Hyundai Kona Electric range, battery & charging
The Hyundai Kona Electric offers very good range for the money – especially from the larger-battery 64kWh model
| Car | Range | Wallbox charge time | Rapid charge time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kona 39kWh | 189 miles | 6hrs (0-100%, 7.4kW) | 47mins (10-80%, 50kW) |
| Kona 64kWh | 300 miles | 9hrs 15mins (0-100%, 7.4kW) | 48mins (10-80%, 100kW) |
With 300 miles on offer from its battery, the 64kWh Kona Electric is a tempting buy. There's also the option of a smaller-battery 39kWh version for a still-useful 189-mile range, which has the benefit of a more affordable starting price and may be worth looking at if you'll mainly be doing shorter trips.
Hyundai Kona Electric range
There’s no doubt range anxiety is becoming less and less of an issue across the board as battery and charging technology for electric cars develops. Indeed, the official 300-mile range of the Kona 64kWh model (early examples were capable of 280 miles) seems to cross a threshold of acceptability – giving electric-car drivers a similar amount of freedom to travel as a typical tank of fossil fuel. Even the cheaper 39kWh version's 189-mile range isn't to be sniffed at, especially if you don't embark on cross-country jaunts.
Charge time
Big batteries take longer to charge than smaller ones, and it'll take around 28 hours to full top up the Kona Electric 64kWh from a three-pin domestic socket. That's really only a last-resort solution, though: Hyundai provides a Type 2 cable that gives access to the vast majority of public rapid chargers, as well as home wallboxes. Using a 7.4kW wallbox reduces the charge time for the 64kWh Kona to a little over nine hours.
The Kona will also take the CCS cable that's commonly found at rapid chargers on the motorway – although it's worth noting the smaller-battery cars won't charge as quickly as the bigger-battery models. The 64kWh car can charge at 77kW at most, so plugging into a 100kW charger will see the Hyundai charge at that maximum rate – filling the battery from 10-80% in just under 50 minutes. The time is about the same for the 39kWh car, as it's battery roughly half the size charging at roughly half the speed.
