Hyundai Kona Electric Highlander review
The Kona was until recently Hyundai’s smallest and most affordable SUV (it’s since been outdone by the Venue).
While the range starts at around $25K it also stretches all the way to the Kona Electric (or Kona EV) we’ve tested here.
As the name suggests, it drops its regular engine in place for electric motors. But its basic body is shared with the regular Kona, with the exception of the grille that has a more futuristic design that also helps make it more aerodynamic.
Value
One of the appeals of small SUVs from mainstream car makers is their affordability. But that doesn’t apply to the Kona Electric, which starts at a whopping $59,990 before dealer and on-road costs.
Ouch.
It’s a stark indication of how much batteries cost and why electric vehicles currently carry a premium over their petrol-sipping cousins. Whereas it’s easier to hide the cost of batteries on a car nudging six-figures, it’s less palatable when the price doubles, as it has with the Kona.
For that $60K spend you get the Kona Electric Elite, which has the same basic level of gear fitted to the $29,500 Kona Elite. That includes an 8.0-inch touchscreen with satellite-navigation, smart key entry, rain-sensing wipers, leather trim, digital radio tuning, eight-speaker Infinity sound system (it’s OK but far from brilliant) and rear parking sensors with a reversing camera. It rides on 17-inch alloy wheels and has Hyundai’s suite of active safety gear that includes auto emergency braking, blind spot warning and rear cross traffic alert.
One feature it does get over its old-school petrol-fed sibling is a SIM card built in to accommodate the Hyundai Auto Link Premium smartphone connectivity. The system uses the mobile phone network to update information on a smartphone app, so you can keep an eye on things such as battery charge levels and your driving history, including energy usage. You can also remotely lock and unlock the doors and activate the ventilation system, as well as keep an eye on if the car is driven outside a pre-determined area. Plus you can monitor vehicle location, even when parked (perfect if you’re one to lose your car in a carpark!).
Step up to the Kona Electric Highlander – at $64,490 plus costs – and you get 18-inch wheels as well as a partially digital instrument cluster, front parking sensors, a sunroof, wireless phone charging, heated steering wheel, auto high beam functionality, a basic pop-up head-up display and powered front seats with heating and ventilation.
Inside
It’s mostly garden-variety Kona inside, albeit with some key differences.
The instrument cluster has some readouts specific to the electric functionality, for example. Plus, there’s no traditional gear selector, with push buttons to shuffle between forward and reverse.
That revised centre console also liberates more storage space for bags or gadgets, too.
Cabin ambience is far more $30K basic SUV than what most will expect for their $65K. There’s a lot of low-rent grey and some silvery plastics that don’t live up to the price expectations.
Space-wise, it’s identical, which translates to an SUV best suited to singles and couples who only planning on using the back seats occasionally. Those back pews are a stretch with three across the rear and headroom will be an issue for taller adults.
Performance and efficiency
The Kona Electric gets a single permanent magnet synchronous motor producing 150kW and 395Nm and it drives only the front wheels.
It’s that torque hit that gives the Kona Electric its character and thoroughly respectable acceleration.
There’s a heap of zip that makes it a snip to build pace, any prod of the throttle rewarded with a forward surge.
Even though there’s the best part of 1.8 tonnes – much of it in the batteries that line the floor – the Kona Electric never feels undernourished. Even at freeway speeds it comfortably holds pace and easily adds more for overtaking when required.
It’s to the point where other aspects of the car struggle to keep up.
It’s easy to trigger the traction control as the front tyres try to deal with all that torque, a chirp of wheelspin a reminder things have reached their peak. Even at 20 or 30km/h you can elicit some wheelspin, such is the grunt on offer and the relative lack of grip from the tyres.
Charging
The Kona has a 64kWh battery pack that Hyundai claims is good for 449km of driving. That’s measured according to the latest WLTP efficiency standards now in place in Europe, something stricter than our way of measuring consumption (by comparison, the Greenvehicleguide website suggests the Kona Electric has a range of 557km).
Our real-world driving suggested the Kona could travel about 420km between charges, less than both those estimates. But that puts it towards the pointy end of the current EV crop, and ensures you can cover some big distances without range anxiety.
It also makes it useful for those without easy access to overnight home charging, allowing for many days of suburban running before topping up.
When it comes time to charging, the Kona Electric can accept up to 100kW of DC power through its CCS Combo plug. That’s enough to provide an 80 percent charge in just under an hour, according to Hyundai.
For home charging, the Kona can take up to 7.2kW through its Type 2 charger, which from a flat battery will take 9.5 hours to reach full charge.
The battery has an eight-year, 160,000km warranty and guarantees at least 70 percent of its original capacity will be in place.
Ride and handling
Hyundai has stiffened the suspension on the Kona Electric to cope with the extra weight of those batteries (it’s about 400kg heavier than a petrol-powered Kona).
That makes for a firm ride at low speeds, one that can be restless over less than perfect surfaces.
It’s less of an issue once you’re up to 70 or 80km/h, at which point the suspension does a better job of supressing things.
Then there’s the Nexen tyres, which don’t have a whole lot in the way of grip. They appear to have been chosen to reduce energy use (through low rolling resistance), something that makes them less than fun.
As well as the wheelspin in a straight line at lower speeds, you can get some squeals going through corners as they fight to hang on. Call on the tyres to turn and accelerate at the same time and it’s exacerbated.
That’s a shame, because the core manners of the Kona Electric are sound, with decent body control and a planted fee courtesy of a relatively low centre of gravity. Steering is also light and response, albeit lacking feedback.
Party tricks
The Kona Electric has the option of emitting a mild whirring sound outside the car to alert pedestrians you’re approaching.
Called VESS (Virtual Engine Sound System), it can be switched on with a button near your right knee.
When activated it has a mild hollering sound as though Doctor Who’s Tardis is about to take off.
Safety
As well as airbags all around (six in total) and a crash structure that helped it score a five-star ANCAP safety rating, the Kona Electric also gets Hyundai’s latest suite of active safety gear.
Called SmartSense it provides autonomous emergency braking up to 170km/h, blind spot warning and rear cross traffic alert. There’s also lane departure warning with some steering assistance, although like all of those systems it’s fairly useless.
Verdict
The Kona Electric ticks a lot of boxes by electric car standards, especially when it comes to performance (excellent) and driving range (also approaching excellent).
But its price tag makes it difficult to recommend, especially with the Telsa Model 3 lurking not far from it on price.
Combined with the compact cabin that doesn’t live up to the price tag it makes for a car focused heavily on its electric drivetrain, for those who want a compact EV that can travel a long distance between charges.
To some, the cheaper Hyundai Ioniq Electric makes more sense, albeit with a shorter driving range.
HYUNDAI KONA ELECTRIC HIGHLANDER SPECIFICATIONS
Price: $64,490, plus on-road and dealer costs
Warranty: 5 years, unlimited km
Battery warranty: 8 years, 160,000km (guarantee of 70% performance)
EV type: EV
Motor: Single permanent synchronous motor
Power/torque: 150kW/395Nm
Transmission: Single-speed direct drive, front-wheel drive
Electricity use: 13.1kWh/100km (Greenvehicleguide)
Charger types: Type 2, CCS Combo
Battery capacity: 64kWh
Claimed range: 449km (WLTP)
Maximum charging power AC/DC: 7.2kW/100kW
0-100km/h: NA
Top speed: NA
