Australian New Car Buyer – June 2019

10 |AUSTRALIAN NEW CAR & SUV BUYER’S GUIDE

HYUNDAI KONA ELECTRIC

H

yundai was fi rst into

mainstream electric

motoring in 2018 with

the launch of its Ioniq

mid-size sedan. As we went to

press, it has done the same in

the small SUV class, with the

Kona Electric.

Priced from $59,990, Kona

Electric is powered by a single

electric motor producing 150kW

and 395Nm, fed by a 64kWh

battery that’s claimed to provide a

range of up to 449km.

Hyundai claims a charge time

of 54 minutes (to 80 percent

battery capacity) using a 100kW

DC fast charger. Kona’s 7.2kW

on-board charger takes more

than nine hours to juice up the

long-range battery using a 240-

volt household power point.

A single-speed reduction

gear transmission sends power

to the front wheels. There’s no

gear lever; you push buttons for

forward, reverse and park. The

level of regenerative braking,

which recharges the battery

on a trailing accelerator by

switching the electric motor

into generator mode, can be

adjusted to suit your

preference via paddles on the

steering wheel.

In other respects, Kona

Electric, like the Ioniq, is an

entirely conventional vehicle. It’s

spacious and comfortable, with

power-adjustable heated and

cooled front seats, infotainment

including Apple CarPlay and

Android Auto, navigation and

wireless phone charging.

Safety tech runs to a head-

up display, autonomous

emergency braking with

pedestrian detection, adaptive

cruise with automatic stop

and go in traffi c, blind-spot

monitoring, rear cross-traffi c

alert and lane keep assist.

Kona Elite is $59,990 and

Highlander is $64,490.

One of the many benefi ts of

electric cars is that they are cheap

to service, because they have far

fewer moving mechanical parts.

Kona Electric servicing costs just

$825 over fi ve years/75,000km.

THE NEW MODEL DIARY JUNE–DECEMBER 2019