- Car and Driver rating: 8/10
- Max. EPA-rated range: 258 miles
Just about everything we appreciate about the gas-powered Hyundai Kona applies to its battery-electric counterpart, the Kona Electric. Like its corporate cousin, the Kia Niro EV, the Kona Electric relies on a 201-hp front-mounted electric motor for motivation. Electricity comes courtesy of a 64.0-kWh battery pack (gross capacity) that affords the $34,885 Kona Electric an EPA-rated driving range of 258 miles.
That said, we do wish the Kona Electric offered optional all-wheel drive and a more spacious rear seating area. More irksome is this electric SUV’s limited availability, as Hyundai sells it in just about half of this country’s states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington). For many consumers, that fact alone may be enough to eliminate the Kona Electric from their shopping list.
