EV Evalauation
 

Ok, I had a chance to get a new company lease car and I selected an EV. Tomorrow I should be picking up a VW ID4 AWD Pro S. Only 2 months before retirement so it seemed like a good way to try out an EV. A lot of consternation here so I’ll let you know how it goes.

Already charging is the issue. It sounds good on paper as VW offers unlimited 30 minute charging sessions with Electrify America. Problem is there are currently two. One 40 minutes North the other 40 minutes South. A new one is under construction about 15 minutes away. The other concern is charging speed. The car comes with a 110 V charging cord which gets you about 2 miles per hour of charging at Level 1. Locally there are public charging stations but they are level 2 which gets you 25 or 30 miles per hour if charging. Tesla Superchargers that can charge non teslas are just rolling out. So I used a few Amazon gift cards and bought a home Level 2 charger. But for Fort Myers, charging publicly is a poor alternative to home charging over night.

Excited to try it for a few months, as retirement is close I’ll have to give it up.

As I’ve stated, I’m pro EV but anti government subsidy. I expect this to be interesting but I already feel the range anxiety. Home charging should fix that but concerned with being away from home with fewer alternatives.

I know it won’t replace the sound and rumble of the V8 (or turbo 4s I’m currently driving) but I suspect for getting around in a non performance car it should be at least interesting if not fun.

Keep you posted.

I haven't driven one, but I have driven quite a few EV's and for a daily driver they're hard to beat, especially if you drive in a lot of heavy traffic. If I was in the market for an EV it would definitely be a slightly used Model 3 Performance. They're incredibly fast for the price.

Yeah, it genuinely seems that, today, the Model 3 is _the_ mundane EV to get if you're just commuting in it. The fact that a lot of the car makers have adopted the Tesla charger means that a lot of the non-Tesla cars have lost a ton of their appeal because they're shipping with a legacy charging tech (as new cars!).

VW will change to Tesla's standard in 2025.
https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/19/vo...ging-standard/

If only someone would have warned you... :smiling1:

All BS aside have fun with your experiment and congrats on the retirement.

I would totally rock an EV if they came with a 3 speed on the column.

my brother bought a Kia awd EV 18 months ago and he is still liking it. He drives 60 miles round trip to work everyday so it has saved him a bunch on fuel.

But he is that guy who buys a new car every 10 years and drives it 300k or so until it pretty much dies. I do not think he will get that kind of miles/years out of this one.

At the same time I tried to talk my wife into getting one at the same time as we also have a long drive for work but she is anti EV and really liked the Infiniti TT we got. And it was 10k less than the Kia EV.

As someone who has an EV and works in the industry... they really are the BEST daily if you can charge at home. Getting a home charger and being able to fill up over night is not only incredible cost efficient, but makes the ownership experience incredible.

For most people who are new to EV's i do not recommend the switch unless you can charge at home or at the office. Public charging is getting better, but sometimes can be very inconvenient.

FWIW - I work with a few Tesla Model 3 owners and they have all told me that they rarely charge anywhere other than their homes...

I would love an EV if I had solar panels at home and needed a car to just drive around town. Unfortunately EV's are useless to me.

Everything I need a car for EV's do terribly. First one is towing, and second one is as a track car (not drag strip).

Very true. I would not recommend an electric car to someone without home or work charging. If you don't have home or work charging, get ICE or hybrid.


My wife and I have had a Model 3 Dual Motor since late 2021. It has been more convenient than an ICE or hybrid car because we don't have to fill it up, and home charging has been far cheaper than gas. We have found the Tesla charging network here in SoCal to be excellent, but since late 2022 we have only charged at home.


The Tesla isn't as fun to drive as my Camaro, but that wasn't its purpose, and the Tesla nevertheless is *fun* to drive.

So far the electric trucks have poor towing performance, and the charging infrastructure is mostly unfriendly to vehicles towing a trailer. If the towing is local, no problem, but most towing is longer distance.


Likewise, there hasn't been a good electric track car yet. The existing ones are too heavy, or overheat after a couple laps. That said, Teslas do very well at autocross - I autocross frequently and it is common for a prepared Tesla Model 3 to have top time of the day.


In the medium term, some manufacturer could release an electric sports car with a modest battery pack (so that the car isn't overweight) which can complete a modest track session - perhaps 5-10 laps - and have rapid charging, so that it can be easily recharged between sessions. But that vehicle hasn't arrived yet. I don't know if there's much of a market for that yet, given the plethora of existing ICE cars that are well-suited to track duty.

Why when you are about to retire, would you purposely cause this much angst in your life!! Get a new ZL1 and cruise chicks!!

Lol

Expected more public charging options. East side of Florida has a ton of Electrify America choices. South West has 2. EA is heavily invested in by VW.

Home Level 2 arrives tomorrow which should make almost a non issue.

Ha! First a $70,000 car AND golf memberships aren’t in the cards as I will very soon be paying for health care and second no need to cruis chicks as I have that pretty well covered 😃 but thanks