New kid on the bloc

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Tomek

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Last Tuesday and today I had the pleasure to drive the Hyundai Kona Electric for the first time. Although it may not be interesting for the users of this forum in itself, you may be interested in the fact that this is a version of the car produced in the Czech Republic and intended for the European market. Unfortunately, the car is in the lowest configuration for the 204PS / 64kWh engine (which does not mean, however, that it is poorly equipped). If it really is missing something, then maybe only heating steering wheel and seats, Active Cruise Control and the photochromatic rear view mirror. Without a heat pump, LED headlights, a glass sunroof, satellite navigation and electric seat adjustment, one can live, especially if this guy is up to a quarter cheaper than the fully equipped version. BTW – with (included) Android Auto you can comfortably use Google Maps.

While on Tuesday I had to move very carefully, because the car was fitted with the cheapest Chinese winter tires, which I could not trust, today I could add a little more gas after changing the tires to the highly rated Bridgestone Blizzak. And this despite the fact that at night it was snowing a bit and it became winter on the roads. Well - the tires are still not worn out, but I can recommend them now. On wet and slippery surfaces with slush, they perform flawlessly (although I haven't checked hard braking yet). When accelerating, even quite sharp, they can cope despite the difficult surface. And we all know what the Kona electric's 395Nm of torque is capable of.

As for the changes made to the "Czech" version of the car, I noticed the lack of the option to recharge the 12V battery in the system menu. Instead, the computer automatically checks the condition of the battery once in a while and recharges it from the high-voltage battery when necessary. I wonder if this will solve the known problem with the discharge of the 12V battery.

The options also lack a system for generating an artificial engine sound (not that I need it). If I wanted something in return, it would be to adjust the color of the button illumination. Standard blue or violet-blue, if you prefer, although more pleasing to the eye than those in VW products, I don't like it very much.

When it comes to energy consumption, in today's 70 km route, with AC and heating constantly on, it was about 20kWh / 100km. In more favorable weather conditions it would probably be closer to 15. And I wasn't driving too nicely today, the computer indicated that I drove at least 10% of the route "aggressively", which means dynamic overtaking and minor problems with strict adherence to speed limits ;-) BTW, this version of the vehicle also does not have a road sign recognition system, although this option seems to be useful.

If I can drive the Kona electric for longer, I will certainly have further comments and questions.
 
If the tires were Nexen, then they are not 'Chinese', they are Korean. Low rolling resistance tires are never meant for snowy conditions.
 
Ed C said:
If the tires were Nexen, then they are not 'Chinese', they are Korean. Low rolling resistance tires are never meant for snowy conditions.
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No, it was winter Fortune tires, maybe not so bad for that price, but not for a car with 395Nm of torque. As a factory equipment Hyundai gave Michelin Primacy 4 (summer tires). Winter tires were an obligatory equipment in a tender clause -- but without any additional conditions, so dealer gave the cheapest he found ;-)
 
Hi Tomek, thanks for the great review. Your car's trim levels sounds similar to the "essential" trim level in Canada. Which I am frankly surprised they even sell in Canada without a heat pump. I suppose in costal British Columbia you could get away with it in the winter but it would be pretty dodgy else wear. Not to mention here you only have to pay $1100 more for a very well equipped upgrade.
I am going to guess based on your forum name you may be in Poland so your winters are relatively mild and I am sure the car will serve you very well.
I also have the Blizzak ws90 tires and agree they are very good winter tires. Congratulations on the new car. Post some pictures when you can. Curious if your car is a 2021 model with the new front facelift?
 
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Unfortunately, this is still the 2020 version, although some believe that 2021 looks worse. I have mixed feelings - the Koreans introduced a few successful corrections, but they also left little things that in my opinion they could improve. It would definitely be worth having a more powerful charger on board as well as a larger multimedia screen, for that matter.
The heat pump sounds good, but I've heard feedback that it doesn't really give much in EV because it only works in a limited temperature range. There was a thread somewhere in which the author described the surprisingly meager results of the analysis of the energy benefits of using the pump, probably in VW ID.3. Nevertheless, I would rather have it, because Hyundai probably did it better than VW ;-)
Indeed, I am from Poland, but our winters have only been mild for a few years, recently there have been forecasts of severe frosts in the second half of January. Certainly, we could use much more snow, because we are suffering from drought, and in our climate the only remedy for it is snow winter.
I do not drive our white Kona permanently yet, but I hope that I will finally start, because it is incomparably better than my already worn-out Astra, and at the same time much cheaper to run.
 
Tomek said:
Unfortunately, this is still the 2020 version, although some believe that 2021 looks worse. I have mixed feelings - the Koreans introduced a few successful corrections, but they also left little things that in my opinion they could improve. It would definitely be worth having a more powerful charger on board as well as a larger multimedia screen, for that matter.
The heat pump sounds good, but I've heard feedback that it doesn't really give much in EV because it only works in a limited temperature range. There was a thread somewhere in which the author described the surprisingly meager results of the analysis of the energy benefits of using the pump, probably in VW ID.3. Nevertheless, I would rather have it, because Hyundai probably did it better than VW ;-)
Indeed, I am from Poland, but our winters have only been mild for a few years, recently there have been forecasts of severe frosts in the second half of January. Certainly, we could use much more snow, because we are suffering from drought, and in our climate the only remedy for it is snow winter.
I do not drive our white Kona permanently yet, but I hope that I will finally start, because it is incomparably better than my already worn-out Astra, and at the same time much cheaper to run.
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The heat pump is not a deal killer, it just introduces a increased level of efficiency that I will generalize in the 10-15% range depending on several variables most of which revolve around ambient temperatures being above 0C where it most efficient. I often and likely incorrectly assume that Kona's that come with a heat pump will also get a auxiliary resistance battery heater. Again in your "milder" climate(compared to my miserably cold Canada winters) I don't think battery heater is really necessary. Incidentally really like your choice of white. That would have been my second choice to our black on red Kona. :)
 
Thanks for the kind words, but white is the only varnish that does not require an additional payment, and my employer did not intend to pay extra for the color. However, in this white Kona looks really nice, as long as it is clean of course :) Besides, it seems that white is just fashionable recently.
 
apu said:
... I often and likely incorrectly assume that Kona's that come with a heat pump will also get a auxiliary resistance battery heater.... :)
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One piece of evidence that points to a PTC being installed is the orange high-voltage wiring.

Kona HVAC.webp
 
To be exact, there are two white colors in the price list for the version produced in the Czech Republic - chalk white and polar white, the former at no extra charge. There is a white one in the Korean production version, chalk white, also at no extra charge. Here you are the link to the offer: https://s7g10.scene7.com/is/content/hyundaiautoever/Cennik_KONA_Electric_PY2020pdf , look at pg 6. What's interesting are the differences in the offered colors in both production versions.

EDITED: Oh, now I read the price list and I can see that I lied - in both versions, white is for an additional fee, and without additional payment - red and gray :) However, we did not have to pay anything extra for white in our purchase, maybe the dealer treated it as a discount (this was the condition in the tender - color without additional payment). It's a pity, because if I had to personally choose, I would probably try red :)

2nd EDITED: OK, now I know where my mistake came from - I remembered that in the price list of the weaker version sold with the government bonus there was a batch of cars in white: https://s7g10.scene7.com/is/content/hyundaiautoever/Cennik_KONA_Electric_PY2020_green- carpdf
 
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From Kingston Ontario Canada. I was unaware when I ordered my 2018 base model Leaf S that it would not have a heat pump. Dressed for winter weather and using the heated seats and steering wheel enables me to forgo use of the heater down to freezing temperatures. If windows start to fog or face and legs start to freeze then I activate the heater and watch 20% of the range vanish from the GOM. Toggling the heat on and off in a 2021 Kia Niro at freezing temps resulted in about a 5% change in the GOM. The Niro in question was equipped with the winter package which added a fair chunk of $$$ to the base price.

Yes winter tires are a must. I swear I wouldn't be able to make it up an incline with frost on the road let alone snow with the stock tires. The original dealer had a special on winter tires. My first question was "Where are they made?" China. No way. 20 minutes away from Kingston Goodyear built a tire plant which almost single handedly revitalized the economy of the suffering small town it located next to. I'm a "buy local" guy and ordered the Goodyears and paid almost twice as much for sticking to my principles.

This model Leaf is only rated for 240km which I exceed easily in the warmer temps. When it's really cold the heater, higher rolling resistance of winter tires, higher resistance of cold air to movement and cold battery mean a range of about 180km. But the Leaf is good in the snow and absolutely reliable. I just get in and go no matter how cold it is. I don't bother pre-warming either.
 
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