Hyundai Kona Electric Review

Pricing

Hearing the price of the top Kona might cause some painful expressions, as it doesn’t look like a car which is worth up to £37,900. But it’s worth remembering that the priciest Kona has a whopping great big 64kW battery and consequently a range which can only be beaten by much more expensive electric cars.

There are three versions of the Kona available, an SE Connect, Premium and Ultimate. The least expensive is the 39kWh SE Connect at £30,40; moving up to Premium adds £1,850 to the bill. The same trim level with the bigger battery is another £3,950, and the Ultimate - which is only available with the 64kWh battery - is another £2,150. 

The only real differences between the SE Connect and Premium models is a 10.25-inch touchscreen (the SE Connect gets a seven-inch one), a few automatic goodies (like wipers and folding mirrors) and some arguably non-essential safety kit. Going between Premium and Ultimate, the most obvious upgrade is leather seats, although there are a few other nice gadgets too. The only extra cost options worth mentioning are metallic paint at £565 and the £875 heat pump.

Running costs

Even compared to the new generation of efficient small SUVs such as the Nissan Juke and Ford Puma, the running costs of the Kona will seem minuscule. It will go 250 miles on an £8.50 home charge; a distance which would cost about £25 in a similar-sized petrol SUV.

The insurance is a little higher than you might expect in groups 22-26, but the Hyundai claws back some advantage with a five-year unlimited mileage warranty and five free annual ‘inspections’. Only the battery is excluded – that gets separate cover which is for eight years or 100,000 miles.

If you are using the Kona as a company car, the savings in benefit-in-kind (BIK) will be substantial compared to a petrol or diesel thanks to the government's decision to rate pure electric cars at 2% for 2022-2023. Even compared to the hybrid versions of the Kona, the cash you save will be a four figure sum over a year.