This high-performance Kona variant arrived in 2021 as Hyundai’s first SUV to wear the N performance badge, expanding the brand’s enthusiast lineup beyond hatchbacks and sedans. It was introduced as a performance-focused version of the Kona subcompact crossover, pairing the model’s everyday practicality with a more aggressive chassis, sport-oriented design and track-capable character. Hyundai positioned it as a "hot SUV"—a nameplate meant to deliver the feel and engagement associated with the N division while still functioning as a usable small crossover for daily driving.
The model was launched globally in 2021 and reached the U.S. market as a 2022 model year vehicle. Hyundai’s own model-history pages identify it as beginning in 2021, and U.S. model-year change documents show it continuing through the 2023 model year as a carry-over model. When Hyundai introduced the all-new second-generation Kona for 2024, the N variant was not carried over, effectively ending the first Kona N run after the 2023 model year.
In Hyundai’s performance history, this nameplate is significant because it translated the N brand’s core idea—an accessible, driver-focused machine with genuine performance intent—into an SUV body style for the first time. It also gave the Kona range a distinct enthusiast identity separate from the mainstream trims and the later N Line appearance package. For collectors and enthusiasts, the model stands out as an early and relatively rare example of a compact performance crossover from a mainstream manufacturer, and as an important marker in the evolution of Hyundai’s N division.