The point I guess is that the paddle adds to the confusion for someone not accustomed to the system. My impression is that the paddle is there to ease customers into the regen experience by not affecting the feel of the accelerator too much (since traditional cars feel much more coasty). Better, IMO, is to just force the customer into learning to feather the accelerator properly. It’s a longer learning curve but with a payoff in efficiency and usability.
Tesla has removed the low regen setting on new cars. I’m not sure I agree with that decision, but it’s the same idea: get the customer used to high regen early on. May as well pull off that band-aid right away.
I think the larger problem is that they labeled the no-regen coasting mode “D” and the one pedal mode “L” meaning that people who aren’t exposed to the FB groups or message boards don’t know about the one pedal function. The paddle is actually relatively superfluous to wither mode. It shouldn’t be there at all, IMO.
I can’t imagine Tesla depends on Facebook or message boards for its customers to learn about how the car functions. Doesn’t someone go over the car with the new owner? Isn’t there some form of a manual (perhaps electronic)?
There is a manual, but it’s really fuzzy about the use of D vs L. And most buyers had a Chevy experience like mine I suspect. My salesperson was the designated Bolt person, and yet she knew almost nothing about the car. I showed her a bunch of features she had never seen.
Hey @FordPrefect , sorry to keep bugging you about your Kona I remain interested in possibly getting one within the next few months. I spoke to some friends who drive a 2019 Nissan Leaf and who had gone for a test drive in the Kona before choosing the Leaf. They said the Kona felt really cramped in the cabin. One of them said his head touched the ceiling of the car in the driver’s seat! He’s not particularly tall - maybe 5’10". But I’ve read nothing like that in any other online review, either professional or personal. Many reviews mention that the back seats are tight on the legs, but I don’t really care about that. Do you find the cabin cramped in any way?
(At some point, yes, I am going to test drive the damn thing to find out if I like it for myself, but I want to wait until I get a Covid vaccine before I venture into that transaction).
Hey, no worries, always happy to help push people onto the EV wagon!
I am 6’4, pushing 6’ 5 but over 6’ why round up? but in this case it might be relevant. I also carry my height in my legs not my torso, but not so much that I am out of proportion or anything.
We own the Ultimate, that’s the one with a sunroof and I was surprised to find that I don’t feel cramped in it. That may be partly due to owning smaller cars predominately, but I have great leg room and head room. At the expense of anyone wanting to sit behind me though.
A co-worker of mine who is also pretty tall and more girthy than I, tested out my Kona before going Tesla 3. The main selling point was more legroom in the back seat for passengers, he has high school aged kids he needs to drive around.
Funny about your friends though, when we test drove, we tried the Kona first, then the Leaf, my wife couldn’t get out of the Leaf fast enough to go buy the Kona. She didn’t like how the battery compartment ran forward of the passenger seat, it bothered her to be forced to keep her feet forward.
I liked the 8K lower price, but we were comparing their bare-bones Leaf to the tricked out Ultimate. Ultimately (sorry) I am glad to have gone with the Kona, the added features, including ventilated front seats are amazing.
I hope that helps, if you have any more questions, please fire away.
A used nissan leaf is a pretty good deal around me, maybe 8k or so. problem is the 90 mile range would be a problem for me. It would be more of a secondary car.
one of my goals in life to save money and also to combat climate change is to have solar panels and an electric car. I’m sure I’ll have them eventually, but it’ll probably be another 10-20 years before the electric cars are good enough for my uses.
I know most people only commute and thats fine. But I currently live in an apartment and I make a ~100 mile drive a few times a month.
I am working from home these days, but prior to the pandemic, I was driving 140 kms daily for work. That is just under 90 miles. And even in -30C I could make that trip 1.5 times before a recharge. The old Leafs had limited range, but any Leaf, Bolt, Kona or Tesla 2019 and newer is capable of at least double the 90 miles range.
On top of which, the only gas powered vehicle who tried to show me who was boss at a stop light and actually won was a Porsche SUV. I don’t challenge people because driving is a chore, but It’s a lot of fun to put Coal Rollers in their place with my Librul Electric sewing machine
Here is a Jalopnik article about someone who bought a used Nissan Leaf for $2,000. Admittedly, it was ten years old, with some body damage and 56,000 miles but as a second car, I think the price is great.
Thanks very much, FordPrefect. It’s quite helpful to have the perspective of someone who is actually driving one regularly. I really hope I like it when I finally get a chance to drive it!
I don’t have a Kona, so obviously FP’s data point is more useful than mine, but I did test drive one back pre-pandemic. Loved the way it drove, had plenty of room (I’m 6’3 as well) up front. No objections there. The only problem, and we were pretty much done after noticing it, is the cargo space in the back. We folded up our infant’s stroller and put it in, and it was pretty much all used up. It advertises 19.2 ft^3, but it’s pretty vertically oriented, so it didn’t do us a lot of good.
Currently eyeing the Mustang Mach-E, Model Y, and ID-4 (VW) as options, but I want to be able to visit them all in person, so it’ll be post-pandemic for me.
I have read similar in several reviews. This doesn’t necessarily bother me too much because we have a tiny hatchback now and there are only two of us, so we just fold the back seats down whenever we need more space. I do want to be able to fit my bike in the back with the seats down, though, so I’ll need to measure for that.
On the other hand, the giant battery recall Hyundai just announced does bother me
Have not been notified if my Kona’s battery will be recalled or not yet. I am not too worried about this, EV battery tech like this is pretty new in the scheme of things and that Hyundai and LG’s response is a sign that this isn’t a dying technology and that they are investing into reputation for the EV future.
If my car is recalled, a brand shiny new battery almost two years into ownership would definitely extend the life of the car.
In terms of storage space, our use case is like @ShadowFacts, just the two of us so flip the seats down if necessary and if we need more room, then we start up the old Ford Escape and use that while complaining about the sluggish ICE and sloppy steering, the stupid non-responsive cruise control!!! and so on In the end, we are pretty spoiled by the Kona even with the nicks and cuts from being on the near bleeding edge of EV.
I was thinking of you when I read about the recall, @FordPrefect. Aside from the hassle of having to bring the car in for the service, getting a free, brand new battery would end up being a pretty damn good thing for Kona EV owners (assuming your car doesn’t catch on fire in the meantime).
Back on the topic of this thread in general, my thoughts have turned to the idea of potentially leasing an EV for three years instead of outright buying, as an experiment to see if having an EV works for us without the huge initial investment. I’ve never leased before and in general it’s not something I’m keen on, but for EVs at this moment it might make sense. Still looking into it.
At this point, I’m really jonesing to get a COVID vaccine and get on some test drives to see if I even like the driving experience.
I’ve been thinking the same thing, part of my reason being that EV tech changes quickly, so in a couple of years the newer models might be way ahead of what we have now.
I plan on getting an electric car or pickup in the next several years. But unless someone else comes up with a network of super chargers, I’m going to limit myself to a Tesla Model 2 or a Cybertruck.
My brother has a Model 3. He told the Nav to plot a trip from WI to WA. It had him stopping every 200-250 miles for 30-45 minutes at a super charger. This makes the trip take more time, but since he is an old man, he likes to take breaks.
The problem with the Cybertruck is that I don’t know if I can haul something big like my ATV with the tailgate down since that truck seems to have a loading ramp built into it.
We just bought a new car in November - a regular hybrid, as none of the PHEVs available meet our requirements, nor would a full electric (range issues).
Next car will almost certainly be either EV or PHEV, but that may be quite some time; we tend to keep our cars a loooong time.
I remain interested in possibly getting one within the next few months. I spoke to some friends who drive a 2019 Nissan Leaf and who had gone for a test drive in the Kona before choosing the Leaf. They said the Kona felt really cramped in the cabin. One of them said his head touched the ceiling of the car in the driver’s seat! He’s not particularly tall - maybe 5’10". But I’ve read nothing like that in any other online review, either professional or personal. Many reviews mention that the back seats are tight on the legs, but I don’t really care about that. Do you find the cabin cramped in any way?
