Kandi K27. Another I-MIEV Like Car?

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ed5000

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 27, 2015
Messages
258
Location
Castro Valley, CA
Kandi America is about to release a couple electric cars for sale in the US. The least expensive model is the K27 which is almost exactly like the I-miev except for motor size. (It's a 20KW motor compared to our 47KW). They call in an $10K car although it's really $17,999 before the federal incentive.

My thought is this might be a good replacement car for someone wanting to replace their older I-Miev for not much money but, the 63 mph top speed gives me some pause. It might be good for those that only do city driving.

Note that they also have the K23 which is a very similar car that's 10" longer than the K27 but with a 21KW motor and a 41KWH battery. It's price is around $27999. I like the extra range this car has but I'm not sure it would make a good long range car. Top speed is 70 mph.

They're are available at Kandi America.com

Kandi K27 Specifications (The "$10K version")

Electric Motor: (AC) TZ180XS-EP04515 Rated Power: 20 KW

Mile Range: 59 EPA estimated miles

Top Speed: 63 MPH

Drive: Front-Wheel Drive

Dimensions: Length 136.22″, Width 57.87″, Height 63.58″

Wheelbase: 95.65″

Weight: Curb Weight 2,270.76 lbs, GVWR 2,932 lbs,

Battery Type: 17.69 kWh Ternary Lithium

Charging Time: (240V/32A)7 Hours

Brakes: Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) Included, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) Included

Tire: Front 165/65 R14, Rear 165/65 R14

Other: Seating 4 Adults

Display: 9″ Center Touchscreen


Mitsubishi I-Miev (For comparison)

Powertrain
Electric motor 47 kW (63 hp), 180 N⋅m (133 lbf⋅ft) permanent-magnet motor[1]
Transmission Single speed reduction gear
Battery 16 kWh / 58 MJ (Li-ion battery)
Range 160 km (99 mi) (Japanese cycle)
100 km (62 mi) (US EPA cycle)
Plug-in charging 15 A 240 V AC (3.6 kW)[2] on the SAE J1772-2009 inlet, optional Chademo (max 62.5 kW, up to 125A@500V[3]), adapters for domestic AC sockets (110–240 V)
Dimensions
Wheelbase 2,550 mm (100.4 in)
Length 3,395 mm (133.7 in)
3,680 mm (144.9 in)(US)[4]
Width 1,475 mm (58.1 in)
1,585 mm (62.4 in)(US)[4] (excluding side-mirrors)
Height 1,600 mm (63.0 in)
1,615 mm (63.6 in)(US)[4]
Curb weight 1,080 kg (2,380 lb)

What do you guys think?
 
I'm a fan of small cars, became hooked on my Saab's FWD, and was intrigued when I first saw the Kandi writeups; however, that top speed of 63mph and 70mph immediately disqualified it for us: most of our trips entail hopping onto a freeway... I think Mitsubishi hit the sweet spot with our i-MiEV's 81mph.
 
JoeS said:
I'm a fan of small cars, became hooked on my Saab's FWD, and was intrigued when I first saw the Kandi writeups; however, that top speed of 63mph and 70mph immediately disqualified it for us: most of our trips entail hopping onto a freeway... I think Mitsubishi hit the sweet spot with our i-MiEV's 81mph.
63 mph is pretty slow for the highways around here!

This reminds me of my Zenith electric van I used to have when I worked in Oakland. I drove it for 5 years. It was a converted Dodge Promaster Gasoline van with an extended roof and extended body and a 62 KWH battery. The van was huge. I only drove it because it was electric. I only got it because no one else wanted to drive it. Back in 2014 the average guy at work instantly rejected the van the second they heard the word "electric". I think that attitude still exists today but it's getting better.

Anyway, the van had great acceleration and handled nicely but only had a top speed of 60 mph. I was almost a one pedal van. I only hit the brake pedal to hold it at a red light or stopped on a hill. At 60 mph I just stayed in the right two lanes. The traffic was slower around Oakland anyway.

Then one day I overloaded it a little too much. Easy to do with such a cavernous vehicle! A bunch of warning lights came on, I coasted to the side of the road. I was Lucky that Caltrans just finished widening all the freeways around Oakland. There used to be no break down lanes in some parts. I was able to restart the van but it drove in turtle mode. Back to the service garage it went. When I got it back it was a 55 mph top speed van! :lol: :cry: But I still drove it. I stayed mostly in the very right hand lane after that. What the heck, I had almost 20 feet of crumple zone back there anyway!
 
First review of the Kandi -

https://insideevs.com/reviews/454644/kandi-k27-test-drive-review-worlds-first/

Reflecting further, I think this would be a nice successor to our i-MiEV, if -

a. Top speed were higher than the 63mph (K27) or 70mph (K23) - I could *almost* live with the latter.
b. DCFC port - lesson learned with the i-MiEV is that in our extended urban setting CHAdeMO allows us to dramatically expand our range with little additional time loss.
c. Rear seats folded down flat - we use our i-MiEVs as station wagons. Sadly, this is my pet peeve with most cars.

Interesting that the 'shift' lever has an "S" setting which overrides the programmed sluggish acceleration. I didn't watch the whole video to see what he said about regen.
 
Some of the initial specifications I mentioned seem to be "all over the place". Initially, the K27 had a 20 Kw motor and now it's 44 Kw and the guy in the video mentioned a 46 Kw. The K23 now has a 49 Kw motor. The epa range numbers seem very low too. The driver mentioned that he could go maybe 100 miles in the K27. Overall, the review was very positive. There's lots of goodies like back up sensors and back up camera, keyless fob (with no metal cut key)? A screen with some data! I wonder if you can set charging parameters?

As for regen, it sounds like it has a fixed amount of regen more towards the light side. Which would be ok but would require a little more braking on your part.
 
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