Compare the2023 Hyundai Kona Electric VS 2023 Toyota Prius Prime

The Kona Electric has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Kona Electric has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning with Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Parking Support Brake costs extra on the Prius Prime.

Both the Kona Electric and the Prius Prime have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available rear parking sensors.

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and its standard front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Kona Electric the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 234 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Prius Prime has not been tested, yet.

The Kona Electric comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Prius Prime’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Kona Electric 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Toyota covers the Prius Prime. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Prius Prime ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Kona Electric’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Prius Prime’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Kona Electric for 1 year and 11000 miles longer than Toyota pays for maintenance for the Prius Prime (3/36,000 vs. 2/25000).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 10 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked fifth.

On the EPA test cycle the Kona Electric gets better mileage than the Prius Prime running its gasoline engine:

			MPGe
Kona Electric
		Electric Motor	134 city/106 hwy
Prius Prime
			MPG
		SE 2.0 4-cyl. Hybrid	53 city/51 hwy
		XSE 2.0 4-cyl. Hybrid	50 city/47 hwy

The Kona Electric can travel longer on a full charge than the Prius Prime on electricity, only, on a full charge:

			Miles
Kona Electric
		Electric Motor	258 miles
Prius Prime
		SE Electric Motor	44 miles
		XSE Electric Motor	39 miles

The Kona Electric, as a pure battery electric vehicle, has no need to “idle” its motors in traffic: they only burn power when moving. The Kona Electric’s climate control systems still work completely when the vehicle is stopped. The Prius Prime still runs its internal combustion engine whenever it’s stopped, burning excess fuel.

For better traction, the Kona Electric has larger tires than the Prius Prime (215/55R17 vs. 195/60R17).

The Kona Electric’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Prius Prime SE’s standard 60 series tires.

The Kona Electric is 1 foot, 3.5 inches shorter than the Prius Prime, making the Kona Electric easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Kona Electric has 1.6 inches more front headroom, .2 inches more front shoulder room, 1.3 inches more rear headroom, .5 inches more rear hip room and 1.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Prius Prime.

The Kona Electric has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Kona Electric has a standard rear wiper. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

The Kona Electric has a standard automatic headlight on/off feature. When the ignition is on, the headlights automatically turn on at dusk and off after dawn. The Prius Prime has an automatic headlight on/off feature standard only on the XSE.

The Kona was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2019. The Prius Prime has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.

The Hyundai Kona outsold the Toyota Prius by 73% during 2022.