For those involved in the Buyback program: what are your plans after?

Discussion in 'Hyundai Kona Electric' started by Mattsburgh, May 25, 2021.

To remove this ad click here.

  1. Jennifer likes this.
  2. To remove this ad click here.

  3. While waiting for my buyback to move along, there's nothing to do but gaze into my cloudy crystal ball and think about the future of the Kona EV, one of my top replacement candidates.

    When Mach-E production gets to the point of dealers having floor inventory, the Kona EV will be a tough sell against it. The Mach-E is priced about the same as the 2021 Limited and Ultimate, and is larger and more feature-rich. The 2022 Kona EV eliminates the Ultimate trim level, and probably will lose the HUD, as the 2022 ICEs have. So perhaps Hyundai is recognizing that the Kona will no longer be feature-competitive and, with the Ioniq 5 coming, will position the 2022 as the economy EV.

    Or maybe they will stop making it for North America, and just sell through the few already manufactured.
     
    Mattsburgh and Wildeyed like this.
  4. You know I read frequently how the price for the Kona is "pretty much" the same as: take your pick from the Mach E or the Model 3 or Y and it is totally not true. Those cars exceed the Kona by $10k-20k depending on the trim levels. But comparing the very lowest trim of one with the highest trim of another is just ... inaccurate. There might be many reasons to choose one over the other but prices being "pretty much the same" is not one of them.
     
    Mattsburgh, NRH and Zoomie71 like this.
  5. Exactly. These cars are not the same and are, therefore, not comparable. The Model 3 is closest in size to the Kona Electric, of course. But, as soon as you start adding Long Range, etc, the price is far and above what you'll see on the Kona Electric.
     
    Mattsburgh, Esprit1st and NRH like this.
  6. That's fair, and you're right that trim levels vary widely.

    In my particular shopping, I've focused in on the top of the line Kona Ultimate and one specific middle of the line Mach-E configuration that I consider comparable and similarly priced. There are higher end Mach-E's with all-wheel drive, more range and higher performance. But for someone comfortable with a Kona Ultimate, I don't think they're going to look at a $61,000 Mach-E GT AWD that does 0-60 in 3.5 seconds.

    I've compared a 2021 Ultimate at MSRP $46,540 including destination charge to a Mach-E Premium at $48,700. The ranges are 258 vs. 230 miles. So the Mach-E is $2,160 more expensive and has 11% less range. I consider this "pretty much the same"; YMMV.

    And I think that the Ultimate is not competitive with this particular Mach-E. The Mach-E is larger, has a ton more features, and OTA updates. The Kona is more efficient, has the HUD, and I find it more fun to drive. Side by side, I think most people would take the Mach-E.
     
  7. To remove this ad click here.

  8. hobbit

    hobbit Well-Known Member

    Not that it's relevant to buyback because mine is a different set of circumstances, I did more
    thinking and poking around and concluded that the Kona really is near the top of the heap as
    far as range for the buck. Especially in the lower-end SEL trim, which I stuck with for a slew of
    reasons. And in my case I already had put the work and $ into model-specific accessories and
    setting things up the way I wanted, so why start back at ground zero just to get an EV on the
    road again? That may well have been my path forward in a buyback situation too.

    _H*
     
  9. Paul DeLeon

    Paul DeLeon Active Member

    Mach-E are a expensive and Ford ain't discounting. My lease was double for the Ford compared to my Kona.
    The VWs are more reasonable but lack a heat pump. Plus they are buggy, I'm told. I keep coming back to the Kia Nero.
     
    Mattsburgh likes this.
  10. ehatch

    ehatch Active Member

    You have a tough decision with your life changes.You're not wrong about five year timeline for even more compelling BEVs. The 400 mile ones that don't require six figures to get into one.

    I will stay BEV,I like the overall performance,and total cost of ownership. PHEV, you're going to have double the issue potentially due to the ICE and Li-ion components.I think you'll miss the BEV acceleration,torque for the most part,highway on ramp;)

    Lookup Hyundai brake , engine fires. You will see what's going on with their late model ICE vehicles,sadly Tucsun is among them.
    Toyota RAV4,I wouldn't want 3kW in 2021 and beyond.
    Ford Escape isn't their C-Max which I think was built on a Euro.platform{?},and very good:range,and charging speed.Cargo area full of Li-ion not so much,if you're traveling, don't you want all the cargo available?it's reliability history may haunt you.

    Most PHEVs have the transmission tunnel intruding into the cabin floor.

    Then there's the Ioniq5,if you looked at its specs.,new platform.The RWD long range is about 77kW,and if you can locate a 350kW HPC,you can charge it in about 15 minutes from 10% to 80%.Also 800V, Kia EV6,77kW,about 300 mile range.eNiro appears to have faired better than its cousin,Kona electric.Both will likely use SK Li-ion.
     
    Mattsburgh likes this.
  11. NRH

    NRH Active Member

    I haven't seen much discussion on here about the E-Niro as an alternative to the Kona. I never considered myself to be that into looks with cars, but maybe that's changed, as the Niro just doesn't excite me.

    Nonetheless I just looked into the specs a bit more, to make sure I'm considering all the options (and some extra cargo space could be nice). I was surprised to see that the Niro EPA range rating is only 239 miles. That's with the same 64kwh battery and (I think) the same drive train. Is the Niro really that much less efficient? For us I think that's a deal breaker. With our Kona we can travel easily along the New England Interstates with the 258 mile range rating. I think it would be trickier with ~10% less. We'd be making more stops, certainly, and I think our last leg home we might need to stop at a 50kW charger, because getting from the last 150kw station to our house on 80% of 239 wouldn't be possible. (Now that I've used the EA stations a bunch, my patience for slower DC stations has worn pretty thin.)
     
    Mattsburgh and miatadan like this.
  12. To remove this ad click here.

  13. I looked at the 2019 Niro when I bought my Kona. I liked the car but the steering was a little stiff for me, and it lacked a number of features. I believe the 2020 added 10" display and high beam assist, but LED headlamps and Homelink are still aftermarket add-ins. I would miss my Ultimate's HUD.
     
    Mattsburgh likes this.
  14. 2 things stopped me from getting the Niro: black only interior (blech!) and the fact that I live in a Kia desert. There isn't a Kia EV dealer anywhere remotely close. Also, at the time I was hot to trot the Niro wasn't really a thing yet.
     
    Mattsburgh likes this.
  15. I received this message attached to my monthly vehicle report which makes it sound like they have batteries available and will otify us end of June:
    "2019 MODEL YEAR KONA EV OWNERS WILL BEGIN RECEIVING REMEDY NOW AVAILABLE NOTIFICATION LETTERS BEGINNING IN LATE JUNE 2021 AS BATTERY SUPPLY BECOMES READILY AVAILABLE FOR THEIR VEHICLE. ONCE OWNERS ARRIVE AT THE DEALERSHIP,DEALER WILL INSPECT AND IF NECESSARY, ORDER A REPLACEMENT BATTERY SYSTEM ASSEMBLY. A SOFTWARE UPDATE MAY ALSO BE NECESSARY. THIS PROCEDURE WILL BE PERFORMED AT NO CHARGE TO THE OWNER. 2020 MODEL YEAR OWNERS WILL RECEIVE A REMEDY NOT AVAILABLE LETTER UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE AS REMEDY FOR 2020 MODEL YEAR OWNERS IS CURRENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT. HYUNDAI RECOMMENDS YOU TO ADJUST AND MAINTAIN YOUR BATTERY'S 'MAX% CHARGE'LEVEL AT 80% AS A PRELIMINARY SAFETY MEASURE TO ENABLE YOU TO SAFELY DRIVEAND CHARGE YOUR VEHICLE AT HOME PRIOR TO THE REMEDY BEING PERFORMED. SEARCH YOUTUBE AND TYPE "SETTING THE MAXIMUM CHARGE LIMIT HYUNDAI" AND SELECT THE FIRST LINK THAT APPEARS OR CONTACT YOUR LOCAL HYUNDAI DEALERSHIP FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO ADJUST YOUR BATTERY'S 'MAX% CHARGE' LEVEL."
     
  16. I wonder what the difference is between '19s and 2020s that makes a battery replacement necessary in '19s but apparently optional in the affected 2020s?

    * It's nice to see Hyundai U.S. keeping its customers informed. Come on Hyundai Canada, get it together!
     
  17. miatadan

    miatadan Active Member Subscriber

    The Niro EV , styling wise look awful to me. But so do 98% of suv/crossover designs with the exception of Porsche, Audi,VW.
     
    Mattsburgh, NRH and Fastnf like this.
  18. Yeah it looks like the RAV4 Prime will be it for me, already put down a deposit. Hey I didn't get your comment about "RAV4, I wouldn't want 3kW in 2021 and beyond" - can you clarify? The prime has a 18 kW battery and 42 miles of EV range.

    Agree with you about the Tucson, they don't have very good reliability. However, the 2021 is an all new model so hard to compare directly, though on the other hand first year models do tend to have more issues (as we should ALL know lol). Also Hyundai's reliability has really improved over the years, they make pretty dependable cars for the most part, IMHO. So they're not as overwhelmingly consistent as Toyota, at least not yet, but who is? Anyway, with the Tucson when I weighed the plusses and minuses the minuses won out. (those being: the car is still not on sale in the US, I don't know when it will be and I need a replacement vehicle before my move in Sept., the old Tucson had bad reliability and the new one might be better but it's still brand new and unproven... so reliability will be a huge question mark).
     
  19. I think the Niro EV is an excellent choice. I tried really hard to convince myself to go with the PHEV version of the Niro, in fact, and I came close. But I just hate the red interior lights so much that I knew it would annoy me literally every time I drove the car at night. I know that is a stupid reason, believe me, but I can't change my opinion about it. But if you like the red or don't care, as I suspect most people are in that camp, I think it's a great choice. Slightly bigger than the Kona, hence the small reduction in range, but otherwise a very solid choice.
     
  20. Jennifer are you in the US? Canada? ... ? And you have a 2019 or 2020 Kona?
     
  21. Please, people - add your location, along with vehicle type, to the location field of your profile. We often need that context to understand your posts and give appropriate advice.
     
    Mattsburgh, navguy12 and R P like this.
  22. Did Hyundai get in touch with you about a buy back? Did you get in touch with them? I filed a complaint with Hyundai a week ago Monday, as well as with the NHTSA, and haven't heard anything from either.
     
  23. How did you start "the buyback process"?
     

Share This Page