Compare the2023 Hyundai KonaVS 2023 Toyota Rav4

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

© 1999 - 2024Advanta-STAR Automotive Research, all rights reserved. This vehicle comparison and all of the content in it are provided only by license from Advanta-STAR Automotive Research Corporation of America (“Advanta-STAR”). If you are not a legally licensed user of this vehicle comparison, it is against federal law to access it, copy it, forward it, or use it in any manner whatsoever. Any unauthorized use of this vehicle comparison is a violation of U.S. and international law and is punishable criminally and civilly. Removal of this watermark/notification without prior written license and approval received from Advanta-STAR is an agreement, understanding, and/or stipulation by the person(s), entities, agents, attorneys, and any other persons involved in the removal of this watermark/notification (including but not limited to Search Optics, LLC and any and all parent entities, sister entities, and subsidiary entities of Search Optics, LLC and/or any other entity, agent, attorney, and persons related in any manner to Search Optics, LLC) to: 1) an agreed upon amount of liquidated monetary damages of a minimum of $1,250,000.00 US Dollars in favor of Advanta-STAR; 2) the jurisdiction and enforcement of any legal claims associated with this matter asserted by Advanta-STAR in the United States Federal District Court in Portand, Oregon; and 3) service of process of any legal claims asserted by Advanta-STAR associated with this matter may be accomplished by First-Class Postage by the United States Postal Service or comparable service. XPYNN-M34HG 2a06:98c0:3600::103 2024/05/04

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Kona are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Rav4 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Kona has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Rav4’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Kona has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Rav4.

Both the Kona and the Rav4 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and rear parking sensors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Hyundai Kona is safer than the Toyota Rav4:

	Kona	Rav4
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	20%	29.3%
Neck Stress	207 lbs.	306 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	29/232 lbs.	400/388 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	217	284
Neck Injury Risk	37%	37.4%
Neck Stress	193 lbs.	258 lbs.
Neck Compression	70 lbs.	95 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	59/27 lbs.	340/190 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Hyundai Kona is safer than the Toyota Rav4:

	Kona	Rav4
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	14 inches
HIC	196	299
Spine Acceleration	34 G’s	36 G’s
Hip Force	744 lbs.	835 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Kona is 1.4% to 2.3% less likely to roll over than the Rav4.

Warranty

The Kona comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Rav4’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Kona 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Toyota covers the Rav4. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Rav4 ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Kona’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Rav4’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Kona for 1 year and 11000 miles longer than Toyota pays for maintenance for the Rav4 (3/36,000 vs. 2/25000).

Reliability

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Kona has a standard 150-amp alternator. The Rav4’s standard 100-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 10 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked fifth.

Engine

The Kona N Line/Limited’s standard 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder produces 11 lbs.-ft. more torque (195 vs. 184) than the Rav4’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Kona N Line/Limited 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Toyota Rav4:

	Kona	Rav4
Zero to 60 MPH	7.3 sec	8.2 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	19.7 sec	22.9 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	7.6 sec	8.7 sec
Quarter Mile	15.7 sec	16.4 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	90 MPH	87 MPH
Top Speed	130 MPH	122 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Kona gets better mileage than the Rav4:

			MPG
Kona
	FWD	2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	30 city/35 hwy
		1.6 turbo 4-cyl.	29 city/35 hwy
	AWD	2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	28 city/33 hwy
		1.6 turbo 4-cyl.	27 city/32 hwy
Rav4
	FWD	XLE 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/34 hwy
		LE/Limited 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/35 hwy
	AWD	XLE 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/33 hwy
		Adventure/Limited 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	25 city/33 hwy
		TRD Off-Road 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	25 city/32 hwy

Regardless of its engine, the Kona’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. Toyota only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Rav4 LE AWD/XLE/XLE Premium.

Transmission

The Kona has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Rav4 doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Kona offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Rav4 doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

Brakes and Stopping

The Kona stops much shorter than the Rav4:

	Kona	Rav4
60 to 0 MPH	119 feet	134 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	131 feet	140 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

The Kona SE’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Rav4 LE/XLE’s standard 65 series tires. The Kona N Line/Limited’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Rav4 XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited’s 55 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Kona has variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Rav4 doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Kona SEL AWD handles at .88 G’s, while the Rav4 Limited 4WD pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Kona executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2 seconds quicker than the Rav4 Limited (26.9 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 28.9 seconds @ .57 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Kona’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Rav4 LE/XLE’s (34.8 feet vs. 36.1 feet). The Kona’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Rav4 XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

Chassis

The Hyundai Kona may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 350 to 500 pounds less than the Toyota Rav4.

The Kona is 1 foot, 3.3 inches shorter than the Rav4, making the Kona easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The Kona has .1 inches more front headroom, .5 inches more front legroom and 4.5 inches more rear hip room than the Rav4.

Ergonomics

The Kona’s driver power window, power lock and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Rav4’s power window (except driver window) and power lock switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Kona’s standard variable intermittent wipers have an adjustable delay to allow the driver to choose a setting that best clears the windshield during light rain or mist. The Rav4 LE’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

The Kona’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Toyota charges extra for heated mirrors on the Rav4.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Kona owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Kona with a number “8” insurance rate while the Rav4 is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Kona is less expensive to operate than the Rav4 because it costs $164 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Kona than the Rav4, including $68 less for front brake pads, $139 less for a starter, $147 less for fuel injection, $279 less for a fuel pump and $625 less for a timing belt/chain.

Recommendations

Motor Trend performed a comparison test in its January 2019 issue and they ranked the Hyundai Kona SE higher than the Toyota Rav4 Adventure.

The Kona was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2019. The Rav4 hasn’t been picked since 2008.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Kona as the 2019 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The Rav4 has never been chosen.