Hyundai Kona Electric

Hyundai Kona Electric 64kWh £29,440

WE SAY: WATCH OUT, MODEL X AND I-PACE, THERE’S A LONG-RANGE EV SUV AFTER YOUR SLICE OF THE PIE What’s the point?

An electric game-changer. It’s a real-world 250mile (300 WLTP) electric crossover that’s half the price of the similarly rangey Teslas and Jaguar.

Good for a journey?

Yup. It can use DC chargers up to 100kW to replenish its 64kWh battery to 80 percent in under an hour, or 75mins with the present network of 50kW posts. So a 400-mile trip, with one stop for when range drops to say 25 miles, is perfectly feasible. If that’s seldom your itinerary, or you have another car in the household, there’s also a 39kWh (or 194-mile WLTP) version for £3,125 less.

Small, though?

Yup, it’s no Model X. Rear foot-space is minimal – though no less than the piston-powered Kona – and the boot’s small, especially if you’re carrying a coiled AC cable. Want more space? Wait for the same battery/motor combo in the electric Kia Niro.

Cheap ’n’ nasty, or ’n’ cheerful?

The cabin plastics are all rather Nineties Dixons boombox. But the equipment count is high, the human interface amenable, and doubtless the batteries are as good as any others.

Where’s the motor?

Good question. It’s not an AWD SUV. This is frontwheel drive. Very. The motor is a lively 204bhp. At full steam, the front suspension geometry loses its cool. It torque-steers like a Dobermann whenever flattened accelerator meets bumpy road. At times I switched Eco mode to quell the motor. But the A-road overtaking pace is handy, and it does feel quite an agile machine.

Not relaxing then?

As with any decent EV it’s blissfully smooth and quiet. But the ride is lumpy and can be sharp. Shouldn’t it have been softened off? We don’t need this little EV to handle like an I30N. But one thing does help you relax – range anxiety usually won’t be a thing.