Battery size: 39 - 64kWh
Miles per kWh: 4.69
E-Rating™: A+
Max charge rate: 80 kW
Range: 180 -300 miles
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Those customers who have been on the list won’t be disappointed though. With a realistic range of around 270 miles in the 64kW version and rapid charging capability, it makes electric motoring a realistic proposition for most drivers. Single journeys which are longer than that are rare, or you’ll be able to do an average commute all week without needing to charge other than at weekends. That means you might not even need to have a charge point at home - you could just pop to the nearest shopping centre and top up over a few hours or find a rapid charger and do it in just over half an hour.
The Kona isn’t some stripped out eco car which is going to relegate you to the inside lane of motorways or make you feel vulnerable pulling onto a dual carriageway either. Its motor produces 201bhp (or 134bhp in the 39kW version), which is around the same as some performance hatchbacks. The Kona is heavy, but even so it feels really quite fast on the road, especially from a standstill. If you lean on the accelerator too hard you’ll be spinning the wheels like you’re a stunt driver in a movie car chase.
Thankfully the Kona will slow down just as quickly, thanks to adjustable levels of regenerative braking. This allows you to tailor the amount that the car slows down when you lift off the accelerator pedal and uses the energy to put some power back in the battery. You can even use the Kona’s radar cruise control to do it for you automatically, so you don’t have to touch any of the pedals at all except in an emergency.
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