OT: Electric Vehicles--anyone driving them or seriously looked at them?

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

https://www.yahoo.com/news/subsidize...090000016.html

Interesting article. I didnt realize that:

a) some states charge an annual fee to ev users
b) some states are collecting less $$ in fuel tax than a decade+ ago

I pay a higher annual registration fee than I did for a gas car in Illinois. I think it’s $200/year higher.

[kppolich]

Annual registration fee for an EV in Iowa is $130 + tax/title/tags+ some charging tax.

To compare:
-A driver of a new Ford Escape would pay an annual registration fee of $294.60 and average annual gas tax of $137.75 for yearly taxes and fees of $432.35.

-A driver of a new Tesla Model 3 would pay an annual registration fee of $634.40 plus an estimated $13.00 of charging taxes. This is 50 percent more taxes even though the vehicles have very similar weights and road impacts.


I'm not that upset considering I won't have to pay for gas, gas tax, oil changes, brakes, emissions, etc and pay significantly less overall with home charging as well as yearly insurance costs compared to my 2013 Subaru Impreza.

[rsl]

Originally Posted by rwsaunders

People often link EV’s to sustainability, but when I see a Rivian, Cybertruck, Hummer, etc., it makes me wonder what the environmental penalty is when wasting a battery on powering a 6-9,000# vehicle. How about building a Tesla Model S or a Porsche Mission E that can go 75 miles over the speed limit? Essentially in some cases, it seems like in the US, we aren’t focused on rightsizing vehicles, improving fuel economy and being more environmentally responsible, we’re just using batteries instead of gas to make people feel good.

I think this is an insightful point. I doubt this is the ultimate authority on the question, but this epa calculator allows a person to compare total greenhouse gas emissions and tailpipe emissions across different vehicles. It allows direct comparison between ICE and EVs, and looks like it can even tailor the emissions based on electricity source if you include zipcode. https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbsSelect

Edited to add my full disclosure: I've had a Nissan Leaf since 2016 and purchased a Model Y in December. We're all-EV family, and am unlikely to buy another ICE vehicle. For for my family at least, the shortcomings of the EV are outweighed by what we like about EVs.

[Polyglot]

Originally Posted by robt57

Our biggest issue was the Hotel we stayed had more EV guests than chargers, and selfish guests leaving their car after charged. So twice I had to go to a charger off site. That charger was close by and DC fast [VS hotel level 2] So not big deal overall.

Take away for us is we will use EV on next planned Vancouver, BC trip. We cut this trip to 1 week from the orig 2 weeks and only Victoria instead of both cities.

There are free level 2 chargers all over Vancouver Island, so it is likely that there was one near your hotel. I live in Sidney, near the ferry to Tsawassen and we have I believe 7 free level 2 chargers in a town of 14,000. There are also 14 Tesla chargers and 3 DC fast chargers plus a few more level 2 paid chargers.

[bewheels]

Originally Posted by rwsaunders

...Essentially in some cases, it seems like in the US, we aren’t focused on rightsizing vehicles, improving fuel economy and being more environmentally responsible, we’re just using batteries instead of gas to make people feel good.

Originally Posted by rsl

I think this is an insightful point. I doubt this is the ultimate authority on the question, but this epa calculator allows a person to compare total greenhouse gas emissions and tailpipe emissions across different vehicles. It allows direct comparison between ICE and EVs, and looks like it can even tailor the emissions based on electricity source if you include zipcode. https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbsSelect

Edited to add my full disclosure: I've had a Nissan Leaf since 2016 and purchased a Model Y in December. We're all-EV family, and am unlikely to buy another ICE vehicle. For for my family at least, the shortcomings of the EV are outweighed by what we like about EVs.

I agree that it is a good point regarding our fixation on large vehicles here in the US. However using batteries does more than just make people feel better regardless of thise motivation to buying it....not saying that there aren't people that buy them as status symbol or to make themselves feel better but out of the thousands and thousands of EV owners out there, this is likely a small minority of owners.

Moving large portions of the population from what they know and are accustomed to, to the same form factor but with the significant advantages of EVs is a win. Asking people to ditch the form factor they are accustomed to in order to play a role in reducing greenhouse gases doesn't work.

High efficiency ICE vehicles have been around for decades but only adopted by a very small percentage of the population. This has primarily due to the fact that in order to make high efficiency ICE vehicles, significant shifts in design aesthetics from the norm have to take place, overall size is reduced, speeds are reduced, acceleration is reduced, perceived safety is reduced, etc. The common word there is "reduced". We as a species, specifically the US species, do not "reduce". Whether we "should" or not is irrelevant. People don't like change, even change for the better. So whatever can be done to help move us towards practices that help is a good thing.

As stated above "the shortcomings of the EV are outweighed by what we like about EVs"

[robt57]

When 'we' in the US reduce, even that too we do to excess. Me anyway..

[AngryScientist]

I like FastlaneTruck's youtube channel a lot. They do a lot of real world stuff with trucks.

This is an entertaining video comparing a new V8 F150 to the electric one over a 100ish mile roadtrip in Denver area.

The takeaway for me is that it's unrealistic to try and drive one of these if you dont have access to home charging and that would be your primary charging method.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATSzne2G6Ug

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

I like FastlaneTruck's youtube channel a lot. They do a lot of real world stuff with trucks.

This is an entertaining video comparing a new V8 F150 to the electric one over a 100ish mile roadtrip in Denver area.

The takeaway for me is that it's unrealistic to try and drive one of these if you dont have access to home charging and that would be your primary charging method.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATSzne2G6Ug

That’s true of really any EV. Don’t get one if Level 2 (220/240V) home charging isn’t an option. Level 1 (110/120V) is only viable for drivers who really just drive locally, like less than probably 150-200 miles weekly, tops, with short daily drives and at least a full day somewhere to just let it trickle charge, because that’s almost what wall outlet charging is like. 3-4 miles/hour of range added on the Tesla on a wall outlet.

And yes, I also like TFL’s content on YT.

[robt57]

Originally Posted by Polyglot

There are free level 2 chargers all over Vancouver Island, so it is likely that there was one near your hotel. I live in Sidney, near the ferry to Tsawassen and we have I believe 7 free level 2 chargers in a town of 14,000. There are also 14 Tesla chargers and 3 DC fast chargers plus a few more level 2 paid chargers.

I bought the J1772 to Tesla TSL adapter to stick in the back of the Bolt. That would have made the two loose TSL @ hotel usable for us. We also could have had the Level one in the car, Hotel said they have supplied power for that, last ditch but left it at home. It is like a trickle charge basically.

The cost was not the issue really, the DC fast was close to the hotel. I'd rather pay the 6.75 US to get the fast than wait for level two for free frankly. Especially when we had to get to the Ferry for 6:10 departure, customs etc. Wanted to hit the pillow earlier.

[merckxman]

The NJ registration fees, renewals and at purchase, for EVs: https://nj1015.com/why-certain-nj-dr...l-in-the-mail/

[paredown]

Originally Posted by merckxman

The NJ registration fees, renewals and at purchase, for EVs: https://nj1015.com/why-certain-nj-dr...l-in-the-mail/

And they are dinging EV drivers BEFORE they start driving. That's nuts:

For new EV buyers, four years' worth of the additional fee are added to the upfront cost. In general, four years of registration fees are part of all dealership vehicle purchases in New Jersey.

"What it is, quite frankly, is sticker shock for electric vehicle buyers," said Jim Appleton, president of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers.

[AngryScientist]

A question for the EV owners here:

Can you adjust the level of regen braking on your vehicle?

I have been living with a Jeep GC 4xe this week, and the regen braking was driving me nuts. As soon as I let off the gas the drag on the vehicle was very bad and it was hard to keep a smooth ride. Very disconcerting feeling IMO.

About halfway into having it, I see this big blue button on the dash "Max Regen" - aha!

Turned that off, and the SUV rides much smoother.

Perhaps regen braking is something you learn to live with and adjust your driving style to minimize the effects of in an EV?

Recent uber rides in Tesla, Rivian and KIA vehicles showed a lot of the same drag. Almost a yo-yo like feeling, not at all relaxing as the driver or passenger.

Can you adjust the regen "gain" on typical EVs?

I get that regen braking is taking advantage of wasted energy, and is essentially free watts in the battery, but man, not the best for a smooth ride...

[AngryScientist]

A question for the EV owners here:

Can you adjust the level of regen braking on your vehicle?

I have been living with a Jeep GC 4xe this week, and the regen braking was driving me nuts. As soon as I let off the gas the drag on the vehicle was very bad and it was hard to keep a smooth ride. Very disconcerting feeling IMO.

About halfway into having it, I see this big blue button on the dash "Max Regen" - aha!

Turned that off, and the SUV rides much smoother.

Perhaps regen braking is something you learn to live with and adjust your driving style to minimize the effects of in an EV?

Recent uber rides in Tesla, Rivian and KIA vehicles showed a lot of the same drag. Almost a yo-yo like feeling, not at all relaxing as the driver or passenger.

Can you adjust the regen "gain" on typical EVs?

I get that regen braking is taking advantage of wasted energy, and is essentially free watts in the battery, but man, not the best for a smooth ride...

[jimcav]

The wife’s has levels for rgen. It means Longer brake pad life so I max it and practice a more one pedal driving style—feathering the gas vs lifting off completely with my right foot. Still have to hit the brake directly at times, but I’ve gotten much smoother at slowing down without actually braking until the very end.
QUOTE=AngryScientist;3426483]A question for the EV owners here:

Can you adjust the level of regen braking on your vehicle?

I have been living with a Jeep GC 4xe this week, and the regen braking was driving me nuts. As soon as I let off the gas the drag on the vehicle was very bad and it was hard to keep a smooth ride. Very disconcerting feeling IMO.

About halfway into having it, I see this big blue button on the dash "Max Regen" - aha!

Turned that off, and the SUV rides much smoother.

Perhaps regen braking is something you learn to live with and adjust your driving style to minimize the effects of in an EV?

Recent uber rides in Tesla, Rivian and KIA vehicles showed a lot of the same drag. Almost a yo-yo like feeling, not at all relaxing as the driver or passenger.

Can you adjust the regen "gain" on typical EVs?

I get that regen braking is taking advantage of wasted energy, and is essentially free watts in the battery, but man, not the best for a smooth ride...[/QUOTE]

[David Kirk]

My Kia EV6 has adjustable regen.

I found anything other than minimal regen annoying at first as I felt like I was driving in a jerky fashion. Over time I've found I like more and more and now I use near max regen and I drive it more smoothly than I do my ICE vehicle.

It's great that it's adjustable for your driving style and I love that every time I lift off the throttle I put gas in the tank so to speak.

dave