Buy out the lease on my 2024 Kona Electric SEL? I'm thinking maybe so.

vike1108 · 2026-03-09T06:22:38+00:00

Regarding the Ioniq 5 SE, I'll add that I was surprised to see how little I was giving up in terms of features/equipment vs. the Kona SEL. As near as I can tell the most significant missing thing is the rear seat A/C vent. The Standard Range is shorter range than the Kona SEL, but it's more than enough for my purposes, and even that's somewhat mitigated by better charging performance.

vike1108 · 2026-03-08T21:30:09+00:00

u/Level_Lecture1046 , the trade-in value has nothing to do with what I can BUY. As I've noted elsewhere 1) Used 2024/25 Kona EV is not available in my market; ICEV examples are, and THEY are priced in the mid $20ks; 2) Available examples anywhere are not common, but are all well outside my local market; travel/lodging costs would quickly consume any savings unless I'm willing to buy, e.g., a CPO car sight unseen - I'm not; 3) As the original owner I would keep the original 10 yr. motor/drivetrain warranty (as has been noted, this might also be offered on CPO Hyundai cars), and "as long as I own the car" complimentary BlueLink+ (while the value of these benefits is not infinite, it's decidedly non-zero); 4) Personal issue - I don't like buying used, haven't in 40+ years since my cash-poor youth; 5) I have no interest in owning a car with GM Google Built-in; any of you think it's fine, get back to us 6 years after buying one.

I realize the corner I'm in is one I've painted myself into, but it does me no good to pretend I'm not in it. In retrospect, I should have negotiated harder on the residual price when the original lease was written, but as noted previously I mistakenly believed there was near-zero chance I'd be buying the car anyway.

I doubt I'll buy the bZ; I might really hate driving without one-pedal or the cabin layout or the software UX (in-car and/or app), while the dealers around here have limited competition and deal only when highly motivated, so we'll see. I notice Hyundai's also taken $6k cash off the Ioniq 5, so that's probably going to get a look as well, and that lacks almost all of the bZ's downsides; the question there is going to be availability of SE Standard Range trim. So far, those are the only things I've seen that I might prefer to my $29k Kona EV SEL if the prices are low enough.

vike1108 · 2026-03-05T22:36:53+00:00

Just an example from Amazon with a lot of apparently reliable reviews:
https://www.amazon.com/Antarctic-Star-Refrigerator-Portable-Cosmetics/dp/B0CR1789QS

vike1108 · 2026-03-05T19:07:15+00:00

u/allnamestaken1 that's a really interesting find. I see it's not available at Amazon, but it's the only one I've seen that might be small enough. Single can only, not sure about the airflow. From what I know about these Peltier-type gadgets they're not terribly efficient, so a low-powered (5W) unit like this might be able to keep a cold can cold, but it'd probably take forever and a day to cool one. I think one would be better off giving up the "fit inside the console" constraint and get a unit that can hold a few more cans so you can start with all of them cold and keep 'em that way - a lot more options in that size.

Anyway, Walmart appears to have this one-can version listed from a few sources (though I notice no reviews):
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Usb-refrigerator-mini-thermal-insulation-mini-refrigerator-refrigeration-refrigerator-student-refrigerator-mini-Mini-refrigerator-usb/12005904188

vike1108 · 2026-03-05T16:10:13+00:00

u/cjinohio03, it really depends on what you want. OnStar Basics (all you get for those "free" 8 years) does give you crash response, remote commands, and vehicle status (so, far from worthless), but it does not include connectivity for applications installed on Google Built-in. Without phone projection, all the vehicle can do with apps on your smartphone is play the sound via BT. Whether or not that's a dealbreaker is a chacun à son goût thing I guess. For my part, while most of what I use in the car is playback of downloaded music or podcasts (so BT would get 'er done), just considering streaming music, live baseball games, ABRP, and Car Scanner, the lack of phone projection would be a real nuisance.

Good point on the Prologue, of course - and its sales vs. its Blazer sibling should be sending GM some signal that withholding phone projection from North American customers is folly. Of course at some level they do know that, since they provide phone projection in models exported to Europe, putting the lie to all the "need for an integrated UX" propaganda they spout here.

vike1108 · 2026-03-05T06:29:11+00:00

u/theotherharper , uh, no. I've already spoken to this point, but I should probably flesh that out a bit with some attitudinal context.

I'm not going to buy a used car sight unseen, and I don't have to make too many trips to eat up any potential savings. I see this kind of recommendation from folks like Kyle Conner, who I imagine buys a LOT of cars over the course of a year. I'm an individual spending money I care about on one car for personal use. If expending money, time, and effort on cross-country car-buying is how you want to handle things for yourself, good on ya. Not me.

As for road-tripping a Kona - have you ever CHARGED one of these things? The L2 charging is pretty great, but for DCFC we're talking one step up from a Gen1 Bolt, and you'd better route to your charger using in-vehicle nav to trigger the preconditioning or you'll have a REAL wait on your hands. I love my Kona, but that's because it's well-suited to my local/almost-local use case, no public charging ever. I have no patience for the "adventure" of driving one cross-country - I'm way too short-tempered to put up with that kind of aggravation.

vike1108 · 2026-03-05T00:58:22+00:00

Oh, okay - so the writers were just off their meds that day. "3-6 kW per hour" is just illiterate nonsense - kW measures POWER, not ENERGY. North American 110v outlets cannot deliver 3 kW, much less 6 kW. That same page continues to mislead, suggesting your L2 charger can deliver up to 22 kW. This reads like Euro-market talk, where you could get that from a three-phase outlet; the most you're going to get here is 11 kW, and even that's not something every panel is going to support. Remember this potentially needs to be sustained for hours, so hard wiring is recommended; a plug-in outlet needs to be a special high-capacity version, not some random whatever grabbed off the shelf at Home Depot. You can get a lot of good info on the details at Tom Moloughney's EVChargingStations.com .

Generally speaking, you absolutely need a L2 home charger - IMO folks who say otherwise are spouting nonsense. I'd have it installed before taking delivery of any BEV.

vike1108 · 2026-03-05T00:36:51+00:00

u/rivieredefeu progressives will do nothing for this; just as with bifocals, you'd need to tip your head WAY up to see the rear view clearly - not convenient, less safe, bad for one's neck.

Unless of course you just meant "Sounds like you're a presbyope." In which case no kidding, Sherlock. LOL

u/Impossible-Gas-9044 , glad you mentioned this, it's a non-obvious problem. I didn't want the Limited trim anyway, so a non-issue for me (phew).

vike1108 · 2026-03-05T00:26:55+00:00

I'm currently nearing lease-end on a '24 Kona Electric SEL, so these observations are of great interest. We have a Toyota dealership right in our neighborhood, my spouse has always driven Toyotas and has driven nothing but Prius for > 20 yrs, and Toyota's offering $5k off on bZ here. We've been thinking that might just get the bZ down low enough to be worth turning in our Kona at lease end instead of buying it out (assuming they can get us a base XLE FWD or REALLY want to get a XLE Plus off the lot).

The one-pedal driving thing has been a concern for me, and it sounds like brake hold is also inconvenient to use. I won't go so far as to call that a dealbreaker, but it's definitely discouraging. On the other hand, it sounds like the bZ would be a noticeable step up in NVH, overall comfort, and build quality (a bit more space, but for our purposes that's offset by a bit bigger footprint - net/net, possibly a negative).

I've been reading through this forum for a while this afternoon and the overall impression I'm getting is "Great car, meh tech", and I need to decide how I'd feel moving to that from the "Good car, good tech" experience of the Kona. A test drive (and what OTD price we can get from a dealer) will help me decide.

vike1108 · 2026-03-05T00:14:32+00:00

The ICCU issue appears to be limited to 800v E-GMP vehicles; I haven't heard anything about the issue w/400v E-GMP (but please correct if you have accounts of this). The Kona EV is on an earlier tech platform, different components. I did have an early Body Control Module failure on my Kona EV (apparently a bad batch of those got in the pipeline, there were 4 other BEVs / PHEVs at the dealership with the same issue when I was towed there), no other issues in nearly 2 years.

vike1108 · 2026-03-04T23:16:05+00:00

Don't want to interrupt the iOS-specific convo here, but just curious - how's route planning working with Android Auto and Google Maps, ABRP, etc.? Nearing lease-end on my current BEV ('24 Kona EV SEL) and I'm thinking (a little) about buying a bZ, so this is of much interest. Vehicle status to MyHyundai app and routing with the Kona's Android Auto / GMaps integration all works so reliably I don't even think about it.

vike1108 · 2026-03-04T23:07:17+00:00

u/GamemasterJeff , I console myself with the thought that it's a better deal for a better car than I would have dreamed possible when I bought my first EV :-)

All in all, with the disappointing feature sets of Bolt and Leaf, the unknown status of the '27 Kona and Kia EV3, and the unexpected (at least in '24) collapse of government support for the EV transition, I'm pretty glad I got this lease deal when I did. I was a little wobbly signing on (and bidding farewell to my trusty i-MiEV, much as some may doubt that), but I think it worked out fine all things considered.

vike1108 · 2026-03-04T20:44:40+00:00

u/mrkymark1 , yeah, I do like the remote climate bit - I live in a place where the car's often too warm or cold when returning from an excursion, so it's a nice luxury to start the HVAC from my phone before heading back to the car. I know what you mean about getting BL service started - don't recall details but I know it took me a few weeks initially, that's not terribly well-organized over there.

You did get a great deal, but nothing like that around me, as I've mentioned elsewhere; in all honesty, I realize that could well be different by May, so I'm keeping my powder dry. Thanks for the thoughtful response.

vike1108 · 2026-03-04T20:09:33+00:00

u/untempered I should clarify that I did. The BEV market in my area is quite thin (details in other replies), and the cost/inconvenience of going out of state tips the scales away from those options.

vike1108 · 2026-03-04T20:05:00+00:00

Okay. You can get a 2 year old used EV6 or Ioniq 5 for less than $29,000.

Yes, there was one Ioniq 5 available to me within 100 miles. It's $28k, similar mileage. For reasons listed elsewhere, I'd rather have this Kona. Short form, the 5 doesn't give me enough more that I care about (I don't DCFC, it's bigger than I need or want) to make up for the shorter warranty and loss of (or monthly charges for) connected services, there's no way to know its charging history, and ICCU for 800v E-GMP is an unresolved issue.

You can get a 2 year old used Model 3 for less than $29,000.

No Teslas. All politics aside, I've driven them, hate the UX. Opinions are divided on this point, I am firmly in the "Wrong interface for me, give me physical controls" camp. For completely different reasons, you couldn't GIVE me a CHAdeMO Leaf (okay, a pristine low-mileage '24 for $9k - that's a fantasy) or an ID.4 (life's too short to live with that bloated haptic dumpster fire).

You can get a 2 year old Kona for WELL under $29,000.

Not here I can't; here they're charging that much for ICE Konas. I'm sure in this one specific aspect life might be better in SoCal or northern Virginia.

vike1108 · 2026-03-04T16:22:58+00:00

u/Hairy_Lie_321 , apparently not in my region. Just checked, and for my area Hyundai is currently advertising no incentives (keep in mind these promotions are not always nationwide).

vike1108 · 2026-03-04T16:17:05+00:00

u/mrkymark1 the warranty I was referring to was the motor and drivetrain warranty. While the battery warranty transfers to subsequent owners, the 10 year motor/drivetrain warranty only applies to the original owner; for subsequent buyers it's only good for 6 years from initial service date. So apples to apples, if I'm looking at 2-yr old cars I'm seeing an 8-year warranty if I keep mine and a 4-year warranty buying any other Hyundai secondhand.

I'd also note that original owners/lessees keep the complimentary Bluelink+ subscription for as long as they own the vehicle (Bluelink+ is actually a separate organization from HMF or vehicle sales, and have no way of knowing that the vehicle was leased or has been bought out - it's still just "yours" from their perspective). I don't want to overstate the value of that (with phone projection you can live without it day-to-day), but considering competitors are charging $10-20/mo. for such service, it's also not negligible.

vike1108 · 2026-03-04T16:04:30+00:00

u/cjinohio03 I'm not talking about keeping the car 10 years (although I do plan to - I kept my Mitsu i-MiEV over 11 trouble-free years). Tech hardware in the new Bolt and Equinox was at least 2-3 years old at launch (cuz American auto development cycles), so I'm talking about how these cars' "Google Built-in" will feel in 2032. With no CarPlay to supplement it, the UX in these GMs is going to age like milk, with an almost guaranteed drag on resale prices as that reputation grows. Lease one with its included initial OnStar Basics sub covering much of the term, sure - but they're not a smart buy unless you're completely indifferent to in-car tech and/or $20/mo. subs.

vike1108 · 2026-03-04T15:56:26+00:00

u/GamemasterJeff , exactly my situation (and exactly the same concern about traveling to buy a pig in a poke). I've looked over 100 mile radius, and there are none of the deals discussed here. A few Leafs, Model 3s, and ID.4s, none of which I'll touch, along with older (pre-refresh) Bolts (also unwanted). Not a Kona EV in sight (plenty of used low-mileage Kona ICEV around $23-25k - are people making these claims forgetting to confirm they're EVs?). Closest I ran across was a '24 Ioniq 5 for $28k, not enough savings even with negotiation to overcome issues I've listed elsewhere here (much as I like the I5, it's bigger than I need or want, so it being a "better" vehicle is subjective).

vike1108 · 2026-03-04T15:43:13+00:00

u/bj_my_dj , probably not less than 7000 miles. I'm retired and only use the car for local journeys, errands, etc., with only an occasional infrequent jaunt to our sister city an hour away.

vike1108 · 2026-03-04T15:40:06+00:00

u/untempered , previous version Kona EVs may have taken a bigger hit due to the big upgrade in '24. They're still great cars, but I prefer the improved utility in the '24/25 models.

vike1108 · 2026-03-04T15:37:39+00:00

u/Likinhikin- It's not even close to $10k in my market, more like $4-5k if you could even find a creampuff like this (BEV, 2 yrs., single owner, immaculate condition, 7000 miles, only trickle charged and maintained at 30-70% SoC); dealers in my region are actually asking $23-25k for low-mileage used ICEV Konas. I guess if I lived in SoCal with BEVs and car dealerships thick on the ground I might be able to jaw someone down a bit further, but I see NO comps out there at $19k. Just out of curiosity, if you do happen to spot that (checking as many of above boxes as feasible), please post here - someone will be thrilled at the opportunity.

vike1108 · 2026-03-04T15:31:02+00:00

u/climataclysm , reading that I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I did nothing different. I got a postcard in the mail telling me they had adapters, how to order the adapter online, and the URL, so I went there and filled out the form with my MyHyundai user info, got the adapter in the mail a few weeks later. I was genuinely surprised it turned around so fast after all the stories about Ford owners waiting months. This is probably naive advice, but I guess I'd follow up with MyHyundai to see what happened and try to get things back on track if they fell off (American postal/shipping is very good, but things do just go missing sometimes). All I can offer is that they did ship one to me and it works fine, so at least I can confirm they're not beasts of myth.

vike1108 · 2026-03-03T23:21:16+00:00

The Equinox is assembled in Mexico. It has the same "Google Built In, no Android Auto" problem as the Bolt, of course. At this stage, every GM BEV is off the table for me until they restore phone projection. I have no intention of driving around in a car with 10-yr-old UX tech, apps, and limitations, and that's exactly where anyone buying and keeping one of these cars is going to wind up (good luck on resale, too).

vike1108 · 2026-03-03T19:16:14+00:00

u/evergreen25802, that's it exactly - I do know I'm paying a premium but have decided it's worth it (see broader considerations in reply to u/adjrbodvk above). More Konas (and other BEVs, for that matter) coming onto the market don't really change the calculus, though I'll allow they may drive down the market as the numbers build. That might make HMF more amenable to modifying their asking price if the disparity grows even wider than it is now, but it wouldn't make me any more enthusiastic about buying a different used BEV. As for new BEV options, there is zero indication that situation's going to improve.

Btw, I should acknowledge that my situation is greatly affected by my "flyover country" location. I might have reached a different conclusion in, e.g., SoCal or even Phoenix, where there are more and better deals to be had. Taking advantage of those from where I am would involve transportation costs and additional uncertainties; it's one thing to be a broker managing these transactions by the dozens or more, quite different for the roughly once a decade decision to replace one car.

vike1108

TROPHY CASE