Exceeds its own top-speed spec!
Officially, the Hyundai Kona Electric can zip from a standstill to sixty miles per hour in 7.6 seconds. That sounds reasonably impressive for a subcompact crossover. But what’s that look like in the real world? And what if its top speed isn’t actually the same as the official specification, but something even faster? Those questions both have answers in the video above.
The Kona Electric spec sheet says the crossover’s award-winning 201 horsepower (150 kW) motor can power it to a top speed of 104 mph (167 kph). However, this video, which appears on the Schwaben – Checker YouTube channel, appears to disagree. In it, a driver apparently gives the Korean car maximum throttle from a standstill until it finally tops out. It accelerates impressively, and after about 23 seconds it appears to reach its maximum velocity: 110 mph (177 kph). Nice!
The test appears to begin on an onramp to what we assume is a speed-limit-free section of the German Autobahn. Of course, in the U.S. there are no public roads where this can be legally done. Still, it’s nice to know what a vehicle a capable of.
Interestingly, while preparing this post, we noticed that both Car &Driver and MotorTrend have documented much quicker 0-to-60 times for the Kona Electric than the figure we noted above, 6.4 and 6.6 seconds respectively. However, when we clocked the run in the video, it was definitely more in line with the official, slower number. This is something we’ll have to explore further. Perhaps one of our Canadian owners in the Kona Electric section of the InsideEVs Forum can, under safe conditions, shine a light on this important piece of the performance puzzle.
If that happens, we’ll tell you about it. For now, though, check out the video above and let us know what you think in Comments.
Source: Electric Vehicle News
