Compare the2024 Hyundai Kona ElectricVS 2023 Polestar 2

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Kona Electric are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Polestar 2 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Kona Electric has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Polestar 2’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Kona Electric has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Polestar charges extra for Cross Traffic Alert on the Polestar 2.

Both the Kona Electric and the Polestar 2 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear 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, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

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 2’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Kona Electric 6 years and 50,000 miles longer than Polestar covers the 2. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Polestar 2 ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Kona Electric for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for tire rotations, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Polestar doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the 2.

There are almost 32 times as many Hyundai dealers as there are Polestar dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Kona Electric’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Polestar vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai above average in initial quality. With 125 more problems per 100 vehicles, Polestar is rated below average.

For better maneuverability, the Kona Electric’s turning circle is 2.9 feet tighter than the Polestar 2’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.7 feet).

The Kona Electric is 9.8 inches shorter than the Polestar 2, making the Kona Electric easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Kona Electric has 3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Polestar 2 (99 vs. 96).

The Kona Electric has .3 inches more front headroom, .6 inches more front hip room, 2.2 inches more front shoulder room, 1.3 inches more rear headroom, 2.5 inches more rear legroom and 2.6 inches more rear shoulder room than the Polestar 2.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Kona Electric’s rear seats recline. The Polestar 2’s rear seats don’t recline.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Kona Electric has a standard rear wiper. The Polestar 2 doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Kona Electric has standard extendable sun visors. The Polestar 2 doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Kona Electric Limited’s Smart Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Smart Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Polestar 2 doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Hyundai Kona outsold the Polestar 2 by almost 8 to one during 2022.