Road Trip Comparison - ICE vs Kona vs Tesla M3

Here's a quick comparison of the round-trip I took my Kona on this week between Boston & Montreal for New Years against theoretical trips in an ICE vehicle & a Tesla Model 3.

ICE Trip

• Total miles: 637
• Total drive time: 10 hours, 10 minutes
• Total gas/restroom time: 30 minutes
• Total trip time: 10 hours, 40 minutes

Kona Trip

• Total miles: 655
• Total drive time: 12 hours, 32 minutes
• Total charge/restroom time: 3 hour, 26 mins
• Total trip time: 15 hours, 58 minutes (+49.7%)

Tesla Model 3

• Total miles: 636 miles
• Total drive time: 11 hours, 05 minutes
• Total charge/restroom time: 47 minutes
• Total trip time: 11 hours, 52 minutes (+11.2%)

The L3 charging infrastructure in NH is pretty darn sparse which created some problems on the way back when a crucial charge stop was delayed for almost an hour while waiting for a Bolt to finish charging (on top of the hour-long charging I needed to do). The second challenge was that all of the EVgo chargers are only 50 kW.

To me, this speaks volumes about the current state of charging infrastructure. Yes, it will get better, but it's going to be some time. I'm not a fan of the Tesla design philosophy, but clearly they have done a much better job strategically deploying superchargers around the country.

Would I do this trip again in my Kona? Nope. I'd rent a Tesla.