Hyundai KONA Electric vs Nissan LEAF (2011-2017)

The Hyundai KONA Electric costs £9,010 more than the Nissan LEAF. For that premium it adds 201 miles more WLTP range, 51 kW faster peak rapid charging and 96 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Hyundai KONA Electric comes out ahead overall.

The Nissan LEAF is £9,010 cheaper to buy. The Hyundai KONA Electric is cheaper to charge, roughly £136 a year versus £168 for the Nissan LEAF, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Nissan LEAF comes out roughly £8,850 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 266 miles for the Hyundai KONA Electric and 76 miles for the Nissan LEAF - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Hyundai KONA Electric goes roughly 190 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 41 minutes in the Hyundai KONA Electric and 30 in the Nissan LEAF, so the Nissan LEAF loses less time at each stop. So the Hyundai KONA Electric stops less often while the Nissan LEAF stops for less time - pick on which you would rather do.

The Nissan LEAF is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 55 mm narrower than the Hyundai KONA Electric. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 630 mm of total clearance for the Nissan LEAF and about 575 mm of total clearance for the Hyundai KONA Electric.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 86% battery health for the Hyundai KONA Electric and 65% for the Nissan LEAF. That gives the Hyundai KONA Electric a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.