Hyundai Kona Colour Guide

Here’s a detailed look at the paint palette available on the Hyundai Kona 5-seater crossover-SUV, which we hope will help you choose your perfect new car colour.

This article covers the paint options for the regular Kona models with mild-hybrid (MHEV) and full Hybrid (HEV) drivetrains, as well as the zero-emission Kona Electric (EV) and the high-performance Kona N derivative.

There are 12 main paint options for all the assorted models of the Hyundai Kona, comprising 5 solid paints, 3 metallic paints and 4 pearlescent paints. Of these, 10 are available for the MHEV, HEV and EV models, with 5 of them shared with the Kona N – which in turn benefits from 2 specific body colours all of its own, that cannot be specified on any other Kona.

Besides the exterior hues, we also outline the various interior upholsteries and finishes that go with these body colours and model derivatives.

Paint Types

Solid = A simple body colour with no additives in the paint. Usually comprises 3 coats, these being a primer, then the paint, then a clear, protective lacquer. Solid paints aren’t particularly shiny and are normally the only standard/no-cost colours offered by manufacturers.

Metallic = Same application process as above but the paint now has powdered metal mixed into it, which reflects more light to give the car a shinier appearance. Metallic finishes usually cost more than solid paints.

Pearlescent/Mica = As above, only instead of metal, ceramic crystals (known as ‘mica’) are added to the paint. These not only reflect light but refract it too, giving one colour different appearances in different levels of light. They’re normally as expensive as or pricier than metallic paints.

Matte = Uses special ‘flattening’ agents in the paint/layering make-up to give the car a non-reflective appearance, and sometimes an unusual texture too. These are normally the most expensive and rarest of paint options, and are not offered on many new car models.

Exterior

Dive Blue

Type: Solid

Cost: No cost (default colour on MHEV, HEV and EV models)

Available On: All models except Kona N

Kicking off (or should we have said ‘diving into the options…’? We shouldn’t? Oh…) as the default paint finish on all versions of the Hyundai Kona except for the high-performance N flagship – where it’s not offered at all – Dive Blue is a signature shade for the Korean crossover. It looks best on the Electric version, shown here, and it’s a light, flat sky-blue solid which is pretty nice, as far as basic paintjobs in the automotive world go.

Ignite Red

Type: Solid

Cost: No cost (Kona N default colour), £300 (on MHEV, HEV and EV models)

Available On: All models

A bright and fiery (hence its name) orangey-red paint, Ignite is an eye-catching colour that best suits the sporty Kona N (shown in the pic) – which is why it is the standard, no-cost finish on the flagship model. Everywhere else, Ignite Red will set you back £300 but it’ll look great all year round, even when it’s a bit grimy. This is the first paint colour which is available on all 4 types of Hyundai Kona.

Atlas White

Type: Solid

Cost: £300

Available On: All models

The only white offered in the entire Hyundai Kona palette and the second of 5 colours available on all 4 variants of the crossover (MHEV, HEV, EV and N), Atlas White is a flat £300 across the board. It’s also a flat paint finish without much lustre, and it will of course show up a film of year-round-accumulated road filth worse than pretty much any other colour here, but some people like a white car. Again, with its saintly connotations, it looks best on the Kona Electric, so that’s what we’ve shown it on here.

Performance Blue

Type: Solid

Cost: £565

Available On: Kona N

Up next are the final 2 solids, which are the colours which are unique to the performance Kona N halo model only. To that end, both Performance Blue and Sonic Blue (see below) are £565, like any metallic or pearlescent paint option, rather than the £300 Hyundai charges for its optional solid finishes on other models. For our money, Performance Blue is one of the best colours for this striking Korean vehicle – it’s Hyundai N’s ‘signature’ warpaint, seen on the i30 N from launch and also carried over to the i20 N, as well as used on some of the manufacturer’s full-on motorsport and competition machines; not only that, but Hyundai uses this blue for bits of internal switchgear on all its N products, while the colour is used for the stitching of the seats in the Kona N. It’s a flat baby or powder blue that’s even lighter than the standard Dive Blue finish on the other Konas, although Performance works brilliantly against the N’s strident black and red bodywork detailing. Definitely a top choice, and one which’ll look fine even when it’s slathered in grime.

Sonic Blue

Type: Solid

Cost: £565

Available On: Kona N

Sonic Blue is a newer colour than Performance Blue and it’s a much more faded-out hue, looking not a million miles away from stonewashed denim (sorry if that makes it sound uncool, by the way). It’s veering more towards grey than blue, which’ll mean it’ll look good all year round – irrespective of how dirty or clean it is, or what the weather is doing on any particular day – and, like Performance Blue, Sonic is a colour you can’t specify on any other model of Kona, resulting in its weightier £565 optional asking price.

Surfy Blue

Type: Metallic

Cost: £565

Available On: All models except Kona N

Despite its odd name and the fact it makes you think of Belgian cartoon creatures who dwell in mushroom-houses in the forest, Surfy Blue is a posh paint finish for the Hyundai Kona that requires a £565 payment come ordering time. It’s not available on the Kona N at all, but all other variants of the crossover-SUV can be rendered in this colour. It’s a couple of shades darker than basic Dive Blue solid, albeit tinged with the sparkling sheen of a metallic flake in the paint to make it more desirable. Seems to work better against the MHEV and HEV models’ more contrast-look bodywork, which comes with black lower cladding and silver skid guards – so that’s what we’ve shown you in the pic.

Galactic Grey

Type: Metallic

Cost: £565

Available On: All models except Kona N

Galactic Grey is the next metallic finish up the ramp, representing a classic midtone grey. It’s not particularly flashy but it is tastefully discreet, while Galactic shouldn’t take too much year-round upkeep to look its best. This is one of the 5 paint finishes which is not offered on the Kona N, either.

Cyber Grey

Type: Metallic

Cost: £565

Available On: All models

The third of our 5 Kona-wide paints, if you get our drift, Cyber Grey is lighter than Galactic and about as close as Hyundai comes to offering a ‘true’ silver on its compact crossover. Again, it’s a good one to team up with the black-plastic-clad body of the MHEV and HEV cars, which just give it nice definition and contrast. Cyber should also look cracking on the Kona N, being almost a Korean take on Audi’s Nardo Grey which was so popular on its ultra-rapid RS cars for a while, and it won’t require lots of washing to look half-decent either, even in the depths of winter.

Jungle Green

Type: Pearlescent

Cost: £565

Available On: All models except Kona N

A baffling one here, especially to someone who’s colour blind (*cough* your correspondent *cough*), because Jungle Green looks… well, grey. Again. In fact, it’s incredibly similar to Galactic Grey, being ever-so-fractionally darker than that finish and, presumably, with some trace amounts of green mixed into it somewhere. Still, it’s a nice, low-maintenance colour and the first of the pearlescent finishes for the Hyundai Kona, which all cost the same £565 as the metallics and N-specific solid shades. Speaking of which, Jungle Green is not offered on the 280hp model of the Kona, so don’t get your hopes up of specifying it on the N.

Pulse Red

Type: Pearlescent

Cost: £565

Available On: All models except Kona N

The last colour which isn’t available on the Kona N is Pulse Red pearl, and in and among the sea of blues and monochrome finishes Hyundai offers for this model, Pulse is a real headturner. It’s a beautiful, rich, deep red, that some people might describe as a burgundy, and it once again works its absolute best when teamed to the contrast-appearance body of the MHEV and HEV Konas. Even better, Pulse shouldn’t look too bad, even when it is covered with winter road salts and other muck.

Dark Knight Grey

Type: Pearlescent

Cost: £565

Available On: All models

Someone in Hyundai’s paint department is obviously a keen Batman fan. Anyway, staying on a filmic theme, we haven’t quite got 50 shades of grey in the Kona palette, but – if you factor both Sonic Blue and Jungle Green into the equation, despite their names – this is still the fifth grey or grey-like paint you can choose from. However, Dark Knight stands out among the similar shades provided by the Korean company, simply by dint of being much, much darker; it has a proper gunmetal tone to it, bordering on charcoal, and this minimal-maintenance finish looks cracking and mean on the bodywork of the rapid Kona N (shown in the pic). Dark Knight is also available on every version of the Hyundai crossover, so you can have an MHEV in N Line specification if you fancy looking like you drive the hot Kona, only without having to lay out the significant leasing and running costs associated with the performance model.

Phantom Black

Type: Pearlescent

Cost: £565

Available On: All models

Rounding off our line-up is the last pearlescent and the last of the 5 colours (along with Ignite Red, Atlas White, Cyber Grey and Dark Knight Grey) which is offered on every version of the Hyundai Kona. Not much to say about Phantom Black, which is a lustrous, glossy and rather appealing take on the darkest shade – courtesy of its pearlescent finish – but we sound the same note of caution with Phantom that we do with any black-painted car, which is: DON’T think that they’ll be the ones which need the least amount of washing all throughout the year. On the contrary, black tends to show up encrusted-on road salt worse than most greys, so only pick this if you’re a big fan of black and/or washing your car nearly every Sunday of the year. Or superheroes who are nowhere near as popular as ‘the Dark Knight’, thanks to Billy Zane’s turn as the titular Phantom in the forgettable 1996 film of the same name.

Interior