Kona EV US Road Trip | 1,500 Miles (and back) - Pushing the Charging Infrastructure! 

Thx for sharing. I expected a more detailed review regarding the performance of the Kona over the total trip, e.g. the average consumption, average speed, the range, and total trip time (driving, charging). Probably in a coming video 🙂

Great to hear! Good luck with it.

Thank you for the awesome comment! Definitely more to come... - Kyle

(Long and rabeling as I just got home from this trip. Just stream of thoughts.) I live in FL almost as far south as Marco where he (Out of Spec Motoring) visited. I bought my Kona Limited in Maryland outside of DC while visiting family. My wife and I drove back separately. The trip went mostly well. She made better time than I did. I was "lucky" in that most of the network where I was driving was in limited power mode so no charging over 50kw but that also defaults to the lowest price tier. There was one charger in Forsyth GA that had a different manufacturer and it was not power limited. As noted in the video my Kona never showed on the screen anything above 74kw and then it dropped down to 68 or 69kw. They bumped me up to the middle tier pricing (+75 - 150kw) and it was double at $16 where I usually paid $6 - $8. EA needs to address this issue. If not I wish Hyundai would allow us to set a max kW in the car software. I don't take many road trips so it's not an issue as much with me but we need to all be vocal about it as there are not many of us out there with Konas and Niros. Overall the car was excellent on my trip. I did miss the adaptive cruise control on the highway that we have on our other car a Subaru Forester. I couldn't justify the extra cost of the Ultimate trim Kona for that one feature. Android Auto worked well. I didn't miss not having the integrated navigation. It's hard to beat google maps and waze if you are already familiar with them. Lane keeping assistant on max works well but it felt like it was keeping me slightly to the right. Fine for two lane roads but for highways I often felt like I was fighting it to keep my car in the middle of the lane when cars were on my right side.

@@jobney Ah cool I really want to try and drive my future Kona or Model 3 or Kia Stinger EV (that's my dream car if they ever build it) from where I live now in Alabama back to my hometown in Anchorage, Alaska, it would be so epic and would be such a fun adventure, hope I can someday. It's technically possible according to plug share but requires a lot of slow charging at RV parks in B.C. and Yukon. Also can't wait to try out the electrify america stations. Just crazy to see these in America, so used to only seeing a reliable fast charging network in Europe (Bjorn Nyland)

Have fun! !!! From surey bc.

Hi From Abbotsford, BC. Let us know how the trip goes and any tips you discovered on the way. Especially with running AC on these hot days combined with the climb over the Coquihalla.

We drove our 2019 TM3 SR+ from Calgary AB to Victoria BC and back about 3 weeks ago. Except for waiting for a supercharger spot to open up at Kamloops BC as it was full with another Tesla waiting(Tesla this week added 2 more spots).We missed the 9am ferry as it was full,We got on 10am ferry(Last car) My wife drove from Hope BC supercharger to around Merritt BC,She didn't want to use cruise as the speed limit is 120kmh and didn't want to drive that fast,I looked over and she was driving 130-145kmh.We easily made it to Kamloops BC supercharger from Hope BC it was +37c Road trips are a breeze in a Tesla.

Thanks for the feedback, we are learning as we go and have some great new audio gear to use for future projects.

Huge! The crazy thing is I could not have done this trip 2 months ago while most of the Electrify America stations were being built. With a Tesla, I do this trip often, it’s a breeze and has been for years! Vertical integration on Teslas part makes the cars so seamless to use. Have to give them tons of props for that!

Amen to that! I bought my Model 3 for commuting but find it much better for road trips than ICE. Big Auto needs to partner and standardize and improve DCFC networks or else Tesla will dominate the EV space and put them out of business.

Matthew Cho just drove 731 miles today in my model 3. It’s my go-to roadtrip car

Agreed for the road trips. Both Ben and Kyle have Model 3’s as road trip cars. Kyle has been back and forth between CT and FL 3 times in the past couple months in the Model 3 and going again next week to see the falcon heavy launch... easy as cake!

I am new to EV (thinking of buying a 2020 Kona) what makes the road trip easier with a Tesla?

So true!

The GOM wasn’t entirely accurate. In a mixed style of driving it’s going to be even worse off... the Kona has incredible city range partially due to its immense 150kW regen under hard braking. On the highway you don’t brake therefore you will have significantly less range than in the city, as well as for other reasons. The GOM doesn’t know where you will be driving therefore it estimates based off of your previous history. If you were driving in traffic all morning and then start ripping it down the highway, it takes quite a bit of time to catch up... but when it does it drops hard. After the first day I used my own math to calculate range based on my personal predicted efficiency.

I believe it’s Virginia and Hawaii that don’t allow them!

@@OutofSpecMotoring If you eer holiday in Australia, don't bring one with you. Illegal in all states.

T. Bakker Do you mean the waviness on the car’s screen that was visible? If so, that is a moire patterned caused by the pixel size on the car screen interacting with the pixel pattern on the camera’s charge coupled device. It is not static electricity.

Video coming this week on that. Stay tuned!

A lithium jump starter?

After a month of Kona driving, I always choose max paddle regen charging/braking. Why? Because the paddle won't brake as hard as the foot brake. I set cruise, and when I am coming to a stop I lower the cruise speed in anticipation, then let the car brake (only if I have a car stopped in front of me, not turning). Doing that I rarely use the paddles.

Tesla onboard navigation/trip planner DOES take elevation into account, and is extremely accurate. You can see the downhill gains on the Trip planner energy page (actual vs estimated). ABetterRoutePlanner.com GREAT website does too and also can take weather, rain, temps, headwinds into account (entered manually) along w/ multiple stops, exact pricing and charge stop times.

Charging in the rain is no problem. You actually can lick the plug socket, as no high power ever flows through until it's connected with the car and the handle is locked in. Enjoy driving electric!

@@OutofSpecMotoring of course: silly of me.

Hi Jorge! The high beam assist was good on back roads. On the highway it would trigger on and off flashing oncoming traffic. Almost every system I’ve tested does this same thing. Great on single back roads but in urban or highway environments, it gets confused. I ended up switching the headlights out of auto to “on” to disable this feature on the highway... I‘ve done the same with other brands too, nothing specific to Hyundai. The Kona EV is really an incredible car. The second best EV (only to Tesla) factoring in cost at this point I’d say! Value for money is huge.

@@OutofSpecMotoring Since I cannot afford a Tesla. I got a Kona EV. I agree, the value for the money is huge. I will only get a Tesla if the price drops.

Thank you! Pulling into EA stations I would look at the rated output under the dispenser handle. Also I agree, this trip would have been aggravating for passengers not interested in charging “for fun”. EVs that can charge fast to 80%+ such as the E-Tron and others coming will likely help with this problem. Apologies for not having a total summary of trip time and speed, I should have logged all of that but didn’t. Will do so for next trip (likely in a Bolt!) I was actually doing that math for the later stops, you’ll notice no close calls after the first day. I didn’t include that in the video as I thought it may have been too hard for people to grasp that concept... We’ll see if the viewers want more technical breakdowns like us, I’m happy to provide that for the next trip. In reference to the two times I cut it close, the first was on my first leg with the car, having never driven it more than 3 miles. Didn’t know what to expect for efficiency. The second time I calculated it based off a wrong consumption figure... I had been in traffic all day and figured I needed to account for higher consumption but at speed the Kona really uses a lot more power than I originally anticipated. The highway consumption is almost 30-40% higher than when in the city which is a bigger difference than I’ve seen with the Teslas. Part of this is likely due to its ride height and it can benefit from up to 150kW regen when slowing down (massive amount I know) which I wasn’t doing cruising down the highway. Thanks for watching and the comment, hope to see you soon!

@@OutofSpecMotoring You know that's something I wonder about on a road trip... Do you really want to use high regen? I get regen in city traffic, or a route with alot of elevation changes, but when road tripping in Florida for instance (flat) wouldn't low regen be better for range? I'm thinking letting the car coast down minor grades would get you better range. Something for you to test maybe.

No need to test, it’s absolutely more efficient to coast and increase speed rather than using regen and then accelerating. However, if you have to slow down for traffic etc then regen is much better than using friction brakes. I’ve been in situations where I’ve had to eek out every last Wh of energy and I’ve neutral coasted down hills. Anytime you’re “charging” the battery, either from regen or at a station, there’s going to be losses

@@OutofSpecMotoring say more about neutral coasting, I've yet to do that.

He puts up a graphic after each charge telling you how long he stayed at each charger.

Video coming soon, subscribe to stay updated!

This guy maths.

Depends on your garage door. Mine's old and leaves a gap about as wide as the wire :P

Get the Model 3 if ride height ins't a concern

Unless you need the trunk space or the ride height of the Kona, the Model 3 is a better car... it also has the supercharger network which is extremely robust in comparison to public charging. If you’re waiting for the Model Y for the ride height as many people are, the kona is a great choice as it is here now!

In a Tesla that is a very easy trip to make. Plug share is a great website that maps out all the chargers and should help put your mind at ease. it is very important to remember how rapidly electric vehicle infrastructure is expanding. 6 months from now it will be better and in a year or two it will be almost a non-issue.

Here are the costs ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-A4LpeGYGVew.html

Yes, but still not perfect

dont kid yourself. with the premium you pay for an ev you could have paid for gas for a regular car for 100-200k miles. and no hassle travel, no outrageous cost battery replacement, and now they charge more to plate because your not paying gas tax... dont get me wrong, i am a ev fan. but to think its going to save you $ is not correct.

Okay, I replied too quickly. You only did that during your first charging session, thankfully. I shouldn't have yelped so quickly. 😉 Thanks again for trying this out and overcoming multiple bouts of range anxiety to make this video for us!

No, just wall connectors and UMCs

They have a really nice wide spread and travel quite far into the distance (aside from the weird void towards the left side which you’ll see in the video... likely to not blind oncoming traffic) but they aren’t super bright. In the US we have strict regulations on headlight output so it could be limited for our market, it feels like the LEDs have more to give. I would say you’re not going to miss seeing anything with them, not a deal breaker, and they’re much better than a lot of cars, but it feels like they should be 30% brighter.

@@OutofSpecMotoring I have a Toyota 2012 Camry ... the Kona headlights are much brighter.

Tomas Kim on the left side of each charger. The first two are green, so they work. The third from the left is red, so it’s offline. The one he has the car plugged in is blue, which means charging

Fun fact. In my country (and the surrounding ones) "filling up" your tesla/EV costs more than filling up a gas tank.... And dont let me start on the chargers infrastructure. In some cases you have a charger but it doesnt get enough power.

I actually use that app all the time. But for this one I wanted to get in the Kona, a car I had never driven before. And then head out on this big trip with no knowledge of if I’d make it or not. I seriously didn’t even look at plugshare until I was on the road. It was going to be representative of someone heading on a trip but that theme died when I was editing this together. Thanks for the comment though, I love a better route planner!

@@OutofSpecMotoring Fair enough, I was just curious is all. Kona looks like a great vehicle. I convinced a buddy of mine on the west coast of Canada to get one. They have pretty decent charging infrastructure out there.

@@gusbarber00 Langley BC needs more chargers. Charging in BC can be a strategic wait. The I-5 corridor from WA to CA is packed with chargers as is Bellevue/Redmond (Microsoft land) I-405.

@@stevewallace1117 Take a look at the situation around Calgary. It is pretty bleak once outside the city. There is some on hwy2 going north. There is a bunch being installed South East of here but they wont be all on line till the end of the year or so.

BC is adding 98 chargers before the end of the year.

If you just buy one out of state and drive it, yes

So local dealers can service it?

But thank you for making this video bc I travel roughly 800 mi a day on a single trip when doing road trips so this helped me see a real world view of what an affordable ev can handle.

Steve Watson ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-A4LpeGYGVew.html

Steve Watson approx $83 one way is what Kyle says in the video of the cost analysis...

Why the hate? If it wasn't for Electrify America our national eletric charging network would be way behind.

@@fpartidafpartida It is way behind. A year has past since I made this comment and I think things might eventually be turning for the better. But then again...

Or Tesla can start using CCS and stop this proprietary plug nonsense