128 mile trip? Apparently, we have different definitions of long trips, this is easily a 3-4 times a month trip length for me.....lol. I will say though if I went the SF Bay Area, I would use a Drive the Arc quick charger, as they are currently free and I am a cheapskate....lol
First Long(ish) Trip
- Thread starter Clamps
- Start date
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Tim94549
Active Member
As I said, it was 256 Miles RT .. for ME, that was the first trip (AWAY FROM THE BAY AREA) I went THAT far. So I shared in the RANGE angst of the OP given that there were NO RAPID Chargers along my route or at my final stop in Clear Lake. I really only have been driving around town since my purchase and only charge at-home twice a month. So, yea .. YMMV ...
Ah, I read that as going the other direction, but yeah, I drive a bit more than that. As for charging at home, our apartment is old enough that I would have to pay for an electrical upgrade to do so, so I am always using public chargers, just wish we had something like Drive the Arc here in Southern California. Still, my rate plan with EvGo works out to the equivalent of paying about $0.85 per gallon of gas right now (will go up after the first of the year though, unless they extend the COVID rate again, but then I will go back to my monthly plan).
Clamps
Active Member
I arrived easy-peasy! When I left home the car was charged to 99% and the GOM read something ridiculous like 330 miles due to all my local driving up to this point. Once we got on the interstate and turned on AC it dropped to 280 or something close to that. We put the car on cruise at the speed limit for our leg on I90 and locals here will verify that typically traffic moves at 80+ mph here.
When we finally parked the car we had just over 50% battery and an estimated range of 160 miles. My mile/kWhr was 4.3 but that jumped up from 4.1 on the last few miles of interstate were a descent.
We will hit a charger on the way home, as many of you stated, this will be an easy haul for the Kona. On a side note, for me the Kona’s seats are incredibly comfortable and the adaptive cruise control is a welcome tech advancement.
Equally for short ones
Bruce M.
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the suggestion. I have not investigated DriveTheArc but I will!
Bruce M.
Well-Known Member
I have now investigated Drive the Arc. Alas, their locations are mostly around the periphery of the Bay Area. The closest one to my home in San Francisco is about 40 miles from me and none are on routes I regularly take (though a number are on a route I eventually will take, probably later this year).
San Francisco also has several Volta stations, which I use when I can -- but they're often busy and sometimes malfunctioning.
In that case, EVpassport might be something to look into. They are promising $39/month for unlimited fast charging on the Electrify America, Greenlots, ChargePoint and EvGo networks when they launch (expected to be within a few weeks).
Bruce M.
Well-Known Member
Seems like a good deal for people who drive a lot. That's not me. In 5 months my upcoming Monterey trip will be the first time I've actually needed to charge away from home. I've picked up a few free kw from Volta occasionally, but just because I like getting stuff free, not because I really needed to.
It is a great deal for those of us that have no way to charge at home.
Love My Kona. I am a year in, About 12,500 miles. I have gone on 4 long distance trips of about 800 miles round trip or 3,200 miles. That’s 25% of my driving over the year. I have found the app “A Better Route Planner” to be an accurate tool. A must have. It will adjust for your specific car , battery size, elevation, and SOC. I have made the cold winter trips with decreased battery range and summer drives. I always bring my Level 1 charger and plug in at my destination. It took me a while to learn charging speeds / time to charge as it relates to SOC. The juice really flows from 10-60% then slows from 60 - 80%, then crawls after that. Pointless to charge past 80 unless it’s a must. I also have to try to keep it under 70 mph. The Kona EV has great range, great comfort and a great price.... not sure why more EV enthusiasts aren’t owners.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
ericy
Well-Known Member
For whatever reason, the excessive markup seems to be a west coast issue. On the east coast, you can basically get MSRP, with maybe a few small reductions.
I see, well I lucked out with my used one, but many are out there.
Clamps
Active Member
That’s right, you have a bit of negotiation room out here, especially if you go for a leftover 2019. I got around $1000 off my 2020. Not much but the day $1000 isn’t worth anything to me will be the day I win the lottery.
To
Like I said, I was extremely lucky on the west coast and got my 2019 Kona for less than the price of an ICE Kona. Granted it is the base model, but that is comparing base model to base model.
Clamps
Active Member
By the way, we have returned from the trip. We rapid charged twice and had a brief level 2 session at a grocery store. We could have made it home without our halfway stop today but we decided to charge up as it would have been close.
The mile/kWhr was 4.6 for the entire trip. We had a strong tailwind which I think aided our efficiency as well as coming down from the western mountains on the return trip.
The mile/kWhr was 4.6 for the entire trip. We had a strong tailwind which I think aided our efficiency as well as coming down from the western mountains on the return trip.
Bruce M.
Well-Known Member
Not sure if it's changed since I bought mine in March, but I didn't face a big markup, just no budging from MSRP, the dealer trying to (illegally) add on extras to the contract and settling for my 3rd choice color. Could've gotten a better deal on a Bolt or Leaf but just didn't like them nearly as much.
Yeah, Kona is so much nicer and better warranty to boot.