Hyundai Kona outgrows itself

The new Kona is a very important car for the Netherlands, not least because of the electric variant. Just like its sister Kia Niro, it comes in three versions, but where the Kia is available as an EV, plug-in hybrid and full hybrid, the Kona is not available as a PHEV. Instead, there will be a mild hybrid version. The plug-in market is covered with the larger Tucson, Hyundai believes. The Kona is more of a global car than the European-inspired Niro, and PHEV isn’t as important elsewhere as it is here. That is why there will also be an ICE version of the Kona with only a slight electric boost, an option that is not available with the Niro.

How much power does the Hyundai Kona get?

Unfortunately, we only have the specifications of the electric variant. It comes with a 64 kWh battery, good for 490 WLTP kilometers and as a 48.5 kWh version with which you have to travel 342 paper kilometers. The thick version gets 217 hp, the version with a smaller battery 156 hp. We do not yet have specifications of the two versions that also require petrol, but looking at the Niro we assume 141 hp system power for the hybrid version. The mild hybrid will probably get the 1.0 or 1.5 engine from the Hyundai i30 (or both) with electric boost, which would amount to 120 and 160 hp. We expect the official specifications and Dutch prices in mid-March.

Hyundai Kona Electric

I see different noses

That’s right. As with the outgoing Kona, the electric version has a different nose than the petrol tank variants. In addition, the N-line version differs significantly from the standard Konas, so that there will be striking differences within a model on the road. How different from, for example, a Peugeot e-2008, where it is hardly possible to see whether it is the electric version or not.

The Kona does look big

He is. Hyundai itself speaks of the largest SUV in the B segment. This is correct, although we wonder whether you can still call this B-segment. This has little to do with a Ford Puma or Renault Captur. Hyundai itself already has the Bayon and just like cars such as the Volkswagen T-Roc, the Renault Arkana and the Toyota CH-R, the Kona looks and feels like an SUV that floats a lot higher between the segments. Perhaps we should all come up with a new layout, because there is little ‘compact SUV’ anymore.

Hyundai Kona

We were already able to take a seat in the car, which has grown enormously. It is no less than 15 centimeters longer than the previous one, which is noticeable in the back seat. We sit remarkably well, and it is particularly striking that the electric version does not have such a miserably high bottom as we often see with EVs, so that you are in an unpleasant corner. This does not apply here and the knees can go down. Even so, the versions without a plug are even better here. You can see the extra recess for the feet that the EV does not have. The trunk of the fully electric version is also slightly smaller.

That rich feeling remains in the front, where the Kona in thick version does not look and feels like a B-segmenter: modern multimedia, good finish and fine ergonomics. It is striking how many physical buttons we still find next to the modern touchscreen. A big difference with almost all competitors, where buttons are disappearing from the interior at a rapid pace.

We expect the first copies at the dealer by the summer. Remarkably enough, Hyundai starts with the petrol versions from Korea. The EV built in Europe will follow later.