Page 56 - Motor Trend (April 2020)
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Without a traditional shifter,
the Kona Electric has a more
spacious center console.
The button shifter affords
space for extra storage.
and 195 lb-ft of torque, and it drives
either the front (as in our Kona tester)
or all four wheels through a seven-speed
twin-clutch automatic. Our loaded 1.6T
stickers for $28,980. (That puts the price
premium for a hypothetical base Electric
SEL, minus incentives, and this Kona gas
model at a mere $2,495.)
The gas model scores 28/32/30 mpg
city/highway/combined in EPA tests,
and a 13.2-gallon fuel tank helps give it a
396-mile range on regular fuel.
Despite its modest power output, the
gas-powered Kona drives much like a slips its clutches while determining the
high-riding hot hatch. Its four-pot is best gear to get the car moving. The end
increasingly relevant as more buyers pretty laggy off the line, and impatience result is a near-constant motion sickness–
ditch cars for crossovers. Most essential with the throttle will only result in inducing seesawing in stop-and-go traffic.
for our purposes, though, is that Hyundai torque steer and tire squeal. Once the Whereas you’re always working around
effectively treats the electric version like Kona hooks up, though, it can be pretty the gas Kona’s laggy turbo and lurchy
either of the Kona’s two gas four-cylinder entertaining, has plenty of character, and transmission, the Kona Electric couldn’t
powertrains, so we could spec two Konas offers a good amount of power up high in be smoother. Its power—and critically, its
as identically as possible. its powerband. torque—is available the instant you dip
Although the Kona Electric SEL’s When pushed, the Kona’s seven-speed into the accelerator, allowing you to zip off
base prices starts at $38,285 before the dual-clutch bangs off quick upshifts, the line or plug a gap in traffic. “The EV is
$7,500 federal (and any applicable state) doing its best to help the hard-working almost continuously better to drive than
tax credit(s), our Kona Electric included 1.6-liter engine stay in its powerband. “It’s the gas,” Reynolds said. “Its silky acceler-
the top-level Ultimate trim, ringing in at spritely to drive, with no significant flaws, ation and right-foot response are akin to a
$46,630 , which would allow us to best and has a happy demeanor,” Reynolds Rolls-Royce.”
mimic the equipment level of a gas- said. “It’s weird how some cars similar to Unlike a lot of EVs, the Kona Electric
powered Kona. The front-drive Kona this feel like penalty boxes, whereas the doesn’t slow down as speeds pick up;
Electric (the EV’s only driveline) fits an Kona gas feels like a treat.” Hyundai appears to have tuned its little
electric motor making 201 hp and 291 “No significant flaws” is true, but it
lb-ft of torque mated to a one-speed auto- doesn’t mean the gas-powered Kona While the electric Kona charges,
Kim Reynolds enjoys a leisurely lunch.
matic, with a 64-kW-hr battery pancaked is flawless. Its biggest issue, its lack of
underneath the floor and rear seat. The transmission refinement, rears its head
EPA rates the 2020 Kona Electric’s range during our daily commutes. Although
at an impressive 258 miles per charge, and the “dry” type dual-clutch shifts smartly
its 132/108/120 city/highway/combined when pressed, it tends to stutter at low
mpg-e score also ranks it among the most speeds, especially in stop-and-go traffic.
efficient vehicles on the road today. (“Wet” clutches, such as those used by
The gas-powered Kona is impressive in Audi and Porsche, tend not to suffer
its own right, especially when you spring this stuttering problem but are more
for the optional 1.6-liter turbocharged I-4 expensive and less efficient.) What’s
instead of the standard 147-hp 2.0-liter more, the throttle is difficult to modulate
I-4. Our tester makes a healthy 175 hp smoothly, as the transmission haltingly
56 MOTORTREND.COM APRIL 2020
