2024 Hyundai Kona Electric | Talking Cars with Consumer Reports #440

The 12 volts battery problem is a design problem. There's no reason for it to be inherent to EVs. The 12 volt battery in my Prius made it 11 years before I had to replace it. It never has a high load because it never has to crank over an engine. Its main purpose is to start the computer which switches on the main battery connector. It was also stored in the trunk so didn't experience the corrosion you see on a battery in an engine compartment.

When I drove a friend's Hyundai plug-in hybrid with paddles to control the regen, I would turn to "full coast" while driving at speed, but then use the paddles to "downshift" and slow as i approached traffic lights and signs. It was fun and I got the best of both worlds.

We need more station wagons. Was glad to see that came up as a design.

CR often complains about their inability to drive an EV smoothly because of aggressive brake regen. I don’t find that experienced EV owners have this problem. I also believe that constantly changing regen will only serve to exacerbate that problem, because constant changing the level of regen, means you don’t develop proficiency in using it. I have owned an EV for 3 years, always use the one pedal setting, which also results in the highest efficiency.

It's not just the adapter it's also the software in the vehicle. Is this OTA or a trip to the dealer. Wait for a NACS plug. The "adapter" could get left behind & affect resale value. After the free is gone the Ford NACS adapter is $230.

Just because you mentioned "cabin noise".Can you recommend a car that is doing well in terms of cabin noise? Electric, hybrid or gas? Thanks

I will most likely lease my 3rd Kona this fall -- it may actually be cheaper to lease a Kona EV Limited trim over the ICE Limited after both my Federal and State tax credits off the MSRP. In addition, my local electric utility is offering rebates on the cost of buying Level 2 chargers and installing them in your home. With solar roof panels, my electric usage is 68% green energy, plus I would save money over an ICE version. I do love the new Kona top trim the best. Hyundai designed the Kona as an EV first, then put the engine under the hood so it was meant to be an EV crossover! I even get a Frunk and a Trunk. By the fall, I'm hoping that Kona EV charging is converted to NACS, as where I live in the Mid-Atlantic area, lots of Wawa gas stations with Tesla superchargers.

Factoring in mfg incentives and the federal/state tax credits will likely drive some great lease deals for those looking for a good commuter car.

i haven't bought a new car since 2017 and it boggles the mind how expensive cars have become...

13:25 and that bit has me really confused. You'd think that the company that makes it's living completely off charging would be good at keeping the stations running. Afterall every minute the machines are down is a financial hit for the company. So logically you'd think they would have figured out how to minimize downtimr by now. Seriously, who is managing these charges?

Jim Farley said that Ford's NACS adapter is free!

I really respect and admire your creation, though I won't lie, I have a weak spot for the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato. The Audi Avant is really up there in my love-o-meter 😍

Tesla charges the small ancillary 12 V or 15 V battery from the main large battery pack. So as long as you have enough state of charge in your large battery pack, your 12 V battery will never die. I’m not sure why Hyundai or other car manufacturers don’t employ the same strategy as Tesla.

The 2024 Kona EV is at the top of my new car shopping list. I like its sister, the Kia Niro EV, but the Kona has physical buttons and no shiny piano black. And I think the Kona might even have room for a space saver spare tire. I'm looking forward to test driving one.

For reference (1:30): batteries are rated in kilowatt-hours, and chargers are rated in kilowatts (says so right on the charging station).

You and everyone seems to talk a lot about regen breaking on EV vehicles...but no one seems to mention whats going on behind an EV when you let off the accelerator...do the break lights automatically light up when you get off the "gas", and at what point in setting the amount of regen breaking does it NOT light up the break lights? Just curious how a person driving behind you would know what you and your car are doing.

Q2: Dodge Intrepid PHEV. C5 X Body with Charger headlights and taillights, interior from Peugeot 3008, Steering wheel upper section from 2024+ Peugeot 3008, lower section from Ram 1500. Hurricane i6 engine paired with Panasonic EV battery.

The 12V battery is recharged by the high voltage main battery even when it is turned off. When exactly it does this varies with different EVs.

I’ve never had an issue being able to see all of the information displayed on our Ioniq 5 instrument panel. Your problem is not universal among owners.

The mustang and camero both used to have way less than 200hp but now 201HP is just 'ok' in a sub-compact? Wt%? Then praises the price but complains about decision made to keep the price down...lol. I think they're getting numb reviewing too many vehicles. If they used premium materials throughout it wouldn't be 36k plus destination. It would be 40k plus.