[Shreyans_Jain]

I'd like to understand what would happen in case of an accident. Will the battery pack be covered under insurance in case of damage? What about water damage to the system? We've all experienced water damage on our mobile phones at some point. Is something on the lines of hydrolock protection available for electric cars?

[Bh.P]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Other Points

• Here's a controversial thought: Just like drivers of certain luxury brands or registration districts sometimes have a bad reputation, I wonder if the opposite will become true for cars with green number plates. Obviously the owners care enough about the planet to put their money where their mouth is, so maybe they will also be more responsible road users, exhibit better road manners and more civic sense?

The above statement is no longer a controversy. I saw an Ather driving on the wrong side of a arterial road in Bangalore today. So it is empirically proved that there is no co-relation between being green and being a sensible road user. It also make me wonder if the new age vehicles can put in checks and turn itself off when the driver is offending a rule. That would be really cool.



Kona seems like a genuine effort towards making electric cars mainstream. Hope it does well and companies are motivated to bring more affordable electric cars for the masses.

[SJM1214]

Thanks, ChiragM and Rehaan for the excellent review.

Originally Posted by ChiragM

What you won't:

• Expensive! Even after subsidies, EVs still carry a huge price premium over ICE cars
• Lack of charging infrastructure & ~300 km range limits long-distance / highway usability
• Uncomfortable ride quality on less than perfect roads. Firm & uncompromising
• Cabin space is comparable to the i20. Also, high floorpan affects the rear seating position
• Some misses such as no auto-wipers, rear air-con, touchscreen ICE smaller than expected...
• Size & presence are comparable to 12-lakh rupee cars like the S-Cross
• Boot size is just 332 liters
• Brake pedal lacks feel & linearity, takes some getting used to. Especially wooden in Sports mode
• Limited availability in India (only a handful of states). Further, the 2019 batch is sold out

Except for the first point, I don't think any of the above "What you won't:" points are that important. The price looks higher due to it came in India through the CKD route. IMHO, this car should be compared with equivalent-sized & spec’d cars and in that case, Kona sounds amazing.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

Except for the first point, I don't think any of the above "What you won't:" points are that important. The price looks higher due to it came in India through the CKD route. IMHO, this car should be compared with equivalent-sized & spec’d cars and in that case, Kona sounds amazing.

True. Although the high floor pan will be quite uncomfortable for most. Its okay as a city run about. But the moment the drive is longer than 30 minutes, especially the rear passengers will start getting quite uncomfortable. High floor pan often results in a knees-up position & we aren't designed to enjoy too many things that way

[pkirwadi]

Hyundai is offering a standard warranty of 3 years / unlimited km, which can be extended to 5 years / 1,40,000 km.


The Extended warranty covers only the 4th year, with a mileage cap of 80,000 KM. Verified with Hyundai Dealer - Advaith in Residency Road and ORR.

[AkMar]

A top class review from Team BHP. ALL the points relevant to EV have been comprehensively covered. Truly a 5 star review. One need not read anything else apart from this review to decide on buying or not buying the Kona.

A small miss from Hyundai here. "Please use the system with engine running" message is displayed in an EV While reading through the review I thought this would be caught by the hawk eyes of our moderators and will be mentioned in smaller things post!

Originally Posted by ChiragM

In-Car Entertainment

The main menu gives you access to the screens for phone, media, EV amongst others:

[Warwithwheels]

Originally Posted by AkMar

A small miss from Hyundai here. "Please use the system with engine running" message is displayed in an EV While reading through the review I thought this would be caught by the hawk eyes of our moderators and will be mentioned in smaller things post!

I guess by “engine” they mean the electric motor. Can we try rephrasing it with a better terminology?

And the KONA has got two batteries. One for the accessories and the other to power the vehicle. So it makes sense to have that warning.


PS: Is it technically correct to call the electric motor, an engine? Because this would be relevant for all legal aspects like RC, insurance papers where engine number, chassis numbers are captured for identification.

[AkMar]

Originally Posted by Warwithwheels

I guess by “engine” they mean the electric motor. Can we try rephrasing it with a better terminology?
.

Even if they mean that, the sentence is still irrelevant in the Kona. For cars equipped with internal combustion engines, that note makes sense as the battery will die if ICE is used without engine running. With engine running, the battery will keep on getting charged and the risk of dead battery will be eliminated.

Now over to EVs. Here the battery itself is the main power source. Even if we consider that they mean motors by "engine", The electric motors source their power from battery which is also power source for ICE. It is not that by keeping the electric motor running, battery discharge will be prevented. Hence that note is totally irrelevant in an electric car, irrespective of what the meaning of word "engine" may be!

[Logan2007]

Now the govt folks are attracted to Kona.

Maybe this will usher in EV demand as govt can buy these in hundreds to give the segment a boost if the bureaucracy likes the car!

[docsr]

Thank you for a wonderful and balanced report on the Kona Electric.

I got mine delivered last weekend and have been getting familiar with it. It is very similar to an ICE car to drive, save 2 aspects - the rapid power delivery and the effect of the regenerative breaking. However, one adapts to this very quickly. It has been a nice experience so far.

The folks from Advaith Hyundai in Bangalore were excellent all through and so have the guys guiding the installation of the level 2 charger at home.This part has been contracted to M/s AWP services India Pvt Limited. The charger that is installed is from DELTA.

While the level one charging is happening without a hitch, I am having troubles getting the level 2 charging going. I live in an independent house and I expect that those living in apartments may have a different take on this.

I will dedicate this post only to the charging issues as most else has been alluded to in the original post.

1. The company doing the installation of the level 2 charger visited my house once the car was allocated. He, in discussion with our layout electrician, worked out the wiring and additional fitments required.The following was installed:

a)The power was drawn from just after the meter with large gauge wires running to the designated location of installation of charger.

b)upgraded fuses and cutouts- there is a 63A cutout installed just before the charger. Another 15A plug installed with it's own cutout for the level 1 charger.

c)Application made to BESCOM to enhance the load from 5KV to 7.5KV for the house.

2. Once the car was delivered, with both level 1 and 2 chargers in the boot, the technician from the installation company came back and guided installation of the charger.

3. The level 1 charger is connected to the aforementioned 15A plug and works well.

4. However, I am having troubles with the level 2 charger. It is drawing 30A of current (which is the limit that the electricity meter can handle). My electrician advices me that running this for long can damage the meter as well as the cabling from the house to the transformer. So I haven't been able to use this yet. The last time I tried, the fuse to the house blew. Another attempt after fixing this resulted in the 30A draw and we aborted the experiment.

So as it stands, though I have been provided the level 2 charger by Hyundai, I am unable to use it.I have to use the trickle charger (Level 1) that draws about 3.5A current.

So, there are real-world problems here. My options as I can think of are as below:

1. Ask to increase the load to 15KV to the house. This is going to be a challenge as all the wiring and the meter will need changing and the electricity bill will shoot through the roof!

2. Wait for the 7.5KV load to be sanctioned and try again. Not sure this will work as the meter is maxing out at 30A

3. Re-adjust the settings in the charger to allow a maximum of 15-20A current draw. It has this facility. But the guys who did the installation are
not keen to do this and they are not sure of warranty etc will be effected - though I am not sure I understand how!

4. Make adjustments in the car to set the maximum current draw to minimum or medium (though what the actual current drawn will be is not mentioned)

To summarise the car seems to need 30A to charge with the level 2 charger (5-6 hours for 0-100% charging). This 30A cannot be obtained without major work rewiring and electrical work AND and upgrade of electricity supply from BESCOM and increased electricity bills. I would like to be proven wrong on this....

So, that's were we are at present. Please feel free to share your ideas and experiences. A workaround will be a great convince and will be truly appreciated.

[RMN]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

First mover? Mahindra-REVA & Tata have been selling EVs since a while. Mahindra already had the e2O - an actual urban commuter car with affordable price. So Hyundai really is a 3rd mover. Although unlike the poor half hearted attempts of the other two - Hyundai is coming with a top of the line product with premium pricing.

You're right, I was thinking more on the lines of an actual product a lot of people would want to buy. The EVs buy M&M or Tata aren't really the kind of products the masses want to buy but on the other hand, the Kona is. Its EVs like Kona, that can be purchased by people as their 2nd or 3rd car or as a novelty that will actually drive the sales of EVs up and bring the cost down.

Im glad Hyundai dint go the route of bringing an EV that people would laugh it off. Looking forward to Tatas Nexon & Tigor EVs too!

[sandeep108]

Originally Posted by docsr

So, there are real-world problems here. My options as I can think of are as below:

1. Ask to increase the load to 15KV to the house. This is going to be a challenge as all the wiring and the meter will need changing and the electricity bill will shoot through the roof!
2. Wait for the 7.5KV load to be sanctioned and try again. Not sure this will work as the meter is maxing out at 30A
3. Re-adjust the settings in the charger to allow a maximum of 15-20A current draw. It has this facility. But the guys who did the installation are not keen to do this and they are not sure of warranty etc will be effected - though I am not sure I understand how!
4. Make adjustments in the car to set the maximum current draw to minimum or medium (though what the actual current drawn will be is not mentioned)

So, that's were we are at present. Please feel free to share your ideas and experiences. A workaround will be a great convince and will be truly appreciated.

In my earlier post in this thread these were some of the issues I had pointed out. Coming to your options - I am no electrical engineer - but see my views below. May be someone else with better knowledge can help with better option.


1. Seems to be the best option and a permanent solution. Entire wiring, meter, etc. will have to be changed for such higher power load. But costs will go up considerably - both running and initial cost.

2. Try with an upgraded meter otherwise you will risk meter damage and voltage fluctuations/spikes can damage other items as well. But consult an electrical engineer before you try again otherwise wasted time/money/effort.

3&4 are compromises that will double at the minimum the charging time. I am not sure though why warranty should be affected - lower charging current should not harm anything in the short term. Probably they are referring to battery conditioning. Tell them once a month you will take it to the showroom for high capacity rapid charging for re-conditioning the battery.

[Holyghost]

Originally Posted by docsr

So, that's were we are at present. Please feel free to share your ideas and experiences. A workaround will be a great convince and will be truly appreciated.

Did you check the settings in the vehicle. There should be an option to limit the charge current on the vehicle settings.

[pkirwadi]

Originally Posted by docsr

Thank you for a wonderful and balanced report on the Kona Electric.
I got mine delivered last weekend and have been getting familiar with it.

I`m getting mine delivered, hopefully by this weekend. I`m going with a new meter installation in my apartment, with a special tariff from BESCOM for EV charging purposes, that comes under LT-6(c). This is going to be a 3 phase meter with a sanctioned load of 7.5 KW. My existing meter, being a single phase one, was not recommended by the folks who came for inspection.

[nareshtrao]

Originally Posted by pkirwadi

I`m getting mine delivered, hopefully by this weekend. I`m going with a new meter installation in my apartment, with a special tariff from BESCOM for EV charging purposes, that comes under LT-6(c). This is going to be a 3 phase meter with a sanctioned load of 7.5 KW. My existing meter, being a single phase one, was not recommended by the folks who came for inspection.

Is that Special Tariff any lower?