Hyundai Bayon review

When buying a small SUV, do you prioritise a high driving position or SUV-inspired looks? If it's the second of those, the Hyundai Bayon we're reviewing here is aimed at you.

Like the rival Skoda Kamiq, the Bayon has a surprisingly low driving position. While some buyers will undoubtedly prefer the loftier, more upright set-ups you find in, for example, the Renault Captur, being squatter does give it some advantages over rival small SUVs.

Not only is it more aerodynamic, but being shorter in height helps lower its centre of gravity. So, at least in theory, the Bayon should handle well next to its peers, with good agility and little body lean. 

In terms of the Hyundai car range, the Bayon sits below the more expensive but not vastly bigger Hyundai Kona. However, while you can get an all-electric Kona, you have to put petrol in the tank of your Bayon whichever version you go for.

So how does the Hyundai Bayon compare with its key rivals, including the Captur and Kamiq, as well as the Ford Puma and VW T-Cross? Read on to find out...

The Hyundai Bayon is available with just one engine option, badged 1.0 T-GDi 100, and you can have it with a six-speed manual gearbox or a seven-speed automatic gearbox. Both gearboxes are fairly slick and snappy, but you'll officially get from 0-62mph quicker with the manual (11.3 seconds against 12.4).

No matter which gearbox you select, the Bayon’s 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine feels punchy enough – both around town and on the motorway. It doesn’t cry out for more performance like a Renault Captur TCe 90 does, but if you’d like more, we’d point you towards a Ford Puma Ecoboost mHEV 125 or (better yet) mHEV 155.

We’d also point you towards the Ford Puma if you value fun handling, but the Bayon feels a tad more planted on the road, with less body lean in the corners. It grips well too. However, the Puma feels much more agile and playful, with steering that’s more precise and well weighted. In other words, while the Bayon handles safely and securely, it’s devoid of much dynamism.

Ride comfort is good by class standards – the Bayon is softer and more forgiving than a Puma. That said, the Bayon can’t quite match the smooth, sophisticated ride of the Skoda Kamiq or VW T-Cross – the best options in the small SUV class if comfort is a priority.

The Bayon isn’t as quiet as those alternatives at motorway speeds, although it thankfully falls far short of whipping up annoying amounts of road and wind noise.

"The Puma’s talents are somewhat made redundant if you simply want a comfy, secure, easy-going driving experience: I believe the Bayon will suit many people to a T." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

As we said at the start, the Hyundai Bayon doesn’t lift you as far from the road as some small SUVs, including the Renault Captur. Many potential buyers consider a bad thing – after all, if you like a low-slung driving position, why would you pay a premium for an SUV? – but if it doesn't put you off, the Bayon's driving position isn't bad. 

There’s a good amount of seat and steering wheel adjustment, and the pedals line up neatly with the steering wheel. Our only gripes are that taller drivers might find that the edge of the seat squab digs into their hamstrings, and that there’s no option to have adjustable lumbar support on any trim level.

Every Bayon gets a 10.3in infotainment touchscreen with sharp graphics and decent responsiveness. We wish the shortcut buttons were physical as opposed to touch-sensitive, because that’d be easier to use while you’re driving, but overall it compares well with other touchscreen systems. 

Over-the-shoulder visibility is compromised by the Bayon’s chunky rear pillars, but you do get a reversing camera and rear parking sensors to help. Seeing out of the front isn’t a problem.

The Bayon is a little more alluring inside than the Hyundai i20 small car (which it’s based on). There’s precious little in the way of soft-touch, upmarket materials and the slab of hard plastic across the face of the dashboard feels decidedly low-rent. Admittedly, the Ford Puma is hardly plush inside, but it does edge the Bayon for perceived quality.

“I like the design of the Bayon’s interior. It looks sharp and modern. It’s a real shame there are so few soft-touch materials though.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

There’s plenty of space in the front of the Hyundai Bayon, so even tall people are unlikely to have any issues with head room or how far back the seats slide.

The Bayon edges rivals such as the Ford Puma for rear knee room – and by enough for taller people to notice. There’s also plenty of head room and interior width, so squeezing three adults in the back isn’t comical. Our only grumble is that there's not much foot space under the seats in front when they’re set to their lowest setting.

The rear seatbacks split and fold in a 60/40 arrangement, just as they do in the Puma. However, there are no other clever tricks like the sliding rear seats you get in the VW T-Cross or the fold-flat front passenger seat available in the Puma.

We managed to fit five carry-on suitcases below the parcel shelf in the Bayon’s 334-litre boot, which isn’t bad by class standards. Mind you, the Skoda Kamiq too seven cases and the Puma eight, so clearly there are better choices if you need a big boot to carry lots of luggage.

All versions come with a height-adjustable boot floor as standard which, when slotted into its highest position, means there’s no step in the floor of the extended load bay when the rear seats are folded down – only a very gentle slope.

“I appreciate the Bayon’s roominess, although it doesn’t particularly step things up over the i20 small car.” – Neil Winn, Deputy Reviews Editor

There are cheaper options in the small SUV class – the Dacia Duster and Renault Captur for example. That said, the Bayon leans on the cheaper side, undercutting the Skoda Kamiq and VW T-Cross by a considerable margin.

Depreciation isn’t predicted to be too brutal, although the Bayon is expected to lose value more quickly than a Ford Puma. That can have a bearing on PCP deals (cars that hold their value well usually have lower monthly payments), and it's always worth checking for the latest offers using our New Car Deals pages.

The Bayon is good on fuel for a non-hybrid petrol small SUV, with the manual gearbox version averaging 51.4mpg officially. Still, hybrid alternatives like the Toyota Yaris Cross are naturally going to best it, reaching past 60mpg in some situations.

The entry-level Advance trim is decently equipped, featuring LED headlights, 16in alloy wheels, the 10.3in infotainment touchscreen and ambient lighting for the interior.

Premium trim swaps your air conditioning for climate control and the 16in wheels for 17in ones. It also gets heated seats, a heated steering wheel and front parking sensors. We think the extra luxuries are worth the price premium, making it our favourite trim.

If you must have more kit in your Bayon, there's Ultimate trim. It gets a Bose premium sound system, a sunroof and wireless phone-charging, but we don't think it's worth the extra cost.

All trims get plenty of safety kit, including automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assistance and a system that monitors driver fatigue. You can only have blind-spot monitoring with Ultimate trim. When the Bayon was crash-tested by safety experts from Euro NCAP, it was given four out of five stars, which is a little disappointed as many small SUVs get five stars.

The Bayon did not feature in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey but Hyundai finished in 10th place out of 31 manufacturers in the overall league table. You get a five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty as standard, which is longer cover than for some rivals, but shorter than the seven years of cover Kia gives you, let alone the 10 years (with conditions) on Toyotas.

"I’m glad the Bayon has kept its price reasonable while some rivals, like the Ford Puma, have shot up." – Stuart Milne, Digital Editor

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