Two years ago in late June my partner and I picked up the 2020 Hyundai Kona Electric vehicle (EV) we had ordered 15 months earlier.
I’m writing this in early June of 2022 and our Kona has been driven just under 40,000 kilometers. We want to share our personal experience and why we are so pleased with our switch to an EV.
EVs are fun to drive. Our Kona is typical; when you put your foot down on the accelerator the response is immediate from the nearly 150 KW (200 horse power) electric motor – it’s called ‘instant torque’ – and you can go from zero to 90 km. per hour in under 6 seconds. At first it was a little unsettling just how responsive the car is. My wife is a good driver but has somewhat of a heavy foot and several times early on left some tire rubber on the road. Fortunately car has a low center of gravity and sticks like glue to our twisty mountain roads.
EVs are significantly cheaper to ‘fuel’ and maintain than internal combustion engines (ICE) vehicles. I compared our 2013 Subaru Outback’s energy consumption per 100 kilometers travelled with our KONA EV. Over the last 8 years our Subaru consistently used 8 liters of regular gas to go 100 km. or about a tank of gas to get to Vancouver or Calgary from our home in the Slocan Valley. At $1.95 per liter that’s $15.60 every100 km. or under $100.00 one way to either city.
Our EV uses about 17 kilowatt hour per 100 km. The most we’ve ever paid per kwh at a public fast charging station is 26 cents or $4.42 per 100 km travelled. Or $27 to get to Vancouver or Calgary – only about 28% of the cost for a gas vehicle.
But most of our charging is done at home from a regular 115 volt wall outlet for which we pay an average of just under 15 cents per kwh. At that rate traveling 100 km. energy costs are $2.55 for every 100 km. or $15.30 one-way to either Van or Calgary – just over 16% of an ICE vehicle.
These numbers have to be qualified in the same way we have to do with gas engine cars. For example if we’re using the heater/air conditioner our ‘mileage’ is definitely reduced. If we’re also using the seat and the steering wheel heaters, the lights, the sound system etc., there is some further reduction in how far the vehicle will travel on single full charge.
EV maintenance costs are a fraction of those for fossil fuel vehicles. In almost 2 years of driving our total ‘maintenance bill’ of $288.00 was for the first annual vehicle inspection which consisted of a software update, switching the winter tires with the summers and checking the brakes which had little or no wear. No actual physical maintenance or repair work was done – no oil or other fluid changes, no air or oil filters replaced, nothing. A year later the brakes continue to show hardly any wear. The reason the brakes have such little wear is largely due to the regenerative braking system. When you take your foot off or just reduce pressure on the accelerator the electric motor and the vehicle slow down. How quickly the vehicle slows and the amount of charging depends on the level of regeneration you set. This works so well that regular brake usage drops dramatically saving wear and extending, doubling or tripling, the life of the brakes.
It’s not a mystery why many cab and some car rental companies are switching to EVs. Cabbies in Vancouver began switching to hybrid electric cars in the early 2,000s and within a few years Prius seemed to dominate the industry at least in Vancouver. On my frequent trips to Van, I often made a point of asking cabbies why the switch to Prius and always got the same answer – it cost a lot less to operate and maintain than their gas cabs and increased their profit per ride significantly.
Finally, for us and I think for many ‘early adopters’ of EVs, it is a big relief to know that their car no longer emits a kilogram (2.2 lbs.) of carbon dioxide for every liter of gas they burn. A return visit to family in Calgary in our Subaru produces nearly 500 lbs. of CO₂. Our EV has no exhaust and produces zero pollution. Frankly, for my partner and I, this alone justifies the switch to an electric vehicle.
By Alan Early
Allan Early is a retired lawyer and a long-time resident of the Slocan Valley. He is also a Director of the non-profit Columbia Institute of Renewable Energy (CIRES). For further info email him at [email protected].
For more information on CIRES go to www.cires.ca.