Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Super wholesome, I'm glad he got the recognition he deserves.

Mom: Dinner is ready in 6 minutes dear.
Porsche driver: Ok mom!

 
Speaking of EVs, I bit a very particular bullet today and test drove a Kona. We spent the Saturday in a nearby town getting groceries and visiting flea markets, and next door to one is the Hyundai-Dacia-Ford-Volvo dealer that was handily enough still open for an hour. I would also have considered driving an Ioniq, but since the Kona is a bit more relevant to me and the Ioniqs they had inside convinced me that it's just a little too cramped inside, I ended up asking if they had any Konas around to drive. Behind the building was a white 64kWh 2020 model that was juiced up, so they just threw me the keys.

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I think the Kona is the EV I'd probably choose if I went along with my plan of getting a private lease car for the commute. I'm following fuel prices and constantly considering if I should eventually sell the Volvo and start running an EV with a 25,000 km mileage cap - that works out perfectly for me if I go to the office three days a week and WFH the rest. The Kona is efficient, well specced, the interior is fine and the infotainment doesn't bug the hell out of me. It drives forgettably well and the steering is acceptable when you switch off the intrusive lanekeeper which tended to tug on the wheel a lot today. My main beef with the car is the road noise that seems to come from everywhere, and even on studless winter tires it seemed to relish on the worn out parts of the highway, the ruts that studded tires chew on the asphalt and which heavy rigs embellish. When I positioned the car away from them it quietened a bit, but it's never as silent as the Volvo is at similar speeds. The suspension is otherwise fine and it took imperfections well when I deliberately steered into them. The stereo sounded crappier than I remembered, too, and I didn't have the time to adjust the levels to see if anyone had just dialed in some Loaner Car Bass. The car is an outgoing model, though, so I don't know if those aspects have been improved for 2021 when they restyled the nose.

Regarding the leases, the company that imports Hyundais, Renaults and some other brands has an online car store that also offers yearly deals: you just pay a monthly sum that includes two sets of tires and then you give the car back after 12 months have passed. Insurance is on top as is servicing. I think it's a good opportunity to try out EV life instead of getting stuck with a payment for a car that can be soon surpassed when tech improves. I wouldn't get into it for a fossil fuel car or a hybrid - the idea is to steer away from having to care about fuel prices and ageing cars when I have to drive to work and back. These Konas have been 449e/month for 25,000km per year, which sounds acceptable when you take into account home charging and not buying any fuel or getting anything repaired. I don't really have time to drive anything else, anyway.
 
Pretty much. I drive basically straight for an hour and the better the car can isolate me the more I like it. The Xsara was pretty good at that as well.
 
I tapped the address bar in Mobile Safari with this thread open. It seems Apple wants me to buy a Hyundai. Maybe there’s some truth to the Apple/Hyundai rumors after all?

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Speaking of EVs, I bit a very particular bullet today and test drove a Kona. We spent the Saturday in a nearby town getting groceries and visiting flea markets, and next door to one is the Hyundai-Dacia-Ford-Volvo dealer that was handily enough still open for an hour. I would also have considered driving an Ioniq, but since the Kona is a bit more relevant to me and the Ioniqs they had inside convinced me that it's just a little too cramped inside, I ended up asking if they had any Konas around to drive. Behind the building was a white 64kWh 2020 model that was juiced up, so they just threw me the keys.

naj6a2F.jpg


I think the Kona is the EV I'd probably choose if I went along with my plan of getting a private lease car for the commute. I'm following fuel prices and constantly considering if I should eventually sell the Volvo and start running an EV with a 25,000 km mileage cap - that works out perfectly for me if I go to the office three days a week and WFH the rest. The Kona is efficient, well specced, the interior is fine and the infotainment doesn't bug the hell out of me. It drives forgettably well and the steering is acceptable when you switch off the intrusive lanekeeper which tended to tug on the wheel a lot today. My main beef with the car is the road noise that seems to come from everywhere, and even on studless winter tires it seemed to relish on the worn out parts of the highway, the ruts that studded tires chew on the asphalt and which heavy rigs embellish. When I positioned the car away from them it quietened a bit, but it's never as silent as the Volvo is at similar speeds. The suspension is otherwise fine and it took imperfections well when I deliberately steered into them. The stereo sounded crappier than I remembered, too, and I didn't have the time to adjust the levels to see if anyone had just dialed in some Loaner Car Bass. The car is an outgoing model, though, so I don't know if those aspects have been improved for 2021 when they restyled the nose.

Regarding the leases, the company that imports Hyundais, Renaults and some other brands has an online car store that also offers yearly deals: you just pay a monthly sum that includes two sets of tires and then you give the car back after 12 months have passed. Insurance is on top as is servicing. I think it's a good opportunity to try out EV life instead of getting stuck with a payment for a car that can be soon surpassed when tech improves. I wouldn't get into it for a fossil fuel car or a hybrid - the idea is to steer away from having to care about fuel prices and ageing cars when I have to drive to work and back. These Konas have been 449e/month for 25,000km per year, which sounds acceptable when you take into account home charging and not buying any fuel or getting anything repaired. I don't really have time to drive anything else, anyway.

My father bought one last year to replace his Leaf.

He took me for a short drive, the thing that stuck with me is how much you hear the electric motors. I guess they really cheaped out on sound insulation.

His has started to randomly refuse to unlock the doors or start. He left it back at the garage for software updates (the new normal), but because of Internet connection issues with Hyundai Canada, after a few days they still hadn't manage to complete the updates.
 
I've been meaning to ask, it's not like any of those things come with a gigabit port somewhere do they?
 
I've been meaning to ask, it's not like any of those things come with a gigabit port somewhere do they?
At this point they should...
 
It looks like we have been mounting roof luggage/ski-boxes the wrong way around:


TLDW: Almost 10 % reduction in energy consumption, and about 1 DB less cabin noise from having it "backwards".
 
Drop shape. It's a thing for a reason.
Seems nonetheless the manufacturers have all been building their damn boxes wrong... (because as stated in the video, you can't / or mustn't just mount a box the wrong way around).
 
Seems nonetheless the manufacturers have all been building their damn boxes wrong... (because as stated in the video, you can't / or mustn't just mount a box the wrong way around).

Because it's meant to be accessed from the side or back. Otherwise it's a visual element I guess.
 
Surely there's a reason why they haven't done this before. How would essentially having a wing facing into the wind affect the stability of the car at high speed? Does it matter with something like a Tesla, where all the weight is low down?
 
Calix did at one point have a roof box with added crash protection in front, but it disappeared from the market as quickly as it appeared. In their normal models there's nothing that would make it less safe if you installed it the wrong way around. I don't know if there are any actual rules, but technically there's nothing stopping you from flipping your existing roof box over.

Source: I've sold and installed countless Calix and Thule roof racks and boxes over the years.

As to why they haven't made an "aero" shaped version before, I guess the biggest reason is that nobody thought of it because it really wasn't that important. Another liter or so in fuel consumption doesn't matter when it's used for the annual week-long skiing trip and then put back into storage. It adds maybe 15-20 liters or so to the total fuel cost and your family diesel does 1000km to a tank anyway. :p
 
My father bought one last year to replace his Leaf.

He took me for a short drive, the thing that stuck with me is how much you hear the electric motors. I guess they really cheaped out on sound insulation.

His has started to randomly refuse to unlock the doors or start. He left it back at the garage for software updates (the new normal), but because of Internet connection issues with Hyundai Canada, after a few days they still hadn't manage to complete the updates.
Hope he didn't get the LG Chem fireball edition.
 
How do you get a big diesel engine going when it's minus 37 degrees? Also, it's 1944 which means diesel injection and glow plug systems aren't anywhere near as advanced as they are now, and batteries aren't as powerful.

Well, there are ways. Enjoy the Swenglish.

 
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