The Hyundai Kona and the Kia E-Niro are maybe two of the most underrated electric vehicles on the market. Both vehicles are well priced compared to the competition and offer pretty good efficiency, but which one did we choose?

1. Kia Niro EV vs Hyundai Kona
https://www.electriccarfaq.com
The Hyundai Kona EV vs the E-Niro EV which electric SUV is better?
The Hyundai Kona and the Kia E-Niro are maybe two of the most underrated electric
vehicles on the market. Both vehicles are well priced compared to the competition
and offer pretty good efficiency, but which one did we choose?
What’s even more impressive about each one of these vehicles is they are not built
on an EV exclusive platform, but rather they are built on a ICE platform and they are
still very efficient.
Let’s take a moment and compare these two SUVs, and see which one is the better
vehicle.

2. Trim Levels
So, first of all, I’d like to talk a little bit about the trim levels, the vehicles available and
the purchase cost between these two SUV’s.
The Kia E-Niro EV or some people call it the E-Niro is available in two different trim
levels. You can either buy it in the EX trim level or the EX premium trim level.
Model EPA Range
Kia E-Niro EX 239 mi
Kia E-Niro EX Premium 239 mi
Kona EV Sel FWD 258 mi
Kona EV Limited FWD 258 mi
Kona EV Ultimate FWD 258 mi

3. The EX trim level starts at about thirty-eight thousand five hundred dollars, and the
EX Premium trim level goes up to about forty-four thousand five hundred ninety
dollars.
The Kona EV is available in three trim levels starting with the SEL trim level, moving
into the limited trim level, and up to the ultimate trim level.
The SEL trim level starts about thirty-seven thousand one hundred ninety dollars for
the Kona EV, and the ultimate trim level is forty-five thousand four hundred dollars.
So as you can see these vehicles have very similar pricing, but to figure out the
actual value I think it’s important to calculate the costs per mile of range for each of
these vehicles.
And as you can see from this table the Kona EV and the Select trim level have the
lowest cost per mile of range at one hundred and forty-four dollars and fourteen
cents.
So to calculate the cost per mile of range, you simply take the cost of the vehicle,
divided by the EPA rated range and you get the cost that you’re paying per mile of
range.
So if you drive just a little further into the purchase cost of these two SUVs and figure
out the monthly payment, the actual financing cost, you’ll see from the table that
there is a slight difference between the two.
The E-Niro is just slightly more expensive on the purchase end which will end up
cost you a little bit more in sales tax.

4. E-Niro EX vs Kona SEL Kona EV Niro EV Niro vs Kona
Purchase Price $38,310 $39,620 +$1,310
Sales Tax (7.5%) $2,873 $2,972 +$99
Monthly Payment $5K Down $550 $571 +$21
Finance Cost (3%@72 Months) $3,399 $3,532 +$133
If you put five thousand dollars down and you finance them for six years at a three
percent interest rate, you’ll see there that you’ll save twenty-one dollars a month in
your monthly payment with the Kona EV. You’ll also save a little bit in your financing
cost over the six years.
So as we can see the Kia E-Niro is just a little bit more expensive but is it worth the
extra cost or is the Hyundai Kona a better deal?
Let’s take a look at the features, the performance efficiency to determine if the price
difference is worth it for the E-Niro.
One of the big things to look at is what features come as standard at each trim level,
and so I’m going to be comparing these vehicles starting once again with a very
base level. The cheapest options you can get and see what comes included.

5. Base Level Trim
Both vehicles have automatic braking, and lane-keep assist safety features built-in at
even the base trim level.
If you want smart cruise control, however, you have to move up to the ultimate trim
level for the Kona EV, but that comes standard at the base level of the E-Niro.
Kona SEL vs Niri EX Kona EV E-Niro
Auto Braking/Lane Keep Included Included
Smart Cruise Control UTL Only Included
Heated Front Seats Included Prem Only
Heads-Up Display UTL Only N/A
Wireless Phone Charging Lim/UTL Prem Only
Android Auto/Apple Carplay Included Included

6. GPS Navigation UTL Only Prem Only
Premium Audio UTL Only Prem Only
Parking Assist Sensors UTL Only Prem Only
Heated Seats
If you would like heated front seats that are included at the base level of the Kona
EV, but if you would like that in the E-Niro you have to move up to the Premium
Package. The Kona EV does have a heads-up display, but only at the highest trim
level.
For either vehicle, if you would like wireless phone charging you do have to move up
to a higher trim level. However, android and apple car play are both included in both
vehicles at the base trim level.
GPS navigation
If you’d like GPS navigation built-in your vehicle, once again you have to move up to
the highest trim level for either vehicle.
Audio & Parking Assist
The premium audio systems also require the highest trim level for either car and if
you like the parking assist sensors which let you know when you’re getting too close

7. to the object in front of you, beside you or behind you, that is also only available in
the highest trim levels of each of these vehicles.
Vehicle Dimensions
Now let’s dive into the dimensions of the vehicle and take a look at both the interior,
and exterior dimensions as well as how much cargo space each one of these
vehicles offers.
When you compare the exterior dimensions of the E-Niro versus the Kona, you’ll see
that the E-Niro is a little bit bigger. 7.6 inches longer, 0.2 inches wider,0.2 inches
higher and 3.9 inches bigger in the wheelbase.
Exterior Dimensions
Kona EV Niro EV Niro vs Kona
Head Room Front 39.6 in 40.1 in +0.5 in
Head Room Rear 37.7 in 37.7 in Equal
Leg Room Front 41.5 in 41.7 in +0.2 in

8. Leg Room Rear 33.4 in 36.0 in +2.6 in
Shoulder Room Front 55.5 in 56.0 in +0.5 in
Shoulder Room Rear 54.5 in 55.1 in +0.6 in
The ground clearance is ever so slightly lower for the E-Niro, but for all practical
purposes, it’s the same. Since the E-Niro is bigger in the EXterior, the interior
dimensions are also going to be a little bigger.
So when you do a side-by-side comparison for Headroom, legroom and shoulder
room, you’ll see that the E-Niro generally has more space than the Kona EV. The
E-Niro has half an inch more headroom in the front seat and has equal Headroom in
the rear seat.
If you take a look at the legroom difference between the two vehicles, you’ll see that
the E-Niro has 0.2 inches more legroom in the front seat and 2.6 inches more
legroom in the rear seat.
That 2.6 inches is quite a substantial number and will make a difference for comfort
for your rear passengers.
Interior Dimensions

9. Kona EV Niro EV Niro vs Kona
Head Room Front 39.6 in 40.1 in +0.5 in
Head Room Rear 37.7 in 37.7 in Equal
Leg Room Front 41.5 in 41.7 in +0.2 in
Leg Room Rear 33.4 in 36.0 in +2.6 in
Shoulder Room Front 55.5 in 56.0 in +0.5 in
Shoulder Room Rear 54.5 in 55.1 in +0.6 in
And then once again, in the front and rear seats of the E-Niro, you have just a little
bit more shoulder room as well, 0.5 inches more in the front seat and 0.6 inches
more in the rear seat.

10. When it comes to the payload capacity and how much weight you can put into the
SUV’s, the Kia E-Niro has a slightly higher payload capacity coming in around a
thousand and 62 pounds.
Curb Weight Gross Weight Payload
Kia E-Niro 3,854 lbs 4,916 lbs 1,062 lbs
Kona EV 3,836 lbs 4,762 lbs 926 lbs
And then really one of the most important measurements in an SUV is how much
cargo space the vehicle has.
When you compare these two vehicles you can see that the Kona EV has less cargo
space, with the seats folded down, of about 45.8 cubic feet of space. Whereas, the
E-Niro moves up to 53 cubic feet of space, with the seats folded.

11. Performance
As we examined some of the performance data for each of these vehicles do keep in
mind that neither of these is made to be performance SUVs.
They’re not supposed to be sports cars or sports SUV’s, but rather they’re more of
an economical SUV that still offers some pretty good features.
Both of these vehicles have a top speed of around 104 miles per hour and the Kona
EV has a very slightly quicker 0 to 62 mile per hour time coming in at about 7.6
compared to the E-Niro’s 7.8 seconds.
Top Speed 0-62 EPA Range
Kia E-Niro All 104 mph 7.8 sec 239 mi

12. Kona EV All 104 mph 7.6 sec 258 mi
Range And Efficiency
Both of these vehicles feature a 64-kilowatt-hour battery pack. However, the Kona
EV offers a little bit more range because it is a little bit smaller vehicle, and they can
get 250 miles of EPA rated range out of the Kona EV. Where the E-Niro only gets
239 miles of range with that same battery.
Battery Size EPA Range Wh/M Miles Per kWh
E-Niro All 64 kWh 239 268 Wh 3.73 mi
Kona EV All 64 kWh 258 mi 248 Wh 4.03 mi
If you take this data and you calculate the watt-hours per mile and the miles that you
can drive per kilowatt-hour you’ll see that the Kona is a little bit more efficient SUV
coming in at 248 watt-hours needed per mile, and it can travel 4.0 three miles per
kilowatt-hour.

13. This is compared to the slightly less efficient E-Niro which consumes 268-watt hours
per mile, and can go 3.73 miles per kilowatt-hour.
So over the last month I've done quite a few EV efficiency comparison posts and
these numbers are very respectable.
Especially when you keep in mind that these platforms these vehicles are built off of
are not dedicated EV platforms, but they also have internal combustion engine
variants for each of these vehicles.
Usually, that means you’re sacrificing efficiency, but with these vehicles that are not
as much the case. It does make you question though how efficient could each of
these vehicles be if they were redesigned on a dedicated platform.
Charging Speed
Both of these EV’s have an identical match charging rate of 77 kilowatts and can go
from a 10 percent state of charge to an 80 percent state of charge in about 44
minutes.
However, the Kona EV, since it is a little bit more efficient of an SUV, it can get more
miles per minute in charge time so the Kona EV is able to do that in 44 minutes.
To add a hundred and eighty miles of range, whereas thE-Niro is only able to add a
hundred and sixty-seven miles of range.
Battery Max Rate 10-80% Miles Added

14. E-Niro 64 kWh 77 kw 44 mins 167 mi
Kons 64 kWh 77 kw 44 mins 180 mi
Warranty
Both the E-Niro and the Kona EV offer a five year 60,000-mile comprehensive
warranty. They also had the same power train warranty of ten years or a hundred
thousand miles.
Where the Kona EV edges out the E-Niro is in its lifetime battery warranty for the
original owner. The E-Niro simply offers a 10 year, 100,000-mile battery warranty.
Battery Powetrain Comprehensive
E-Niro 10yr/100K mi 10yr/100K mi 5yr/60K mi
Kona EV 10yr/100K mi 10yr/100K mi 5yr/60K mi

15. Please Note: Kona also offers Lifetime to battery but only to the original owner.
So here’s how these vehicles stack up in this side-by-side comparison that we just
did.
The Hyundai Kona does have a slightly lower cost of ownership because of its
efficiency and also slightly lower purchase price.
When you compare the standard features between the two vehicles I gave them a tie
because it’s a little bit of a give and intake depending on which features are
important for the end-user.
The E-Niro does have a little bit more passenger and cargo space, so that gets the
wind there.
Although the performance of the vehicles was very similar the Kona EV did slightly
beat out the E-Niro in the 0 to 62 mile per hour time, and the Kona has a slightly
better range in efficiency which leads to a slight edge.
In the charging speed because it can add more miles per minute, and the lifetime
warranty on the battery of the Hyundai Kona gives it the win on the warranty as well.
Which SUV is Better?
Well, in my opinion, the Kona is a little bit better value for what you get, unless you
actually need the extra cargo space offered in the E-Niro, or you just really like Kia
as a brand.

16. In my opinion, the Hyundai Kona is the better vehicle between these two. If you live
in the United States both of these vehicles are also eligible for the full federal $7,500
tax rebate for electric vehicles.
This brings the cost of ownership down even further and helps these vehicles
become a lot more affordable than they already were.
So while I do think the Hyundai Kona is a little bit better value, I think either EV is a
good choice and if you own either or you purchase either I think you will be happy
with them.
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