Stepping Into The Future Enhanced

We are still 30 years behind schedule than flying cars, but the first of many electric vehicles has arrived, and it’s from a brand that has connected with Indians in a way nobody else could when it first entered the Indian automobiles market.

In the month of May, Hyundai India launched its first connected Compact SUV, the Hyundai Venue which will be exported and sold in international markets as well. Hyundai India has etched its name down the history books of India’s automobile industry by launching the Hyundai Kona electric vehicle at `25.33 lakh (ex-showroom, India). Well, the price seems on the higher side but Hyundai promises a lot of features along with it. The Kona is the fourth SUV from Hyundai after Creta, Tucson, and Venue that has been launched in India. But, not everyone from our editorial team was convinced with this move. So, Roshan and I dug down deeper into what the Kona electric has to offer and how practical would it be to buy one.

DESIGN

ROSHAN: It doesn’t look like an electric vehicle because it blends so well just like any other SUV on the road.

RS: The front looks different, there are no grilles, the wheels are a major giveaway that it’s an electric vehicle.

ROSHAN: The wheels are designed that way for one purpose – Aerodynamics.

POWER

ROSHAN: The Kona EV gets a 39.2kWh battery producing 134bhp and 395Nm of torque.

RS: But overseas they are selling a much powerful variant.

ROSHAN: More power would compromise on its range. And for starters, we can get our electric campaign going with this variant!

RANGE

RS: I doubt it can drive from South Mumbai to Lonavala.

ROSHAN: It can do that quite easily and still a fair amount of range will be left in it. The Kona boasts a range of 452 km on a single charge.

CHARGE TIME