[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by ADI7YAK

Have been using Tata Power's chargers everytime I take my Kona from Pune to Mumbai. A 400km drive usually costs ₹850 including charging at home but excluding tolls which is far more reasonable than fossil fuel cars.

I remember one such instance when my mother had her vaccine appointment at Nanavati hospital in Mumbai. I charged the car up at Hotel Ginger Andheri, which is some 5km from Nanavati hospital if I remember correctly. The charging time 40-45 minutes which is okay since vaccination process easily takes an hour and I could sit in the car with air conditioning ON while it charged itself. It was a perfect trip in my opinion..

Could you please comment on the typical highway range of the Kona as well as the corresponding speeds? For instance xx range if driven at 80kmph and yy at 100kmph. Bombay to Pune is tricky due to hills in between. If you have driven on other highways then please use that information in your reply. Also what is your opinion regarding the Kona as compared to the MG?

Originally Posted by blackwasp

The biggest problem with EV is the space and time the charging needs. Its easy for home owners to charge once in a while or even overnight in their homes, but what about fleet owners?

Many cabs run 24x7 in 2 shifts. In such cases, the driver will never wait 4-5 hrs in his 12 hr shift just to charge the vehicle. Further, the lack of parking issue is still there.

In Delhi NCR there are several large fleets of EV taxis. They use eVerito and eTigor. Delhi has hundreds of EESL and other chargers and you can see these drivers plugged in while they wait for the next call or eat their meal. These chargers are at markets, parking lots and other similar locations.

[ADI7YAK]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

Could you please comment on the typical highway range of the Kona as well as the corresponding speeds? For instance xx range if driven at 80kmph and yy at 100kmph. Bombay to Pune is tricky due to hills in between. If you have driven on other highways then please use that information in your reply.

I usually start from South Mumbai with 80% state of charge and almost always reach the beginning of the expressway with around 65-70% with normal driving. On the expressway I drive at slightly above speed limit but just below the speed when it starts beeping continuously. I usually get home here at Pune with 5-10% battery left. Sorry I can't talk much about driving at 80kmph as I haven't driven at that yet. One thing I for sure is that one can easily eek out good range by simply reducing speed. I remember this one time when I did Lonavala-Pune (around 70km) with 15% battery left and 67km range left as per car's computer. Had to take old highway and drive at around 50-60kph.

In my experience Kona consumes anywhere from 25-28kWh of battery while going from Mumbai to Pune with my driving style which is how one would drive their normal internal combustion engine car. While going from Pune to Mumbai it definitely consumes lesser energy due to the Lonavala ghat decline. I remember one instance when I started at 100% from Pune and reached Khopoli foodmall with 80% battery left.


You can read my thread on road trips here (Road-Trip in a Hyundai Kona EV!).

Originally Posted by Lobogris

Also what is your opinion regarding the Kona as compared to the MG?

Definitely depends on what you want out of your car. I felt Kona to be well rounded EV with a few sophisticated touches such as 12V battery charging, charging limit, scheduled charging, regen through paddles and one pedal driving. MG did seem to be a better "car" but according to me Kona is a better "EV" If rear space matters to you then Kona is not the car for you that I can tell.

[LeoRBK]

This database has been very reliable for looking up and comparing EV.
https://ev-database.org/
Regarding range figures, look at the worst case range to assess if your commute/regular trip can cope with in a single charge.

[EmpyreanKnight]

I believe this is a good initiative, this will inspire confidence among prospective EV buyers and encourage existing owners to take long trips.

I recently took test drive of Tata Nexon EV and really liked it, but i shelved the idea of buying a EV for now because after spending 16 lac, I don't want to make compromises like not driving car at desired speeds when I see a open road in front of me on highways, just worrying about the effect on range it will have or turn off AC to increase range or be anxious about a long trip, "what if, the charging station the way is not working!"

I think EVs are perfect for city use and short distance highway runs or as a second car in garage, for now the go to option for long journeys are the good old IC engines.