[mayjay]

Originally Posted by evtdtorque

Haven't blocked from my side. Being a newbie some restrictions for my handle I believe. You can whatsapp me on 9900582218.

You can post the pricing here as it will help the other forum members. There are many other threads which carry the pricing that people have been able to get. Of course, the final decision on this is yours.

As per the mycarhelpline site, there are discounts of 2 lakhs + dealer offers on this car which would bring it into the 20 lakh territory I assume. That makes it a good proposition.
It does mention that the Kona is being discontinued, has this point been confirmed as true?

[evtdtorque]

Originally Posted by mayjay

As per the mycarhelpline site, there are discounts of 2 lakhs + dealer offers on this car which would bring it into the 20 lakh territory I assume. That makes it a good proposition.
It does mention that the Kona is being discontinued, has this point been confirmed as true?

Its close to 22L OTR in Bangalore. Realized its better to take permission from sales manager and quote price here than giving my number

Originally Posted by mayjay

It does mention that the Kona is being discontinued, has this point been confirmed as true?

I am not sure about this. For now looks like they have kits left to sell. Updated Kona is not introduced in India, they might introduce once existing kits are over. With additional features like ADAS, 360 degree camera and new infotainment system with OTT Apps and others, we can expect price to be 30-35L. My personal preference is to go with tried and tested EV, hence didn't think about this aspect and all new launch car prices exceeding previous generation products with very few exceptions

[evtdtorque]

Hello BHPians, Question on decoding VIN number for Kona electric. As per VIN decoder advice in team-bhp https://www.team-bhp.com/advice/find...facture-vin#p6 10th and 11th(Typo in link as 19th letter - to be corrected by Mods) letters should indicate year and month of manufacturing. But for my allotted Kona year is P which is 2023 but month is M which indicates Dec manufactured car, which is not possible. As per sales manager, EV cars follow different sequence compared to ICE cars? Did you also observe this difference for your VIN numbers of EV cars?

[EV Fan]

Originally Posted by evtdtorque

Did you also observe this difference for your VIN numbers of EV cars?

Chassis number - VIN Number followed by a * and "a letter".
This letter is the month of manufacture.
If this letter = A then the manufacture month is Jan, if letter = B then the manufacture month is Feb. Similarly C = Mar, D = Apr, E = May, F = June, G = July, H = Aug, J = Sep, K = Oct, L = Nov, M = Dec.
Pls note that ' I ' is not used.

[shankar.balan]

My first experience of the Hyundai Kona.

I just rang Advaith Hyundai requesting a test drive experience and within 1.5 hours of the call, their sales executive had called me, brought the car to my doorstep and allowed me to take a drive.

Contrast this with my Tata Nexon EV experience this morning. Hyundai deserves all its success. Their responsiveness and customer handling is exemplary in my experience.

This Kona feels beautifully put together with no compromise at all. Yes there is a bit of plastic etc but the overall quality and feel, fit, finish, finesse and handling and driveability feels absolutely European.

Good tactile feel to all the switches. Screen is neat and a little old school. Touch is responsive enough. Everything in this vehicle feels built to last. Nothing at all feels cheap and flimsy.

390 nm torque and 136 bhp in a front wheel drive package is bracingly peppy in the city irrespective of traffic. Acceleration is excellent. Maybe not as wild as the EV6 from Kia but thats expected. Definitely similar to the Ioniq5 but that is heavier and RWD too.

There is a clear difference in Eco +, Eco, Normal and Sports modes, this being only 1330 kgs heavy and 4.1 metres long. Excellent regen if you put it on level 3 and it does all the braking you want when your foot is pulled off the accelerator.

Very spacious and extremely comfortable and performs perfectly on all sorts of road conditions, ring road, city roads, bad speedbreakers and potholes with the 172mm ground clearance. Sedan like in comfort and feel and crossover like in useability day to day. McPherson struts make for a very good ride. 235/60/17 tyres and alloys absorb the bumps well and give a good planted ride. Corners beautifully. Drives very well. Most enjoyable.

The leather seats feel solid and like they can handle really rough use. The support offered by the seats and under thigh comfort etc is perfect for a tall person.

Packaged at 26 lacs on Road as of now this is genuinely a far superior prospect than the MG ZS EV and looks much nicer too. Clearly Hyundai have gone many extra miles in their Engineering and Design Departments! (There were good discounts on the 2023 MY cars. And Im sure these discounts will happen on MY 2024 cars too, by and by.)

The claimed range is 452kms. Real range is nearer 330-350. I wonder though if I can get to Ooty on a single charge, if I use the Sigur Ghat. Im sure it will scamper up the hills with great aplomb but the question is how long will the charge last? I think if driven normally it ought to get me there. Worth studying some more about the real life range testing done, since this vehicle has been around since 2019 there should be a large enough sample pool of data available.

They provide 2 types of chargers; one 7.2kwh and on 3.2kwh to charge the 35kwh battery. The 7.2 charger will take 6-7 hours to bring it up to full and the small charger about 14 hours. A 50kw DC charger of course will charge it to 80% in an hour. They say that in case some cells weaken with time, the battery cells can be replaced or reconditioned. Also they give an 160,000kms or 8 years warranty on the battery.

The good thing is this vehicle comes with a space saver spare tyre too and this does not impinge into the boot. There is more than adequate space for luggage and two people or indeed three or four, can travel with reasonable paraphernalia for a short holiday in great comfort and style. 60:40 split seats. Very comfortable in the rear seat too. Good space. Flat floor. Etc.

This car felt, to me, very versatile and very clever indeed. It felt a lot like my much loved Skoda Yeti.
This is definitely a good car if one looks at it as an alternative fuelled mobility option. Smart guys, the early adopters.

Looks like the new version is coming out only in 2025 or so. Till then one can buy and use this Kona.

We can say it is 5 years old and that EV’s age like Mobile Phones and all. But this product is of very good quality and there is no harm in buying it if it will do the job nicely! A pretty worthy car indeed, according to me.

[DIY410]

Hyundai India have milked the previous generation Kona long enough in India. Time for them to get the new version.

[evtdtorque]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

This car felt, to me, very versatile and very clever indeed. It felt a lot like my much loved Skoda Yeti.

Agree with this comment, back in 2012 I visited Skoda showroom multiple times to experience this car but never proceeded as it was out of my budget. Now I took delivery of my Kona in Dec'23, got similar vibes when I was exploring Kona

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by DIY410

Hyundai India have milked the previous generation Kona long enough in India. Time for them to get the new version.

I think the new generation of Hyundai Kona Electric is expected sometime this year. I believe if this vehicle is able to give a real world range of about 400 kms then it will be very worthy of active consideration. I think the Kona which is sitting at that magic ~25 -26 lac price point is definitely a much better engineered vehicle and therefore a much better buy than the Tata Nexon EV Max priced at about 21 lacs and XUV 400 EL Pro (Max!) priced at about 22-23 lacs and the MG ZS EV priced at 27 lacs.

I do hope that as per this article and multiple others, that this vehicle gets launched mid year 2024.

https://www.topgearmag.in/news/indus...u-need-to-know

[EV Fan]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I think the new generation of Hyundai Kona Electric is expected sometime this year.

I highly doubt this. The Kona facelift itself was not launched in India and with creta & exter EV due, the Kona I fear may be forgotten.
Hyundai might get the creta & exter tailor made for India, with a possibility of local assembly/production.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by EV Fan

I highly doubt this. The Kona facelift itself was not launched in India and with creta & exter EV due, the Kona I fear may be forgotten.
Hyundai might get the creta & exter tailor made for India, with a possibility of local assembly/production.

Is there any authentic information ref this?
Because the present Kona is 5 years old and definitely a bit long in the tooth. Is there any real logical reason for Hyundai to not launch the Gen 2 Kona in India? After all, that 25-30 lac price point is an excellent sweet spot to occupy. Would they not want to give earnest competition through their accomplished product, to XUV 400 EL Pro (Max!) and Tata Nexon EV Max and MG ZS EV?

[EV Fan]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Is there any authentic information ref this?

No authentic information, only "speculative opinions".
When the leading voices in the market were saying kona facelift will come out, year after year. The speculative opinions suggested - not possible since the new kits were all in demand in the global north market and only the old kits could be sourced for Indian market(& with such a poor marketing for kona, they did not seem to be flying off the shelf's).

Kona 2nd gen might make it as a CKD but again niche segment (though might still end up locking horns with the Creta). Hyundai seems to have launched the Kona & even IONIQ as CKD's here as stop gap and to seem relevant in the EV market. Their service setup (turnaround time & cost) is running quite high for these, feels almost unsustainable in large numbers.

For a price sensitive market (not just initial capital but also subsequent service) like India, CKD's are for the niche - not where Hyundai excels. With Creta & Exter EV the localization might just be the saving grace.

Unfortunately, Kona's localisation seems highly unlikely unless miraculously India is selected as a manufacturing hub for international market. But with US & Europe's protectionist policies forcing them to open hubs locally, India might have to stick to the EV's bred for India.
I just hope they will atleast continue their Indian market R&D, and bring 2nd gen Kona as CKD(even if it's small numbers).

[Night Raven]

Recently we had contacted one of the Hyundai dealers in kochi since we were interested in Kona. The experience was more like they are not interested in selling it, I can buy if I am interested. When we were at the showroom they couldn’t arrange a test drive. Fine, we went without an appointment. The SA promised they will bring it to our house around 50kms away from the show room. 3-4 days later I called to fix a slot for test drive, then I was told they can’t bring it that far. I will have to come to kochi and do the test drive. Well, MG guys at Kochi had no issues coming all the way and giving me and my wife test drives of about 30minutes each. Needless to say, by the time the Hyundai guys bothered to make another follow up call, we were preparing to take delivery of the ZS EV.

[ferrarirules]

Originally Posted by Night Raven

Needless to say, by the time the Hyundai guys bothered to make another follow up call, we were preparing to take delivery of the ZS EV.

I think they are more than happy with the IONIQ5 sales to concentrate on Kona. IONIQ5 is selling numbers beyond their wildest imaginations. They have not even brought the refreshed model of Kona to India. It has been almost an year since it was launched in other markets.

[sripal88]

Hyundai Kona must be one of the most efficient car in india regardless of fuel , but lacks space ,comfort , ground clearance and ride quality. Having similar battery size 2024 XUV 400 El pro currently at 17.49 lakh (ex showroom) is value for money. But Mahindra EV ASS is not good.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by sripal88

Hyundai Kona must be one of the most efficient car in india regardless of fuel , but lacks space ,comfort , ground clearance and ride quality. Having similar battery size 2024 XUV 400 El pro currently at 17.49 lakh (ex showroom) is value for money. But Mahindra EV ASS is not good.

My experience of the Kona on two proper test drives was polar opposite to what you have written above.
My only grouse with it, is the real world range of 250kms.