Delivering pizza in a 2025 Hyundai Kona EV - 150 miles away
Sure, dropping off a pizza in a Hyundai Kona EV sounds trivial, but it was a nail-biting trip in the rain, amid mudslide dangers, after the L.A. fires.
"No good deed goes unpunished." We all know that gem, and we all recognize a time in our lives when doing something nice netted our misery. Fortunately, this isn't quite that dramatic, and during my adventure, I was able to test the heck out of the stellar little Hyundai Kona EV. Hyundai
The mission
I was to go from Torrance, CA, to Palmdale, CA, to meet some folks in need near Joe Davies Heritage Airpark. They were pet owners who needed assistance, and I was going to lend a hand. That was the goal.
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What actually happened was more along the lines of a 150-mile round-trip pizza run. See, after the L.A. fires, the rains finally came, which led to the event being canceled without my knowledge. The issue was that I was already en route, slogging it out in wet traffic, before I got the call far too late into my journey. At least it was a great way to test out the 2025 Hyundai Kona EV. Hyundai
The car
This was the Kona Limited EV, the top-of-the-line model with the bigger 64.8 kWh battery. According to Hyundai, this means up to 261 miles of range and a more powerful 201-horsepower motor powering the front wheels.
It's truly an electric compact hatchback, not an SUV or crossover. There's no all-wheel drive (AWD) option, and it has less than seven inches of ground clearance. Still, it managed to power through water deep enough to nearly submerge the 17-inch wheels.
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Overall performance was outstanding. Braking, accelerating, and handing were all above par. There is no real steering feel, but if you put it in Sport mode, it stiffens up the steering effort nicely. It's also quicker.
I left my neighborhood with about 200 miles of range left after a few days of testing. I figured I would power up out there with its 100 kW DC fast charging capability, which would have been a bit slow but the safer bet nonetheless. Once I got there, I opted to turn around and head back, which left me with exactly 50 miles of range and a round trip of over 150 miles. Impressive. Hyundai
The 2025 Hyundai Kona EV Limited is priced at just under $43,000. Sure, the price is a bit steep, but you get heated and cooled seats, a heated steering wheel, a moonroof, and solid performance. Additionally, you get two 12.3-inch screens for the instrumentation and infotainment with wireless charging and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.
Hyundai's expansive safety suite includes automated emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, and available adaptive cruise control. Excellent parking assist cameras are also available. It even got a Top Safety Pick+ rating from the IIHS. Hyundai
The outcome
After navigating a few nasty sections of deep-standing water, diverting to avoid a mudslide area, and navigating through tons of rescue vehicles while still on station, I finally got the phone call: "Sorry, dude, it's canceled." I was only ten minutes away.
After finding some colorful words to shout at the faux leather-wrapped steering wheel, I found out that I wasn't the only one in that situation. Thus, I took on the role of good Samaritan and delivered pizza to the other few who made the trip. Using the heated passenger seat, I kept the zah warm as I met up with other lost souls.
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We finished a few slices, bid our farewells, and went our separate ways. I opted to go home through the traffic without any stops for power. As I said before, the Kona EV did even better than I expected, with a total of 50 miles left on the battery after this trip. Remember that much of this was on freeways and highways, which drains EV batteries faster,
As I listened to loud music to elevate my sour mood, it dawned on me that this little car was a great companion. It handled well, noise isolation was better than I expected, and overall performance was great. I especially liked the simple yet welcome hard buttons, switches, and dials. Hyundai
Final thoughts
Overall, the whole thing was a long drive and a frustrating situation. Despite that, I was able to push a little, somewhat innocuous EV pretty hard. It was a sweet little driver, and I think that the 2025 Hyundai Kona EV is much better than many think.
Sure, the upcoming Volvo EX30 and Chevrolet Equinox have greater range and are excellent choices, but the Hyundai Kona EV feels like an old friend, and that makes it all worthwhile.
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