Hyundai Kona Electric (2018-2023) review - Reliability and safety

Hyundai is a brand whose reputation for making safe and reliable cars is building. Customers certainly seem to think so, as the petrol-powered Kona model achieved top spot in our 2021 Driver Power best cars to own survey, followed by a fourth place finish (out of 75 cars) in the 2022 poll. The manufacturer showed solid improvement, pushing on from a middling 16th-place finish (out of 29 car companies) to 11th position this time around.

The Kona Electric has not been crash tested by Euro NCAP, but the standard Hyundai Kona received the maximum of five stars, with an 87 per cent score for adult protection and an 85 per cent child protection rating.

Standard safety kit includes autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, forward collision warning and six airbags – one less than the Kia e-Niro. It’s worth stepping up to Premium trim to add blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert – especially if you do lots of town driving – while the improved lane-keep assistance makes motorway jaunts safer too.

14

Warranty

The Kona Electric is subject to the same excellent five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty that applies to all conventionally powered Hyundai models. Kia offers a seven-year warranty, but with a 100,000-mile limit.

Servicing

Hyundai offers a comprehensive fixed-price servicing plan that can be tailored to your requirements. Yearly services are required as per a conventional model, but expect slightly shorter mileage intervals.