I loved my Volt… Charged overnight in a normal 110 outlet got me the 43 miles to work and back (after about year 5, not quite the whole way) but I could still decide to go on a 600 mile road trip spur of the moment. Had to give up the 2014 in 2023 when a full charge wouldn’t go 20 miles. ☹️
There is no PHEV comparable now, though! Made the switch back to full ICE and I hate it.
I have a 2017 bolt EV - bought used, not one that is advertised as having great mileage even in 2017. I routinely take it 400-500mi plus drives with one or maybe two charge stops for vacation and family trips. Middle of ME to the southern tip of NJ. My home is somewhere in the middle.
Charged off my 110 outlet since I got to car (about 4 years) up to last month Oct 2023 when I got a 220v outlet installed as part of another project. One charge was enough for the week. Occasionally I’d plug in at work or at a friends. Worst case actually pay $5-9 for a DC quick charge if I know I’m doing a long drive. All that is way easier if you just have a place to plug in consistently at home.
I don’t get the negativity most people have twords EVs. Everyone is astounded when I say I just plug it into the wall and have to plan longer trips slightly more, like that’s not news anymore.
And there’s a bunch more DC chargers than when I first started driving an EV - so it’s wayyy easier for new folks to adopt.
I’m kind of blown away by the new Prius - it seems really good(?) ~40 mi all-electric and AWD (requirement for me in a snowy, mountainous state). It also doesn’t look awful for once.
You can replace parts on a gas engine. There’s a lot more repairability there.
Batteries also have a shelf life.
With that said, e-bikes with a supply of batteries and a means of charging them with portable solar panels are probably better for an extended disaster situation.
I have a Tesla because my VW engine died just out of warranty and a junkyard engine was $5k, a new one was $11k, just for the engine, no labor or extraneous parts.
The world where you can afford an engine replacement but not an electric car is pretty small.
Yea those prices are high. You can typically get a rebuilt engine installed for between $2500-5k but you have to go to a shop that specializes in rebuilds. A regular mechanic can’t do that type of work and will just be looking for something they can drop in.
Batteries are often the part that has the longest warranty. It’ll be a while before it’s your problem, and even then, costs will probably be down by a lot.
That person had a PHEV (2014 Chevy Volt)… It was not totalled, they can still drive it on gas, and the battery is only 16.5kwh, so if you wanted to replace it (though you don’t need to), its only like $5k.
I loved my Volt… Charged overnight in a normal 110 outlet got me the 43 miles to work and back (after about year 5, not quite the whole way) but I could still decide to go on a 600 mile road trip spur of the moment. Had to give up the 2014 in 2023 when a full charge wouldn’t go 20 miles. ☹️
There is no PHEV comparable now, though! Made the switch back to full ICE and I hate it.
I have a 2017 bolt EV - bought used, not one that is advertised as having great mileage even in 2017. I routinely take it 400-500mi plus drives with one or maybe two charge stops for vacation and family trips. Middle of ME to the southern tip of NJ. My home is somewhere in the middle.
Charged off my 110 outlet since I got to car (about 4 years) up to last month Oct 2023 when I got a 220v outlet installed as part of another project. One charge was enough for the week. Occasionally I’d plug in at work or at a friends. Worst case actually pay $5-9 for a DC quick charge if I know I’m doing a long drive. All that is way easier if you just have a place to plug in consistently at home.
I don’t get the negativity most people have twords EVs. Everyone is astounded when I say I just plug it into the wall and have to plan longer trips slightly more, like that’s not news anymore.
And there’s a bunch more DC chargers than when I first started driving an EV - so it’s wayyy easier for new folks to adopt.
The Prius Prime isn’t too different, in that it’s also a compact PHEV although the battery range is a bit shorter.
I’m kind of blown away by the new Prius - it seems really good(?) ~40 mi all-electric and AWD (requirement for me in a snowy, mountainous state). It also doesn’t look awful for once.
Hyundai Ioniq PHEV is I would say even better.
That’s the problem. They’re basically totaled once the battery is worn out.
I mean… Same with a gas engine for most cars. And the batteries are expected to last about as long as a gas engine.
You can replace parts on a gas engine. There’s a lot more repairability there.
Batteries also have a shelf life.
With that said, e-bikes with a supply of batteries and a means of charging them with portable solar panels are probably better for an extended disaster situation.
I have a Tesla because my VW engine died just out of warranty and a junkyard engine was $5k, a new one was $11k, just for the engine, no labor or extraneous parts.
The world where you can afford an engine replacement but not an electric car is pretty small.
Yea those prices are high. You can typically get a rebuilt engine installed for between $2500-5k but you have to go to a shop that specializes in rebuilds. A regular mechanic can’t do that type of work and will just be looking for something they can drop in.
Batteries are often the part that has the longest warranty. It’ll be a while before it’s your problem, and even then, costs will probably be down by a lot.
That person had a PHEV (2014 Chevy Volt)… It was not totalled, they can still drive it on gas, and the battery is only 16.5kwh, so if you wanted to replace it (though you don’t need to), its only like $5k.
So true! ☹️