Compare the2024 Porsche TaycanVS 2023 Hyundai Kona Electric

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Porsche Taycan have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Hyundai Kona Electric doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Taycan’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 Taycan and Kona Electric have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Taycan 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 Porsche Taycan has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help 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 Taycan offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Taycan helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Taycan offers an optional Surround View System 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 Taycan and the Kona Electric have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 and available blind spot warning systems.

The Porsche Taycan weighs 732 to 1484 pounds more than the Hyundai Kona Electric. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Warranty

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

Reliability

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Taycan’s reliability 25 points higher than the Kona Electric.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Porsche vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Porsche above average in initial quality. With 21 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Porsche vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Porsche 3 places higher in reliability than Hyundai.

Engine

The Taycan’s standard electric motor produces 201 more horsepower (402 vs. 201) than the Kona Electric’s electric motor. The Taycan Performance Plus’ optional electric motor produces 268 more horsepower (469 vs. 201) than the Kona Electric’s electric motor. The Taycan Cross Turismo’s standard electric motors produces 268 more horsepower (469 vs. 201) and 77 lbs.-ft. more torque (368 vs. 291) than the Kona Electric’s electric motor. The Taycan 4S’ standard electric motors produces 321 more horsepower (522 vs. 201) and 181 lbs.-ft. more torque (472 vs. 291) than the Kona Electric’s electric motor. The Taycan Turbo S’ standard electric motors produces 549 more horsepower (750 vs. 201) and 483 lbs.-ft. more torque (774 vs. 291) than the Kona Electric’s electric motor.

As tested in Motor Trend the Porsche Taycan is faster than the Hyundai Kona Electric:

	Taycan Performance Plus	Taycan Cross Turismo	Kona Electric
Zero to 30 MPH	2.1 sec	n/a	2.9 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	4.7 sec	4.5 sec	6.6 sec
Zero to 80 MPH	7 sec	n/a	10.6 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	10.3 sec	n/a	16.5 sec
Passing 45 to 65 MPH	1.8 sec	n/a	3 sec
Quarter Mile	12.9 sec	12.7 sec	15.1 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	114.6 MPH	115.9 MPH	95.9 MPH

Transmission

The Taycan’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer launch control.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	Taycan Base/4S	Taycan Turbo S	Kona Electric
Front Rotors	14.2 inches	16.5 inches	12 inches
Rear Rotors	14.1 inches	16.1 inches	11.8 inches

The Taycan’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 Taycan offers optional heat-treated ceramic brake rotors, which last ten to twenty times as long as conventional cast iron rotors, don’t rust, don’t fade during repeated high speed braking, and their lighter weight contribute to better braking, handling and acceleration. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer ceramic brake rotors.

The Taycan stops much shorter than the Kona Electric:

	Taycan	Kona Electric
70 to 0 MPH	147 feet	185 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	103 feet	138 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	139 feet	145 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Taycan has larger standard tires than the Kona Electric (F:225/55R19 & R:275/45R19 vs. 215/55R17). The Taycan’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Kona Electric (F:265/35R21 & R:305/30R21 vs. 215/55R17).

The Taycan’s standard 275/45R19 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Kona Electric’s standard 55 series tires. The Taycan’s optional 265/35R21 front and 305/30R21 rear tires have a lower 35 series front and 30 series rear profile than the Kona Electric’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Taycan has standard 19-inch wheels. Only 17-inch wheels are available on the Kona Electric. The Taycan offers optional 21-inch wheels.

Suspension and Handling

The Taycan offers active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The Taycan offers an available adjustable active suspension system, which counteracts cornering forces actively, limiting body roll and improving handling and stability. Hyundai doesn’t offer an active suspension on the Kona Electric.

The Taycan has a standard driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads. The Kona Electric’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Taycan’s wheelbase is 11.8 inches longer than on the Kona Electric (114.2 inches vs. 102.4 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Taycan is 5.5 inches wider in the front and 4.1 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Kona Electric.

The Taycan’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (49% to 51%) than the Kona Electric’s (54% to 46%). This gives the Taycan more stable handling and braking.

The Taycan 4S Cross Turismo handles at .88 G’s, while the Kona Electric Limited pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Taycan Cross Turismo 4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.8 seconds quicker than the Kona Electric Limited (25 seconds @ .76 average G’s vs. 27.8 seconds @ .65 average G’s).

Cargo Capacity

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Taycan. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Taycan’s power trunk 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.

Servicing Ease

The Taycan 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.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Porsche service is better than Hyundai. J.D. Power ranks Porsche third in service department satisfaction. With a 48% lower rating, Hyundai is ranked 29th.

Ergonomics

When three different drivers share the Taycan, the optional memory system makes it convenient for all three. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver and front passenger’s seat positions, steering wheel position, outside mirror angle, climate settings and radio stations. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer a memory system.

The Taycan’s standard easy entry system raises the steering wheel and glides the driver’s seat back, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Taycan offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Taycan’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.

The Taycan’s power window, power lock and power mirror switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Kona Electric’s passenger power window and power mirror switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Taycan’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.

The Taycan’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.

Consumer Reports rated the Taycan’s headlight performance “Fair,” a higher rating than the Kona Electric’s headlights, which were rated “Poor.”

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Taycan offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Kona Electric doesn’t offer cornering lights.

When the Taycan is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The Kona Electric’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Taycan’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 Taycan and the Kona Electric have standard heated front seats. The Taycan 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 Taycan offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Kona Electric.

The Taycan’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 Taycan and the Kona Electric offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Taycan has available 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 Porsche Taycan has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Kona Electric SEL/Limited offers wireless charging.

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

Model Availability

The Porsche Taycan comes in sedan and station wagon bodystyles; the Hyundai Kona Electric isn’t available as a sedan.

Recommendations

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Taycan first among upper midsize premium cars 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.