While my parents are visiting my sister on the East Coast, I’m getting a chance to use their electric vehicle. Just so we’re clear, this is a fully electric vehicle; not a drop of gasoline or other fuel to be found anywhere. Here’s what I’ve found:
The range is perfectly fine for someone who doesn’t like to spend a lot of time driving and doesn’t have to drag tons of stuff or go really long distances. I can get two days’ commute on a full charge, easily. It takes a while to charge, but the last time I drove overnight was the paper route, so that’s not a big problem. The funny thing about it is that it’s actually more efficient at low-speed, constantly start-and-stop driving (which now constitutes at least 80% of driving in Hawaii); it’s the high-speed stretches that eat up the power, exactly the opposite of a regular vehicle. As more places get charging stations, it’ll make things easier; right now I only know of one in Pearlridge, and I think I saw one somewhere in Ala Moana.
It can’t go all that fast, which would’ve been something of a problem twenty years ago, but nowadays you can’t tear it up anywhere*. We frequently have nightmare jams on H1, for crying out loud. Anyway, I’m well past my impatient speed-demon phase.
It doesn’t have much capacity, so it’s no good for taking a big group to the airport or picking up lumber, but I wouldn’t use my normal car (a Corolla) for those tasks anyway.
It’s makes very tight turns, perfect for the kind of parking lot maneuvering I have to do these days. In my Corolla, I’m finding that I pretty much ALWAYS have to back up and straighten out to get into any parking space, even an angled one, and it seems like I can’t go ten feet in any direction without being dangerously close to hitting something. I don’t even want to think about what my old Camry would’ve been like. With the Miev, just pull right in. It’s width makes it easy to accommodate adjoining cars parked a little too close to the line.
Of course, it’s lightweight and compact, which unfortunately can be a double-edged sword. Obvious advantage in using less energy, but it also gets really shaken by rough roads (all too common in Hawaii, especially the freeways), and I have to be VERY careful with those speed bumps, which are often ridiculously high where I go. I’m actually a little scared that I might be doing damage to the suspension.
It’s amazingly responsive. I’ve never seen a vehicle that did what I wanted like this before. One thing we tend to forget is that one of the big advantages of an all-electric vehicle is that there is much less stuff to worry about. No coughing, sputtering engine, no separate battery that can corrode and fail and die a the worst possible times, no leaky radiator, no bent, rusted-out muffler, no oil leaks**. Of course, this is still a young vehicle and time will tell if it will hold together, but, barring an unforeseen massive defect, it should provide lots of reliable service.
One complication I didn’t expect was that you have to be a bit careful putting in the recharger. For some inexplicable reason, EV manufacturers got really super cute with the charger, making it look just like a fuel pump. See, this is what you use to refuel your EV, hyuck hyuck hyuck! Well, see, inasmuch a fuel pump isn’t designed to be left there for hours, a much better option would be something that doesn’t carry the risk of, oh, I dunno, ACCIDENTALLY DISCONNECTING. Which happened to me twice already. Like, have some kind of manual clamp that could keep the charger firmly in place, and have the cord go straight down so that the weight doesn’t act to pull the charger outward, that sorta thing? Not a huge problem, just something you need to watch for.
In all, I like it. I like it a lot. And yes, I’ll readily admit that there’s a certain appeal to using something that almost no one else is. Hey, I’ve never run with the pack, why start now?
Now, to address certain hot-button issues:
It’s no secret that we’re going to run out of oil someday. I know that. That’s not my big concern. What is is that we’re running out of it much, MUCH faster than I ever anticipated. When I was in college, gas was less than $2 a gallon. That was not a very long time ago. And I’ve come to accept the fact that there is not just a possibility, but a very good chance that the price of gas will go past the point where I’m willing to pay well within my lifetime. At that point, having an alternative will be not simply desirable, but an absolute necessity. I didn’t live as long as I have by shoving my head in the sand. When the time comes that I need a vehicle with serious limitations, I’ll drive one without the slightest hesitations.
Speaking of which, the Miev is limited, make no mistake, but keep in mind that this is one of the very first viable all-electric vehicles. I don’t doubt for a second that the technology will improve. Maybe not enormously, but then it’s not going to take much to elevate this from curiosity to viable vehicle. Double the range and find a way to cut down on charging time (two charging outlets, perhaps?), and it’ll make it a lot more attractive.
Eventually, what we’re all going to have to come to terms with…and what I suspect is the source of the astonishing level of hatred for vehicles like this***… is the fact that the way we’re doing things is just plain bad. Never mind “sustainability” or “yuppies”, using an inordinate amount of oil is bad, having way too many children is bad, driving aggressively and getting into accidents is bad. And especially in America, a nation which two and a half centuries ago told King George where he could cram his divine right, should not itself to be hobbled by ideological concerns.
What I’m saying is, why the hell not electric vehicles, and fuel-efficient compacts (Corolla!**** 
), and natural gas-powered buses, and monorails and subways, and diesel-powered trucks for when power and range can’t be compromised? We’re a big nation with big needs, and we can’t afford to limit ourselves for stupid reasons.
The thing is, if your lifestyle absolutely requires a big, inefficient vehicle, maybe you should have planned your lifestyle more carefully. This is a sensitive topic for me; I work in public housing, where by far the biggest financial headaches are 1. too many kids and 2. too much money sunk into the vehicle. I vowed long ago that I would never turn into one of those hopeless cases, and because of that I learned to appreciate small, compact, and economical. And if we could spread that kind of mentality around, I’m just saying that it would make things a whole lot better for all of us. Yeah, snowball’s chance, but it would be cool, right?
I mourned when the Superferry got shut down for absolutely no good reason (because that useless Linda Lingle didn’t do a thing to save it…sheesh if you can’t stand up to grass-hugging hippies, who can you stand up to?). A great transportation option, gone, just like that. I can tell you right now, ain’t nobody gonna tell my family we shouldn’t have no Miev.
P.S. Did I mention that it makes very tight turns, which makes parking a breeze? Seriously, that’s a pretty big deal for me.
- Seriously, the traffic situation has plunged off a cliff into an underwater trench. There was a time when you could take the freeway from Waikiki to home, and it’d be smooth sailing all the way. Nowadays, if you can manage that in less than 40 minutes, it’d be a flat-out miracle.
** Yes, of course I’ve dealt with all this. Not on the same vehicle, thankfully.
*** Anyone who dislikes EVs because of pollution concerns should be pistol-whipped. I mean, good lord.
**** And hybrids, like my parents’ Prius, which has held up very well, thank you.
