Electric days ahead: Hyundai Kona Electric

| JULY 14, 2019, 02:17 AM IST

Ritesh Madhok

Hyundai have a knack of being pioneers in getting the latest and innovative technology into India.The latest step in this direction is the Kona Electric Vehicle.The future is Electric and you can’t deny that fact.With the Hyundai Kona Electric the Korean car maker becomes the first one to actually launch an proper range SUV into the country.  

Exteriors

The Hyundai Kona EV upon first look appears catchy and trendy with its unique styling on the face. As this is an all electric car with no combustion engine, there is no conventional grille with air dam on the face. The charging socket is placed on the face covered with an openable lid. Special dimpled styling around the charging lid adds some unique character to the Kona. The slim styled DRL lights are placed on the bonnet sill, under this is the projector styled headlights. Both the front and rear fenders come with unpainted faux cladding with special BlueDrive badging boldly stating its Electric class.  

The Hyundai Kona EV drives on 215/55 R17 spec tyres Nexen tyres mounted on special five spoke alloys designed especially for the EV. The Kona also sports roof-rails and an electric sun roof. Wing mirrors get full electric adjust and also come with heating feature. The rear styling is highlighted with stretched slim styled LED tail lamps and the extended rear spoiler with aerodynamic cuts on the edges. The rear bumper is in dual tone color and also comes mounted with turn and parking lights mounted on it.  

Interiors

The Hyundai Kona comes with an all black theme on its cabin and an soft touch sloping dashboard in place. The instrument cluster is an all digital with a round speedo in the center. The Centre dash sports a 7 inch floating touch screen infotainment system with the latest generation Hyundai system running it. Wireless charging feature is also on the feature list. The steering comes with paddle shifters on it but here on the EV they work to change the level of brake regeneration. The Kona EV does not have a gearbox hence the drive shifting is controlled using buttons placed on the centre console. The seats get leather upholstery and full electric adjust with lumbar support and ventilation.  

What powers it

Well the heart of the Kona EV is an Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor ( PMSM) that sources its power from a high voltage 39.2 kWh advanced lithium -ion polymer Battery that develops 136ps of power and 40.27 kgm of torque to its front wheels. 

The Hyundai Kona EV is rated at doing acceleration speeds  0-100kmph in just 9.7 secs. This Battery pack has its own liquid cooling technology with weather sealing.  


The feel  

Well to start off you don’t actually feel any noise or vibration in the cabin as you do in a combustion engine car, this makes you wonder if the car is started or no. Super silent and zero vibes the EV glides ahead in complete grace and harmony. Acceleration is instant and you can feel the power building up rapidly. You can toggle between the four preset drive modes - Eco, Eco+, Comfort and Sports. We touched speeds of close to 165kmph driving on the Buddh race track and the Kona EV was more than happy and planted at this speed. No gearbox so no gearshifts resulting in smooth seamless pure acceleration.  

How do you charge the Kona EV?

The Hyundai Kona EV comes with a portable charger and an AC wall box charger as standard. The portable charger cable is placed in the boot and can be used on any 15amp power socket while the AC wall box charger will be installed. The Kona has a claimed range of 452kms as tested by ARAI. The portable charger can top up the daily range by around 50kms in less than 3 hours while the AC wall charger takes 1 hour to top up the 50kms drive range. Hyundai has tied-up with Indian Oil fuel stations in select locations to install the DC Fast charging stations which can charge around 80percent of the Battery in under 1 hour. Hyundai is offering the Kona EV with 3 years unlimited kms warranty while the battery pack comes with 8 years or 160,000kms warranty.  

Verdict  

 With the Kona, Hyundai has taken a big bold step towards the Electric future. With this they have a clear advantage of being the first mover. The Kona is an excellent Electric car with future technologies that delivers on all fronts like performance, comfort and convenience. The overall drive feel is very different and truly electrifying. The Kona EV is priced at around Rs25 Lakh making it tad bit expensive but never the less is a bold positive new beginning for electric vehicles in India.

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