Would you buy an EV?

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These Xpeng p7s are coming to Europe soon, if I am in employment I might have to get one. They start at £27k so they even make the cheaper Teslas look expensive. I would love a Polestar 2, but I don't think I Will be making that type of money any time soon. It really surprises me how everyone has stuck with Buying petrol and diesel, because long term they are more expensive.

Nope, this is more to my tastes:



It's even got a proper H-pattern manual. I'm not looking forward to the future of cars as appliances.

I'm not really in it for the looks, to be honest it is pretty ugly, but basically you get a Tesla for half the price. If I was to get a normally priced ev, I would get this thing

Q: Would I buy an EV?
A: No...but I wish I could.

Problem: We'd have to run an extension cord across a sidewalk to street parking to charge the thing.

Concern: Range. We live in the U.S. and are retired. It would be nice to have a car with with a range convenient for occassional trips over 1,000km. "Convenient" would mean being able to quickly recharge lots of places, even away from towns and cities. So, at least one of us would probably need something other than an EV.

So, if the Problem and Concern did not apply to me: YES!

Would I buy an EV?
It would depend on several factors:

1.) Do low income government subsidized housing parking lots have charging stations at every parking place which will never be vandalized?

2.) does it have the range to go from city to city and back out here in midwestern farm country?

3.) does it sit up high like my van which my defective body can far more easily get in and out of than it can with lower cars which I often can't get in at all?

4.) is it heavy enough to be stable in 48mph, 77kph, crosswinds on farmland interstate highways?

5.) does it have enough ground clearance to be driven in 4 inches, 10cm, of snow before the county gets the roads plowed?

6.) can I afford buying it on a Social Security Disability income that's 17 dollars a month below the poverty level for a household of 1?

Doesn't surprise me at all, at this time the infrastructure for "recharging" with petrol and diesel is far more widely available than the infrastructure for recharging EVs.

That being said, the Walmart in our county seat farm burg put in 4 charging stations last year.
And a huge green transformer box or two behind a solid sheet metal fence.

I know of one house in town where the people have an EV, sometimes an orange extension cord can be seen between its charging port and the house.

Eventually - but right now they’re still too expensive.

The Tesla Model 3 with all the government rebates that were being offered a year or two ago wasn’t terribly priced vs gas cars, but it’s not as easy to finance as a gas car because you need to be able to qualify to borrow a Lot more money up front. Gas cars are cheaper & then you have fuel/oil/maintenance expenses. EV may be around the same overall price/month, or less, but you have to be able to borrow or spend a whole lot more money up front to buy one. Also, it’s too small for my purposes - no sense in paying a premium price for an EV that will last ~a Million miles if it’s not going to suit my uses for a vehicle for the next 20-30 years.

There aren’t really any viable options right now. Tesla Model X is maaaybe big enough, but who wants to ruin a $140k car interior with tools and materials? Who would pay $140k for a work vehicle anyways??

Mmmmaybe after the Cybertruck and other work vehicles are out - like the electric F-150 etc. Or maybe an electric Ford Flex if they make that! Or wait another 5 years or so for a used one.

In the meantime, my car is paid off and I average ~7.0L/100km or 32mpg US. I just replaced the speakers, ordered a roof rack for it, and will get some sort of cargo basket. Way cheaper to add rooftop cargo space for tools and stuff than it is to pay twice as much for gas in a van or truck or buy an ill suited EV for way too much money.

GM predicts that battery technology will improve rapidly and the cost of batteries will fall fast enough that they will be able to seek a small electric SUV for $30k USD that has a 450mile range in 5 years time. ~5 years after that they’ll become much more affordable - especially used. THAT’S probably when I’d plan to replace my current car Unless it gets destroyed Or some scenario makes it a no brainer to switch.

I'm not commenting on it looking like a fridge on wheels (although it does, the Polestar looks okay though). I'm commenting on electric cars being no more exciting than blenders or shavers. They just don't do anything for me. I can get excited over a hydrogen powered rotary engine but never over an electric unless it's home-built.

^Trouble with conversions is they’re either kinda crappy and super limited range OR they cost $80-100k or so to have professionally done.

Oh amen to that. EVs are a long way off being genuinely environmentally friendly. They're heavy, they use a lot of rare metals in the battery tech, much of the power for recycling comes from nuclear plants, and their second hand life is still a big question mark atm. If I were being cynical I'd say the latter is the main appeal for manufacturers, it destroys the second-hand market which has always been the biggest barrier to ludicrous profit-making.

I'm lagging about 10 years behind the game, so at the moment I want an N/A Swift Sport, but by 2030 I'll be wanting a lairy Yaris.

This didn't cost no $100k. Professional conversions aren't interesting to me, hot rods are.



https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cultur ... interview/

Only a used EV & only when I'm satisfied with the performance cars I've bought along with it. I'd sure like to melt less glacier getting groceries but I'm with FxE & Red Kross on this. I've given thought to the BMW i3 & Honda Clarity, but either way that's 18 thousand in rent money.

I'm giving more thought to biodiesel since the vehicles I can run it in are more proven & durable.

BMW i3 for $18k? Must be talking USD for the oldest used model mmmaaaybe?

They’re $45k + tax here, so ~$52-53k put the door starting price.

Probably 2017 for the bimmer & 2018 for a low-mile Clarity.

The trouble is, my greatest vice is sports cars. Maybe I should save until I can afford the Clarity & a Lexus IS-F.

Since those Yarii won't be sold here a used FR-S will absolutely do. Hopefully I'll keep it on the road as long as possible. Maybe use of gasoline cars will fall enough they won't be banned, so please buy your electric cars just don't inflict one upon me.

Just my preference but I'd go with the BRZ version for reasons of neutral handling instead of always wanting to drift.

The new BR-Z looks great, I'm not sure if they're redoing the FR-S. I do know we're due for a version of the Corolla like the GRMN Yaris.

I drive a Volvo V50 T5 6 speed that spoils me with consistency. It's so idiot proof I haven't changed the slightest mechanical piece. I can get 40+mpg on flat highways in top gear & I have AWD of some functionality.