South Korean automaker Hyundai excels in creating a commotion and asserting its dominance in the market. The brand's successful track record in India speaks for itself. They have consistently secured top spots in every segment they sell their cars in, courtesy of their feature-rich offerings. To remain pertinent during the shift towards mobility, it is imperative that they adapt to the changing times. Hyundai has recently unveiled its next-generation Kona Electric globally, which could make India debut in the coming year. Hyundai launched Kona in India in 2019; since then, we have not received any significant update. Now, the market is comparatively more mature towards electric vehicles, and we hope that the automaker will introduce its next-gen Kona in India.
The new 2024 Kona is now longer, wider and even gets a longer wheelbase, along with the new, freshly aesthetic design language. Measuring 4,355mm in length, it will be 150mm longer than the outgoing version. Width and wheelbase have also increased by 25mm and 60mm, respectively. The drag coefficient is now 0.27 , compared to 0.29 in the current version . In terms of design, the looks are more inclined toward EV-inspired design, wherein a clamshell bonnet dominates the front look. It also now gets an LED bar running across the width of the car, both in front and back. The relevance of their EV models- Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 are quite noticeable in the new Kona EV. In terms of features, the significant change would be the single long display unit, out of which a 12.3-inch is for the infotainment screen and a 12.3-inch for the instrument cluster.
In terms of battery and performance, the upcoming Kona EV will come with two battery pack options - a smaller 48.6 kWh version that has a claimed range of 317km and produces 133 hp of power and 215Nm of torque. Then, there is a bigger battery version of 64.8 kWh, which has a claimed range of 415km, producing 202 hp of power and 255 Nm of torque. Hyundai has also given an i-PEDAL driving mode, which is expected to give more real-world driving range, as the regen braking will be more dominant in this mode.
India launch is expected to be in 2024, and the anticipated pricing would go up by 10 percent to the current one. Current rivals to Kona in India are MG ZS EV and, to some extent - the new facelifted Nexon.ev . To read more about Nexon.ev, click here.
