[padmrajravi]

Great review of a special car which represents a paradigm shift in Indian car scene. A mass manufacturer launching a true international EV with all the service support, long warranties and respectable range. This is entirely different from all the gimmicks Tata and Mahindra have been doing. Hyundai to me is the best car manufacurer in India now. Sometimes I think their second position in Indian market is by choice. They have everything that is needed to dethrone Suzuki if they wish.

Kona can be a great urban commuter. Even though you spend 23 lakhs, the fuel expenses over the 8 year period will be surprisingly lower compared to the ICE cars. 1 Re per km is very cheap. For a monthly running of 1500kms, I pay about 7000 Rs per month for diesel with average FE of 15km per litre. That takes my 8 year fuel expense to 6-7 lakhs, while for a Kona it would only be 1.5 lakhs. At the end of 8 years, I dont think my diesel car would fetch any resale value, becaue the world will be electric by then. So it kind of makes sense to go for this even if it is expensive by 5-6 lakhs, because you will save on fuel costs and the resale value will be almost nil for diesel counter parts in a decade.

[sri_tesla]

Great detailed review as usual from Team-BHP.

Hyundai is able to develop one of the most efficient EVs using their existing petrol vehicle platforms. Its even more efficient than VW ID 3 built on dedicated EV platform. Their Ioniq sedan is the most efficient EV followed by Tesla Model 3 and Kona.

Originally Posted by ChiragM

What you won't:

• Expensive! Even after subsidies, EVs still carry a huge price premium over ICE cars

I would say, Kona is comparable to top end Creta or Seltos which has on road price of ~19 to 20 lakhs. Its automatic without the worries of DCT in Seltos. For the people whose major driving is in cities, the fuel/electricity bill can be 1/8th of petrol automatic Creta or Seltos.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

The Hyundai Kona Electric is on sale in India at a price of Rs. 23.72 lakhs (ex-Delhi).

What a review! I need a 6th star! Its a must for this review. For time being rating 5 stars. Loved every bit of it. Nobody even at Hyundai India would be so aware of this car. Not a bit unexplored. Hats off to you Chirag & the whole team involved. Lovely picture processing too. Crisp.

As for the car - I really like everything except the looks. And given it's technical abilities & advancements for masses - I really don't care if it looked like a dog-cart even. Hyundai deserves credit for a fully baked product launch in a niche segment. Its absolutely fine not to have automatic lamps and wipers IMO since Hyundai has not skimped on key aspects like security & peace of mind for the owner in terms of long term ownership. Well done Hyundai.

Does the front lower lip protrude a bit too far forward of the wheels? In that case the approach angles will be quite low (a-la Jeep Compass) and owners will be nervous of front scrapes on our poor (thats standard) roads. We'll have to watch out for those in long term ownership reports.

TRIVIA about KONA Name
Actually its named differently (Kauai) in Portugal because the phonetically identical word "cona" in Portuguese is a slang for female genitalia. So people found it a bit offensive / embarrassing. Strangely its not named Kauai in Spain where the slang is same in most parts of the language dialect.

Kona & Kauai are both districts/islands in the Hawaiian isles. Kauai also means "Lady" in Hawaiian.
(Had learnt this a few months ago when the car first broke covers at a motor show. Was doing some reading and found these. Since then it has now appeared on Wikipedia also.)

[DrCar]

Wonderful review. Was waiting eagerly for the review of this car to come out.

More than the car, the green coloured number plate is the first thing that catches your attention. This says a lot about how Kona could still have been designed differently. Looks more of a facelifted i20. The front grill designs should have been different. At first look I thought why a mosquito net is placed on the grill?

But, I appreciate the Hyundai for giving a proper electric vehicles with no compromises anywhere. The car looks much faster on the roads, not sure whether its an illusion because we are always made to believe that electric car offers instant torque.

Want Kona to be successful, which atleast provides hope to other manufacturer to fast forward their R & D in developing a better electric cars.

[sgiitk]

I would consider it seriously next year. However some questions

1. Availability of recharge stations.
2. Availability of service. Will the normal dealership provide maintenance or even will they be equipped for it.
3. Service intervals.

[hajaar]

I had TDed (Chennai) the Kona last month while shopping for a new car.

I really wanted to buy it but there were three reasons I did not
1. Hyundai informed me that the waiting period was 3 months +.
2. Hyundai was clueless on informing me whether the 7.2Kwh charger could be installed in my 25 year old apartment. One person said no. Another person said yes. And then they said that would arrange for a concall with someone from Delhi, which didn't happen. The sales person wanted me to book the car and he said that the actual inspection would happen 3 weeks before the car was ready. This is idiotic since how can we purchase a EV when we are not sure if a charger can be installed?
3. It looks like most of the claims around chargers being available in Hyundai dealerships, IOC petrol bunks are vapour ware. When I spoke to the Hyundai sales rep, he said that the nearest DC fast charger was in Kattupakkam which is miles away from from even though there are a number of dealerships which are close by.

Given these constraints, I quickly came to the conclusion that Hyundai has not really thought through its execution on the ground and is hoping for marketing speak to kick start the EV revolution in India.

[sharktale]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

the resale value will be almost nil for diesel counter parts in a decade.

+1 to your fuel comparison.

However, wouldn't a 8 year old EV also face the same situation of very low resale value?
The battery capacity would have been severely depleted by then with your usage, and AFAIK it won't be easy to swap the batteries like we did in olden times.

[RMN]

Great move by Hyundai. As it stands, I believe Hyundai is the only maker that can utilize their first mover advantage in India. The only other maker would have been Maruti-Suzuki but they dont seem all that interested.

I have good faith in Hyundai that they will be the first maker to give India affordable EVs!

[DarthVeda]

Excellent review, especially highlighting on the ride quality and rear leg room, any potential buy needs to be aware of these aspects.

Good times are coming for EV enthusiasts with MG and Tata launching EV very shortly. I see few comments about lack of infrastructure, that would be the case for any new technology but should not block you from buying it.

Without any public charges, you can use this car for city travel and near by destinations. You would need to do a bit of research to choose a hotel which allows you to use their 15A socket and you can charge over night. With 300km range, I can safely say Bengaluru - Mysuru trips can be done without worrying about the charging

[2000rpm]

Havent read the full review but could not stop myself from commenting here on the Alloy wheels.

The alloys look like Mixer Blades

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

So it kind of makes sense to go for this even if it is expensive by 5-6 lakhs, because you will save on fuel costs and the resale value will be almost nil for diesel counter parts in a decade.

Agree with every line you said. Its correct & thats the way for the future. Just one clarification though. The Li-Ion battery will pretty much be well on its pyre by 8-9 years. A replacement one costs around 4-5 lakhs on an average if I'm not mistaken. So the resale values of an EV after that duration is also an unknown.

Originally Posted by RMN

I believe Hyundai is the only maker that can utilize their first mover advantage in India.

First mover? Mahindra-REVA & Tata have been selling EVs since a while. Mahindra already had the e2O - an actual urban commuter car with affordable price. So Hyundai really is a 3rd mover. Although unlike the poor half hearted attempts of the other two - Hyundai is coming with a top of the line product with premium pricing.

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

Havent read the full review but could not stop myself from commenting here on the Alloy wheels. The alloys look like Mixer Blades

+1. My thoughts since the car first appeared. What were they thinking! They really are mixer blades. Pedestrians, beware!

[sandeep108]

Thanks ChiragM and Rehaan for a great and frank review. I see still a few issues for this:


Wouldn't a 7.2 kWh charging point require load sanction and special meter from the distribution company - I know because BEST has several rules regarding high loads being connected.


Our urban system of apartments and parking will not easily allow for charging infrastructure - e.g. Parking spots are supposed to be rotated every year and even if one does have a permanent spot / garage in an urban area (a rare luxury indeed) no other car could be parked there. I am not even getting into the street parking issues. Then probably the fast charger would be best - go have your morning chai/coffee at an IOC pump while your electric is being juiced up!


Present lack of standardisation - Kona will have one type of charger/socket/voltage specifications, the Tata Tigor EV another and say the Mahindra/Maruti a third. How many charging stations will one install in a multi-car household? If I do invest in a Kona, 5 years down the line battery or charging technology will change and after the battery life is over in 7-8 years, it will simply become a dead duck.


Economic calculations seem to be way off yet and polluting aspects of Li-ion/Polymer and additional thermal power generation required are very debatable. Even for lead acid batteries we have a very poor record (and it is how lead is getting into our food chain). If one counts the interest cost of Rs. 12-15 lakhs EV premium at 7%, it will easily match or be higher than average annual fuel costs net of electricity costs at current levels and you still have that 12 lakhs in your bank/pocket.


Safety aspect of batteries have not yet been fully sorted out in mobiles/electronics - early days of fossil fuels also saw enough incidents - this may yet take some time.



In your other thread many have pointed out other aspects and issues of EVs. That being said, the following will make the move to EVs much more feasible - my opinion only:


1. Start EVs for public transport - local trains and metros are a great example of electric power being used for mobility. The DTC/BEST, etc. can install required charging stations at the depots, use solar, etc. and setup recycling facilities.


2. Start setting standards for EVs so that universal charging stations can be set up everywhere - don't we use a common micro-USB or USB C charger for our mobiles? Then apartment complexes, parking lots, etc. can set this up and we even can have street stations with meters being used based on pay as you go/use principles.


3. Once basic standards are set, dis-incentivise private mobility using fossil fuels by raising taxes on fuels.


These are just a few that occur. But yes, enjoy the way the EVs accelerate for now. I envisage a future where we will have only auto / self driving Uber/Lyft/Ola electric pods controlled by AI where you just key in where you want to go on your app (or Google/Siri/Alexa). You will not be allowed to own or drive any personal mobility vehicle/car. If you can't afford the surge pricing wait to hop on to an electric bus/metro...

[docprashant]

A much awaited review. IMHO The Kona truly makes a strong point for itself. If it was available a couple of years back, I would have really weighed it up against my eventual purchase, the Elantra.

Charging infrastructure is something we need to have better clarity on, reminds me of the initial days of forced CNG introduction by the SC in Delhi a couple of decades back for buses and CVs; the lines at the CNG station were a nightmare (and possibly still are).

Overall, I believe the future is truly electric.

BTW loved the Green Plates!!

[McLaren Rulez]

This is a game changing vehicle. Affordable enough, good EV range and car-like to live with.

Top marks to Hyundai and I'm not surprised at all that it's sold out this quickly. I could see this making its way into a lot of environmentally friendly households and the best part is that barring inter-city trips, it can even work as the primary car!

[itwasntme]

Excellent review! Thank you Mod team.

In BLR, I suspect that humongous battery pack (spanning nearly the entire width of the Kona) coupled with the overall low GC, mammoth unscientific speed-breakers, sudden waterlogged roads, and last but not the least interminable power cuts will scupper the widespread take up of this world EV.