Dead: Hyundai Kona N

HYUNDAI Australia is expected to lose yet another member of its N model range, with the new-generation Kona small SUV not expected to be offered with a potent high-performance option.

In the first-generation Hyundai Kona model range, the N performance flagship variant was powered by a punchy 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine and had heaps of street – and track – presence. 

The Korean company’s Australian arm has suggested that the new, second-generation Kona line-up might not score another N version, backing up international speculation that the Kona N was a “one and done” affair – much like the i30 Fastback N, which has finished its very short stint in Australia.

A trailblazing model – the first affordable high-performance small SUV – the Kona N may have actually been too early to the party. And the party is expected to be spoiled by stricter emissions regulations in Europe, which could spell the end of the feisty 2.0-litre turbo powerplant in broader terms. 

Since its launch in 2021, the Kona N has tallied 1322 sales in Australia (to the end of May 2023), whereas the i20 N has accounted for 1119 deliveries despite the order books having been closed for almost 12 months. The i30 N hatch (and the now-defunct Fastback) saw 3178 sales over the same period, and i30 Sedan N did 2279. 

Hyundai Australia general manager of corporate communications, Bill Thomas, said that the ball is still in the air as to whether there will be a successor to the Kona N.

“At this point, the decision hasn’t been made. The Kona N in its existing form, the OS, is in runout. But there has been no decision on a next-gen car,” he said.

Hyundai Australia public relations and customer service relations senior manager, Guido Schenken, suggested that Kona N has not been as successful as other N models, which could mean that a successor is unlikely.

“It was our least-popular for orders and sales out of the four N models we had,” he said, speaking of i20 N, i30 N hatch and Fastback, i30 Sedan N, and Kona N. 

“It’s behind on sales of i20 N, but then again we haven’t taken an order of that for at least a year,” he said.

To the end of May 2023, Hyundai’s N and N Line models accounted for 29 per cent of Hyundai Australia’s total sales, an increase of 2.4 per cent year-on-year – despite the order books being closed for i30 N hatch and i20 N hatch. 

Australia's N Line model range comprises Kona N Line – the new-generation version of which is more broadly available due to a reworked line-up, the i30 N Line (sedan and hatch), Sonata N Line and the popular Tucson N Line.