Okay…
Cycling is cheaper and better for environment.
Used ICE vehicles are probably cheaper and more reliable.
But:
I hate cars. I don’t want to spend that much.
But I also hate making tons of CO2, fixing shit (or paying others), fiddling around with regular rentals, and waiting for greyhound busses.
This has Tesla range with Leaf prices!
Why notl?
My principle objections:
The thing will break fast. It won’t get the stated range. I will need to pay big legal bills to get them to honor the 10 year, 100,000 warranty.
I should lease for a couple years to see if EV prices and range improve further.
I should stop whining and not chase shiny things… I should just greyhound, rent and Uber - when I don’t want to bike.
Background…
I am giving a son my 2015 Nissan Versa.
Also look into used Bolts or i3’s Also compare to the Kia EV3 which will hit the market soon.
High range EVs are a little pointless at the moment. They are heavier, cost more and the charing infrastructure and times still aren’t good enough for real road trips. If you only have one car, I don’t suggest an EV at the moment.
The car might have extensive maintenance requirements. Some EVs, I think Hyundai might be in that group, require coolant flushing on regular cycles.
You’re overthinking it for sure… I’m 1.5yrs into a Mustang Mach E, regular battery. Stated range is 261 miles on a full charge. It’s not smart to depend on the stated range. What is smart is installing a level 2 home charger and charging when you have approx 25-30% left and charge to 90% full. For me this gets me about 150-160mi, my trips are usually 3.7 - 4.4mi/kw
Charging at home is such a non event. If you don’t have access to charging at home, simple, don’t buy an EV.
Quite literally, there is no maintenance schedule for my car, can’t speak for the Kona EV, rotate the tires and that’s about it. The brakes almost never get used evidence by hardly any brake dust.
It’s amazing not paying about $400/mo in gas
Used Chevy Bolts are under 20K. What worries me is there are a TON of used 2023 Bolts for 18-19K, at the local dealership.1 year is not lease return. Why would so many people trade-in a car after one year?
Kona is about in the same BEV league as the Bolk AFAIK. Just make sure the battery pack has been recalled and fixed or replaced.
If you want a bargain, go used EV. From a private party, if you can.
Used Chevy Bolts are under 20K. What worries me is there are a TON of used 2023 Bolts for 18-19K, at the local dealership.1 year is not lease return. Why would so many people trade-in a car after one year?
Kona is about in the same BEV league as the Bolk AFAIK. Just make sure the battery pack has been recalled and fixed or replaced.
Wow, that means I could sell mine after over a year of ownership and get more than I paid for it new… Love how EV cars are worth less instantly… LOL
Greyhound?
A Greyhound?
I use my feet for less than 2 miles.
My bike for 2-150 miles.
Plane for trips of over 800 miles.
In the intermountain west, Greyhound or Flixbus - is the only option to car for intermediate distance trips.
I have been testing it out…
Positives:
Negatives:
EV owner here, but in Australia.
I love mine. I did not buy it for environmental reasons though!
One thing about the Kona (have you seen it in person?). They are a small vehicle. Would not suit me if I needed to transport bikes around and any decent sized adults, but depends on your needs.
The car might have extensive maintenance requirements. Some EVs, I think Hyundai might be in that group, require coolant flushing on regular cycles.
I think that’s only the first two model year Ioniq 5s (weirdly the Kia EV6 and later I5s both have 120k mile/10 year service intervals for the first low conductivity coolant change).
Also look into used Bolts or i3’s Also compare to the Kia EV3 which will hit the market soon.
High range EVs are a little pointless at the moment. They are heavier, cost more and the charing infrastructure and times still aren’t good enough for real road trips. If you only have one car, I don’t suggest an EV at the moment.
The car might have extensive maintenance requirements. Some EVs, I think Hyundai might be in that group, require coolant flushing on regular cycles.
Don’t extrapolate too far. High range EVs make a lot of sense for a lot of people. We’re going to be buying a Gravity, EX90 or Rivian this year. They make perfect sense for us and we don’t expect to ever charge it anywhere except our driveway.
Owned a Tesla Y now for about 2 months, including a trip from WI to NY and back. Charge at home via a dryer receptacle. So far great, and the advertised range of 310 seems about right. The driver assist with Tesla is awesome.
I just saw an ad on tv to lease the kona for $189 a month. maybe i was fooled that it was non EV version? at that rate it makes me regret my wife purchased an EV
Sure, there are always the exception. You can always find that 1% that regularly drives 200 miles a day. Then a BEV with high range makes a lot of sense due to the operational savings (unless you live in New England where electricity is more expensive than gas).
Sure, there are always the exception. You can always find that 1% that regularly drives 200 miles a day. Then a BEV with high range makes a lot of sense due to the operational savings (unless you live in New England where electricity is more expensive than gas).
That’s not us. We live in the middle of NYC and drive less than 8,000 a year. We want a car that can comfortably carry a family of 5, with occasional guests, and take us on weekend trips to the Hudson Valley, or a couple of times a year on a 320 mile round trip to rural PA. We have solar and generate a lot more electricity than we use.
I just saw an ad on tv to lease the kona for $189 a month. maybe i was fooled that it was non EV version? at that rate it makes me regret my wife purchased an EV
“You will own nothing and be happy.”
Was a very influential idea from a decade ago.
I do want to own appreciating assets- stocks, bonds, real estate.
I do NOT want to own a bunch of depreciating assets- GARBAGE!!!
I am drawn to this lease idea.
But I am afraid of:
It seems Tesla is the outlier for higher insurance. But as for maintenance costs, over time the EV is cheaper since less moving parts and fluids to change. The tires do wear out faster thanks to the weight of the vehicles, and potentially owner accelerating too fast thanks to I stand torque
Sure, there are always the exception. You can always find that 1% that regularly drives 200 miles a day. Then a BEV with high range makes a lot of sense due to the operational savings (unless you live in New England where electricity is more expensive than gas).
That’s not us. We live in the middle of NYC and drive less than 8,000 a year. We want a car that can comfortably carry a family of 5, with occasional guests, and take us on weekend trips to the Hudson Valley, or a couple of times a year on a 320 mile round trip to rural PA. We have solar and generate a lot more electricity than we use.
So my argument is that you can’t buy the car in the US that would work best for your use case. If you want a larger car you are forced to buy a massive battery that you don’t really need. That increases the cost of the car by $10-20k. The best for you would be a larger car that has 150 miles of range so you aren’t carrying around a massive expensive heavy battery you don’t need.
Sure, there are always the exception. You can always find that 1% that regularly drives 200 miles a day. Then a BEV with high range makes a lot of sense due to the operational savings (unless you live in New England where electricity is more expensive than gas).
That’s not us. We live in the middle of NYC and drive less than 8,000 a year. We want a car that can comfortably carry a family of 5, with occasional guests, and take us on weekend trips to the Hudson Valley, or a couple of times a year on a 320 mile round trip to rural PA. We have solar and generate a lot more electricity than we use.
So my argument is that you can’t buy the car in the US that would work best for your use case. If you want a larger car you are forced to buy a massive battery that you don’t really need. That increases the cost of the car by $10-20k. The best for you would be a larger car that has 150 miles of range so you aren’t carrying around a massive expensive heavy battery you don’t need.
I want a big car with a big battery and am $10-20k inelastic. I don’t want a car with 150 miles of range because then I have to charge midway round my weekend trips. Which would be fine where I am but I don’t want to do it.