New Hyundai Kona Electric boosts driving range

The 2021 Hyundai Kona Electric has broken cover in Europe and will bring its smoother styling, improved equipment levels and increased driving range to Australia in the first half of next year.

Expected to launch shortly after the facelifted regular Hyundai Kona range that is due in the first quarter, the upgraded Kona Electric will continue to be offered here only with the (unchanged) high-output 150kW electric motor and 64kWh battery combination paired with up-spec model variants.

Hyundai Australia has confirmed to carsales that there are no plans to offer a lower-spec version with 100kW motor and 39.2kWh battery to narrow the gap between the Kona Electric – currently priced from $60,740 plus on-road costs for the Elite, and $65,290 for the Highlander – and the just-launched MG ZS EV (105kW/44.5kWh), which starts much lower at $40,990 plus ORCs.

Despite the carryover powertrain, a change in tyre specification in Europe has seen the Kona Electric’s official WLTP range increase from 449km to 484km, and Hyundai Australia has confirmed that this new tyre spec will be applied in Australia in conjunction with the 2021 series upgrade.

According to the car-maker, charging the Kona Electric’s lithium-ion polymer battery from 10 to 80 per cent takes as little as 47 minutes using a 100kW DC fast-charger, or 9.25 hours via a 7.2kW AC charger, which Hyundai will fit in your garage.

It’ll take more than a day (28 hours) to charge the Kona Electric from 10-100 per cent from a domestic 220V/12A socket using the in-cable control box (ICCB).

The 2021 Kona Electric is immediately recognisable with its revised front-end design that does away with the faux grille treatment and leaves a smooth, fully closed-off surface.

Among other exterior changes are new LED daytime running lights, redesigned headlights with multifaceted reflector (MFR) tech, body-coloured plastic cladding around the perimeter and a big asymmetric charging port on the nose – a deliberate ploy, Hyundai says, that “makes a strong statement about driving electric”.

Vertical air inlets in the lower front bumper ahead of the wheel-arch claddings are also designed to improve aerodynamic performance, reducing turbulence in the front wheelhouse area. These complement the large intake that runs across the lower front end and which now features horizontal satin-painted slats.

Many of these detail elements will also be seen on the regular Kona range, and it’s a similar story inside, where high-series models – including the Aussie-spec Kona Electric – will be fitted with a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster.

The 10.25-inch infotainment screen with Apple and Android smartphone mirroring capability will carry over from the current model.

As per the broader range, Hyundai has also introduced ambient lighting in the front footwells and added a USB port in the back seat, among various minor cabin changes.

Importantly, a more sophisticated suite of Hyundai SmartSense safety systems will be offered on the new EV, adding rear cross traffic and blind spot collision avoidance functionality, ‘leading vehicle departure alert’ (which alerts the driver if he/she doesn’t react fast enough when the vehicle ahead starts moving), safe exit warning and rear seat alert.

Existing driver assist features include forward collision avoidance assist with pedestrian and cyclist detection, smart cruise control with stop-and-go, lane following assist, lane keeping assist, driver attention warning and intelligent speed limit warning.

For those hankering for a sportier rather than greener bent, the Hyundai Kona N performance model is expected to be launched in Australia later next year.