Tried to get Kona for test drive

Tried Michael Lyng Carlow, they would not let me have it for even a day, lol, yeah right who'd buy an EV without giving it a proper test drive ?

Disappointing, I was hoping to take it to Galway and back.

They said they couldn't afford to give it out for a day as demand is too high ? WTF.

spakman

You wanted them to give you the car for a 'test drive' that involves you driving from Carlow to Galway and back!?
I wouldn't think that's a usual test drive.

Cordell

This is not test drives are meant for. They are meant to swing a hesitant buyer into making the purchase, not give them the opportunity to find flaws. So they are by design short and sweet

spakman

spakman wrote: »

You wanted them to give you the car for a 'test drive' that involves you driving from Carlow to Galway and back!?
I wouldn't think that's a usual test drive.

I wouldn't have told them where I was going

If Two BMW garages were willing to give a weekend test drive in the i3 I seriously doubt it an odd request to expect a garage of a budget brand to refuse but each to their own.

Joe Duffy Motors was well aware I was taking it to Galway and clocked up over 500 Kms, I didn't buy it from them after because I still had 9 months or so left on the leaf PCP and got it from Frank Keane instead because I got a cracking deal on it.

At the end of the day, they absolutely "only" thing that made me buy the i3 was the test drive, if people remember , in the beginning I was highly critical of the i3 but the test drive proved how wrong I was about it !

Barlo Nissan allowed me have it for two days too,

It's not an unusual request to get an EV for extended test drives believe it or not.

But people seem to be queuing up for a 40 K kona they probably feel people don't need an extended test drive. lol

ELM327

I know hyundai Navan are doing test drives (I've one booked in with them) but there's a waiting list. They only have one demo apparently.

Old diesel

spakman wrote: »

You wanted them to give you the car for a 'test drive' that involves you driving from Carlow to Galway and back!?
I wouldn't think that's a usual test drive.

People in the UK were getting 24 hour test drives and the like on Leafs.

Seen a few guys reject the L40 following said test drives over rapidgate over there.

MINI are currently promoting 48 hour test drives on ICE cars.

The normal 20 min drive up the road isn't really enough for your first EV drive.

Clearly Mad Lad is an experienced EV drive but the basic principle is that you need longer test drives.

If you allow a day for it (time off etc) then Carlow to Galway should be doable on a 24 hour test drive.

One wants to get a handle on things like the accuracy of GOM readings and how you lose range at 70 mph.

I don't really expect to automatically get a 24 hour test - but in my mind it's not unreasonable to want one.

slave1

For that amount of money and the new tech and folk moving from ICE of course a 24/48hr test drive period is reasonable...they probably won't give it as they are sold out of their quota, no doubt already had offers for the demo model too

KCross

Any indications how many Kona's the dealers have got to sell?
They obviously havent sold out their allocation if they are still giving test drives.

They've registered 311 in Jan and there is at least one in every county so I'd imagine every Hyundai dealer(~30) has a demo so thats ~280 sold.

80sDiesel

I cant help but think that the dealer dodged a bullet there.

unkel

Deleted User wrote: »

they would not let me have it for even a day, lol

They looked up the weather forecast. It wasn't looking great. They knew you'd only get about 270km range at 130km/h against a strong head wind and that you would mention the poor range on boards.ie in every other of your posts for the next 3 years

ELM327

unkel wrote: »

They looked up the weather forecast. It wasn't looking great. They knew you'd only get about 270km range at 130km/h against a strong head wind and that you would mention the poor range on boards.ie in every other of your posts for the next 3 years

And that it doesnt have a rex or 3 phase AC :cool:
You'd take a photo queuing for CCS at naas!

If anyone buys a Kona just like that out of the showroom with no proper test drive and handing over 40 K then they need their heads examines, in my opinion of course.

I got the impression that I wasn't going to get it past Carlow Town and the sales Man was going to be beside me all the way and I don't really want to listen to 20 mins of x y and z about the car to be honest.

For 40 K , and no proper test drive for a mid spec car ? up the yard !

ELM327

Deleted User wrote: »

If anyone buys a Kona just like that out of the showroom with no proper test drive and handing over 40 K then they need their heads examines, in my opinion of course.

I got the impression that I wasn't going to get it past Carlow Town and the sales Man was going to be beside me all the way and I don't really want to listen to 20 mins of x y and z about the car to be honest.

For 40 K , and no proper test drive for a mid spec car ? up the yard !

I agree with you, anyone buying a 40k hyundai without a test drive alone for a number of hours is either delusional or short sighted

unkel

unkel wrote: »

They looked up the weather forecast. It wasn't looking great. They knew you'd only get about 270km range at 130km/h against a strong head wind and that you would mention the poor range on boards.ie in every other of your posts for the next 3 years

ELM327 wrote: »

And that it doesnt have a rex or 3 phase AC :cool:
You'd take a photo queuing for CCS at naas!

Ah I was going to give it a fair review, disappointed really !

Home to The Motorway would have been Carlow to Kilbeggan then M6 all the way to Galway.

202 Kms , it should easily do that at legal limits quite comfortably.

Way back would need to charge probably in Galway because 120 Kms back to Kilbeggan would probably be a fair bit of a stretch in fairness at motorway speeds.

I wonder will Nissan be as fussy with the 60 Kwh Leaf, sadly Flynn's of Carlow lost the Nissan franchise for some reason ? anyone know why ? was handy to take the leaf 40 for a spin, I did not look for that for a day. But the garage is now closed.

I guess I will just have to wait for the 60 Kwh Leaf, I wonder will barlo Nissan be as willing to let me have that for 2 days this time ? lol.

peposhi

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Ah I was going to give it a fair review, disappointed really !

Home to The Motorway would have been Carlow to Kilbeggan then M6 all the way to Galway.

202 Kms , it should easily do that at legal limits quite comfortably.

Way back would need to charge probably in Galway because 120 Kms back to Kilbeggan would probably be a fair bit of a stretch in fairness at motorway speeds.

I wonder will Nissan be as fussy with the 60 Kwh Leaf, sadly Flynn's of Carlow lost the Nissan franchise for some reason ? anyone know why ? was handy to take the leaf 40 for a spin, I did not look for that for a day. But the garage is now closed.

I guess I will just have to wait for the 60 Kwh Leaf, I wonder will barlo Nissan be as willing to let me have that for 2 days this time ? lol.

Why change the T-REx, Mad_Lad? Or you are just looking to try the new stuff coming out...

peposhi

I only got 15 min drive in the Kona, it was still not registered, so the dealer came with me for a short drive around. I got the Ioniq for 24h of him in the past so I’d say if I was really interested he’d left me drive it for a day. This time was more of getting a feedback from a keen EVer like me hahaha

peposhi

peposhi wrote: »

Why change the T-REx, Mad_Lad? Or you are just looking to try the new stuff coming out...

Jesus no, I wouldn't dream of letting go of the Rex for now, the Kona is a good EV but it's just too expensive for a mid spec Hyundai, ( to me ) I'm sure the Kona EV will no doubt be loved by it's owners but the i3 is in a completely different league.

I was as you say, looking to try it out, curiosity and all that.

KCross

Deleted User wrote: »

Jesus no, I wouldn't dream of letting go of the Rex for now, the Kona is a good EV but it's just too expensive for a mid spec Hyundai, ( to me ) I'm sure the Kona EV will no doubt be loved by it's owners but the i3 is in a completely different league.

I was as you say, looking to try it out, curiosity and all that.

You can hardly say that considering you havent been given a test drive yet!

tedpan

Deleted User wrote:

Tried Michael Lyng Carlow, they would not let me have it for even a day, lol, yeah right who'd buy an EV without giving it a proper test drive ?

I bought my leaf without even sitting in it, a week after you.

KCross

KCross wrote: »

You can hardly say that considering you havent been given a test drive yet!

I can really, apart from the range and recharge times there's not a lot attractive about it, it's not going to handle like the i3 or have the steering feel or interior quality and it's got lots of horrible plastic trim, but that does not make it a bad car it just means it's not my cup of tea.

They couldn't even add LED lights in the Mid spec given the cost.

KCross

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I can really, apart from the range and recharge times there's not a lot attractive about it, it's not going to handle like the i3 or have the steering feel or interior quality and it's got lots of horrible plastic trim, but that does not make it a bad car it just means it's not my cup of tea.

They couldn't even add LED lights in the Mid spec given the cost.

You have no pre-conceived ideas about it then before you test drive it!

KCross

KCross wrote: »

You have no pre-conceived ideas about it then before you test drive it!

Well, lets just say it won't drive like an i3 or have a interior matching the quality. I fully intend at least to go and have a look.

Coming from the 24 Kwh Leaf I probably would have a different opinion.

grogi

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Jesus no, I wouldn't dream of letting go of the Rex for now, the Kona is a good EV but it's just too expensive for a mid spec Hyundai, ( to me ) I'm sure the Kona EV will no doubt be loved by it's owners but the i3 is in a completely different league.

I was as you say, looking to try it out, curiosity and all that.

Here you go. They sensed you weren't a lead.

grogi

grogi wrote: »

Here you go. They sensed you weren't a lead.

No chance, not a hope they will let anyone have it without the sales person beside them.

slave1

tedpan wrote: »

I bought my leaf without even sitting in it, a week after you.

Actually not only did I not test drive a Leaf before buying one, I’d never even seen one in the flesh, as we’re a two car family I was not bothered and had enough feedback from EV forums to make my mind up. I remember when the transporter guy dropped it at the head of the road it took me the guts of half an hour to figure out how to drive it 100yds to the house and being honest I’ve never figured out how to put it in park in traffic as when I’ve done it in the past I always end up turning it on and off again to get it into drive mode

slave1

slave1 wrote: »

Actually not only did I not test drive a Leaf before buying one, I’d never even seen one in the flesh, as we’re a two car family I was not bothered and had enough feedback from EV forums to make my mind up. I remember when the transporter guy dropped it at the head of the road it took me the guts of half an hour to figure out how to drive it 100yds to the house and being honest I’ve never figured out how to put it in park in traffic as when I’ve done it in the past I always end up turning it on and off again to get it into drive mode

And you admit that in Public ? lol

Yeah I suppose some do their research on the Kona but I bet most don't and will just buy it based ont he WLTP numbers then moan about not being able to achieve them in Winter etc.

Anyway, I've seen 1 Kona Ev so far and the more on the road mean less diesels and I'm all for that !

I just noticed the Niro again the other day and it doesn't have the poxy horrid plastic trim ? I thought it actually looked better, at least from the outside.

Mike9832

[Deleted User] wrote: »

No chance, not a hope they will let anyone have it without the sales person beside them.

They left me

Mike9832

Mike9832 wrote: »

They left me

They what ?

Mickeroo

Deleted User wrote: »

They what ?

They let him drive it without a sales person I assume.

Marcusm

Deleted User wrote: »

Ah I was going to give it a fair review, disappointed really !

Home to The Motorway would have been Carlow to Kilbeggan then M6 all the way to Galway.

202 Kms , it should easily do that at legal limits quite comfortably.

Way back would need to charge probably in Galway because 120 Kms back to Kilbeggan would probably be a fair bit of a stretch in fairness at motorway speeds.

I wonder will Nissan be as fussy with the 60 Kwh Leaf, sadly Flynn's of Carlow lost the Nissan franchise for some reason ? anyone know why ? was handy to take the leaf 40 for a spin, I did not look for that for a day. But the garage is now closed.

I guess I will just have to wait for the 60 Kwh Leaf, I wonder will barlo Nissan be as willing to let me have that for 2 days this time ? lol.

I think you are misreading your trajectory; you’ve gone from a hybrid to BEV, then on to an EV with a back up petrol generator. Your next car is pure ICE, minimum 6cyl.

liamog

Marcusm wrote: »

I think you are misreading your trajectory; you’ve gone from a hybrid to BEV, then on to an EV with a back up petrol generator. Your next car is pure ICE, minimum 6cyl.

V8 Mustang

Marcusm

Marcusm wrote: »

I think you are misreading your trajectory; you’ve gone from a hybrid to BEV, then on to an EV with a back up petrol generator. Your next car is pure ICE, minimum 6cyl.

I did what was best for me after having gone the BEV road for 3 years and 85,000 Kms , I wanted more than simply a "commuter car" the fact the charging network stalled when I got the Leaf really p1ssed me off as I had high hopes for the network by the time my lease was up.

I appreciate the extra EV range and efficiency of the i3 over the 24 kwh Leaf and also faster charging when the battery is warm.

The Rex is really fantastic to have and is a vision of the future when the Public charging infrastructure is much better.

The i3 is also fantastic to drive, it's a lot of fun.

liamog

I picked the e-Up over a Zoe primarily because of the better driving feel. I'm told it has a similar feel to the e-Golf, so I can totally understand why someone would pick a car based on how it feels.

ewj1978

Tbh to not offer an extended test drive in this day and age is just laziness on the part of the dealer.

They said demand is high and supply short so they feel the car will sell itself so why bother offering test drives ?

It’s their only car so they just want people to come see it get a 10 min test drive and pay a deposit. Mad really because there could be a lot of very unhappy people who can’t get the claimed 400 km range.

unkel

24 hour test drives are the exception when buying a car in Ireland, not the norm. The long test drives were getting normal for EVs in the last few years because people were unsure if an EV would suit them for their normal driving and wanted to make sure it could do all their trips. A 24h test drive eased many people's minds and convinced many other family members. I know it did for me!

Perhaps we have seen the end of this now, particularly with a 500km car like the Kona, where there simply isn't any range anxiety compared to a 100km Leaf

Mickeroo

I only got maybe 10 minutes in the Ioniq but it was enough to convince me.

drunkmonkey

KCross wrote: »

Any indications how many Kona's the dealers have got to sell?
They obviously havent sold out their allocation if they are still giving test drives.

They've registered 311 in Jan and there is at least one in every county so I'd imagine every Hyundai dealer(~30) has a demo so thats ~280 sold.

There's probably a lot of them gone on fleet they'll all pop up for sale towards the end of the year, August/September ish....dealer should be able to tell you..

unkel

unkel wrote: »

24 hour test drives are the exception when buying a car in Ireland, not the norm. The long test drives were getting normal for EVs in the last few years because people were unsure if an EV would suit them for their normal driving and wanted to make sure it could do all their trips. A 24h test drive eased many people's minds and convinced many other family members. I know it did for me!

Perhaps we have seen the end of this now, particularly with a 500km car like the Kona, where there simply isn't any range anxiety compared to a 100km Leaf

I'd say 400 Kms would be more realistic, Auto Express averaged 4.2 Miles per Kwh so would suggest 430 Kms to empty. Depends on conditions too , some will get more some less.

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/hyundai/kona/105381/hyundai-kona-electric-premium-se-long-term-test-review

A pretty respectable figure, about 260 miles, our old Honda CRV 2.0L needed a fill by 300 miles , it could of course be filled in 5 mins.

Still , the fact the car is electric, needs time to recharge and has to endure the public network when away from home means an extended test drive is a pretty reasonable request.

It does however mean I could potentially reach Galway and back on a single charge , maybe 10 mins on a fast charger to get home or if possible to plug into AC for a few hrs. A big difference alright.

It's good to see the ESB are still committed to the AC network with future plans for expansion.

Leaf 60 kwh should be available to see in showrooms by then with possible deliveries early 2020.

galwaytt

I think Europcar have some on their fleet: well, they're ad says it does, so why not rent one ?

Tbh, I'd want a serious trial of an EV too, and I think mfrs are missing a trick here: they could hire them out as well.

KCross

drunkmonkey wrote: »

There's probably a lot of them gone on fleet they'll all pop up for sale towards the end of the year, August/September ish....dealer should be able to tell you..

I dont understand.

What do you mean by gone on fleet and they'll popup for sale later?

Toyotafanboi

KCross wrote: »

I dont understand.

What do you mean by gone on fleet and they'll popup for sale later?

As in they will be used as hire drives with the big rental companies for the upcoming summer holiday season and will be on the market in the dealer network as a 1 owner, "ex management" car by the Autumn.

I'm not sure if this would be the case with these.

micks_address

The current car I have the dealer gave me the exact same car/spec for two day test (it was manual i ended up buying auto). He said go away and do your daily commute, family journeys see how it fits. In my opinion id nearly want to do it with any new car going forward. I can't imagine buying an electric car of any sort without having it for a few days test.. you'd have to see how charging would work out for you etc..

Henry Ford III

Did you mention that you are from the internet?

KCross

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

As in they will be used as hire drives with the big rental companies for the upcoming summer holiday season and will be on the market in the dealer network as a 1 owner, "ex management" car by the Autumn.

I'm not sure if this would be the case with these.

Thanks, I'd bet of the 280 sold in January it would be close to zero went on fleet.

The market for hired EV's has to be infinitesimally small.

OSI

OSI wrote: »

The dealer wouldn't let you take their only demo of a highly popular car for a test drive that would have seen it unavailable for 2 full business days and out of action for likely another one after that again? Madness!

Funny that, Barlo Nissan in Kilkenny let me have their "only" demo Leaf for 2 days test drive and not only that, drove all the way to Carlow to meet me there at the charger to show me how it worked !

Guess who I bought the car from ?

KCross

Deleted User wrote: »

Funny that, Barlo Nissan in Kilkenny let me have their "only" demo Leaf for 2 days test drive and not only that, drove all the way to Carlow to meet me there at the charger to show me how it worked !

Guess who I bought the car from ?

That was 4 years ago Mad_Lad!

Supply and Demand has changed dramatically.

galwaytt

Deleted User wrote: »

I can really, apart from the range and recharge times there's not a lot attractive about it, it's not going to handle like the i3 or have the steering feel or interior quality and it's got lots of horrible plastic trim, but that does not make it a bad car it just means it's not my cup of tea.

They couldn't even add LED lights in the Mid spec given the cost.

Lolz, so yours has the fake plywood interior then ?? :pac::pac::pac:

OSI

OSI wrote: »

You gave your money to Frank Keane after Joe Duffy similary obliged your request so your point is invalid.

I bought 2nd hand and the i3 in the spec I got was very hard to find , If Joe Duffy had it I would have bought it from them + my PCP was almost up.

Not a similar comparison but yes they did let me have the i3 for 2 days which was their only demo car at the time too.