HYUNDAI's new hot compact SUV, the Kona N, will be available with an eight-speed wet-type dual-clutch transmission, known as N DCT, which the company says will provide the engaging experience of a sequential gearbox with the convenience of an automatic transmission.

And, according to Andreas-Christoph Hofmann, the company's European marketing and product vice president: "By integrating it into the all-new Kona N, we're enabling all sorts of high-performance driving features and turning the Kona N into a true ‘hot SUV.'"

Hyundai's N DCT transmission was originally developed for the Veloster N coupe which was only available in North America and Korea and is also available on the i30 N hot hatch. Like the i30 N, in the Kona N it will be paired with a 280PS, two-litre turbocharged petrol engine providing unique gear ratios and faster shifting.

The company says that the N DCT transmission enables exclusive high-performance functions that are sure to bring a grin to the driver's face - so much so that they've named one of the system's three modes N Grin Shift which maximises performance for 20 seconds.

The others are N Power Shift and N Track Sense Shift. The three modes use dedicated shift logic management to provide different levels of torque and power boost and come in addition to five different drive modes - Normal, Eco, Sport, N and Custom.

The Kona N is expected to go on sale in the summer and full specifications and prices will be revealed nearer to the UK launch date.

Meanwhile, Hyundai has cut prices of most of its electric models, to ensure that buyers can still qualify for the Government's plug in car grant. The cuts mean that all but one of Hyundai's electric models qualifies for the grant.

Previously electric cars up to £50,000 were eligible for a £3,000 grant, but the changes made in last month's budget have reduced those figures to £35,000 and £2,500 respectively.

Prices of the Kona Electric 39KWh now start at £30,395 while the 64KWh version, which is capable of travelling up to 300 miles on a single charge, now costs from £34,995. The Ioniq Electric range now starts at £32,995 for the Premium model.