Hyundai Kona vs MG MG3

What's the difference?

The Hyundai Kona is the Korean car giant’s best-selling model in Australia, by a reasonably comfortable margin. And in 2025 it managed to battle its way to the top of the ludicrously competitive ‘Small SUV under $45K’ new-vehicle sales category.

Chery’s breakthrough Tiggo 4 Pro, GWM’s Haval Jolion, the MG ZS and close to 20 other well-credited segment rivals can all dream on because currently the Kona has their measure.

So, what’s all that about? Why are so many Aussie SUV buyers choosing to put a Kona in the driveway?

In an attempt to answer that question we slotted a Kona Hybrid into the CarsGuide garage, in this case a new mid-spec Elite version, to explore its relative strengths and weaknesses.

So, if you’re in the market for a compact SUV, with the Kona on your shortlist (and odds are it already is) stay with us for a detailed examination.

A number of established small cars are becoming more expensive and less popular. The Toyota Yaris, Mazda2 and Suzuki Swift were once the go-to first car, but now start at around $25,000.

This repositioning was great for MG and its sub-$20,000 MG3, which has spent much of the last few years as Australia's most popular light car. It’s hard to deny a low price will open many wallets.

But now in its new generation, the MG3 is thousands of dollars more expensive than before, starting in the mid-$20K range and headed even further up with a new hybrid drivetrain option. We jump in the base petrol Excite to find out if the value is still there for this British-branded, Chinese-built hatchback.