Electric version of this bold-looking small SUV gets a boost in range, practicality and comfort On sale Now Price from £34,995
Neil Winn neil.winn@haymarket.com
WE’D LOVE TO have been a fly on the wall in Hyundai’s design department when ideas for the latest Kona were being bandied around. The conversation must have gone something like this: “Well, the Ioniq 5, with its ‘8-bit video game’ looks, is winning over buyers, and the Ioniq 6, modelled on a 1950s streamliner, has won numerous design awards, so let’s go all in and style the new Kona after RoboCop”.
It practically shouts, “Hey, I’m electric”, which makes sense when you consider that this second-generation Kona has been developed as an electric vehicle (EV) first and a combustion car second; the more traditionally styled first-generation car was the other way around.
Like its predecessor, the new Kona Electric offers two battery and electric motor options. The standard version has a 48.4kWh (usable) battery and a 154bhp motor, while the long-range version gets a 65.4kWh battery and a 215bhp motor. We haven’t yet tested the entry-level model, but the 65kWh Kona feels truly sprightly, accelerating from 0-62mph in 7.8sec. That’s a fair bit quicker than rivals such as the Jeep Avenger, Peugeot e-2008 and Skoda Enyaq.
When it comes to EVs, though, how far you can travel between charges is more important than acceleration. Officially, the smaller battery yields a range of 234 miles and the larger one 319 miles – small gains on the old car’s 189 miles and 300 miles respectively, but still impressive by class standards. This puts the 65kWh Kona well ahead of the BYD Atto 3 (260 miles), Kia Niro EV (285 miles) and Smart #1 (273 miles).
When you lift off the accelerator pedal, you feel the car slowing down quite quickly, thanks to a regenerative braking system that captures energy to help eke out range. You can increase that braking effect via paddles behind the steering wheel, and in its strongest setting it will bring the car to a complete stop without you having to touch the brake pedal. Regardless of how it’s set, the brakes are predictable, allowing you to stop more smoothly than you could in most rivals, including the e-2008.
What’s more, the Kona Electric is a very relaxing car in which to cover miles. The steering could do with a touch more weight, but it’s accurate enough and allows you to place the car on the road with relative ease. And while it leans more noticeably in corners than the #
