Hyundai Kona Electric Premium 64KWh - I drove it again (sporty) 

Great video! Any person who admits to their mistakes and learns from them is no idiot!

You make me smile, a German with a sense of humour :-)

16,3 with that kind of driving is very impressive. when i test drove the Kona i got the same feeling as you did It was awesome! i ordered it right away.

Great video… love your enthusiasm… Can't wait for my Kona EV to get here (Canada)… Suppose to get it around december (would be a great Christmas present!). Love the sound of your band btw.

From what I know, the maximum is 72/74Kw charging rate provided you have a 100Kw charger. It seems to be set at that. But unless you are doing crazy mileage nobody is going to need more. Bearing in mind that most people will charge at home.

You drove it like you stole it but it has made me want one even more so there must be other people also thinking the same.

love this rambling video's! Can't wait till my Kona arrives!

Really enjoyed this video! As specially when you discovered the Mystery of it Not Charging 😂 👍

very enjoyable video keep up the good work Cheers.

Kona is in Holland a huge success. Thanks to the 4000€ per new car you get from the government.

Great footage from your test drive with the Hyundai Kona. Now I just need to go and have a real test drive myself. This car and the Kia e-Niro are the first almost perfect EVs from my point of view, except that I wished the cars would be one shoe size bigger (like 4.65 in length or so). All wheel drive would be great too, especially given the torque the car is able to generate. But you can't have it all. Getting eager to test drive it as soon as there is a chance.

Thanks for making the video. It at least gives me the feel of driving the Kona EV. I get a picture of what the effect of immediate torque has on the drive. I also get to hear how an EV sound on acceleration. Have no idea when a Kona will be available to us here in Malaysia. But if it ever come, I don't expect the price to be sky high. So there is hope.

Thanks for sharing. Looks like a great car!

Great Video!

Great vid - I subscribed...

Super Video and cool car. I am looking forward to a bigger car if I have to replace my IONIQ in 4 years. Hopefully there will be e-car in the size of a Santa Fe available.

Thanks for the review. Very useful.

cool Video and Language..Danke I have a qustion on the sound when exelerating is this a extra sound system with speaker or is this the e motor itself in front. Will this be the same Sound in E-Niro and E-Soul ? many thanks

I have one on order now - in ultimate trim - I cannot wait for 1st September when I get it.

Nice video. Enjoyed your comments!

That was a fun ride through the gorgeous countryside of Germany. Was it Bavaria? I wonder if you have also driven the Chevy Bolt EV and were just as enthusiastic. I like the Kona, but am waiting for the bigger Niro EV. Or maybe a VW I.D.

Had our Kona 64 for a month now in UK and never a problem rapid charging so worried when you couldn't charge. Relieved it was the limit that stopped you. Loving the car and 300 miles (500km) is quite easy to get. Its also still comfortable to drive on long trips too. Have you got one coming?

Yes, your english is hugely better than my german, but for your interest, the two idioms or special use of words, you were unsure of...here in this vid at 14:10, you were saying the accelerator pedal was a bit odd I think you meant going from acceleration or normal cruising to overrun ie regeneration happening as the car slows. If you meant it was a bit of a split second before going from one mode to the other as you move the pedal, that's a lag, we would call the pedal action 'laggy' or slow to change mode. The previous video, you were talking about the steering wheel indicating the car was prone to pulling either way due to tyres struggling to grip as you accelerated hard in sport mode from a standstill...we would call that squirming. We would say you can feel the front squirm off the line with hard acceleration. If you mean the accelerator/regen pedal is making a lot happen for a tiny amount of movement of your foot - that's a 'coarse' action. The opposite is a 'fine' action of the pedal if it takes a lot of movement of your foot to make the car accelerate more. This is not criticism - your english is at an exceptional level. The coarse/fine pedal action I noticed in the Nissan LEAF. That in fact is all the 'mode change' buttons of the LEAF seemed to do when I drove it - when left in 'normal' the acceleration was a lot for a few millimetres of foot movement, it even started spinning the tyres on gritty surfaces from a standstill. The 'soft' or fine pedal action, was removed by knocking off all the economy settings (mode 'B' is it on the LEAF?) and it took so much pedal movement to make the car get off the line, I found it hard work to drive. Being human means we adapt incredibly well - so in the LEAF I just left it all so the accelerator pedal was very 'coarse' to operate, very very responsive to the slightest movement of my foot, and it was easier to drive and safer. Why safer? Because as you will know, there are times when you come to a halt on a road, and suddenly need to 'take off' - if you have to thump your foot down several inches to do this, that's a hazard. We overtook a McLaren sports car on the road to Scotland in the LEAF, I assumed it was a person who was getting a turn in it from a friend and did not want to have an accident, by overtaking this 40mph/64kph lorry up an approach road, so we overtook both. It was adequate the old LEAF, but the Kona is a whole different league it seems. Thanks for the experience, the EV world has shot forward finally, from this latest wave like the LEAF and i-MiEV of 2009 or so. EDIT - and in fact, later you did say the accelerator had a coarse response, so my assistance with the nuances of english are largely superfluous, thanks again for the vid.

It's so beautiful where you were driving! What part of Germany is that?

It sounds like being in an airplane, wind and no engine sound ^^

Beautiful countryside. Cool car too. I want one!

At 10:05, heat pump probably safe at least 60% energy. Does it comes with premium or for all models? 80% limit came in my mind the first time ^^ So you gonna have to test is a 3 rd time (good excuse)^^ Great video again!

It's called torque steer. It's not 'unstable' as such. I'm another one in the UK with an expected delivery date of mid January. Nice video.

A great road test... I can't wait until they are available for us in Canada.. Hopefully in 2019.. Wondering why the charge limit would be set to 80%.. Is there a reason to NOT charge to 100% , or whatever is possible?

Hi Thanks for the video. Enjoyed it. I might have some technical explanation about the 75 KW maximum charging power. The 100 KW charger capability is a theoretical output. This charger allows the car to be charged at 200 Amps . The battery voltage of Kona is about 390 Volts at 100% but drops to about 340 V when the battery is at 0% SOC (empty). The type 2 charger charges the battery at max 200 A as off 5% SOC. When the battery voltage reaches around 370 V (50-55% SOC) the maximum charging speed is reached. As off 55% the charging speeds reduces (lower amps). If we compare to Jaguar I pace this car charges at a higher speed on a 100 KW charger because the battery voltage is never lower than 400V. So 92 KW on this type of charger is achievable. Hope that this information makes something clear. Regards.

I wonder what tyres were on the car - was expecting some wheel-spin..

What I have really noticed in the few EVs Ive been in is how intrusive road noise becomes.

The 37 min part is hilarious

Nice video! I have two questions. First, this will be a car my wife drives so I'm concerned about her not liking the quick acceleration - does it feel more secure when in econ mode? Second, do all Germans look/act like Jurgen Klopp??? ;)

What's the flashing red light on the speedo?

Weeee~~~~ I loved it!

About the charger, atleast here in Norway you can't charge faster than 55 kW. It is increasining. Then er have the newer charger network that is om the rise with 350 kW.

Mine is coming end of November. In France only two versions, Creative & Executive

As you seem to have discovered, when regen is applied, it's always on so acceleration is working against it. The way to understand this clearly is to apply level 3 regen, accelerate to a steady speed, then using the right paddle, start reducing regen. You can FEEL the car suddenly surge forward a bit as each layer of regen is removed. For this reason, when driving in light or less traffic, I keep regen off, accelerate to speed, then let-off and coast toward the next stop or traffic light. Since the Kona EV has very little drive line friction, combined with a low C.D. it loses speed very slowly while coasting. As I near the next stop I'll apply a single bar of regen, then a second, and seldom a third since 3 bars of regen really drag the car's speed down fast. Then as I close in on the stopping point I'll "full pull" the left paddle to apply 0.25 G of deceleration to a complete stop. When stopping using the left paddle, once stopped, the car will not roll after releasing the paddle. This is ideal for setting the car up to "launch" from the stop since you do not need to hold the car still with the foot brake, you can keep your foot over the accelerator ready to press. This gives the Kona EV driver a significant edge against ICE cars - even when being "two-footed" by idiot drivers. When stopping using the foot brake, the car will "idle forward" as does a conventional car which makes it the proper choice when creeping along in heavy traffic. When driving in heavy traffic I have found it safer to keep 1 to 2 bars of regen on all the time so the car will instantly slow when I release the accelerator. The counters the tendency of other drivers to accelerate too fast, then need to suddenly slam on their brakes. Regen level 3 is the ultimate quick response to the car in front suddenly hitting their brakes hard. I have found the best "economy" in stop and go traffic is a short, strong (maybe 25%) acceleration to speed, then let-off and coast until applying regen for the next stop. By accelerating a bit over the posted speed limit (or faster than you would normally go), allows the car to coast back down, through the posted speed and below, at which point it's generally time to start adding regen. Thus you've only used electrons to accelerate. For example, on Herndon Avenue in Fresno, California the speed limit is 50 mph (80 kph). I will quickly accelerate to 55 mph (88 kph), then completely release the accelerator and coast (no regen). The car will slowly lose speed down to around 45 mph (72 kph), at which point I'm tapping on one bar of regen, then a second to pull the car down from speed in preparation to stop. If the traffic ahead begins to move before I arrive, I just ease back on the accelerator as I remove all regen and go right back up to speed. If you average 4.7 miles (7.5 km) per kWh, the Kona will go 300 miles (482 km) on a full charge, or 240 miles (386) using 80% of the charge, leaving 60 miles (96 km) reserve. I have recorded 5.8 miles (9.3 km) per kWh which equates to 371 miles (597 km) total range, or just under 300 miles (482 km) using 80% of the charge with over 70 miles (112 km) range remaining. This is EASY to do when driving in town due to lower speeds and frequent regen cycles. When evaluating range available, consider that it is a constantly sliding scale number. For example, when you turn on AC with a full charge, range available will show up to a 30 mile (48 km) reduction. This is based on the car assuming you are going to leave the AC on that setting for the duration of the battery's charge. If - like most experienced EV drivers, you turn off AC after a few minutes, range available will recover to within just a few miles of where it was originally. If you are driving on a low battery - say 60 miles (96 km) range available and you turn on AC, you will see only a few miles reduction in range available because again, the car "thinks" you are going to leave the AC on at that setting until the battery is exhausted which is many few miles away then when fully charged. This is something never clearly explained, nor likely understood by most who review electric cars. They just state the car loses "x amount" of range when you turn on the heat or AC leaving the potential buyer to think every time they turn on the heat the car will suddenly lose 30 miles (48 km) of range even if the heat is turned off immediately. Another thing to be aware of is that range available correlates to 4 miles (6.4 km) per kWh of battery use. This is what the car "expects" you to achieve so to speak. Whenever you're averaging less than 4 mpkWh you will see range available dropping more than distance driven. I saw a video where a guy was commenting on how he only managed around 3 mpkWh (4.8 km) which equals just 192 miles (308 km) possible range, but he was also remarking that he was using heating quite liberally (England) and this is to be expected. Also, all BEVs lose range in cold weather - not as much as many presume, but some. Since the car's onboard "brain" has no way of calculating the difference in available electrons from a cold versus warm battery, it will show a given range, but even with all accessories off, that range will deplete more quickly than distance driven. The other morning here in central California the temp was 47 deg F (8 C) when I drove to work, and I used the heat sparingly. The distance traveled was around 44 miles but I ended up using 50 miles of the Kona's range. On the trip home when the temp was 75 deg F (24 C) I was able to almost cancel out the morning's range reduction ending up with around 80 miles range reduction for 77 miles driven. I was NOT trying to maximize range while commuting to work, so had I been trying I could have easily ended up adding a bit of range to the battery during the trip.

I want this car and I want the Premium model. The investment is better than a base model car with no features. This is a great car. Don't why your trying find reasons to not like it.

warum hast du die 167 km/h net mal auf der autobahn getestet?

The video was very informative, but you beating yourself up over the charging was pretty funny. Everybody makes mistakes!

I love my cona

You experience 'torque steer' when you went up hill fast

Maybe you're just on an older software version (missing features)

There are some things where i not agree, e.g. The HUD is awesome and really useful. The sit cooling is thought for very hot summer days if go in in the hothot car. And so on .. the blind spot warning and the back cross traffic warner e.g. Normally the eco mode is the best. On small country streets the lfa should be off. Lol the end was funny, but we are all humans 😇 that could happens me too

Is it strange you said the Kona felt very fast like the Tesla Model S 75D? Because Kona 0-100km/h is 7.1 seconds and Model S 75D is around 4.4 seconds. But actually the difference is around 2.5 seconds of the time from 0-100km/h!

Sub speedo, is in the HUD?

I’m waiting for my ioniq. But I’m kind of wishing I could have ordered the kona now.

On behalf of the internet we forgive you for being German. :D Thank you very much for the review and you have a great day too!

Video paused: Reason, last video you reduced the charge limit to 80% so it would not charge at the Kia charger (EDIT: I was correct). Also on the German negativity, I am from the UK so please take this as a compliment (after all I do drive a Golf!), it is why German cars to me are so refined, you are not happy until you get to as close to perfection as possible. They just need to wake up and transition whole heartedly to EVs.

So, did you order this Hyundai Kona EV for yourself?

Im Nürnberger Raum wissen die Händler nicht mal was ein Kona EV ist. Bzw zeigen kein Interesse daran. Aber ich empfinde das Auto als einfach zu teuer. Auch der Ioniq ist fürs gebotene zu teuer.

Self loathing is tremendous with you people.