Thinking of Buying an Electric Vehicle? Here's What You Need to Know About Charging

[Brett]

New full electrics are kind of expensive as second cars, but Prius hybrids are good, economical, and dependable buys, and used Nissan Leaf EVs can be found with low miles for under $10,000.
I'm hoping some builder will come out with a small/midsize electric pickup. I'd like that to be my next ride. One would think they'd notice that pickups are big sellers and most are never used as 'heavy haulers' or need to go long distances.

Jim

"They" have noticed!
unfortunately there are large tariffs on small pickups

https://www.aei.org/publication/the...-big-3-from-foreign-competition-for-50-years/

 

[Brett]

Bring a sandwich and some entertainment. Charging takes a long time and the free charging spots are frequently taken.

that, the price and the range of electric vehicles keeps me on hooked on gasoline
But if the price of gas goes above $5 gal then I'll consider electric

 

[Chrisky]

I find all the above comments very interesting.
We have had our Prius Prime, (which is a PHEV) for 9 months now. When first starting to drive it the vehicle is always in electric mode. When that part of the battery runs down the vehicle kicks into hybrid mode, which then uses gas and battery. We don’t have an EV charger in our condo garage as yet (working on it), but there is a gasoline station about a 5 min. walk away where we can charge the vehicle. For a full charge it takes about 1 ¼ hours. No cost to us. Our city has many EV chargers, and there are numerous malls that have chargers, so we use them.
The good thing with our vehicle, is when we are on the highway, we can charge the battery while driving, so that when we arrive at our destination we can then use electric only.
The vehicle calculates our L/100 km, so using electric and some gas occasionally we get 2.3 L/100 km, which is about 118 miles per gallon. We are happy with that.

 

[Chrispee]

Well, new plot twist on me electric car saga. Tesla creatively got slid dye Model 3 in at the eleventh hour for eligibility for the Canadian federal EV rebate. So, it looks like the Leaf is out and I’ll be rolling the dice beta testing a Tesla. Wish me luck, I may need it.

 

[Passepartout]

Well, new plot twist on me electric car saga. Tesla creatively got slid dye Model 3 in at the eleventh hour for eligibility for the Canadian federal EV rebate. So, it looks like the Leaf is out and I’ll be rolling the dice beta testing a Tesla. Wish me luck, I may need it.

Forgive me, and maybe it's just too early for me, but the above just isn't clear. Is there some code I'm missing? I have looked back through the thread, but it's like coming in on the middle of a conversation.

but WTF, I wish you luck as requested.

 

[Chrispee]

I resurrected this thread from 2018 to see how other TUG members were doing with their electric cars since I was in the market.

 

[DrQ]

I just took the plunge and bought a new BEV. It has enough range to get around short trips. I can top it off at work.

Stop and go driving does not bother me now as the regenerative braking recaptures most of the energy. My whole style of driving has changed to avoid using the brake but not minding stops.

I bought a Bolt EV. What is truly amazing is the science behind the car:

60 KWh = 1.8 gallons of gasoline in energy. Using the EPA estimates, the Bolt can get 238 miles on that amount of energy! Could you imagine a gasoline car with a 2 gallon tank?

Yes, at highway speeds (75+ mph) the aerodynamic drag goes up with the velocity squared, so going 55 or 60 adds about 15%-20% to your efficiency.

 

[DrQ]

Well, new plot twist on me electric car saga. Tesla creatively got slid dye Model 3 in at the eleventh hour for eligibility for the Canadian federal EV rebate. So, it looks like the Leaf is out and I’ll be rolling the dice beta testing a Tesla. Wish me luck, I may need it.

If you want to travel, the Tesla is the better choice because of the charging network. That was not my consideration.

For me, I had great reservations ponying up that amount of cheese on a company:

• With questionable financial footing (SpaceX may be bailed out, but Tesla could become the next DeLorean)
• No dealership network (All service work is owned by Tesla or contracted out)

GM makes cars. Elon is making cars, rockets, solar panels, hyper-loops ... [SQUIRREL!!!!!] Don't get me wrong, Elon has advanced the BEV to where it is today with his vision, but I think that Tesla will need to be totally restructured to survive.

 

[bogey21]

I don't own and have no interest in owning an electric car but believe the day will come when they will dominate the market. My guess is when that happens there will be charging stations galore and one will have to swipe their credit (or debit) card to use them...

George

 

[DrQ]

Ok ... after 400 miles of electric driving I have become an EV-angilist!

I love my new Bolt EV.

 

[DrQ]

My guess is when that happens there will be charging stations galore and one will have to swipe their credit (or debit) card to use them...

George

George,

That already exists in metropolitan areas. In TX, there are 3 main players:

• EVgo
• ChargePoint
• ElectrifyAmerica

Also in a pinch, you can also find 50 amp 240 vac available in RV parks.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

We just took the plunge and leased a VW eGolf for my DH to commute. Wow...I have gone from skeptic to becoming a solar evangelist.

We will realize $2,400 savings a year ($200/month) on gas alone because we have free charging. My DH has free charging at work and we also installed solar on our home 3 years ago so charging is free.

VW has a killer deal on this car right now in Northern California and parts of Southern California (YMMV) which nets to about $15,000 including sales tax. When is the last time you have seen a new car for $15k?

https://slickdeals.net/f/13163326-2...-125-mile-epa-range-final-price-10-000-13-500

VW is offering up to $10,500 off the MSRP and with California incentives of $10,800 rebates plus free gas this car will cost very little. (We decided to lease for 36 months because the range is limited and we want the latest EV technology in 3 years. The marketfactor for the lease was 0%). IMO the reason VW is selling eGolfs so cheaply is partly because of diesel-gate and partly because they are launching a new line of longer range EVs in 2020.

The best part? We get the sticker to use the carpool lanes and bypass traffic.

Still keeping the gas guzzlers for hauling and long distance trips. I don't think we will ever go back to gas for town cars.

 

[DrQ]

Wow...I have gone from skeptic to becoming a solar evangelist.
...
Still keeping the gas guzzlers for hauling and long distance trips. I don't think we will ever go back to gas for town cars.

Hallelujah! Praise the electron!

 

[MULTIZ321]

Tesla unveils new map of upcoming Supercharger stations, adds stations and updates timelines - Electrek.

Tesla unveils new map of upcoming Supercharger stations, adds stations, and updates timelines

Tesla has released a new map of its upcoming Supercharger stations, adding many new planned stations to the network, removing...

electrek.co

Richard

 

[Talent312]

I'm waiting on a quote from an electrician about installing a 240 volt charging port in my garage.
Unfortunately, it means upgrading my 40-year old service panel... but that'll have other benefits.
.