The Hyundai Kona Electric Has a Longer Range than the Chevy Bolt and Costs the Same
UPDATE 12/14/18: The 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric starts at $37,495, which just so happens to be the exact same starting price as its closest rival, the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV.
The affordable-EV space has a new hero of driving range, and it’s the Hyundai Kona Electric. This battery-powered crossover has been officially EPA rated to go 258 miles on a single charge, the longest estimated range of any electric vehicle currently on sale that isn’t built by that company run by Elon Musk.
How does the little Hyundai do it? Well, its huge 64.0-kWh battery pack is a big part of that number. The pack is larger than that of the previous champ, the Chevrolet Bolt EV, which uses its 60.0-kWh pack to achieve an EPA-estimated range of 238 miles. The Kona is also slightly more efficient than the Bolt EV, according to the government: its combined estimate of 120 MPGe beats out the Chevy by 1 mpg.
As with other EVs, there are various levels of charging for the Kona Electric. Hyundai says that the quickest method is a Level 3 100-kilowatt quick charger, which can replenish a depleted battery to full charge in a mere 54 minutes. A 50-kw Level 3 charger does the deed in 75 minutes, while the slowest method is the 7.2-kw onboard charger, which replenishes the battery in approximately nine hours and 35 minutes.
The Kona is powered by a 201-hp electric motor that sends its juice to the front wheels only-there’s no all-wheel-drive option as there is on the gas-powered Kona. The electric version also has a different front end with a closed grille that we presume aids its aerodynamics.
When it goes on sale at the end of this year, the Kona Electric will start at $37,495-the exact same starting price as the Bolt EV. The Kona Electric will initially be available only in California, but Hyundai says it plans to expand availability to other zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) states soon after that.
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