Hyundai already has an electric Ioniq, but now there's a new electric kid on the block:
the Kona. Of course, we already know the Kona with a combustion engine,
but this particular car is powered by batteries only. Also, it's been sold out for 2018,
without properly being tested by us. Time to find out why.
At Hyundai, they're building the electric Kona in two versions.
One with a big battery pack and one with a small battery pack.
I can immediately tell you, the small one won't be coming to the Netherlands.
Not in the near future that is. We'll be getting the big one.
The big battery pack is able to produce 204 horsepower...
with the electric motor and more importantly,
it means it's got a bigger range. According to the WLTP-cycle,
this car should be able to do 482 km on a full charge. That's a number which makes an electric car interesting.
Of course, those are numbers from the rolling road, but if it's able to do 400 km in the 'real' world,
that's pretty good actually.
The electric motor, producing 204 horsepower, is a very pleasant power source.
The throttle response is very good.
There's no need to be afraid of overtaking, because it's pretty swift.
What happens if you release the throttle, is all according to your preferences.
Literally, because with the flappy paddles behind the wheel, you can set the way the electric motor regenerates...
if you release the pedal. You can even choose to not regenerate.
The car then just rolls further. In the three other modes,
you can make it regenerate very rigorously. Up to 0,25 G, which is a very abrupt braking manoeuvre.
To increase the efficiency, the airconditioning works with a cooling pump,
which uses half the energy of a conventional system. Every little bit counts, so this does as well.
The remainder of cool air can be used to keep the batteries...
at the desired temperature. Its ideal temperature range is inbetween 25 and 45 degrees celsius.
The battery pack itself is incorporated beneath the floor and underneath the rear seat.
Because of the low positioning, the centre of gravity is low as well.
That has positive effects on the handling, because the car feels very stable.
It feels pleasant and safe and you just know what you're dealing with.
That's very comfortable. The limiting factor isn't the chassis..
with a multilink rear axle, but rather the Nexon-tires,
which are pretty noisy as well. That's a small drawback.
Because the electric motors powers the front wheels...
according to a set ratio, it doesn't need a shifting mechanism on the middle console.
If we compare it with the normal combustion version, we can see the middle console has been raised a little.
It now features a set of buttons. Drive, reverse, park and neutral.
Beneath that, there's now a storage space.
You can fit all kinds of stuff there and you've got all kinds of ports.
The multimedia system in the Kona, is the same as we've seen in other Hyundai's and Kia's.
There's not a lot wrong with it. The controls are very intuitive...
and it's got clear buttons on either side of the screen.
Other than that, the controls in the car are pretty simple.
It's got a very clear instrument cluster with a big, clear speedometer.
It's got different displays which tell you how much range there's left and other functions which belong to electric cars.
The used materials look very good, but when you touch them, the feel kind of hard.
On the other hand, it's a B-segment SUV,
so it doesn't matter very much. And because it's a B-segment SUV,
it's not incredibly spacious. The space in the front is pretty decent,
but it's a little cramped in the back. The same goes for the boot,
which is a little mediocre. If you get it with a little compartment for your loading cables,
it's 332 litres. If you don't get that compartment,
it's 375 litres.
The entry price for the electric Kona is €39.195, which sounds pretty high.
Especially if you compare it with a base Kona, because this is two times as expensive.
On the other hand, for an electric car with this kind of range,
it's a very decent range. The base trim of this car is pretty good as well.
It comes with pedestrian detection and active cruise control as standard.
If you up your trim, a few safety features join the mix.
Blind spot assist for example. Also, it keeps track of traffic behind you...
if you're parking backwards. If you go up another trim,
you'll get a lane keeping assist, which works perfectly well if I'm honest.
It's absolutely worth the consideration. It'll keep the car neatly within the lines,
exactly in the middle. And we've seen worse.
If we add it all up, it's pretty logical that all 1.500 Kona's which are coming...
to the Netherlands this year are sold out, because when it comes to additional taxes,
it's a very interesting car. If you want one,
you'll have to wait another eleven months. That's how popular the car is.
And I can see why...