author: Vineeth Joel Patel

Hyundai has been somewhat of a dark horse when it comes to alternative fuel cars. The South Korean brand came out with a trio of Ioniq sedans that were electrically assisted recently. There's the Ioniq Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid, and electric. Then there's the Sonata Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid models. Lastly, the brand also offers consumers the Tucson Fuel Cell. But when it comes to fuel-efficient offerings, Tesla and Chevrolet are in the limelight.





Hyundai Comes Out With The First Electric Crossover





That could change, though, as Hyundai has a new offering that was just unveiled at the New York Auto Show. Roughly four months after coming out with the regular Kona, the automaker unveiled the Kona Electric. While Chevrolet will call the Bolt a crossover until its blue in the face, it's more of a hatchback. And the Tesla Model X is classified as a large SUV. That makes the Kona EV one of the first, if not the one and only, all-electric crossover on the road.





Hyundai put out a teaser of an all-electric Kona in February and didn't reveal a lot about the vehicle back then. Now, the automaker has released some more information about the vehicle.





Most importantly, the Kona Electric has a range of 250 miles on a single charge, or at least that's what Hyundai believes it will have when the EPA unveils its official figures for the crossover. The vehicle has a total of 201 horsepower and 291 pound-feet of torque and features a 64-kWh battery pack.





Those figures make the Kona Electric have a greater range than the 238-mile Bolt EV and the new Nissan Leaf with the 40-kWh battery pack. Surprisingly, it's also more than what the base Tesla Model 3 is expected to have — 220 miles of range. When it comes to MPGe, though, the Kona Electric lands in the middle. Hyundai expects the crossover to get 117-MPGe, while the Leaf gets 112 MPGe and the Bolt gets 119 MPGe.





Kona Electric Looks Like A Strong Competitor





The Kona Electric should be sprightly to drive, as well, as the automaker is claiming the EV can get to 62 mph in 7.6 seconds and has a top speed of 104 mph. That's nowhere near as quickly as a Tesla, but it should be enough for the majority of consumers. Drive goes to the front wheels, as an electric motor is positioned there. Other than that, a lot of components are shared from the gasoline-powered models.





When it comes to charging, the Kona Electric is impressive. Just like the smaller Inoiq Electric, the crossover can get juice from a 100-kW Combined Charging System. When plugged into that system, Hyundai claims the crossover can get 80 percent of its range back within just 54 minutes. When plugged into a 50-kW system, getting to that level takes 75 minutes.





As with other Hyundais, the Kona Electric is handsomely equipped with features and is uniquely styled. The EV will go on sale in California by the end of the year and then expand to other states that use California's ZEV mandate. If priced reasonably, there's no reason why the Kona Electric wouldn't be popular.