Make no bones about it, the 2021 Hyundai Kona's appeal lies more on the subjective end of the scale. Sure, it's attention-grabbing and different, but with prices starting from RM 136k, it's got to perform in a measureable manner too.

In the B-segment SUV category dominated by the Proton X50 and Honda HR-V, the fully-imported (CBU Korea) Kona sits on the higher side of the price scale, even out-pricing the Mazda CX-3.

But that's not to say you're just paying for looks as the Kona – even in this mid-range 2.0 Active variant – does have some tricks up its sleeves, which explains its relatively high score.

Please note that all scores and judgements here are relative only to the Kona's respective market segment.

2021 Hyundai Kona 2.0 Active: Driving Performance - 35.5/50, Epic smoothness

If its smoothness you're looking for, then the 2021 Hyundai Kona will fit the bill very, very well indeed.

The naturally aspirated, 2.0-litre isn't what one would describe as a peppy engine, but it certainly doesn't disappoint in being impressively refined even at highway speeds.​​ You practically don't hear it at all, and it only grunts when you squeeze the accelerator more.

More importantly it's torquey enough at low speeds, making it an easy car to live with every day.

Though it clocks a 0-100 km/h sprint time of 10.3 seconds, it definitely isn't a sluggish mill – in part helped by the fantastic CVT it has, which responds very intuitively to accelerator input.

The powertrain combo is impressively silent, and the transmission excels in low-speed situations, and hardly (if ever) jerky or hesitant in low speeds or when you're taking off from a standstill.

Steering-wise, it's not too light but its still rather direct.

Braking performance is fantastic, and the pedal has just the right amounts of feedback to it. Grabby as it is, it's easy to modulate, and it's confidence-inspiring even at higher speeds.

Other than 'Normal', 'Eco' and 'Sport' modes change the throttle characteristics a bit, but not so much as it does in the dual-clutch tranmission (DCT) equipped Kona N Line.

2021 Hyundai Kona 2.0 Active: Ride Comfort - 34.5/50, A little firm

Our main gripe with the pre-facelift Kona was its rough ride. It's firm, feels under-damped, and it fails to absorb road bumps well. For the passengers, this results in an unnecessarily uncomfortable ride.

Though it may not be as much as a problem as that, this facelifted Kona still has a rather firm suspension setup. Driving along highways are fine, but take it along pockmarked and marred roads, and you'll still feel jolts coming into the cabin.

Other than that, the seats are quite comfortable. Their sporty design might make it a bit tight for those who are slightly big-sized, but there's enough support along the sides and bottom.

Wind noise is hardly an issue, as the Kona provides excellent sound insulation – in fact, better than any segment rival.

Rear seat space is a bit of a premium (we'll get to that in a bit), but the high-quality, supple materials wins some points.

2021 Hyundai Kona 2.0 Active: Interior space – 28.5/50, Tight at the back

A squat physique and abrupt lines means that this is a bit of a cramped SUV, at best suitable for small families.

Adjustability for the front seats are ace, and finding a proper seating position won't be hard as there's a 10-way power adjustable seat (manual for the passenger), as well as a tilt-and-telescopic adjustable steering wheel.

Bonus points for height adjustment on the passenger seat - not many cars come with this feature.

Space in front isn't so bad; it's the back that's a bit of a problem. If the driver and front passenger are tall, then their seating positions are likely to rob what little rear space there is.

Case in point: Jason's 177 cm tall, and with the seat adjusted to his driving position, legroom is only about one tennis ball's worth. Headroom is also the same.

Other than that, there's a centre armrest, and a smattering of medium-sized cubby spaces around. Most of them will fit a bottle, phone, and wallet just fine. Speaking of cupholders, you'll get 8 of them.

The boot isn't the biggest out there too, with a total of 361 litres. More space can be afforded by stowing away the 60:40 split-folding seats, and under the boot is a tyre repair kit.

2021 Hyundai Kona 2.0 Active: Quality and Features – 36/50, Well-equipped

Take away the objective questions for a bit – space, price, performance – there's one thing that the Kona offers that's almost impossible to put a price on, and that's making you stand out.

Dark colour options are available, but in something bright like this Dive in Jeju light blue shade, you'll really stick out. For some, this is more than enough reason to consider the Kona already.

This is not the N Line, so its looks are more gentle than aggressive. As far as exterior kit is concerned, it comes with 18-inch wheels, LED head- and taillights, and heated (for water dissipation) side mirrors.

Lots of soundproofing materials contribute to the Kona's great sound insulation.

For all the outside visual drama, the Kona's cabin is relatively sedate. Ours had light beige inserts (only available with the Dive in Jeju exterior colour) so those brightened things up somewhat.

Every other exterior colour only gets an all-black interior and that makes it all look rather ho-hum.

A little 'normal' looking, but it looks and feels hardy enough to last a long time. Solid plastics, supple leather, and soft-touch materials give a heightened sense of quality. 

Across all four variants, the Malaysian-spec Kona gets an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, complete with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, chiming sound through a 6-speaker surround sound setup.

The headunit is smooth, with no discernible lag, and it's easy to look at it in the day as well. Sound quality however is just passable - don't expect thumping bass and crystal clear instrumentation and you'll be alright.

A healthy list of features round off the Kona's advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) package.

There's a blind spot monitor with rear cross traffic alert (BSM & RCTA, which admittedly can get very beepy), lane keeping assist (LKA), lane following assist (LFA), and forward collision avoidance assist (FCA, or AEB in other words).

As this isn't the range-topping N Line, the cruise control system here is just the regular variety. Passive safety-wise, all Konas get 6 airbags and ISOFIX tethers, besides the requisite ABS and ESC, among others.

2021 Hyundai Kona 2.0 Active: Fuel consumption – 13/20, Moderate

After driving around 238.3 km in equal parts urban and highway conditions, the Kona used up 19.88 litres of petrol.

This gives the Hyundai Kona 2.0 Active a fuel consumption figure of 8.3-litre/100 km. This test also constitutes city driving and hard acceleration, so this number might vary depending on your personal use case.

2021 Hyundai Kona 2.0 Active: Purchase and cost – 20/30, Relatively pricey

As tested, the 2021 Hyundai Kona 2.0 Active starts from RM 136,888. A rather steep asking price, considering it essentially out-prices every other rival.

Meanwhile, the table below shows how much it'll cost to maintain one over five years. The priciest service is at the 36th month / 60,000 km mark, which constitutes the changing of the transmission fluid and drive belt.

Like other models in Hyundai Malaysia's line-up, the Kona is backed by a five-year / 300,000 km warranty.

2021 Hyundai Kona 2.0 Active: Conclusion – 167.5/250 pts overall

The Hyundai Kona takes the 'utility vehicle' bit in 'SUV' a bit loosely, and as such, it may not be very suitable if you're looking for a new car to fit your growing family.

Instead, it's one for those who want something that stands out in a sea of Japanese cars, something that brings with it a touch of class and smoothness that stands a cut above typical, cheaper rivals.