Yesterday, I used Uber from HPN (White Plains, NY) to SWF (Newburgh, NY) and the driver that showed up had a Kona EV. I knew the ride was going to be long, as it's 63 miles and there is generally a traffic jam on the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge. So I asked the driver if the car would make it, "yes" he said, but he would have to charge when he dropped me off.
The ride was fine, we made it no problem, but range took a big hit on the highway. He started out with 230 miles showing and arrived with 56 miles showing remaining. So we used up 170 miles of indicated range in 63 miles of highway and a 20 minute traffic jam. During the trip, he showed me that he had to be towed on a flatbed the day before, as the charger he needed was out of order and he ended up driving the car a few more miles until it died. He also believed that the indication said he had more miles remaining than he did.
The driver complained bitterly about the fact that charging always took an hour and that some chargers were very slow taking as much as 8 hours, and that we are just not ready for EV's. The cost to charge it up is $14, and he leaves home with it fully charged. He says most days he has to charge twice. He drives Uber exclusively for a job and told me he was planning on selling the EV right away and getting a conventional car. I suggested a Camry Hybrid due to reliability.
The car was very quiet, was a very pleasant Uber experience, and I found the back seat roomy enough (he did have the front pax seat moved forward). But the rear suspension had inadequate travel, and the car would regularly "bottom out" on the bump stops. While not exactly jarring on the rough NY roads, it certainly indicated a lack of suspension refinement. I would not say that's a deal breaker, but it's certainly not ideal.
The car looked like the white one in this pic.
The ride was fine, we made it no problem, but range took a big hit on the highway. He started out with 230 miles showing and arrived with 56 miles showing remaining. So we used up 170 miles of indicated range in 63 miles of highway and a 20 minute traffic jam. During the trip, he showed me that he had to be towed on a flatbed the day before, as the charger he needed was out of order and he ended up driving the car a few more miles until it died. He also believed that the indication said he had more miles remaining than he did.
The driver complained bitterly about the fact that charging always took an hour and that some chargers were very slow taking as much as 8 hours, and that we are just not ready for EV's. The cost to charge it up is $14, and he leaves home with it fully charged. He says most days he has to charge twice. He drives Uber exclusively for a job and told me he was planning on selling the EV right away and getting a conventional car. I suggested a Camry Hybrid due to reliability.
The car was very quiet, was a very pleasant Uber experience, and I found the back seat roomy enough (he did have the front pax seat moved forward). But the rear suspension had inadequate travel, and the car would regularly "bottom out" on the bump stops. While not exactly jarring on the rough NY roads, it certainly indicated a lack of suspension refinement. I would not say that's a deal breaker, but it's certainly not ideal.
The car looked like the white one in this pic.
