Electric car thread

[El Chupacabra]

Really considering the Rav4 Prime.

I think we wouldn't use the ice much - but it is nice to have when you live in a place that measures the distances between towns in hours.

Anyone spent much time living with one?

I would've bought one last year if they'd been available. Bought a hybrid RAV4 instead, it's Mrs C's vehicle.

FWIW there's a Lexus NX version of the prime too.

[Mazderati]

RAV4 Prime is hard to beat for what it does. The problem is the availability Chup mentions which has pushed prices up. Some commenter on some other platform I've already forgotten posted the NX450h+, which is the Lexus version of the RAV4 Prime Chup also mentions, is not expected to suffer from the same supply issue because of the higher price point. Seems like soft reasoning in this market but it is like a $15k difference.

[365wp]

I let my ID.4 reservation lapse. The F150 is tempting, although easy to go over $65k on the build which gives me pause. An electric Ford Maverick would be pretty great for what I need. The VW ID.Buzz will be announced March 9. That could be a winner.

[El Chupacabra]

RAV4 Prime is hard to beat for what it does. The problem is the availability Chup mentions which has pushed prices up. Some commenter on some other platform I've already forgotten posted the NX450h+, which is the Lexus version of the RAV4 Prime Chup also mentions, is not expected to suffer from the same supply issue because of the higher price point. Seems like soft reasoning in this market but it is like a $15k difference.

If you could get the Lexus at sticker, it may not be much higher OTD vs the RAV4 Prime. I lost interest in the prime when they were being priced at $10K over MSRP.

[riser4]

If you could get the Lexus at sticker, it may not be much higher OTD vs the RAV4 Prime. I lost interest in the prime when they were being priced at $10K over MSRP.

Wasn't there a post recently about a prime in Oakland for double MSRP?

[muted reborn]

That double MSRP was so the dealer could use it for a show car to get Prime orders and never have to sell it - a friend told me that though, I have no proof that's true.

[Dantheman]

Maybe a marketing fail, but it doesn’t make since from an engineering perspective for EVs to have the classic car or truck shape. You don’t need to put an ICE between the windshield and the bumper…. You can get better aerodynamics and use of material by thinking outside the hood…


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Doesn't excuse those rims, though.

[Garbowski]

I also would buy a RAV4 Prime if available, seems to be the best of the non-luxury SUV PHEV. Also looking at the Hyundai Santa Fe, but again not available in WA. A friend has the Mitsubishi Outlander and likes it. I feel like I'm stuck in the middle waiting for the fast charge network to roll out enough to alleviate my range anxiety and the availability of a SUV that won't have a huge target on it for tweakers at the trailheads.

[Tamburello Rouge]

Maybe a marketing fail, but it doesn’t make since from an engineering perspective for EVs to have the classic car or truck shape. You don’t need to put an ICE between the windshield and the bumper…. You can get better aerodynamics and use of material by thinking outside the hood…


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Up to a point. Modern safety regulations still require good forward visibility and a front impact crumple zone. There will always need to be some kind of a front end between the bumper and the passengers.

[ghosthop]

I would've bought one last year if they'd been available. Bought a hybrid RAV4 instead, it's Mrs C's vehicle.

FWIW there's a Lexus NX version of the prime too.

We are in the thick of this right now. Looking at the 2018 model year, the Lexus is almost the same price used. The verbage of the CPO warranty is different between the two but works out to about the same total mileage/timeframe as well. The difference in fuel mileage between last and current gen doesn't make up for the difference in price until ~90kmi of ownership. I assume the EV technology will have made strides by then.

[Beaver]

I put a deposit on an Hyundai Ioniq 5 last week about 10 minutes before they closed Canadian preorders. I drove a Hyundai Kona in the fall and almost bought it, if i had a job that i needed a car to commute i would have but 6km didnt justify a car to replace my bike. Well I got a new job and will be comuting about 60km so on Tuesday I bought a new e bike, gave notice at the e bike shop and ordered a car. Lots of nice things about this car but one that i really like is that i can stuff a bike in the back (the salesman let me do it in the showroom )

https://www.carscoops.com/2022/01/th...-to-head-test/

[Dromond]

I wonder what the real world winter range of the longer range AWD Ioniq 5 is with the heat pump. I’m always assuming that you need a lot of extra range to make up for winter usage, but I’m not sure how much the heat pump helps.

[Beaver]

Hyundai claims 350ish km on standard range but the display on the one in the showroom showed 460 available. A friend with a Hyundai Kona says he constantly gets more than advertised. I went with the long range so i could get back and forth between lake house and residence any time of year (300km) and still have extra to bomb up to Red Mountain.

[plugboots]

I wonder what the real world winter range of the longer range AWD Ioniq 5 is with the heat pump.

I wonder too. Need some out there so people can post on a forum. Tesla can be as bad as 1/2 range in flat Chicago in winter.

[muted reborn]

I wonder too. Need some out there so people can post on a forum. Tesla can be as bad as 1/2 range in flat Chicago in winter.

Mine takes maybe 20-30% hit in very hilly Utah during winter. Whether I'm in Chicago or Utah these anecdotes don't really tell you much - like what model, year, temperature, etc? How long does someone in Chicago need to drive daily? Does it matter if you have a second car that takes gas?

If you have one car, just means you need to stop and charge more - or maybe not. 3 years in and I've never charged my car outside my garage in the winter. Had to charge it twice on a summer road trip - and that's it. One trip. So for many people, reduced range doesn't matter. Might matter to you, sure. Just trying to frame it for people because I had this winter concern before buying and now I realize it doesn't actually matter for me, and probably doesn't for others too.

[plugboots]

^^^ I get all that, but it’s 224 miles over 2 passes for me , at least 10 times/winter, often more. Only 1 charger about 1/2 way. I know, I know, but I’d actually use the 500+ mile range. Also, I never stop for gas on my 3-4 hour drive now.

[John_B]

^^^ I get all that, but it’s 224 miles over 2 passes for me , at least 10 times/winter, often more. Only 1 charger about 1/2 way. I know, I know, but I’d actually use the 500+ mile range. Also, I never stop for gas on my 3-4 hour drive now.

I how much the thermal mass of the battery would make a difference? It seems like starting off from your home with the battery already at it's prime operating temp and making a no stops trip would be a good bit different than a trip with multiple stops and more time for the battery to cool.

I'm a long way away from being able to afford a new vehicle let alone an electric one but it is fascinating watching the progress/evolution.

[muted reborn]

^^^ I get all that, but it’s 224 miles over 2 passes for me , at least 10 times/winter, often more. Only 1 charger about 1/2 way. I know, I know, but I’d actually use the 500+ mile range. Also, I never stop for gas on my 3-4 hour drive now.

224 miles round trip? If you had a Model 3 extended range you'd probably have to stop for 10 minutes on your way home - they charge pretty quick when drained but really slow if you are just topping off. And maybe those two passes would generate enough extra miles to not have to stop - wishful thinking though. Anything with 400+ miles range would be perfect for you.

Electric cars are about compromise - the benefits for me outweigh the trade offs IMO.

Edit: are you going to ski area that may install chargers in the future? Or does the location have 120v outlet you can plug in to?

[plugboots]

No, one way. For example it’s ~190 one way from Berkeley to Alpine Meadows. Anybody do that w/o stopping in winter? I have 2 friends try and couldn’t.

[Dromond]

I put in a lot of my miles driving to ski areas/passes in WA for the day, and I’m not going to shell out for a newer EV for that use until I’m confident I can make that round trip drive without charging 99% of the time, even on a very cold day, even if the car sits for a day or more in the cold. 190 miles RT is basically the minimum for me. That’s in winter, highway/mountain driving, with a full size loaded roof box, winter tires and three passengers. It still looks like cars with a listed range of 250 or less will not be able to do that. Basically I want an electric Legacy wagon, Impreza or something like that, with a little better power for highway driving, better handling, but nothing crazy. Paying top dollar is not appealing for a car that will get abused by winter highways.

[muted reborn]

As I start another smoggy inversion week here in SLC (last week my kids couldn't play outside at school due to pollution for 2-3 days) I think it would be awesome if people would make sacrifices and buy EV cars and not wait until they are perfect with zero inconvenience for them.

Plug, also keep in mind if you get a a car with 500 range you probably will only start with 475 or less because currently (ha ha) you shouldn't top off your EV to full range. Bad for the batteries, but doing it 10x a year might not be a big deal. I don't think there is any way with a 500 mile car you wouldn't have to stop, and you can also damage batteries if you come close to 'empty' so that's a other reason to stop on a long trip.

[schuss]

Up to a point. Modern safety regulations still require good forward visibility and a front impact crumple zone. There will always need to be some kind of a front end between the bumper and the passengers.

It's also european pedestrian safety regulations, which mandate high hoods on sedans etc.

[Long duc dong]

In the last week I've finally seen a few Rivians around here. They look a bit smaller than I though, which is fine with me as long as skis can fit in the bed. I parallel park pretty regularly to surf in Newport Beach and I might have a coronary doing that with a big pickup truck.

My most recent Mammoth trip confirmed the wisdom of using the logarithm graph shape to charge efficiently.

I started in Newport with an 80% charge. It was a four day trip and I was leaving on Friday morning so I used the desert route, 55-15-395 as opposed to driving up through LA. I left at 530 am, which is later than usual, so that necessitated the use of the desert route to save time.

My first charge was in Inyokern. For you guys that drive to Mammoth the Inyokern chargers are now all fast, 250kw. They have put in some new ones, right near where the old ones are, which is certainly a positive. I arrived with a 5% charge, charged for 11 minutes,and left with a 49% charge. These new chargers do seem to be better.

I next arrived in Lone Pine with a 12% charge. I charged for 8 minutes and left with a 43% charge. Lone Pine has 250kw chargers, which is the same as last year.

Next was Bishop. I arrived in Bishop with a 14% charge, I charged for 10 minutes in Bishop and left with a 52% charge.

I arrived in Mammoth was a 25% charge. I probably could have charged a bit less in Bishop.

The car is a long range AWD model 3.

Unless your driving situation makes a different charging scheme make sense, i.e. there is a place you want to stop to eat or shop, it really does make sense the start with a high charge and wind it down to at least around 10%, then charge to maybe 40-50%. Above the 40-50 threshold the charging rate decreases pretty significantly. If chargers are located close to the travel route, and the chargers are not all that crowded, it makes sense to make more stops, you probably save some time.

On the way home I started in Mammoth with a 48% charge.

I arrived in Lone Pine with 12% and charged for 15 minutes, finishing with a 60% charge. I called Pizza Factory and ordered a sub to eat while waiting. Pizza factory would be a bit of a walk, it makes sense to call and pick it up on the way. It would be nice if the Lone Pine chargers were a bit closer to the restaurants. There is a McDonald's close by, but nothing I would really want to eat. Another issue with the Lone Pine chargers is that there is no restroom. It would be really nice of this was all closer. I guess you could use the one at McDonald's.

My next charge was in Mojave. I arrived with 12% and charged for 19 minutes, finishing with a 72% charge. Mojave has a Stater Bros. right there, so you can pick up stuff to munch on while you charge. The Mojave chargers were pretty full, and it didn't charge as fast. In my experience, and the Mojave chargers tend to be busier than the ones further up the Owens Valley.

The nice thing is that because going from Mammoth to Newport is generally downhill, you really use less charge than going to Mammoth. This was the same in an ICE vehicle, I always used less gas on the way home.

Driving home from Mammoth I'm typically less worried about a short trip. On the way I'm usually driving up in the morning, so I want to get there as quickly as possible to get as much skiing as I can. On the way home it is less of a big deal.

Driving an electric car is certainly about compromise, but if you plan properly you can make it work. And I do love the acceleration.

I really don't know what my next car will be. I'd like to see how all the new options shake out. I could see a Rivian, or maybe a Cybertruck, but if Tesla were to realase a model 3 with a range over 400 miles.....That would be very hard for me to turn down. What I really like about driving a smaller car is that you can add range more quickly than you can with a large vehicle that needs a big battery pack.

I still have not put a charger in my garage. We typically don't pay an electric bill, so it would be nice to use the extra solar energy we generate to charge. As I've said before though, it has yet to be enough of a nuisance to motivate me.

[bodywhomper]

Posting here because I didn’t see a more appropriate thread. Getting informed to weigh options related to replacing my 2006 awd matrix.

What are the lesser expensive E or hybrid’s that are awd and now on the used market? I’m only aware of Toyota’s: awd Prius, a few(?) rav4 options, Highlander, and sienna. What else?

2006 awd matrix needs an auto transmission rebuild (I don’t have a $$ estimate or $$ range, yet). 130k miles. No other major problems ID’ed on it. Had it for almost 4 years. Gets 20-23mpg. Serves as our around the town car when not hauling the whole family, commuter, powder chaser when it’s just me or me and 1-2 others. High utility. With a seat down, skis easily go into the back end, even my 192’s. The car if we keep it will likely become the daily school day driver for teen.

[adrenalated]

Pretty much every manufacturer has built a hybrid version of their AWD crossovers/SUVs at some point in the last 10 years. Not too many used AWD EVs just yet - mostly Teslas.