Buying a 2021 kona.

L

LiamD

New Member
Hi,
About to buy my first EV. I have decided on the Kona because it seems the best value.
I have a ridiculously long commute of 80 miles each way to work, all on a 70mph. I have a charger at home and will be charging over night.
Not able to charge at work yet.
I live in the south of the UK, so 8 months of the year are cold. But not much extreme.
I have some questions if anyone is able to answer...
1. Is 160 miles per day definitely achievable at mostly 70mph?
2. How often are people changing tyres, I hear EVs use tyres up quicker?
3. Is it a myth that you shouldn't charge to 100%?
4. Is it a myth that fast charging is bad for the battery
5. How long can I expect the car to last?

Thank you all in advance.
 
LiamD said:
Hi,
About to buy my first EV. I have decided on the Kona because it seems the best value.
I have a ridiculously long commute of 80 miles each way to work, all on a 70mph. I have a charger at home and will be charging over night.
Not able to charge at work yet.
I live in the south of the UK, so 8 months of the year are cold. But not much extreme.
I have some questions if anyone is able to answer...
1. Is 160 miles per day definitely achievable at mostly 70mph?
2. How often are people changing tyres, I hear EVs use tyres up quicker?
3. Is it a myth that you shouldn't charge to 100%?
4. Is it a myth that fast charging is bad for the battery
5. How long can I expect the car to last?

Thank you all in advance.
Click to expand...
Regarding your 5th question, from what I've read on this forum, you might want to have someone check the reduction gear oil with a magnet to see if there are particles from the gears "floating" about. However, that would require replacing the reduction gear oil.
 
LiamD said:
Hi,
About to buy my first EV. I have decided on the Kona because it seems the best value.
I have a ridiculously long commute of 80 miles each way to work, all on a 70mph. I have a charger at home and will be charging over night.
Not able to charge at work yet.
I live in the south of the UK, so 8 months of the year are cold. But not much extreme.
I have some questions if anyone is able to answer...
1. Is 160 miles per day definitely achievable at mostly 70mph?
2. How often are people changing tyres, I hear EVs use tyres up quicker?
3. Is it a myth that you shouldn't charge to 100%?
4. Is it a myth that fast charging is bad for the battery
5. How long can I expect the car to last?

Thank you all in advance.
Click to expand...

Hi Liam, plenty of experts on this site may chime in. Until they answer:
YES it can do 160 miles on a single charge at 70 m/h. Should be some spare at the end too. (depends on heater use and wind etc)
Im still on the same tyres but some EV car tyres seem to be harder than ICE tyres so I dont think wear is too much different overall.
There is some evidence to suggest the battery is happiest kept between 30 and 80% charge but there is safety built into these batteries, so if you charge to 100% then drive it next day, the battery will cope with that ok.
Continual Fast charging is not great for batteries due to the high heat involved. If you can charge overnight on a 7kw charger or similar, the battery will be better off. If you must use a fast charger, battery deg will probably be a bit higher than using a slower charger.
How long will it last? I think its not a stretch to say the battery should be good for 15 years of driving. Everyones story is different but mine is 5 years old and still has the same range it had new. The battery wont just stop working, the range will slowly start to fade so you should be able to see it coming as the years roll by.
 
No reason not to charge to 100%, just don't let it sit at 100
Fast charging has little effect on range per Tesla data
The cars are heavier, so it would not be surprising if they go through tires. I had a blow out at ~20k and rear alignment wasn't right so rear tires at 30k, but they would have lasted much longer if I was more proactive.
Remember range is inverse of speed, so putting along at 65 rather than 70+ increases actual range.
THis is the version with ~260 miles EPA range?
Since you cannot do 2 days of commute, you will need a larger EVSE than I have, probably 40 amp 220 to ensure you are ready for the morning.

I think, were it me, I would want a car that can do at least twice my commute, to ensure against any charging hiccups.
but then again you would not catch me spending 3 hours a day in the car.
 
LiamD said:
Hi,
About to buy my first EV. I have decided on the Kona because it seems the best value.
I have a ridiculously long commute of 80 miles each way to work, all on a 70mph. I have a charger at home and will be charging over night.
Not able to charge at work yet.
I live in the south of the UK, so 8 months of the year are cold. But not much extreme.
I have some questions if anyone is able to answer...
1. Is 160 miles per day definitely achievable at mostly 70mph?
2. How often are people changing tyres, I hear EVs use tyres up quicker?
3. Is it a myth that you shouldn't charge to 100%?
4. Is it a myth that fast charging is bad for the battery
5. How long can I expect the car to last?

Thank you all in advance.
Click to expand...

We bought our 2020 64k model new & now done 85k miles. Our requirement on purchase was to be able to drive Oxford-Loughborough & back without charging - 200 mile roundtrip, all weathers, all up the M40, M69 & M1. It delivered on that so easily, week after week. So your 160mile roundtrip seems childs play.

We've changed our tyres once at just over 40k. Excessive tyre wear is a myth,unless you drive to burn rubber!

We charge at home to 100% every time. The state of health of our 64k battery is 100%. Fast charge as much as you like, another myth.

The car is as good as new at 85k. I anticipate possibly a few cells dropping out by the time I get to 160k miles. So the range might drop by say a couple of 10-20 miles.

Btw we've toured rural France, Spain, Portugal and had great trips. So enjoy!
 
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