Hi, I am thinking on replacing my Kona EV for a Tesla model 3. I think that tesla chargers network cannot be compared to what we currently have and those V3 charging speeds. That said, has anyone here done that or similar. Just looking where are the best places to start looking and how much will it cost me.
I think that the Network for the Kona is pretty good.. There is just a small problem called "ELECTRIFY AMERICA".. They are still overcharging Kona and Niro owners where it is more expensive to drive them on the EA Network compared to a 15 mpg pickup truck... I will not sell my Kona.. It will stay in the family but I'm very tempted in buying a Cybertruck mid range (300 mi) once it is available.. Can't beat the fact that it seats 6, has lots of storage capacity and gets great range and can use the Tesla Supercharger network.. All that for under $50k is a steal.. I don't go on a lot of road trips where I "need" to charge on the road except for South Florida and luckily, there are 50 kw EA chargers that are locked in to Tier 1 pricing.. I'd rather drive a much longer route to avoid EA > 50 kw chargers as I'm not going to pay that insanely high rate.
You can build the Tesla on their website and get an idea for price. You can also try taking it in to their Quebec stores and see if they do any types of trade ins. Otherwise you will have to sell your Kona privately or to a dealer. https://www.tesla.com/en_CA/findus/list/stores/Canada
Maybe EA will figure it out and restructure their pricing from minutes to kw's. I'm staying way from their charging stations.
Coincidentally, we test drove a Model 3 yesterday and were absolutely blown away. We lease a Kona EV and own a brand spanking new 2020 Subaru Forester we now call "fossil car" and no longer want to drive it, so we're going to sell it and lease a 3, keeping the Kona as well. We never want to "gas up" ever again. We think the Tesla network facilitates long distance trips while the Kona can't be surpassed for local and city driving. If you're on the fence for one or the other, the Tesla is probably the more exciting and futuristic. You can program a trip where the car will plan your stops, and cruise control is darn near self-driving. The Tesla website will let you build the car you want and show the lease or buy cost. Find the closest Tesla showroom and take a test drive, definitely worth your time.
Here in NZ the Model 2 LR+ is fractionaly cheaper than the base Kona EV, however our Konas have the awesome reverse-cycle heat pump which the m3 does not, to say nothing of the advantage of having local Hyundai servicing. The Kona EV came out more than a year earlier than the m3, which is why I have the Kona. I've not test driven the m3, hope to one day.
I test drove a Tesla in 2012 before buying my first plug-in, a Prius. Then last year a Model 3 was my first test drive when starting to shop for, eventually, this Kona. I live on a curvy road and did not like Tesla's handling and lack of road feel, either in 2012 or 2019. I don't take long trips and am happy doing all my charging at home.
I really think the model 3 is pretty cool but the slightly taller crossover format of the Kona, cost and availability of service were big factors that pushed us towards the Kona. In Canada the cheapest model 3 SR+ is still 9 thousand dollars more than what we paid for our Kona. The Kona has a bigger usable battery 64 vs 54 kwh in SR+ and its only 11 km to my closest Hyundai dealer vs 740 km to the closest Tesla service center.
You do have me beat for the Tesla service center, the closest being 300 km. The Hyundai dealer is only 0.5 km away.
