My new Kona Electric and my first impressions

adoreizi said:
Those who just received their Konas, any real life experience on range? Specifically highway range (65+ mph)?
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There's a Youtube video by a guy who coaxed 500km out of one. That was in Scandinavia and he was using climate control and driving mostly at highway speeds.
 
When you're talking to people who have been waiting 8 months for their cars you might not want to be quite so glib about buying a car off the lot on a whim! I joke. We'll, a black joke. You sound like you're enjoying the car. That's a good thing.
 
Wildeyed said:
When you're talking to people who have been waiting 8 months for their cars you might not want to be quite so glib about buying a car off the lot on a whim! I joke. We'll, a black joke. You sound like you're enjoying the car. That's a good thing.
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Well, where's the fun if you can't gloat a little? ;-)

It was a complete fluke that one was available in my small city. Someone had ordered it and cancelled when they decided to wait for the Preferred model.
 
  • The dashboard display interface is easy to use, and helpful: long-press the enter key to see concise explanations.
  • It was odd to find no way of showing the time on the dashboard. Time is shown at the top of the screen when it's on or as a very big screensaver (optional) when it's off.
 
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E-Shark said:
Has anyone ordered the premium all weather mats with their Kona?? If anyone has gotten them let me know if it is worth it.
Weathertech is still in the production stages so might not be out for a bit.
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Haven't heard anyone say they're available.
 
SkookumPete said:
Unlike touching the brake, pulling back on the left paddle doesn't cancel cruise.
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I have to correct myself. The paddles do nothing in CC. The only way to pause CC is to touch the brake pedal.

I just did my first longish trip, about 250 km on roads varying from 110 km/h freeways to winding mountain highways. Kona reports that consumption averaged 14.9 kWh per 100 km. At BC Hydro residential prices, and assuming 80 percent charging efficiency, that works out to CDN $2.60 per 100 km. Compare the Prius, which at current local gas prices costs $6-$7 for the same distance.
 
SkookumPete said:
I have to correct myself. The paddles do nothing in CC. The only way to pause CC is to touch the brake pedal.

I just did my first longish trip, about 250 km on roads varying from 110 km/h freeways to winding mountain highways. Kona reports that consumption averaged 14.9 kWh per 100 km. At BC Hydro residential prices, and assuming 80 percent charging efficiency, that works out to CDN $2.60 per 100 km. Compare the Prius, which at current local gas prices costs $6-$7 for the same distance.
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I am going to put that correction in all bold letters. THE LEFT PADDLE WILL NOT SLOW YOU DOWN ON A CURVE IF YOU ARE USING ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL. YOU MUST USE THE BRAKE TO SLOW DOWN.

I read your comments yesterday and thought "how cool is that. We can use the left paddle to slow ourselves down when we are using cruise control on a curving windy road. I even mentioned that to my husband and he thought that was great. We newbies (speaking as a newbie without her car yet) could get into a dangerous situation if we tried that thus the bold for others who may have read your comments. Thanks for getting back to us with the correction.
 
CJC said:
I am going to put that correction in all bold letters. THE LEFT PADDLE WILL NOT SLOW YOU DOWN ON A CURVE IF YOU ARE USING ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL. YOU MUST USE THE BRAKE TO SLOW DOWN.

I read your comments yesterday and thought "how cool is that. We can use the left paddle to slow ourselves down when we are using cruise control on a curving windy road. I even mentioned that to my husband and he thought that was great. We newbies (speaking as a newbie without her car yet) could get into a dangerous situation if we tried that thus the bold for others who may have read your comments. Thanks for getting back to us with the correction.
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The thing I have a little bit of trouble with is using the paddles on a curve or bend. The paddle rotates with the steering wheel, I have reached for the paddle a couple of times to find it’s not there!
 
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zoominbc said:
The thing I have a little bit of trouble with is using the paddles on a curve or bend. The paddle rotates with the steering wheel, I have reached for the paddle a couple of times to find it’s not there!
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Sounds like using the brake pretty regularly will be a smart thing to do.
 
zoominbc said:
The thing I have a little bit of trouble with is using the paddles on a curve or bend. The paddle rotates with the steering wheel, I have reached for the paddle a couple of times to find it’s not there!
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On my road trip today I found I barely touched the paddles. Relying on the brake pedal for sudden slowdowns is instinctive and I think safer, and mostly applies regen, so should be as economical. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
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zoominbc said:
Now that some of us have been lucky enough to drive the Kona a little I would be interested to hear about reactions from people that have seen it. On the road I haven’t noticed anyone actually spotting it maybe because it looks like all the other small SUV’s out there. I have had quite a few conversations with people and there seems to be a surprising number of people who are quite sceptical. I don’t think we have reached a point yet where most people are thinking “my next car will be electric”. Can owners share their experience?
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I just had a great 40+ minute long conversation with a gentleman at an ikea parking lot while I was using the free level-3 chargers. He approached me saying “is that what I think it is?!” After I mentioned that this was the first Kona EV in Ontario, he proceeded to tell me that he placed his order and has been waiting for his. He was thrilled to see one in person. I showed him some features and answered as many questions as I could. It was really neet! I felt like a bit of a celebrity ahah.

Other than that I’ve had the odd double-takes from people in parking lots when they notice my car is silent or that or doesn’t have a grille like every other car on the road.

It’s a cool feeling! I kind of also appreciate the fact that these won’t be here in quite the same numbers as the Tesla’s which are a dime a dozen these days.
 
E-Shark said:
Has anyone ordered the premium all weather mats with their Kona?? If anyone has gotten them let me know if it is worth it.
Weathertech is still in the production stages so might not be out for a bit.
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I ordered mine when I picked up my Kona EV (Ontario). They’re being shipped to my house. They do look really nice I must say. They look a little more classy than the boring black plastic weathertech mats that I’ve had in every other car. I saw them in an ICE Kona at the dealership and they were really slick. I have the cargo tray and it’s nice. Will comment on the mats when they arrive this week :)
 
I'll be getting the the mats from Tuxmat. They don't have them yet as they are in preproduction (I think they scanned just this week), so in the meantime I'll install some adhesive carpet covering film. You can find them at: Tuxmat.ca
 
Brennan Raposo said:
I ordered mine when I picked up my Kona EV (Ontario). They’re being shipped to my house. They do look really nice I must say. They look a little more classy than the boring black plastic weathertech mats that I’ve had in every other car. I saw them in an ICE Kona at the dealership and they were really slick. I have the cargo tray and it’s nice. Will comment on the mats when they arrive this week :)
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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?
 
Tangled said:
I'll be getting the the mats from Tuxmat. They don't have them yet as they are in preproduction (I think they scanned just this week), so in the meantime I'll install some adhesive carpet covering film. You can find them at: Tuxmat.ca
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Are you sure? I e-mailed them on Jan 30th, and they said they were still looking for someone to bring in their Kona EV so they could laser measure it. If anyone here lives close to Scarborough, I would call or e-mail them, and let them use your vehicle if they still need. They had said it only takes a couple of hours to measure, and you would come in once more to test the fit. They will also give you a free set of mats!!!
 
Brennan Raposo said:
I just had a great 40+ minute long conversation with a gentleman at an ikea parking lot while I was using the free level-3 chargers. He approached me saying “is that what I think it is?!” After I mentioned that this was the first Kona EV in Ontario, he proceeded to tell me that he placed his order and has been waiting for his. He was thrilled to see one in person. I showed him some features and answered as many questions as I could. It was really neet! I felt like a bit of a celebrity ahah.

Other than that I’ve had the odd double-takes from people in parking lots when they notice my car is silent or that or doesn’t have a grille like every other car on the road.

It’s a cool feeling! I kind of also appreciate the fact that these won’t be here in quite the same numbers as the Tesla’s which are a dime a dozen these days.
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LOL I love it. Considering you put down your deposit in OCTOBER and are already the self-claimed FIRST KONA EV IN ONTARIO!!!! I hope they had a photo op for you and ribbons and balloons and pictures in the media. If not I think you should stage your own ;). Maybe even consider getting a badge to put on the back "1st KONA EV"??!! Keep enjoying it and eating it up!!
 
E-Shark said:
LOL I love it. Considering you put down your deposit in OCTOBER and are already the self-claimed FIRST KONA EV IN ONTARIO!!!! I hope they had a photo op for you and ribbons and balloons and pictures in the media. If not I think you should stage your own ;). Maybe even consider getting a badge to put on the back "1st KONA EV"??!! Keep enjoying it and eating it up!!
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And when I get mine people will come up to me at Ikea and say "Where'd you get that antique POS?"
 
My sister was just asking me about the state of my Kona saga. I told her it was like camping out overnight at the Apple store to get the new iPhone, running home excited only to find your grandma playing with her own iPhone she picked up at Walmart last week.
 
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?
 
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