RANGE FINDER

Hyundai’s solution to the “range anxiety” experienced by many electric vehicle owners is an obvious one: fit a bigger battery. Hence two of the three models of the new Kona Electric SUV range come with 64kWh’s worth of lithium-ion energy storage. That’s more than double the size of the battery of New Zealand’s most popular new EV — the IONIQ Electric eco-pod that Hyundai released to much acclaim and decent sales last year.

There’s no doubt that this multiplication of energy reserves works. My driving partner and I absolutely thrashed the new Kona Electric over 330km of the tortuously twisty roads of the western Waikato hinterland during the launch. Every exit from a corner, and every overtake, was conducted at full Jandal; yet the trip computer of the Kona Electric was still showing 50km

of range left at journey’s end. Hyundai Automotive New Zealand says the compact SUV will travel 400-plus km before needing a recharge. The humming Kona therefore offers a compelling buying proposition to wean us off more characterful yet more poisonous combustion technologies: Tesla-like range at a well-below-Tesla price.

Make that Tesla-like range at a BMW i3 price, for big lithium-ionpolymer batteries the size of a kingsize mattress don’t come cheap, and require complicated thermal management systems to keep them operating at optimum temperature. The top Kona Electric Elite model therefore lists for $79,990, almost a grand more than any i3 model that isn’t fitted with a scooter engine as a back-up power generator. Next model down the range is another $72,990 version with a 64kWh battery, but with the leatherette seats of the Elite exchanged for cloth upholstered pews, the 8in touch screen downsized to 7in, and minus the Elite’s trick energy-saving heatpump-based cabin comfort system. You’ll also have to adjust the front seats and monitor low/high beam headlight operations yourself in that one.

HANZ is, for now, keeping mum about the price of the entry-model Kona Electric model, which will come with a 39.2kWh battery still capable of providing 250-plus km of range (the factory says 312km). With the smaller, 120kg-lighter battery, the maximum power delivered by the permanent magnet electric motor that drives the front wheels via a reduction gear drops from 150kW to 100kW.

However, the 395Nm torque peak is shared by all the models of the range. Outright performance drops marginally with what is likely to be the most cost-effective Kona EV. It’ll top out at 155km/h instead of 167km/ h, and sprint from stationary to 100km/h in 9.7 seconds instead of 7.6.

That 39.2kWh Kona Electric model is already confirmed as the more efficient user of energy according to the new Worldwide harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) about to be enforced in EC markets. According to that test, the Kona Electric with the smaller battery uses 13.9kWh’s worth of juice per 100km, whereas the heavier models use 14.3.

The safety credentials of the electrified Konas have already been confirmed by a five-star crash rating from the Australian New Car Assessment Program (Ancap), which didn’t actually crash test the car but collated data from Hyundai’s own crash tests. An impressive feature of the new body construction required to accommodate the all-electric powertrain is the ultra-strong side sills that protect the under-floor battery in side impacts. These feature ultrahigh-strength steel outer rails, reinforced by an internal aluminum honeycomb that dampens crash