We explore the competitive edge of the Hyundai Kona 2025 edition, its practical applications for everyday use, and why it stands out in a crowded SUV market. With input from expert testers, this episode is your comprehensive guide to understanding whether the Kona meets your driving and lifestyle needs. Tune in to discover why this could be the SUV you’ve been searching for.
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Debra’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Time of the week, Richard, where we do a car review. You recently drove a 2025 Hyundai Kona. Talk about that.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, Dad, so this is Hyundai’s small SUV, right? It’s definitely smaller. It can fit four full-size adults. That second row is going to be a little bit tight. No big deal, though. It does fit two kids. We’ll talk about that a little bit later in the review, but if I don’t, it does fit two kids with a booster seat, Dad. This is one of my more favorite cars because, in my opinion, it has a great value proposition, right? The one we drove was the Limited. It was about $35,000, $36,000. It’s got an upgraded turbocharged engine on it and all-wheel drive, which is available as part of this vehicle. And so especially at our altitude, Dad, right, sometimes the four-cylinder engines or even the naturally aspirated and some of the larger engines, they don’t do too well, right? They’re just not as much oxygen. This little turbocharged engine was fantastic. It was fun to drive. Is it going to win any races? No, it’s not. But is it going to get you what you need to do? Is it going to merge into traffic? And can you do so safely without having to kind of get on the – you know, get on the pedal and mash and be like, come on, go, go, go. And the answer is no, this thing’s going to do what you need it to. It’s got a lot of tech features that are standard on it, a lot of infotainment features that I think a lot of people will like, and just a lot of nice apportionments throughout the cab, Dad, that I think some people would be surprised by, to be honest with you, especially if they haven’t driven a Hyundai in some time. It’s a car that was remodeled for 2024, so this is the second generation of it. It looks great. They’ve done some updated styling on it. I encourage folks to check it out. There’s also an electric version of this car, Dad, which that’s not what we drove. Again, we drove the typical combustion engine, right, as far as the turbocharged four-cylinder. But outside of that, Dad, it handled really well. It’s got a lot of feature comforts that I think you’d like. It’s got a lot of safety features. And we talk about this a lot, and I don’t have the Monrovia in front of me. One of the benefits of Hyundai, Dad, and kind of their brand – is the value that you get with the warranty, right? I believe it’s a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty on the powertrain, if I’m not mistaken. They’ve also got, I think, a five-year 60 that covers the whole car. And I apologize if I’m not getting those correct. But overall, it’s just something where if you’re wanting, if you want to have the backing of the manufacturer when you purchase a vehicle, this may be the vehicle for you, right? You don’t want to have to mess with it. I also think they’ve got some other programs as far as, some of the basic maintenance and stuff that’s available to it. Again, I would encourage folks to check this out, Dad. And you’ve driven this car, obviously, other models or the older ones. But I think when you and I both drove this car several years ago, I think our comments were similar, which is this is really a great value for the money.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, again, for those of you that are in the market for that, I guess you could say, Richard, smaller SUV because that’s exactly what this is. The Kona is an SUV. They’ve got, by the way, really quick for those of you listening, some great deals on this right now. What I mean by that is some money off or cheap interest rates or whatever the case may be, whatever you’re looking to do. But, yeah, for those of you that are looking for a car that is in that – How should I say this, Richard? Twenty five to thirty five thousand dollar range max. Really, it’s more like mid 20s to low 30s. If you’re looking for something along those lines in a vehicle that, you know, is this going to be for a family of four? Probably not. Could this work for a family of three or especially a family of two? Absolutely. And if you’re just looking for a daily, you know, go to work to and from, it’s usually just you. You want to be able to fold the seats down and reconfigure things accordingly. Is this a vehicle that would work for that particular situation? Absolutely.
SPEAKER 02 :
Again, I would 100% agree with everything that you just said. Again, can you get the kids to and from school in this? Yes, you can. You even got a little car room in the back. Is it the biggest SUV out there? No, it’s not, but it’s not meant to be. This is great for an urban environment. You can fit this car anywhere. You can pull it into some tight spots at the supermarket or in downtown without worry. And like you said, the other thing I would factor in is they are really running some great specials on this, and obviously that’s going to vary by area and availability. But, again, Dad, you can get a brand-new car that is an SUV. And, again, in Colorado, folks, all-wheel drive, you can get for – because an all-wheel drive, by the way, is available on every model, Dad, right? You don’t have to get the Limited, which is the top of the line for us. So to your point, you can get a SUV, Grant, on the smaller side, an SUV with all-wheel drive for less than $30,000 depending on how you configure it. So we encourage folks, check this out. Head to your local Hyundai dealer. And like you said, they may even have some specials in your area that we really encourage folks to check out. And when you do, let them know that John and Richard Rush from Drive Radio and Rush to Reason sent you.
SPEAKER 01 :
This is John Rush from Rush to Reason and Drive Radio. Thank you so much for listening. Check out more of our podcasts at RushToReason.com or Drive-Radio.com.
