[simonroy749]

Looking to buy an Electric car

Hello everyone, I am planning to buy an electric car. So I have been reading a lot of articles to know more about it. Last day, I came across this blog and I thought to share it here. This is the link: Autoloan.ca | Will It Save You Money To Get An Electric Vehicle In Ontario?. I hope you will find it useful.

 

[Smart car]

Simonroy, Welcome to SCOA!
As an avid EV driver we have two electric cars, two years of gas free.
As I see it an EV is more about smooth, fast acceleration, quiet smooth driving and no shifting.
Never having to pull into an wait for a gas pump since you fill up at home while you sleep.
Depending on where you live and your current gas and electric costs it can vary.
For example Gas here is $2.80/gallon. Electricity is $0.12/KWh. We traded in a 26MPG car on an EV. We spent $150/month on gas and with the exact same driving we spend $50/ month on electricity.

As for "Will it save you money"? yes and maybe not. If you are planning on buying another car anyway that is the same price up front YES you will save money.
But if the Electric car costs more or is an additional car it will cost more. But see my second sentence and see if it's worth the extra cost. It is for me!

 

[colin555]

I am one of those drivers that oppose electric cars at the moment.

They say electric cars are good for the environment as they are emission free, but they are not, as they just transfer the emissions back to the electrical power station. But other than that, my main problem with present electric cars is that they are at least 30% dearer than the equivalent gas powered car. And the biggest disadvantage of all is the lack of range of an electric Smart car. This leads to 'range worry' that is on the back of your mind at all times. Do you need to load shed by turning off A/C heaters lights and wipers to save electricity to get home, do you need to avoid hills to save on power, and know where the nearest public plug in power point to recharge. All this concerns me far too much to be bothered with electric cars.

Some owners who only do short mileage will see the advantage of an electric car, but as i live out in the country, just getting to places needs a lot of mileage.

I am awaiting the 2022 'made in China' electric Smart to see how it is going to look. If it is similar to the Smart Forstars as a design then I am all for it, but it would depend on having far more range and also reduce the cost of what they are at the moment, which is way overpriced.

The one electric car I did like....The Smart Forstars which was a concept electric car where one or two were actually made in 2012, but not put into production, or sold to the public. It really looked good.

 

[jwight]

I'm waiting for Daimler to sell its remaining 50% interest in smart to Geely and get out of the smart business entirely. The new Daimler CEO seems to have little interest in the smart brand.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/daimler-ceo-kallenius-considering-killing-smart/

 

[Smart car]

Colin555,
I agree if you live far out in the country that an electric car is not a great choice. I don't like the Prius but I do have a Chevy Volt and my wife drives it daily on electricity only, we put 3 gallons of gas in it every 6 months just to keep the engine cycled. We have gone on multiple road trips and keep the car in Hold mode and run on gas getting 57mpg and use electricity when we exit the freeways.
Maybe not your style but the Chevrolet Volt is a great car for the crossover period until electric cars are mainstream.

 

[MB DNA]

I'm waiting for Daimler to sell its remaining 50% interest in smart to Geely and get out of the smart business entirely.

After the trials and tribulation of being an early adopter, evangelist and 11 years later find myself with 3 orphans - dunno that I care what Daimler does???

As for "waiting" for the Geely smart-reincarnate, should probably mention that to our Grandchildren???

NOTHING "smart" (EQ) going on over at Daimler, even less in North America and one can only hope that the lights are out at smartUSA, Atlanta . . . :shrug:

 

[rfernatt]

I am one of those drivers that oppose electric cars at the moment.

They say electric cars are good for the environment as they are emission free, but they are not, as they just transfer the emissions back to the electrical power station. But other than that, my main problem with present electric cars is that they are at least 30% dearer than the equivalent gas powered car. And the biggest disadvantage of all is the lack of range of an electric Smart car. This leads to 'range worry' that is on the back of your mind at all times. Do you need to load shed by turning off A/C heaters lights and wipers to save electricity to get home, do you need to avoid hills to save on power, and know where the nearest public plug in power point to recharge. All this concerns me far too much to be bothered with electric cars.

Some owners who only do short mileage will see the advantage of an electric car, but as i live out in the country, just getting to places needs a lot of mileage....

Just a few quick comments...

1. Regarding range, there are cars that don't cost that much more that deliver hundreds of miles of range (Model 3 SR, Kona EV, Niro EV, Bolt, etc.), but the smart is obviously constrained by physical packaging space. What I find most disheartening about the electric smart is the lack of efficiency. If it were as efficient as much larger and heavier cars, it would go a good bit further on the same battery (see attached). When a full size sedan EV is rated more efficient than an EV smart overall, there's an issue. Greater energy density in the same packaging space would also help. There are also PHEV options for those that don't have easy access to home charging (renters, condo owners, etc.).

2. Even in coal heavy regions of the US, EVs pollute less since they are much more efficient and they are getting cleaner every year as the grid keeps dropping coal plants. ICE vehicles will never be cleaner than when they were produced and will generally pollute more as they age. And, if you have solar offsetting all the electricity for your house and cars, then it can be effectively zero emissions. I love not caring about the price of gas or electricity after investing in solar.

3. Yes, EVs can cost more sticker price. 5 year TCO, however, can be pretty comparable if you're comparing apples to apples (e.g., Model 3 to BMW 3 series). But, it will probably be another 4-5 years in the US before EVs reach easy price parity. It could happen sooner in Europe and Asia. One of the major banks had a report on this. Hey, if you're looking for a cheap used Euro import, it might be a good time: Tesla’s sales successes are wreaking havoc on the pre-owned luxury car market

 

[Yinzer]

If only Renault would sell the Zöe in N. America. It is a subcompact-class EV that gets nearly the same range a base Model 3 or Bolt.

 

[jwight]

It is a subcompact-class EV

So is/was the smart ED/EQ, and look how they sold......:shrug:

 

[Yinzer]

So is/was the smart ED/EQ, and look how they sold......:shrug:

Except the Zoe has 250 mi of range - and is a 4 seat car.

 

[jwight]

How many microcars, gas or electric, are available for retail sales in the US? The answer is zero. People would rather spend $60K on a big pickup that is never going to haul a sheet of plywood than spend half as much on a small, practical and economical car. YMMV.....

 

[rfernatt]

Except the Zoe has 250 mi of range - and is a 4 seat car.

How many microcars, gas or electric, are available for retail sales in the US? The answer is zero. People would rather spend $60K on a big pickup that is never going to haul a sheet of plywood than spend half as much on a small, practical and economical car. YMMV.....

In the US, that Zoe is the new LEAF which is slightly larger and even with the new 62kWh battery is not doing all that well - Nissan LEAF Sales On Downward Trend Both In Japan And U.S.

Small hatches historically just don't do well in the US unless you turn them into a small CUV. Actually, I think that was GM's biggest mistake with the Bolt. Given the price they had to charge, it needed to be a small Caddy or Buick CUV. I think sales would have been better than a small Chevy hatch, especially when the buyer can look across the lot at a similar looking Sonic hatch for a third of the sticker price.

EDIT: Which begs the question of whether GM was really all that serious about the Bolt or was it just a compliance car all along intended to sell <25K units/year and let GM say they were making a BEV. When it didn't sell all that well they could say "hey, we tried, but nobody wants an EV." Most GM dealers (well, most all dealers) certainly don't want to sell an EV.

 

[Jo e Lefors]

Colin555,
I agree if you live far out in the country that an electric car is not a great choice. I don't like the Prius but I do have a Chevy Volt and my wife drives it daily on electricity only, we put 3 gallons of gas in it every 6 months just to keep the engine cycled. We have gone on multiple road trips and keep the car in Hold mode and run on gas getting 57mpg and use electricity when we exit the freeways.
Maybe not your style but the Chevrolet Volt is a great car for the crossover period until electric cars are mainstream.

I agree with you on the Volt, I own one too.
With over 4000 lbs. My Volt rides real nice and still gets better gas mileage than my smart. But my smart is a convertible. I just wish my Volt were a SUV.

 

[natural phenomenon]

@simonroy749,

It's not really about saving money because at the end of the day it's a wash between petrol. You go electric strictly for carbon footprint, however in America unlike Europe electric vehicles do not work for better than 60% of the population and it has nothing to do with not having the infrastructure to support it. I live in a town with less than 1000 people and the local gas station just installed Tesla changing stations. (and you have to pay to use them)

The main problem is less people live in homes today then ever before. And if you live in the snow belt regions without a heated garage batteries don't do cold well. So while you possibly could run an extension cord out your window if you can't keep those batteries above 50 Fahrenheit you run into issues. My problem is as well the closest store to get groceries at a reasonable price and with variety is 50 miles one way, would like to have had the electric Smart but I would barely make it down.

And the ranges quoted are in optimal warm conditions, at 32 you lose around 40% range.


Like solar and wind, it's only part of the equation to be added in with the alternatives as they work very little for the overall mass's. But they work in the right applications. As far as electric vehicles goes the car company's are moving away from going all electric and are showing their skills in hybrid, truly the best of both worlds.

Fossil fuel is never going away, what is going away is personal car ownership. Because we will simply be priced out of the market. It serves the purpose of getting the cars off the roads, reducing emissions and saving the States money on repairing the roads. Don't ever be fooled into thinking the climate change hoax has anything to do with the environment.

We will be forced onto public transportation and if you have never seriously used that before you will be in for a rude awaking.
(oh death where is thy sting)

We be talking an hour to go 3 miles after waiting an hour, a loaf of bread and quart of milk requires a day ahead of planning. Do you like smelly people, crazy people, how about those who masturbate in public ?
Some scientist are now saying they think they know why America's life expectancy has been going down,,,stress ..

 

[Igor Barbaros]

Whatever the dude above is smoking, I would like some