My new Kona Electric and my first impressions

Where is the knob to zoom in on the map please? Thanks.

 

We just did a practice session and used the stop and go on the Smart Cruise Control. Maybe there is a setting somewhere that we have missed. We have it set at 4 car lengths. The stop and go seems okay in city traffic at about 60 km per hour. However hubby and I both agree the stops are a bit more aggressive and abrupt than we usually make. When we are using it at higher rate of speed i.e. 80-90, it is horrifying! It is not slowing down at all until we are nearly up the butt of the vehicle ahead. Then the brakes go on. I was ready to get out and walk as I was shaking so badly as my husband was trying it out. I was to the point of yelling "we're going to die!" The first go around we raced up on the back of a semi trailer stopped and hubby was ready to apply the brakes, but I was saying "for God's sake, put on the brakes". Hubby is perplexed. All we can figure out is it programmed for today's style of driving where we see people race up behind someone and abruptly stop. I hope someone here with a car will jump in and say what there stop and go experiences are like at higher speed than city driving. My husband says it helps with driver alertness to stop at the last instant. lol For me, it confirms my dislike of cruise control. I just read we can use regular cruise control instead of stop and go by pressing the distance feature for more than 2 seconds so we will go for that until we figure out what others experience.

 

I'm using the upper right dial, but you have to set it up. The AV manual will walk you through it, if you can find the page!

 

Okay thanks. I will look for the dial that you reference, and read the AV manual. My goodness lots of stuff to learn.

 

It's under Settings / Advanced / Tune Knob Function.

 

Thanks that is great! I love the concept of using that button to zoom on the map.

 

Okay we have the stop and go figured out and what we were doing wrong. We thought it wasn't working properly because of the abrupt stops at highway speed, but realized that it was doing an emergency stop and not a stop and go stop in traffic. It wasn't sounding any collision warnings so we got perplexed when we came upon vehicles ahead that were already stopped as it did a very fast deceleration. It is designed to do stop and go when following a vehicle, but not do a gradual stop when encountering a stopped vehicle up ahead as happened with us a couple of times. It does work like a charm if you are following a vehicle and it slows, you will slow. You will see the vehicle icon in the right side of the dashboard screen. But we were in learning overload on day one and didn't think the process through.

 

I picked up SHARK on Wed, but haven't been able to post it until now. I finally got to try LKA and smart cruise that a lot of you have been talking about, and my was it pretty cool. The angle it takes curves was fun to experience, if even a little nerve racking at first. The only thing I didn't like was that it turns LKA off if you don't keep your hands on long enough. Yes you could grab the wheel once in a while, and yes they want to deter people from not grabbing it as it isn't autonomous, but what if there was a medical emergency that caused someone to stop grabbing the wheel?! The cruise slowed down for slower vehicles ahead, and revved back up as soon as they were out of the way. As for the book and learning, I thought I would read a small amount per day and try to learn something new everyday. This way I don't feel overloaded and keep the learning enjoyment going as long as possible lol. Here's a few shots.

 

Dumb question - does anyone know if you can keep the HUD up all the time (i.e., it doesn't retract every time you turn off the car?)

 

I "think" that it retracts and then pops up again next time you drive. I see ours in down now and I know today it came up without me doing anything.

 

Yeah that’s the same behavior as mine. I’d just rather it stay up all the time unless I press he button as it’s great and can’t see when I’d want it down.

 

They claim they gave me a deal but I really don’t think they did lol! It was $500 for everything - all in. Front, rear and cargo mat. I still don’t have them as they were shipped to me. The rear cargo mat was the same and fits quite well. I still don’t know if they’re worth it. Once I get them I’ll let you know

 

We just went out for an night time drive to check out the automatic headlights. Very nice and efficient response. We didn't have anyone flashing high beams at us so our seem adjusted correctly. My husband really liked the way the headlights go around the corner as we turned. We warmed up the car about 5 minutes before we left with Bluelink and that was nice too. I am happy with everything. Hubby grouses a bit about lack of automatic folding mirrors, lack of seat memory, no electric front passenger adjustment, and he thinks the seat needs to be lower and can't go any lower. But all is going well.

 

I really don’t think that would be the best idea. It’s quickly going to get covered in dust and potentially damaged. If you go to wipe it down it’ll likely scratch and look like poop after a few short months. I appreciate that it retracts

 

To

the best of my knowledge, you can only “schedule” a warm-up if the vehicle is plugged in. If you want to warm it, simply press “Climate” in the BlueLink app and set your car to the desired temperature. It heats up so quickly that I find only a few minutes time is all it takes

 

AND Head Up Display that’s not even an option in the Nero. Plus, it looks plain boring compared to the Kona.

 

Yup I'm still waiting for your review and pictures before I pull the trigger!!!!

 

Now that I've seen a few more videos (AFAIK the car hasn't arrived in Canada yet), it seems like Niro and Kona are cousins and both fine automobiles. Niro to me has a more laid-back look and I like the slightly bigger size and the more open console area. I fear, though, that all those blue accents are going to look silly after the novelty wears off, like the faux-leather roof trim on old sedans.

 

It's pretty windy today, how did it hold up in the wind?
Pilots are so demanding!! lol jk. I've seen a lot more Tesla's in our parking lot, must be all the B777 pilots
It's hard to get a vehicle fully right for everyone, but I do agree if a vehicle is supposed to be an Ultimate trim and technologically advanced, it should have those simple items mentioned.