All-new Hyundai Bayon debuts with Kona-inspired front end

Hyundai has revealed another crossover model dubbed Bayon, and it is positioned between the Venue and the Creta. 

Bayon took its name from Bayonne, a city rich with historic landmarks located in the southern end of France. Why the European name? Well, it had come to the attention of Hyundai that it needed a model capable of dealing with Europe’s tight city roads.

That’s exactly what this model is. It is compact, but it can still provide enough comfort and practicality to assume the role of a daily driver. 

The sleek and modern-looking Hyundai Bayon

As to how it looks, the Bayon bears Hyundai’s latest design language. It is sharp, very modern, and the front end is reminiscent of the different crossover models from the Korean brand.

You can see a bit of similarity to the facelifted Kona, and the larger Creta. It is equipped entirely with LED lights, and the rear end looks especially eye-catching with its arrow-shaped taillights, and extended rear window.

Like many crossover SUVs in the market today, the small crossover SUV also features body cladding, a rear diffuser, as well as a lower skid plate. With these, the Bayon’s identity as a crossover SUV is further cemented.

To match its modern design, the interior of the Bayon was designed to be modern as well. It features a 10.25-inch gauge cluster, and a similarly sized infotainment system. The said system can connect via Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The said system is then linked to a premium Bose sound system.

While the Bayon is bordering on futuristic, its namesake is a town filled with historical structures

Apart from the usual entertainment and navigation functions, the Bayon will also come with Hyundai’s Bluelink upgrade. This enables users of the Bayon to use cloud-based navigation, to view on-street parking prices, use remote car locking and unlocking via an app, online voice recognition, among others.

Besides offering a lot of on-board tech, the Bayon’s set of safety features are also state-of-the-art. It features driver attention warning systems, and it employs a lot of sensors in and around the vehicle for parking, and for the rear occupant alert system.

On top of those features, Hyundai also gave the Bayon semi-autonomous parking assist, which is an indispensable feature for some people when parking in busy cities.

>>> Related: Hyundai teases yet another crossover called ‘Bayon’

Inside the Bayon. Note the digital gauge cluster and the huge touchscreen

Under the hood, the Bayon’s top-spec variant will be propelled by a 118-horsepower 1.0-liter turbocharged engine paired with a 48V electric motor. There’s also a 98-horsepower version of the said engine, that can either come with or without the 48V electric motor.

For now, Hyundai is yet to reveal the combined output for any of the variants. For that, we’ll have to wait for more updates from the Korean carmaker.

Available transmissions for the Bayon, at least for the European market, include a six-speed intelligent manual transmission, or a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Of note, the said powertrain has rev-matching. This makes the Bayon the first-ever Hyundai-made crossover SUV to come equipped with the said feature.

>>> Related: How did the 2021 Hyundai Tucson fare on the moose test?

The Bayon's rear is particularly striking

As a small, compact crossover SUV designed for the tight roads of Europe’s cities, we’re of the opinion that it might also do well here in the Philippines. On top of that, crossover SUVs are also quite popular nowadays, so the Bayon might actually do well in the local market if Hyundai Philippines decides to add the new crossover in its model lineup.

Do note though that we already have the Venue. But then again, the on-board features that the Bayon offers are just too extensive to ignore, right?

For more automotive industry news, keep it here on Philkotse.com.