2020 Hyundai Kona Electric comes better-equipped for cold snaps2020 Hyundai Kona Electric comes better-equipped for cold snaps

If the Hyundai Kona Electric had been more widely available in its first year, we might have called it the year’s game-changer. 
It’s a perky, roomy little all-electric hatchback and one that, from what we’ve experienced, doesn’t disappoint on its 258-mile EPA-rated range—with a 2019 price that’s about $30,000 after the $7,500 federal tax credit that still applies here (and more in many states). 
Now the 2020 Hyundai Kona Electric is headed to dealerships with just a few changes. 
The 2020 Kona will again be offered in three levels, SEL, Limited, and Ultimate. 
On Limited and Ultimate models, Hyundai is at last introducing a feature that the U.S. version up until now has gone without: a battery warmer. It helps speed up battery-charging times in cold weather and has a Winter Mode that “minimizes batter-power losses due to low winter temperatures.” In other words, it’ll help keep your usable range from falling off a cliff when winter cold snaps come. 
2020 Hyundai Kona Electric
The other significant difference in the 2020 Kona Electric versus the 2019 model year version is that infotainment systems have been stepped up for most of the lineup. The SEL carries over with a 7.0-inch display audio system, while top Ultimate models come with a new “floating” 10.3-inch touchscreen system that, like the other systems, includes standard Android Auto and Apple CarPlay capability. 
Even the base 7.0-inch system includes satellite radio, HD radio, and a voice-command system, while the top system has a Infinity premium audio, a subwoofer, and full smartphone integration.
2020 Hyundai Kona Electric
Little else changes about the Kona Electric for this year, and that’s perfectly fine. A single permanent-magnet motor at the front wheels delivers 201 horsepower (150 kw) and 291 pound-feet of torque. Meanwhile a 64-kwh battery pack is stocked with LG Chem prismatic cells and is liquid-cooled. A 7.2-kw onboard charger is included and can charge the Kona Electric up in 9.5 hours, or it can gain an 80-percent charge from zero in 54 minutes using 100-kw CCS hardware.   
Unfortunately it doesn’t sound like availability will change all that much for the time being. The Kona Electric will be offered in California plus ZEV states—Oregon, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. 

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