In June 2017, Hyundai introduced the five-door subcompact crossover SUV - Hyundai Kona - rolling out the first models Kona Electric and Kona EV in South Korea in the early months of 2018 and the other markets afterwards.
Luc Donckerwolke and Kevin Kang designed the Hyundai Kona, aka Hyundai Kauai (in Portugal) and Hyundai Encino (in China). Hyundai manufactures the Kona in its assembly plants in Beijing, China and Ulsan, South Korea, producing both the electric and non-electric versions.
Kona Electric
The Hyundai Kona electric vehicle (EV) is the battery-electric version of the Hyundai Kona. The EV came to the Korean and European markets in 2018. It later entered the American market in 2019. The vehicle has two battery choices which are the 39.2 kWh and 64 kWh batteries. The EV has a range of 470 km. Hyundai launched a newer version of the Kona Electric, the Electric Lite version, in June 2019, which featured adaptive cruise control and auto-steering.
Special Editions
Hyundai released an Iron Man version of the Kona in 2019 as a promotion of the Endgame movie. The car comes complete with Stark Industries graphics, an Iron Man-themed instrument cluster, and Tony Stark’s signature prominently displayed on the dashboard.
Engines
The first versions of the Hyundai Kona were available with either a 1.0L turbocharged direct-injection petrol engine producing 89 kW of power or a 1.6L turbocharged direct-injection petrol engine producing 132 kW. The list below shows the engines offered, but their availability varies per marketplace:
- 1.0L Kappa T-GDI I4 turbo petrol — 88 kW, 172 Nm
- 2.0L Nu MPi I4 petrol — 110 kW, 180 Nm
- 1.6L U-Line CRDi I4 diesel — 100 kW, 300 Nm
- 1.6L Gamma T-GDI I4 turbo petrol — 130 kW, 265 Nm
- 1.6L Kappa GDI I4 petrol hybrid (2020) — 104 kW, 265 Nm
- Electric Lite/ Electric SE — 100 kW, 394 Nm
- Electric/Electric SEL— 150 kW, 394 Nm
The models are available with five transmission choices, including six-speed manual, six-speed auto, six-speed DCT (for the Kona Hybrid), seven-speed DCT, and 1-speed reduction gear. The electric version comes with two choices of battery, which are the 64 kW and 34 kW lithium-ion polymer batteries. The hybrid version of the vehicle comes with a 1.56 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery.
Safety
For added rigidity, Hyundai built the Kona from 51% advanced high-strength steel with adhesives and hot stamping. Some of the standard safety features that the car comes with are lane-keeping assist, a driver attention monitor, and six airbags. Other features include blind-spot detection, automatic energy braking with pedestrian detection, and a rear cross-traffic alert. Here are the Euro NCAP test results of the Kona.
Overall: 5 stars
Adult occupant - 33.4 (87%)
Child Occupant - 41.8 (85%)
Pedestrian - 26.4 (62%)
Safety assist - 7.2 (60%)
Awards
In 2019, both electric and non-electric versions of the car won the 2019 North American Utility Vehicle award of the year. It was quite historic, as no other subcompact crossover SUV has ever won the award. In the same year, a test conducted by What Car showed that the Hyundai Kona has the highest real-world range among five other commercially-available electric cars.