The First Few Days

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Clamps

Clamps

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So how have the first few days been? There are a couple of things that jumped out both good and bad.

The good!
I was so pleased using blue link on my phone and inputing a POI and have the route ready on the car's gps when we left the house. Can't tell you how many times my wife and I have bumbled around in our other cars in the past putting the destination into the gps.

How easy it was to program the garage door opener into the homelink buttons on the rearview mirror. Still haven't figured out our 2015 Audi.

The sound system is off the charts good. Even my wife noted when she said, "I think this sounds better than my Audi". It does and her Audi sounds good.

The efficiency. Duh! Everyone knows. I'm getting around 4.9 miles/kW hour (is that the correct way to phrase) in mixed driving.

The bad.
A few aesthetics that I think are poor. The dimples on the front "grill". The rims, they are ugly, more dimples/divots, whatever. They look like cheap plastic covers. The interior looks kinda cheap. The plastic cladding over the wheels. The rear bumper. The car is just a bit too overdesigned in places.

Dislike that my preferred settings reset every time I turn off the car. I live on a very steep hill and forget that the car reverts to regen level 1 and a few times have almost rolled through the stop sign at the bottom thinking I was at level 3. Stupid AC fan always blasts like you're in a wind tunnel when you first turn it on.

The VES, I simply dislike that these exist. I understand the concept but disagree with the need. I don't think they work as intended anyway.

Why can't I have a battery percentage on the main dash?

Really bad power management from the motor to the wheels. Too much wheel spin.

The Surprising!!!
Those electric windows are fast opening and closing. Watch your fingers man, those things fly.

Undecided.
The charge port. I don't like how flimsy it is and I'm not fond of the caps with cords. I do like that you can hook the cap on the inside of the charging port cover when you remove it from the charger connection. Not sure I like the port at the front of the car. I get that it's easier for charging stations but I will be doing most of my charging at home and it's just not convenient, I'm sure I will adapt to this.

That's about it... but those windows, man they open and close so fast.
 
I agree with most of your observations. It's a great car. The "hidden" SOC display is really a bummer.

However, a couple of notes:
- you should be able to change your preferred Regen settings for each Drive mode in the setup menu on the entertainment system. This will prevail anything but a 12V battery disconnect or dealer BMS update (ask how I know)
- the AC setting should need the same as when you left the car. At least that's what mine is doing. UNLESS you preheat/precool the car using bluelink. That will reset it to max.
- outside design: that's why mine is black. Hides some of the weird design elements.
- spinning wheels: the nexen tires are not great. Switching tires might help

Happy driving!
 
Clamps said:
Really bad power management from the motor to the wheels. Too much wheel spin.
Click to expand...
I do all my my driving on ECO mode, and set the default regen to 3 (does not change). You have much more control of wheel spin, and with the regen, results in smoother driving. And oh, you still get full power when you tromp it.
 
Agreed that the appearance is not in the Tesla class but I would rather have it than the Niro with its bland profile tarted up with random bits of blue plastic.

More info could be put on the binnacle menu, including SoC, but if you program the star key to bring that up on the AV screen it's pretty easy to get to. The compass has a whole page to itself and I wish they would add a clock so the AV "screensaver" can be turned off. I can't remember the last time I had a car without a dashboard clock.
 
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Clamps said:
So how have the first few days been? There are a couple of things that jumped out both good and bad.

The good!
I was so pleased using blue link on my phone and inputing a POI and have the route ready on the car's gps when we left the house. Can't tell you how many times my wife and I have bumbled around in our other cars in the past putting the destination into the gps.

How easy it was to program the garage door opener into the homelink buttons on the rearview mirror. Still haven't figured out our 2015 Audi.

The sound system is off the charts good. Even my wife noted when she said, "I think this sounds better than my Audi". It does and her Audi sounds good.

The efficiency. Duh! Everyone knows. I'm getting around 4.9 miles/kW hour (is that the correct way to phrase) in mixed driving.

The bad.
A few aesthetics that I think are poor. The dimples on the front "grill". The rims, they are ugly, more dimples/divots, whatever. They look like cheap plastic covers. The interior looks kinda cheap. The plastic cladding over the wheels. The rear bumper. The car is just a bit too overdesigned in places.

Dislike that my preferred settings reset every time I turn off the car. I live on a very steep hill and forget that the car reverts to regen level 1 and a few times have almost rolled through the stop sign at the bottom thinking I was at level 3. Stupid AC fan always blasts like you're in a wind tunnel when you first turn it on.

The VES, I simply dislike that these exist. I understand the concept but disagree with the need. I don't think they work as intended anyway.

Why can't I have a battery percentage on the main dash?

Really bad power management from the motor to the wheels. Too much wheel spin.

The Surprising!!!
Those electric windows are fast opening and closing. Watch your fingers man, those things fly.

Undecided.
The charge port. I don't like how flimsy it is and I'm not fond of the caps with cords. I do like that you can hook the cap on the inside of the charging port cover when you remove it from the charger connection. Not sure I like the port at the front of the car. I get that it's easier for charging stations but I will be doing most of my charging at home and it's just not convenient, I'm sure I will adapt to this.

That's about it... but those windows, man they open and close so fast.
Click to expand...
Pinched my finger a few times I agree they are pretty fast. :(
The dimples however are a unique engineering marvel:
https://insideevsforum.com/community/index.php?threads/number-of-kona-dimple-depressions.5968/
 
Esprit1st said:
I agree with most of your observations. It's a great car. The "hidden" SOC display is really a bummer.

However, a couple of notes:
- you should be able to change your preferred Regen settings for each Drive mode in the setup menu on the entertainment system. This will prevail anything but a 12V battery disconnect or dealer BMS update (ask how I know)
- the AC setting should need the same as when you left the car. At least that's what mine is doing. UNLESS you preheat/precool the car using bluelink. That will reset it to max.
- outside design: that's why mine is black. Hides some of the weird design elements.
- spinning wheels: the nexen tires are not great. Switching tires might help

Happy driving!
Click to expand...

Yes, I had complained about the Regen settings resetting each time till someone on here pointed out how to do it. The info is well hidden in the owner's manual -- it's actually in the supplementary manual about the infotainment system, which is where those settings are controlled. As I've said before, I actually think the owner's manual is the worst thing about the Kona.
 
A little bit of PhotoShop hack and slash. I really rushed the grey plastic cladding conversion but it's close enough.

konacustom.jpg
 
Clamps said:
A little bit of PhotoShop hack and slash. I really rushed the grey plastic cladding conversion but it's close enough.

konacustom.jpg
Click to expand...
I saw a picture of one of the earlier prototypes and it had a smooth font just like that.. It appears that Hyundai decided later that they were going to add the dimples..
 
R P said:
Dimples can reduce drag. Look again at a golf ball. Dimples create a boundary layer of air that reduces friction and binds wind flow that reduces turbulence.
Click to expand...
If they have the same affect as my golf game (developed a bad slice over the years), I would constantly be driving on the right shoulder:confused:
 
R P said:
Dimples can reduce drag. Look again at a golf ball. Dimples create a boundary layer of air that reduces friction and binds wind flow that reduces turbulence.
Click to expand...

Bjorn Nyland recently did an efficiency test with an Audi e-Tron Sportback, he wanted to see if it was more efficient with the deeply recessed Audi logo on the front grill covered and uncovered. It had no negligible effect. I wonder if he could be encouraged to do the same with a Kona?
 
Clamps said:
Bjorn Nyland recently did an efficiency test with an Audi e-Tron Sportback, he wanted to see if it was more efficient with the deeply recessed Audi logo on the front grill covered and uncovered. It had no negligible effect. I wonder if he could be encouraged to do the same with a Kona?
Click to expand...
Not sure how a layman on the road could test this, too many uncontrollable causal factors. You need a wind tunnel with highly sensitive push/pull sensors.
 
R P said:
Not sure how a layman on the road could test this, too many uncontrollable causal factors. You need a wind tunnel with highly sensitive push/pull sensors.
Click to expand...

If you watched his Audi video you would know he wasn't too serious. I would add, if the efficiency gain is so minimal then they are simply a design exercise and open to subjective criticism. I suppose either way they are open to subjective criticism.
 
Clamps said:
If you watched his Audi video you would know he wasn't too serious. I would add, if the efficiency gain is so minimal then they are simply a design exercise and open to subjective criticism. I suppose either way they are open to subjective criticism.
Click to expand...
Yeah, who knows... I doubt that it makes much diff. I actually like the dimples. Makes it look a bit "distinctive".
 
I use Liquid Glass to wax my car. It is non-abrasive goes on easy and is very long lasting. I just use a terry cloth towel to remove the residue after applying. No need to pay special attention to the dimples, the residue comes off easily. By far the best wax I've ever used!
 
Every car has its quirks. Once you've experienced six months with the Kona most of those bad or undecided items mentioned will no longer be an issue.
 
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