- Cool styling, initial acceleration, superb city car - Price, ride, is India ready for EVs? evo rating (^) ;;;;2
Motor
150kW AC motor, 64kWh Li-Ion polymer battery
Power
198bhp @3800-8000rpm
Torque
400Nm @ 0-3600rpm
0-100kmph
7.6sec(claimed)
Top speed
167kmph(claimed)
Transmission
Single-speed
Price
25 lakh (est) Specification To p : India will get the 300km range Kona and the charging point is conveniently located in the nose HYUNDAI KONA EV 20kmph from where on it has a faint whine that you expect of an EV. If you find the noise irritating you can switch it off but it defaults to on every time you start the car in the interests of safety. The Kona, also available with conventional powertrains, is a wee bit smaller than the Creta and a fair bit funkier. The grille is filled-in to give it that 'EV' look, the wheels are different and with no engine to cool, the air dam in the bumper is also cleaned up. The boot has ‘electric’ on it but that’s about all the differences you get from the regular Kona. For India it doesn’t really matter for the Kona will only be available with the EV powertrain and it will be a rare sight that will turn heads. On the inside there’s no gear lever, only push-button control to get it into drive. It looks conventional but not premium enough for what it will be priced at. The Kona EV will be assembled at Hyundai India’s plant in Chennai and that will bring the costs down compared to what it would be were it to come fully imported. But even then it won’t be what you’d call affordable, and we estimate it to be between22-25 lakh
rupees, if Hyundai is being aggressive! There
are no incentives for electric cars over `10 lakh
in any case, so FAME benefits are out of the
window, though I do think it will attract a lower
registration tax. Of course once you’ve shelled
out all that cash your daily running costs will
be next to nothing and that has to count for
something.
Anyway, the price will be high, only the
top 15-20 Hyundai dealers nationwide will be
allowed to sell it and volumes will be low. The
Kona won’t have the country switching to
electric cars overnight. But this is the start.
Unlike the EVs currently on offer, the Kona EV
will sensitise the Indian car buying public to
a modern and sophisticated electric car that
has good interiors, lots of equipment, turns
heads (for the right reasons!) and in most
respects drives better than a normal car.
There’s also enough range, even in the 39kWh
version, to make range anxiety a non-issue.
But ultimately what makes the biggest case
for the Kona EV is the novelty factor and for
early adopters that was always a good enough
reason to splurge. L
Sirish Chandran (@SirishChandran)
brent
(Brent)
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