Hyundai Kona gets bigger and bolder for 2023 – and there’s still an ELECTRIC Kona

We get the first look at the 2023 Hyundai Kona as Hyundai takes the wraps off a new, bolder and bigger, Kona with EV at its core.

With all the attention Hyundai’s new Ioniq EVs are getting, it’s easy to forget that Hyundai joined the electric car party quite some time before the arrival of the Ioniq 5 with an electric version of the Kona.

But with Hyundai’s Ioniq models carving an impressive EV offering, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Hyundai dropped the Kona EV and replace it with a smaller Ioniq model to fit the gap. But they’re not, and there’s a new Hyundai Kona on the way and a new electric Kona too.

Previewed by the first photos of the new Kona ahead of a New Year debut, the new Kona gets a bolder look and grows a chunk too – 25mm wider, 150mm longer and with a 60mm longer wheelbase – with a new front end with light bar running across the leading edge of the bonnet, chunky wheel arches and chiselled flanks to give a bolder, more purposeful and upmarket look.

The new Kona will come with EV, Hybrid, ICE and N Line guises (but no mention yet of a new Kona N Performance model), and an interior which looks to have moved upmarket with new materials and colours, 12.3″ infotainment and digital instruments.

Hyundai is keeping their powder dry on powertrain details, but it seems likely they’ll consist of a 1.0-litre mild hybrid, 1.6-litre hybrid and an EV with outputs similar to the current Kona, with cosmetic titivations marking out the powertrain.

Expect confirmation of the powertrains on the new Kona ahead of its full debut in the New Year.