Your brain made you buy a Kona, but did your heart want a Model 3?

R P said:
The M3 is more of a vanity car, that I think will wear off. It was actually my son's wife that really wanted it, and at least on the outside, looks pretty good (high end). If it was just up to my son, I think he would have gone with a Volt or Bolt at the time (Kona was not yet available).

To their credit, though, they are driving it a lot, and also taking good advantage of free charging (mostly L2 until just recently with their new Chadeomo adapter). They have already put 55,000 kms on it in just 14 months.

That's another disadvantage of the M3. It is not free at the Tesla superchargers (like the S and X), and can't use CCS plugs. The Chadeoma adapter only recently became available and he had to pay $600 for it, so will need a lot of free fast charging to make up for that.
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If it was the same final price as the Kona, I would have probably gone with the Model 3 for the looks.. The exterior looks really sharp, especially in dark blue but I don't regret in any way going with the Kona. The Kona is perfect for my needs and can't beat the underrated range...
 
BlueKonaEV said:
If it was the same final price as the Kona, I would have probably gone with the Model 3 for the looks.. The exterior looks really sharp, especially in dark blue but I don't regret in any way going with the Kona. The Kona is perfect for my needs and can't beat the underrated range...
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Yes, Teslas look good, but I would not like the big screen with no buttons. I like buttons and knobs, and can use them taking my eyes of the road for only a millisecond. Looking at a screen and selecting functions etc., would be a hazard in IMO.
 
KonaTom said:
Yes, Teslas look good, but I would not like the big screen with no buttons. I like buttons and knobs, and can use them taking my eyes of the road for only a millisecond. Looking at a screen and selecting functions etc., would be a hazard in IMO.
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i don't mind the screen but I would still want buttons in case that the screen freezes. You can't even open the glove compartment without it..
 
R P said:
But the big thing is that the range is not near as good as advertised. Supposed to be 525 kms, but usually falls far short of that in reality. I think the Kona range is just as good, maybe even better.
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Unlike the Kona! One of my biggest surprises has been the range. Advertised 415km at 100% SOC. I usually get 440km at 90% SOC and 490km at 100% SOC.
When we had temps in excess of 32 degrees, I was getting 515 + km at 100% SOC. Good job Hyundai!
 
Having had my Kona through the summer - I will say it's been an incredible camping/road trip car.
There have been several situations where my car has been the "chosen one" in a group of EV's. Mainly based on the interior space with the seats down.
I was going camping with a buddy who has a Model 3. We couldn't even fit the cooler in the back of his car - even with the sub-trunk lid removed. My car held enough gear for a 3 day camping trip with room to spare. In terms or range, we drove 3 hours up north and still had enough range to make it home. About 440 km total. Everyone, myself included, was surprised!
 
DelRider said:
"Justification" is a bit strong. Dollar for dollar, for what I would want based on what is possible, the Tesla was just beyond my means. It never really entered the picture. The Model S is a HALO vehicle I aspire to have one day, but it is out of my range moreso than a Model 3. The choices were Kona (a 1.5 hr drive away in another state), Niro (a 2 hr drive away in another state), and a Bolt (next door). The Bolt is a fine vehicle, but online reviews convinced me that the Koreans had a bit more finesse, particularly w.r.t. suspension, and worth the short drive. The Niro was the true target, but the Kona dealer made sure that I did not leave without a mid-level Kona. All in all, three choices and each was a winner, regardless of final outcome; a very nice position to be in.
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Brennan Raposo said:
Unlike the Kona! One of my biggest surprises has been the range. Advertised 415km at 100% SOC. I usually get 440km at 90% SOC and 490km at 100% SOC.
When we had temps in excess of 32 degrees, I was getting 515 + km at 100% SOC. Good job Hyundai!
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I think they likely put it lower because it sort of averages out over the seasons.. 300km in winter, 500km in summer = roughly 400km (415, I know) :)
 
robxb said:
I think they likely put it lower because it sort of averages out over the seasons.. 300km in winter, 500km in summer = roughly 400km (415, I know) :)
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I'm not sure how this is determined for EV's.. I'm pretty sure that ICE cars EPA values are tested without the use of AC or Heat.
For all the time I've owned ICE cars, it was extremely difficult to get the advertised mpg..
However, on the Kona, I'm getting a much better mi/kwh and range than specified..
 
Kona EV Unlimited - Purchased May 2019.
Frankly, I think the Kona looks better. It definitely has longer range than the M3, it's cheaper. It has more luxury features. It's got more room inside. Hyundai is far less likely than Tesla to go belly up. In the US it has an unlimited battery warranty, (yes, I know there is an argument about when warranty kicks in, but even if it is just for complete battery failure, it is still better.) Federal tax credit on Kona is $7500. For the M3 it is $1875. For me, it was a no brainer.

The M3 is one second faster and has 140 top speed...great for those taking their EV to the track, but that extra performance adds no real value in every day driving. The Kona will snap your head back off the line just fine in Sport mode.

The only upside to the M3 is access to the supercharging network. Here in MD near Washington D.C. I have yet to find a DC charger for my Kona that works or is accessible. But there are 240volt chargers literally everywhere, and most of them are free. Besides, DC charging is terrible for the life of the battery, so if you have an M3 and you are charging with DC all the time, you are killing your car.
 
SkookumPete said:
That's a subject for another thread, but you are overstating the case.
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Most M3 owners are charging at home most of the time just like other EV owners. However, those with free supercharging will likely be charging on Superchargers more frequently..
 
The refined manufacturing processes that conventional car makers had as their one major advantage is quickly being lost as Tesla are improving their product quality rapidly. (Remember 1980s Hyundai?) The lower tax credit is simply proof that they have shipped a lot of cars, little else. Their investments in production capacity and R&D will allow them a continuing lead, nevermind the ability of their lean management and retail process to turn on a dime. The supercharger network gives their owners a significant advantage, whether free or not. It doesn't hurt that they have created great looking cars that have stunning performance and can sell and deliver you one at the click of a mouse button.
It may not quite be a Kodak moment yet for the others but I doubt we would be seeing such a large number of recent and upcoming EV models without Tesla's amazing success.
I have been skeptical until they started shipping large numbers of the long-promised Model 3 without any major reliability issues. Now that RHD threes are finally shipping down here to NZ, one of the furthest corners of the Earth, I'm convinced that they are well past the high risk point of continued success.
 
As to the original question in the forum -- I've been wavering between the M3, Leaf+ and Kona as my next car for a couple of months now. I test drove a Leaf (they didn't have the +) yesterday, but wasn't in love with it. Today I'm test driving a Kona in a package that is awful close to my desired configuration (Ultimate, gray, black leather interior). This one has the light interior instead. So I'm hoping to have enough self control that if I like it, I won't drive away with it today. :)
Currently driving an Avalon hybrid, which I love, but has 110k miles on it.
Reading through all the threads on here the last couple of days has been super helpful in understanding the Kona better!
As for the M3, I'm concerned about spare parts, higher cost (esp. w/o the tax incentive), long term company stability, etc, etc. And the lack of buttons to control things as simple as the glove box isn't great either. But darn, the self-driving capability is compelling....
 
Robbert said:
As to the original question in the forum -- I've been wavering between the M3, Leaf+ and Kona as my next car for a couple of months now. I test drove a Leaf (they didn't have the +) yesterday, but wasn't in love with it. Today I'm test driving a Kona in a package that is awful close to my desired configuration (Ultimate, gray, black leather interior). This one has the light interior instead. So I'm hoping to have enough self control that if I like it, I won't drive away with it today. :)
Currently driving an Avalon hybrid, which I love, but has 110k miles on it.
Reading through all the threads on here the last couple of days has been super helpful in understanding the Kona better!
As for the M3, I'm concerned about spare parts, higher cost (esp. w/o the tax incentive), long term company stability, etc, etc. And the lack of buttons to control things as simple as the glove box isn't great either. But darn, the self-driving capability is compelling....
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I find the light interior brightens it up inside with the dark tint on the windows.
 
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