[loggamatt]

I’ve been doing the rounds on a few of the forums on here, starting to think about what car I may buy next year to replace my current e-Golf lease. Want to buy a used car this time outright. Started off thinking about the Ioniq, then started looking at the Kona as a car I might consider stretching to if I’m good with my saving in the meantime.

Today I thought, well, if I’m thinking about the Kona I should look into the e-Niro too, as they’re nearly identical underneath and the Kia has a longer warranty.

I just did a little searching on Autotrader, and it looks like the e-Niro is holding its value much better than the Kona. But I thought they were about the same price (comparing top spec Kona to e-Niro first edition) when they were new? The Konas seem around £2k less used than the e-Niros, and some of the Konas are even cheaper than that.

Is this a trend that people see continuing, or is it just that both cars are still so new, and initial supply so constrained, that there aren’t enough of them on the used market yet to really average out their prices?

 

[Gif]

Would have thought that supply will be influencing prices but the other big difference is the size of the vehicle particularly boot / rear space. I found the Kona too much of a squeeze so less use and I suspect it will harm the resale value in comparison.

 

[Gif]

Go sit in the rear of both and you’ll see what I mean

 

[loggamatt]

Go sit in the rear of both and you’ll see what I mean

Oh, don’t worry, I believe you. I know the e-Niro has a much bigger boot too. I’m single and don’t have a full car often, so it’s not a huge deal for me but can believe it makes the e-Niro more desirable to many. I think I slightly prefer the Kona, but it’s close. I prefer the exterior styling of the Kona, but prefer the interior of the e-Niro. But for me, if they were the same price I’d get the e-Niro because the 7 year warranty would swing it for me. Was just surprised to see the e-Niro costing so much more on the used market. I wonder how much of it is the greater practicality of the e-Niro, or whether it’s just too soon to draw conclusions as there aren’t that many used e-Niro‘s for sale yet.

 

[Gif]

For what it’s worth I preferred the styling of the Kona too but was after something bigger following my i3. It was a no brainer for flexibility even though we’re generally only two up. Of course, there was little price differential when I bought. A few 000 off is worth doing if you can live with it.

 

[Woodulike]

When I sold my Niro in the summer I thought prices were higher on the Kona.
Maybe they will change again before you need to change your car

 

[ohit1]

I prefer the look of the Kona and it has HUD.
But the e-Niro 4+ comes with a sunroof so, for now, that wins for me.
Maybe Kia release an e-Niro 5 that is 4+ spec with HUD (after all, Kia Soul EV has the HUD)

 

[starquake]

Oh, don’t worry, I believe you. I know the e-Niro has a much bigger boot too. I’m single and don’t have a full car often, so it’s not a huge deal for me but can believe it makes the e-Niro more desirable to many. I think I slightly prefer the Kona, but it’s close. I prefer the exterior styling of the Kona, but prefer the interior of the e-Niro. But for me, if they were the same price I’d get the e-Niro because the 7 year warranty would swing it for me. Was just surprised to see the e-Niro costing so much more on the used market. I wonder how much of it is the greater practicality of the e-Niro, or whether it’s just too soon to draw conclusions as there aren’t that many used e-Niro‘s for sale yet.

It's the practicality. My brother/sister in law also have a niro... they couldn't get the family in the Kona. I doubt they are only ones -> the space may not limit people like us (we are a couple, no kids) but it does majorly limit a large proportion of the population, ie, familys with kids. I'd also say it makes it less practical in terms of taking one car with friends in non-covid times instead of 2 to a location. YOu can comfortably put 4 adults in a Niro for a 3-4 hour ride -> less so in Kona. Yes possible, but it's a major consideration for many, and I do personally expect the E-niro to remain higher than the Kona for years to come.

The warranty may also play a part -> the same family have had Kia's before and have loved the warranty on their old Sportage. There is also a element of brand snobbery I suspect, Kia is perceived to this family as a higher quality than Hyundai, despite them being technically same company.

 

[Mark Cornwall]

I wouldnt worry to much on used prices. EVs are likely to hold their value better than an ICE equivalent but with the number of new EV models being released the resale values will likely be more attractive in a year or so. Personally if I was after a long range EV next year I would be looking at the Kona purely because they came out earlier than the Niro and a 2018 should be pretty good value next year.

 

[loggamatt]

It's the practicality. My brother/sister in law also have a niro... they couldn't get the family in the Kona. I doubt they are only ones -> the space may not limit people like us (we are a couple, no kids) but it does majorly limit a large proportion of the population, ie, familys with kids. I'd also say it makes it less practical in terms of taking one car with friends in non-covid times instead of 2 to a location. YOu can comfortably put 4 adults in a Niro for a 3-4 hour ride -> less so in Kona. Yes possible, but it's a major consideration for many, and I do personally expect the E-niro to remain higher than the Kona for years to come.

The warranty may also play a part -> the same family have had Kia's before and have loved the warranty on their old Sportage. There is also a element of brand snobbery I suspect, Kia is perceived to this family as a higher quality than Hyundai, despite them being technically same company.

That makes sense! And I know a lot of motoring magazines like What Car put the e-Niro above the Kona in their comparison reviews for exactly that reason - the better passenger/luggage space. As for you, that is probably of marginal benefit for me, though I am interested in checking out how the ‘shoulder room’ differences feel in both cars when life gets back to normal so I can test them. I’m a pretty large guy in terms of both height and width! So always a bonus to have decent interior width so I’m not rubbing shoulders with whoever is in the passenger seat the whole way. I’m sure the Kona will be fine though, and it’s just that the e-Niro would be even better than fine in that respect.

And yeah, that 7 year warranty is lovely isn’t it! That’s the thing that would appeal to me over the e-Niro most in comparison to the Kona. Then again, if I bought a 2 year old EV, how long would I keep it for anyway? If it’s only going to be 3 years, then obviously the different warranties between the two cars makes no difference, other than for residual value potentially I guess.

I wouldnt worry to much on used prices. EVs are likely to hold their value better than an ICE equivalent but with the number of new EV models being released the resale values will likely be more attractive in a year or so. Personally if I was after a long range EV next year I would be looking at the Kona purely because they came out earlier than the Niro and a 2018 should be pretty good value next year.

Yeah, I think values for used EVs will be particularly strong if the Government’s new pledge to ban the sale of ICE cars by 2030 looks like it’s going to be achieved. I didn’t know the Kona came out much before the e-Niro though? I thought the e-Niro followed the Kona pretty quickly after, but if I’m wrong about that then that definitely pushes the needle in the Kona’s direction for me due to, as you say, greater availability on the used market in a year.

 

[Cantonalegod]

Autotrader has 287 Kona EV listing vs 46 for eNiro.

Could be a big factor!

 

[Jimlad]

Eniro has lower supply, its bigger and doesn't look as dated inside.