Zi Hui's reader's response draft 1

 In the article “10 Reasons Why The Hyundai Kona Electric Is Better Than The Tesla Model 3” (Moore, 2023), the KONA Electric Vehicle(EV) offers a range of four distinct regenerative braking settings, spanning from level zero to three. The intelligent regenerative braking system employs the onboard radar sensor to automatically adjust the amount of regenerative braking according to different road conditions such as the change in steepness or the traffic in front. This allows the vehicle's state of charge to be maintained at a healthy level. Secondly, the KONA also has a “one-paddle mode” where users can stop the vehicle without using conventional brakes. The Smart Recuperative system enhances the KONA electric vehicle in terms of energy conservation and efficiency, additionally contributing to greener transport emissions, which is one step in curbing global warming.

The KONA has regenerative braking from level zero to three, with level zero having no regenerative braking and level three being the highest. Hence with this function, when the user releases the accelerator pedal at level zero the vehicle will be coasting while at level three the vehicle will have a considerably powerful braking (Han, J. 2022). The regenerative braking could be adjusted by using the left and right paddles located behind the steering wheel. The left paddle increases regenerative braking and deceleration, on the other hand, the right paddle does the opposite (Hyundai, 2023). During regenerative braking, the motor slows down the vehicle by converting kinetic energy back to electrical energy (Tharad, V. 2023), hence charging the battery. This allows the EV to conserve electricity and maximize the vehicle's driving range up to 484 kilometers (Hyundai, 2023) in a single charge.

The second feature of this EV is its smart recuperation system. By incorporating radar sensors into the regenerative braking system, it automatically changes the regenerative braking according to specific road conditions, such as the steepness of the road. This diminishes the redundancy of using conventional braking and accelerating, reducing the amount of energy loss from braking, resulting in enhancing the driving experience and electric energy efficiency (Hyundai, 2023.). 

Another feature that involves regenerative braking in KONA is the “one-paddle mode” where the driver can decelerate by pulling the left paddle shifter and holding until the vehicle comes to a full stop while charging the EV simultaneously. This eliminates the use of conventional brake pedals. Additionally, the reduced usage of brakes also slows down wear and tear on frictional brakes, which indirectly helps the vehicle to have a longer usage span, leading to lesser maintenance and saving on maintenance expenses.

Additionally, having regenerative braking systems in vehicles allows EVs to be more eco-friendly. Statistics showed that the regenerative system is able to convert 70% of energy lost from conventional braking back to electricity, which helps to reduce the amount of power generated for charging vehicles and reducing overall carbon emissions (Energy5, 2023). 

However, the downside of the smart recuperation system is that the radar sensor may not be able to fully detect obstacles in front of the vehicle at some places, such as steep slopes on roads where the vehicle is on the other side of the slope and is not within the sensor's range, or when a vehicle from another driving lane is diagonally in front of the EV is turning right at a sharp bend, the sensors will detect the vehicle and will deem to be in front of the EV, resulting to have an increase in regenerative braking although the vehicle is not obstructing the EV (HyundaiUSA, 2023). The regenerative braking system will be reduced and the EV will not slow down despite having obstacles in front. Hence the driver needs to ensure that the road conditions are safe before using the smart recuperation system and be always ready to use the brake pedal and adjust the regenerative braking level whenever necessary.

All in all, the regenerative braking system enhances the KONA electric vehicle in terms of energy conservation and efficiency, in addition to using modern technologies allows the vehicle to adapt and maximize energy recuperation under any road conditions; and it is an ideal vehicle on roads like Singapore, where heavy traffic is common along the business district during peak hours daily. And cumulatively, the recuperative system will make a significant impact on reducing energy consumption. At a global scale, having more EVs with regenerative braking systems also reduces overall transport emissions and positive impact on global warming.

Reference List:

Hyundai Motor Company — Komoco Motors Pte Ltd. (n.d.). Kona Electric. https://hyundai.com.sg/vehicles/kona-ev/engineering/

Moore, A. (2023, February 25). 10 Reasons Why The Hyundai Kona Electric Is Better Than The Tesla Model 3. https://www.topspeed.com/why-hyundai-kona-electric-better-than-tesla-model-3/#the-kona-electric-is-a-lot-cheaper

Tharad, V. (2023, July 30) ELECTRIC VEHICLE'S MAIN COMPONENT PARTS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/electric-vehicles-main-component-parts-functions-vijay-tharad#:~:text=The%20motor%20converts%20the%20electrical,is%20the%20regenerative%20braking%20mechanism.

Han, J, ( 2022, March 25) An Intelligent Regenerative Braking Strategy for Electric Vehicles

https://nrsbrakes.com/blogs/blog/an-intelligent-regenerative-braking-strategy-for-electric-vehicles

(2023, September 25) Examining the Role of a Regenerative Braking System in an Electric Car 

https://energy5.com/examining-the-role-of-a-regenerative-braking-system-in-an-electric-car

(2023) 2023 Kona Electric Owner's Manual 

https://owners.hyundaiusa.com/content/dam/hyundai/us/myhyundai/manuals/glovebox-manual/2023/kona-ev/2023-Kona-EV-OM.pdf