Snappy responsive, super useful range, gravitas
Charging at home is easy, the Level II wall charger cost $700 on Amazon, plus $300 for the electrician, who was unfazed by the installation request despite almost zero EV presence in my county. When we are not at home (very rare for us) the proper/level charging cord is attached to the 'fueling' centers, so we do not have to worry about carrying various cords. We drive around with a regular-old 110 charging cord in the trunk. I once drove 90 miles to see a friend, connected to their 110, and had my 90 miles back the next day (22 hours of charge time).
Our driving habit includes a recurring, necessary, aggressive, highway entry. I try to keep other driving economical, but sometimes forget, and the husband is oblivious to economy. This is a zippy, fun car and also has a feeling of heft; the Ultimate has cooled seats which are amazing too! We get over 90 mpg equivalent, at our KWH electric rate.
Our driving habits result in over 260 miles of range on a full charge, although I've seen 274 calculated as well. Our most frequent trips are well under 60 miles ROUND trip; in these CoVid times, we only need a charge every 3 weeks. Because I wait until it's quite drained, a full charge with my Level II wall unit at home takes overnight, about 16 Hours. I'm so sorry that I can not recall the quantity of KWHs consumed.
Our farthest trip is 5x/yr to the airport 120 mi away. This metro area has many, various, charging opportunities - however we do not need them as we arrive back home with 20 miles or more to spare.
Manufacturers choose not to invest in sales of EVs in the intransigent 'anti-EV' states. FL dealerships are frighteningly un-knowledgeable about their own brand's EVs, where EVs are not for sale at all, with very few exceptions as of early 2020. Fortunately, I now understand that dealerships with Hybrid-authorized Technicians can, and do, provide maintenance to EV vehicles, even while the salesforce remains clueless. Yay.
Another plus - EV service & maintenance is less frequent than combustion, with the first Kona EV checkup at 15k miles. So, we crossed our fingers against getting an unlucky lemon, and we bought our Kona EV Ultimate in MA and had it transported to mid-FL for $1000. Why learn all-about long distance EV trip planning, when we don't even take long trips with a gas vehicle? Our thinking was, and remains, that we would rent a car if we needed to make such a trip and did not want to chart EV opportunities.
We recently overcame one of our FL-ownership anxieties, when we brought the Kona EV to Wallace Hyundai in Stuart FL for warranty repair work, where the experience and result were stellar. I was encouraged to bring the EV back for regular services, and assured that the Hybrid Technician employed there was more than ready for duty.
Recommended
Verified Owner
