Questionable Software!
Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2022 4:24 pm
I took delivery of a new Kona Electric Premium in January, and I think I'm getting the hang of it now! It's a great little car, generally very impressive, but it has a number of really annoying features in its software which I find seriously spoil its enjoyability:-
* Why is it necessary to select Auto Hold every time the car is turned on? Why does the car not remember its last-used status, and revert to that?
* Why does the satnav not remember to display map view “North Up”, even though that is set in my profile? Turning the car on seems to cause it to revert to ”3D” - a view that I hate with a passion, and find almost unusable because it does not match the way I see and read maps.
* Why can one set Regen Braking level 0 using the paddle, but not save it in the settings?
* Why is "Last Used" not an option in the saved settings for regen braking?
* What is the point of the car's built-in “creep”? Why can it not be turned off, and the setting remembered as part of my profile?
* What is the point of being able to change settings if those changes are not remembered, and next time one turns on the car they must all be made again?
* What is the point of profiles if they don’t remember anything useful (and if the things that they do allegedly remember then get ignored, like the "North Up" setting ...?)
* Why does the cruise control system not blend with other driver inputs? For example, set cruise control to 60mph, and disengage it. Drop speed to 55mph, and retain that speed using the accelerator pedal. Re-engage cruise control. I would expect the car to smoothly accelerate up to 60mph. However, on the Kona the cruise control does not take over and begin accelerating again until the accelerator pedal has been fully released, so instead of smooth progress there is a definite - and uncomfortable - check in speed followed by immediate acceleration (up to 60mph). It is annoying to the point of unacceptability that smooth driving in this situation is just not possible - and the feature seems to be unique to Hyundai. I have had cruise control in every car I have owned in the last 30 years, and have never encountered such behaviour before.
* Why are the controls so inconsistent in function? For example, changing the set speed using the steering-wheel control works differently in speed-limiter mode from the way it works in cruise control mode! In the former, a long press up (or down) will cause the speed to increase (decrease) to the next multiple of 5 mph, and continue doing so as long as it is held. In the latter, a long press does nothing unless immediately preceded by a short-press in the same direction - and then it works as for the speed limiter. This is both irritating and fundamentally stupid.
It is such a shame that Hyundai let such small but important matters of polish (or the lack of it!) in the software spoil what is fundamentally such a good car.
* Why is it necessary to select Auto Hold every time the car is turned on? Why does the car not remember its last-used status, and revert to that?
* Why does the satnav not remember to display map view “North Up”, even though that is set in my profile? Turning the car on seems to cause it to revert to ”3D” - a view that I hate with a passion, and find almost unusable because it does not match the way I see and read maps.
* Why can one set Regen Braking level 0 using the paddle, but not save it in the settings?
* Why is "Last Used" not an option in the saved settings for regen braking?
* What is the point of the car's built-in “creep”? Why can it not be turned off, and the setting remembered as part of my profile?
* What is the point of being able to change settings if those changes are not remembered, and next time one turns on the car they must all be made again?
* What is the point of profiles if they don’t remember anything useful (and if the things that they do allegedly remember then get ignored, like the "North Up" setting ...?)
* Why does the cruise control system not blend with other driver inputs? For example, set cruise control to 60mph, and disengage it. Drop speed to 55mph, and retain that speed using the accelerator pedal. Re-engage cruise control. I would expect the car to smoothly accelerate up to 60mph. However, on the Kona the cruise control does not take over and begin accelerating again until the accelerator pedal has been fully released, so instead of smooth progress there is a definite - and uncomfortable - check in speed followed by immediate acceleration (up to 60mph). It is annoying to the point of unacceptability that smooth driving in this situation is just not possible - and the feature seems to be unique to Hyundai. I have had cruise control in every car I have owned in the last 30 years, and have never encountered such behaviour before.
* Why are the controls so inconsistent in function? For example, changing the set speed using the steering-wheel control works differently in speed-limiter mode from the way it works in cruise control mode! In the former, a long press up (or down) will cause the speed to increase (decrease) to the next multiple of 5 mph, and continue doing so as long as it is held. In the latter, a long press does nothing unless immediately preceded by a short-press in the same direction - and then it works as for the speed limiter. This is both irritating and fundamentally stupid.
It is such a shame that Hyundai let such small but important matters of polish (or the lack of it!) in the software spoil what is fundamentally such a good car.