[reecho]

So after pre-ordering a Kona Electric in early Feb I managed to take delivery a couple of weeks ago. Pretty sure it was the second private delivery in the country behind Charles Daglish. First all-electric Hyundai Kona delivered to Australian customer | The Driven

It's a Chalk White Highlander with Sunroof and Black interior. It should keep our 2017 SR Premium i30 good company.

How does it drive?. Awesome. Brilliant. Amazing. At 1745kg it's porky but that gave HMCA to give it a local suspension tune that really gives it a feel of a much bigger car. The local suspension boffins need a big pat on the back. The battery pack underslung gives a much lower centre of gravity and you feel it.

Range?. It's rated at 449km WLTP which is the new standard. If we measure it on the ADR82 standard test for petrol/diesel cars we get a figure of 557kms. Yep that's right our standard test regimes are crap.

My average consumption so far is around 135Wh/km. Exactly what was on the windscreen sticker. The battery is 64Kwh NET or "useable". Total capacity is around 67Kwh. Bottom line after owning a classic EV previously with 80km useable range this is crazy range.

Charging. It comes with a 10A charging cable which tells the car to draw 8A. For a full charge it's 28hrs so it's emergency use only. for main home charging I have built an OpenEVSE. Which will charge at full rate (32A single phase) and full the car in just under 10 hours. The funny thing is it hasn't been used yet as other charging options exist.

A quick trip to my local boozer and plug into the Tesla Destination charger there. It charges fine, unlike the Ioniq. The charging rate there is around 30km/pint....

A couple if DC Fast chargers are closish, with one of them a Tritium Veefil which is free to use. That's a 0-80% fill in 75 mins. The Kona can charge at a 80Kw max rate but it will take bigger capacity chargers. Lucky enough this site will have them soon with a new development.

So with 150kw of power and 395nm torque at 0RPM this thing is brisk. Very brisk. We are talking cutting the i30 N's lunch brisk. This seasoned EV driver got the "EV grin" back after a squirt in a demo at my dealership. It will torture the tyres even when rolling. Looking forward to some grippier quieter tyres in the future. Won't be long...

Price. It starts with a 7. Yup almost 3 x Kona Go's worth. Got a good trade price on the old Outlander PHEV (with battery issues. That's another story). I had a Model 3 reservation since the orders opened. Sat in one late last year. Some of the shine rubbed off. No local Tesla service centre was weighing on my decision. Gave it up. Blame the awesome experience we have had with the SR  with going with the Kona....

[Dazzler]

Awesome report. I'm jealous! I'm very close to trading my SR on a Camry Hybrid - my third one (I like a 1000km + range) We will still have our 2014 Tourer

For the record I spotted Reecho on Whirlpool and saw that he was still visiting here sometimes. We met quite a few years ago on one of my visits to WA (I'm thinking about 8 years ago)

Thanks again. Good to see you still have an i30 as well! PD or GD?

[cruiserfied]

Your not wrong about the Aussie suspension tuners. Amazing team.
I'm struggling with the rrp on these, would love one as my daily commute is 120km for work, but no.

[reecho]

Your not wrong about the Aussie suspension tuners. Amazing team.
I'm struggling with the rrp on these, would love one as my daily commute is 120km for work, but no.

Yeah the RRP sucks, and the thought is HMCA are gouging. Truth is we are paying what the UK is within $500 and the yanks are paying over retail due to strong demand....

[CraigB]

Looks good how many years do you need to own it before fuel savings pay off the 30k extra over the petrol Highlander?

[Dazzler]

Looks good how many years do you need to own it before fuel savings pay off the 30k extra over the petrol Highlander?

Loaded Question.. It's not always about cost (well it is with me) But in this case I'm guessing Reecho bought it for the driving experience.

[reecho]

Looks good how many years do you need to own it before fuel savings pay off the 30k extra over the petrol Highlander?

Who knows. Who cares. It doesn't make sense from a financial perspective. I'm in it for the tech, smoothness and the performance. The lack of petrol station visits is a nice bonus.

Early adopters gotta pay more. I remember when Plasma TV's first appeared in the late 90's for $50k. Now Aldi has them for a fiver. Things change. EV's will come down in price.....quickly.

[cruiserfied]

Your not wrong about the Aussie suspension tuners. Amazing team.
I'm struggling with the rrp on these, would love one as my daily commute is 120km for work, but no.

Yeah the RRP sucks, and the thought is HMCA are gouging. Truth is we are paying what the UK is within $500 and the yanks are paying over retail due to strong demand....

Oh 100% know its the going rate.
It is the right thing to do though. I see the EV segment in Australia booming over the next 5 years. We needed to get vehicles on the market to build presence now. As prices drop the cars will already be known to the public.

[CraigB]

Looks good how many years do you need to own it before fuel savings pay off the 30k extra over the petrol Highlander?

Who knows. Who cares. It doesn't make sense from a financial perspective. I'm in it for the tech, smoothness and the performance. The lack of petrol station visits is a nice bonus.

Early adopters gotta pay more. I remember when Plasma TV's first appeared in the late 90's for $50k. Now Aldi has them for a fiver. Things change. EV's will come down in price.....quickly.

Yes the new stuff is never cheap, I'd like one myself but I'll be waiting for the early adopters to lesson the blow

[beerman]

Most of the informed media had the electric Kona at a  premium to the Ioniq. Based on overseas pricing, all were surprised at the price, so either their calculations were wrong and based on an expected price elsewhere, or Hyundai are setting a higher price in the hope that the election will bring some electric car policy that reduces the price (drop GST for example bring back full novation on leases are two that I would hope would be implemented).

Either way unless the real world prices drop quickly (and I know they will) it won't come quick enough for me.

While I think of it, why no poverty pack Kona electric? would cut 10k off the price right there.

[Dazzler]

While I think of it, why no poverty pack Kona electric? would cut 10k off the price right there.

Global demand has been strong so they are already struggling to supply I believe. More interested in margin than numbers at this early stage I assume. 

[CraigB]

While I think of it, why no poverty pack Kona electric? would cut 10k off the price right there.

Global demand has been strong so they are already struggling to supply I believe. More interested in margin than numbers at this early stage I assume. 

They have a poverty pack, the Launch Edition at $64,682.98 then the Elite $66,269.83, and the Highlander $71,062.33

Car Price Calculator For Hyundai Models | Hyundai Australia | Hyundai Australia

[beerman]

I mean one that starts with a key,has fabric seats, 4 speakers and  has sat nav and most of the so called safety stuff as options.

Would have brought it closer to the magic 49,990  Call it the Electric Go if you will.

[reecho]

Most of the informed media had the electric Kona at a  premium to the Ioniq. Based on overseas pricing, all were surprised at the price, so either their calculations were wrong and based on an expected price elsewhere, or Hyundai are setting a higher price in the hope that the election will bring some electric car policy that reduces the price (drop GST for example bring back full novation on leases are two that I would hope would be implemented).

Either way unless the real world prices drop quickly (and I know they will) it won't come quick enough for me.

While I think of it, why no poverty pack Kona electric? would cut 10k off the price right there.

Hyundai had jacked the price worldwide by around $5k in Late November. this I put down to battery price increases by LG Chem. Yup bit of a bummer compared to the pricing I was given in confidence a few weeks prior...

There is a 39Kwh battery version of Kona. With the Ioniq going through an update and no more orders can be taken in AU this could be a godd option.