Electric vehicles

Considering a fully electric vehicle in the next few years, if there is a good enough/ affordable enough option (we currently have a Ford hybrid, and I love the smooth and fast way it drives). 

Marques Brownlee (CHS graduate, who went on to graduate from Stevens in information technology and business, and plays professional Ultimate Frisbee) became a professional YouTuber by reviewing tech, and now has a channel dedicated to EV's.

I found his video for the Hyundai Ioniq, which I did a google search for after seeing one in real life in the Whole Foods/Best Buy parking lot (it looked pretty cool in person), and had not heard of before.

I then went down the rabbit hole of more of MKB's videos on EV's. His reviews are just so watchable, enjoyable, and informative. I'm not a gear-head, but ended up watching the Porsche Taycan video from 2 years ago.

Then found his more recent videos (starting from about 5 months ago) that are on his Auto Focus EV-specific channel, which look at a currently available variety of EV's, from expensive sports cars, to his everyday Tesla, to more budget options:

https://www.youtube.com/@AutoFocus/videos

There are couple of Ioniq's in my neighborhood. They look pretty cool.

It's a good car.  Most of us charge at home, so make sure you have a place to mount a charger.  Mine is on the side of my house, it doesn't need to be in a garage. 

I drove a Nissan leaf for 6 years, and now a Kia Niro EV for the last two.  You will never go back.

Buying an EV has been on my mind for some time.  Our ICE car is quite old though in good shape and could last a while.  I'm particularly adverse to the whole dealership experience.  All thoughts welcome - whether about models, buying services (like Costco) a good deal someone you know was able to get or anything else.  The prices are still high but seem to be coming down.  

Two things have held me back from purchasing an EV.

First is the cost.  Second is the market for pre-owned EVs. I prefer to buy pre-owned vehicles and I have no idea how the market for used EVs works.  

The market is changing some right now due to the new tax incentives.  There are some now for used EVs.  There are a lot of choices out there, so you should do your own research.  YouTube is your friend.  I'll only add that I feel like I'm printing money owning one.

I'm not currently in the market for a new car but have definitely been following this recently. But what may hold me back is range. We do enjoy road trips and not just in relatively densely populated areas in blue states. So then the "plug-in" Hybrids sound attractive.  But, so far at least, those seem not to be anywhere near the "best of both worlds". (More like "worst of both"?) Since I'm not in a hurry, no doubt the choices and options will expand and improve. But so far, I think my family would be best served by a "traditional" hybrid.

Yahooyahoo Here are some aftermarket EVs:
https://www.zelectricmotors.com/

(Not really what you were looking for but omg what fun)

I could see considering the Chevy Bolt EUV as a commuting car after watching MKB's review.

The 2023 model seems to be available locally starting a bit over $28k for the base model, and the $29,585k model has the comfort package with heated steering wheel and heated front seats and power lumbar support; and the lane change/blind side alerts.

Local inventory and pricing:

https://www.chevrolet.com/electric/shopping/inventory/vehicle?cash=60000&dealerId=&downPayment=2500&emi=650&extColor=&intColor=&model=Bolt%20EUV&packages=&paymentType=CASH&radius=45&searchText=&sortField=priceASC&sortOrder=ASC&trim=&vinSlug=1G1FY6S0XP4140930&windowSticker=&year=2023&zipCode=07040

Review:

If you can afford it, buy it new. Battery degradation is around 2% per annum. They are expensive to replace. The earlier models from around a decade ago I would avoid. 
Heated steering wheels are gaining popularity nowadays. 

Jaytee said:

...
Heated steering wheels are gaining popularity nowadays. 

Now, that's a waste of carbon.

drummerboy said:

Now, that's a waste of carbon.

heated door handles is next..

drummerboy said:

Jaytee said:

...
Heated steering wheels are gaining popularity nowadays. 

Now, that's a waste of carbon.

Er, my white/purple-in-cold Reynaud's fingers (even with gloves) beg to differ! A heated steering wheel is what I would look forward to in my next car.

The seat heaters seem like more of a waste (my tushie getting cold hasn't ever been a problem)... except to help warm up these icy fingers by sitting on them at red lights.

brief sidetrack:

heated gloves?

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=heated+gloves

"thinnest," since most of them look too bulky for driving, though maybe you could put a thin liner inside? - https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=What+are+the+thinnest+heated+gloves%3F&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwji_OSI4bP9AhWBGTQIHe3jAF4Qzmd6BAhJEAU&biw=1920&bih=855&dpr=1

drummerboy said:

Now, that's a waste of carbon.

I have to tell you, I don't think I ever would have paid for it as an add-on, but it came with the cold-weather package on an in-stock model of my current car, so I have it -- and I use it ALL THE TIME in cold/cool weather, even on nicer days when the car is colder from the garage. It heats up super fast (much faster than the seats), makes gloves pretty much unnecessary, and all in all is a feature I won't want to forgo on my next car. 

Heated seats and steering wheels actually make great sense in EVs. In internal combustion vehicles a good bit of the heating can be done with “waste heat” from the engine once the car is warming up. In an EV, you don’t have that kind of waste heat, so need active heaters. It is likely far more efficient to warm the driver via seat and hand heaters than to warm the entire passenger compartment with heated air. Sadly, my EV doesn’t have a heated wheel, and is a bit slow to warm via hot air, so I end up turning on the heating system from my app a few minutes before I leave, if I remember. 

sac said:

I'm not currently in the market for a new car but have definitely been following this recently. But what may hold me back is range. We do enjoy road trips and not just in relatively densely populated areas in blue states. So then the "plug-in" Hybrids sound attractive.  But, so far at least, those seem not to be anywhere near the "best of both worlds". (More like "worst of both"?) Since I'm not in a hurry, no doubt the choices and options will expand and improve. But so far, I think my family would be best served by a "traditional" hybrid.

hybrids were great 10 years ago, but not now.  Using a battery to drag an engine around is a waste.  And an EV drivetrain has 1% of the parts that a combustion engine drivetrain has.  Oil changes, gas tanks, I don't miss any of it.  If you do a lot of road trips maybe consider a Tesla because of their charging network.  Not my favorite make, but facts are facts.

sprout said:

drummerboy said:

Jaytee said:

...
Heated steering wheels are gaining popularity nowadays. 

Now, that's a waste of carbon.

Er, my white/purple-in-cold Reynaud's fingers (even with gloves) beg to differ! A heated steering wheel is what I would look forward to in my next car.

The seat heaters seem like more of a waste (my tushie getting cold hasn't ever been a problem)... except to help warm up these icy fingers by sitting on them at red lights.

I love my heated seats - they warm me up MUCH faster than the regular HVAC heat in the car. It's really your whole body being warm as a result, not just the tushie.  (Have you ever experienced them? If not, you should check them out and then let us know if you still think they are a waste.)

I hate heated seats.  So uncomfortable.

Then again I wear shorts through most of the winter.

sac said:

sprout said:

drummerboy said:

Jaytee said:

...
Heated steering wheels are gaining popularity nowadays. 

Now, that's a waste of carbon.

Er, my white/purple-in-cold Reynaud's fingers (even with gloves) beg to differ! A heated steering wheel is what I would look forward to in my next car.

The seat heaters seem like more of a waste (my tushie getting cold hasn't ever been a problem)... except to help warm up these icy fingers by sitting on them at red lights.

I love my heated seats - they warm me up MUCH faster than the regular HVAC heat in the car. It's really your whole body being warm as a result, not just the tushie.  (Have you ever experienced them? If not, you should check them out and then let us know if you still think they are a waste.)

I think heated seats are OK. I really do mostly use them to warm up my frozen fingers. The challenges I have feeling my fingers probably distracts me from noticing if the warm seat is comforting otherwise. The times I usually notice a heated seat most is when it's on accidentally, and I briefly wonder why my tush feels hot before figuring out how to turn it off.

My last car had heated and cooled seats and heated steering wheel. It also had speed and information projected onto the windshield. Replacement car has everything the other one had except the windshield projection and heated steering wheel.

The difference was $8k for not having the heated steering wheel and projection.

DanDietrich said:

hybrids were great 10 years ago, but not now.  Using a battery to drag an engine around is a waste.  And an EV drivetrain has 1% of the parts that a combustion engine drivetrain has.  Oil changes, gas tanks, I don't miss any of it.  If you do a lot of road trips maybe consider a Tesla because of their charging network.  Not my favorite make, but facts are facts.

Tesla announced last week that they will open their charging stations to all EVs. I guess you will have to buy the compatibility connector from Tesla.

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

My last car had heated and cooled seats and heated steering wheel. It also had speed and information projected onto the windshield. Replacement car has everything the other one had except the windshield projection and heated steering wheel.

The difference was $8k for not having the heated steering wheel and projection.

Did you miss either of those?  (I've never had windshield projection. Not sure if I would like it or not.)

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

Tesla announced last week that they will open their charging stations to all EVs. I guess you will have to buy the compatibility connector from Tesla.

well, not quite.  They are opening the network because the new incentives for installing chargers only apply to systems that can charge any brand.  Their new chargers will have both fittings installed.  The Tesla to J1772 adapter can only be used for level 2 charging, not DC fast charging.  Be careful if you buy one of those adapters.  Some are good quality, many are not.

sprout said:

Did you miss either of those?  (I've never had windshield projection. Not sure if I would like it or not.)

I miss both. Hated steering wheel... O.K., so now I wear light fleece gloves in the car until it heats up. 

The projector posted local speed limit, my current speed and the speed at which I set cruise control.  In the absence, I need to take my eyes off the road and look at three different parts on the dash.

Formerlyjerseyjack said:

Tesla announced last week that they will open their charging stations to all EVs. I guess you will have to buy the compatibility connector from Tesla.

Some of their charging stations.

• Tesla and the White House announced that 7,500 Tesla chargers would become available to non-Tesla cars. That only includes 3,500 Tesla Supercharger stalls over the next two years, as Tesla doubles that network to 34,000 Superchargers. As such, CCS drivers will only get to use just over 10% of the Tesla chargers.
• The other opened stations are 4,000 of Tesla’s 35,000 lower-speed Destination chargers found at many hotels because Tesla gave them away to thousands of hotels. Drivers of other cars can already use these with a $150 adapter. Indeed, this probably just means Tesla will provide these adapters to some of the hotels.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradtempleton/2023/02/21/tesla-to-open-up-10-of-superchargers-to-other-cars-but-its-more-complex-and-the-plans-misguided/?sh=6dac06883b7c

Our next car will likely be a hybrid. We'd like a minivan, but there aren't so many options to begin with, and even fewer in full electric, but Toyota went hybrid with theirs a few years back. Also, in the back of my mind I'm not 100% sure the grid is ready for full-scale mass electrification of vehicles. I'm sure it'll get there relatively soon, but during the transition there's something to be said for a car that still runs on gas but gets the same mileage as my current car despite being much larger and heavier.

The grid can easily handle EVs.  The charging infrastructure is still growing, but if the number of EVs on the road and chargers installed went up 10 times overnight the grid could handle it, except where it isn't maintained properly, like maybe Texas.  All of that "grid can't handle it " stuff is rubbish.