Why there is an electrical outlet in the new Hyundai KONA Electric

Back to the Future

Funny, an electrical outlet in a car. Had the DeLorean of Emmett ‘Doc’ Brown from the movie Back to the Future that one too? Or KITT from Knight Rider? Anyway, those were fictional four-wheelers from a distant past when talking cars and time travel were the most normal thing in the world and Apple CarPlay and DAB+ radio had yet to be invented. This is different cake.

Reheating frozen meals

In the car in front of us – a brand new Hyundai KONA Electric – an electrical outlet is just reality. At least, if you choose the Premium version. No one is surprised if you pull out a microwave in a highway parking lot at lunchtime to quickly heat up a frozen meal. Or an iron to get your blouse even tighter in the crease. Just because you can. After all, it is 2023.

Driving range Hyundai KONA Electric

Obviously, range is one of the first things you look at in your search for a new electric car. After all, you do want to be sure that the battery pack is adequate for the daily miles to work. No worries, the Hyundai KONA Electric easily achieves that, even if you have to take it from Utrecht to Groningen (and vice versa).

Hair drying

So enough about driving range, energy efficiency and payload, time to focus on things that really make the KONA Electric fun. Like a seemingly ordinary but oh so convenient electrical outlet. To make a sandwich on the go or at the campsite, or to blow dry your hair. Why didn’t anyone ever come up with that before?

Vehicle-to-Load

Because “outlet” sounds rather ordinary and the Hyundai KONA Electric, with its numerous LED lights and futuristic lines, looks more like a hip device from the distant future, bright minds came up with a more appropriate term: Vehicle-to-Load. Or abbreviated V2L (pronounced vie-toe-el). You can guess how it works: instead of using the stored energy in the battery pack to power the car, you use it to power external electrical devices.

Dedicated charging ports

To that end, the Hyundai KONA Electric is equipped with special charging ports: one inside near the second row of seats and one outside at the front of the car. The charging socket by the second row of seats involves a domestic outlet into which you can plug in the plug of any electrical appliance. You’ll need a special adapter for the outside charging connection, but again, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to get the Vehicle-to-Load function working.

Vehicle-to-Grid

So a fantastic invention, that Vehicle-to-Load. Especially if you apply it on a larger scale. We are no longer talking about Vehicle to Load, but Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G). By equipping electric cars with this technology, they can return power to much larger objects than sandwich makers or a television. Consider an office, a home, or even an entire block of houses. How beautiful is that? Even better would be if the energy we use for electric cars did not come from polluting power plants, but from natural sources that are constantly replenished, such as wind, hydro and solar power. But that’s still in the future for now.

Other gadgets in the Hyundai KONA Electric

Hyundai is one of the automakers with battery-electric cars in its lineup that can not only charge power, but also return power. The IONIQ 5 and 6 already featured Vehicle-to-Load technology, and now the new KONA Electric is also equipped with it. By the way, this compact electric SUV counts many more novelties. Such as Remote Smart Parking Assist that lets you let the car park and exit independently. Or the Hyundai Digital Key 2 Touch that lets you unlock and lock the KONA Electric with your smartphone. All special gadgets that you simply do not miss if they are not on your car, but which make driving a little more fun. Want to know how this car drives? Then read our comprehensive first introduction.