Side by side · 2025 and 2026

Hyundai Kona ElectricvsKia Niro EV

261 mi EPA · 43 min 10–80%253 mi EPA · 41 min 10–80%
vs

The Hyundai Kona Electric is rated 261 miles on the EPA test, the Kia Niro EV 253. A 10–80% stop takes 43 minutes in the Hyundai Kona Electric and 41 in the Kia Niro EV. Every figure below names the version of the car it belongs to, and the three tools further down turn the same numbers into a charging race, a road trip and a yearly bill.

At a glance

Hyundai Kona Electric · Kona Electric (17 inch Wheels)

261mi EPA

43min 10–80%

$32,975from

Kia Niro EV · Niro Electric

253mi EPA

41min 10–80%

$39,600from

The short answer

Two close cars, and the differences are in the details.

1

The Hyundai Kona Electric is rated 261 miles against 253 — 8 miles, 3% further. It uses 29.1 kWh to cover 100 miles where the Kia Niro EV needs 30.

2

A 10–80% stop takes 41 minutes in the Kia Niro EV and 43 in the Hyundai Kona Electric. On a 50 kW post it is 41 and 54 minutes, so most of the advantage disappears at a slow site.

3

The Kia Niro EV is rated to tow 1,653 lb against 661 lb.

Which one, in one line

Pick the Kia Niro EV ifit wins on charging (41 minutes against 43), space (16.8 cu ft of boot against 16.5 cu ft).

The priceThe Hyundai Kona Electric is the cheaper to buy, listed from $32,975; both are US list prices before tax, delivery and incentives.

2025 · Kona Electric (17 inch Wheels)Hyundai Kona Electric

Hyundai Kona Electric

SUV · 48.4 kWh usable · CCS1

EPA range
261mi
Efficiency
3.44mi/kWh
DC peak
75kW
Boot
16.5cu ft
2026 · Niro ElectricKia Niro EV

Kia Niro EV

SUV · 64.8 kWh usable · CCS1

EPA range
253mi
Efficiency
3.33mi/kWh
DC peak
94kW
Boot
16.8cu ft

Charging, raced

Two cars, one post, same clock

Charging speed is a station number and a car number, and the smaller one wins. Set the post and both cars fill against the same clock — the interesting part is not who wins, it is how much of the gap a slow post takes away.

Each car is modelled on its own published 10–80% time, which gives an average power over that window: 47 kW for the Hyundai Kona Electric, 66 kW for the Kia Niro EV. A post above that average changes nothing; a post below it sets the pace.

Kia Niro EVCCS141min
Hyundai Kona ElectricCCS143min

At 150 kW, going from 10% to 80% takes 43 min in the Hyundai Kona Electric and 41 min in the Kia Niro EV — a gap of 2 minutes. Both cars are limited by their own packs at this post, so a bigger one would change nothing.

Every figure

The numbers, with the version attached

A tick marks a figure that is simply more useful — more range, less energy per mile, a faster stop. Rows without a tick are different, not better: a bigger battery, a longer wheelbase and a wider body are all trades, and this page does not pretend otherwise.

Hyundai Kona Electric and Kia Niro EV, US model years as labelled. Sources: fueleconomy.gov for the EPA rows, evstats.org for the catalogue figures, Euro NCAP for the stars.
MeasureHyundai Kona ElectricKia Niro EV
Range and efficiency
EPA range261 mi✓2025 Kona Electric (17 inch Wheels)253 mi2026 Niro Electric
EPA efficiency3.44 mi/kWh✓3.33 mi/kWh
Energy per 100 miles29.1 kWh✓30 kWh
Battery, usable48.4 kWhHyundai Kona Electric 48 kWh (MY24-25)64.8 kWhKia Niro EV
Range left in the cold57%modelled envelope56%modelled envelope
Charging
DC peak75 kW94 kW✓
10–80% at peak43 min41 min✓
Average power, 10–80%(derived)47 kW66 kW✓
AC maximum11 kW11 kW
Full charge on 240 V6.7 h✓7.5 h
Fast-charge plugCCS1CCS1
Size and weight
Length171.5 in174 in
Height62 in61.8 in
Wheelbase104.7 in107.1 in
Kerb weight3,726 lb3,874 lb
Space and practicality
Seats55
Boot, seats up16.5 cu ft16.8 cu ft✓
Front trunk1 cu ft✓0.7 cu ft
Maximum cargo45.9 cu ft49.2 cu ft✓
Towing, braked661 lb1,653 lb✓
Heat pumpVaries by countryStandard Equipment
Performance and safety
Power115 kW150 kW✓
0–100 km/h8.8 s7.8 s✓
Euro NCAP stars45✓
Battery warranty8 years / 99,419 mi8 years / 160,000 km7 years / 93,206 mi7 years / 150,000 km
V2L / V2H3.6 kW AC · Not supported3.6 kW AC · Not supported
Price
Starts at$32,975✓US list price$39,600US list price
Top version$36,975✓$39,600
Per mile of range$165cheapest version$157✓cheapest version

How to read the mixed rows. Range and efficiency come from one EPA row — the longest-range version of each car's current model year, not the longest range it has ever been rated at. Battery, charging and the catalogue dimensions come from the catalogue's headline record, which is not always the same trim. Each of those rows names its trim where the two disagree, and the model pages carry the full per-trim table.

What the cold row is not. “Range left in the cold” is the catalogue's modelled cold-highway figure as a share of its mild-urban one — a European model, not an EPA test in US weather. It is shown as a share rather than in miles so it cannot be mistaken for a US range rating.

Euro NCAP is the European crash programme; NHTSA and IIHS ratings are not in this dataset and are not claimed here. Warranty terms are the catalogue's kilometre figures converted to miles, so read them as indicative until a US warranty source replaces them.

Your numbers

What this pair costs you, on your drive

Two questions decide most purchases: how often you stop, and what the year costs. Both are arithmetic on the figures above, so change the inputs and the answer changes with you.

The drive

Starts full, arrives at 10%, charges back to 80% at each stop, and assumes a highway range of 85% of the EPA figure.

Hyundai Kona Electric
3

stops · 129 min charging

Kia Niro EV
3

stops · 123 min charging

The year

Energy at the wheels from the EPA label, priced at the tariff you pay. Home charging is usually cheaper than the directory's median.

Hyundai Kona Electric
$1,221

$10 per 100 mi

Kia Niro EV
$1,260

$11 per 100 mi

The trip model ignores charger detours, queueing and the last 10% of the pack, which is slow on both cars. The yearly cost is energy only: no session fees, no idle fees, no home-charger installation, and no petrol car to compare against.

Your priorities

A verdict you can argue with

There is no single winner, only a winner for a set of priorities. Move the sliders and the weighting changes — nothing here is a magazine score, and the page never hides the numbers it is built from.

Weighted result

Hyundai Kona Electric

wins 3 of 7 measures on these weights

Hyundai Kona Electric56%
Kia Niro EV44%

Each measure is scaled between the two cars, so a weight of 5 means “this is the thing I care about” and 0 means “I do not care at all”. The scores are relative, not a rating out of ten.

Questions

Short answers, then the reasoning

Every figure here comes from the same data as the rest of the page. Where the data cannot answer, the page says so instead of guessing.

Still unsure about a term? The charging glossary covers the rest of them.

Which has more range, the Hyundai Kona Electric or the Kia Niro EV?

The Hyundai Kona Electric. The Hyundai Kona Electric is rated 261 miles and the Kia Niro EV 253, each on the longest-range version of its current model year — 2025 Kona Electric (17 inch Wheels) and 2026 Niro Electric respectively. EPA figures are lab scores from one standard test, not a promise for a cold morning or a steady 75 mph.

Which charges faster?

The Kia Niro EV. Going from 10% to 80% takes 43 minutes in the Hyundai Kona Electric (75 kW peak) and 41 in the Kia Niro EV (94 kW peak). At a slow post the station becomes the limit and the gap narrows, because the slower car is short of power rather than short of time.

Do they use the same plug?

Yes. Both list CCS1 for DC fast charging, so either car can use the same sites without an adapter. An adapter still cannot raise the power a car will accept.

Which is cheaper to run?

The Hyundai Kona Electric, by about $110.10 a year at 12,000 miles and $0.35 per kWh. It uses 29.1 kWh per 100 miles against 30. That is energy only, at the wheels: session fees, idle fees and home-charger installation are not in it.

Which has more space?

The Kia Niro EV: 16.5 cu ft of boot against 16.8 cu ft. Boot volumes are measured by different conventions between makers, so read the direction as reliable and the exact size of the gap as indicative.

Which is cheaper to buy?

The Hyundai Kona Electric is the cheaper of the two to buy, listed from $32,975.00 against $39,600.00 for the Kia Niro EV — $6,625.00 between the two starting prices. Both are manufacturer list prices before sales tax, destination and delivery charges, options and incentives, so a dealer's number will differ; these are US list prices from the price sheet, not the catalogue's European figures.

Other comparisons

All comparisons

Every figure on this page comes from the same records the Hyundai Kona Electric and Kia Niro EV pages use. How the sources are chosen, and what a figure here never claims, is on the methodology page.