Hyundai finally gives us a price for the 2019 Kona EV—$29,995

Enlarge / The Kona EV is relaxing to drive but does not demand you take it by the scruff and carve some canyons. (credit: Hyundai)

In October, we finally got a chance to drive the Hyundai Kona EV, a rather wonderful little electric vehicle. Based on the internal combustion-powered Kona, it packs in 64kWh of lithium-ion to give it an EPA range of 258 miles (415km). On top of that, the little Kona EV also sported a rather nifty Smart Regeneration System that uses the car’s cruise control radar to maximize energy recuperation when following other cars. The one thing we couldn’t tell you back then was how much this EV would cost.

Wonder no more. On Friday, Hyundai finally revealed US pricing: the 2019 Kona EV will start at $36,450, which means it should cost $28,950 after the $7,500 IRS tax credit is taken into account. (On top of that, there’s the delivery charge, which bumps the post-credit price up to $29,995.)

That makes it more expensive than the base model Nissan Leaf, which starts at $29,990 before tax credits. However, the Leaf only offers 150 miles (241km) of range, and you’d need to spring for the $36,200 Leaf SL to get a similar level of equipment to the Hyundai. (A longer-range, more expensive Leaf with a 60kWh battery pack is coming at some point in 2019, but that adds $5,500 to the car’s price.)