Compare the2024 Volvo C40 RechargeVS 2023 Hyundai Kona Electric

Safety
Warranty
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Volvo C40 Recharge have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Hyundai Kona Electric doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The C40 Recharge’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the C40 Recharge and Kona Electric have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The C40 Recharge Ultimate has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Kona Electric’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Volvo C40 Recharge has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The C40 Recharge has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The C40 Recharge has standard Post-impact braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The C40 Recharge has standard CTA Auto Brake that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

The C40 Recharge has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the C40 Recharge’s standard Hill Descent Control allow you to creep down safely. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

The C40 Recharge Plus/Ultimate has a standard 360° Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Kona Electric only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

Both the C40 Recharge and the Kona Electric have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 and driver alert monitors.

The Volvo C40 Recharge weighs 934 to 1055 pounds more than the Hyundai Kona Electric. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the C40 Recharge its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 131 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Kona Electric has not been fully tested, yet.

Warranty

The C40 Recharge’s corrosion warranty is 5 years longer than the Kona Electric’s (12 vs. 7 years).

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the C40 Recharge for 1 year and 4000 miles longer than Hyundai pays for maintenance for the Kona Electric (4/40,000 vs. 3/36,000).

Engine

The C40 Recharge’s standard electric motor produces 47 more horsepower (248 vs. 201) and 19 lbs.-ft. more torque (310 vs. 291) than the Kona Electric’s electric motor. The C40 Recharge’s optional electric motors produces 201 more horsepower (402 vs. 201) and 203 lbs.-ft. more torque (494 vs. 291) than the Kona Electric’s electric motor.

As tested in Car and Driver the Volvo C40 Recharge electric motors is faster than the Hyundai Kona Electric:

	C40 Recharge	Kona Electric
Zero to 60 MPH	4.3 sec	6.4 sec
Quarter Mile	12.9 sec	15 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	108 MPH	95 MPH
Top Speed	115 MPH	107 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

The C40 Recharge FWD can travel longer on a full charge than the Kona Electric (297 miles vs. 258 miles).

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the C40 Recharge’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Kona Electric:

	C40 Recharge	Kona Electric
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	12 inches
Rear Rotors	13.4 inches	11.8 inches

The C40 Recharge’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Kona Electric are solid, not vented.

The C40 Recharge stops shorter than the Kona Electric:

	C40 Recharge	Kona Electric
70 to 0 MPH	178 feet	185 feet	Car and Driver

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the C40 Recharge has larger tires than the Kona Electric (235/45R20 vs. 215/55R17).

The C40 Recharge Core’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Kona Electric’s standard 55 series tires. The C40 Recharge’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Kona Electric’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the C40 Recharge Core has standard 19-inch wheels. Only 17-inch wheels are available on the Kona Electric. The C40 Recharge offers optional 20-inch wheels.

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the C40 Recharge’s wheelbase is 4 inches longer than on the Kona Electric (106.4 inches vs. 102.4 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the C40 Recharge is 1.3 inches wider in the front and 1.1 inches wider in the rear than on the Kona Electric.

The C40 Recharge Ultimate handles at .82 G’s, while the Kona Electric Limited pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

Passenger Space

The C40 Recharge has 1.4 inches more front hip room, 1.2 inches more front shoulder room, 2.7 inches more rear legroom, 2.4 inches more rear hip room and 1.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the Kona Electric.

Cargo Capacity

The C40 Recharge has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Kona Electric with its rear seat folded (48.7 vs. 45.8 cubic feet).

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the C40 Recharge’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the C40 Recharge’s power liftgate can be opened or closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer a power or hands-free opening liftgate.

Towing

The C40 Recharge has a 2000 lbs. towing capacity. The Kona Electric has no towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Stability Assist on the C40 Recharge uses the Dynamic Stability and Traction Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

Servicing Ease

The C40 Recharge uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Kona Electric uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

When two different drivers share the C40 Recharge, the memory system makes it convenient for both. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver and front passenger’s seat positions, outside mirror angle, climate settings and radio stations. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer a memory system.

The C40 Recharge’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Kona Electric’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

If the windows are left open on the C40 Recharge the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Kona Electric can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The C40 Recharge’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Kona Electric’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the C40 Recharge to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the C40 Recharge has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Kona Electric only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The C40 Recharge’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the Kona Electric SE/SEL’s standard projector halogen headlights and light instantly. LED lights also last over twenty times longer than halogen.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The C40 Recharge offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the C40 Recharge offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer cornering lights. The C40 Recharge also offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

When the C40 Recharge is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Kona Electric’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The C40 Recharge’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Kona Electric offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the C40 Recharge and the Kona Electric have standard heated front seats. The C40 Recharge also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Kona Electric.

The C40 Recharge’s standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

Both the C40 Recharge and the Kona Electric offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the C40 Recharge has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Volvo C40 Recharge has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Kona Electric SEL/Limited offers wireless charging.

Recommendations

J.D. Power and Associates rated the C40 Recharge second among small premium suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Kona Electric isn’t in the top three.

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