Hyundai has revamped the Kona EV with greater room and a longer range. The original Kona EV was a compact electric crossover but came with a shorter range. The new model seems to have restored the appeal of the Kona with its improved range and more room inside the EV.
The new entry Kona EV will expectedly compete favorably with some of the models that had displaced the original Kona such as the Ioniq 5. This comes after several months of peeks into the model. The revamped Kona EV has a sleeker design than its predecessor. There are improvements in the powertrain as well as interior innovations. The model has a 65.4kWh battery option that delivers a range of 304 miles via the WLTP testing cycle. Although the EPA testing range will be more conservative, it will be significantly higher than the 258 miles from the gen-1 Kona EV.
The revamped Hyundai Kona EV has a larger interior space than the current model. It also has more storage (up to 17 cubic feet of trunk space) and features a front trunk and several in-cabin tech features. It has an optional heads-up display but this will not be available in North America. There are, however, dual 12.3-inch screens and OTA software updates, as well as NFC-based digital key support.
The new Kona EV features battery preconditioning for improved charging times and cold weather range. The model’s vehicle-to-load support lets you power devices both inside and outside of the EV. The car also features the i-Pedal one-pedal driving but the model lacks the 800W architecture currently in some of its competition. It will therefore take 41 minutes to charge the battery from 10% to 80%.
Hyundai has not released the pricing details for the Kona EV but says the ICE and hybrid versions of the Kona will continue to exist with the EV. The Kona EV will berth in the US by the third quarter of this year.
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