With a battery capacity of 39.2 kWh, the basic version drives delivers up to 300 km (186 miles) (WLTP) on a single charge with the motor delivering 99 kW and an energy consumption as low as 14.8 kWh/100 km.

Both powertrain versions deliver 395 N·m of immediate torque, offering the driver of Kona Electric great fun-to-drive, having the full power available from the first second, and supporting a maximum speed of 167 km/h (104 mph).

The shift-by-wire system enables operation of the car simply by pressing buttons to switch driving modes. It also eliminates the routing space required for housing the mechanical linkages between a normal shifter and the transmission, providing additional storage space in the front of the car. The fully-electric subcompact SUV also features an electronic parking brake (EPB).

Charging the lithium-ion polymer battery up to 80% only takes about 54 minutes using a 100 kW direct current (DC) fast charger. With the 7.2 kW on-board-charger, charging with alternating current (AC) takes 9 hours 40 minutes for the long-range battery pack and 6 hours 10 minutes for the shorter-range battery pack. Drivers also have the option of charging their car at a compatible regular household power socket using the ICCB-cable (in-cable control box). The charging port is located in the vehicle’s front next to the Hyundai logo.

The Kona Electric is fitted with the company’s latest active safety and driving assistance technologies, called SmartSense: Forward Collision Avoidance Assist with Pedestrian Detection, Blind Spot Collision Warning including Rear Cross Traffic Collision Warning, Lane Keeping Assist, Driver Attention Warning, Intelligent Speed Limit Warning and Lane Following Assist.

• Using front radar sensors, SCC with Stop & Go keeps a constant speed and distance from the vehicle ahead by automatically accelerating and braking. If traffic comes to a halt, the Stop & Go system applies the brake until the car comes to a standstill and accelerates to the desired speed as soon as the road is clear. If the vehicle stops for longer than three seconds, the driver has to activate the system again with the steering wheel controls or by briefly pressing the accelerator pedal.

• Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA) with Pedestrian Detection is an advanced active safety feature that alerts drivers to emergency situations, braking automatically if required. Using front radar and camera sensors, FCA operates in three stages. Initially warning the driver visually and acoustically, it controls the brake according to the collision danger level, and applies maximum braking force to avoid a collision or minimise damage when a collision is unavoidable. The system is activated when a vehicle or pedestrian is sensed in front of the car, operating at speeds of 8 km/h (5 mph) or above.

• The Lane Keeping Assist alerts the driver in unsafe movements at over 60 km/h by sensing the car’s position. The Lane Departure Warning (LDW) sounds an alarm before the car moves over white, grey and blue lines as well as Bott’s dots on the road, while the LKA warns the driver acoustically and visually before inducing corrective steering to guide the driver back to a safe position.

• Lane Following Assist (LFA) helps the driver to keep the center of the lane by controlling the steering. It works from a standstill up to speeds of 150 km/h (93 mph) on both highways and inter-urban roads.

• Also using radar, the Blind-Spot Collision Warning (BCW) monitors the rear corners and, if another vehicle is detected, a visual alert appears on the exterior mirrors. If the driver then activates the indicators, an audible signal is emitted. This also applies to lane change situations in which a vehicle is detected.

• Using the rear corner radar, the Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning (RCCW) reduces the risk of collision with approaching traffic when reversing out of narrow areas with low visibility. Using radar to scan a 180-degree area behind the vehicle for approaching cross traffic, RCCW alerts the driver visually and audibly.

• The Driver Attention Warning (DAW) raises safety and convenience to an entirely new level by continuously monitoring and analyzing driving patterns through data inputs, such as the steering angle, steering torque and vehicle position in the traffic lane. When a pattern of fatigue/distraction is identified, DAW gets the driver’s attention with an audible alert and pop-up message suggesting a break.

• The Intelligent Speed Limit Warning uses the front camera and information from the navigation system to identify road speed signs and displays the speed limit in real time. The information is displayed in both the navigation system display and the TFT cluster.

To ensure that occupants’ phones are always charged, the Kona Electric also provides a wireless inductive charging pad (Qi standard) for mobile phones. The phone’s charging status is visualized with a small indicator lamp above. To ensure that the phone will not be forgotten inside the car, the central display in the instrument cluster shows a reminder when switching off the car.