Trim Comparison: What’s the Difference Between Each 2020 Hyundai Kona?

We like the Hyundai Kona. In 2019, we named it a finalist for SUV of the Year. Since adding it to our long-term fleet shortly thereafter, we’ve called it “really fun” at the test track, found it an excellent—for its size—moving vehicle, and taken a road trip to the Rockies, where we learned it’s a wonderful road trip vehicle for two but would be stretched to its limits on a family camping trip. One thing yet to be investigated in our long-termer, though, is whether our top Ultimate trim model presented a good value on the Kona spectrum. So we decided to dig into the online configurator. Hyundai offers five trim levels (eight if you count the Kona Electric), and each trim is offered with minimal options; you can add individual items like cargo blocks, a first-aid kit, or mud guards, but much of the good stuff (things other automakers often put in packages you have to add separately) is baked into each step up the trim ladder. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of what each trim offers.

2020 Hyundai Kona SE

MSRP: $21,420

The 2020 Hyundai Kona comes with one of two internal combustion engines, a 147-hp 2.0-liter I-4 or a 175-hp 1.6-liter turbocharged I-4. The SE trim level, however, is only available with the 2.0L, and that I-4 comes paired with a six-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is standard, but all-wheel drive can be added for a $1,400 premium. Together, this engine/transmission is good for 27/33/30 mpg city/highway/combined with FWD or 26/30/28 with AWD, per EPA testing.

All Konas, including this base SE, come with lane keep assist, forward collision avoidance, and a driver attention warning. The rest of the driver aids, however, are unavailable on the base model. Our long-termer has all the safety tech Hyundai offers, though, and lane keep assist works splendidly. It’s nice to see it on every level of Kona. All Konas come with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, as well.

The rest of the Kona SE’s interior is pretty bare bones. The front seats are manually adjustable and don’t offer adjustable lumbar support. Nor are they heated. The steering wheel and shifter are both plastic, and you have to actually insert and turn a key to start the car, which at this point feels pretty odd in a brand-new car. It comes with a 7.0-inch color touchscreen but lacks onboard navigation.

The Kona SE comes with 16-inch alloy wheels and is available in seven paint colors: Ultra Black, Chalk White, Sonic Silver, Sunset Orange, Pulse Red, Thunder Gray, and Surf Blue. Chalk White, unfortunately, carries a $300 upgrade cost. Interiors are offered in black or gray, though Sunset Orange cannot be had with a gray interior.

2020 Hyundai Kona SEL

MSRP: $23,220

The Kona SEL shares a lot in common with the SE. It has the same powertrain offerings, which is a bummer, and like the SE, what you see is largely what you get.

The main area where the SEL differentiates itself from the base model: technology. The SEL adds blind-spot collision warning, lane change assist, and rear cross-traffic alert, giving it a more complete suite of safety aids. It also adds heated side mirrors, heated seats, and an external temperature display, among a few other things, so if you live in colder climates, it’s worth looking into stepping up from the base model for those comfort features alone.

The SEL interior also gets a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter, adds SiriusXM compatibility, and no longer needs a twist of a key to start the engine. On the exterior, it’s available in the same seven paint colors, but the 16-inch alloys are swapped for more attractive 17-inchers, roof side rails are added, and it gets rear privacy glass. None of those exterior updates are things I find important, but the added safety tech and comfort features on the inside would be worth the $1,800 premium to me.

2020 Hyundai Kona SEL Plus

MSRP: $25,070

The SEL Plus, as the name suggests, is pretty similar to the SEL, only with a few extras. (Prior to 2019, the SEL Plus was simply the SEL with a technology package.)

On the exterior, the SEL Plus adds foglights and a shark-fin antenna as subtle tweaks, but otherwise it looks pretty much the same. The lone wheel option is the same, as are the seven paint colors once again.

The main changes are on the inside. Front headroom decreases by 1.6 inches, a side effect of the power sunroof, unavailable on the lower trims. The driver’s seat gains power adjustability, including lumbar support. It’s a nice feature to have and makes it feel a bit less like a budget crossover, but if you’re the sole driver, power adjustability isn’t what I’d call a selling point.

The premium Infinity audio system, however, is. The eight-speaker stereo is the most notable upgrade in the SEL Plus. As someone whose in-car listening is primarily podcasts, this isn’t a must-have for me, but for those looking for a budget-friendly crossover with a few premium interior touches, the Kona SEL Plus is a solid option.

2020 Hyundai Kona Limited

MSRP: $27,220

The Limited trim is where things get exciting. Here, the Kona gets a 1.6-liter turbo I-4, good for 175 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque, increases of 28 and 63, respectively, over the base 2.0L I-4. The Limited (and Ultimate) also ditch the six-speed automatic in favor of a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. We haven’t tested a 2020 Kona, but a 2018 Kona SE with the same engine and front-wheel drive went 0–60 in 8.3 seconds; a 2019 Kona with the 1.6T engine bested that time by 1.9 seconds despite weighing about 200 pounds more than the earlier SE. (In 2020 models, the Limited and Ultimate still come with a weight increase of 150–200 pounds over the lower trims.) Limited and Ultimate Konas take a small dip in overall fuel economy: 27/33/30 and 26/30/28 mpg city/highway/combined with FWD or AWD in the SE, SEL, and SEL Plus to 28/32/30 and 26/29/27 in Limited or Ultimate guise. If you’re simply looking for a stylish compact SUV to serve as basic transportation, the upgraded powertrain might not matter much. But if you want a stylish compact SUV and also want to occasionally have fun driving, the $2,150 upgrade to the Limited trim is definitely worth a look, even before we get to the other extras.

Those other extras that come with the Limited trim are relatively minor. The 17-inch wheels on the SEL and SEL Plus are replaced by 18-inch alloys. The Limited trim gains LED head- and taillights, leather seats, and automatic climate control. And finally, Lime Twist is added to the color palette. I thought I’d hate looking at my bright green long-termer in my driveway every day, but the color quickly grew on me. In person, it’s not quite as abrasive as I imagined, and in the right light, it can look downright beautiful. Like Chalk White, Lime Twist carries a $300 charge. And like Sunset Orange, Lime Twist is only available with a black interior.

For my money, the Limited trim presents the best value in the 2020 Hyundai Kona lineup.

2020 Hyundai Kona Ultimate

MSRP: $29,070

Another $1,850 brings us to the Ultimate trim, the high end of the 2020 Hyundai Kona spectrum. That final upcharge mostly adds electronic goodies, among them a parking distance warning, high-beam assist, an 8.0-inch touchscreen (all other 2020 Konas have 7.0-inch screens) with navigation, a head-up display, and pedestrian detection to go with forward collision avoidance.

The most notable addition at the Ultimate level, however, is smart cruise control. This is a new addition for 2020. On our 2019 Kona 1.6T Ultimate AWD, adaptive cruise wasn’t even an option, but even without it, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed what the Ultimate has to offer. Is it worth the nearly $2,000 price premium? Prior to the addition of adaptive cruise, I’d say that’s debatable. I gave the head-up display months to win me over, but I eventually just turned it off. The larger screen is a plus, though you won’t be looking at it while driving. And with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, native navigation is probably not worth paying extra for. If you spend much time on the freeway, though, the addition of adaptive cruise makes the Ultimate trim much more worthy of consideration.

What About Electric?

Hyundai also offers the Kona as an EV, in SEL, Limited, and Ultimate trims, ranging from $38,310 to $46,620. We’ve already done a detailed analysis of how the gas and electric Konas differ, so we’ll spare you rehashed comparisons here. The short version: The Kona 1.6T is good, but the Kona Electric is better.

The three electric trim levels differ in many of the same ways the equivalent trims on gas models do, with some minor changes: The Ultimate trim in Electric form gets rain-sensing wipers, ventilated front seats, and a 10.3-inch touchscreen, and the top trim is also the only way to get the Infinity sound system in a Kona Electric.