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.
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 |
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.
| 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.
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 |
| 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 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 |
| 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
| 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.
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.
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 |
| 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.
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 | |
| 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 |
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.
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.