Spoiler alert: Sporty Hyundai Kona Electric N-Line priced in Tesla territory for Australia

June 7, 2024July 19, 2024 John Mahoney 13409 Views electric, Hyundai, kona, N Line, N Line Premium

Hyundai Australia has smartened up its small electric SUV with the addition of a new Hyundai Kona Electric N-Line and N-Line Premium.

They will be priced from $62,000 and $71,000 (plus on-road costs) respectively, with both cars available now.

That pricing places the new models in the vicinity of the new Jeep Avenger ($63,990 for the flagship Summit), the front-wheel drive Mini Countryman range ($64,990 to $70,990), the Renault Megane E-Tech ($64,990), the recently launched Volvo EX30 ($59,990 to $71,290), the entry-level Hyundai Ioniq 5 ($67,500), the Toyota bZ4X ($66,000-$74,900) and even the Tesla Model Y, which is priced from $55,900 for the cheapest RWD model.

Priced $4000 and $3000 more than the Kona Electric Extended Range, the Hyundai Kona Electric N-Line and N-Line Premium both get the punchier 150kW/255Nm front-drive powertrain and larger 64.8kWh battery.

Buy the Kona Electric N-Line and you get an N-Line body kit, new 19-inch alloy wheels, black leather and Alcantara seats, a black headliner, sports pedals, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, red interior piping and Sport kickplates.

The N-Line Premium, meanwhile, adds LED projector headlamps, full-width front lighting and LED indicators.

Both the Kona Electric N-Line and N-Line Premium gets the option of specific colours which includes Atlas White, Neoteric Yellow, Cyber Grey ($595), Abyss ($595), Soultronic Orange ($595) and Ultimate Red ($595).

The disadvantage of the new Kona Electric N-Line is by sporting a set of larger 19-inch alloy wheels the standard version’s 505km WLTP driving range drops off to just 444km.

Despite the sportier styling, no mechanical changes have been made, nor even any chassis tweaks – all Kona Electric N-Line and Electric N-Line Premium already has the high-grade Kona’s multi-link rear suspension.

Spearheading the arrival of the MY25 Kona Electric, Hyundai Australia has announced that prices for the rest of the line-up remain unchanged despite the addition of a leather-wrapped armrest and updated intelligent speed assist, which means the Hyundai Kona Electric is still priced from $54,000, while the Extended Range costs $58,000 and the previous Premium flagship, $68,000.