The compact Kona crossover has been an indisputable success for Hyundai since it launched in 2017, proving popular in markets all over the world over its two generations, even if demand for the electric version is unsurprisingly a little weak in the US right now. It’s little surprise, then, that the model looks likely to get a third generation.
Not only that, but as we’ve previously reported, it could come sooner rather than later, with suggestions that a planned facelift for the current model has been canned, and that Hyundai is full speed ahead with development of a third generation instead. Now, some renderings have given us a taste of what that could look like.
Third-Gen Spotted Testing
South Korean channel Shorts Car recently captured footage of what it believes to be the third-generation Kona testing in heavily disguised prototype form, a claim backed up by the sticker on the vehicle’s A-pillar bearing the codename ‘SX3’. This checks out with the current-generation car, which was referred to as the SX2 in the run-up to its reveal.
With most of the car’s bodywork hidden away beneath a disguise, it’s hard to get a handle on details, but the model clearly looks set to adopt a boxier, more rugged design, something hinted at by the Crater concept unveiled at last year’s LA Auto Show.
Crater-Inspired Design
Using these spy shots as a basis, digital renderer NYMammoth has created their take on what an undisguised SX3 Kona could look like, carrying over several design cues found on the Crater.
They include the four pixel-like LED lighting signatures sitting on the nose, between the car’s running lights, and less extreme versions of its boxy, swollen wheel arches and off-road inspired cladding. Combined with the more upright stance, it essentially looks like a production version of the Crater, with the usual toning down that cars often undergo in the transition from concept to production.
A Global Model
NYMammoth / YouTube
It’s still not clear when we could see the new Kona, but the fact that what looks like a fairly well-developed prototype version is already out testing suggests that it could arrive within the next couple of years, giving the second-gen car an unusually short lifespan.
When it does appear, it’s likely to remain on sale in plenty of global markets and still offer the choice of gas, hybrid or fully electric powertrains. The more rugged vibe it looks set to adopt, though, could well serve to make it an even greater success amid the seemingly unstoppable demand for rufty-tufty looking crossovers – especially if the reception to the Crater concept is anything to go by.
