Hyundai Kona review

There's reasonable space in the front of the Kona, if not quite as much leg or head room as you'll find in a Seat Arona. Storage space includes a couple of cupholders between the seats and a large hidden cubby beneath the front centre armrest. 

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There’s also space behind the gear lever that doubles up as the wireless phone charging pad on Premium trim and above. The USB and 12V power sockets are placed there, too, helping to avoid a tangle of trailing wires. The door pockets, meanwhile, are big enough for a couple of small bottles of water.

The Kona is rather cramped in the back compared with key small SUV rivals, including the Seat Arona and Volkswagen T-Roc. If you're more than six feet tall, expect your knees to be wedged against the back of the front seatback – which happens to be covered in hard and unforgiving plastic.

The rear door pockets are also rather poky, although you do get a rear centre armrest on Premium SE trim and above.

The Kona gets a fixed 60/40 split-folding rear seat arrangement that's par for the course in the small SUV class. However, the rear seats in the rival Renault Captur can be slid forward and backwards to allow you to prioritise rear leg room or boot space according to your needs.

Electric adjustment for the front passenger seats is standard on Premium SE and Premium GT, while the lesser trims make do with manual adjustment.

The Kona's boot is nothing to write home about and is smaller than average for the class.

We managed to squeeze in just four carry-on suitcases below the parcel shelf, whereas an Arona swallowed five and a T-Roc takes six. At least the Kona's boot has a relatively broad opening, and its split-folding rear seats lie almost flat when folded down.

Entry-level S models have a slightly bigger boot as there's no spare wheel, as do the Hybrid models, despite their added batteries. Whichever version you choose, though, luggage space is still fairly disappointing.