2018 Hyundai Kona: 4 Cars the Kona Copycats
CARS.COM — Hyundai has dropped the all-new-for-2018 Kona small SUV into the U.S. market at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show, as the automaker starts to roll out a crush of of crossovers over the next few years.
Related: More 2017 L.A. Auto Show Coverage
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Shop the 2018 Subaru Crosstrek near you
The Kona slots below the Tucson and will have another, even smaller model squeezing in below it for the base end of the market. But the Kona itself is worthy of mention if only for the fact that it looks so blatantly copied from several other vehicles.
See if you agree with our styling critique:
1. Overall Shape: Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class
Especially from the side view, the Mercedes-Benz GLA SUV shares the exact same proportions and silhouette as the Kona. The long front end and super-short, truncated rear make it look almost identical.
2. Front End: Jeep Cherokee
That separated headlight idea, with the main headlights low on the bumper and slim, birdlike running lights on top, is pure Jeep Cherokee. All that’s missing is the traditional Jeep seven-slot grille. But it doesn’t look good on the Cherokee, and it doesn’t look good here, either.
3. Floating Roof: BMW i3 …
… and the GMC Terrain and the Nissan Murano and the Lexus RX and the Buick Enclave and the Toyota Camry, and pretty much every other new car this year. The floating roof styling idea needs to stop. It was cool when it first debuted on the Nissan Murano (or BMW i3, depending on which you count first), but it’s now appeared on nearly every new car from every single automaker. It’s unimaginative and a blatant copycat move.
4. Fender Trim: Subaru Crosstrek
The shape of the fenders, the gray plastic cladding that extends into the front and rear, all of it screams Subaru Crosstrek. Just like the Cherokee’s headlight scheme, this is a styling cue that should’ve been left where it was found.
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