Who would drive an Electric Vehicle

[BleedBlueGold]

Thanks. I'll take a look at it. Gotta be honest, after what I just went through with my Jetta, I'm not the biggest VW fan right now. That said, it seems the ID.4 is far more available than the other three vehicles I'm considering.

My wife has a new Kia Telluride and we love it, so I'm kind of partial to Kia at the moment. But I have a feeling they're going to price me out of the plug-in hybrid with all of their B.S. "market adjustments" etc.

 

[Bluto]

Bumping this thread to ask if anyone (now 9 years later) owns an EV or PHEV (plug-in hybrid)?

TLDR: The engine on my Jetta TDi blew recently and forced me to turn my BMW X5 into a daily driver. I hate racking up the miles on it --> Gas and maintenance aren't cheap and I didn't buy it with intentions of driving 150+ miles per day. So I'm looking into hybrids, EV, and PHEV and would love insight from those who own them.

I can't afford a Tesla. I'd prefer to not wait until next year (which eliminates some models that are projected to release in 2022). I also prefer a small-to-mid sized SUV because I like the higher ride.

My list so far: Kia Sorrento Hybrid (regular hybrid and PHEV version), Rav4 (hybrid and Prime). The Nissan Ariya is intriguing but I'd have to wait until next year...

Random question: Can I charge my car at any charging station? Is it free? If not, how do they bill you? I've never used one...

My wife has a Kia Niro. Has a range of more than 250 miles. There’s apps that tell you where to go to charge. They bill by the minute I believe. It costs like $10 for a full charge. Get a type 2 charger installed at your house. It dramatically increases charging time. They range from 15 amp to 40 amp and are very straightforward if your existing electrical panel has the capacity.

 

[NDTH91]

I can’t speak to the plug-in part, but I’ve owned a 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid for 2 years now (bought it used for ~$20k) and I love it. I consistently get 45+ mpg and the sport mode on it has more than enough pop to merge onto highways, make passes, etc without huge pedal lag (like my wife’s Cruze has). Not to mention it has over 600 miles of range! I can make my Charlotte to Indianapolis drives on a single tank, which is pretty awesome.

Pretty funny reading back 9 years ago. Electric vehicles are the future (or present?) and the flying cars that someone joked about aren’t far off (Google “Joby”). Good luck with the car search!

 

[BleedBlueGold]

Thanks!

Yes, it's definitely fun to read back. I thought there were more EV threads on this site, but this one popped up first in my search. Hard to believe it's almost ten years old.

Good tips with the Niro. I googled it and came across the Electrify America app that Kia uses. Seems straightforward. I plan on installing the charger at home so between my garage and the one station in Lafayette, I can knock out about 50% of my commute via electric power. I can't wait. I hope it all works out.

I'm glad to see the options of EV growing. Some of them I genuinely hate the appearance. Some are way too expensive. It'll be great when the market adjusts and these become more the norm equating to more choices, better prices, better service/infrastructure, etc.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

Update: Long story short, I still haven't found the right Hybrid at the right price or a PHEV I can order and receive in any respectable amount of time. I'm going to test drive a Tesla tomorrow. Their trade in offer on my BMW X5 is more than any other dealership and apparently I could get a Model 3 Long Range by Christmas. Not crazy about going back to a smaller car, but I drove the Jetta for 12 years before she blew, so I'd manage. I'm going to test drive a Model Y as well. But I'm hearing I can't get a long range until April/May. However, I might be able to get a Performance within the month, month-and-a-half so it's tempting to pay the extra $5k. I'm spending over $500/mo in gas now so that extra cost will get wiped out pretty quick in savings. It's triggering some range anxiety though. Anyone drive long distances and have issues w/ range (esp in the winter). My daily commute would be fine, but I drive to Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan a lot. About 275 miles round trip. I'm reading Tesla advertises a 100% - 0% range but that's obviously not good on the battery and not practical for real world driving. The 80% - 20% range is about 190 miles and would theoretically dip to about 150 miles in the cold winter months. Which means this wouldn't be practical for those trips just yet (I don't have a nearby charger up there and would have to go out of my way to change in South Bend and wait a decent amount of time to charge enough to get home...correct?).

Any Tesla owners out there that could provide some insight? I'm seriously considering ordering one of the "cheaper" models tomorrow.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

My cousin gave me his employee discount for Hyundai/Genesis, but no dealership is willing to sell me a car at cost right now. I don't blame them. So as good as the price would be on a Santa Fe Hybrid, it's moot if no one is willing to sell me one. Waiting until next year is 1) causing trade-in amount on the BMW to drop considerably by the day and 2) costing me a ton in gas while I wait.

The PHEV Sorento has an approximate take-delivery date of "up to 6 months" and the price isn't much different than a Model 3 Long Range (excluding the full self driving upgrade). Figured what the hell, might as well check out the Tesla 3 and Y...

 

[Rockin’Irish]

I took delivery of a Tesla Model S Long Range about 5 weeks ago and I can give you a bit of insight on what I’ve learned so far. First of all, Tesla recommends charging to 90% and keeping it plugged in until you need to drive. I installed a 240V circuit in my garage so it’s pretty easy to get a 90% charge overnight (about 30 miles an hour) and you can set up the charging to be done during non-peak hours which reduces charging costs. Second, during cold weather, you can schedule the car to precondition the battery (i.e. warm it up) which improves the range. The range I’ve gotten is about 320 miles on a 90% charge but keep in mind that this is relative to what type of driving you do……high speed highway driving is less efficient than driving where there are some stops, starts, etc. One of many cool features with the car is that when you put a destination into the excellent navigation system, it will route you to go by the needed charging station options in order to complete the trip. Obviously, a Tesla supercharger is preferred because of the quick charge ability and they are always near a coffee shop, restaurant, etc. so it’s pretty easy to take a 15 minute break while the charging completes without blowing up your schedule. Hope that insight helps a bit but feel free to ask any more specific questions.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I took delivery of a Tesla Model S Long Range about 5 weeks ago and I can give you a bit of insight on what I’ve learned so far. First of all, Tesla recommends charging to 90% and keeping it plugged in until you need to drive. I installed a 240V circuit in my garage so it’s pretty easy to get a 90% charge overnight (about 30 miles an hour) and you can set up the charging to be done during non-peak hours which reduces charging costs. Second, during cold weather, you can schedule the car to precondition the battery (i.e. warm it up) which improves the range. The range I’ve gotten is about 320 miles on a 90% charge but keep in mind that this is relative to what type of driving you do……high speed highway driving is less efficient than driving where there are some stops, starts, etc. One of many cool features with the car is that when you put a destination into the excellent navigation system, it will route you to go by the needed charging station options in order to complete the trip. Obviously, a Tesla supercharger is preferred because of the quick charge ability and they are always near a coffee shop, restaurant, etc. so it’s pretty easy to take a 15 minute break while the charging completes without blowing up your schedule. Hope that insight helps a bit but feel free to ask any more specific questions.

Thanks for the insight. I wish I could afford the new Model S Long Range. I realize Tesla's advertised range has been a point of controversy, but even at 90%, your range seems to be pretty decent. Curious, when you're calculating your range, how low are you draining the battery? I've read Tesla recommends to not drop below 20% in order to stay in that sweet spot. Am I correct that for practical purposes, the "real world" range is about is about 285 miles on the Model S (if keeping the battery between 20% and 90% charged)? Less for cold weather, obviously.

Did you upgrade to FSD? I've heard 50/50 talk about it. Some say it's great. Others say it's not worth the price tag.

Which wall connector did you purchase? I thought about just getting the Tesla one, but I'm sure there are cheaper options that will get the job done.

 

[Rockin’Irish]

I haven’t let the battery get below 20% and usually not below 25% (keep in mind you can convert the battery life symbol to miles rather than percent which is easier to follow) so I’ve never pushed it to the limit but I could interpolate based on the distances I’ve traveled (back and forth to ATL). I would say the “real world” range of 285 miles is pretty accurate, more when you drive in stop/go, non-highway travel. I didn’t upgrade to FSD because I didn’t think I would use it…..the Autopilot/Autosteer is enough for my purposes……$10K is a lot for FSD in my opinion. The 240V requires a 14-50R wall connector so I just bought that from Tesla at the time of delivery……it was under $50 so an aftermarket version isn’t really that much less plus I knew for sure it would work properly. The charger with the car also comes with an adaptor for non-Tesla charging stations

 

[Wild Bill]

I took delivery of a Tesla Model S Long Range about 5 weeks ago and I can give you a bit of insight on what I’ve learned so far. First of all, Tesla recommends charging to 90% and keeping it plugged in until you need to drive. I installed a 240V circuit in my garage so it’s pretty easy to get a 90% charge overnight (about 30 miles an hour) and you can set up the charging to be done during non-peak hours which reduces charging costs. Second, during cold weather, you can schedule the car to precondition the battery (i.e. warm it up) which improves the range. The range I’ve gotten is about 320 miles on a 90% charge but keep in mind that this is relative to what type of driving you do……high speed highway driving is less efficient than driving where there are some stops, starts, etc. One of many cool features with the car is that when you put a destination into the excellent navigation system, it will route you to go by the needed charging station options in order to complete the trip. Obviously, a Tesla supercharger is preferred because of the quick charge ability and they are always near a coffee shop, restaurant, etc. so it’s pretty easy to take a 15 minute break while the charging completes without blowing up your schedule. Hope that insight helps a bit but feel free to ask any more specific questions.

Roughly how much has your electric bill increased?

 

[Rockin’Irish]

About $15 per month……but it’s only been about 5 weeks so I would say the jury is still out. I make sure to only charge after peak hours (after 7PM here), the rates are much less. The charger pulls about 30 amps.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

Thanks Rockin'. I'll check back in on Monday. Highly likely I pull the trigger tomorrow and order a Model 3 LR or Model Y Performance (because those have the quickest delivery times).

 

[Rockin’Irish]

Thanks Rockin'. I'll check back in on Monday. Highly likely I pull the trigger tomorrow and order a Model 3 LR or Model Y Performance (because those have the quickest delivery times).

Good luck and I can say I’ve really enjoyed my car so far…….I’ll look forward to hearing how you like yours

 

[drayer54]

How do you do long drives in one of these?

 

[PerthDomer]

Seems like we're 5 or 10 years from these really taking over the market the way battery tech is going. Hoping my next car will be a cheaper EV with better range/charging than the current variety.

 

[Rockin’Irish]

How do you do long drives in one of these?

It’s not really difficult but there is planning involved so that you take into account charging. The NAV system will plan it all out for you and will set up when and where charging needs to be done. It does make traveling take a little longer since you need around 15 minutes to get an 80% charge at Superchargers. Many hotels, etc. have charging so for overnight stays, you generally want to stay where chargers are provided. Admittedly, I don’t do a lot of long driving trips (i.e. over 500 miles) so the range of 320 miles +/- is plenty for me.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I ordered the Model Y Performance on Saturday. The Long Range models aren't available until next spring/summer. The performance Y still gets a little over 300 miles on a charge. I'm excited. Most of my driving is 125 miles per day or less so this will be perfect. In the summer, we drive to Michigan a lot, which is about 170 miles one way. I'll be getting a charger installed up there at some point and it'll work out perfectly to get there and back w/o any issues.

 

[irishnd31]

Really??? Am I going to have to be the one to point out Post#1, brick's hair. May I remind you all that this is brick, The Creator and Founder of the PIIHB Hall of Fame? My dude is slayin.