2024 Hyundai Kona Electric cheaper than its predecessor

The 2024 Hyundai Kona Electric has been priced from $54,000 plus on-road costs in a surprise move that sees the all-new small electric SUV retail for less than its predecessor.

A lower entry price than the outgoing model comes as a bit of a shock given the all-new Kona EV is much bigger and far more advanced than before, and like the award-winning second-generation Kona on which it’s based brings a new platform, more space and a radical new look.

The margin may only be $500 but a new model being cheaper than its forebear is almost unheard of these days, when a simple model year rollover can be accompanied by price hikes of thousands of dollars.

The $54K starting price applies to the entry-level Kona Electric Standard Range, which comes with a 99kW/255Nm electric motor and a 48.6kWh lithium-ion battery pack that yield an effective driving range of up to 370km (WLTP).

Spend an extra $4000 on the Extended Range ($58,000 plus ORCs) and you score a more powerful 150kW/255Nm motor and a bigger 64.8kWh battery pack providing a range of up to 505km.

Standard equipment highlights on these variants include LED exterior lighting, 17-inch alloy wheels, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12.3-inch multimedia system blended into one wide-screen display, dual-zone climate control, vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality, premium cloth upholstery, Bluelink connectivity and a wireless phone charger.

Meantime, the Kona Electric Premium ($68,000 plus ORCs) comes exclusively with the Extended Range powertrain but the range falls to 444km on account of its 19-inch wheels and the extra weight associated with its longer equipment list.

Key extra kit over the base models includes leather upholstery, power-adjustable, heated and ventilated relaxation front seats, a heated steering wheel, head-up display, eight-speaker Bose sound system, Remote Smart Parking Assist, 64-colour ambient lighting system, a glass sunroof and powered tailgate.

All variants come with adaptive cruise control, battery preconditioning system and the full Hyundai SmartSense safety suite, although the Premium once again ups the ante with a few extra goodies like parking collision avoidance assist-reverse, blind spot view monitor and a 3D surround view monitor.

Both battery packs can be charged at up to 100kW when using DC power – something that can take the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 45 minutes.

The onboard AC charger has been upgraded from 7.4 to 10.4kW and comes with bi-directional charging capabilities as per the $100,000-plus Kia EV9 and inevitably the upcoming Hyundai IONIQ 7.

Other upgrades of note include a 750kg braked towing capacity for the first time, a space-saver spare wheel (a first in its segment), 407 litres (+75L) of cargo space behind the second row and 1241L (+127L) with it folded.

Suspension duties in all Kona Electrics are taken care of by the same MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear arrangements as the Hybrid and sporty N-Line variants, albeit with a bespoke spring and damper tune to match its increased kerb weight and unique weight distribution.

As with every other Hyundai on sale, the Kona Electric range is covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, and an eight-year/160,000km warranty for the traction battery.