My new Kona Electric and my first impressions

zoominbc said:
It's my first time driving an EV but I am surprised how easy it is to just get in and drive. I am just starting to get the hang of regen but old habits die hard. I found I was breaking with the paddle and the foot brake at the same time. I also wonder how I'm going to manage to flip between the Kona and my ICE truck. I think that regen may be addictive.]
While you now think regen is addictive wait till you realize that coasting in N(electric vehicles don't have a neutral. The N stands for no regen) and using regen to slow down is the best way to tackle declines. I call it gravity drive. Your progress down hills is free miles paid for by going up the hill. The regen braking adds energy.
Click to expand...
 
SkookumPete said:
One week in.

After a week of much learning and a moderate amount of driving, I can offer a few thoughts.

  • If it isn't a "smart phone on wheels" it's getting close. The lack of a violent machine under the hood adds to the feeling that you've arrived in the future, where your car sees and knows more than you do and is in constant dialog with you as it smoothly does your bidding.
  • The manual is pretty thorough but poorly organized and indexed. It's worth having the PDF file (various versions and online sources) just to be able to word search.
  • Somebody started counting the buttons and quit at 60. Some study is involved, but I love that so many options are literally at your fingertips instead of buried in menus. And knobs! Two for climate and two for media/navigation. How cool is it that you can zoom in on the map with the turn of a knob?
  • The storage under the flying bridge is pretty useless. I've got a tissue box lying on its side in there, but it's awkward to get at. Otherwise I've found nothing to complain about in the cabin.
  • I climbed into the Gen 3 Prius today, and it all seemed unfamiliar. The impression was reinforced that, as lovely as the car is, it's a big old boat compared with Kona, which just feels tight and steady.
  • I'm somehow comforted by the fact that in a pinch I could spend the night curled up in the back with the heat on, using Utility Mode to avoid draining the 12 volt battery and with no fears of asphyxiation.
  • The paddles, the brake, and the accelerator are all ways of modulating the regen. Everyone will develop their own style of using them, which is part of the fun. I don't see much advantage in one-pedal driving, and for me it poses the risk of not being ready to stomp on the brake. I just tried smart regen today and it seems to make sense, as long as you remember that you must still use the brake or paddle to stop.
  • The back end is a dirt magnet. Snow and ice easily get into the charge port.
  • The Level 1 charger is going to be fine for me because a busy day is 50 km. And I'm getting used to the idea that I don't need to keep it near full for unexpected trips, since a free fast charge is ten minutes away.
  • I had a moment of buyer's remorse after seeing a video praising the Kia eNiro, but then I remembered: sunroof!
Click to expand...
Where is the knob to zoom in on the map please? Thanks.
 
CJC said:
Yes I have it at 4 lengths. One thing I noticed was our salesperson set a setting for slow stop versus fast stop and I wonder if that impacted on the stop and go? I will look for that setting.
Click to expand...

We just did a practice session and used the stop and go on the Smart Cruise Control. Maybe there is a setting somewhere that we have missed. We have it set at 4 car lengths. The stop and go seems okay in city traffic at about 60 km per hour. However hubby and I both agree the stops are a bit more aggressive and abrupt than we usually make. When we are using it at higher rate of speed i.e. 80-90, it is horrifying! It is not slowing down at all until we are nearly up the butt of the vehicle ahead. Then the brakes go on. I was ready to get out and walk as I was shaking so badly as my husband was trying it out. I was to the point of yelling "we're going to die!" The first go around we raced up on the back of a semi trailer stopped and hubby was ready to apply the brakes, but I was saying "for God's sake, put on the brakes". Hubby is perplexed. All we can figure out is it programmed for today's style of driving where we see people race up behind someone and abruptly stop. I hope someone here with a car will jump in and say what there stop and go experiences are like at higher speed than city driving. My husband says it helps with driver alertness to stop at the last instant. lol For me, it confirms my dislike of cruise control. I just read we can use regular cruise control instead of stop and go by pressing the distance feature for more than 2 seconds so we will go for that until we figure out what others experience.
 
SkookumPete said:
I'm using the upper right dial, but you have to set it up. The AV manual will walk you through it, if you can find the page!
Click to expand...
Okay thanks. I will look for the dial that you reference, and read the AV manual. My goodness lots of stuff to learn.
 
CJC said:
We just did a practice session and used the stop and go on the Smart Cruise Control. Maybe there is a setting somewhere that we have missed. We have it set at 4 car lengths. The stop and go seems okay in city traffic at about 60 km per hour. However hubby and I both agree the stops are a bit more aggressive and abrupt than we usually make. When we are using it at higher rate of speed i.e. 80-90, it is horrifying! It is not slowing down at all until we are nearly up the butt of the vehicle ahead. Then the brakes go on. I was ready to get out and walk as I was shaking so badly as my husband was trying it out. I was to the point of yelling "we're going to die!" The first go around we raced up on the back of a semi trailer stopped and hubby was ready to apply the brakes, but I was saying "for God's sake, put on the brakes". Hubby is perplexed. All we can figure out is it programmed for today's style of driving where we see people race up behind someone and abruptly stop. I hope someone here with a car will jump in and say what there stop and go experiences are like at higher speed than city driving. My husband says it helps with driver alertness to stop at the last instant. lol For me, it confirms my dislike of cruise control. I just read we can use regular cruise control instead of stop and go by pressing the distance feature for more than 2 seconds so we will go for that until we figure out what others experience.
Click to expand...

Okay we have the stop and go figured out and what we were doing wrong. We thought it wasn't working properly because of the abrupt stops at highway speed, but realized that it was doing an emergency stop and not a stop and go stop in traffic. It wasn't sounding any collision warnings so we got perplexed when we came upon vehicles ahead that were already stopped as it did a very fast deceleration. It is designed to do stop and go when following a vehicle, but not do a gradual stop when encountering a stopped vehicle up ahead as happened with us a couple of times. It does work like a charm if you are following a vehicle and it slows, you will slow. You will see the vehicle icon in the right side of the dashboard screen. But we were in learning overload on day one and didn't think the process through.
 
I picked up SHARK on Wed, but haven't been able to post it until now. I finally got to try LKA and smart cruise that a lot of you have been talking about, and my was it pretty cool. The angle it takes curves was fun to experience, if even a little nerve racking at first. The only thing I didn't like was that it turns LKA off if you don't keep your hands on long enough. Yes you could grab the wheel once in a while, and yes they want to deter people from not grabbing it as it isn't autonomous, but what if there was a medical emergency that caused someone to stop grabbing the wheel?! The cruise slowed down for slower vehicles ahead, and revved back up as soon as they were out of the way. As for the book and learning, I thought I would read a small amount per day and try to learn something new everyday. This way I don't feel overloaded and keep the learning enjoyment going as long as possible lol. Here's a few shots.


Kona front angled 2.webp Kona Electric badge.webp Kona inside view.webp Kona Side 2.webp
 
Dumb question - does anyone know if you can keep the HUD up all the time (i.e., it doesn't retract every time you turn off the car?)
 
Vanryan said:
Dumb question - does anyone know if you can keep the HUD up all the time (i.e., it doesn't retract every time you turn off the car?)
Click to expand...
I "think" that it retracts and then pops up again next time you drive. I see ours in down now and I know today it came up without me doing anything.
 
CJC said:
I "think" that it retracts and then pops up again next time you drive. I see ours in down now and I know today it came up without me doing anything.
Click to expand...
Yeah that’s the same behavior as mine. I’d just rather it stay up all the time unless I press he button as it’s great and can’t see when I’d want it down.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CJC
E-Shark said:
Sounds good. Did they give you any discount on them? Did they have a cargo tray in stoc, or was it the same one used for the ICE Kona?
Click to expand...

They claim they gave me a deal but I really don’t think they did lol! It was $500 for everything - all in. Front, rear and cargo mat. I still don’t have them as they were shipped to me. The rear cargo mat was the same and fits quite well. I still don’t know if they’re worth it. Once I get them I’ll let you know :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: CJC
We just went out for an night time drive to check out the automatic headlights. Very nice and efficient response. We didn't have anyone flashing high beams at us so our seem adjusted correctly. My husband really liked the way the headlights go around the corner as we turned. We warmed up the car about 5 minutes before we left with Bluelink and that was nice too. I am happy with everything. Hubby grouses a bit about lack of automatic folding mirrors, lack of seat memory, no electric front passenger adjustment, and he thinks the seat needs to be lower and can't go any lower. But all is going well.
 
Vanryan said:
Yeah that’s the same behavior as mine. I’d just rather it stay up all the time unless I press he button as it’s great and can’t see when I’d want it down.
Click to expand...
I really don’t think that would be the best idea. It’s quickly going to get covered in dust and potentially damaged. If you go to wipe it down it’ll likely scratch and look like poop after a few short months. I appreciate that it retracts :)
 
To
zoominbc said:
Since we had some snow last night I tried to get BlueLink to schedule warming up the Kona or Little Red as we call it. I was able to schedule a departure time, climate setting and defrost. However with 10 minutes to departure time nothing happened so I reset the departure time but then BlueLink failed to make a connection. Little Red was not plugged in at the time. Has anyone got this to work yet?
Click to expand...
the best of my knowledge, you can only “schedule” a warm-up if the vehicle is plugged in. If you want to warm it, simply press “Climate” in the BlueLink app and set your car to the desired temperature. It heats up so quickly that I find only a few minutes time is all it takes :)
 
SkookumPete said:
One week in.

After a week of much learning and a moderate amount of driving, I can offer a few thoughts.

  • If it isn't a "smart phone on wheels" it's getting close. The lack of a violent machine under the hood adds to the feeling that you've arrived in the future, where your car sees and knows more than you do and is in constant dialog with you as it smoothly does your bidding.
  • The manual is pretty thorough but poorly organized and indexed. It's worth having the PDF file (various versions and online sources) just to be able to word search.
  • Somebody started counting the buttons and quit at 60. Some study is involved, but I love that so many options are literally at your fingertips instead of buried in menus. And knobs! Two for climate and two for media/navigation. How cool is it that you can zoom in on the map with the turn of a knob?
  • The storage under the flying bridge is pretty useless. I've got a tissue box lying on its side in there, but it's awkward to get at. Otherwise I've found nothing to complain about in the cabin.
  • I climbed into the Gen 3 Prius today, and it all seemed unfamiliar. The impression was reinforced that, as lovely as the car is, it's a big old boat compared with Kona, which just feels tight and steady.
  • I'm somehow comforted by the fact that in a pinch I could spend the night curled up in the back with the heat on, using Utility Mode to avoid draining the 12 volt battery and with no fears of asphyxiation.
  • The paddles, the brake, and the accelerator are all ways of modulating the regen. Everyone will develop their own style of using them, which is part of the fun. I don't see much advantage in one-pedal driving, and for me it poses the risk of not being ready to stomp on the brake. I just tried smart regen today and it seems to make sense, as long as you remember that you must still use the brake or paddle to stop.
  • The back end is a dirt magnet. Snow and ice easily get into the charge port.
  • The Level 1 charger is going to be fine for me because a busy day is 50 km. And I'm getting used to the idea that I don't need to keep it near full for unexpected trips, since a free fast charge is ten minutes away.
  • I had a moment of buyer's remorse after seeing a video praising the Kia eNiro, but then I remembered: sunroof!
Click to expand...
AND Head Up Display that’s not even an option in the Nero. Plus, it looks plain boring compared to the Kona.
 
Brennan Raposo said:
They claim they gave me a deal but I really don’t think they did lol! It was $500 for everything - all in. Front, rear and cargo mat. I still don’t have them as they were shipped to me. The rear cargo mat was the same and fits quite well. I still don’t know if they’re worth it. Once I get them I’ll let you know :)
Click to expand...

Yup I'm still waiting for your review and pictures before I pull the trigger!!!!
 
Brennan Raposo said:
AND Head Up Display that’s not even an option in the Nero. Plus, it looks plain boring compared to the Kona.
Click to expand...

Now that I've seen a few more videos (AFAIK the car hasn't arrived in Canada yet), it seems like Niro and Kona are cousins and both fine automobiles. Niro to me has a more laid-back look and I like the slightly bigger size and the more open console area. I fear, though, that all those blue accents are going to look silly after the novelty wears off, like the faux-leather roof trim on old sedans.
 
Last edited:
CJC said:
We just went out for an night time drive to check out the automatic headlights. Very nice and efficient response. We didn't have anyone flashing high beams at us so our seem adjusted correctly. My husband really liked the way the headlights go around the corner as we turned. We warmed up the car about 5 minutes before we left with Bluelink and that was nice too. I am happy with everything. Hubby grouses a bit about lack of automatic folding mirrors, lack of seat memory, no electric front passenger adjustment, and he thinks the seat needs to be lower and can't go any lower. But all is going well.
Click to expand...

It's pretty windy today, how did it hold up in the wind?
Pilots are so demanding!! lol jk. I've seen a lot more Tesla's in our parking lot, must be all the B777 pilots ;)
It's hard to get a vehicle fully right for everyone, but I do agree if a vehicle is supposed to be an Ultimate trim and technologically advanced, it should have those simple items mentioned.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top