Tim94549
Active Member
Ditto... They wouldn't budge much from MSRP. The great thing though that we factored in was the Fed Tax credit & the STATE Rebate = $11,500 ... That made a huge difference in the final out of pocket.
First Long(ish) Trip
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Ditto... They wouldn't budge much from MSRP. The great thing though that we factored in was the Fed Tax credit & the STATE Rebate = $11,500 ... That made a huge difference in the final out of pocket.
Geoff Marshall
Member
Did two long winter trips. Thanksgiving 2019 from Little Deer Isle, ME to Montreal, QC round-trip. Then January 2020 from Little Deer Isle, ME to Springfield, MA round-trip. Because I'm a pragmatist, I set the AC charging to 100% before leaving on the long journeys. Normally, I set the AC charging to 80% to be nice to the battery, but who cares? Lifetime battery warranty. I set the DC to 100% because even past 80% SOC, the DC charger is still pretty darn fast and I want every electron I can get.
Montreal was a lot of fun going up the Carabasset Valley and then into Canada. Charged in Skowhegan, ME for 40 minutes and then in Sherbrooke, QC over dinner. Then on to Montreal in a blizzard. Although I drove the Kona home in the snow, this was my first time out in a blizzard, so I was a little worried about the Kona's handling, but it felt solid and no spinouts.
Booked into a hotel that advertised L2 charging and they valet parked the Kona and actually charged it up to 100%.
On the way back, the charger at Sherbrooke, QC was impacted with a Leaf and a eGolf. So we took a long lunch and a Sunday walk through the mall. Then on to Skowhegan, ME where we DC charged over dinner. Then helped a guy with a new Audi eTron to charge. We were unable to get the Audi to charge on the Chargepoint charger. Major bummer but he only lived a few miles away and was on a reconnaissance run before picking his son up in Portland, ME the next week. Told him to talk to his dealer (car dealer) ASAP.
The Springfield, MA trip was equally uneventful EV-wise. Charged on the way down in Agusta, ME (urination pit stop) then Kennebunk, ME service plaza (lunch) then overnight in Northfield, MA on 120V (got about 35 miles out of that); pretty useless. Down in Springfield, MA (actually, Chicopee)was super excited to use an Electrify America (EA) charger but the darn thing couldn't read any of my cards and had to call tech support and the charge was insanely expensive. My Kona doen't qualify for the EA discount. So I'll stick with EVGo and Chargepoint. Did I mention this was happening in a torrential downpour? The next day, same two chargers: Kennebunk and Augusta.
A great time was had by all. The Kona kicks a$$.
Montreal was a lot of fun going up the Carabasset Valley and then into Canada. Charged in Skowhegan, ME for 40 minutes and then in Sherbrooke, QC over dinner. Then on to Montreal in a blizzard. Although I drove the Kona home in the snow, this was my first time out in a blizzard, so I was a little worried about the Kona's handling, but it felt solid and no spinouts.
Booked into a hotel that advertised L2 charging and they valet parked the Kona and actually charged it up to 100%.
On the way back, the charger at Sherbrooke, QC was impacted with a Leaf and a eGolf. So we took a long lunch and a Sunday walk through the mall. Then on to Skowhegan, ME where we DC charged over dinner. Then helped a guy with a new Audi eTron to charge. We were unable to get the Audi to charge on the Chargepoint charger. Major bummer but he only lived a few miles away and was on a reconnaissance run before picking his son up in Portland, ME the next week. Told him to talk to his dealer (car dealer) ASAP.
The Springfield, MA trip was equally uneventful EV-wise. Charged on the way down in Agusta, ME (urination pit stop) then Kennebunk, ME service plaza (lunch) then overnight in Northfield, MA on 120V (got about 35 miles out of that); pretty useless. Down in Springfield, MA (actually, Chicopee)was super excited to use an Electrify America (EA) charger but the darn thing couldn't read any of my cards and had to call tech support and the charge was insanely expensive. My Kona doen't qualify for the EA discount. So I'll stick with EVGo and Chargepoint. Did I mention this was happening in a torrential downpour? The next day, same two chargers: Kennebunk and Augusta.
A great time was had by all. The Kona kicks a$$.
Hi that is something I have been wondering about--the Kona EV in the snow. You are saying there are no problems? anyone else have any feedback on this?
ericy
Well-Known Member
Our Canadian cousins would have a lot more to say on the subject, but the main issue I believe is that the stock tires that come with the thing aren't that great in the snow.
Bruce M.
Well-Known Member
Yes! And in NorCal you can also get $800 from PG&E.
Here I'm southern California, SCE is giving us $1,000, new or used.
Geoff Marshall
Member
Not too bad. You have to know how to drive in snow or you're gonna be in trouble no matter what. Electrics are just better in snow because you have precise, infinite speed control. I'm a contractor and I use the Kona as my truck. Racks and tow hitch. We were building a house with a long uphill driveway. Half a mile with probably 5% grade. There was only one snow day I couldn't make it up. Slap it in eco mode and press the accelerator just enough to turn the wheels. Do not spin. Probably should set regen to zero so you don't accidentally break traction on the front; you want braking to happen on all four tires. Remember, it's not the getting going you should worry about, it's the stopping.
Recently, I did get stuck trying to pull a trailer up a muddy driveway. Rocked the rig back and forth and then with two guys pushing the trailer, managed to break free.
I used to own a VW Vanagon Syncro, which was totally dominant. The Kona's no Syncro.
R P
Well-Known Member
Our ICE car is a Subaru, so in serious snow or going up into the mountains for skiing, that's what we use. But last winter, our Kona on stock Nexens did just fine in town where we had a couple mild dustings on the road. Our street has a little hill going out and then down to a stop sign, so it can be a little tricky when it is icy. But never had to resort to the Subaru last winter. Our previous Prius on the other hand had a lot of trouble on our street. Its TCS would just stop the car if it wanted to spin, and you had to back down again.
Generally FWD is better than RWD in snow, and AWD is best. And of course winter tires really help in severe snow conditions.
Generally FWD is better than RWD in snow, and AWD is best. And of course winter tires really help in severe snow conditions.
SkookumPete
Well-Known Member
R P
Well-Known Member
Yup, I did the same and had to put it into "maintenance mode" to disable TCS. But yeah, the stupid thing would just stop if it encountered slippery conditions, and you couldn't even "rock" it. Newer ones finally had the TCS disable button, like all cars now have.
apu
Well-Known Member
We get alot of snow in my parts and with good dedicated snow tires the Kona does very well. I was able to plow through just about everything last winter had to give. Our CRV AWD with snow tires is clearly better and our Tundra with 4WD ,winter rated all terrain tires is virtually unstoppable unless its off road and more than 2 feet of hard pack snow on the ground. At that point it will get hung up on the differential pumpkin and get very stuck. Ask me how I know
Bruce M.
Well-Known Member
So, I just got back from Monterey, the first time since I bought the car that I actually needed to charge away from home. The drive from my house to my hotel was just over 115 miles, and I did probably 150 or so sightseeing miles while there. Happily, it turns out Monterey is a pretty EV-friendly town. Two city parking lots in the picturesque part of downtown -- close to lots of restaurants and Fisherman's Wharf -- have free level 2 charges, and all but one time I was in the area there was at least one plug free. So I was able to sightsee, have dinner, etc., while charging at no cost, and managed to get at least half the total power I used on the trip for free.
I do wonder if the stations would have been busier in a normal tourist season, but the restaurants offering sidewalk dining were doing a healthy business, and the crowds at Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row seemed pretty healthy (happily, everyone was masked, but it still made me a bit nervous), so business didn't seem too depressed.
When I left my house, my GOM showed 290 miles range charged to 100%. Calculating the full range based on the charge that was left when I got home, it had dropped to 278 -- not much of a loss of range compared to what others have reported on highway trips. But I kept my speed under control and didn't need to use the AC more than about 5 minutes, so that no doubt helped.
All in all it was an enlightening experience. There were lots of other places I could have charged just a bit more out of the way had I needed (mostly not free), but being able to do it conveniently and free all the time was an unexpected bonus.
I do wonder if the stations would have been busier in a normal tourist season, but the restaurants offering sidewalk dining were doing a healthy business, and the crowds at Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row seemed pretty healthy (happily, everyone was masked, but it still made me a bit nervous), so business didn't seem too depressed.
When I left my house, my GOM showed 290 miles range charged to 100%. Calculating the full range based on the charge that was left when I got home, it had dropped to 278 -- not much of a loss of range compared to what others have reported on highway trips. But I kept my speed under control and didn't need to use the AC more than about 5 minutes, so that no doubt helped.
All in all it was an enlightening experience. There were lots of other places I could have charged just a bit more out of the way had I needed (mostly not free), but being able to do it conveniently and free all the time was an unexpected bonus.
Monterey also has at least one, maybe two free quick chargers through the Drive the Arc program.
Bruce M.
Well-Known Member
Yes, that was pointed out to me, but in my case the locations weren't as convenient. But overall it's definitely an EV-friendly destination.
I see,maybe I am the crazy one that will go out of my way for a free quick charge....LOL
Bruce M.
Well-Known Member
I've been know to do that, if it's just a mile or two out of my way, but in this case I was able to get a free charge without going out of my way at all. Sometimes you get lucky!
I have found snow to be essentially a non issue. We live in Buffalo. The stock tires were not horrible, but I did change to all weather Toyo Celsius and the grip was awesome. The only only bad part of winter is the hit to range, probably a 30% loss, but still around 200 miles on a charge vs 300.
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Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
FloridaSun
Well-Known Member
It would be interesting to see how different charging strategies would affect total trip time..
I personally would try to charge less frequently but to a higher SoC. I understand that charging speed tapers at higher SoC and that you are losing time at higher SoC but I wonder if you lose more time than it takes you to make extra stops? I would like to compare such trip with 2 different Konas leaving on the same road trip at the same time with different charging strategy to see who arrives earlier. Maybe one day I'll drive my Kona to the West Coast and try the famous Las Vegas to LA trip.. If I'd leave Vegas at 100% I should be able to easily make it with one charging stop to LA.. Then charge to 100% in LA and then one more stop on the way back to Vegas..