The Hyundai Kona has today been named carsales’ Best Small SUV for 2021.
Our Best Small SUV award recognises the most accomplished models in the fast-growing light and small SUV segments which now attract more buyers than all individual passenger car categories combined.
Following a multi-stage judging process that whittled down the top 12 contenders, the Hyundai Kona came out on top in our second annual automotive mega-test following last month’s Best Dual-Cab 4x4 Ute 2021 award.
The Hyundai Kona was the stand-out performer in a growing field of dynamic, well-equipped and well-priced small SUVs, thanks in part to well-sorted Australian chassis tuning and solid powertrain performance and efficiency.
When measured against more than 100 separate criteria across five key areas of assessment, including purchase and running costs, the Kona emerged as the most complete small SUV on the market.
To determine the carsales Best Small SUV for 2021, our judges compared the best-equipped variant priced under $40,000 from all 12 model ranges in the areas of safety, technology, comfort and convenience, cost of ownership and driving performance.
carsales Best Small SUV 2021 contenders:
Ford Puma ST-Line V
Hyundai Kona 2.0 Highlander
Kia Stonic GT-Line
Mazda CX-3 2.0 Akari LE AWD
Mazda CX-30 G20 Astina FWD
MG ZST Essence
Nissan QASHQAI Ti
Skoda Kamiq 110TSI Monte Carlo
Toyota C-HR 1.2 Koba AWD
Toyota Yaris Cross 1.5 Urban AWD
Volkswagen T-Cross 85TSI Style
Volkswagen T-Roc 110TSI Style