Hyundai’s all-electric Kona is handsome – and packed with tech from infotainment system to USB ports

FIRST, an apology.

I might have been a little unkind when I said the Hyundai Kona was “hideously overstyled”, “properly naff” and a “modern-day Rover Streetwise”.

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I was, of course, talking about the fussy petrol Kona, so it still applies.

But the all-electric Kona, on the other hand? That’s different. That’s handsome.

The front end is calmer and smoother and less Halfords without the big grille, stick-on plastic and the third set of lights. I like it.

But there’s more. Hyundai should also be applauded for producing the first long-range electric car for the masses.

Now let’s compare and contrast. The 64kWh Kona costs £30,000 and has a genuine real-world range of 259 miles.

That’s further than a Jaguar I-Pace, for half the price.

And two postcodes further than the 40kWh Nissan Leaf for a little more.

You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to work this one out.

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The Koreans have finally made zero-emission motoring a real choice for millions of families.

The Kona is also better than the I-Pace and Leaf, for reasons I shall explain. All electric cars drive pretty much the same.

They are fast, quiet, single-speed and seriously easy to use. Like a fairground dodgem, except you don’t spin the steering wheel to reverse.

So apart from Jag’s cool interior and the badge, there’s little reason to fork out an extra thirty grand.

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The Kona also has steering wheel paddles to increase regenerative braking. The Jag doesn’t.

And trust me, it’s a lot of fun using them to slow for a roundabout without touching the brake pedal.

It’s like old skool engine braking — but all the while you are harvesting energy to replenish the battery.

As for the Leaf, its biggest handicap is miles per charge.

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But when the 60kWh Leaf arrives next year it will be much closer to Kona in terms of range. And price.

The Leaf has a bigger boot and is made in Britain, which is important.

But it doesn’t have an adjustable steering wheel or lumbar support. The Kona does. So it’s comfier.

The Kona also has the superior infotainment system — positioned high up — and head-up display.

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It’s not all golden, though. There’s only two USB ports for five people — and none in the back. Hello, Hyundai. This is supposed to be the future. Our kids have iPhones stitched to their hands these days.

Which brings me nicely to the biggest obstacle still facing electric cars and that’s charging.

We need charging points as common and reliable as petrol pumps, and top-up times to be minutes rather than hours. That’s still some way off.

But say you live in a house — not on the 34th floor — and you do less than 250 miles a week, as many people do, you could switch to electric now.

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A nine-hour charge from a 7kWh home wallbox (£300 from Hyundai) will keep a Kona juiced up all week.

And at 3.3p per mile, £8.65 for a full charge, that’s bloody cheap motoring.

Whatever it looks like.

I need a chauffur

The text from an unknown +44 number went something like this.

“Hey, Rob. Can you drop off a teddy bear at prison for me?”

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You can imagine my immediate reaction.

What’s inside this teddy?

Am I going to end up spending two years at Her Majesty’s pleasure playing mummies and daddies with big Vernon?

I need not have worried.

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Paws the Probation Service teddy is on a six-month tour of Britain raising awareness for mental health charity Mind. He needed a lift for my local leg and Rolls-Royce turned up trumps with a Phantom. Thank you, R-R.

Of course, the Phantom is the Rolls-Royce of Rolls-Royces. The top of the top. The standard by which all other luxury is measured.

It is the car for chauffeuring royalty, Simon Cowell and the filthy rich.

Stately. Indulgent. Sumptuous. Smooth. As hushed as a library. As relaxing as a hot bath. And bloody huge. It’s 5.7 metres long.

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The VVIP experience starts with the electric coach doors and the sheepskin carpet and then you sink into the butter-soft leather, reclining, heated, massaging seats and you can feel your body draining of stress.

If you can be bothered to lift a finger, maybe press a button to close the privacy curtains, pour yourself a drink from the champagne fridge and watch TV.

Or just sit back and recharge under the starlight roof that dazzles like the night sky.

It’s a little slice of heaven.

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Final observation. The Phantom is also exquisitely engineered. The ride quality is so smooth and delicate it almost feels as if you are floating a few inches above the ground.

And it goes like stink too, with a gold-plated Spirit of Ecstasy pointing the way forward.

You probably binned your favourite teddy bear about the same time your mum stopped putting cheese strings in your lunchbox. But a Phantom could be your companion for life.

Tickled by ducks

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This sign in a village in the Peak District made me giggle.

Does it mean “take care, ducks”– as in a Sheffield term of endearment?

Is it a warning for drivers to slow down? Or is it telling ducks to take care?

I’d like to think it’s all three.

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Aston-ishing decision

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If you have a heritage as achingly cool as Aston, why would you want to make a family SUV?

Because that’s where the money is, sadly.

Everyone wants one. But at least the DBX – seen here testing in Wales – has a 500 horsepower 4-litre twin-turbo V8 lifted from the Vantage.

Out late 2019, priced £180,000.