Two up, two down: time to find out just how close hot crossovers can get to their hot hatch equivalents in our latest group test...
► Can they really usurp the Fiesta ST and i20N?
So this is a test within a test: in the main plotline, the new Hyundai Kona N faces off against the Ford Puma ST. And as a sub-plot, we've brought along a smaller, trad hot hatch version of each: the i20N and the Ford Fiesta ST.
Its firm, four-square stance makes it feel purposeful but also a little leaden compared with the i20N. You won't be gobsmacked to hear that the Kona is more lazy in its responses, and with a thicker layer of insulation between you and the steering. When I tip it into that same sequence of corners where we came in at the start of this story, there's an extra heft and slowness to the car's movement, and it pushes into understeer more readily.
There are the same N shortcut buttons on the steering wheel, with which you can access all-out N mode or toggle your own combo of settings for engine response, steering weight, suspension jiggliness and the aggressiveness of the electronically controlled differential lock. The latter can be quite hectoring, tugging at the steering if you pull out of junctions smartly.
Whereas the hatches have a step down to the boot floor, you can have something approaching a flat load bay in the Kona with the rear seats folded down. But compared to some estate cars, the tailgate aperture is rounded and less accessible. If you crank the seat right down to the floor in the Puma, it's actually not far off the hip point of the Fiesta – although that might say more about how loftily high the seating position is set in the Fiesta than how low it can be in the Puma. But there's a good range of adjustment, even though I can't get quite as comfy behind the wheel as I can in the Kona.
The Puma has a touch less legroom than the Kona, and similar headroom above and to the side – its sloping roofline doesn't cut as much head space as it looks from the outside. The measurable differences aren't massive, but the overall feel is lighter and airier than either of the hatchbacks, and there's a clear benefit for luggage and back-seat passengers.
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