Hyundai KONA Hybrid and KONA Electric Updated With Enhanced Convenience and Safety

Komoco Motors, Hyundai’s dealership in Singapore, unveils the refreshed Hyundai KONA Hybrid and KONA Electric. Hyundai’s green compacts have been restyled and now offers owners an enhanced suite of safety and convenience features. Funny place to play a guitar in... and no one notices that there's a car in the boutique... The KONA Hybrid now sports a new refreshed appearance, sporting a more robust-looking front end, while it retains its unique super-thin DRLS. The restyling of the KONA Hybrid has resulted in a car that is 40mm longer, delivering a strong visual stance. There are now five new exterior colours, including Surfy Blue, Dive in Jeju (how Korean is that?), and Cyber Grey. This is in addition to its five existing colours. All color choices can be combined with a Phantom Black roof if you feel like having a 2-tone treatment.

OneShift Editorial Team

02 Jul 2021

Hyundai has also said that they have improved on quality and have added more kit to the B-Segment hybrid car’s interior. This includes a 10.25” digital instrument cluster, and an infotainment screen that has been expanded from 7” to 8”. Both Apple and Android devices are also supported.

Under the hood, the KONA Hybrid retains its 1.6 litre GDI engine, paired together with an electric motor, delivering a combined 141PS. This is paired to a 6-speed dual-clutch transmission. Hyundai has also updated several parts of the vehicle, helping to improve on Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH), further increasing vehicle comfort.

The KONA Hybrid is also equipped with Conti Premium Contact tyres which have a lower rolling resistance compared to most conventional road tyres. This helps to improve fuel efficiency.

Together with their hybrid, the KONA Electric has had a midlife model refresh. Since launch, the KONA Electric has seen an impressive 120,000 units being sold globally, and with the model refresh, the KONA Electric gets a fresh new face, with a new closed grille design flanked by new slim LED DRLs. New redesigned headlights now incorporate multifaceted reflector (MFR) technology. The KONA Electric is also available in six new hues, including a striking Surfy Blue.

Like its hybrid sibling, the KONA Electric now gets a 10.25” digital instrument cluster, and a larger 8” infotainment display, and supports both Apple and Android devices. The KONA Electric also features a shift-by-wire drive mode selector, that replaces a mechanical gear shift lever, freeing up more storage space at the front of the vehicle.

The KONA Electric is available in two models, with the standard variant equipped with a 39.2kWh capacity battery, while the long-range variant gets a more powerful 64kWh battery. Both powertrains deliver 395Nm of immediate torque, which is available the moment the accelerator pedal is depressed. The standard 39.2kWh car delivers a maximum range of 305km, while the long-range variant can potentially take you to a class-leading range of 484km.

I bet they could both use an ice-cream right now

Charging time on both KONA Electric models can be as low as 47 minutes to bring the lithium-ion polymer battery from 10% to 80%, with the use of a 100kW DC fast charger; while a 100% charge from 10% takes approximately 7 hours (using the 11kW on-board charger) for the long-range car, and four-and-a-half hours for the standard KONA Electric.

The upgraded Hyundai SmartSense on both cars includes, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA), Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA). Both the Electric and Hybrid cars are also equipped with Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA), which now includes cyclist detection (very important these days). In protecting occupants from approaching vehicles from the rear, when exiting the vehicle, Safe Exit Warning (SEW) provides an acoustic warning to occupants when an approaching vehicle is detected.

The Hyundai KONA Hybrid starts from $114,999, while the KONA Electric starts from $140,888 for the standard car, while the long-range model retails for $165,888.

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