Hyundai Kona Electric review

Overview

The Hyundai Kona Electric is an electric SUV with 5 seats, a 65.4 kWh battery and a quoted WLTP range of 260 miles. On paper it suits families who want space without moving up to a van. Prices start at around £34,500, with leases quoted from about £289 a month.

Its headline specification point is straightforward: exceptional efficiency for the money. The sections below break the published figures down and set them against the other electric cars in our UK database.

Design & practicality

Bodystyle is an SUV with 5 seats and 466 litres of boot space. Against every EV in the database that puts it around mid-pack for outright carrying capacity, and around mid-pack among other SUVs.

Boot volume is typical of the class: fine for a weekly shop and a couple of cases.

Range & charging

The quoted WLTP range is 260 miles from 65.4 kWh of usable-plus-buffer capacity — around mid-pack in the database for distance between charges. Real-world figures are typically 10–25% lower in cold weather and at sustained motorway speeds.

That is a mid-size battery with mainstream rapid-charging speeds. As with any EV, the running-cost picture depends far more on whether you can charge at home overnight than on the charging speed itself.

Performance

The published 0–60mph time is 7.8 seconds, which puts it below average for acceleration here and makes it adequate rather than rapid by the numbers. Electric drivetrains deliver that pull instantly from a standstill, so town-speed responses tend to feel stronger than the figure suggests.

Tech & features

We score cabin technology at 7/10 based on published equipment levels, which is among the weakest across the database. The specification highlight is that exceptional efficiency for the money.

Infotainment is mainstream rather than cutting edge: smartphone mirroring and the expected assistance systems, without headline software features.

Price & value

New prices run from £34,500 to £42,000, with three-year-old used examples from around £16,500 and leases quoted from £289 a month. That sits at the middle of the electric cars in this database, and the affordable end of the SUVs specifically.

Our value score, which weighs the price against range, space and equipment, is 8/10. Whether it works out cheaper than your current car depends on your mileage, fuel price and charging setup — the cost calculator does that maths properly.