The Hyundai Bayon arrives to compete with other trendy SUVs in Europe



Hyundai is adding a new compact crossover and the new Bayon is the smallest member of the company’s expanding SUV family in Europe.

The name Bayon was inspired by a vacation hotspot: Bayonne, the capital of the French Basque Country and one of the most beautiful destinations in the south-west of France.

Measuring just 4.18 metres long, 1.775 metres wide and a wheelbase of 2.58 metres, the new Bayon is similar in size to the Hyundai Kona and Toyota Yaris Cross. These compact crossovers are popular in Europe where Nissan started the Juke, Renault captured the market with the Captur, Kia has the Stonic, Peugeot with the 2008 and Volkswagen’s T-Cross joined the segment in 2019.

The ground clearance for this compact crossover is 183 millimetres, which Hyundai says is higher than most other vehicles in the B-segment.

The new Hyundai Bayon is the company’s latest interpretation of Sensuous Sportiness design language that combines emotional values and innovative solutions. The arrow-shaped headlamps and wide grille create a solid stance while the topmost portion is defined by a pair of thin DRLs strips and intake band.

On the side, plenty of lines and indents create a dynamic shoulder line ending with a rather thick D-pillar and pronounced wedged-look at the rear. Hyundai designers also created an arrow-theme for the LED taillamps, connected by a faux light strip on a large black panel to emphasise width.

Compared to the larger Hyundai Tucson, the Bayon is leaning on the safe and proven design.

Opening the tailgate reveals a much larger luggage area, 411 litres which is 50 litres more than the Kona. Hyundai has made storing the large solid tonneau cover much simpler by simply sliding it to rest against the seat back.

The interior continues to follow the simple and effective ergonomics found in larger models such as the new Elantra. A 10.25-inch driver’s digital cluster can be specified, with a similarly sized display for the touchscreen infotainment.

A basic 8-inch display audio is standard with wireless connection to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto smartphone connectivity. A premium Bose sound system can also be selected.

Users can further communicate with their new Bayon via the Hyundai Bluelink smartphone app. Among the useful features are a cloud-based navigation that offers more precise routes for daily driving and on-street parking availability and fee.         

Only one regular petrol engine with two states of tune is offered in the new Hyundai Bayon at launch. A turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine equipped with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system has outputs of 100 hp and 120 hp with both delivering maximum torque of 172 Nm.

The valvetrain in the latest line of Kappa engines also features Hyundai’s unique Continuously Variable Valve Duration (CVVD) technology, which regulates the duration of the valve opening and closing according to driving requirements.

Both outputs can be had with either a six-speed intelligent manual transmission with downshift rev-matching or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

New vehicles these days offer the full range of Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS) suite and the new Hyundai Bayon continues this trend with its SmartSense package. The autonomous emergency braking system in the Bayon even works while coming out of a junction. The Junction Turning function can apply the brakes to prevent a collision with an oncoming car when turning left at an intersection.

Another value-adding safety feature in the Bayon is the Rear Occupant Alert (ROA) that notifies the driver before leaving the vehicle if sensors detect movement in the back seat, making it even safer for children and even pets.


 GALLERY