. It is a vehicle made by Hyundai and its been around since 2018., its a very interesting car, because at some point Hyundai was able to put you on an EV with over 250 miles of range for way. Less than the king of sales, the Tesla Model 3. However, with recent revisions to the federal subsidy on EVs thats no longer the case, and this car has lost the affordability edge it had on the competition.. But is it a vehicle that you should still consider well lets see what you get for the money. Music lets start with what powers the Kona EV. As you can see, this engine bay looks just like a regular car and thats, because when this car was conceived, they had in mind to make this both a gas engine car as well as an electric. So even this motor cover here looks just like what an engine bay will look like in any other car. So you dont get things like the front trunk that you get in other EVs.. This electric motor propels the front wheels only and its good for 201 horsepower and 291 pound feet of torque, which is a lot considering the size of this car. The battery pack is the biggest among the competition at 64 kilowatt hours and its supposed to do 0 to 16 about 6.4 seconds, which is pretty fast and charging times take about 9.5 hours to charge at 240 and with DC fast charging.

You can charge this car from 10 to 80 percent in about 47 minutes, which is twice as long as it takes to charge. The Hyundai Ionic 5. Aesthetically is nearly identical to the regular gas powered Kona, which I think is a good thing, because it doesnt have that typical EV look of some of the competition and for 2023 it only came with some minor changes, as it saw a major Refresh for 2022., this one here is the base version which Hyundai calls the SE. The Kona Electric comes in three trim levels called the SE, the SEL and the Limited. The main rivals of the Kona Electric are the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Bolt this one. Being the SE comes nicely equipped since the 2022 refresh it comes stock with nice interior features like heated front seats, a power drivers, seat and wireless Android, Auto and Apple CarPlay, among other features that Ill cover a little bit later. Remember that this is based on the regular Kona, so the base gas Kona called the SE comes at about 11 to 12 000 less than this electric version. So at heart this is just an economy, subcompact hatchback that happens to be electric. about the exterior. First of all, in my opinion, the Kona EV is not an SUV to me, its just a subcompact hatchback, but I guess calling it an SUV is more attractive because Americans dont like hatchbacks but do love SUVs. But I want to hear from you: do you think this car is a compact SUV or a hatchback? Having said that, I do like the looks of the Kona EV because, as I mentioned earlier, it looks just like a regular car which, for some it could be a good thing.

. The front end looks very good without a grille. You have this split module headlights with the daytime running lights over here and then the actual headlight is down here with the turn signal and then you dont have any fog lights. And then you have this functional air vent here and then you have this subtle small grille down here and then some people give this car grief for having the charging port just here stuck in the front.. But honestly, I dont have a problem with it, because this car has very small body panels. So I cannot of think of many places where they could have stuck this charging port … could have been here and maybe at the very back … somewhere around here, but Hyundai decided to put it at the very front, but remember that for the Ionic 5, you Do have the charging port hidden somewhere in the back so in this one is here and lets close it moving on to the side profile. I really like the proportion of this subcompact something I really like about this Kona EV is that, unlike the gas engine Kona, the EV has color matching cladding this., So on the regular gas engine Kona, this is black and you have to go for the top of The line to get this color matched., so I like this upscale look on this Kona EV, regardless of trim level. The Kona EV comes with one tire and wheel: choice 17 inch wheels and these tires are 215 by 55, which means that these tires are narrow, and I think that with such narrow footprint, this car struggles to keep grip with all the torque in this motor.

But what I do like is that Hyundai gave this car a nice stance with wide track and a flush look down here. As you can see, the tires stick all the way out, so it gives it a very nice stance. notice how the wheels were pushed to the corners to maximize interior space, especially back here very short, overhangs. size, wise. The wheel base of the Kona EV is about four inches shorter than the Nissan Leaf at about 102.4 inches long, which is identical to the wheelbase of the Chevy Bolt. Something else worth noting about the exterior is the small wheel arches that are nicely filled with this. Rather smaller tires, especially for todays standards., the belt line of this car is pretty high, but you still have this larger windows that give the driver very good visibility, youre, going to notice that some of the design language of this car is starting to look a little Bit dated and thats, because Hyundai has been updating their lineup pretty aggressively in the last few years, and a new Kona is due for 2024 and then moving on to the rear end of this car. This probably my least favorite angle, this car and thats, because I dont understand this tail light design. So these are your main taillights that happen to be smaller than this module here, that hosts the reverse lights and the turn signals, and then down here just have this trim that mimics what it would be like a grille but its actually nothing, and then the badging Is kept to a minimum Kona here the brand and then just this batch that reminds people that youre driving an electric vehicle moving on to the interior, let me show you the key fob.

First, its just a regular key fob. You can also get a digital key, but for that youre gon na have to move up to the SEL and Limited trim levels. So with this one, you just leave the key fob in your pocket come to the door, and then you have this button that locks and unlocks the door and before we make our way into the vehicle. Let me show you that you do get a nice eight way: power seat for the driver with power lumbar support. The passenger seat is manual though. before we go any further with this interior. Let me remind you that this car is based on a car that is about 22 000, so dont expect too much premium stuff in here. You do have plenty of cheaper surfaces here that scratchy material. You see that, but what I do like about this car, though, is that the absence of piano black – so you do have this nicer finish on the center console right here. So it looks very nice actually and then you do have a full digital display on the instrument panel to start it. You go right here and then the instrument panel becomes alive and its pretty cool, and I like it because you can customize it to your liking. So it offers plenty of information if you sort through the menus, and then you have three driving modes, so Im gon na press this and notice how the instrument panel changes, colors and stuff.

So that was the normal and thats the sport. And then you do have the echo as well so lets leave it on Echo. So going back to other features like I said I do like this center console and then at the bottom. You have this tub right here with a 12 volt outlet that you hardly see on newer vehicles anymore, especially in the front compartment, and then you have your outlet for a charger right there as well. Some of the knobs and switches in this car are starting to look a little cheap, but my guess is that for 2024, when they redesign this car, all this is going to be upgraded. You do have two the front passengers to get single touch window controls, not the back though, but thats inspected from a vehicle in this segment and then what you also have is … its not a dual climate control. But you do have the option to have the AC just for the driver, and I think this base model comes with six speakers and you can upgrade to eight speakers when you move up to the SEL and the Limited as well like many of the cars you Get these control buttons mounted on the steering wheel and then back here, these paddles theyre not to drive this vehicle in sport, but they actually allow you to change the regenerative braking on this car from none to one two or three, and you can put it in Three and its very aggressive – and this car has a feature that is kind of weird, because if you dont opt to have this Auto hold, the car will keep rolling.

Even if you come to a full stop, it will actually pull you forward, which I found it kind of weird when I was driving it earlier and then another thing that I would like to mention is this gear selector right here, I didnt find it that intuitive, Because, for some reason I would I would have had the reverse on this side and drive on this side. I was driving it throughout the day and I kind of got used to it, but its a little bit not intuitive, and this digital screen is eight inches. You can upgrade to a bigger screen on the SEL and Limited, but unfortunately, once you move up to the bigger screen, you lose the Wireless Apple CarPlay. and the Android Auto and it becomes wired, and I think you plug it right, here., the silver lining about this. Smaller screen is that you do get a wireless Android, Auto and Apple CarPlay, and then once here. One thing that I would like to mention is that you do have blind spot monitoring and automated emergency braking with standard Lane. Departure warning with Lane keeping assist. If you want adaptive cruise control, youre gon na have to upgrade to the Limited version of this car, but thats very expensive into the 40s. I would like to mention the headroom and this car, which is pretty good. I mean Im about 511 and I still have plenty of headroom left and I put the seat the way down and notice how I have plenty of headroom left so Im guessing that, for those of you that are taller, youre gon na find a very comfortable spot To sit and drive this car but Im guessing that, once you add the sunroof on this car youre going to lose a little bit of it, some people complain about the smaller side, .

.. size of the back seat. But honestly, I dont think that too many people plan on buying this car to drive families around. So I left the seat all the way back and notice how my knees are kind of cramped in here again. Is this an SUV or just a sub compact hatchback to me its a sub compact hatchback? But let me know in the comments how you feel about this car and again you dont have too many amenities in the back seat other than that outlet for a charger, and then you have this center armrest that you can bring down. Lets not break this camera because its expensive, you have this armrest with two cup holders. Lets, go check out the cargo capacity of this car. First, let me show you that the lift gate is manual, not powered. I mean expected from this segment and the cargo capacity. This car is listed as 19.2 cubic feet, which is three cubic feet smaller than the Nissan Leaf, but about three cubic feet bigger than the Chevy Bolt, so that was kind of a tongue twister. Let me show you something: once you move down the rear seats once you fold them, they fold almost flat, and then you remove this privacy cover and the capacity now becomes 45.8 cubic feet, which is identical to that of the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy bolt, which Is really really good.? I do want to show you that underneath you dont have a lot of space.

You dont have a spare …, you do have a repair kit and thats about it. Lets put it back together and lets. Go drive this thing because Im tired of talking the weather has been so crazy. This last few days in San Diego because its sunny then it gets cloudy. Then it rains its sunny again, but nevertheless were here driving the 2023 Kona EV. This car is not loud. Um, honestly, its not louder than my Model Y and I think … I mean … theres …. The Model Y is very loud, but the road noise in this car is not bad at all. Actually, this car comes equipped, and I didnt have … – did not mention it earlier. When I was showcasing the car um, it comes … equipped with acoustic windshield, which is supposed to minimize road noise, and then also it comes with solar windows, which means theyre kind of like tinted windows, but without the tinting to prevent extra UV rays from coming into The car keeping the car cooler and the fact that this car has a solid roof without a sunroof or a panoramic roof, or a glass roof like the Model Y. I think this car is pretty quiet. Also, one thing that I do like about the suspension is that it is soft, but its very compliant, its not wobbly, so this car is very well planted. The fact that you get that massive torque uh instantly at 297 horsepower um.

I mean pound feet of torque um its a lot of torque for a vehicle for a front wheel drive, but I I cannot think that having too much power can be a problem because youre not going to be racing. This car youre not going to be drag racing a Kona EV, but what it gives you it gives you a lot of power for the go.. Unlike other front wheel, drive vehicles, you do have this battery across the floorboard, which balances the weight of this car.. This car is about 800 pounds heavier than the gas version of this, so as you can see that weight has got to do something with the massive weight of the battery, but the fact that its spread throughout the the basically the floorboard of this vehicle makes it A better driving experience than a just a normal front wheel drive with massive torque, possibly boosted like a turbo engine from a front wheel drive this drives a lot better.. I dont like the trash vehicles. This is not the channel for that, but what I will do is Im going to take it for a drive on the freeway, get a feel for the road noise at highway speeds. As Im taking this curve …, I dont mind it … its actually pretty good.. Remember I do drive a front wheel, drive vehicle, my wife drives that Acura and this one drives better than than a regular front wheel, drive vehicle, and you do have all that power at your disposal whenever you need it to change lanes, um right now, Im doing 70.

, so you can sense a little bit of that road noise that people talk about, but to me its not an issue when I picked up this car earlier today, it said that it had 261 miles of range, so that means that its a little bit over The projected range by Hyundai do you: have these paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel? They allow you to control the amount of regenerative braking that you get from this car. So it has three levels: three levels Im, sorry and if you want to get that Auto hold that you get from other EVs youre gon na have to press it here. So, even in the most aggressive regenerative braking, the car will creep up and thats kind of weird, because I cannot think of a scenario that I came to a full stop and I still need the car to go. If Im, not with my foot on the on the brake pedal so thats something I did not love about this car. people always want everything in a car. They want all wheel, drive well this car doesnt have it. My guess is that when they update this vehicle for 2024, with the redesign its going to have options that people have been asking for thats, one thing that I noticed about Kia Hyundai and Genesis that theyre very quick on their feet to make changes to their lineup. To keep it interesting for for buyers, so my guess is that for 2024 theyre gon na revise everything that is wrong with this vehicle and theyre gon na keep what works about this vehicle.

When I was reading, some user reviews and people were complaining of the range in colder climates – and I mean San Diego right now – is kind of cold its in the sixties, but nowhere compared to other states. So I want to hear from you if this car is severely affected by the cold weather, so right now were gon na put it in sport, see how it does. I havent not driven it in sport mode throughout the day, so I want to see how it drives, and I wonder why it kicked me out of it. Lets see how it does right now, when we get on the in that ramp. You hear that plenty of wheel spin, but you dont, buy this car to drive it like that and it was already rolling. So I can only imagine to do it from a dead. Stop lets. Try it right now lets be responsible, wow and thats, with the traction control on. I do remember when it was such an accomplishment to get near 300 pounds of the torque out of a four cylinder. You had to boost that turbo like the way the WRX STI did it back in the 2000s and look now out of an electric motor youre able to get that, even though this vehicle doesnt have like a limited slip. Differential stuff like that um its well planted and the power is there when you need it, but youre not gon na be drag race in this car and youre gon na learn how to drive with the characteristics associated with an EV.

With that instant torque that you get from the go theres a few things that this car has going on for itself, that make it an appealing car first of all, its very fast seems like the range is true to whats advertised um. The sitting position is great. The suspension is soft, but at the same time the vehicle is very predictable and very compliant because of the weight distribution. It feels very well planted, unfortunately, its not available in all states and it doesnt qualify for the federal tax incentive um that the competition does so. The Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Bolt still do qualify for it, which hurt the appeal of this car.. This has been my review of the 2023 Kona electric, a great car with awesome range thanks to having the biggest battery among the competition, but unfortunately, it doesnt qualify for the federal tax credit for up to 7500, which makes which makes it less appealing than the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy bolt which, as of the making of this video qualify for the incentive to make matters worse for this car, the basic Tesla Model 3 comes down to only a couple of thousand dollars more than the Kona EV and the Tesla Model. 3 runs laps around this car in technology, amenities, driving Dynamics and way faster charging, but dont be so quick to discard the Kona electric yet as it offers one of the best warranties in the industry, if not the best and the Kona EV comes with complementary maintenance For the first three years or 36000 miles, and as of the making of this video, you can lease a Kona EV with a 7 500 lease incentive, which makes it a great deal for those of you that, like to lease vehicles.

Thank you for making this far into the video. If you liked it, please hit that like button, if you havent done so, please consider subscribing also, if you have a car that you would like me to review on my channel. Please leave me an email to the email address on the description box. It helps me a lot. Thank you and Ill see you next time, Music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Grs0JdESzCs