Hyundai Kona Electric 39kWh Premium 2022 UK first drive

So quickly has the world of electric cars moved on that you’d be forgiven for thinking the Hyundai Kona Electric was one of the elder statesmen of the class. Yet it’s little over four years since it arrived as a pioneer with 300 miles of range and a compelling price to match. Good to drive, too.

The electric car market has boomed since and we’ve had arrivals like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 even within the firm's own stable showing the exciting next evolution of the electric car.

Yet the Kona Electric remains a very strong contender in the class and was recently given a raft of updates in order to keep pace with the fast-improving field. Two versions continue in the line-up: an entry-level 134bhp version with a 39.2kWh battery giving 189 miles of range, as tested here, and a more powerful, 201bhp version with the 64kWh battery that’s good for 300 miles of range. 

The changes are minor to the Kona Electric we first got to know and mainly focus on the styling, giving it the ‘no grille’ look that many recent electric cars have adopted. Like many recent electric cars, too, it thus lacks a bit of character and a distinctive face of its own.

Not much has been done to the dynamics of the electric drivetrain, beyond some software tweaks, yet with this revised Kona Electric, we have the benefit of assessing it after the segment has evolved and indeed emerged at a fast pace. And it still holds its own very well indeed.

The more powerful, 201bhp Kona Electric had a tendency to spin its wheels up, such was the amount of torque (290lb ft) being sent through the front tyres, and their lack of grip. The less powerful model we’re testing was always less afflicted by that and it’s almost totally absent now after the recent changes. 

Power and torque delivery are far less sledgehammer; it’s still brisk, but much more drivable now. Only asking the tyres to do far more than is sensible, such as flooring it on a wet road with lock on, will break traction. And you’d be a bit silly to be doing that in the first place. 

The Kona Electric has three very distinctive driving modes: Eco, Normal and Sport. Power and responses noticeably increase between the three of them (Normal seems the best judged overall), as do the vibrancy of the graphics on the updated instrument display. Seeing the whole screen turn red when Sport mode is selected raises a smile and it’s a welcome dose of character into what is a functional rather than stylish cabin.