5-31-24 Featured Vehicle
By Rich Taber
There are few automakers who seriously embrace change as deliberately as Hyundai, and the redesigned Kona N Line makes this abundantly clear. Just look at the styling.
Here at RPM News Weekly, we took the model for a week-long test drive that not only proved this point to us, but also found us filling up at a gasoline pump and wondering whether an all-electric version would be a better choice.
No question. We enjoyed the ride in this model. For its $33,695 as-delivered price tag, it’s a great value and will compete well in the glutted marketplace for small sporty SUVs. It’s not a powerhouse by any stretch with its 190 horsepower, but it zips around neatly as long as you’re not too hard on the powertrain. It’s fuel consumption, however, is somewhat mid-ling, garnering a combined city/highway rating of just 26 mpg.
The all-electric version of the 2024 Kona manages 116 mpge. From an efficiency perspective, that’s obviously a lot better. But for a more useful dollar-for-dollar comparsion, calculate the true cost based on the costs of an equivalent amounts of gasoline and electric energy. You can do that easily with our EQ Factor calculator (see below).
Meanwhile, enjoy our slide show of the Kona N Line. Stylistically, Hyundai has created a vehicle that will no doubt turn heads, but more importantly they’ve designed an affordable car that scores above its price range in comfort, tech-savviness, and driving satisfaction.
RPM News Weekly Photos by Rich Taber
2024 Hyundai Kona N Line AWD
MANUFACTURER’S SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE $32,150.00
MSRP INCLUDING OPTIONS $32,360.00
INLAND FREIGHT AND HANDLING $1,335.00
TOTAL MANUFACTURER’S SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE $33,695.00
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EQ Factor
The ratio of the cost of a gallon of gasoline to the cost of an equivalent amount of electrical energy, based on a gallon of gasoline having 115,000 BTUs which is equivalent to 33.7 kilowatt-hours. The eQ factor is used to determine how many miles one gets in an electric vehicle for the same dollars spent on a gallon of gasoline. This is different than MPGe which does not account for price differences between gasoline and electricity. To figure the eQ factor, first calculate the the cost of an equivalent amount of electrical energy in your locale by multiplying 33.7 KwH by the cost per kilowatt-hour of electricity (including delivery charges, if any). Call that the “Cost of a Gallon of Electricity”. Take the cost of a gallon of gasoline in your locale, and divide it by the “Cost of a Gallon of Electricity” to get the eQ factor. The eQ factor changes depending on the prices of gasoline and electricity in a particular location on any given day.
To figure out how economical that electric car really is for you, multiply the MPGe rating from the EPA by the eQ factor to see how many miles you’ll get for the same dollars you spend on a gallon of gasoline.
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