SHyundai is still and secretly driving in the fast lane in Germany. Since 2012, the headquarters in Offenbach have been pleased with more than 100,000 new registrations each year, not many can do that, and of the importers only Skoda and Seat were better in 2023. The Kona SUV is number one in the Hyundai portfolio; the four-door model was ordered more than 23,000 times last year, a good 40 percent of which were battery-powered cars. The Kona made its debut in 2017, the electric version came a year later. In the new, second generation, Hyundai once again uses electricity and gasoline as energy sources, the entry-level model Kona T-GDI with a 1.0-liter three-cylinder and 120 hp comes for a relatively small 27,000 euros. Locally emission-free driving starts at 41,990 euros, but only with a small battery with just 48 kWh in the storage.
The Hyundai SUV driven by the editorial team had the larger 65 kWh battery in the floor of the car. This means that the E-Kona not only has more endurance, the engine also has more power, 218 instead of 156 hp. However, the maximum torque of 255 Newton meters remains the same. After all, it goes from 0 to 100 km/h one second faster: 7.8 seconds are stated in the data sheet. Well, there are better electric cars, but the Hyundai is by no means lame. When the speedometer reaches 180 km/h it finally slows down. That's a real 172. But very few electric car drivers drive that fast; they drive more consciously, simply because a higher speed is immediately punished with high consumption and less range.
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