New Hyundai Kona Electric for Sale
Consumer Reviews for the Hyundai Kona Electric
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Tim B,06/07/2022
Limited 4dr SUV (electric DD)
TL;DR: I would not have bought this car if I knew the range was 3/4 to 9/10 of the rating.
Let me start by saying that the Kona is a great car. The Kona Electric, specifically, is not a great car. Be aware that when they say you get 258 miles on a "tank", you are going to get somewhere between 3/4 and 9/10 of that range on DAY ONE. I bought this car brand new. In the fall (40-60°F) I … get 75% of the mileage estimated by the car. In the winter (30-35°F) I get more like 60% of that range. On a 75°F day I only get 90% of the range. Not to mention that, as with all electric cars, the range will decrease over the life of the battery.
To clarify, I am not running the heater at full blast and expecting to get 260 miles. I can see when I change the heater setting that my estimated miles to empty changes.
Here's my test: I'm leaving the heater at a specific setting, checking what the car estimates the miles to empty are, monitoring my miles driven, and checking again what the car's estimate is at the end of a trip. For example, several times I have driven 30 miles and "lost" 40 miles from the estimated range. The only things running besides the heater are trickle-charging my cell phone, connecting Android Auto via a wired connection, and playing music at a reasonable volume. This is on a highway at 70mph. If the car is expecting me to drive 55mph to achieve that range, then there should be an adjustment based on how I'm using the car. If I've been driving at 70mph for the last hour, it should know that I plan to keep driving at 70mph. Also, since the range decreases with decreasing temperature, the car should account for that in the estimate.
Another thing worth mentioning is that when you get down in the 8%-ish battery range, it stops giving you a mileage estimate altogether. The car basically throws its hands up and says "Find a charging station immediately. Good luck!"
Aside from the range issues, I have a few other complaints.
-For one, the "traffic light camera ahead" notification is fine and dandy, except that it speaks over your music, and there's no way to turn the feature off. There is one traffic light in my city where it will repeat "DING! Traffic light camera ahead. DING! Traffic light camera ahead. DING!" for as long as you sit at the red light. Thank God I don't have that intersection in my daily commute route.
-Why no wireless Android Auto on the premium trim? The baseline trim has wireless, but the premium trim has wired only. There's virtually no way to get a wired AA connection to your phone if it's sitting in the wireless charger slot (especially if you have a larger phone like my Pixel 6 with a bumper case). For my own use, I 3D-printed basically a triangular prism that tilts up my phone enough to let the phone's USB-C slot stick up enough to plug in a cord, but that removes the ability to charge the phone wirelessly.
-The visibility out the back is poor. Test drive one to find out if this is an issue for you. The blind spot indicators on the side mirrors are helpful in this regard.
-A test drive will confirm this for you, but if you're over 6 ft tall, this is not the car for you.
Ok here are a few positives to consider:
-The electric motor (in my tests, with factory tires) gets 0 to 60mph in under 7 seconds. It's snappy, and responds instantly to the gas pedal. This is one major benefit of electric cars; no gear changes, no injecting fuel, it just GOES.
-The safety features are (mostly) great. The backup camera is good, and it will alert you if a car or pedestrian is crossing or about to cross when you're in Reverse. Lane assist, active cruise control, and automatically applying the brakes in certain situations; these are all options you can enable or disable in the menus or with the buttons on the steering wheel, and they all have their place. Lane assist has what I'd call "passive" and "active" modes, meaning that it will do as little as beep at you when you're crossing the line, or as much as nudge the wheel if you drift even farther. However, there are some annoyances such as the car alerting you not to merge, when you're in a two-lane-turn situation, i.e. there's someone next to you turning the same direction. It can't differentiate between that and merging lanes on the highway. Also, if you have an empty lane between you and another car, and you signal and then move to that lane, once you're in that lane but haven't turned off your blinker, it's a 50/50 chance whether the Kona will think you're about to side-swipe the other car.
-It drives smoothly. It's not top-heavy (due to those heavy lithium batteries beneath your feet), and the wheel is responsive. I never feel like I'm not in control of the car (except, as mentioned above, if I have the lane assist turned on).
Would this car have been worth $44,000 (including all the junk the dealership forces you to buy) without the $10,000 total I got from state and federal subsidies? Hell no. Is it a decent choice for $34,000? Sure, I guess, but I wouldn't have bought a Hyundai if I knew about the range issues. Personally, I doubt if any Hyundai brand electric car has good battery management.
Trim | MPG | Engine | Starting Price |
---|---|---|---|
2022 Hyundai Kona Electric Limited 4dr SUV (electric DD) | N/A | N/A | $44,135 |
2022 Hyundai Kona Electric SEL 4dr SUV (electric DD) | N/A | N/A | $35,745 |
More about the Hyundai Kona Electric
Edmunds has 75 new Hyundai Kona Electrics for sale near you, including a 2022 Kona Electric SEL SUV and a 2022 Kona Electric Limited SUV ranging in price from $35,745 to $44,630.
How much is a new 2022 Hyundai Kona Electric in Janesville, WI?
- A new 2022 Hyundai Kona Electric starts at $35,745 (including destination charge) in Janesville, WI. Prices will go up based on the trim level you choose and any options you add. Keep in mind that prices can also vary from one state to another and even from one dealership to the next. Learn more
How much does a 2022 Hyundai Kona Electric SUV cost in Janesville, WI?
- A new 2022 Hyundai Kona Electric SUV starts at $35,745 in Janesville, WI. Prices will vary depending on what trim level you choose. Each state may have different pricing, so make sure you enter your correct ZIP code on Edmunds. Learn more
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