# Is the US EV market dead?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-ev-market-dead/1027671>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [February 14, 2026, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-ev-market-dead/1027671 "2026-02-14T20:46:08Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 248

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**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-us-ev-market-dead/1027671/248 "2026-02-19T20:26:10Z")

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> [@DSeid](#):
>
> The updated Toyota BZ will be worth a look.

> [@Gorsnak](#):
>
> the Toyota/Subaru joint offerings are about to include a smaller car with the same drivetrain as the BZ/Solterra badged C-HR for Toyota and Uncharted for Subaru.

Just in case this was missed upthread, a few hundred posts ago: I drive a 25 Solterra and have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, it’s my favorite car so far (I like it a lot more than my previous Subaru Crosstrek or Mazda Protege, or the Teslas, Bolts, and Leafs I’ve been in).

On the other hand, it has some annoyances that may or may not be remedied in the 26 edition: Slow charge speed (about half of the rated max), significant range decrease in the winter (\< 70% of the summer range), broken app, no rear wiper, no offline keyless entry system, mediocre 360 cameras, Android Auto instability, an overload of in-cabin alert noises, etc.

The lack of a rear wiper has been the biggest pain in the ass so far. In heavy rain, snow, or whenever you go offroad, the rear window becomes so obscured that you can’t really see out of it. And only the highest trim levels offer a digital rear view mirror tied to a camera; otherwise, your rear vision gets significantly impeded under anything but the most ideal conditions. It also does not wash out well, since the rear spoiler overhangs the glass and makes it harder to clean, especially at automated carwashes.

The 26 Solterra/Uncharted (smaller versions) will still not have rear wipers. The larger one (Trailseeker) WILL. I’m not sure about the Toyota versions, but I would assume they’re similar.

Anyway, just wanted to give a heads-up. Might wanna check out the sister forums [Toyota BZ Forum](https://www.bzforums.com/forums/) or [https://www.solterraforum.com/](https://www.solterraforum.com/) for owner reviews; there’s a lot of shortcomings that aren’t obvious on a short test drive.

* * *

OK, sorry for the tangent.

Is there enough interest in a separate “Best EVs for 2026” topic, perhaps? Should we split these discussions off into a new thread?

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