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- +8
Good feature list, but needs more range for the price to be competitive – On the outside, the EV filler cap design and weighted doors certainly help the Kona feel a little bit more premium. The interior fit and finish feels of a higher grade in the Kona. Leather seats, trim and even greater dampened buttons gives the Kona the lead in the build quality department. Hyundai has been offering stiff competition across a variety of categories in the industry, and it’s certainly playing hard to beat with its build quality.
The Kona EV Highlander Extended Range is priced from $69,311 drive away. For this price, you receive a 150kWh battery pack, 484km of range, front heated and cooled seats, rear heated seats, a heads up display, Harman/Kardon audio, and radar cruise control.
The Kona EV range starts from $59,336 for the Standard Range Elite model, which has 305km of range. You can get an Extended Range battery in the Elite model, with less features, which will set you back $65,636.
It’s extremely close when it comes to value for money. You either receive less features but significantly more range for the Kona Elite Extended Range, or you buy the top of the range Leaf with more features but less range.
At the end of the day, range is the headline concern for most buyers new to EVs. I believe that opting for the 484km of range instead of 385km of range would win here. You’ll be more comfortable driving an EV with as much range as the Kona EV, even if you realistically will never need that much range for 90% of your driving needs.
The Kona EV offers a 5 year/unlimited kilometre warranty and an 8 year/160,000km warranty for the battery pack.
The Kona is certainly a first generation EV product, purely because its regenerative braking ability is a little too aggressive. I’ve had a few passengers complain about the regenerative braking in the Kona so much so that I usually turn it off via the paddle shifters.
The Kona has a far superior brake pedal feel against something like the Nissan Leaf - exactly the same experience you’d find in an ICE powered car.
The Kona possesses additional torque and a large battery, even in its base configuration. Its 0-100km/h times are claimed to be a second quicker, at around 6.5 seconds. That’s a quick family car, especially from a brand like Hyundai.
The Kona has the most obvious disadvantage putting power down from a standstill, with the front tires occasionally screaming for grip. However, once you get going, especially in Sport Mode, the Kona is an exceptionally quick small SUV. It’ll have even quicker cars struggling to pull as quick during mid-range acceleration, thanks to nearly 400Nm available from 0rpms.
The Kona EV is a comfortable car, and it handles all sections of road with ease. However, those batteries do feel heavy when you’re driving, which can make the Kona feel a little bloated when braking or doing high speed corners.
It's efficient at least when it comes to energy consumption. The Kona consumes a more efficient 15.3kWh per 100km of driving.
The Kona suffers in the same way that the Kia Niro does, by shoving a battery pack under the floor of a car that’s meant to also house an ICE engine. That means second row legroom feels significantly less spacious, as passengers will feel as if their knees are closer to their chest than in other cars.
It's a great first-EV option for those who love their petrol powered Kona but want an electric alternative.
But, I simply think there are better value EVs, like the MG 4 Electric, and better electric cars for the money, like the Tesla Model Y, when cross shopping the Kona Electric.
*Disclaimer - I work for ProductReview as their independent car and motorbike expert. I borrow new cars and motorbikes from manufacturers and owners to review. I am not paid or incentivised by these brands to post reviews. I write and create content to provide insight and information about any new or used vehicle I can get my hands on.
- Transmission: Automatic
This petrol head has been convinced – I've just acquired my sis's 2019 Kona Highlander EV. Being an ICE believer for 60 years, especially V8's and Boxer motor's, I've come to my senses that doing my bit for this planet is essential for my peace of mind. I purchased in Melbourne and drove 890k' to Sydney, requiring 2 'fills'. The vehicle is perfect. The ride was amazing, the smoothness like being on a cloud, the noise level so quiet inside. Not having to brake much wasn't an issue, as I've driven semi's for a number of decades with similar braking options. All the extras that come with the Highlander are well thought out by this Korean outfit. Apart from a crash cam, I couldn't think of another thing to add. I'm retired, so this isn't a daily commuter. At the moment I'm using the 10amp very slow home charger. It takes a claimed 37hrs, but there are plenty of free fast charger's around my shopping centre's. If you're thinking of purchasing an EV soon, i would highly recommend a Kona. So far I've found it faultless. In fact, my wife is now deciding to buy the ICE version. Footnote: this 2019 model had a battery recall in '22. So I've now got a fresh battery installed to get me a few extra years - I hope.
March 24 I've now been zipping around for 14 months in my EV Kona. I'm still happy with it, although I've found going to Bunnings challenging. Not much room inside for a slab of timber etc. I've just purchased Rhino Rack roofracks and it should've been done 12 months ago. I can't hear any wind noise, let alone range change. Also put a Zappi 7.2kwh charger in the garage, which powers off the solar panels. I get 2.5 trips from Sydney to the Central Coast and return, with a bit leftover. So approximately 450klms travelling at 110kph. Fully charged it says the range is 520klms, so there's not much regenerative braking on that trip. I'm happy with that. Overall, I'm impressed with the ride and handling. With the battery at the lowerest point of gravity, this car can be booted into and out of corners.The Highlander range has a lot of extras that make motoring more enjoyable, not that I use all the extras e.g. the seat warmer/cooler, head up display, lane guidance. I'll be back if anything goes to mud.
Purchased in for $40,000.
- Transmission: Automatic
- Bought: Used
- Year: 2019
Engineering Failures of Battery, EV Drive Motor and Reduction Gearbox – After 25K kms our HV battery has been replaced, our 12V battery has finally been replaced after the vehicle broke down on us multiple times. Our electric motor developed a bearing noise at about 20k kms which became progressively louder and a whining gear / bearing? noise in the reduction gearbox which is now very loud. Now the charge part door is refusing to open. Our EV traction motor was allegedly recently rebuilt after being told it could not be rebuilt....Our local dealer Midland City Hyundai had our vehicle for 2-3 weeks to fix these issues but we got it back with louder noises. No attempt was made to repair the gearbox other than flushing the oil. We were told by the service advisor “ the service tech said your gearbox oil was black so we have flushed it and changed it” ???? Really? That what happens when a gearbox fails, the oil becomes contaminated. Here was me thinking they were fixing it when all they were doing was wasting my time. For what we paid for this car they should be ashamed at the multitude of failures so far. There is a wealth of anecdotal evidence from around the globe that the issues we have with our Kona Electric are not uncommon with many owners reporting the same issues. How can Tesla build cars that can go 500,000 MILES on the original motor and gearbox and yet Hyundai can’t seem to manage 50,000 KMS? I am more than a little angry that Hyundai appear to have done very little R&D before launching this vehicle on the market. If they had they would have discovered the multitude of apparent design flaws and maybe corrected them before release.
Purchased in for $72,000.
- Bought: New
- Year: 2021
I'm still enjoying it – My usage: The EV is used for as much city driving as possible and minimise ICE. Commuting, errands, gardening products. I also use it for travel between SYD and CBR. It has the range, although I will stop to recharge for a bit and have a coffee, to ensure I have plenty of spare range at either end. I've had it for 6 months and 7,000 km. The load capacity with rear seats down will handle pots up to 50cm diameter. The self driving capability, especially distancing in stop and go traffic, is very stress reducing. The reliability and low maintence are positives. There are negatives. The lack of a power lift gate is surprising. The front parking sensor only comes on after reverse is selected which is great for parallel parking but useless for much car parking where one enters front forward (and charging points).
The Lexen tyres are being replaced in future models. Good thing too. They create too much noise at speed. My normal pattern is to charge Sunday and I usually get a week before needing to charge again. I use a normal extension cord. I can always top up overnight if I need. High speed chargers when going longer distances, of course.
The plan to travel to VIC and TAS was interrupted by COVID, so I cannot talk about longer trips, but 300km trips are comfortable.
Purchased in at Lennock Hyundai for $72,000.
- Bought: New
- Year: 2020
Wonderful range + features but lacks basics – I've been using my Kona EV highlander as a daily car for almost 8 months and it has been an absolute gem. The car is amazing and all with features like heated seats, heads up display, driver assist and all that but it lacks some basic things like a spare wheel (does come with a repatch kit tho) and the headroom and legroom in the back is pretty bad but apart from that its a small zippy little SUV to get around town with minimal costs for servicing and practically zero issues.
Purchased in for $59,000.
- Transmission: Automatic
- Bought: New
- Year: 2019
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