Following on from its Ioniq which Practical Motoring will be driving locally next month, the Kona Electric has a range of more than 400km.
BOASTING 150KW and an impressive 395Nm of torque (delivered instantly), the Hyundai Kona Electric might just be the car that helps turn people onto electric cars. The world loves SUVs, so it’s a smart move for Hyundai to release one and the Kona ain’t a bad starting point, either.
There are two versions of the Kona Electric, a short- and long-range variant, the former boasts 99kW and 395Nm while the long-range unit offers the full 150kW and 395Nm of torque. It’s this long-range version that offers a driving range of more than 400km; the short-range version will cover more than 200km on a single charge. And if numbers are your thing, it’ll get to 100km/h in 7.6 seconds but it will likely feel much quicker than that.
The Kona Electric is a little bigger than the regular Kona. It’s 15mm longer, the same width (1800mm) and is 20mm taller; the wheelbase is the same 2600mm. Hyundai claims the batteries are fitted into the platform meaning interior space is more or less unchanged from the standard Kona, so there’s a 373-litre boot although this is reduced when the charging cable is stowed in the back. It’ll take less than an hour to charge to 80% capacity via a fast charger or less than 10 hours from a conventional wall socket.
The Kona Electric features a raft of active safety features that have just been announced for the new Santa Fe. Pricing and final specs haven’t been released yet, and we’d expect we won’t get to know too much more even when it’s revealed next week at the Geneva Motor Show. But, stay tuned.
Not in Australia – the attitude is wrong from the top down.
Seriously, we’re 15 yrs behind UK & USA where they were just starting adopting hybrids – then 10 yrs later, Plug-In hybrids, and now full EVs.
Though, with the better range in 2018, many households could use an EV as their second car.
What is the weight penalty, I’d say 150kg at least for the top spec model, maybe 200kg.
Ok staying tuned Isaac.
Important info includes car cost. Only a rabid greenie is going to pay 2 or 3 times the cost of a Mazda 2 or a VW Polo and blow money that may never be recovered by petrol savings. And it’s for that reason that I think that it might be the Koreans (if they can introduce cheap electric cars) who will swing the motoring public away from ICE cars.
400 kms might be enough for the average daily commute. How about this: An electric box (it’s a buzz box without the buzz) for the daily bump and grind. And a restored HSV VS Clubbie with an LS3 conversion for special drives such as the odd country or interstate run.
Vast riches to the first Automaker that can get something like this under the $40k mark.
Agreed.