48 T3 Tomorrow ’s Technology Today AUGUST 2019 WWW.T3INDIA.COM
Horizon
AutoCHARGING AHEAD
TheHyundaiKonacomestoIndiaandweheadtotheBuddh
International Circuitfor a trulyelectrifying experienceWORDS SARMADKADIRI
There’sthiscuriouscaseofdiminishingtechtermsfromthe
dictionaryofa motoringjournalist.Commontermssuchasfuel
stops,transmissiontunnel, turbo-lag,andmanualgearboxare
graduallydisappearing. Hangona sec...amnothittingthepanic
buttonjustyet becausedeepdownI amhonestlygladtoletgoofa
fewofthese.Fellowmotoringscribeshavebeenaskedtouptheir
techvocabularywithcatchywordstomakethefast-evolvingworld
ofmobilitycomprehensibleforthelayman.Thismeansmaking
senseoftermssuchaswallboxcharger,rangeanxiety, single-speed
reductiongear,anda thingcalled“quickcharger”whichmakesyou
waitforanhourbeforeyoucanresumedrivingagain.Matterof
perspective,myfriends.
Havingflippedthrough a bunchofEVbrochuresandarmedwith
myupdatedlexicon,I reachtheBIC...readyforsomeelectrifying
action.I comefacetofacewiththefirstall-electric,long-range SUV:
the Hyundai KonaElectric.Itlookslike a contemporarymid-sized
crossover,aboutthesizeofa HyundaiCreta.ThedesignoftheKona
is notstrikingbutis unique enoughtomeritanapprovingsecond
glance.
Beinganelectricvehicle,theKonadoesn’trequirea frontgrille
andtogivea familiarface,theengineershaveetchedthelarge front
bumpertoimpersonateHyundai’ssignaturehexagonalgrille.It also
conceals the chargingsocketwhichishiddenbeneatha small
flush-finishedlid.Theheadlampsaremountedlowonthesingle-
piecebumper,whilethesleekLEDdaytimerunninglightsare
positionedabove,makingit aneye-catchingdesign.It’sonlywhen
youlookatitfromrearthree-quartersdoestheKonaappearmore
robustandSUV-ish.Thehighroof-line,pronouncedrearwheel-
arches,andthe plasticcladdingadduptogiveit a morerobust
appearance.TherearstylinggetstheusualHyundaitreatmentwith
slimLEDtail-lamps anda curvaceousboot-lid.
Whenyougetinsidethecar,you’regreetedbya neat-looking
cabin.Youcan’tcomplainaboutthequalityandfinish,but
consideringthecar’saskingprice,it doesn’tfeelaspremium.The
buttonsandknobsseemwell-builtandfeelgoodtouse.Thereare
loadsoffeatures,includingventilatedseats,wirelessphonecharger,
drivingmodes,anda seven-inchinfotainmentsystemwithApple
CarPlayandAndroidAuto.Usingthe EVmenuscreenyoucanget
dataaboutEco-driving,powerconsumption,andcharge
management.Interestingcreaturecomfortsincludea driver-only
air-conoptionwhichkeepsonly theblowernearthedriveronand
savespreciousenergy.
Thefrontseatsarecomfortablylargeandprovidedecent
all-roundsupport.Thedriver’s seatispoweredand 10-way