Compare the2024 Hyundai KonaVS 2023 Jeep Renegade

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Kona have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Jeep Renegade doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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 Renegade doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Kona Limited has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Renegade only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Kona and Renegade have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Kona has Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Renegade’s Rear Cross Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.

The Kona’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Renegade doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Kona and the Renegade have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available all wheel drive.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Hyundai Kona is much safer than the Renegade:

The Hyundai Kona has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Renegade is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.

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 Renegade’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 Jeep covers the Renegade. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Renegade ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

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

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Kona for 1 year longer than Jeep pays for maintenance for the Renegade (3 years vs. 2 years).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai above average in initial quality. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles, Jeep is rated lower.

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 Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 53 more problems per 100 vehicles, Jeep is ranked 19th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Hyundai 15 places higher in reliability than Jeep.

The Kona N Line/Limited’s standard 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder produces 13 more horsepower (190 vs. 177) than the Renegade’s 1.3 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Kona N Line/Limited 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Jeep Renegade:

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Hyundai Kona uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Renegade requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Kona has a standard locking fuel door. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Renegade. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

The Kona SE/SEL 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 Renegade doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Kona stops much shorter than the Renegade:

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 Renegade Trailhawk’s standard 65 series tires.

The Kona has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Renegade’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

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 Renegade doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Kona’s wheelbase is 3.5 inches longer than on the Renegade (104.7 inches vs. 101.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Kona is 1.9 inches wider in the front and 2.4 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Renegade.

The Kona Limited AWD handles at .83 G’s, while the Renegade Trailhawk pulls only .73 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Kona Limited AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.8 seconds quicker than the Renegade Trailhawk (27.2 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 29 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Kona’s turning circle is .5 feet tighter than the Renegade Trailhawk’s (34.8 feet vs. 35.3 feet). The Kona’s turning circle is 1.5 feet tighter than the Renegade’s (34.8 feet vs. 36.3 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Kona has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Renegade (8.1 vs. 8 inches), allowing the Kona to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Hyundai Kona may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 50 to 300 pounds less than the Jeep Renegade.

The design of the Hyundai Kona amounts to more than styling. The Kona has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .302 Cd. That is significantly lower than the Renegade (.36 to .37) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Kona get better fuel mileage.

For excellent aerodynamics, the Kona has standard flush composite headlights. The Renegade has recessed headlights that spoil its aerodynamic shape and create extra drag.

The Kona has .5 inches more front legroom, 1.2 inches more front hip room, .9 inches more front shoulder room, 3.1 inches more rear legroom, .5 inches more rear hip room and .1 inches more rear shoulder room than the Renegade.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Kona’s rear seats recline. The Renegade’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Kona has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Renegade with its rear seat up (25.5 vs. 18.5 cubic feet). The Kona has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Renegade with its rear seat folded (63.7 vs. 50.8 cubic feet).

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Kona Limited’s power liftgate can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Kona’s power liftgate can also be opened or closed by pressing a button. The Renegade doesn’t offer a power or hands-free opening liftgate.

The Kona uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Renegade uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Kona’s standard Proximity Key allows you to unlock the doors from either front door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Pushbutton Start standard on the Renegade only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the vehicle.

The Kona’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the Renegade’s standard halogen headlights. LED lights also light instantly and last over twenty times longer than halogen.

The Kona has a standard automatic headlight on/off feature. When the ignition is on, the headlights automatically turn on at dusk and off after dawn. The Renegade only offers an automatic headlight on/off feature as an extra cost option.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Kona Limited keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Renegade doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Kona has a standard center folding armrest for the rear passengers. A center armrest helps make rear passengers more comfortable and it can provide a boundary between children. The Renegade doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

Both the Kona and the Renegade offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Kona SEL/N Line/Limited has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Renegade doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Hyundai Kona (except SE) offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Renegade doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Kona Limited’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Renegade Limited’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.

The Kona is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Renegade doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Hyundai Kona outsold the Jeep Renegade by over three to one during 2023.