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I had a 2015 BMW i3 BEV (battery only) for two years and it was an exceptionally good car. Between the dealer discounts, employer incentives, etc., I was paying under $200/mon for the top-line model. I could fit two bike boxes and a wheel box in the back, or a road bike with the wheels on. It was very zippy and overall just an excellent car for the short trips I made 99% of the time when I was still commuting to an office (and wasn't on my bike). I turned it in when the lease ran out, after extending the lease as far as I could, just because I no longer commute to an office, and needed/wanted something with more range for longer trips - plus, a BMW out of warranty and with a first-gen battery (85mi range).....no thanks.
To replace it, I picked up a 2019 Prius Prime this past summer. Again, got a combo of dealer incentives and state/federal incentives to get the price way down for the top-line model with all the gizmos and do-dads. I have 1800mi on it since June, and still haven't filled up the gas tank - sitting at around a 1/4 right now. The all-electric range is enough for most everything I do as far as going for groceries, out to eat, running errands, etc. I'm happy to have the 4-cyl engine though for getting out of town for bike trips, work, whatever - or simply for those rare days where I need more than 25mi and want to run the heater and such. The engine is loud and weak. But it does the job. The infotainment system is excellent, and the design of the car shows care went into the little things. I have a roof-rack for it and between that and the interior space, it hauls plenty for my no-kids lifestyle. We'll see how it does though if we get significant snow this year or ice. That's the one place where these cars struggle in my experience.
As for the impacts to the bulk-electric system - yes, there is an impact, but EVs can be part of the solution if the incentives are put in place - they can serve as peak-shifting resources (charging/discharging in concert with the grid's needs). But they can also exacerbate existing problems - if people plug them in at 7p as the sun is setting, that's not good. I expect we'll stumble forward in this space, being the imperfect humans we are..
And as for climate impacts and emissions, well, if you want to make a difference, transportation does matter, but those airline flights make a big deal as others said - and even moreso than that, look at your diet.. There is no bigger contributor to the degradation of our planet than the industrial animal agriculture system. If you want your kids/grandkids to have an inhabitable planet, stop eating meat and drinking milk - or drastically reduce your consumption of it. It's that simple.
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