Hyundai Kona Electric Road Trip From Los Angeles To Las Vegas: Video

Can the Hyundai Kona Electric make the journey on a single charge?

Michael Fisher (AKA Mr. Mobile) says the Kona Electric could make it, if there weren’t so many mountains. The trip from Los Angeles to Las Vegas is a popular one and especially useful for EV range tests.

If you take the longer route past Joshua Tree National Park and through the middle of the Mojave National Preserve, you’re looking at some 326 miles and well over five hours. Fisher chose the more common, shorter route, which takes you 270 miles in about four hours.

According to the EPA, the 2019 Kona Electric has an estimated range of 258 miles. So, clearly 270 miles is pushing it, especially when factoring in the hills. However, there are many other factors that impact range. Fisher says he plans to perform additional tests to get a better idea of the Kona Electric’s range.

Check out the video and let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

Video Description via Mr. Mobile (Michael Fisher) on YouTube:

Kona Electric Road Trip: LA To Vegas In Hyundai’s Long-Range EV

The last time I got behind the wheel of a Hyundai it was the NEXO – a fuel-cell SUV that took me 900 miles on the power of hydrogen. The Hyundai Kona Electric is similar, from the number of seats to the preponderance of buttons in the cockpit – but where the Nexo confines you to a handful of hydrogen stations across California, the Hyundai Kona Electric has a battery big enough to go from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on one charge (or it would, if there weren’t so many mountains in between). In my latest road trip I take the 64 kWh Ultimate Trim of the Kona Electric from LA to LV to see just how close it comes to the promise of a true Tesla Model 3 competitor.

MrMobile’s Hyundai Kona Electric Road Trip was produced following five days in a Hyundai Kona Electric test vehicle on loan from Hyundai. The review model was the Ultimate trim with 64 kWh battery. Electric charging during the trip was provided by Hyundai in the form of a prepaid electric charging card. Hyundai was not given copy approval rights and MrMobile received no compensation in exchange for producing this video.

Further testing in 2019 may result in either a YouTube or Instagram followup to fully flesh out the question of range.


Source: Electric Vehicle News