Hyundai released preliminary details and images of the second-generation Kona in mid-December 2022 before spilling the beans about the ICE and hybrid versions roughly a month later. We’ll have to wait until next month to learn all about the purely electric version and see it in a complete photo gallery. Until then, the South Korean brand is taking us on a 360-degree tour of the zero-emissions crossover, albeit digital since this is clearly CGI.
We are noticing a neat detail we missed in the few official images published by Hyundai of the electric Kona. Much like the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 dedicated EVs, there are numerous squares not shared with the combustion-engined variant. You’ll notice them in the middle section of the front and rear LED light bars as well as in both bumpers.
It’s a neat way to distinguish the zero-emission model from the gasoline and hybrid Kona while bridging a connection with the Ioniq family. Those dots continue on the inside where the steering wheel has lost the Hyundai badge. Instead, there are four squares also found on the pair of Ioniq models. They’re a nod to the letter “H” in Morse code.
Of course, the dead giveaway we’re dealing with the purely electric motor is the closed-off front grille with a large cap for the charging port. As with the previous generation, the Kona EV shares its interior with the ICE and hybrid models, retaining many physical buttons despite the adoption of side-by-side screens measuring 12.3 inches.
We’ll remind you the new Kona is bigger than the model it replaces. Overall length has increased by 145 millimeters (5.7 inches) to 4,350 mm (171.2 in), with the wheelbase stretched by 60 mm (2.3 in) to 2660 mm (104.7 in). The subcompact crossover is now 1825 mm (71.9 in) wide and 1580 mm (62.2 in) tall. These proportions are for the ICE and hybrid models, although we’re not expecting the EV’s to be substantially different.
A sportier-looking N Line has already been confirmed, but we’re curious to find out whether there will be another full-fat Kona N.
