HYUNDAI KONA OWNERSHIP EXPERIENCE - LONG DISTANCE EV DRIVING NO PROBLEM IN INDIA!
December 16, 2020
Long distance, no compromise EV driving in India is now a reality thanks to Zeon Charging! Drove my Hyundai Kona from Bangalore to my ancestral home near Alathur, Kerala. Total distance of 470km, done in 9 hrs including a 45min charge+30min food stop at Saravana Bhavan Vaigundam.
Started Bangalore at 3.30pm, car was fully loaded with 3 of us and a full heavy boot. Battery at 100% SoC and 393km in the console. Kept the AC on throughout the journey and didn't hold back the speeds at 110-120kph throughout.
Unrestricted driving thanks to the confidence given to me by the amazing team at @zeoncharging who kept checking on my trip progress. Reached the charging point at Saravana Bhavan, Vaigundam around 7.15pm and 250km later. Car was at 28% and had about 108km to go.
The charger, a 50kW Delta unit having 2 CCS2 connectors, is going online in a day or two on the app. Zeon guys were very gracious and helpful and didn't charge me anything for the charge since it was not officially open yet. Plugged in and my Kona started taking in 30kW initially, and went upto 32kW till 75% SoC, after which the car tapered it down to 14kW (happens normally in all EVs).
My destination was another 215km away, so I only needed about 80% charge, giving me about 300km in range. Took about 40min from 28% to 85% during which I chatted with the company guys, post which I went and had my dinner.
Finally left at 8.45pm and reached my destination at 11.45pm. Zeon guys were very gracious and helpful and didn't charge me anything for the charge since it was not officially open yet.
Final stats at the destination. Plugged in through my Brightblu charger set at 20A for a slow and steady charge, in time for my return journey! Will be stopping at the same charging point on my way back to get a top up to Bangalore.
COSTS so far: I charge using my rooftop solar at home, so I don't pay anything for charging the car at home. Zeon didn't charge me anything for the top up so didn't pay anything there. In Kerala, the cost of residential power is around Rs. 6, so will be incurring around Rs. 200.
That's my total cost for the onward journey. Rs. 200/- !
Will update regarding my return journey once I return.
Anticipating some usual extra smart comments/questions, and answering the same below:
1) Normal charging time with my 20A charger from 0-100% : 10 hours. I reach my destination, plug it in overnight, it's ready to go the next morning.
2) Range with AC: 350km, 380km without. (Both are actual tested figures)
3) NO, power is not being generated out of coal alone, we are quickly moving towards renewable sources of energy in the last 3-4 years, please look it up.
4) NO, batteries are not harmful for disposal, and can be re-purposed very easily after 8-9 years. Am using my old e2o batteries in my rooftop solar system, and is easily retaining about 80% of the charge it used to retain when new.
5) Yes mining minerals for the battery pack is messy, but still lot cleaner than regular fossil fuels.
- Akhil Venkateshwaran
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Best car under 10Lakhs budget. Will get the experience of 18L valued car. Super smooth ,vibration less, noise less cabin,quick, fast and powerful engine, super responsive steering that will bring the smile in your face and includes 90% of required features. I should say dont spend money on Verna,City,Rapid because when you compare the extra money that you are going to spend on those car in comparison to Ford Aspire ,you will find the difference is not matching with what your spending on those car. Little extra leg space,same powerful engine,same seating capacity, some extra features only. But for those
small extra things you are paying lot....only for 5-6 yrs.
- Shibaji Sanyal
Before buying this I am in doubt whether to buy altroz and i20 .
I have researched about altroz more because of it was new at that time . I have seen many YouTube review some were positive and many were negative ???? . But finally I decided to go for altroz .
after 4 months by running 5000km I am happy with my machine . I prefer safety , look features rather than mileage .
but astonishingly I got mileage about 21 on highway and 16 -18 in city .
this is car where u ll get safety , look ,
world class level interior , space also mileage more than the baleno and i20 .
my suggestion to you all never go for poorly build baleno because I have lost my relatives for its build quality .
you can go for I 20 or altroz .
altroz is love ???? .
thank you tata for making this beauty !
-Raj
I had purchased Ford Ecosport Titanium (D) on 24 th December, 2017.
Ecosport is not just a mere car like what we see from outside. Its a very much capable car. A car which is built tough, a car which is rock solid stable at triple digit speeds, a car which makes you smile while you throw it at corners, a car which offers pocket friendly maintenance, a car which you can choose for your weekend getaways and much more.
As Indians are very much concerned about "Kitna deti hai" ? I would like to say that the least I have got
on a litre is 12.8 kmpl and the max is 25.8 kmpl depending upon the road conditions and how you are driving the car.
If I need to point out few cons of the car the first thing is the rear seat space. Even though 3 people can fit in easily it's best suited for two. The gigantic A piller provides you a decent blind spot. The stiffer suspension set up enables bit of of those rough road undulations creep in to cabin but at the same time this setup is the main factor behind the rock solid stability of the car. But again all the above mentioned are not deal breakers. Ecosport is really a wonderful companion.
Being a car enthusiast I wanted my car to stand out from the crowd so customised her a little bit and named her BLACK PANTHER because of the all black theme and thats what gives the car a butch look. The stock grille at the front has been replaced with a Raptor style grille with LED lights in them. The Ford lettering on the grille has also been blacked out. Coming down to the bumper, it still has the stock silver finished skid plate and a red coloured dummy tow hook is also installed at the front. Coming to the side profile, the main noticeable change here is the Plati 8 J 16 inch concave wheels and the tyre size has also been upsized from 205 to 225. I have upgraded the brake pads to bosch sintered pads to give the car a better bite and stopping power. The brake calipers are painted in race red colur to go well with the overall aggressive look of the CSUV. Apart from those, it gets blindspot mirrors, Thule ProRide Replica Mounts along with FASS crossbars on the roof and F1 number plates. All the labels on the EcoSport have been removed and the headlights and tail lights are smoked. The headlight now gets projector HID lamps. Just like the exterior it also follows an all-black theme interior where the seatcovers are redone from FASS (faux leather), Black floor lamination. The work on this project had started during the lockdown earlier this year.
For more pictures and videos check out my Instagram profile - akshay_anil93 .
To conclude as the tagline says a car with "Family Waali Feeling"
- Akshay Anil
Hi! This is mmy firstt visiit tto yoir blog! We aare a grouup off volunteers andd startong a neww initiative iin a comunity inn thhe same niche. Your blog proovided uus useful informaton to woprk on. You have done a marvelous job!