This leads in to when it’s the right time to leave a Rapid charger, on my e2008 it’s at 72% SoC when the charge rate drops off a cliff, for a BMW i3 it’s about 90% SoC when it falls. This is the time when it’s quicker to do the next leg of the journey to the next Rapid than staying to charge to a higher state. Remember 20% to 80% takes about the same time as 80% to 100%. This is why experienced EV drivers can be seen leaving the charger earlier, they are riding the higher charging rates in those curves.
This is really important, the Kona drops off at around 73% and is the ideal charge level to fill to on a long journey.
It’s also worth remembering that you will never get 50kW from a 50kW charger, 44kW is good in my experience.
You will get some benefit paying extra for the 150kW and 350kW chargers, but for a very limited time, in the Kona you will get the fastest rate between 25 and 40%, I have managed to hit 77kW, but then it slowly drops off. I usually charge on either 50kW BP Pulse or 350kW Ionity chargers, the 350kW charger shortens the charge by maybe 15 mins if charging from 10-80%.
If you have Ionity chargers near you and no home charging like me, sign up to ChargeMyHyundai and pay the £11.25 monthly subscription, brings the price down to 25p kW
The best thing about the Kona is the economy, now the weather has warmed up, I’m averaging 340+ miles on a full charge, so rarely bother charging past 75%
One other thing to remember in all EV’s, is that getting 50kW out of a charger, doesn’t put 50kW into the battery, you lose around 10% in the circuits, but thats pretty standard (I’m losing 8% currently)
Previous Motability Cars
2006 - 2009 Skoda Superb VR6 2.0tdi
2009 - 2012 Citroen C5 2.0tdi VTR Nav
2012 - 2015 Nissan Qashqai 1.5dci tekna
2015 - 2018 Ford Kuga 2.0tdi Titanium X
2018 - 2021 BMW 220d X drive 2 Series Active Luxury
2021 - 2023 Hyundai Kona Electric Premium SE
2023 - Hyundai Kona Electric Ultimate