Hyundai’s Kona electric SUV lapped the Lausitzring for a sleep-inducing thirty-five hours to cover over 1000km on a single charge.
Hyundai doesn’t do things by halves these days. Two pure EVs and a whole new electric brand from having neither of those things two years ago.
What’s more, the Kona electric, our current EV of choice, has a Tesla Model 3 matching range of 450km (WLTP) for a whole Kia Picanto less.
Anyway, Hyundai took not one but three Kona electrics to a racetrack in Germany (not that one), charged them and sent them out on a hyper-miling challenge.
The Rules
The drivers consisted of two teams from Hyundai Motor Deutschland and, I guess, a control team from German car mag Auto Bild.
The test was run at German race track, the Lausitzring which has a sneaky big test track that Dekra (yep, from Michael Schumacher’s hat) uses for all sorts of things including autonomous driving testing. Dekra is kind of an NRMA/RACV/RACQ but is actually interested in cars.
Each Kona, Hyundai says, was stock standard and running on Nexen N Fera SU1 215s on 17-inch rims. They didn’t say what pressure those tyres were running at, but they won’t have been soft.
The drivetrain also standard, which means a 356-volt power supply fed by a 64kWh battery, driving the front wheels with 150kW and 395Nm.
In unbelievably unpleasant news, the climate control and media systems stayed off. Hopefully it wasn’t hot and the drivers were at least allowed to put their phones on speaker. The daytime running lights stayed on, though, but as the press release readily admits, everything else stayed off for maximum range.
The Results
I don’t think it’s going over the top to say that his is a colossally good result. Yes, the team drove around the Ring at averages of between 29km/h and 31km/h with no air-con or entertainment but as you can see, each of them cracked 1000km on a single charge.
This ridiculous feat took almost 35 hours, which is a long time to be purring slowly around a test track. The cars used less than half the WLTP 14.7kWh/100km, coming in at 6.28kWh, 6.25kWh and 6.24kWh/100km.
I’ve wrung 412km out a Kona electric with range to spare and I was not messing about and trying to do what these crazy Germans have managed.
The team even eked out 20km with just three percent of charge left, so that first 1000km was easy.
What does all this mean?
Not a great deal to you and me – we won’t ever have an opportunity to drive a sustained 29-31km/h with the sound and air-con off. Even if I did, I’d choose whatever else was on offer, even it included listening to Malcolm Turnbull or Kanye West talk about themselves. Hopefully not for 35 hours, though.
But it does point to the fact that the Kona is the real deal. While you can do a similar thing in other electric cars – the Tesla Model S record stands at 1078km on a much bigger P100D battery – it does show that the Kona is a well-engineered EV.
We return to Jaguar’s pioneering I-PACE before its impending update and in light of the imminent arrival of the Audi e-tron.
I have been fortunate enough to have already driven the I-PACE, not long after its launch and again at Sydney Motorsport Park. Doing 200km/h in near silence is hilarious, by the way.
When I last drove the I-Pace, I was impressed by Jag’s first attempt at an EV. As Tesla will tell you, they’re hard cars to make and harder to make well.
How much is a 2020 Jaguar I-PACE and what do I get?
The up-spec HSE is obviously the one with the most stuff, but even then this one has a few options, pushing the price ever higher.
To start with, though, you get 20-inch alloys, a 15-speaker stereo, dual-zone climate control, ambient lighting, front-side-and-reversing cameras, keyless entry and start, front-rear-and-side parking sensors, active cruise control, electric front seats, sat nav, auto LED headlights, digital dashboard, heated front and rear seats, leather trim, auto parking, powered tailgate, power everything else, auto wipers and a wireless hotspot SIM function.
InControl Touch Pro powers the big central touchscreen and just as it’s about to get the boot, it’s gotten really good. There is some lovely functionality in there but I’d like to see a lot more of the EV stats. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are along as well, but the USB port is under the armrest and there’s no wireless charging (yet) or wireless CarPlay.
Unusually for a lowish volume model, there’s a good selection of colours.
Santorini Black, Caesium Blue, Borasco Grey, Corris Grey, Firenze Red, Photon Red, Indus Silver, Eiger Gray, Portofino Blue and Yulong White weigh in at $1950.
Farallon Black and Aruba land at $3900. Fuji White and Caldera Red are free. As you can see from the photos, it looks a treat in white, especially with gloss black wheels ($390).
Packages and options
It’s a Jag, so there’s heaps of stuff to add. I’ll stick with the highlights.
Air suspension is $2002 (highly recommend that one), full leather ($2763), black contrast roof ($1495), fixed panoramic roof ($3380, cooks the interior, so be careful with that one), head-up display ($1040), four-zone climate control ($1820) and heated steering wheel ($494).
The Black Exterior Pack runs to $760 and blacks out the grille and window surrounds. Go for that, I reckon it looks the business in most colours.
There are heaps more to choose from, so have a look here.
Safety – 5 stars (ANCAP, 2018)
The I-Pace whirrs on to your driveway with six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, pedestrian airbag, forward AEB (high and low speed) with pedestrian detection, forward collision warning, pedestrian alert, exit alert and rear cross-traffic alert.
You also get two ISOFIX points and three top-tether anchors.
Warranty and Servicing
Jaguar’s three years/100,000km warranty lags Mercedes but is the same as German rivals BMW and Audi. Could be better and for June 2020, Jag extended it to five years, so we’ll see if that returns full time.
Today you can extend he warranty by 12 or 24 months and up to 200,000km if you fancy paying for it.
There’s also a separate battery warranty which feels a bit skinny at six years/80,000km
Look and feel
The front end is very Jaguar but, oddly, not as we know it. As there are no front-wheel drive Jags, the short bonnet is something different, but the slim headlights work a treat. The aero profile fits in the Jag pantheon, but again, isn’t all that Jaguar, flowing less obviously than the traditional look. That vertical wind tunnel backside is not at all Jag but has the current signature taillights.
I like it. It looks good from all angles and that big proud leaper across the rear helps break up the space between the rear lights. The heavy rake on the rear screen does compromise rear vision from inside, but not fatally.
And as I’ve already said, I’m digging the white with black wheels.
Like all current Jag interiors, it’s beautifully designed. I really like the way the I-Pace is put together, too. You can’t say that about all Jags. I love the dished steering wheel more than is probably appropriate.
Leg room in the back is good but headroom might be tricky for taller folks. It’s very comfortable, though and with the seat heating, you’re well looked-after in the HSE.
Being a dedicated EV platform, the boot is gigantic at 656 litres (along with the small front at the front which is the right size for the charger). Drop the seats and you’ll easily double the space. Flat packs will fit. Sorry, Ikea dodgers.
The I-Pace can tow 750kg which is jet-ski territory.
Chassis and drivetrain
The headline figures are big – 294kW and 696Nm at zero rpm. That’s a truckload of grunt no matter what you’re driving. With an electric motor at each end and a single-speed transmission, that’s enough to send the 2.1-tonne I-Pace to 100km/h in 4.9 seconds.
The skateboard chassis is a big block of batteries on to which either coil suspension or air suspension is attached. I haven’t driven a static suspension i-Pace so can only tell you that the air suspension is really good.
Range and charging
The 90kWh battery has a claimed 470km WLTP range which translated to around 450km for me in the real world, which was mostly urban and suburban driving.
You can charge with the supplied 7kW charger from 0-80 percent in about 10 hours, which is really quite good. Not many people drive 300km per day every day, so for most people it’s a once-a-week charge or every few days. Unless you’re going the distance, topping up to 80 percent is a good way to keep the battery in good shape.
Well. As far as we know today.
If home charging is critical, wait for the 2021 update which upgrades the onboard charger to 11kW. That means you also need three-phase power but it reduces the overall charge time by a third.
The current machine has some onboard config for scheduling charging. Predictably, there’s an app for it as well which also lets you pre-condition the cabin temperature.
Driving
I had forgotten how flexible a pure EV can be. Quick when you want it, smooth when you need it, always quiet. I feel like the software has been fine-tuned since launch, too, with a more natural throttle pedal feel.
It has always had the jump-to-hyperspace vibe of price-competitive EVs but now it feels more refined in traffic, especially with creep mode enabled.
I feel like the steering is better, too, more accurate and less artificial. I could be imaging this because I have no evidence anything has changed. Bottom line is, this is easily my favourite EV (although I’m yet to drive its immediate competition).
It takes a while to get over the psychological barrier that is the obvious weight. It didn’t bother me in a straight line but learning to understand the way the weight shifts in corners took a while.
Once I got it, hoo-boy. This thing is alarmingly quick. While the 0-100km/h is in the realm of an Audi RS4, the rolling acceleration is vivid. You can take on just about anything when you’re rolling between 20km/h and 100km/h and unless it’s another expensive EV, you’ll win.
But if you’re carrying passengers, the hushed cabin makes conversation so easy and in traffic, the almost one-pedal operation is close to perfection.
Competition
You could argue that all Teslas are competitors one way or another. Until you sit in one (again, excepting the Model 3 here) and realise the Jag’s interior is miles ahead. Even if it doesn’t fart when you press a button in the media system. The Model X and S are cheaper than they were two years ago but they’re both getting tired.
Audi’s new e-tron is here very soon. The pricing looks close on the surface, but the entry-level has a much shorter range than the similarly-priced i-Pace and you have to go for the 55 SUV or Sportback for a similar range. The 50 will crack 300km/h WLTP while the 55 has a range in excess of 400km (WLTP) with its 95kWh battery. It’s also (on official figures) 200kg heavier.
The Mercedes EQC is more expensive again but is more comparable for range and equipment and has an equally cool interior. And a longer warranty.
Redline Recommendation
This is an excellent car that happens to be an EV. And it’s even better than when I first drove it. I do like a Jag and this one is a proper vision of the future. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2021 and beyond.
You may, however, have to look past the short warranties and take a punt on the battery longevity, but the latter issue is hardly Jaguar-specific.
The 2021 Jaguar I-PACE is on the way, with upgraded charging, the Pivi-Pro media system and over-the-air software updates.
Jaguar’s all-electric I-PACE was a bit of a revelation when it came out. The British manufacturer went nuts, beating the Germans to the punch and delivering the first long range EV from a premium brand.
For 2021 the car scores a number of useful improvements while still clobbering the Audi e-tron and Mercedes EQC on price.
How much is a 2021 Jaguar I-PACE and what do I get?
$128,860 + ORC
You get a lot of stuff, but there are a couple of important changes.
The I-PACE now comes with an 11kW on-board charger. If you have a wallbox, that means charging time improves to 53km per charge hour (WLTP), up from the 35km you get from the 7kW charge.
You do need three-phase power for the 11kW, but charge from dead falls to 8.6 hours from 12.75.
A 50kW charge station will also deliver 63km per 15 minutes of charge and 100kW chargers deliver 127km in 15 minutes.
The cabin scores air-ionisation with PM2.5 filtration. After last year’s disastrous fires on the East Coast, this is the sort of thing people are thinking about.
Except VW dealers, who when they serviced my Up (RIP), didn’t put a new cabin filter in. Thanks guys.
The 2021 I-PACE also has a wider choice of colours and a new Bright Pack.
Pivi Pro media system
The 2021 Jaguar I-PACE scores the new Pivi Pro system first seen in the sister-brand Land Rover Defender. Well, I say seen, those cars aren’t here yet…
They system runs on the central 10-inch touchscreen. Pivi Pro replaces the old InTouch system which had gotten quite good by the end.
The new system is said to have flat a menu structure and behave more like a smartphone, which is good.
The system can also support two bluetooth a connections as well as wireless Spotify but Apple CarPlay and Android Auto still want a cable from what I can tell. It also wakes up more quickly when you get in, something InTouch wasn’t very good at.
The new optional wireless charging pad under the console also features a signal booster, which is kind of cool.
And lastly, Pivi’s sat nav should be helpful in finding you a charge station and navigating you to your destination with that in mind.
Pivi also supports ClearSight around-view cameras which I found so useful in the Land Rover Evoque.
When?
You can order the 2021 Jaguar I-PACE now and enjoy the electric performance (no, really, it’s good) later in the year.
If you think BMW hasn’t been serious about electric cars, you haven’t been paying attention. After a long gestation, here’s the first mainstream BMW EV– the BMW i4 Concept.
It’s pretty obvious looking at the i4, this about more than EVs. The giant new grille we’re going to see on the production 4 series, the Gran Coupe bodyshell we will also see in production on the 4 Series.
It also showcases a new cabin concept that includes the firm’s new curved display, which combines the dashboard and iDrive screens into one, long, gently curving screen.
Yes, it has a massive grille but – and this is going to be unpopular – I don’t hate it. It kind of works.
What is the BMW i4 Concept?
After the Geneva press release after-party, er, Geneva Motor Show was cancelled, BMW has chosen to drop the i4 online. This is the first mainstream BMW electric vehicle, a car that sits comfortably among its current ICE and PHEV ranges. A BMW EV that isn’t super-conscious of being an EV.
Yes, it’s very self-consciously BMW, but we’ve already covered that.
The main fun is, obviously, in the propulsion. BMW claims some serious numbers – 600km range (WLTP) for starters. The WLTP cycle aims to put consumption figures into the realm of reality and, as we’ve seen on the Hyundai Kona Electric, is very close to what you might get yourself.
To crack 0-100km/h in four seconds with its 550kg of batteries on board, you’ll need every one of the i4’s 395kW. BMW also says the i4 will keep going on to 200km/h.
The battery is an 80kWh unit and you can probably expect the usual 80 percent charge in about 45 minutes if you have the beefy chargers you can find here and there in Europe.
Look and feel
The i4’s silhouette is instantly familiar – the gorgeous 4 Series Gran Coupe looks like it’s going to stay that way. Well, from the side anyway. The rear is an evolution of the G30 3 Series lights and a very aero-centric backside with a silly concept diffuser. Expect the production car to be less overdone.
Up front, you can see that new grille. Get used to it, BMW is determined to go double Edsel on us, so just go with it. Again, the lights are an evolution of the 3er, with plenty of aero stuff, but this end is a lot closer to reality than the stern. The wheels are insanely large and out of proportion, so hopefully they don’t make the cut.
Look past the rather fetching satin gold trim and the heavily-dished steering wheel (I want that in production), this is the new direction for BMW cabins. While not a massive change, the new double-width screen, imaginatively-titled BMW Curved Display, looks terrific. The curve angles gently toward the driver and looks lovely. Whether those delicate legs survive to production I don’t know, but hey, we can dream.
There are some adventurous materials, but not as much fun as the i3’s, at least not from what we can see in the photos.
BMW makes a bit of a deal about the rear seats and there is a lot of space back there. The EV platform does seem quite roomy, so you can frighten your friends in comfort.
How much and when?
BMW says that the car will go into production in 2021. i4s will run through BMW’s main plant in Munich. The company says that 90 percent of the current production equipment can be put to work on series production of the i4, with just new tooling required for the rear section.
A new set of machinery for battery installation will be bumped into the factory hall over a period of six weeks. I imagine that will happen during the quiet summer period, but that’s a wild guess.
How much? No idea, but I’m hoping it’s reasonable. The i3 isn’t (but I’d still buy it with my own money) but an electric BMW with all that power and big claims about the sporting nature of the car, it’s a tantalising prospect.
New Lotus Evija electric supercar packs 2000PS and some startling performance figures.
British sports car maker Lotus is on the move following its acquisition by Geely (who also own Volvo and Lynk&Co among others). The company has been drip-feeding this new car for a while but we’ve got a stack of images and the motherlode of information to get us going.
First, the name. Pronounced E-vee-ya (Lotus rendered it ‘E-vi-yah)(I think mine is better), it means first in existence. As in Eve (Adam and Eve), the first woman. And, of course, EV. Yeah, I know.
“The Lotus Evija is a car like no other. It will re-establish our brand in the hearts and minds of sports car fans and on the global automotive stage. It will also pave the way for further visionary models.”Phil Popham, Lotus Cars CEO
Look and Feel
I don’t know about you, but I love this. It has the compact length of the Elise, along with a familiar Evora-Elise tail, in profile at least. The lovely paperclip shape of the aero is amazing to look at, complex shapes but all with an obvious purpose, a bit like a McLaren 570S.
A bit like the Valkyrie and that other aero-obvious McLaren, the Senna, you can see a lot of the aero, the body work cut open to channel and move air around pesky things like people and wheels.
The interior looks terrific, apart from that ridiculous (but functional) steering wheel. The carbon bridge with its lovely hexagonal pattern houses climate control and various other functions. It looks terrific.
Lotus says you’ll be able to personalise (ie spend a lot of money) your Evija, including changing the Union Jack on the C-pillar.
Drivetrain
Before we get too carried away, let’s just quickly address the 2000PS (1471kW) and 1700Nm figures – they’re both listed as targets. Which means that all performance figures are also targets. Electric hypercars with stupid figures are a dime a dozen (life’s too short to report on all of them…or any of them).
If Danny Bahar was still in charge of Lotus, this story wouldn’t exist, but the adults are in charge and this car looks properly real, so it’s here.
Lotus says the Evija will sprint from 0-100km/h (0-62mph) in under three seconds and on to over 320km/h (200mph). More amazingly, the 100-200km/h (62-124mph) run is also a three second job. And then 200-300km/h (124-185mph) will be under four seconds. That is seriously fast.
Key to these targets is a massive 2000kW mid-mounted battery system. Lotus teamed up with Williams Advanced Engineering, a spin-off of Frank’s famous racing team. The pack is stored behind the cabin and Lotus reckons it means you can swap it out for a track-ready battery pack. That sounds pretty amazing.
Each wheel scores a 368kW (500PS) electric engine and gearbox unit. Each gearbox is a helical ground gear single-speed unit. Instead of diffs, software sorts out what goes where, so the stability and traction control systems will ensure, er, serious grip.
With the Lotus Evija we have an extremely efficient electric powertrain package, capable of delivering power to the road in a manner never seen before. Our battery, e-motors and transmission each operate at up to 98% efficiency. This sets new standards for engineering excellenceMatt Windle, Executive Director, Sports Car Engineering
The front houses four radiators to help cool everything and Lotus reckons you’ll be able to go absolute flat-out on-track for seven minutes without the electrics stepping down to prevent overheating. Seven minutes doesn’t sound like very long, but with all this grunt, it’s probably three laps of Sepang.
Chassis and Aero
Just like its compatriot, the Evija is based around a carbon fibre tub supplied by CPC. The tub weighs just 129kg. The whole package is 1680kg, which isn’t classic Lotus-light (it’s almost two Elises) but batteries weigh a lot. It’s an easy 400kg lighter than most Teslas.
Fun fact: the first Tesla, the Roadster, was a modified Elise chassis and weighed around 1300kg.
Amusingly, the steering is the purist’s favourite, electro-hydraulic. It’s heavier than electric steering but, as we know from McLarens, is worth the weight.
The suspension sounds super-complex – each corner has three adaptive spool-valve dampers (Google it) – two corner dampers and one heave control damper. Mounted in-board (very race car), the system comes from Multimatic.
The most striking bit of aero is the rear section. The bodywork wraps tightly around the battery pack and, with rather less cooling required, leaves a huge space for downforce-producing aero that reminds me of the new Ford GT’s rear section.
Getting that power to the ground are magnesium 20-inch front wheels and 21-inch rears, with Pirelli P-Zero Trofeo R tyres. To stop you entering orbit or having a crash that will send you there, a forged aluminium AP Racing brake set with carbon ceramic discs will provided the deceleration power.
No doubt there will also be a very aggressive kinetic energy recovery system, too. And for a bit more F1-inspired fun, a drag reduction system (DRS).
Charging
The mammoth battery pack has a claimed range of 400km/h (250mi) on the WLTP cycle, which is probably the least worst measure of electric range.
Lotus says if you can find a 350kW charger (good luck), the Evija will charge to 80 percent in just 12 minutes and 100 percent in 18 minutes. That sounds…quick. Once again, these numbers are targets.
For plug aficionados, it’s a CCS2 socket, housed under a flap at the car’s rear.
How much and when?
Lotus will take a £250,000 deposit and collect the rest of the total (minimum) cost of £1.7m plus taxes and duties during 2020. Just 130 of Evijas will be made, but we’re sure Lotus will find a way to make more of them if demand outstrips supply (say, a Spider version…).
If my maths is right, that means something like A$4m if you plan on running it on the road once you put GST and LCT on it…
Don’t worry too much if you miss out. It’s hugely unlikely the next few years won’t hold at least one Lotus EV for the masses. Well, the Lotus masses anyway.
The 2019 Nissan Leaf is a late-starter here in Australia. So late, in fact, I drove it almost two years ago around the streets of Yokohama on a short preview drive that only gave me a bit of a taste.
I knew then that it wasn’t a performance car. But it’s an important car, because it’s the second generation of Nissan’s trailblazer electric car, the one the industry laughed at, the one they said was a waste of time. That was almost ten years ago.
Electric cars are where it’s all going. These pages have already hosted the fun-filled BMW i3. That wasn’t so much as a preview as a what-if. Sadly, there aren’t more electric cars like it. But what’s coming in the next year or so is super-important because it’s going to set the scene for the next half century (at least) of motoring.
Thing is, they’re all expensive cars, out of reach for a good percentage of us, including me. So the Leaf is here to deliver what most other electric cars in Australia can’t – affordable(ish) electric motoring.
History
Nissan’s first Leaf started rolling down the first of what would eventually be three assembly plants – Oppama in Japan, Smyrna in Tennessee and Nissan’s Sunderland plant in the UK. The car that woudn’t did – 300,000 sales in nine years doesn’t sound like a lot, but nobody else was pulling those kinds of numbers until Tesla’s faltering Model 3 finally got going.
ZE0, as it was codenamed, started its journey with an 80kW/280Nm electric motor driving the front wheels.
Two years after launch the range increased to 121km and then to 135km another year or so later. A new 30kWh batteery arrived in 2016, boosting range to 172km.
At its 2009 presentation, Nissan said the Leaf was meant to be more appealing to mainstream buyers with a more conventional look. In other words, it doesn’t look like a Prius.
Yeah, nah. It was dumpy and odd-looking, wobbling around small skinny wheels. That didn’t really matter, I suppose, because it had inner beauty. Perhaps the Dalai Lama can weigh in here and say it needs to be better-looking in order to sell its good karma.
The interior was weird, too. And people even ordered the beige cabin without their children first being threatened.
The Leaf proved a few things over its decade on sale – a ten year battery life was kind of right, the lithium-ion batteries themselves were reliable (Nissan claimed a replacement rate of just 0.02%, or about five batteries per year) and, most importantly, buyers were into it despite all its compromises.
Look and Feel
The 2019 machine is much better-looking, but it’s still no #blessed Instagram post. Sadly for Nissan, the Honda EV and even the Hyundai Kona EV are better-looking. It’s kind of like a taller Pulsar, like the designers mixed in some Tiida along the way.
It’s still too tall for its wheels and still looks like it was dropped onto a platform one size too small for the body. Again, its inner-beauty is what it’s all about but at least its aquatic mammal look is less pronounced. On porpoise, I imagine (I am not sorry).
The interior is much more sensible, though, with just the oddball transmission selector from Year 3 pottery class surviving. The rest of it is pretty normal, but in classic critic style, it could maybe be a little more committed to the idea of being futuristic. To be fair, the dinky 5.0-inch screen from the Leaf I drove at launch has been replaced by a much nicer 80-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The back seat is predictably small and hatchback tight and everyone sits Popemobile-high because the batteries are slung underneath the floor. That does have an effect on headroom and the feeling that you’re sitting on a skateboard, but it does liberate some leg and kneeroom in the back.
Drivetrain
For the second-generation, the Leaf has more power and torque. Power is up to 110kW and torque a very pleasing 320Nm.
Power goes to the front wheels via a single-speed automatic.
Battery density is up a whopping 67 percent since 2010, with a claimed 270km range from the 40kWh unit. The car comes with a portable charger but you can also step up to CHAdeMO charger for a fast DC charge.
Nissan claims a 0-100km/h time of 7.9 seconds and an understandably limited top speed of 144km/h.
Charge times and cost
From a standard 240-volt wall charge, you’ll go from zip to full in about 24 hours, or the rough standard of 10km per hour of charge. As you go over 80 percent, charging slows, so keep that in mind.
Wallbox charging falls to about 7.5 hours for a full charge and Nissan reckons 70 percent of punters will go for that.
A 50kW CHAdeMO DC charge will take 60 minutes for an 80 percent charge.
“Only 270km?” I hear you cry. Well, yes. It’s not a lot, but here are some stats. In Australia (and I imagine this is similar the world over), the average daily commute is around 38km. That’s five easy days of commuting without plugging in at all. If you plug in every day, you’ll never drop below 200km, all things being equal.
If you want more range, you’ll need to wait for the bigger battery car which will surely be along soon.
If you need more range now, you need another $10,000-$15000 for a Hyundai Kona EV. Hardly anyone really needs a 400km range. Heck, I spent a week in a Range Rover PHEV with just a 30km real world range and used 14km of petrol because I kept plugging in when I got home.
JetCharge’s CEO Time Washington says that if you’re tarriff is 30c kW/h, you’ll use around $2.10 per day or about $760 per year. If you can work out off-peak charging, that will likely halve. Petrol is way more and the price is variable. Some power companies are offering all-you-can eat charging for a $1 per day. The maths is easy on that score.
The nifty thing about the Leaf is that it features Vehicle to Grid (V2G) technology, meaning if you’ve got the right gear, you can charge for free at the shops (ha!) and then power your home when you get back. Useful in a blackout, though. In earthquake-prone Japan, a few EVs plugged into buildings can take over in a power failure and keep the lifts moving.
Driving
Ah, yes. You’re probably expecting some carefully-worded statements about what it’s like to steer because you’re expecting me to say it’s boring. Yeah, well, it’s actually pretty good, but not especially exciting.
Having said that, because the weight is nice and low in the chassis, you can really keep the speed up through corners, which is unexpected only if you’ve never driven an electric car before.
The steering is deader than Donald Trump’s irony gene but it’s important to remember who this car is for. This car is for normal people wanting to buy a low-fuss car and have a few bob extra to try and make a difference. The Leaf will grab EV people and likely grab previous Leaf owners.
Anyway.
Once you’re used to the light steering, you can think about the e-Pedal. Long-time Redliners will know I was very keen indeed on the i3’s single pedal operation and the Leaf’s is even a bit better. With the range displayed loud and clear on the dashboard, as well as a sensibly arranged graphics for which way the power is flowing, it becomes intuituve within a few miles.
There are two main advantages to this – traffic is less irritating. You only need to use the brake if someone jumps in front of you or you’ve got a bit ambitious. Secondly, it’s entertaining as you play with the pedal to work out the smoothest and most efficient way to drive. Certainly keeps you occupied.
The energy recovery in the Leaf is reasonably aggressive, which is what makes the e-Pedal most useful. If you want more aggression, select B mode on the pottery ashtray tranmission selector.
Bombing around town is where the Leaf is most at home. The torque delivery is super-smooth, with none of the neck-snapping nonsense of some electric cars (I like it, but most people don’t)(the neck-snapping nonsense, I mean).
Redline Recommendation
Diehard Tesla fanboys/fangirls make going electric as unpalatable as the Prius’ do-gooder image did for hybrids. Making a car look obviously electric puts some people off. I think the Leaf treads a fairly fine line, but it will certainly get first-gen Leafers upgrading.
Other people teetering on the edge will also be attracted to the Leaf. It will go on the list alongside a bunch of ICE cars. It will likely be a second car for a good number of buyers, one to sit next to the big SUV or – seriously – the sports car. People are like that.
The Leaf may not be the car with the longest range or the most enticing package. It is, however, a proper full EV from the ground up. It’s all about the future with these cars and with a far more sensible range, a solid ownership proposition and a mildly entertaining chassis, the new Leaf is a pretty EV good option.
And it claims the distinction of being the first second-generation EV.
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