Road trip in my Hyundai Kona EV: Happy that I sold my Thar Petrol AT

I never thought that I would like an electric vehicle so much. But I certainly love my Kona.

BHPian shankar.balan recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

After much consultation, test driving, agonising, and hours of yakety-yak, I bought a Hyundai Kona in March.

I've mostly used it in the city since. I did 2 drives to Krishnagiri and back and managed it on one single charge both times. But it is not a big distance. I also did two Bangalore Mysore Bangalore trips but I did charge the vehicle at Mysore at the Mall of Mysore.

It has taken me until last week to find the time to go to Ooty in the Kona. And Ooty and Coorg are my most visited destinations.

The car’s state of charge was at about 75-80% when we started because I had charged a week earlier and used the car here and there in the city.

As usual, it was only me and my wife and our relatively light luggage.

We stopped at Swad Mysore for a quick breakfast. Sadly the Jio BP charger there is still not functional.

We then stopped at Shell outside of Mysore for a fast charge up to 83%. It was at 17% and it took 40mins so we had some coffee and hung around chatting with the serving lady. And then we attacked the rest of the drive including the steep Sigur Ghat. The Kona performed perfectly. The instant torque and responsive behaviour are very very enjoyable.

Upon reaching our destination I saw that we still had 99kms of range left. Later that day I charged the car back to 85% for our local usage. And then after driving about 85-90 kms locally up and down the hills the next day, I found the charge had come down to 62% so I charged it back up to 83% to be prepared for my return journey.

Then we did the return journey and it was very nice to see how the natural regen helped maintain the SOC and range down to Mudumalai.

We reached Mysore (Shell) with around 199kms range left. I guess I could have attempted the Mysore Bangalore run. But I chose to be prudent and charged the car for about 25 mins while we ate a small meal next door. Returning to the car we found it had reached 83% so I stopped charging and drove back to Bangalore, reaching home with 111kms range left.

I find the eco mode and level 1 regen is nice and I do use the regen paddles much like one would use the gear paddles in an ICE car. I frankly drove all the way on the highway at speeds around 85-95kmph. I'm really not into Hypermiling and all those things to increase range.

I just want to enjoy my car without caring too much and falling victim to this insidious ‘range anxiety’.

In the hills, I always stay well within the sensible speed limit, irrespective of all my years of experience, driving around those hills.

The Kona feels solidly planted and handles very nicely indeed with its low centre of gravity - battery located under the car. It is absolutely fun to drive on the highway and in the hills too. I never thought I would like an EV so much. But I certainly love my Kona.

One has to change the driving thinking and driving style in an EV as compared to an ICE. It is not necessary to start with a full charge nor is it necessary to top up to full every time. Just keep using and charging when needed just like the mobile phone or watch. No need to get obsessed and tense with trying to ‘will’ the charger to take the car to 90-95%… it is much easier if one breaks all these taboos.

Also, I mostly charge using public and private charging infrastructure - fast chargers usually and once in a while plugging it into my office. But then considering I drive an average of 500kms a month in this car my charging also happens only around once or twice a month or so when in the city and obviously as described here, more frequently when on a road trip.

One allows for charging stops and food breaks. And generally goes at an easier pace. And the interesting thing is in an EV one tends to hear better and somehow enjoy the journey more calmly with some nice music and conversation and watching life go by, unlike in a fast ICE car where one feels instinctively like listening to the engine growl and play with the gears and generally ‘send it’. But then, one can accelerate fiercely when needed and accomplish overtaking maneuvres with consummate ease. EV acceleration is ‘teeth blisteringly addictive’ as I have opined in the past. (But it also drinks the juice nicely if one fiddles too much with the accelerator.)

In conclusion:

I'm happy overall with my first Blr-Nilgiris-Blr EV trip.

The total charging cost incurred was around 1600-1800 Rupees…and the performance of the car in the hills and these lovely curvy twisty roads was excellent. The ground clearance is more than adequate for my needs. The smooth acceleration is lovely. The vehicle is stable and planted and highly confidence-inspiring.

If it had been AWD instead of FWD then that would have been the icing on the cake. But, as expressed before, I love the FWD Kona’s size and proportions much more than I do, those of the AWD Kia EV6 and the RWD Ioniq 5.

Best of all, compared to my erstwhile petrol AT Thar, where a trip like this always costs me 10,000 Rs and more, this Kona is a whole world apart.

From the perspective of my pocket and the fuel costs, I am very happy that I sold that Thar and bought the Kona.

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