Electric breakthrough also nice for every day?
Hyundai made a breakthrough in 2018 with the Kona Electric. A relatively affordable electric crossover with over 400 km of range was very rare at the time. The Kona Electric is now the fourth most popular electric car in our country. Nice, such sounding numbers, but is it also a pleasant companion? Owners and users share their experiences.
The Hyundai Kona is a very versatile model. Not only are there 1.0 T-GDI and 1.6 T-GDI petrol engines available; there are even three electrified variants. In addition to the regular Kona, there are a common hybrid, plug-in hybrid and a fully electrically powered variant. More than 16,000 of the latter are now driving around in the Netherlands, out of a total of almost 27,000 copies. That is why we focus entirely on the electric variant in this article.
Space and seating comfort
Before we get into typical electric car stuff, let’s look at the Kona as a normal car. It is a B-segment crossover. What that means? “It’s not a big car, but it looks big. I like that,” summarizes one owner. “In reality, the thing is easy to park and very manoeuvrable. Inside, the Kona feels nice and spacious in the front, but sitting behind myself with 1.93 meters is impossible. When my girlfriend drives with her 1.78 meters it is fine to do.”
The Kona is certainly not spacious, as this user also experiences. “Downside: the space, or rather the lack of it. It was almost impossible to sit behind me. The trunk space was also not enough. That while the outside dimensions are not very small.”
Another owner is willing to compromise and has a solution up his sleeve: “It’s a compact car, so don’t expect too much legroom in the back. With a little effort, the four of us manage fine (average 1.85 meters). The case is not large, but you can put the plateau a little lower. For the summer it becomes a roof box.”
He judges the interior as follows: “Apart from the abundance of plastic, it looks neat from the outside and inside. There are many compartments and holders, so even though the interior is compact, you feel comfortable.”
How does the electric Kona drive?
The Hyundai Kona Electric with 64-kWh battery pack has an electric motor with 204 hp and 395 Nm of torque, which is released to the front wheels. “Because of the electric powertrain with more than 200 hp, it doesn’t matter how fast you go up to about 150 km/h. If you press the power pedal, you blast forward. Delicious. At the traffic light you are virtually unbeatable,” a driver describes his experience. Drivers often mention this acceleration as the biggest plus. “More than 200 hp and 400 nm, if you step on the accelerator you immediately have a smile on your face,” writes another. “It’s not the 0 to 100 time of 7.5 seconds, because that’s what so many cars do these days. It’s the way. No vibrations, no shifting moments, no torque curve and no screaming engine. You will be launched in silence.”
That much electric power does not always turn out to be hosanna: “The disadvantage is sometimes the wheelspin in wet weather, it remains a front-wheel drive of course,” writes the driver of a young copy from 2022. The Nexen tires that shod the Hyundai in the first years from the factory reinforce that image. “I actually always drive in Eco mode, which is a bit less bright than the sport mode,” says a driver. “This one is fun every now and then, but the Nexen tires give you wheelspin too often.”
A Hyundai Kona Electric with the smoother nose after the facelift.
Range and charging
The Hyundai Kona Electric impressed on paper with its stated range of 449 kilometers. What remains of this in practice? “Meets my expectations”, writes an owner after a year and a half and 20,000 kilometers of experience. “Action radius with an average of 390 – 400 kilometers (minimum 360, max 495!) within the Netherlands is more than sufficient. Only need to refuel outdoors once.” Other users also indicate that 400 kilometers of range is possible in practice, especially in the summer. “My range increased to a maximum of 430 km with little highway traffic,” writes a driver. And what can you count on if you mainly drive on the highway? “I noticed that 130 km/h in winter is about the same consumption as in summer. So if you want to drive fast on the highway, your range is still no more than 320 km.”
An important point of attention concerns charging at a charging station or wallbox. For models up to the end of 2019, the Kona has a 1-phase on-board charger, from that moment on 3-phase charging is also possible. This ensures considerably faster charging, which is quite welcome with a 64-kWh battery pack. How welcome describes the owner of such a 1-phase car: “The Kona has a 1-phase 7.2 kW on-board charger. Because most public charging stations are only 16A, this means that in practice you usually charge with 3.5 kW. So for every 10 percent charge you need about 2 hours, which is very long…”
Not directly related to charging, but a point of attention: many users miss a smartphone app that many other brands do provide. The reasons according to this driver: “You can set the heater/air conditioning in advance (via the central screen, ed.) but not adjust it if it gets a bit later. You also cannot see how full it is when you are on a fast charger and have something to eat in the meantime.”
Faults and Recall
The Hyundai Kona Electric appears to be relatively trouble-free for users. However, an empty 12-volt battery occurs with some regularity, after which the car no longer wants to start. One owner even wore out three batteries within 95,000 kilometers.
There are also problems with the large battery: at 5,436 Kona Electrics, the traction battery needs to be replaced. These are models that were produced in South Korea between May 4, 2018 and March 2, 2020, Hyundai reports. These batteries will now almost all have been replaced under warranty, but before that time it hindered some owners quite a bit. “On July 27, 2021, the car no longer wanted to start,” writes such an unlucky person. “The battery pack turned out to have failed and had to be replaced. We had to count on it taking up to four months before the battery pack would be replaced.”
The next owner had no problems until the replacement and mainly sees advantages: “How lucky we feel, now that a new battery was installed yesterday after 3 years of use as part of the recall campaign! The degeneration of the past 3 years was difficult to estimate because the software was of course already set to safe. But now I see numbers above 400km again. That will be nice again next summer.”
Does what it promises
When it launched in 2018, the electric Kona was a promise and in practice it quite lives up to expectations. It is certainly not the most spacious car, but the 64-kWh battery makes a driving range of around 400 kilometers possible in practice. The car is not without problems, especially the 12-volt battery and the large battery pack have caused some headaches for some owners. His successor is now in the starting blocks. In terms of drive technology, not much seems to change, but the car is considerably larger. If Hyundai has the battery problems under control and from now on also supplies an app, the biggest pain points will be resolved.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl