HYUNDAI KONA ELECTRIC

Second-gen crossover grows, gets a distinctive new look and has a longer range

- SAM PHILLIPS

The electric crossover market is a bit like choosing a West End musical: there are plenty of all-singing, all-dancing options fighting for your attention. And now entering stage left is the all-new second-generation Hyundai Kona Electric, which is aiming to steal the limelight in the increasingly crowded C-segment theatre.

For the second generation of its popular crossover, Hyundai developed the electric version first and the petrol and hybrid ones afterwards. Focusing on the EV makes sense, because it accounted for 40% of European sales of the outgoing Kona, and that's expected to rise to 60% for the new one.

The biggest difference compared with its predecessor is size: it's 145mm longer than before, making it closer in size to the closely related and hugely popular Kia Niro EV.

You really notice this, and not just from seeing it in a car park. There's more space in the cabin and plenty of room for six-footers to get comfortable in the back. You also get up to 144 litres more boot space than before (which is the same as in the petrol and hybrid models).

Hyundai has made the most of the extra room by moving the drive selector from the centre console to a stalk behind the steering wheel, thereby freeing up more storage space in the centre console.