The electric car is coming, says Jeremy Clarkson in The Sunday Times. "Be in no doubt about that." But "let's get to the problem straight away. There simply aren't enough charging points." As it stands, "you'd be mad" to take the plunge and buy one. "And that's a shame, because the Hyundai Kona is an extremely likeable little car."It is also "bloody fast". It's not so much the rest to 62 mph sprint time that impresses, or the top speed; it's the immediacy with which it takes off. "One minute you're doing 40mph and then you're doing 400mph. And the steering wheel has been wrenched from your grip and you're in hysterics. And a ditch."
In fact, if you're on the lookout for an electric car, only one sits in the Venn intersection of long-range, affordable and fast-chargeable, says Paul Horrell in Top Gear. "Road-trippable, tick. Chargeable, tick. Affordable, tick. And because it's a crossover, you could even call it fashionable." Its near-300-mile WLTP (a measure of fuel consumption) range 250 when driving normally is a "rule-breaker" for affordable electric vehicles. It's also half the price of Jaguar's electric offering, yet goes as far on a single charge. "And because it uses less energy to do the distance than the Jag, it'll charge faster on the 50kWh DC outlets cropping up at service stations all over the country."
If the installation of charging points continues, perhaps the Kona will win over Clarkson after all.
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Price: £33,940 (less £3,500with UK government grant). Engine: Electric.Power/torque: 201bhp/395Nm. Top speed: 104mph.0-62mph: 7.6 seconds. Range (WLTP test): 300 miles
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