India-Bound 2021 Hyundai Kona Electric SUV Revealed; Gets Significant Upgrades

• Design updates include a closed grille, sleeker headlamps, and revised front and rear bumpers.

• It gets a bigger 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and optional 10.25-inch central display.

• The specs of the 39.2kWh battery-pack drivetrain remain largely unchanged.

Hyundai has updated the Kona Electric with a facelift just 2 years after its introduction. The EV gets some design and feature updates, just like what Hyundai did with the internal combustion and hybrid versions of the Kona SUV.

Up front, the Kona Electric now gets an updated front fascia with the closed grille and sleeker headlights. The wheel arch claddings are now painted in the same colour as the car to give it a cleaner look. Small revisions have been made to the front and rear bumpers too. The Kona Electric is also 40mm longer than its predecessor, as was also the case with the new Kona. It also gets 9 new paint colour options bringing the total to 16 colour options including two dual-tone options too.

Inside, the EV gets a significant upgrade in terms of display sizes. It gets a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and an optional 10.25-inch floating touchscreen infotainment system, which gets connected car tech and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The Kona Electric also gets a new ambient lighting system and two interior colour packages: black and dual-tone grey. Additions have been made to the advanced safety features on board. These include blind-spot collision-avoidance assist, leading vehicle departure alert, rear seat alert, and safe exit warning.

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Though the Kona Electric is offered with two different battery packs, we currently get just the entry-level 39.2kWh battery powered variant. The motors deliver 136PS and 395Nm, which help the EV go from 0-100kmph in 9.9 seconds. It gets a top speed of 155 kmph and offers a claimed WLTP range of 305 km on a full charge, which is 5km more than the outgoing model thanks to the updated tyres. The battery can charge from 10 to 80 per cent in 47 minutes using a 100kW DC fast charger while a 7.2kW charger would take 6 hours to charge from 10 to 100 percent.

The facelifted version of the Kona Electric is expected to arrive in India by 2021. The current version retails from Rs 23.75 lakh to Rs 23.94 lakh (ex-showroom). Currently it has only one direct rival, the MG ZS EV, which is also a premium offering but has a lower claimed range.