1000km range for Hyundai Kona Electric

Just days after announcing its new Ioniq EV sub-brand, Hyundai has reminded us the existing Kona Electric is a pretty handy battery-electric vehicle.

Three examples of the Hyundai Kona Electric managed to eke out more than 1000km on a single battery charge during a controlled test in Germany.

How controlled? Well, the battery-powered compact SUVs travelled at an average 29-31km/h on the Lausitzring racetrack to reflect typical inner-city European traffic speeds.

We don’t think they stopped and started constantly like they would in a traffic jam though. And their air-conditioning and entertainment systems were switched off, while daytime running lamps remained on to comply with legal requirements.

All three vehicles used in the test were factory-spec and unmodified, equipped with standard Nexen N Fera SU1 low rolling resistance tyres in the 215/55 17-inch size.

The testing was supervised by the European vehicle inspection company Dekra.

After 35 hours and 36 driver changes by the three-person teams in each car – one from German magazine Auto Bild and the other two from Hyundai – the three Konas travelled respectively 1018.7km, 1024.1km and 1026km, consuming precisely 6.28, 6.25 and 6.24kWh of electricity per 100km.

That compares to the official WLTP claim for the Kona Electric of a 450km range between recharges of its 64kWh battery and consumption of 14.7kWh of power 100km.

The Hyundai Kona Electric is powered by a 150kW/395Nm permanent magnet synchronous electric motor with a top speed of 167km/h – not seen at the Lausitzring obviously!

A front-driver, it uses a ‘shift-by-wire’ reduction gear transmission with regenerative braking capabilities, which are adaptable via steering wheel-mounted paddles.

The test crews certainly worked their Kona Electrics down to the last electrons. On the third day, the vehicles managed to cover over 20km with only three per cent residual capacity.

At zero per cent charge the vehicles continued to drive for several hundred metres before running out of power and coming to a stop.

The Hyundai Kona Electric has been on sale in Australia since 2019 and has a starting price of $60,740. Globally, it has clocked 100,000 sales since being launched two years ago.

Hyundai’s results were announced just days after EV start-up Lucid Motors revealed an 823km range for its new Air sedan, based on the tough EPA cycle in the USA.

“With this test, the Kona Electric confirmed what many of our customers already know: it is a reliably efficient and eco-friendly lifestyle SUV that is practical for everyday use,” said Jürgen Keller, managing director of Hyundai Motor Deutschland GmbH.

“Customers driving the Kona Electric or other Hyundai EVs can expect to drive long distances without recharging or feeling range anxiety.”

Maybe not 1000km though, not unless you’ve got a racetrack handy!