Electric vehicle recommendations (2 Viewers)

[Payback]

Pulled the trigger this evening on a fully loaded BMW i4 M50 in Frozen Portimao Blue which matches this promotion car.

https://www.bmwblog.com/2021/08/22/536-hp-bmw-i4-m50-presented-in-frozen-portimao-blue/

 

[TheB00T]

What turned you off the ID4? I've had a couple jettas and loved them so I was considering ID4 or VW bus when the time comes.

This is the only VW I've owned so it's possible I just don't like them. Mechanically, the ID.4 is good. Drives great, range seemed on par with other EVs, and I didn't have any problems over 18 months and 10K miles. When I bought mine, I got three free years charging at Electrify America stations which worked perfect for me on the few occasions I had to charge away from home.

What I did not like was the operating system. I found it slow (e.g. after shifting into drive from reverse, the backup camera would stay on for 30 seconds often), and not user friendly. Some things seemed overthought and some seemed as if they were given zero thought. It was mostly little things. Nowhere on the display can you see what radio station (satellite or terrestrial) you are tuned to without go through menus. You also could not control the A/C fan speed without going through multiple menus, but you could change the radio volume three different ways with tactile buttons.

I would, and to some degree did, get used to the quirks if I kept driving it, but I wanted a bigger vehicle anyway.

 

[toothpic]

I bought a Tesla S in early 2019 and it has been a great car. If you have the ability to install a level 2 charger at home (all you really need is a NEMA 14-50 outlet) it'll be very convenient and you'll save money over time. Waking up every morning to an effectively full tank is very refreshing. Never charge the car to full capacity unless you have a battery pack that is designed for that. Basically charge it to what you would need daily plus some buffer.

If you live in a place where you need to utliize public charging I would not suggest going electric.

I didn't go electric to save the environment, I did it because the car is fun to drive with the instant torque and I enjoy the quietness and the technology of the car. I still wish it had apple play but having integrated spotify has been pretty great too. I only do about 7000-8000 miles a year and below are my charging stats based on my eletricity and how it compares to gas for the same mileage.

Early last year, the wife's 2016 Volvo XC90 started to act up and needed repair after repair after repair. We decided to dump the car and got a 2023 Model Y performance and have enjoyed that car greatly. The interior isn't as nice as the S and the S isn't as nice as other true luxury cars like Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, etc, but for the price and with the federal rebate it was a great bargain.

Soon, Tesla will be opening up their supercharging network to other brand who have contracts with them. I'm looking forward to future cars from other brands coming stock with the NACS plug and being able to use superchargers. The Tesla network was one of the biggest reasons why we got another one in 2023. Having to use EVGO, Electrify America or other less reliable chargers on road trips was a hard pass. For our next car we will certainly browse the market more and look at other cars such as Rivain (the R2 is being showcases on March 7), maybe a Mercedes EQS/E (I love how they are able to get full range or beyond and the interior is way superior to Tesla), Kia EV9, Lucid, BMW (I have friends who jumped off Tesla and got an IX and they love it) or or whatever seems to be the best built and featured EV at that time. I'm not big on minivans, but if they built one that would seat 7 and has about 500 HP in EV mode, I'd give it very strong consideration lol.

Even though the Tesla charging network is superior to the others, not all road trips are going to be easy. Back in 2019 I was able to do plenty of road trips to common areas like Houston and Dallas, but trips to more off the beaten path places were difficult and can still be difficult today. You have to make sure the place you're going to to either has a L2 charger in the place you stay or look for one nearby. If you road trip often and into more remote areas I would look into a hybrid. Lower gas consumption, extra power from the hybrid but the freedom to go anywhere you want with relative ease. Downside is that you not only have mechincal issues to replace/repair later on but maybe more expensive electric componets too once they are out of warranty.

 

[toothpic]

FYI, the new model 3 also just came out. It's available to test drive at some showrooms and is expected to start deliveries in a month. Initial reports say it's more efficient than the previous model and also gets very close to the estimated range at highway speeds (as long as not speeding). It may be worth looking at. Personally, I'm not a fan of how the newer Teslas come without stalks. I'm so used to a turn signal stalk that using the buttons is confusing. I had a loaner for a few days while the car was being worked on a month or so ago and I couldn't get used to it. It also lacked the shift to drive stalk and you instead have to shift into and out gear on the screen. I get they are trying to simplify the builds and remove uncessary buttons but I think life is just easier with a small number of buttons/levers. The loaner also had the yoke steering wheel which I hated with a passion.

I have always preferred the long range models where possible for times when I do want to do longer distance traveling. Highway speeds or bad conditions (rain, extreme cold, extreme heat) will drop your overall range quickly.