2024 Hyundai Kona Electrictric premieres

Hyundai officially unveiled the all-electric Kona today, after detailing its ICE and PHEV siblings in January. With the digital world premiere the company published all the specifications of the second generation Kona which will take on the B-SUV segment competitors thanks to its significantly larger size.

Starting with the bit that’s most important to all EV owners - the new Kona offers a driving range of up to 490km (WLTP) thanks to the larger 65.4 kWh battery. That battery is coupled with a 160kW (214hp) electric motor powering the front wheels which is 10kW more than that of the previous model. Interestingly, the torque figure of 255Nm (188lb-ft) is significantly lower than the previous model’s 395Nm (291 lb-ft).

The standard range vehicle comes with a 48.4kWh battery and a 114.6kW (154hp) electric motor with the same 255Nm of torque. Estimated WLTP range for this version is 342km or 212 miles.

The powertrain uses 400V architecture and according to Hyundai it allows the Kona to charge from 10% to 80% SoC in 41 minutes, but the company did not disclose the supported DC charging rate. Both versions of Kona Electric support Vehicle-2-Load functionality with the European specification offering maximum load of 3.13 kVA while the North American vehicles will offer up to 1.63 kVA - that’s 3,000W and 1,600W respectively.

The new 2024 Kona Electric is a larger vehicle than its predecessor. The wheelbase is 6cm longer, but the overall length increased by 17 cm and it shows in the rear legroom and kneeroom. The trunk has grown as well, Hyundai quotes 466 liters of cargo space with additional 27 liters available in the frunk.

Where it gets interesting is the technology department of the new Kona. Hyundai equipped its new electric SUV with ADAS functions that until now were only available in Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6. The list is rather comprehensive - Driver Status Monitor to keep an eye on the driver, remote Smart Parking for the tightest parking spots, Blind Spot Monitor to avoid nasty surprises.

Forward Collision Avoidance 2.0 takes care of braking and steering in sticky situations and the Highway Driving Assist 2 not only keeps the distance to the car in the front, but can also overtake slower vehicles.

The list of functions goes on with Lane Assist, Blind Spot Collision Avoidance, Speed Limit Assist, Driver Attention Warning, High Beam Assist, Smart Cruise Control, Navigation Based Cruise Control and Lane Following Assist. That’s a comprehensive ADAS functions list for a B-segment SUV.

The interior offers much more room thanks to the larger footprint, the two new 12.3-inch screens are coupled with a 12-inch color HUD. The graphic interface is all new and features high quality advanced graphics. The 8-speaker Bose Premium sound system takes care of the rest of the entertainment while a number of USB-C sockets make sure any device can be topped up quickly.

Of course the OTA upgrades are supported and Hyundai is already promising the Bluelink Streaming service will be offered at a later time for video and music streaming. For those who enjoy one-pedal driving, Hyundai Kona comes with i-Pedal driving mode. Smart Regenerative System takes care of adjusting the regen braking automatically without a need for fiddly options.

The new Kona Electric is not just an update, this is a completely new vehicle. Unlike the recent "generational" update of the VW ID.3 the Hyundai just created a completely new car, much bigger and better than the old one, and wrapped it in a body that vaguely resembles the outgoing model. All it’s left is the pricing info which Hyundai will announce closer to deliveries which are planned for this summer.

Source