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

[benb]

Originally Posted by Alistair

This isn't a Ferrari, it's a 6 year old Hyundai, it doesn't even cost $50k for a brand new version.

I can't think of many 2017 model year cars where the cost of a replacement gasoline engine would exceed the cost of a brand new replacement. And having to completely replace an engine (new core and all) would be extremely rare.

Linked article was Canadian dollars.

The only way to get a new Hyundai EV in Canada below $50k CAD is to get a stripper Kona EV with the short range battery, they are $49k. So yes, it does cost $50k for a brand new one if you're in Canada. You can't even get any of the Long range Hyundais in Canada easily below $59k, the Kona has a relatively small battery to hit $50k CAD.

The situation in the article is pretty weird.. sounds like it would not have actually cost $50k to replace the battery if the customer had worked with Hyundai but the customer scrapped the car before Hyundai could help them...

[Spaghetti Legs]

Originally Posted by cgolvin

My addition to the wish list is the wagon (er …*estate?) category. Unfortunately, it seems like most OEMs think that Americans only want SUVs (it would be hard to argue with their data on this point, I guess). It doesn't matter to me since I recently bought an Ioniq 5 and don't expect to be in the market for another car for a long time, but I would have paid a premium for a wagon. (Wish I could have justified one of those Taycan GT models, that's a killer EV wagon.)

I like station wagons too. I had wanted an EV for a long time and needed two things: one that I could actually drive beyond my city limits and get back home and one I could fit a bike in the back. I drove a Model S for 10 years. You can pack a serious amount of stuff in one of those things.

Edit: the all wheel drive has cut down on the storage space a little. Mine was RWD and I could fit a wheelset in the front trunk, allowing me to fit 2 complete bikes and a third without wheels in the back (back seats folded down).

[Gsinill]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Speaking of which has anyone here looked at the above electric mini? My wife and I had one of the first north american base model gas cars years ago and it was a ton of fun. I really miss that car. It was a bear to work on though, I imagine electric takes all that hassle away. I bet these are a hoot to drive.

Got ours exactly a year ago and both, my wife and I LOVE the car.
The only downside is the range but for us it is a non issue for what we use it for.
And yes, it is a total hoot to drive.
If you can live withe the 95 - 100 mile range, I’d say go for it.

[Morgul Bismark]

Originally Posted by Gsinill

Got ours exactly a year ago and both, my wife and I LOVE the car.
The only downside is the range but for us it is a non issue for what we use it for.
And yes, it is a total hoot to drive.
If you can live withe the 95 - 100 mile range, I’d say go for it.

My wife got hers back in 2020. She has over 40,000 miles on it now. It's been a great car. We have owned several MINIs and the electric very much has a similar character. One foot driving it reminds me a bit of driving my R50 cooper in the sense that it is sporty at real world speeds and when using the regenerative braking in corners, it has a bit of that momentum management feel.

As far as range goes, it works great for us around town. When we go on road trips we take my gas car. For our purposes that combination works out very well.

[Gsinill]

Originally Posted by Morgul Bismark

My wife got hers back in 2020. She has over 40,000 miles on it now. It's been a great car. We have owned several MINIs and the electric very much has a similar character. One foot driving it reminds me a bit of driving my R50 cooper in the sense that it is sporty at real world speeds and when using the regenerative braking in corners, it has a bit of that momentum management feel.

As far as range goes, it works great for us around town. When we go on road trips we take my gas car. For our purposes that combination works out very well.

It's funny, I have never even sat in a Mini until our test drive with the electric one. My wife was reluctant to even check it out because she believed it might be slow.
We both were blown away when we drove it and placed the order the same day. It is obvious that it was designed by BMW.

Same here, Mini SE 80% of the time, longer distance, one of our Diesels.

[eddiepaletti]

Had a Polestar 2 which I loved, but it was sadly totaled in a scary accident in August. It very likely saved my life. I was keen to get another but the same smokin' deal I got on the Launch Edition wasn't available.

I ended up getting a Hyndai IONIQ5 and really like it. While it doesn't handle as nicely as the Polestar did, I much prefer its interior. I can fit my bike in the back with seats down but it also has a hitch so I can use my hitch rack, too. And it will charge from 10-80% in 18 minutes on a high speed charger, a definite benefit when traveling. So really quite happy with it.

[AngryScientist]

Hertz dumps EVs from rental fleet.

Interesting

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/h...123933213.html

[Louis]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Hertz dumps EVs from rental fleet.

Interesting

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/h...123933213.html

Too much low-end torque? That should be easy enough to fix without having to go back to ICEs.

[corkycalvin]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Hertz dumps EVs from rental fleet.

Interesting

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/h...123933213.html

I think consumers are feared by range anxiety. Plugging in and waiting for a charge is not what people want especially if you’re on vacation. Most ppl want to just get to their destination without planning for stops and charging

[robt57]

Originally Posted by Louis

Too much low-end torque? That should be easy enough to fix without having to go back to ICEs.

You'd think, just a programing tweak.

We got a set of snow and wheel for my wife's Bolt. I sure would lower torque if it was user programmable. They lite up pretty easily. Even with 4 big adults in the car I noted last week.

I wonder if the first use Sat in actual snow the torque will be a negative part of driving in snow in truth.


Sure like the snows in standing water, it is like "what puddles"...

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by corkycalvin

I think consumers are feared by range anxiety. Plugging in and waiting for a charge is not what people want especially if you’re on vacation. Most ppl want to just get to their destination without planning for stops and charging

I’m not sure I get this. Not that you’re wrong either. But I’d imagine most car rentals, gas or electric, are driven relatively locally.

In my mind, Tesla may not be the right car. There are enough quirks that not all operation is super intuitive. A guy I worked with recently rented one out in the Northern Virginia area. Hertz didn’t do much to educate the renter on a lot of stuff that isn’t necessarily intuitive, like operating controls hidden in the screen because there are very few physical controls. Even the operation of the doors isn’t super intuitive. He talked about how hard it is to find a charger, which is actually super easy. He likely didn’t know how to do this because it’s not necessarily intuitive and I’m guessing the on-site staff never instructed him.

For those who think I’m just an EV Superfan, I’m not. I’m actually really disappointed in these aspects of Tesla ownership. Far too many quirks and way too much that isn’t intuitive for those unfamiliar with the quirks.

Based on what my coworker said, all of which was understandable, I can’t blame him for not wanting that experience again.

[robt57]

If I was not retired and an every day work use driver beyond commute to work, PHEV be my choice.

Although several PDX to Tacoma lengths trips in a friends Tesla S with one charging stop was not bad. But there was open charger bay, and we timed it with lunch. Car charged to 80% in eat time.
Tesla charge fast!

Our Bolt even in the fast charge commercial port less than 1/3 charge speed. Tesla got that so right... Until there are more car than stations and waits to plug in become a thing I guess...

But as a 46 mile day commuter, BoltEV rules for us. [her, I am retired. ] Not least of which is never stopping to get gas if you ask my wife...

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by robt57

If I was not retired and an every day work use driver beyond commute to work, PHEV be my choice.

Although several PDX to Tacoma lengths trips in a friends Tesla S with one charging stop was not bad. But there was open charger bay, and we timed it with lunch. Car charged to 80% in eat time.
Tesla charge fast!

Our Bolt even in the fast charge commercial port less than 1/3 charge speed. Tesla got that so right... Until there are more car than stations and waits to plug in become a thing I guess...

But as a 46 mile day commuter, BoltEV rules for us. [her, I am retired. ] Not least of which is never stopping to get gas if you ask my wife...

I sincerely hope there will be a next gen Chevy Bolt with 150 kw charging, or faster at a price point that is affordable and that they don’t make it too complicated to use. The genius of Apple products is that they are really quite easy to use even for most who aren’t comfortable with technology.

It seems like a faster-charging Bolt would probably have been a better entry-level rental than a Tesla.

[corkycalvin]

Originally Posted by saab2000

I’m not sure I get this. Not that you’re wrong either. But I’d imagine most car rentals, gas or electric, are driven relatively locally.

In my mind, Tesla may not be the right car. There are enough quirks that not all operation is super intuitive. A guy I worked with recently rented one out in the Northern Virginia area. Hertz didn’t do much to educate the renter on a lot of stuff that isn’t necessarily intuitive, like operating controls hidden in the screen because there are very few physical controls. Even the operation of the doors isn’t super intuitive. He talked about how hard it is to find a charger, which is actually super easy. He likely didn’t know how to do this because it’s not necessarily intuitive and I’m guessing the on-site staff never instructed him.

For those who think I’m just an EV Superfan, I’m not. I’m actually really disappointed in these aspects of Tesla ownership. Far too many quirks and way too much that isn’t intuitive for those unfamiliar with the quirks.

Based on what my coworker said, all of which was understandable, I can’t blame him for not wanting that experience again.

According to this study, leisure rental accounted for the largest segment for rentals.

“Leisure is one of the largest segment of the car rental market in the United States, accounting for the largest share of the market's total value.

The Business segment also accounts for a major share of the market.”

https://www.globaldata.com/data-insi...erica-2036521/

I was simply stating rental companies may find it not profitable if their customers don’t want EV’s thus getting rid of them because profit is what motivate decisions.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by corkycalvin

I think consumers are feared by range anxiety.

I think it's range anxiety and just the unknown in general. Most adults have been around ICE cars their whole lives and get the basic concept. If traveling for work or pleasure, I'm not sure most people want to learn something new combined with being away from home.