least the Kona is compatible with less-expensive 91RON regular unleaded petrol.
Toyota C-HR
Meeting its stated aim, Toyota’s 1.8-litre hybrid powertrain works to be supremely efficient. On our back-to-back comparison loop of 90km of varying driving conditions, we saw a readout of 5.0L/100km.
And while some of this driving was on hybrid-friendly busy roads, there was also plenty of winding roads and open throttle. Here, the C-HR is beyond reproach, even if it can’t match the combined claim of 4.3L/100km. And while newer Toyotas are moving towards premium fuel as a minimum, the C-HR hybrid is still happy on 91RON.
At a glance | 2021 Hyundai Kona N Line | 2021 Toyota C-HR GR Sport |
Fuel consumption (claimed combined) | 6.9L/100km | 4.3L/100km |
Fuel consumption (on test) | 9.0L/100km | 5.0L/100km |
Fuel tank size | 50L | 43L |
Ride and Handling
Hyundai Kona
With this N Line variant, Hyundai has managed to keep almost all of the Kona’s around-town comfort and compliance while also improving ride and handling.
The more sophisticated multi-link rear suspension set-up is better in every aspect compared to Kona 2.0-litre models with a less sophisticated torsion beam rear suspension, and the retuned suspension allows for responsive and eager steering.
I think the tyres, Continental Premium Contact 6, play a part in the improvement. Having a warmed-up powertrain to complete the picture means you can have plenty of fun exploring the capability of the Kona N Line.
Toyota C-HR
A small SUV with a small sporting bent. The good news is that both of these examples include a nice sporting flavour without compromising the rest of the experience. While there might be a firmer edge to the C-HR GR Sport’s ride, it’s still comfortable and handles rough roads well without being exemplary.
You can feel the difference in handling over a normal C-HR, with the GR Sport turning more confidently into corners. Provided you can get enough response and performance out of the powertrain, you’ll have a bit of fun on some twisty roads behind the wheel of this GR-branded C-HR.
If anything, the job that Toyota has done on this C-HR GR Sport shines a spotlight on the fact that the powertrain doesn’t totally fulfil its end of the deal. With a bit of extra zing under the bonnet, this could easily become a truly engaging car.
Fit for Purpose
Hyundai Kona
The Kona feels more at home as a small SUV with sporting pretensions. While both it and the C-HR wield a bigger and better stick in terms of roadholding and handling, the turbo Kona’s extra grunt completes the picture of a warmed-up small SUV.
The Kona’s all-wheel drive is another element worth considering. Don’t forget that both of these are branded as SUVs, and therefore need to offer a sense of capability beyond carparks to be compelling. Neither of these vehicles is a capable off-roader, but the Kona N Line can at least handle low-traction situations with more aplomb through its four driven wheels.
Toyota C-HR
In comparison, the C-HR powertrain feels underdone. It’s fine and dandy as a small-SUV powertrain, and has huge benefits for something built for the urban crawl. And while the C-HR does offer more legroom – an important factor for an SUV regardless of how small it is – the Kona’s more conventional packaging yields more practicality overall.
And although visibility isn’t great behind the driver’s head, the small footprint and commensurate turning circle allow the C-HR to be nimble around town.
However, if the purpose of the exercise is to have something small and nimble, but also bucking the conventions of traditional design, then the C-HR scores more points. The design is no doubt edgier and somewhat polarising – passing off however briefly as a two-door thanks to the hidden second-row door handles.
Conclusion
There is a lot to like about Toyota’s small SUV. It’s undeniably funky and manages to stand out amongst a crowded throng of same-same SUVs out there. And while the Kona feels new and fresh in isolation, it’s forced into cookie-cutter status by the Toyota.
But that comes with a compromise. Visibility is low for driver and passengers alike in the CH-R, and blunts its suitability for more than two occupants regularly.
Toyota’s low fuel useage is another key advantage, but the compromise in this regard is that the GR Sport packs the same performance potential as any other C-HR hybrid, which means it doesn’t suit the sport badging and cachet in any form.
However, if you’re after the cheapest running costs, then the C-HR wins by a country mile.
In terms of sporting credentials, the C-HR GR Sport isn’t all show and no go. It feels more fun and more competent to drive than a regular C-HR. It does, however, get left feeling relatively tepid by the Kona N Line.
While it’s not enough to be called a proper hot take on Hyundai’s small SUV, there’s enough warmth of performance in this N Line to appeal to buyers. We don’t all want a manual, firm and low-geared pocket rocket after all, and this Kona N Line will occupy a sweet spot of value, performance, practicality, looks and comfort that many seek.
And for that reason, it’s our pick of this comparison.