With the electric Hyundai Kona in its homeland: Overall, a more grown-up car that could handle anything. And for good money – Garáž.cz

It’s sometimes difficult with electric cars. If in recent years we have been complaining that cars are becoming more and more alike and that they actually drive somewhat alike, then electric cars are on another level. All of them are, of course, quiet, all of them have a great tap and all of them have a heavy battery in the floor and thus a low center of gravity that greatly affects the driving performance.

So, when my colleague Martin Jánský asked me how the new Kona drives, I shrugged that like any modern electric car. The Kona is amazingly quiet, even at higher speeds on the highway – aerodynamic noise is only slightly noticeable here, the chassis is beautifully comfortable even on nineteen-inch wheels (tested on several rather sharp bumps), there is enough space in the car, the interior is especially impressive in lighter a combination of cozy and valuable. So, Martin, to be more precise, the new Kona drives like a good modern electric car.

And that is the most important news – the last Kona was loyal to the B segment after all, it was simply a small crossover that felt best in the city and suburbs. Now the Kona could have a wider field of action, which is evidenced by the dimensions of the car itself – the length of 4,355 mm has improved by a full 175 mm, the wheelbase has been stretched by 60 mm to the final 2,660 mm, the novelty is also wider (1,825 mm, an increase by 25 mm) and higher (it grew by 20 mm to 1,575 mm).

The trunk has also increased in size, offering a new capacity of 466 liters (the predecessor managed 332 liters). However, Kona adds a handy box under the front hood, which can hold less than thirty liters.

To explain the homeland in the title, the presentation of the new electric Kona took place in the vicinity of Nošovice, where the new product is produced (be careful, only purely electric versions are in charge of production in Nošovice). And a test route was also wound around the Nošovice factory, which I completed with the Power version with a power of 160 kW, a battery with a capacity of 65.4 kWh and nineteen-inch wheels. At the same time, the size of the wheels is important, as Hyundai claims a combined range of up to 514 km for seventeen inch tires, my nineteen should be sixty kilometers worse.

Reality? In the fading late summer and with the predominance of first-class roads, actually plus or minus the same. At a more relaxed pace, I managed to get below 15 kWh per 100 km, which put me roughly 2 kWh below the factory combination. But it was a more leisurely pace once I hit the highway, the average rising very willingly to 18kWh.

There was no problem with the dynamics due to the power of 160 kW, I already wanted to write that even taking into account the traditionally higher weight, the more powerful version of the Kona is still around 1.8 tons, which is not bad at all.

And we have another item for the pre-start discipline in new cars. That is, post-artist, when I think about it. So, start, turn off lane keeping (stop-start does not apply to us in an electric car, of course) and then the speed beep. This is my new favorite of the most annoying thing that legislation has prepared for us in modern cars.

The Kona beeped to notify not only of exceeding the speed limit, even a very slight one, but also of a change in the speed limit. In practice, it looked like I entered the village, the Kona beeped that I should drive 50 km/h instead of 90 km/h. And she immediately added another beep because I allowed myself to drive two meters behind the 55 km/h sign.

But! Fortunately, everything can be turned off! And twice, fortunately, very simply. In a separate and physical (!) button with an asterisk, you can define, for example, the switching off of safety assistants. The action itself takes place on the touch screen (the Kona has two screens with a diagonal of just over twelve inches), but let’s be happy that we don’t have to wander through the infotainment and call up the menu of assistants with a single button.

And Hyundai continues to save the drivers’ nerves – it has retained the completely classic control of ventilation with physical buttons, the same applies to heating/ventilating the seats, normal buttons can also be found on the steering wheel. Yes, it works.

It really took little to make the Kona an extremely enjoyable vehicle. As I already wrote – quiet, comfortable, basically not bothering the driver… you just have to press the asterisk every time you start the car.

The novelty also pleasantly surprises with its price. From the beginning, Hyundai has offered a promotional price list, plus one Czech specialty. But in order – you can buy an electric Kona at the cheapest price of CZK 899,990, in this case it is a version with a power of 114 kW and a battery with a capacity of 48.4 kWh. In addition, the basic equipment of the Smart is quite decent, there are seventeen-inch alloy wheels, Bi-LED headlights, electrically adjustable, folding and heated exterior mirrors, automatic air conditioning, navigation, adaptive cruise control, rear parking camera…

The medium specification Czech Edition intended exclusively for the Czech market (you probably understood that from the name…) starts at 979,990 CZK and expands the equipment to include full LED headlights, electrically operated fifth door, keyless unlocking and starting, heat pump (extends range) or the internal V2L socket (i.e. Vehicle-to-Load, when you simply connect any electrical appliance to the socket).

The highlight is the Style level, which will cost at least CZK 1,099,990, and will also offer electrically adjustable front seats (the rear seats are also heated), upholstery in a combination of fabric and leather, or ambient lighting.

The more powerful electric Kona with 160 kW and a larger 65.4 kWh battery is then always more expensive by CZK 140,000.

You can order the new product now, thanks to production in Nošovice, customers can basically look forward to their cars right away.