In December, Hyundai unveiled the interior as well as exterior designs of the second-gen Kona SUV. The company has now given us all of the specifications as well, and the biggest update here has to be the added range. Just as before, the Hyundai Kona will be available in three iterations – Pure EV, hybrid and pure ICE. Interestingly, the SUV will go on sale first as an EV with its ICE counterparts following later on. (Image: Hyundai)
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Diving right into it, the Kona gets all-new styling based on the Hyundai Seven concept that was previewed in 2021. The Kona isn’t as big as the Seven, but a look at the nose gives you an inkling of the same feeling. The thin lightbar from the front has been directly imported into the Kona as has the clamshell bonnet. Of course, the headlamps are more functional than pixel LEDs but there are pixel graphic details on the EV where the air vents and intakes will be on the ICE-powered variants. These design characteristics are meant to bring the car’s design closer to other Hyundai EVs such as the Ioniq 5. (Image: Hyundai)
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Over to the side, you see the Kona’s bold stance, thanks to the chunky, squared-off wheel arches. And finally, at the rear is another pixelated lightbar, this time in red, with the main tail lamp units sitting lower on the sides. (Image: Hyundai)
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Hyundai has done something fairly unique with the Kona this time around. Both the EV variant as well as the ICE counterparts and the sportier N-Line variant will have styling cues exclusive to them. We’ve already mentioned the pixel graphics on the bumpers for the EV. The base ICE variant will get a larger grille and a faux brushed aluminium skid plate. The N-Line variant, on the other hand, gets its own unique bumper with a mostly blacked-out theme and skid plate. Even the wheels seem to be different across the lineup. (Image: Hyundai)
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In terms of dimensions, the second-gen Kona measures 4,355 mm in length, 1,825 mm in width and 1,575 mm in height. This makes it 150 mm longer as well as 25 mm wider than the outgoing SUV. The wheelbase, too, has been given a 60 mm increase to 2,660 mm. This, according to Hyundai provides for a larger cabin area that they call ‘Living Space’. (Image: Hyundai)
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Moving into this Living Space, what we first get to see is the large wrap-around dual displays that adorn the dash. Both screens are 12.3-inch full-colour displays with the one over the steering wheel functioning as the driver’s display and the one in the centre as the touchscreen infotainment unit. A similar setup is seen in the Ioniq 5 and it even gets the physical buttons for climate control and heated seats on the floating centre console. The shift-by-wire selector on the current-gen Kona EV is located on the centre console. This has now been moved to behind the steering wheel to open up more storage space. (Image: Hyundai)
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The features list, like all modern cars, is exhaustive. The best among these includes an eight-speaker Bose Premium Sound System plus a sub-woofer, head-up display, ADAS functions including lane keeping Assist, blind-spot monitoring and collision avoidance, speed limit assist, driver attention warning, forward collision avoidance assist as well as autonomous emergency braking. Of course, heated and ventilated seats, keyless entry and a powered tailgate also come equipped with the new Kona. Another feature the Kona gets is the one-pedal drive system from the Ioniq 5. This allows regenerative braking to pump in more Watt-hours back into the battery while almost eliminating the need to use the brake to stop. (Image: Hyundai)
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In terms of powertrain options, Hyundai is yet to reveal figures for the ICE variants but the EV will be available in two range options – Standard and Long Range. The Standard Range variant is powered by a 48.4 kWh battery pack mated to a 114.6 kW electric motor capable of producing 255 Nm of peak torque. The Long-Range option, on the other hand, gets a larger 160 kW motor that is also powered by a larger 65.4 kWh battery pack. The torque output is the same at 255 Nm.
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For context, the Hyundai Kona sold in India gets a 39.2 kWh battery pack. We still haven’t heard about the Standard option’s total driving range but the Long Range option gets a WLTP-claimed figure of 490 km on a single charge. Charging is also a fairly quick affair thanks to the 400 V architecture. This allows the Kona to fast charge from 10 percent to 80 percent in just 41 minutes. (Image: Hyundai)
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As for India, Hyundai still sells the first-gen Kona EV here, and while the car has been facelifted, this variant is yet to make its way to our shores. It will be interesting to see what Hyundai decides to do in terms of the new-gen SUV. For now, the Hyundai Kona is priced at Rs 23.84 lakh ex-showroom and rivals the MG ZS EV directly. The Ioniq 5 which is also locally assembled is on sale as the company’s second EV. (Image: Hyundai)
Stanford Masters Journalist who writes on automobiles
