Hyundai Kona vs Fiat 500X

What's the difference?

The Hyundai Kona Premium Extended Range offers a great amount of passenger comfort and space but its ongoing costs are a bit more expensive for the class and its low safety rating is surprising given its strength in that category in the past.

However, it drives well, looks good, and has great storage space so it's still in the race!

The 500X is a fun-looking alternative to the various options available from everyone else and is - overall - better to drive than its Renegade twin. 

It packs a very good safety package which you can't ignore but does lose points on the warranty and servicing regime. But it's also built to take four adults in comfort, which not every car in the segment can boast.

The design for the Kona has always been a win in my books because it’s cute and functional.

Hyundai also designed the EV Kona first then based the fuel-powered versions on it. So, you get a flat floor in the back row, a cool-looking front with extended body panelling and some futuristic pleating across the panels.

The exterior LED lights are pretty cool as a lot of them resemble pixels and can be found in multiple spots at the front and rear. The long LED strip light across the front also sets it apart from it's fuel-based siblings.

The interior exudes a good sense of luxury with its light-coloured leather upholstery and trims. Coupled with the sunroof the cabin space is bright and cheery.

The 64-colour ambient lighting adds a touch of fun and the update sees some minor tweaks to accent panels where black plastic has been dropped in favour of a brushed metal look.

The dashboard has been redesigned with dual 12.3-inch technology screens (one for media, one for instruments), now standard across all variants instead of just the top model, which is great to see.

Look, I like the 500X, but I know why people don't. It's clearly a 500X in the way a Mini Countryman is a Mini. It looks like a 500, but get closer and you see the difference. It's chubby like a $10 weekend market Bhudda statue and has great big googly eyes like Mr Magoo. I find this endearing, my wife does not. The looks aren't the only thing she doesn't like.

The cabin is a bit more restrained and I quite like the band of colour stretching across the dash. The 500X is meant to be a bit more grown up than the 500, so there's a proper dash, more sensible design choices but it still has the big buttons, perfect for the meaty fingers of people who won't be buying this car.

The Kona's size has increased for its second generation, which means more occupant space and storage capacity. The front offers more space than you’d expect for a small SUV and I’d describe it as roomy, even for someone taller than my 168cm height.

The rear row also has fantastic head- and legroom for the class but it's the storage options which clinch the practicality for me.

Up front the centre console is still the hero for storage with multiple nooks and spaces for items like keys, phones and wallets. You get two retractable cupholders, a 1.5L drink bottle holder in each door and a good-sized middle console and glove box.

In the rear, you get map pockets, 0.7L drink bottle holders in each door and two cupholders in a fold-down centre armrest.

The boot sees an additional 33L, expanding the overall capacity to 407L with all seats in use. That jumps up to 1241L when the rear row is folded. Underneath the adjustable floor, you get a temporary spare wheel.

The electric front seats aren’t as comfortable as the previous generation. They’re narrower, firmer and sit a bit higher than I remember. Though I still love the added comfort functions they have, including a reclining relaxation mode. 

The rear seats are better cushioned and offer longer under-thigh supports and middle seaters should be comfortable thanks to the flat floor. 

The technology looks good and the 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system is easy to use once you spend some time with it. You get built-in satellite navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto.  

The 12.3-inch digital instrument panel isn't customisable but all information is easily seen as is the colour head-up display.

Charging options are great throughout the car with each row getting two USB-C ports, the front also featuring a wireless charging pad and 12-volt outlet. The next-gen model sees the Kona get V2L (Vehicle To Load) capability, too, which is great.

At just 4.25 metres, the 500X isn't big, but makes the most of what it's got. The boot impresses at 350 litres and with the seats down, I think you could reasonably expect to triple that figure, though Fiat doesn't have an official number that I can find. For added Italian feel, you can tip the passenger seat forward to get really long things in, like a Billy bookshelf flat pack from Ikea.

Rear seat passengers sit high and upright meaning leg and kneeroom are maximised and with that tall roof, you won't scrape your head. 

The doors each have a small bottle holder for a total of four and Fiat has got serious about cupholders - the 500X now has four.

I drove the Pop Star, which is the second of the now-two model "regular" range, the other being the, er, Pop. I drove a Special Edition in 2018 and it's not clear if it is Special as there's also an Amalfi Special edition. Anyway.

The $30,990 (plus on-road costs) Pop Star has 17-inch alloys, six-speaker Beats-branded stereo, dual-zone climate control, reversing camera, keyless entry and start, active cruise control, sat nav, auto headlights and wipers, leather shifter and steering wheel and a space-saver spare.

The Beats-branded stereo speakers are supplied with noise from FCA's UConnect on a 7.0-inch touchscreen. The same system is in a Maserati, don't you know. Offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, UConnect loses points by shrinking the Apple interface into a lurid red frame. Android Auto properly fills the screen, for some reason which is ironic given Apple owns the Beats brand.

The Premium Extended Range model is front-wheel drive and has an electric motor with outputs of 150kW and 255Nm.

It’s not as spritely as some of its rivals but it’s able to hold its own on the open road. Just don't expect it to blow your hair back.

Fiat's rather excellent 1.4-litre turbo MultiAir does duty under the stubby bonnet, making 103kW and 230Nm. Rather less excellent is the six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, which sends power through the front wheels only.

It's rated to tow a 1200kg braked trailer and 600kg unbraked.

The official energy consumption figure for the Premium Extended Range model is 16.7kWh/100km and a week of mostly urban road driving resulted in an average of 16.6kWh/100km.

That's very good consumption and the official driving range from the 64.8kWh lithium-ion battery is up to 444km but I’d have my eye on the range on a longer journey.

The top electric Kona has a Type 2 CCS charging port which means you can benefit from faster DC charging speeds.

But it can also accept a top speed of 10.4kW on AC power. On an 11kW AC charger, you can go from 0-100 per cent in a little over 6.5-hours.

The Premium Extended Range model can only accept up to 100kW on DC charging, which is lower than its rivals, and you can go from 10-80 per cent in just over an hour on a 50kW system and in as little as 45 minutes on an 100kW system.

Again, it's figures are a tad slower and lower than rivals but not inconvenient for everyday use.

Fiat rather optimistically suggest you'll get a combined cycle figure of 5.7L/100km but try as I might, I couldn't do better than 11.2L/100km. What's worse, it demands 98RON fuel, so it's not the cheapest car to run. This figure us consistent with past weeks in the 500X and no, I wasn't thrashing it.

The top model's single motor delivers smooth power in most instances but you can lose traction if your accelerate too quickly from a standstill.

Mostly urban kilometres covered during this test and despite the Kona not having the punchiest motor, I’ve still had moments of it feeling zippy.

The steering feels like it’s in the middle of firm and makes for responsive manoeuvring. You get some roll when cornering and the car can feel a bit light-footed when you’re shooting across traffic but otherwise it's well-balanced.

The ride comfort is very good in terms of suspension, where it feels well-cushioned but not too floaty.

Road noise isn’t intrusive, either, but there's some wind noise, even at lower speeds.

It’s an old gripe but the speed-sign recognition tech in a lot of Hyundai and Kia models is intrusive and annoying with how often it chimes at you.

It's worth the effort to turn off the warning sounds every time you drive, particularly if you're in the city. Usually, this would be in the safety section but it affects the driving enjoyment.

When it comes to parking, the Kona's compact dimensions make it your best friend in a car park. A fabulously clear 360-degree camera system also helps.

Again, I shouldn't like the 500X but I really don't mind it. It's flawed, which might be why.

The dual-clutch transmission is dumber than a box of loose cogs, lurching from start and looking the other way when you expect it to shift. We know the engine is a good one and I think part of the reason it's so thirsty is the confused way the transmission goes about its business. I'd love to drive a manual to see what it's like.

The 500X initially feels worse than its Jeep Renegade sibling-under-the-skin, which is quite an achievement. Part of that is to do with the ride, which is very choppy below 60km/h. The first 500X I drove wallowed about but this one is a bit tauter, which would be good if you weren't punished with this bounciness.

The seats themselves comfortable and the interior is a good place to hang out. It's reasonably quiet, too, which is at odds with the old-school silliness of its conduct. It feels like Labrador let out of after day kept inside.

And that's where the car I shouldn't like is a car I do like - I really like that it feels like you're on Roman cobblestones, the type that make your knees hurt when you walk on them for a day. The steering wheel is too fat and is at a weird angle, but you kind of square up to it and drive the car like your life depends on it. You have to take it by the scruff, correct the shifts with the paddles and show it who's boss.

Obviously, that's not for everyone. If you drive it really gently, it's a very different experience, but that means going slowly everywhere, which is no fun at all and not at all Italian.

Out of the box, you get seven airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, forward collision warning, high and low speed AEB, active cruise control, rollover stability, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, blind spot sensor and rear cross traffic alert. That's not bad for a $30,000 car full stop, let alone a Fiat.

There are two ISOFIX points and three top-tether anchors for baby seats. 

The 500X scored a five-star ANCAP rating in December 2016.

Servicing costs for the Hyundai Kona are quite expensive for the class and you can pre-purchase one, two or three services. Services cost $520 (one service), $1040 (two services), or $1560 (three services). It's typical to see EV servicing sit closer to the $250 mark.

Warranty terms are pretty typical, though, the Kona coming with a five-year/unlimited km warranty and the battery covered by an eight-year, or up to 160,000km warranty term.

Servicing intervals are every two years or 30,000km, whichever occurs first.

Fiat offers a three-year/150,000km warranty, along with roadside assist for the same period. It's not great as more manufacturers shift to five years. 

Service intervals arrive once a year or 15,000km. There is no fixed or capped-price servicing program for the 500X.