There’s not much special about the Kona’s guts. Take away its Robocop-esque styling, and you’ll find the same small car and crossover platform that underpins the Kia Niro and Hyundai Elantra. It doesn’t even look radically different from the regular Kona, which is powered by a choice of four-cylinder gas engines.
Take a look underneath and it will resemble any small crossover made in the past 15 years, save for the big boxy battery that sits in front of the multi-link independent rear suspension setup. The Kona is front-motor, front-wheel-drive, and is set up in a way that’s similar to the small four-cylinder engines that would have sat in the motor’s place in the car’s ICE version.
To some, that’s a huge step back from the skateboard-like chassis and tiny rear-mounted, RWD motors found on modern EV platforms. But, in practice, the Kona’s conventional guts make for a conventional driving experience—and that’s not a bad thing. Consumers buy crossovers because they’re easy to drive and comfortable.
By and large, the Kona Electric keeps that same standard crossover energy going. On the road, the crossover is comfy, quiet and easy to drive.
Like all EVs, the Kona Electric is naturally heavier than its gas-powered sibling. Yet, Hyundai kept that weight gain in check. On average, the Kona Electric is only about 500 pounds heavier than the ICE model and about 150 lbs heavier than its predecessor.
If you’ve driven the old Kona Electric, you’ll find the 201-horsepower motor and 64.8 kWh familiar, but there are a few changes this time around. It might have the same power, but it lost more than 100 lb-ft of torque, from 291 lb-ft to merely 188 lb-ft.
On paper, the lack of torque shows. The Kona Electric is slower this time around. Its 0-60 mph time grew from 6.2 seconds to 7.0 seconds flat. Yet, in practice, I actually prefer the reduced torque of the new model. Despite being numerically slower than its predecessor, I never felt like Kona Electric was ever out of its depth.
Like most EVs, throttle response is instant, so the Kona still feels swift, albeit not fast. To me, the car never felt like it needed more power, but if you’re searching for the neck-jerking acceleration of other EV crossovers, then look elsewhere
If only it were a sedan or station wagon
Please, give us some electric hatches 🥺 that’s all I ask, we have enough SUVs and crossovers
Fucking a. I would buy a 94’ style honda civic EV today if I could. That snappy feel and low center of gravity with the crazy raw torque of an EV? Still having enough cargo space to haul shit but handles like a sport cars? Can park it fucking anywhere? Hot damn.
Good Lord, is it hot in here? 🥵🥵🥵
I miss my Civic EG Hatch. Best car I ever owned. For years I’ve looked for conversion kits to make my own EV out of an old rolling chassis.
VW is going to make an electric GTI. I am hoping it will provide the experience you are describing. (Dumb name though - where is the injection?)
If it lives up to this article, I’m in. I’m seeing 320hp and the ability to emulate its gasoline cousins. Depending on weight, it could be a real zipper.
The “I” is apparently “intelligence” now. Should have just shoved an “A” in there and went full “AI”.
The e-Golf?
The kharmann ghia conversion is the true pinnacle of human achievement.
Ehh, it’s something but they stopped making them in 2019. The tech is lackluster compared to modern EVs. Real world range was 130miles out the gate. With just used cars out there it’s likely closer to 100 miles. Even with an average drive of 40 miles/day, that’s a bit thin.
Ah, I haven’t looked too much into it, the limited range is probably why the guy who had one near me switched it to an ID.4… Looked like a cool little car, though.
the project has been indefinitely put on hold due to financial reasons, but I still have an 83 civic wagon set aside for a diy ev. smaller exterior, feels bigger inside, practically never seen on the road, and doesn’t spy on me. or so it would be if I could afford to finish it
nice and basic, just ignore the 2 foot wide touch screen
Which is an immediate deal breaker for me.
Annoy your congressmembers until they write a law. Its the only way. Car companies won’t stop, touchscreens are cheaper to install than buttons.
It’s basically a 10" instrument panel and a 10" infotainment tied together with plenty of physical buttons, it doesn’t look bad to me
Yeah as long as the essential functions are still buttons and dials, I’m all for huge screens.
Screens should be banned in vehicles.
To each their own
$34,270
200 miles.
Lots of people don’t travel that far or have 2 cars.
Surely. I just hate when the summary doesn’t provide such basic info that everyone wants.
Oh yeah. Actually, totally agree lol
I thought you were saying there wasn’t enough range (I’ve been hanging on fb too long)
The Kona is front-motor, front-wheel-drive
WHY ARE WE MAKING EVS FWD!?
Some of us live in places with snow, and FWD handles a lot better than RWD in those situations.
RWD handles better everywhere else?
Maybe. I’d bet most people in those places don’t really care. So let’s say you want to sell cars (or make cars that sell). Almost half your customers want front wheel drive because of snow, half don’t care because they just drive from A to B and don’t notice a difference, and a tiny sliver is like you and wants RWD for reasons. Having multiple options (other than maybe AWD vs FWD/RWD TBD) adds engineering and production streamlining complexities, so you need to choose one. What would you choose?
Rwd is just a less complex system, meaning it can be made cheaper. At it’s most basic, you have a single universal joint and a differential as the only “complex” parts. You dont have to worry about transmission of power to wheels which are constantly changing alignment.
AWD
I’d love to see it, but that adds cost and gives a small range hit. I’m staying within 2 wheel drive options for the sake of discussion.
For general commuter driving they’re harder to lose control in. Granted they have all sorts of TCS tricks to fix some of that but it’s still a factor. For people who enjoy driving its a total negative unfortunately.
I can’t even lose control in my RWD car if I tried…
"If everything seems in control. Your not going fast enough "- favorite quote ever. You sound like my mother in-law.
I’m not, because I literally can’t.
77kw max charge rate fuck that is way too slow. Fuck no. A several year old Tesla does like 250. This piece of shit should have never left the drawing board.
When I’m at a supercharger that’s misbehaving, or a v2 that’s busy and I have to charge beside someone, I’ll whine and gripe when it’s 70-80kw. I’ll change stalls if a v2 spot frees or I think it might be better on a different bank.
