Comparative Energy and Economic Analysis of Hyundai Kona EV with Toyota Corolla ICE Vehicle

This work focused on a comparative energy and economic analysis of a Hyundai Kona EV and Toyota Corolla 2008 model. The study involved a monitored driving experiment from the NADDC solar EV charging station at the University of Nigeria Nsukka to its main gate at Nru junction, a distance of about 4km. The EV was driven from the charging station to the main gate and back at moderate speed; first with the car AC turned on at a low mode and second with the car AC turned off. Toyota Corolla was equally driven from the charging station to the gate and back at moderate speed and with AC turned off. The trip was repeated two times for each case for both cars. Parameters measured or determined for the experiments included time, distance, fuel/energy consumed. Results revealed that, for the same round trip of about 8 kilometers, without AC turned on, the Hyundai Kona consumed approximately 1.024 kWh of energy, costing 230.4 Naira. While with the AC turned on, at low mode, the Hyundai Kona consumed 1.056kWh of energy costing 237.6 Naira. On the other hand, the Toyota Corolla consumed about 7.78 kWh, costing 1750.5 Naira. The analysis of all the trips revealed that the energy discharge rate of the EV is influenced by various factors, including ambient temperature, vehicle weight, driving style, regenerative braking, activated devices or components, and electrical power losses. Based on analysis, it may be deduced that if the dashboard indicates a range of 500 kilometres at full charge, the EV is capable of covering a minimum actual distance of 396.9km when used without AC and 357km when used with AC under typical driving conditions. Also, the 15kW capacity solar EV charging station can only sustainably support charging one type of Hyundai Kona EV per day given normal sunny day.