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

I just want them to replace my battery.. I'm still holding out hope they'll replace the batteries eventually. The high mileage on my car makes it not really worth it for a buyback I think.

 

Probably no one is interested in a used PHEV, but here's a plug for a Volt (2016 on). A pure EV for 53 EPA miles but I got in the mid-60's. It turns the gas engine on monthly to warm up. So if that range fits your usage, expect very little maintenance. And it handles almost as well as the Kona.

My dealer says their first batch of 2022's is sitting in the U.S. port now. He can see their colors in the system but nothing else. Hyundai will release them when the 2021 inventory gets down to a certain point. He also said that the $3000 cash back was to get to that point faster, and they have gone from 20 cars to 3. Looking online I do see the inventory in our area is way down. So maybe I will have to pay up for a 2022 when the buyback comes through.

True dat. But my sense is that this year is going to see an unusual amount of progress in EV offerings. If not, I have no problem waiting longer while driving a non-explosive 2021 or 2022 Kona EV.

 

What website or application are you using for this?

I'm looking for more info to plan a trip from Seattle to Florida with a fast charge mid-day, and a L2 overnight charge at a hotel at about 400-500 miles/day.

 

This depends on your state. Some states cap the Lemon Law mileage depreciation at 10% of purchase price, regardless of mileage. (Maine is one of them) A rule like that should make the buyback even better for high mileage cars than for normal-usage cars.

 

For those looking for a follow-on to the Kona, I think the new Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 are setting the new high standard to beat. Tesla is not even in the running, not just with their past problems, but their technology is now far obsolete. Even the Kona beats the M3 in almost every respect. The competitors to the Ioniq 5 will be the Mach-E and ID4. But they fall short too, with lower range and charging speeds and do not have the 800V battery system.

 

Watching the inventories of 2021 Ultimates shrink, I figure by the time my buyback is processed I'll miss out on the discounts and have to pay up for a 2022. But with some styling improvements, new instrument panel, added safety features, less noise and possibly a better ride - I'm starting to think it'll be worth it.

The problem is timing - when will 2022s be on sale and when will my buyback become available?

 

I am told that the Tesla discussion has been moved to its own thread Off-topic discussion about possible Tesla-hate in the Off Topic forum.

That would be the place to continue discussing attitudes about Teslas, attitudes about people with attitudes about Teslas, etc.

Can we please keep on topic here and discuss all cars, including Teslas, as possible buyback replacements?

 

What I really want is an VW ID.3 because of the form factor and size. What i need from a vehicle is a comfortable compact commuter that I can put the weekly groceries in or occasionally some sports equipment and a cooler of beer for the team. Even the Kona EV was a bit larger than I wanted. I'd say the Ioniq 5 is what I lean towards but it adds 14" of length and 5" width to the Kona so it almost ends up being as big as my wife's Rx350. Definitely stuff to ponder over the next few weeks.

 

You might get quite disappointed with current state of VW ID.X affairs. They have a bunch of issues, most of them due to quite bad software.
And some of the issues seem not to be solvable using software updates as someone seems to have done a bassically quite bad hardware architecture so cars will need actual hardware replacements for issues to get completely solved.
Here in Europe we have quite some of those ID.3s already on the roads, so experience is coming in and is not good.

The only big issue with the Kona EV is LG messing up the battery in their China plant and some early models having issues with their 12V battery. Other issues are extremely limited.

And remember, with replaced proper battery Kona EV is still very good and robust electric car.

 

Here on the east coast (specifically New Jersey) I'm not seeing that despite the discounts being offered. The 6 dealers within 25 miles of me still have 57 Ultimates in stock, and when I expand that search to 100 miles there are 421 Ultimates.

But the leftover 20's are now nearly gone.

 

In the U.S., cars started to ship with the version 2.1 release - in Europe, the ID.3 first shipped with an earlier version that was far buggier, and it sounds like dealers are struggling to update.

There is also the issue of the failures in the reduction gear which usually require both the motor and the reduction gear being replaced. I don't think we ever got an explanation for that one either - Hyundai just throws new parts at it until the problem appears to go away. As long as the car is under warranty, I guess it is only a nuisance, but if you had to buy those parts out of pocket, they would be quite expensive.

 

I am no longer seeing movement on the 2021s here either.

When I first started looking, maybe two weeks ago, I remember a significant drop in the first few days. But I only started keeping notes five days ago, and in that time the number only changed by one. There are 9 Ultimates within 50 miles, 43 within 150 miles.

Current cash incentives expire June 1, and buyers will be shopping tomorrow since it is a holiday. It is also the last day of the month, so dealers will be motivated to up their totals. All of this should drive sales up.

OTOH the next set of incentives will likely be higher. And buyers like me, seeing the promised "Spring 2021" delivery of 2022s only three weeks off, may be holding out. So let's see what the totals look like later this week.

I was able to get 2022 numbers out of two dealers, who just see a couple of 2022s waiting in U.S. port. One said there were none earlier in the pipeline. If this is valid information, Hyundai may not just be holding incoming 2022s at the port, they might have stopped allocating any production to the U.S. So possibly for some time we might just see a few 2022s, marked way up.

Meanwhile, I'll try to pull my mind back out of this rabbit hole. I haven't even gotten a number from Sedgwick, and won't make a move until I have a firm offer in hand from Hyundai. Then I'll look around, check price and availability, and wind up with either a new 2022 Ultimate, a great deal on a 2021, or maybe even a new Mach-E, plus another $7500 credit on any of them. I'd prefer the 2022 but would be happy to drive any of them until something better comes along.

 

Why the MachE? What do you like about that. (I haven't looked at any of the options in person yet. I like the IDEA of the Ioniq 5 most, but I'm starting to think that we may need to sell back the car sooner than that comes out.)

 

I like gadgets, and the Mach-E's top trim has a bunch of them, including a 360 degree camera (compensates for the larger vehicle size), power folding side mirrors, memory seat, foot-activated liftgate, and promised hands-free driving as an OTA update. It has true one-pedal driving, better than the Kona, and the huge center display. I have not enjoyed dealing with Hyundai and don't like their attitude toward customers. And the Ford dealer is much closer.

But I would miss the Kona's heads-up display and cornering lights. Even the Mach-E AWD doesn't handle nearly as well as the Kona - nothing else I've driven does except my wife's old Boxster. The top trim line comes with a huge non-opening glass roof that's useless IMO unless you want solar heating in the summer, and no built-in cover. Its nav system and voice recognition have an IQ around 60 and the Kona's have spoiled me. It's much less efficient. And I might have to pay over MSRP.

The only reason I'd consider the Mach-E is if I get stuck not being able to get a 2022 Kona at a price I could live with. So I'd tell myself it would be fun to own something new. Or there might be 2021s still around at a price I couldn't refuse, but there's no fun factor in that. Just have to see the situation when I'm ready to buy.

Something better will be available soon. It might be the Ioniq 5 but I won't know until I drive it. So whichever car I get now, I will consider it temporary and be willing to swap again.

 

A good place to check is Chevy Volt forums, they have been dealing with this exact issue for years.

 

The Volt takes care of this automatically.

When it computes that the average age of the fuel in the tank is one year, it will run the car only on gas (Fuel Maintenance Mode or FMM) until fresh fuel is added to the tank. So for example, suppose FMM starts and there are 5 year-old gallons in the tank. If one fresh gallon is added, and it's run all on EV for another 2 months, the average age will again reach one year and it will run FMM again. The manual has a list of the brands of gasoline that GM trusts to remain usable under this regimen.

Also, once a month the Volt runs Engine Maintenance Mode (EMM), which turns on the ICE and warms it up. Other than that, it always runs as a pure EV unless the battery gets down to 0% usable or the driver turns the ICE on manually.

 

Those clever Americans

 

Interesting reading. I don't own a Kona right now, but have been considering. They 21's aren't selling in New Jersey either, although some people may be waiting for the rebate program to start again (likely July). That would take another $5,000 of the price of the car plus $500 towards a charging station. Interesting, but not suprising, that no one is considering a Honda Clarity. I drive one, but it is a much different ride than the Kona (somewhat soft ride). Doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in the Niro either.