Sunday Drive: Hyundai Kona Electric
Tuesday, 11 December 2018
HYUNDAI KONA ELECTRIC ELITE
Price: $79,990.
Powertrain and performance: 64kWh electric motor, 150kW/395Nm, FWD, Combined economy 14.3 kWh per 100km, 0-100kmh 6.7 seconds.
Vital statistics: 4180mm long, 1570mm high, 2600mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 300 litres, 17-inch alloy wheels.
We like: Superb range, leading-edge tech, build quality.
We don't like: Weird exterior enhancements, little design flair inside.
New Zealand already had electricity when the Mangahao power scheme was proposed in 1904. What it lacked was a national grid. The starting point is this modest facility, behind the Manawatu town of Shannon. The first of many hydro stations continues to provision Horowhenua, Wellington, Taranaki, Hawkes Bay and the Wairarapa.
Mangahao was a turning point; might the Hyundai's Kona EV I drove there be regarded similarly? New Zealand has thousands of electric cars, yet they still account for less one percent of the national fleet. Also, in favouring used imports, we're stepping backward to go forward, common perception being that brand-new product costs too much to deliver too little.
With a cited range of more than 450 kilometres on a single charge, the Kona Elite smashes that second perception. At $79,990, it has little chance of revising the first, regardless that every other battery-pure offer of equal ability costs well over $100,000.
**READ MORE:
* Why the Hyundai Kona Electric is our Top Plug-In Car of 2018
* Give us a plug, but we'll keep the petrol engine thanks
* Move over Tesla? Hyundai's Kona EV can go 400km on a single charge
* Hyundai Kona is a baby-SUV that's born to be mild**
Still, Kona is the country's only e-SUV and in provisioning even at this price the performance EV enthusiasts have been crying out for, it's better than anything else, with a decent drivetrain, top-notch build quality (see, Elon, it CAN be done) and packing all the appeal you'd expect from a compact SUV – save that it cannot tow and shouldn't be taken off-road.
Looks-wise, it's a regular Kona, meted eco-enhancements. Those 'aerodynamically optimised' 17-inch alloy wheels and blanked off frontage (behind which the charging port resides) supposedly improve efficiency but are probably there simply to say 'I'm an EV.' I understand the imperative, but think the outcome is unfortunate for a car that is very chic in regular form. Front-on, the test car was a ringer for Hannibal Lecter.
Knowing Kona was designed foremost as an EV left me wondering why they haven't done better with recharging cable stowage. The heavy-duty bits locate in the under-floor compartment that's a handy hidden cubby in the regular car, yet the primary set – which goes in a bag – has to sit in the boot proper, taking up valuable room in an area that has little to spare.
The specification is decent, with heated/ventilated front seats, a dual zone air con (actually a heat pump), leather and a Qi wireless smartphone charging pad. Getting the model here this year has required the distributor to accept a specification sorted for Ireland (they did the same with Ioniq).
Hence not only the 'wrong-way' round indicator placement but why the touchscreen doesn't enact the sat nat functionality it promises. Does this matter when it has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which also provide mapping? Yes, for the simple reason that EV owners like to know where their next charging meal comes from. The onboard system answers that with an interactivity mode providing charging station location.
No gear lever? Not in this world. Here you get a shift-by-wire with Drive, Reverse, Neutral and Park push buttons. Not so much plug as prod 'n play.
Steering feel that's notable by its absence and 17-inch hard-compound economy tyres that squeal easily and aren't overly grippy on wet roads don't inhibit it expressing considerable character.
That the big plus points are a settled large car-like and zesty performance shouldn't surprise. The first benefits from the batteries' significant weight and low placement. The second is just how electrics work: You get everything from the off.
Sports mode it feels quick and ensures overtaking at open road pace is never a problem, though that'll sap the battery just as quickly, so it's better to sit back in the traffic stream and drive smoothly, using a light touch. That, and staying off the brakes and instead relying on the regenerative effect. This alters according to driving mode - Eco Plus is where it gets really serious - and is also affected by driver input (via the paddle shifters) and a nifty ability to read, and react to, traffic condition using radar.
Calling it a pure driver's car might be a stretch, but it's certainly a car for thinking drivers.
How far do you dare roam? Wherever there's electricity. Hyundai is on the button optimising the car for 100kW direct charge replenishment, with the latest CCS Type 2 plug. Don't get too hung up on talk about how wholesale DC use risks shortening battery life. It's the go for distance driving because it'll give 80 percent replenishment in 75 minutes.
If I owned this car, I'd also spend the $2000 quoted for an AC wall box to install at home, because even though that's a lot slower (80 percent in 9.5 hours) it's a whole lot better than recharging off a regular 10 amp three-point wall plug. In fact, advancement in tech renders almost impotent this third option. It's like filling a swimming pool a glass-full at a time. I know, because circumstances steered me toward this option. It sucked.
This, the looks, an all-too budget interior ambience … yeah, you can pick holes. But step back and consider the brilliance of what it achieves as an EV. The range, performance and driving quality genuinely excite.
It's quite literally a quiet achiever – not least once you've disabled VESS, for 'Virtual Engine Sound System', an imitation engine noise emitted as a pedestrian warning (it's awful, beep the horn) – that deserves to be shouted about.