Buy the wrong generation and you're signing up for a warranty engine replacement before 50k miles. The 2017-2023 Kona carries Hyundai's Theta II engine curse, catastrophic bearing failures that one tech saw 960 times in 13 years, plus a dry-clutch DCT that jerks through parking lots like a teenager learning stick. The 2024+ redesign is a different animal entirely: new SmartStream engines with no systematic issues yet, an actual 8-speed automatic, and genuinely competitive packaging for the money. If you're shopping used, generation matters more than mileage. New buyers get a roomy, tech-loaded subcompact that punches above its price point. Used buyers gambling on first-gen models better hope that 100k powertrain warranty outlasts the engine, and that their dealership answers texts during the months-long repair wait.
The Land Cruiser built a bulletproof reputation over forty years, but the 2024 reboot trades the proven V8 for an unproven turbo hybrid that accelerates poorly and handles like a boat on pavement, brake squealing and body roll are expert-confirmed. The $60,000 base trim delivers cloth seats and minimal features, a value proposition that's hard to defend when the legendary durability you're paying for hasn't been proven yet on this generation. Buy it if you need genuine off-road capability and trust the nameplate enough to bet on it; skip it if you want a refined daily driver or need third-row seating.