“I’ll just sit here and go with the flow.”
I can’t resist the corny joke when I’m tethered to a FLO fast-charging electric vehicle charger at a highway stop in a 2021 Hyundai Kona electric.
I’m feeling pretty smug about my ride. No greenhouse gas emissions here, thank you! But, as mentioned, I am tethered to a charger for at least 45 minutes. If I leave before then, a depleted battery may leave me stranded on the side of the road before reaching home.
Ah, the electric vehicle dilemma.
Purchase an EV like the 2021 Hyundai Kona electric and you get a stylish, nimble, functional crossover that looks every bit like its gas-powered sibling. Well, except there’s no open front grille.
2021 Hyundai Kona electric
It’s what is behind that no-grille that’s different, along with the changes that will occur in your way of thinking about vehicles and transportation.
The main obstacles to EV adoption – range anxiety and charging infrastructure – are being steadily removed. Charging stations are popping up everywhere and auto manufacturers are increasing battery range.
The 2021 Hyundai Kona has a stated range of 415 kilometres. If you think of how often you drive that far in the run of a day, you quickly realize that working an EV into your life is not so difficult. And it will only get easier.
Let’s face it: the days of the internal combustion engine are numbered.
Most major manufacturers are offering electric or hybrid-electric versions of their products (like Ford’s F-150 Lightning and the Porsche Panamera 4S e-hybrid ) as well as pledging a full-electric lineup within the next decade or so, like Cadillac.
Instead of an internal combustion engine that burns fuel, creating heat and harmful exhaust, the 2021 Hyundai Kona electric is powered by a permanent-magnet synchronous 150 kW AC electric motor paired with a 64-kWh lithium-ion polymer battery located beneath the floor.
2021 Hyundai Kona electric really goes… right off the line
This little electric rocket puts out 201 horsepower and 294 lb. ft. of torque. There is no transmission. Maximum power is sent to the front wheels through a single speed direct drive system immediately. That means, when I decide to go, I GO!!
Which is why electric vehicles are so much fun to drive.
I can also use the paddles on either side of the steering wheel to control the regenerative braking, capturing the energy created by the brakes and sending it to the main battery. The gauge cluster displays the amount of distance I’m capturing, down to the tenth of a kilometre.
So, I’m slowing the vehicle, charging the battery, saving the brakes. Win win win.
I became obsessed with battery charge percentage, kilometres remaining, the location of the closest charging station (there’s an app for that!) and how much energy I could recapture.
The Kona became another device in my life that I charge at the end of the day, like my laptop, tablet and smartphone. No biggie. Except we couldn’t use our microwave while the Kona was being charged, without tripping a circuit breaker in our 95-year-old house, making a strong case for having a fast charger installed at your home when you buy an EV.
After a week in the 2021 Hyundai Kona Electric, I felt like a nerd. Don’t get me wrong, the sexy rumble of a V8 engine is still cool music to my ears. But, hey, it’s hip to be square, right? I’ll ponder that while I sit here at the FLO station, going with the flow.
Full review of the 2021 Hyundai Kona electric here.
Video review of the 2021 Hyundai Kona electric here.
2021 Hyundai Kona electric
