The start-stop straight at the Buddh International Circuit saw a flurry of white and blue cars and usually, if you are at the pit lane, you would expect a guttural roar of a performance car. Instead! All one got was the rustle of the tyres. It was more of an electrifying experience. Well, we spent an afternoon with the newly launched Hyundai Kona Electric and figured that electric is the new cool! Priced at Rs. 25.3 lakh (ex-showroom, India), it is India's first ever fully electric SUV and the company's niche electric model.
Everything You Need To Know About The Hyundai Kona
Also Read: Hyundai Kona Electric Launched In India; Priced At Rs. 25.3 Lakh
Style Statement
(The Kona Electric will stand out on the road, thanks to its quirky front end)
The Kona is a compact crossover, similar to Hyundai Creta in terms of size and space but has a design which is not overly futuristic yet sharp enough to distinguish itself on the road. The front end gets slim LED daytime running lamps and low-mounted headlamps along with single-piece body-coloured bumper rising up till the bonnet. Hyundai's signature cascading grille pattern is embedded on to the bumper, giving it a modern, contemporary design. Swing your view to the rear and the typically Hyundai-styled tail lamps along with the extended plastic cladding on the rear wheel arch give the crossover a sense of ruggedness.
Also Read: Hyundai Kona Electric: How Does It Charge
Inside Talk
(The cabin of the Hyundai Kona Electric has a clean, simple design and is loaded with features too)
Being fully electric is not the only cool part of the Kona. The cabin has a clean, clutter free design. The fit and finish inside is up to the mark and buttons have a nice tactile feel to it as well. But, the cabin doesn't feel as premium as some of the other SUV models in the same price bracket. But the Kona electric is loaded with features. The centre piece is the 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system which gets smartphone connectivity in the form of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It is not connected, but Kona has all the navigation, entertainment features that you would want in your car. Other creature comforts include ventilated seats, wireless phone charging and a driver-only air conditioning option, which keeps the throw of cold air limited to just the driver seat, thereby reducing energy consumption.
All Matters Electric
(The Kona Electric has an ARAI certified range of 452 kilometres)
It gets a 39.2 kWh lithium ion battery and the Kona has an ARAI certified range is of 452 kilometres which is quite good, really! With every purchase of the Kona Electric, Hyundai will also provide the customer with a 7.2 kW AC wall box charger that can charge the car fully in 6 hours 10 minutes. It can be installed either at home or office. If the customer wants, Hyundai can provide an extra wall charger as well. The cost of the wall charger will be somewhere between Rs. 70,000 to Rs. 1 lakh. The AC wall box charger can top up the charge in the vehicle for a range of 50 kilometres in just one hour. Finally, each Hyundai Kona Electric also gets a 2.8 kW portable charger, which can be directly plugged into your regular 15 ampere socket and it will take about 19 hours to fully charge the car after it is fully discharged. This charger can top up daily running of 50Kms in less than 3 hours.
(With the standard AC wall charger, the Kona Electric can be charged fully in less than 7 hours)
Given the fact that EV charging facilities in India are almost negligible, Hyundai Motor India has come up with a solution. The company has partnered with Indian Oil Corporation and the company will be setting up fast chargers at select IOCL retail outlets in cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai. These 50 kW DC quick chargers can charge the Kona EV from fully discharged to 80 per cent in less than an hour and takes less than three hours to fully charge the car.
Power-Packed Performance
(The Kona Electric has a smooth drive and is quick too. It does the 0-100 kmph sprint in 9.7 seconds)
The Kona in India will get a 100 kW motor which sends power to the front wheels and the output is equivalent of 131 bhp and 395 Nm of peak torque and the motor is paired to a single speed reduction gearbox which is operated by buttons. Yes! There is no gear-shifter so to say. We didn't really get as much time as we would have liked but we can tell you that the car really handles well. It took on the corners quite nicely and the steering could have been a touch stiffer and more feedback oriented. But then it is a city car so it doesn't need to be that sporty. There are 4 driving modes which are Eco, Eco Plus, Comfort and Sport, which alter the driving dynamics of the car according to the need.
Also Read: Hyundai Kona Electric Top 5 Features Explained
Cost of Ownership
(Hyundai claims that the Kona Electric's running cost is less than Re. 1 per kilometre)
One of the biggest benefits of electric vehicles and the Kona in particular, is the low cost of ownership. In fact, Hyundai says that the Kona electric's running cost is about one-fifth of the Hyundai Creta petrol and the cost of running per kilometre is less than 1 rupee. Whereas you spend six rupees per kilometre on the Creta petrol! With lesser moving parts, the maintenance cost for the Kona Electric will be significantly lesser than that of petrol Creta. Yes! The low cost of ownership is nullified by the asking price of the Kona, but with the government's push towards electrification and the benefits that it offers, the Kona electric makes a good case for itself.
Also Read: Hyundai Kona Electric's Running Cost Compared To Hyundai Creta
Final Take
(Yes! The asking price is towards the higher side, but launching the Kona in India is a step in the right direction)
The Kona Electric is clean and green. The performance is at par with other cars in the same price bracket and the list of features is long too. The looks are quirky and might polarise opinion but we quite like it. Getting the Kona Electric to India is a bold move and a step in the right direction. It is a premium product, no doubt and Hyundai expects to sell about 500 units a year. But the very fact that now, there exists a choice for even a minority customer base, is testimony to the fact that India is indeed moving towards electric mobility.
from NDTV CarAndBike - Reviews https://ift.tt/2LOtoJ8
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