Does anyone want to talk EVs?

[dr.girlfriend]

We've driven the same cheap (but great!) cars since 2011 ... two Honda Fits.  Now DH wants an EV for his next car.  So...

1.  Any big reasons yes or no?  He doesn't do very long drives and if we got one we'd probably get the special plug by our porch so he can charge in our driveway (single family home)

2. Any info I should be looking into aside from car reviews, etc?  From what I can tell I don't think we're eligible for federal tax rebates because our income is high.  I've looked into state and energy company rebates a bit.

3.  Any particular recs (or warnings) about models?  We've just started looking and will be test-driving the Ioniq 5 and 6 later this week.

[Roc A Bee]

I’m also interested in this. Currently I want my next car to NOT be a plug-in. I drive to a rural community for work where there’s 2 plug-ins in the entire town. I also don’t need my PG&E to increase as we already pay so much for electricity.

I’ve been eyeing a Camry, but I’m interested in replies.

[Pilsy]

Following! We have one gas-powered car (2017 CR-V) and a hybrid (2021 Sienna), and we'll undoubtedly want an EV when we replace the CR-V. That said, I hope that's not for another 5+ years, so I haven't spent the time to learn much about what's available.

[liveintheville]

We have a polestar 2. We love it. H didn’t want a Tesla because he hates Elon musk. We have a charger in our driveway. We don’t typically drive much. Just a few miles a day. But we do occasional trips to NY or VT. We just look up charging stations on the way and add it to google maps as a waypoint stop. It’s pretty simple. As for cost, we have solar so our electric bill is low anyway.

[jobae1234]

We have the VW ID.4. That car is so freakin fun to drive. It’s fast, with a great turning radius, and it feels really solid.

We got it the first year it came out, and the tech leaves something to be desired. Like there are only two buttons for the windows and you have to toggle it to “rear” to move the rear windows. So dumb. And when you’re backing up, the radio keeps playing but it silences it. It would be fine if it paused and then resumed, or didn’t silence it, but the combination is annoying.

I’d buy it again because it really is THAT fun to drive, but just something to check out.

[dutchgirl678]

We got a Ford Mustang Mach-e when we bought an EV. We were put on a waiting list in August and got it in January, but currently there is more inventory so it should be easier to find. They also lowered the price after we got ours but gave us half of the decrease in a rebate and half in Ford points. We didn't want a Tesla and we test drove a bunch of EVs. Our local power company held an event where EV owners could let people test drive their cars on a college campus on the weekend. The Polestar 2 was too small for us as was the Tesla model 3. The Tesla model Y would have fit us, but we didn't like the interface where there is nothing in front of you, everything is displayed on the big screen which is off to the side. The Mach-e at least has speed, time, and how much of a charge you have left in the dashboard.

A friend of mine test drove the Mach-e and the Volkswagen ID4 and she went with the ID4 because she thought the screen was too big in the Mach-e. The Mach-e looks and feels kind of sporty. My DH uses it to commute to work but we have used it on a few road trips as well.

Are you sure your income is too high? If you are married filing jointly the cap is $300k currently. But certain manufacturers like Volkswagen and Hyundai don't qualify for the tax credit because they (and the batteries) are manufactured overseas.

I would look on dedicated forums to see what current owners are saying or on Reddit. We look at macheforum.com.

I would say yes because if he doesn't drive very long distances it makes total sense to get an EV! Feel free to send me a DM if you want to know more.

[gretchenindisguise]

We have had a mach-e for over a year now. We really love it.

We charge it in our garage overnight or H takes it to work to charge it.

[goldengirlz]

I have a Tesla Model 3. I’m a fan. I was actually in a four-car accident with it last week (I was rear-ended) and I was the only vehicle involved without so much as a ding on it. (I was pleasantly shocked.) I also find a lot of the self-driving tech really slick, like the sensors and collision warning alerts (however, they can get glitchy.) I don’t pay for full self-driving mode, but I appreciate the embedded capabilities.

I LOVE the way EVs drive; they’re so much fun! The braking, the acceleration (especially the acceleration.) I can beat any gas car from a red light; it’s not even a contest.

The biggest consideration, IMO, is that charging on road trips can be a PITA. We installed a level 2 charger in our garage for $600, and we have overnight scheduled charging. We have an EV rate plan with our electric company and energy costs are lower overnight. In our high-cost state, I’d say it’s been about a wash with gas costs, except that one summer when gas was like $7/gallon here (then I felt like a genius.) H’s hybrid is probably the better value based solely on cost to fuel. However, maintenance costs on the Tesla have been zero, which is expected. I only need my tires rotated next week and Tesla is sending someone to my house to do it!

I can talk forever about charging and level 2 vs. level 3. The big advantage with Tesla is the supercharger network; ChargePoint has level 3s now, but I think Tesla still has more level 3-capable locations overall.

The other big big downside is Elon Musk 👎. But they’re a local company that employs a lot of people around here so …

[jewel]

Another option, if he’s not fully committed, is a plug in hybrid vehicle.

My H has a plug in Prius, and I LOVE it so much. It has an electric range of around 30 miles and we very rarely use gas beyond that. Depending on your driving habits and charging capabilities in the community, this might be a good option too. We are able to use a regular wall outlet to charge at home, my H charges for free at work, and we have lots of charging stations around town so we can often plug in when we go somewhere. A lot of places that I take the kids that have paid parking (zoo, museums, etc) give free parking to electric vehicles if you pay for the charge, which always ends up cheaper for me because the charge max is so minimal. I also love that we can take it on road trips and it’ll switch to hybrid driving and we can gas up as usual.

I’d love to get a plug in hybrid SUV. I drove the plug in Jeep Wrangler, which was fun. I’d really love a 3rd row SUV option and am hoping that prices and availability improve in the next year or so.

[winemaker06]

We’ve had a Prius Prime (30-mile EV range) for 6 years and VW ID.4 (250-mile EV range) for 1 year now.

I knew I had to accept some limitations on the ID.4 and was very close to buying a RAV4 Prime instead. Now we just take the Prius or swap cars with my dad for longer road trips when we just don’t feel like dealing with requiring chargjng stops. That’s mostly a problem just because the infrastructure isn’t maintained and there are broken chargers all over the place. But we’re in MD and do have lots of options and there are great apps to allow you to plan trips. Just takes forethought and planning.

Be prepared to deal with software bugs in pretty much any non-Tesla EV. It still annoys me that we’ve gotten to this point with cars, but it is what it is. There are at least more options out there now than when I was shopping just 1.5 years ago!

[minzy]

I would say yes, get one! Wave of the future, and there is no choice - we have to get off of internal combustion engines. I was hellbent on the idea of going “fully electric” rather than hybrid, honestly after reading a book about Elon Musk. He had refused to compromise on that piece for Teslas, even though going full electric was technologically harder to do. He is obviously a volatile personality which is a big part of why we don’t have a Tesla. However, I am absolutely on board with EVs and thrilled by how much market expansion there has been even in my now three years of EV ownership. As for my car (a Leaf), I acknowledge that it does not have the sexy curves or quite the vroom-vroom je ne sais quoi of some of the Teslas, but I really like the car. My husband has a hybrid that I drive sometimes, especially if timing is a factor and I can’t ”afford” the guesswork in charging (i.e., my last two longer trips) but I like my car better.

Range is definitely a consideration for longer road trips but really not a big deal for me 95% of the time. I unfortunately seem to continue to encounter about a 50% fail rate at chargers I visit, but I also use the rarest of the three main level 3 chargers (a CHAdeMO). Superchargers (Tesla) and the CCS chargers (most European models and the Bolt) are both more prevalent than the CHAdeMO.

Two other things - double check re the rebate. My understanding (which may be wrong) was not that they were tied to the buyer’s income but that they were available for a certain period of time, like through x date, or until y number of cars are/were sold.

Another thing re. home charging, and my perspective is evolving on this - I have heard from two people recently, independently, in the insurance and solid waste fields, about concerns over lithium battery fires. I don’t think it’s a huge risk for the average consumer and I don’t know how it compares to the risk of having a full gas tank sitting in a garage either. However, I am a little more wary than I used to be about having the cars plugged in (in our attached garage) overnight while we’re asleep. Our reduced charging rate program recently ended (and our energy credits are technically tied to a solar farm anyway) so there is less incentive to charge overnight. So parking in your driveway as you’re saying you plan to might be better for that potential (very minor) risk.

All that said, come join us! 🥳

[lynn07]

We have two - a fully EV Nissan Leaf and a plug-in Chrysler Pacifica minivan. We love our EV’s and will get another one when our Leaf gets older. The plug-in is great for anyone who has range anxiety since it switches to gas when the battery has been used. We plug it in every night and only have to fill it up with gas about 4x per year. We usually get around 1300 miles between fill ups.

[macmars45]

We have two EVs and no ICE cars. We have a level 2 charger in our garage.

We purchased the Tesla model 3 in Feb 2021 and our Chevy Bolt was purchased in March 2023.
The Tesla has longer range so that's our trip car. We just have google maps route us to the nearest charging station as needed. It's NBD. While it charges we go to the bathroom, get food and stretch our legs.
Both cars are fun to drive and we love them.

[dr.girlfriend]

Jul 19, 2023 15:25:43 GMT -5 goldengirlz said:

The other big big downside is Elon Musk 👎. But they’re a local company that employs a lot of people around here so …

Can I tell you I am so conflicted about this!  I bought $5k in TSLA for DH's Roth waaaaay before Musk was a household name.  At its height it was worth about $120k.  I sold half at its peak but still have the other half.  Still very conflicted wishing good things for the company and wishing ill on Musk personally...

[noodleoo]

Jul 20, 2023 11:42:34 GMT -5 macmars45 said:

We have two EVs and no ICE cars. We have a level 2 charger in our garage.

We purchased the Tesla model 3 in Feb 2021 and our Chevy Bolt was purchased in March 2023.
The Tesla has longer range so that's our trip car. We just have google maps route us to the nearest charging station as needed. It's NBD. While it charges we go to the bathroom, get food and stretch our legs.
Both cars are fun to drive and we love them.

How long does it take to charge?  And how much does it cost?

I want an EV eventually but having to charge it "out" is my biggest concern.

[macmars45]

Jul 20, 2023 13:01:14 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Jul 20, 2023 11:42:34 GMT -5 macmars45 said:

We have two EVs and no ICE cars. We have a level 2 charger in our garage.

We purchased the Tesla model 3 in Feb 2021 and our Chevy Bolt was purchased in March 2023.
The Tesla has longer range so that's our trip car. We just have google maps route us to the nearest charging station as needed. It's NBD. While it charges we go to the bathroom, get food and stretch our legs.
Both cars are fun to drive and we love them.

How long does it take to charge?  And how much does it cost?

I want an EV eventually but having to charge it "out" is my biggest concern.

Depends on how much charge we need to get to our next stop. Usually a max of 20 minutes but more like 15. The one time we drove in rural WA state it was closer to 30 minutes because chargers are further apart.

[erbear]

Jul 19, 2023 16:06:13 GMT -5 jewel said:

Another option, if he’s not fully committed, is a plug in hybrid vehicle.

My H has a plug in Prius, and I LOVE it so much. It has an electric range of around 30 miles and we very rarely use gas beyond that. Depending on your driving habits and charging capabilities in the community, this might be a good option too. We are able to use a regular wall outlet to charge at home, my H charges for free at work, and we have lots of charging stations around town so we can often plug in when we go somewhere. A lot of places that I take the kids that have paid parking (zoo, museums, etc) give free parking to electric vehicles if you pay for the charge, which always ends up cheaper for me because the charge max is so minimal. I also love that we can take it on road trips and it’ll switch to hybrid driving and we can gas up as usual.

I’d love to get a plug in hybrid SUV. I drove the plug in Jeep Wrangler, which was fun. I’d really love a 3rd row SUV option and am hoping that prices and availability improve in the next year or so.

This is what I want. What model do you have?

[jewel]

Jul 20, 2023 20:13:58 GMT -5 erbear said:

Jul 19, 2023 16:06:13 GMT -5 jewel said:

Another option, if he’s not fully committed, is a plug in hybrid vehicle.

My H has a plug in Prius, and I LOVE it so much. It has an electric range of around 30 miles and we very rarely use gas beyond that. Depending on your driving habits and charging capabilities in the community, this might be a good option too. We are able to use a regular wall outlet to charge at home, my H charges for free at work, and we have lots of charging stations around town so we can often plug in when we go somewhere. A lot of places that I take the kids that have paid parking (zoo, museums, etc) give free parking to electric vehicles if you pay for the charge, which always ends up cheaper for me because the charge max is so minimal. I also love that we can take it on road trips and it’ll switch to hybrid driving and we can gas up as usual.

I’d love to get a plug in hybrid SUV. I drove the plug in Jeep Wrangler, which was fun. I’d really love a 3rd row SUV option and am hoping that prices and availability improve in the next year or so.

This is what I want. What model do you have?

For the Prius? We have a 2021 Prime Limited. I really can’t remember the specific differences between each level, but we got such a good deal that the price difference was minimal so we just went with the highest model.

The Jeep plug in I just drove as a rental, so I don’t know much about that one. I do know that the battery for the jeep, and any bigger car I imagine, was much bigger and the range was lower.

The SUV I want right now is the Volvo x90 plug in, but I’m not looking to pay that kind of price, lol.

I currently have a highlander and would really, really love it if Toyota came out with a highlander Prime.

[Saudade]

I had a Tesla Model 3. I loved it so so so much. However, it did not love the MN/ND winters and I had one hour commute one way. I was not able to charge it sufficiently at home to return the next day to work unless I visited the Supercharger daily. I sold it and miss it. I have 3 kids and they didn't love having to be crammed in the back.

I currently have a Honda Pilot and want a 3 row EV SUV but there are currently very few options. I'm waiting on the Volvo EX90 to be released and hoping that might be a good one to buy.

[fryjack2]

We have a Tesla Model Y. I love most things about it but the interior feels cheap compared to other cars at this price point. Like, our driver seat threading has unraveled and the passenger seat plastic seat base somehow came apart. I wonder if we got a bit of a lemon because we bought 2 years ago when everyone was buying them and they had to get so many made.
Otherwise, I love the car. ITs so fun to drive. Comfortable seats. I'm not a techie, but love the tech, its so safe, and charging isn't a big deal at all but I live a mile from a super charger and in an urban area with lots of options to charge. Only costs we have had in the last 2 years is buying snow tires and rotating the tires. I do wish it had a back windshield wiper, but its not a deal breaker. Downside is Elon. I wish he would sell the company so buying Tesla wouldn't be supporting him.

Saudade- can i ask why you switched to the Tesla from the Macan? I am waiting for the electric Macan to be released next year.

[Saudade]

fryjack2, I had Tesla, then Cayenne, and now Pilot. I looooved the Cayenne but the back was too cramped for the 3 kids. I did a 1:1 trade for the Pilot and it's been fine.

[aspentosh]

We have a rarer one- Rivian R1T. We do a lot of home projects and need to be able to haul stuff, so truck was the priority. We've had it for almost 8 months now and I loved it so much that I sold our gas car to become a single car household again.

H works from home, I SAH, and 90% of our driving is local. We do trips to FL and NY (we are in VA) so wanted something with longer range- R1T in conserve mode gets around 330 miles. I absolutely love how it drives and have said if I need another vehicle in the future I'd consider the SUV. We only have one kid, but the third row would be nice for our dog when we take trips and DD brings a friend.

We have a level 2 charger (Rivian brand) in our garage. It gives us about 20-25 miles of range per hour, so we just plug in overnight for our longer charges. We've taken it on a few longer trips and charging hasn't been too bad. To go from 10/15% of batter to 80% it takes about 30-40 minutes. We go to the bathroom, grab food, eat, let our dog potty etc.

Good news: Rivian, at least, has partnered with Tesla to have access to their network starting in spring 2024 with an adapter. That will be HUGE for non-Teslas. (We were hardcore no Tesla because of Musk.)

[larzhope]

I have a Kia EV 6 and have had it just over a year. we have a charger in our garage and I charge it once per week. I commute 20 miles each way to work 3x per week. I love it, I feel like we have saved so much money on gas. it's super fun to drive and it was a lower price point compared to Tesla and a few others, even fully loaded. My only complaint is the headroom. we have to have the seat all the way down (H is 6 ft) and so you're sitting lower. I miss sitting up higher like an SUV. otherwise, it's great. full disclosure: we do not do road trips so haven't really tested it out save for a drive over the pass from the Seattle area where I did my mileage math wrong and we ended up needing to stop and charge on the way back, which only took 15 minutes to give us more than enough to get home.

[just]

We have a Hyundai Kona EV and a regular Prius.

The Kona is a joy to drive - I love when my DH asks me to bring it to work for free charging. It's also a nicer car than the prius (which is just a base level prius).
We have had it for 4 years and mostly charge it with a level 1 plug at home (60 hrs for full charge) or at my work. However, work removed a couple chargers while constructing a new building, so we're getting a level 2 at home. We have solar panels and a ton of electric credit, so don't see the increase on that side either.

The tax refund was a nice bonus - both federal and state.

My DH does overnight trips in NE easily enough with public chargers, but we still have the prius if we have an unexpected trip, or something longer.

[niq]

We are holding out for a Kia EV 9, which is supposed to come out late this year or early next year. I'm hoping this will be The Last Car We Buy Until The Kids Are In College, so we're going to get a 3rd row All-Electric AWD. Right now everything for sale in this category is premium priced except the Tesla, and msniq doesn't want to buy one.

If you don't need a third row and/or AWD, there are a lot of options at this point.

In 2019 I bought a 2015 Nissan Leaf as our second car. You can get amazing deals on older Leafs because the range is so low. But they're great as second cars!

[dr.girlfriend]

Jul 25, 2023 19:53:40 GMT -5 niq said:

We are holding out for a Kia EV 9, which is supposed to come out late this year or early next year. I'm hoping this will be The Last Car We Buy Until The Kids Are In College, so we're going to get a 3rd row All-Electric AWD. Right now everything for sale in this category is premium priced except the Tesla, and msniq doesn't want to buy one.

If you don't need a third row and/or AWD, there are a lot of options at this point.

In 2019 I bought a 2015 Nissan Leaf as our second car. You can get amazing deals on older Leafs because the range is so low. But they're great as second cars!

It sounds like you have more experience than we do given that we just started looking.  We definitely don't need a third row, we actually have a preference for something close in size to our current Honda Fits.  Anything you would recommend looking at?

[Poppy]

My H is super interested in getting an EV, especially given the current tax breaks here, but I keep vetoing because he wants the fancy (expensive) ones. He has talked about F150 Lightning, Mach E, and Rivian. I think those are pretty silly for our lifestyle but admit that the 3rd row Rivian is tempting to me because I'd like to be able to drive friends' kids and cousins around.

We test drove a Leaf several years back and were not too impressed with the build quality and we didn't think it'd fit our rear facing car seats. But now that our kids are FF it's under consideration again. Unfortunately it's really hard to find EVs in the mid quality range.

I am campaigning to keep our cars indefinitely and wait for better choices (we have a Prius & AWD Subaru, which DO complement our lifestyle) but the Prius is 15 years old and accumulating problems, so we'll see.

[dr.girlfriend]

Jul 25, 2023 21:49:52 GMT -5 Poppy said:

My H is super interested in getting an EV, especially given the current tax breaks here, but I keep vetoing because he wants the fancy (expensive) ones. He has talked about F1 Lightning, Mach E, and Rivian. I think those are pretty silly for our lifestyle but admit that the 3rd row Rivian is tempting to me because I'd like to be able to drive friends' kids and cousins around.

We test drove a Leaf several years back and were not too impressed with the build quality and we didn't think it'd fit our rear facing car seats. But now that our kids are FF it's under consideration again. Unfortunately it's really hard to find EVs in the mid quality range.

I am campaigning to keep our cars indefinitely and wait for better choices (we have a Prius & AWD Subaru, which DO complement our lifestyle) but the Prius is 15 years old and accumulating problems, so we'll see.

Yeah, TBH our kid is turning 15 late this year so we are within a year and a half of potentially being able to get full use out of three cars.  If there's upsides to waiting I'm definitely down with that as well.

[niq]

Jul 25, 2023 20:59:43 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Jul 25, 2023 19:53:40 GMT -5 niq said:

We are holding out for a Kia EV 9, which is supposed to come out late this year or early next year. I'm hoping this will be The Last Car We Buy Until The Kids Are In College, so we're going to get a 3rd row All-Electric AWD. Right now everything for sale in this category is premium priced except the Tesla, and msniq doesn't want to buy one.

If you don't need a third row and/or AWD, there are a lot of options at this point.

In 2019 I bought a 2015 Nissan Leaf as our second car. You can get amazing deals on older Leafs because the range is so low. But they're great as second cars!

It sounds like you have more experience than we do given that we just started looking.  We definitely don't need a third row, we actually have a preference for something close in size to our current Honda Fits.  Anything you would recommend looking at?

I haven't followed what's going on with the smaller cars very much. Sorry!

[shaynaatl]

Jul 18, 2023 20:44:40 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

2. Any info I should be looking into aside from car reviews, etc?  From what I can tell I don't think we're eligible for federal tax rebates because our income is high.  I've looked into state and energy company rebates a bit.

The income limits don't apply if you lease an EV:

www.kiplinger.com/taxes/ev-lease-tax-credit-loophole

We are considering an EV for our next car (prob 2 yrs away though). I've never leased, but fine with leasing an EV. The logic is that battery technology is still new, and the EV market is changing quickly. So if you buy and hold, your EV might not be worth much in 7-10 yrs due to old battery tech.