Interior noise..

One of my colleagues has a Etron, funny enough he thinks my Kona is cool. He had flakey canbus issues, they had to replace one of his fiber optic wiring looms... $10,000 warranty fix. Sadly I am not not sure you will get anything more reliable rather likely just more expensive to fix especially off warranty.

 

Yeah, spent a little time researching it on their forum (not this site), and quite a few "service campaigns". Mostly smaller issues and updates. Never saw anything major with the drive train.

Having said that, buying a first gen of any new vehicle carries some risk, just as with our Kona EV. In the case of Hyundai, though, I thought they already had a fair bit of experience, with the Ionic, and the older gen Kia Souls. So was a little disappointed to find this ticking problem with our Kona's, which I consider fairly major.

I don't want to come across as being too negative about our car. If it wasn't for this one problem, I would be more than perfectly happy with it. And still hoping that it will be resolved in the end. Hopefully my motor replacement next week will turn out well.

And I fully understand, too, that the E-Tron is in another league as far price and luxury. So expectations with how it drives and how quiet it is would be a little higher. Biggest drawback, though, is its range, esp after owning a Kona. But who knows, in a few years a used E-Tron will probably be worth less than a 1/4 their initial selling price, and maybe by then the bugs will be worked out. Will just have to wait and see, I guess. And don't laugh at that 1/4 price forecast. My son previously had bought a 5 year old all decked out MDX (higher mileage though) for exactly 1/4 initial MSRP. Luxury cars, and EVs have a very high depreciation rate. I don't expect my Kona to be worth much after 5 years, which is why I want it to last much longer, so I can drive it into the ground.

 

When traveling long distance, beyond the range of a single charge, you also have to consider charging speeds. E-tron has essentially flat 150 kW charging rate up to 80% SOC. None of the rapid charging speed taper you see on other cars like the Kona which drop into 25 kW range by 80% SOC. In practice, this means you will likely reach your destination in less time despite the lower efficiency.

 

Yes, it's a bit of smoke and mirrors. They've left a large top buffer so that you can charge to "80 percent" at top speed.

 

Well, true but I'm surprised they even mentioned 95 kWh if they're using less. I worked out that the 95 likely equates to a combination of 60 Ah cells just like the Kona has. It's four sets in parallel comprising of 3 cells in series. 4 x 60 Ah = 240 Ah. The quoted pack voltage of 396 V divided by 36 x 3 = 3.66 V per cell, very realistic.

396 V x 240 Ah = 95,040 Wh. In the Kona I think we are a bit more on the edge and should pay attention to unnecessary use of reaching a displayed 100%. Our buffer is far less, about 2 - 6%, if we believe the SoC BMS reading.

 

Here is the funny thing though. They can sell the e-tron in Europe where there are no such battery warranties. But the specs for the car are still the more conservative numbers based on a larger buffer. I guess it wouldn't work to report a much longer range in Europe than the US.

 

Actually the e-tron is the best selling EV in Norway (as of Jan 2020), which is the world leader in EV adoption. The Tesla M3 is way down in their latest sales rankings.
https://insideevs.com/news/397255/norway-january-2020-plugin-car-sales/

 

Interesting. The poor efficiency was a huge turn-off for me, so I never even considered it when I was shopping. I guess they are aiming for a different market.

 

I suspect in EU they drive shorter distances so don't require as much range. But I was surprised, too, when I saw that. Those people must be well off there, in that little country... Helps to sell oil to subsidize your EV adoption, and other social programs.

 

Suggestion:
Hyundai only put a couple of patches of deadener in the back. It wasn't enough.
A little bit of sound deadener material in the spare wheel well area made a huge difference to the road noise levels for me. One of the AEVA members suggested it.
I just put a few strips of it (get the butyl mastic type, not the asphalt type) where the most reverberation was occurring. Some folks stick it over everything but you don't have to go crazy. Just tap the panels and stick it on the bits that sound the loudest.
If you're willing to do extra, you could stick a couple of strips in the doors and tailgate - but that means removing door trims...
Btw, I only spent about $AUD35.00. You really don't ned a lot.

I also ditched the Nexen tyres in favour of Michelin Primacy 4. That really dropped the noise levels, especially in the 100 to 120kph range.
Cheers

 

You can see here a KIA Niro EV owner adding noise reduction material to their car. Similar procedure should apply to Kona. Auto translated link.

 

How was the range affected with the primacy 4?
Do you have any pictures of where you put the deadener and what brand you used? I'm also in AUS and would like a quieter car.

 

Soundproofing to the extreme!!