Hyundai has launched an all-electric version of the Kona crossover SUV in the European market. It looks more futuristic than the Kona (which wasn’t the oldest design anyway), and comes with an almost-300-mile range. It makes a public appearance alongside the larger all-new Santa Fe at the upcoming 2018 Geneva International Motor Show.
Let us talk about the powertrain first. There are two choices in that. The standard one is 39.2 kWh battery, which makes an equivalent of 133 bhp, does 0-100 kph in 9.3 seconds, and has a range of about 300 km. The other one has a larger 64 kWh battery, which not just bumps up the performance (200 bhp; 0-100 kph in 7.6 seconds) but also offers a range of 467 km. Irrespective of the version you choose, there’s 40.3 kgm available, and a top speed of 167 kph. Charging the battery up to 80 per cent takes just 54 minutes using a 100kW charger. The onboard charger, on the other hand, takes 9h 40m for the larger battery and 6h 10m for the smaller one.
The dual-tone styling hasn’t changed, and the Kona Electric continues with new key design elements like the Composite Light. Lateral air curtains make their presence on this version, and there can be a total of 21 styling choices, based on the seven available paints and three roof colours. There’s similar choice on the inside, too, with materials ranging from woven, cloth and leather, and all-leather.
The car is fairly feature rich, starting with the new instrument cluster, HUD, navigation and various connectivity features. A high-end sound system by Krell is complemented by wireless inductive charging for the phone, so that your phone doesn’t run out of juice streaming your favourite tunes. Safety is top priority, too, with adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, lane keep and following assist, blind spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, six airbags, etc.
Have a look at our Geneva-specific News section by clicking on the link
