Sliding into my 2002 Subaru Outback sport was like sliding into a pool-side beach chair… looooooow.
Stepping into the Rav4 (2007 or the Prime) is a small step up, but not hard. Stepping up to my FiL’s old F150 felt like I was climbing up a freaking pyramid.
I should clarify I am 6’3" with 36" inseam. My parents had an older Rav4 and it wasn’t an up for me. I guess perspective matters in these discussions.
I had a Civic and it was just getting difficult to get in and especially out. My 91 year old step dad really struggled and had to be helped out. When I was looking at Teslas I thought for sure that I’d get a 3 (sedan) but I ended up with the Y (crossover) mainly because of the ease of entry and exit.
I’d love to see what the Porsche team could do with that platform, esp. in terms of suspension tuning and kinetics, etc…
Though Porsche has its own EV, the Taycan.
Also, an electric version of the Macan.
From all that I’ve seen the Lucid engineers didn’t leave a lot on the table with the Sapphire. I mean, it pulled 1.35Gs at the corner. On EV tires, albeit very very good ones. And it has the highest efficiency per KW of any EV I believe. We’re going to take a good look at the Gravity when it’s released.
Thx, interesting points
This week I just purchased the first EV I’ll ever own, and probably will never buy a pure ICE again.
That’s my excuse for buying a sporty car “But… it’ll be my last gas car. It should be fun!”
Come on… Don’t leave us hanging out like this…
Chevy Equinox, 3LT trim and AWD. With the current Federal and state incentives it’s a hard deal to pass up. We take delivery tomorrow, and say goodbye to our 2008 Prius.
Given the horror stories I’ve heard about recharging prices I am rethinking my only 25% or so plans to get a PHEV for my next vehicle, even though there are paid charging spots in my apartment and at an inconvenient place at Target (but not at Publix or Wal-mart yet, the other two places I go to frequently.)
If charging at a public station will cost the same as gas per mile, then there’s no need for me to pay the premium for a PHEV over a HEV, especially since a new gen HEV Prius got 60+ mpg the last time I used one. And you have to sign up for the apps to know how much they cost. If that will even let you know how much they cost. I don’t feel like jumping through hoops if I am not sure that that step will even let me know their rates!
And as a practical matter, not wanting to reveal your prices implies that you have something to hide. So it’s quite likely that they are barely cheaper than gas.
EV review post, with non-home charging digression
My “standard” rental in LA turned out to be a Jeep Wrangler Willy’s edition 4xe, which is a plug-in hybrid with something like a 17kWh battery providing an indicated 28 miles of all electric range (or so).
Of course when I picked it up it had zero charge. There is a mode to charge the battery from the engine, but the thermodynamics of that don’t seem in my favor.
The first day we didn’t go near any chargers, so it was all gas. In the evening we went to the new Intuit dome, which had lots of charges, but they weren’t working. Even though they were lit up, and said they were working, they were not, as confirmed by both a parking attendant and not actually working.
Second day we got free charging with our parking at Hermosa Beach. The 3 hour maximum parking aligned perfectly with the 3 hours it takes to fill the battery on a level 2 charger, so driving home was the first I got to experience the 4xe as an EV.
It was fine. It drove in full EV mode for 10 miles on the city streets. Considering the 19.5 MPG that the Jeep got in gas only mode, that trip in EV saved $2. I had full regen turned on (even in gas mode), and it is not nearly as strong as on my Model 3. The only odd thing moving from a full EV to the PHEV is that in all electric mode, it still did creep instead of staying stopped when taking my foot off the brake. I understand this is to provide a consistent feel between the gas and electric modes, but is awkward. The car slows almost to a full stop, then starts creeping slightly faster.
The next day I drove another 13 miles in EV mode. It did have to start the gas engine for a few seconds when I wanted lots of power for an uphill entrance ramp to a freeway. I could cruise in electric at 70 without a problem. That used lots of battery. I think 3 miles of 65+ used 7 miles of indicated range.
In the end I went just under 23 miles on one full charge, and it had to turn the engine on literally as a I was pulling into a parking space to charge again. Another free charge to full, and it easily drove the 12 miles back to the airport for dropoff.
In all I went about 45 miles on gas for $14, and about 35 miles on electricity for free. That was probably about 30 kWh total.
Do I recommend this car? Probably not. Most of my complaints are Jeep related rather than PHEV related. I know lots of people love their Jeeps, but a high climb to get in and very loud knobby tires made it unpleasant to use as a daily driver. I’d really need to do lots of off-roading to put up with those things.
As an EV it was fine, and I guess if you really wanted a Jeep it is a $60k way to get 20-25 miles of electric every 3 hours at better than 19.5 MPG. If that covers your commute, then it might be a good option. If that doesn’t cover your commute, you might be better off getting a cheaper drive train. I don’t know what the all gas Wranglers get in gas mileage, but 19.5 in hybrid mode seems pretty bad.
If you do have $60k to spend, then maybe a cheaper EV for on road and a used Jeep for offroad. I understand that cars aren’t good offroad until the third owner.
So, to revisit my post from Oct 2020, and eat my words…sorta…
Took a new job at the end of August, entirely across town (and lots of barren ground!) from where I live, 80+ miles round trip 4 days a week.
Needless to say, that got very expensive very quickly in my 1 ton Chevy diesel.
A week ago this past Friday, I bought a Chevy Bolt - pure EV. Had looked at the Volt (PHEV), but ended up nixing that idea, as it turns out that even if your batteries fail in the warranty period, you’re still out of luck, as they don’t make the batteries for them anymore.
Bought a Level 2 charger to plug into my shop power. Head to work, head home, plenty of range (185 miles at 80%+/- charge level). Get home in the evening, plug it into the charger, ready to go the next morning. We’ll see where it costs out on the electricity bill in the next month or so, but payment+insurance+electricity should still be saving over what I’d be putting into the tank of the truck in diesel. And no, didn’t trade the truck, as there are still so many things I need it for, but for the daily work commute, and running errands/Christmas shopping, the Bolt is proving itself very well.
That should be a nice savings, plus doing errands in the Bolt will be WAY nicer than in a 1-ton pickup! It’s embarrassing how bad the mileage on diesels has gotten with this crazy HP war the manufacturers decided everybody wants.
Well, the fuel cost of doing errands will be nicer; not sure the vehicle, in & of itself, will be nicer.
Maneuvering in parking lots?
As someone whose personal ride is a Fit and whose work ride is an E150, I know which one I’d rather take grocery shopping.
I bought a slightly used Bolt last March when Herz was flogging off their EV fleet. At about 1,000 miles a month the extra kWh from home charging is lost in the noise of temperature variations. I suppose there has to be extra money going out but it’s not especially noticeable.
I’ve never noticed a difference either. At 15¢/kwh and, lets say, 3m/kwh*, you’re looking at about $50 to drive 1000 miles. Probably half of what you’d pay in gas for an ICE car.
*Just an average-ish number. My car has been getting about 1.5m/kwh in the cold (which is, by my math, about break even for an ICE car at 30mpg), but in summer hovers around 4m/kwh. My previous car would be closer to 5m/kwh on a warm day.