Canadian pre-orders now available

Thanks. Along with the additional cost, yet another reason to frown on the 20" tires.
I would so love it if the Single motor LR could be upgraded with the Ultimate package. When I reviewed the options it really bugged me that virtually all of the most touted and publicized features and styling points are included only in the Ultimate trim and only in the AWD variant. It appears that other regions have more choices for mixing and matching.

I'm a teeny bit hopeful that that might change before deliveries.

 

For example, the U.S. site seems to allow a mix and match for all trims and all exterior and interior colours.

*The U.S. site is terribly lacking in trim information though. How on Earth would you choose?

 

I reserved a LR AWD + ultimate Thursday morning. I agree with others that I wish they chopped up the options a bit more, I'm curious what the ultimate package will cost. Really I just want it for HDA II, vented seats, and V2L...and the vision roof is cool. But I could live without relaxation seats, and 20inch wheels. The similar "tech pack" in the UK is £1248, which is $2131 Canadian on direct conversion. They've also got the heat pump and battery warmer as a £900 option.

On a related note today I saw the I5 pre-production model in person. The back roof is very slanted, think almost Polestar 2, so maybe the lack of wiper won't be a big deal. The car looks great in person though. The headlights and taillights are amazing.

 

My MINI Electric's hatch is nearly vertical and dirt roads make its rear wiper essential IMO. I would think any shallower angle would make the hatch window more likely to retain those airborne deposits.

Another scenario is wet vegetation that has fallen from trees and dried on the hatch window. Aerodynamics won't dislodge those firmly attached vision obstructions. There are other sticky things that fall from the sky, but I don't need to belabor my point.

Just like I knock Tesla's Model 3/Y for not offering a Head-Up Display (or a Model S/X instrument panel), I'll knock Hyundai and Kia for not offering a rear wiper on their new EVs. Let the customers have what they're used to. The manufacturers can get over their "nobody needs that" attitude by just charging more money for those features.

 

Stubby hatches have always attracted mud and dirt like magnets. That's why wipers are standard. The rake of the Ioniq's rear window is more sedan-like so maybe the turbulence and blow back of traditional hatches is not an issue? I'd still prefer it had one.

 

Can any car junkies on here let me know:

Can cars shipped with 20" tires be fitted easily with 19s (for winter, for example)? Any complications? I'd love to regain efficiency and save $$$.

 

Sure, typically for winter tires we use a smaller rim, larger sidewall to make the tire diameter match OEM tires to keep speedo calibrated in a traditional car, and narrower profile. It's just the bolt pattern that has to match. I believe I saw someone mention that all Hyundai's use the fairly common 5 hole 114mm pattern. Same as many Japanese cars.

 

It's not only the bolt pattern you need to worry about. You can purchase hub-centric rings to minimize vibration if you get aftermarket replacement wheels that don't match the Hyundai's hub size perfectly. Aftermarket wheels usually have a larger center bore to make them one-size-fits-all-makes-with-that-bolt-pattern. Using a wheel with a larger center bore doesn't guarantee vibration due to misalignment, but a matching center bore ensures the wheel will be perfectly centered.

 

Yes, the Kona has the rear wiper. Both the Ioniq 5 and Kia EV 6 are using spoilers to allow the wind to clear the back window - at least Hyundai should offer a rear wiper as an option. I live in the country-side and am typically doing 80 - 100 Kph but I park outside and have the pine trees and dirt roadway messing up both the front and back windows; I think Hyundai dropped the ball on this aspect.

 

Hi Dan, there are affordable EVs already on the market, just not North America. I bet some don't meet the safety standards here so the manufacturers simply don't bother w the North American markets.

 

Even if they did meet our safety standards, affordable EVs are small cars and people over here aren't buying cars, much less small cars. Hence, the VW ID.4 cross-over comes across the ocean, but not the ID.3 car. Fiat isn't bringing their nice, new 500e.

I feel very lucky that MINI bucked the trend and decided to bring their EV to the US and sell it even in my non-ZEV state. The base MINI Cooper SE is the most affordable EV here and I find it's an absolute blast to drive for its admittedly limited 183 km EPA range--recently raised from a paltry 177 km. It's a great primary car for families with a secondary, long-distance vehicle.

 

Nearest dealership for Mini Cooper SE distance is far enough that I can not get back to Sudbury as not enough charging stations on highway.

Dan


Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs

 

The Chinese manufacturers hired a few experienced car designers. They've been turning out inexpensive and quality-built vehicles that look great. They are only in a select few European countries but expanding. Companies such as Xpeng, BYD & Nio - lots of YouTube videos on them. Mercedes is partnered with BYD for their batteries. Toyota and BYD partnered to build EVs too - that's why Toyota wasn't concerned about being late to the party. Inexpensive EVs are out there, just not here!

 

The Canadian highway system does get a little dimmer up there in Sudbury, so it's not surprising electric cars aren't well supported in your neck of the woods.



You could have a MINI Cooper SE brought to Sudbury on a truck, but I admit not being able to get to and from the dealer is not an ideal situation. Well, you have a fun car to drive in the warmer months.

 

The more I look at the Canadian options and compare them with International options the more disappointed I am. The limited interior/ exterior choices, the cloth seats in all but the top level, the nickel and dime cherry picking of features from trim to trim and the absence of the Ioniq 5's "unique" features from all but the top trim, it all sort of leaves me cold. I'm increasingly suspect that these choices have been made by Hyundai Canada only to keep the majority of trims below the $55k cap for government EV $$.

My Ultimate Kona provides more features and range (even at 80%) than all of these choices. The logical side of me is starting to win over the "shiny new things" side. Many months to go so we'll see which side wins out.

 

I agree with you. They should make the ultimate package available for the single motor trim. And I think they should make multiple packages to better split up the options instead of throwing all the top level stuff into one package, break them up into a few smaller packages that make sense. We know what's going on here though, the fewer options there are the easier it is to get cars off of the line and shipped. More options means more variations and it delays production unless you are ok with actually custom ordering the car and waiting for it.

 

Not quite correct: you could order the lesser trim but you (we found out long after the fact) had to wait for it.