Question for current Kona EV owners

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Trmn8er

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Hello everyone. My first post here. I am looking to lease a 2021 Kona EV. Lease decision is based on finances and some really compelling deals. A few questions and hopefully I get some feedback;

Do you love your Kona EV and would you buy or lease one again? What is your biggest gripe about the car? Any recommendations for options you would select? I am looking at base SEL. Is there another EV you wish you had bought instead?

A little more about my situation. I have a 68 mile daily commute round trip. 34 miles each way. Mostly freeway here in SoCal. I do not yet have a L2 charger. Based on days off and work hours, I’m pretty confident in my ability to keep the Kona charged even with L1. There is also a myriad of fast chargers near my home and work. I test drive a Jona and was blown away by the torque. Thanks in advance
 
Im from Denmark, own a 2020 Kona with pretty much everything but electric seats and HUD.
My daily commute is 210 kilometers, i love the car, relaxing and still packing plenty of punch due to that electric torque.
 
Trmn8er said:
Hello everyone. My first post here. I am looking to lease a 2021 Kona EV. Lease decision is based on finances and some really compelling deals. A few questions and hopefully I get some feedback;

Do you love your Kona EV and would you buy or lease one again? What is your biggest gripe about the car? Any recommendations for options you would select? I am looking at base SEL. Is there another EV you wish you had bought instead?

A little more about my situation. I have a 68 mile daily commute round trip. 34 miles each way. Mostly freeway here in SoCal. I do not yet have a L2 charger. Based on days off and work hours, I’m pretty confident in my ability to keep the Kona charged even with L1. There is also a myriad of fast chargers near my home and work. I test drive a Jona and was blown away by the torque. Thanks in advance
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Kona sounds perfect for your situation, you might want to consider looking at the ultimate version even if its just to get the adaptive cruise and lane keeping assist. I drive alot of highway on a weekly basis and those 2 items make a highway commute immensely more tolerable.
 
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Trmn8er said:
Hello everyone. My first post here. I am looking to lease a 2021 Kona EV. Lease decision is based on finances and some really compelling deals. A few questions and hopefully I get some feedback;

Do you love your Kona EV and would you buy or lease one again? What is your biggest gripe about the car? Any recommendations for options you would select? I am looking at base SEL. Is there another EV you wish you had bought instead?

A little more about my situation. I have a 68 mile daily commute round trip. 34 miles each way. Mostly freeway here in SoCal. I do not yet have a L2 charger. Based on days off and work hours, I’m pretty confident in my ability to keep the Kona charged even with L1. There is also a myriad of fast chargers near my home and work. I test drive a Jona and was blown away by the torque. Thanks in advance
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l leased my Kona in 2019. I definitely recommend the Kona. I have had no problems with mine and a friend of mine also has one and commutes about 200 miles a week and he is pleased with his as well. I have a Limited which suits me fine as I work form home and don't have to deal with traffic. i agree with apu if your commuting in heavy traffic active cruse control on the ultimate should be considered. You should be fine with a level one charger. It adds about 5.6 mile per hour of charge so if you can charge 11.5 hours a day either at home or work or a combination there of you will be fine. Even with limited charging the battery should be able to get you through the week. If your commute is surface streets or slow and go your range will increase significantly. If you have access to any type of 220 volt out let you can significantly increase your charging speeds. Even a 15 amp 220 out let will give you twice the charging speed over a 115 volt.

I don't have any real complaints about the Kona. It makes a great commuter car. I and I have been pleased with it on road trips as well.
 
I just completed a 1600 km round trip in my Kona (Ultimate trim). It is a very comfortable car to ride in, and handles well on the road. And with its great range, your commute is actually pretty short. That will give you many options for charging. I have had the car almost 2 years now, and like it even more now. I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone.
 
Trmn8er said:
... I have a 68 mile daily commute round trip. 34 miles each way. Mostly freeway here in SoCal. I do not yet have a L2 charger. Based on days off and work hours, I’m pretty confident in my ability to keep the Kona charged even with L1. ...
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That's a refreshing approach for a new EV owner as most seem to overestimate the charging thing. I only use the portable unit as well and my sister relies entirely on free chargers at malls with her i3.
 
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Trmn8er said:
Very cool to hear all the great feedback. Not sure I can afford the Ultimate so I may have to get the SEL. I hope to get it in the next 30 days as finances align. Thanks all!
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You will not be disappointed, I am driving my second one so yes I did buy again. Best of luck with your lease deal and look forward to the pictures:)
 
Trmn8er said:
Very cool to hear all the great feedback. Not sure I can afford the Ultimate so I may have to get the SEL. I hope to get it in the next 30 days as finances align. Thanks all!
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I love this car and you will too. It's a perfect size for me and my wife and our 23 pound dog. I got the Limited for the power seat, battery heater, leather seats, and wireless phone charger - sunroof was fine but could have done without it. But the SEL is loaded with great features and the lower price was very tempting. This car is so quick and so fun to drive, and really very practical, and the range is excellent. I could not be happier with this car.
Good luck with yours!
 
I have a 2019 Kona Ultimate. Both my wife and I have fallen in love with it. We took a trip to S.Cal last year. It was a breeze and the adaptive cruise, lane guidance and collision avoidance made driving in tight traffic a no brainer. I learned to drive in San Jose traffic and know too well how to drive in it. These features add a perfect edge to a relaxing drive on California Freeways. Traffic slows down, it slows down. Traffic speeds up, it speeds up.

We do charge with a level 2 charger almost all the time. Level 1 takes 3 days to charge it completely. We have used it in a pinch and you can get by. Many do. It is far cheaper to charge with home electricity than DC Fast chargers. Example (in Oregon) it costs us about $18 to charge at an EVgo to 80% charge and the same charge at home (off hours) $2.00. Many power companies in S.Ca do have programs both to save on night charging and to assist in purchase and installation of Level 2 chargers. And there is no question that Level 2 or Level 1 is better for your battery pack life than DC Fast charging.

I hear a lot of folks leasing in S. Cal but we purchased. New Kona Ultimate is about 47k less rebates most do not get with leasing 37k. With low interest rates this could be pretty reasonable. Add to that almost NO maintenance (no oil, filter, lube, tuneup, emission testing, no transmission to shift) and the cost to drive the car boils down to $2 per charge + tires + yearly registration + insurance + EV Road Taxes (if Calif.). This makes it far cheaper than a gasoline car. Food for thought.
 
We leased our SEL in 2019 and love the car, we'll lease another when we turn this one in next year. Because the dealer technically owns the car they get the Federal rebate, make sure they apply that to your lease agreement as ours did. We lease as opposed to buy because of the fast changing technology. I don't want to be stuck owning a dinosaur when they come out with a 500 mile battery that recharges in 4 minutes.

This car convinced us electric is the only way to go, no more gas cars for us. We're looking at the Mach e as we'll be back to a 2 car family when the pandemic is over. I will say the level 2 charger is a plus, if you ever make the 200 mile round trip to grandma's house level 1 will take 3-4 days to recharge. I don't like the level too low for very long in case of emergencies.

My major beef with the Kona is the back seat legroom, at 6'2" I can't even get in back there. So I don't. Long distance driving up front is fine, however.

When we average out over the year we get about 4 miles per kWh, obviously less in winter, more in summer. Our electricity rate is high, about 22 cents/kWh and no off peak rate. Even so when you do the math it's about 5-6 cents per mile. At $2.88/gallon your 30 mpg gas car is almost 10 cents, and that's not including maintenance costs which are far higher than EV's. The best part? I haven't been to a gas station in a long time. I don't miss it.
 
We bought the MY 2020 Ultimate in Dec 2019. Love love LOVE this car. (other than the BATTERY RECALL issue as you'll see on the Forum - which should NOT affect your purchase). It is very fun to drive & the ULTIMATE is very feature rich vs other EV's of the same price range. We got both the California REBATE ($2,000) as well as the FED TAX Credit ($7,500) when we filed in 2020. I haven't looked at the specs in the MY 2021 so really don't know what you get in the SEL vs ULTIMATE. But when We did for the 2020, there were a few things of significance - namely the DISPLAY is 10.25" & the LED lights as well as a few other upgrades. We also installed a L2 Charger in our garage & got a small tax rebate from California State. We had an electrician install a 50 AMP circuit & purchased a Charger on Amazon for around $399 ... works great & fast enough (easy to get from 20% to 80% in about 5 hours overnight).

Enjoy !!
 
The SEL is great. Plenty of features for us, and it keeps you in a very reasonable price range.
I think you might do fine with a L1 charger. If you're electrically handy, but aren't allowed to make changes to your house wiring (say, install a 15A, 220V receptacle), you can still get double charging speed out of the included charger by making a combiner that plugs into two 110 receptacles on opposite busses of your panel. It's a bit jury rigged, but safe to do if you are competent at home wiring.
 
Trmn8er said:
Hello everyone. My first post here. I am looking to lease a 2021 Kona EV. Lease decision is based on finances and some really compelling deals. A few questions and hopefully I get some feedback;

Do you love your Kona EV and would you buy or lease one again? What is your biggest gripe about the car? Any recommendations for options you would select? I am looking at base SEL. Is there another EV you wish you had bought instead?

A little more about my situation. I have a 68 mile daily commute round trip. 34 miles each way. Mostly freeway here in SoCal. I do not yet have a L2 charger. Based on days off and work hours, I’m pretty confident in my ability to keep the Kona charged even with L1. There is also a myriad of fast chargers near my home and work. I test drive a Jona and was blown away by the torque. Thanks in advance
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I have owned my 2019 Kona Electric Ultimate 17 months. I have had to take it to dealer 3 times for recall inspections/updates, leaving the car for 24-48 hours. It is a hassle and I foresee these recalls continuing. I would look at the Kia Nero which my brother purchased. It is a few inches longer with more rear leg room. Console nicer. NO RECALLS. Both vehicles built in South Korea.
 
Yea that’s not good. But I’m not considering a 2019. Only 2021 or even a 2022 depending on timing. We hope to lease in the next 30 days or less. Additionally, I like the Kona look more. That’s a personal thing so it’s subjective. Thanks for your feedback.
 
On another note, after reading a lot of threads here I hear a lot about heater affecting battery. Here in Southern California we have a Mediterranean climate and very mild winters. I may run heater initially just to warm my feet but honestly in my gas cars we have had we do not run a heater often. Does this climate make an EV an especially good choice in your opinion? Does it help miles per charge significantly? Thanks
 
Trmn8er said:
On another note, after reading a lot of threads here I hear a lot about heater affecting battery. Here in Southern California we have a Mediterranean climate and very mild winters. I may run heater initially just to warm my feet but honestly in my gas cars we have had we do not run a heater often. Does this climate make an EV an especially good choice in your opinion? Does it help miles per charge significantly? Thanks
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Cumulative sales of plug electric vehicles in California ending 2020 (835,000) is a positive indication of your decision:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug-in_electric_vehicles_in_California
Also still the #1 State with the highest proportion of hybrid and electric vehicles in the USA (6.53%) ... however several other states are hot on their heels :
https://insurify.com/insights/states-with-the-most-hybrid-or-electric-vehicles-2020/
No worries about heater usage related range reduction, maybe air conditioning?:D
 
I LOVE my Kona, which is also an SEL. I've never gotten an L2 charger and don't really need one. Sounds like you can probably get by without one too -- but of course if that doesn't work out you can always get one.
 
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