2021 Hyundai Kona Electric Launched - Three Variants - From RM149,888

Hyundai Sime Darby Motors has today launched the 2021 Hyundai Kona Electric. It will be available in three variants: Lite, Plus and Max. Prices will start from RM149,888 and top off at RM199,888. 

Bagging the title of the most affordable new BEV for 2021, the Hyundai Kona Electric is poised to contribute a bigger footprint in the Malaysian automotive scene with its very attractive pricing. Already Hyundai has had bookings for more than 50% of the first order of 70 units, with most customers opting for the range-topping Max variant. Deliveries will begin in February 2022. 

Variants

As mentioned above three variants will be made available with the Lite and Plus variants sharing the smaller 39.2 kWh battery whilst the range-topper Max gets the beefier 64 kWh battery. 

Specifications

We outline all three variants and their offerings for you in a detailed table below: 

Charging Time

Charging time for the 39.2 kWh variant of the 2021 Kona Electric is:

a. OBC 7.2 kW (AC) - 6.5 hours (only applicable to the Lite variant)
b. OBC 11 kW (AC) - 4.5 hours
c. 50 kW (DC) - 60 minutes

whereas charging times for the 64 kWh battery variant is:

a. OBC 11 kW (AC) - 7.5 hours
b. 50 kW (DC) - 90 minutes 

Additional features

All three variants of the 2021 Hyundai Kona Electric will come with remote start which will come in handy for when you'd like to cool down your interior before stepping into the car. A Qi-enabled wireless smartphone charger will also come standard across all variants but only the Plus and Max variants will benefit from a heads-up display. 

A 10.25-inch digital cluster will display all driver required information such as range, speed, and energy flow. Regenerative braking is handled through paddle shifters on either side of the steering wheel. Four drive modes will be made available across the range; Eco, Eco+, Comfort and Sport. 

All three variants will come with 17-inch wheels shod with 215/55 size tyres. 

Safety & Security

Besides the Hyundai SmartSense suite of safety features already listed above all three variants of the 2021 Kona Electric will come with:

• 6 airbags
• ABS, ESC, VSM, BAS, TCS
• Hill-Start Assist
• Parking Assist System - front and rear 
• Seat Belt Reminder - 5 (both front and rear seats)
• ISOFIX - 2 (rear passenger)

Colours

There will be a total of nine exterior colours offered across the three variants; 

• Dive in Jeju
• Dark Knight
• Atlas White
• Ignite Red
• Cyber Gray Metallic
• Pulse Red Pearl
• Galactic Gray
• Surfy Blue Metallic
• Jungle Green

All colour variants will be two-tone coming with a black roof that further extends down along the A-pillar, B-pillar and C-pillars. 

On the interior, customers will be able to choose from Oceanids Black or Light Shale Gray. 

Warranty

Hyundai Sime Darby Motors is offering a battery warranty of 8 years or 160,000 km whichever comes first. The vehicle will come with a 2-year warranty, 50,000 km warranty as standard.

Extra information

You might notice that the 2021 Hyundai Kona Electric has a smaller boot space than the conventional Hyundai Kona, exactly 42 litres to be precise. This is due to the fact that the Kona Electric has a multi-link rear suspension that has taken up the extra space to accommodate. Hyundai informs us that this will maximize stability during accelerated cornering. For comparison, the rear suspension on the Kona 1.6 Turbo uses a torsion beam.  

The ground clearance for the Kona Electric is also 10mm lesser at 160mm than its ICE sibling due to the battery pack that sits lower to the ground. It remains to be been how the Kona Electric will manage high bumps or curbs that Malaysian roads are notorious for.  

Road tax

The road tax for all three variants of the 2021 Hyundai Kona Electric will be the same due to JPJ regulations. All three variants of the Kona Electric on sale will be using the same motor, but both the Lite and Plus variants will have the motors downtuned, producing 100 kW from the 150 kW that is on the Max. Due to the fact that it is the same motor, sharing the same part number, JPJ classifies it as producing 150 kW, making no concessions for downtuning or part-sharing among variants. The estimated road tax for the Hyundai Kona Electric will be RM1024 for an output of 150 kW (whereas the estimated road tax for a 100 kW output would have been RM274). 

*The above is an estimated calculation for road tax provided to us by Hyundai Malaysia because calculating EV road tax in Malaysia is a minefield and one too complex for my simple mind. 

The above will be a moot point however if the EV proposals tabled under Budget 2022 come to fruition. 

Price

• Hyundai Kona Electric Lite: RM149,888
• Hyundai Kona Electric Plus: RM169,888
• Hyundai Kona Electric Max: RM199,888

All prices are OTR without insurance but with the SST discounts.