That's how the CURReNT FLOWS

Electric mobility, whether in India or globally, has become a bit of a thorny issue.

- Ishan Raghava

With politicians and policymakers committed to the idea that electric mobility is the panacea for all our woes, the debate surrounding environmental pollution has become somewhat lopsided. However, policy issues aside, there are many positives emerging from the automotive industry in its attempt to tackle this challenge.

A new benchmark

One of those positives for the Indian automotive industry is the launch of the Kona Electric. To understand why, and how, the Kona is likely to revolutionise the Indian market, we first need to understand the biggest limitation of all the other electric options currently available – the lack of a practical driving range on a single charge. Besides, most of them were never designed to be electric platforms – they’re simply afterthoughts – and that’s why they fall short in terms of dynamics and practicality.

The Kona Electric, with its 39.2kWh battery, radically changes all this. Specially designed for an electric powertrain, the Kona feels like a proper electric vehicle. Not only does the large battery pack promise a respectable range to tackle range anxiety – 452kms is the ARAI certification, but we’ll come to that number later – but it also offers various fast charging options, which drastically reduce its charging time and make it a very practical car to use every day.

Instant torque

We tested the Kona Electric at the Buddh International Circuit, which is a strange place to test an EV. But given the infrastructural challenges of charging an EV, it was perhaps the best place for Hyundai to set up the temporary charging infrastructure needed for our test drives.