I found gas for less than $6 today and felt a little thrill, which tells me that maybe it's time to get an EV.
-
I found gas for less than $6 today and felt a little thrill, which tells me that maybe it's time to get an EV. I am—obviously—not getting a Tesla, and I'd just like a reliable, regular EV that can fit a kid and a few friends. But the offerings in the US seem confusing and gimmicky. I don't want a big truck or an experimental mess full of panel gaps and slow charging. I don't want my feet nailed to the floor of some proprietary subscription HUD; I want to use CarPlay like a normal person
I bought a 2024 Nissan leaf a few months back. Physical knobs for the climate control, physical volume knob, and works well with Android auto.
I've been just using the Level 1 charger the dealer gave us and it's been plenty
I know the battery pack doesn't have the best cooling, but as long as I'm sensible about things that shouldn't cause me trouble in my normal daily drive.
Really makes me wish I'd bought a used leaf ages ago when I first floated the idea.
-
@glyph i assume the charging speed from just solar panels doesn't make up for the weight of the solar panels yet
@aeva @glyph https://xkcd.com/1924/
Battery electric cars generally fall under
- regular chance to recharge/swap batteries (plug it into a relatively normal wall outlet overnight, increasing build out of EV charging infrastructure elsewhere)
- hot to the touch in operation (energy density for solar panels isn't there + there is less space on the roof of a normal car than you really need + most cars are not terribly efficient at using their energy)
- empty space nearby (if we insist on building giant parking lots everywhere, we could at least shade them with solar panel structures, though making that happen would be a pretty big investment by a lot of entities)
-
@aeva @glyph https://xkcd.com/1924/
Battery electric cars generally fall under
- regular chance to recharge/swap batteries (plug it into a relatively normal wall outlet overnight, increasing build out of EV charging infrastructure elsewhere)
- hot to the touch in operation (energy density for solar panels isn't there + there is less space on the roof of a normal car than you really need + most cars are not terribly efficient at using their energy)
- empty space nearby (if we insist on building giant parking lots everywhere, we could at least shade them with solar panel structures, though making that happen would be a pretty big investment by a lot of entities)
@aeva @glyph the only serious-ish car I've seen with solar panels on top is Aptera - which really only gets away with solar panels because the entire vehicle is designed for ludicrous efficiency from the the very start, arguably to the major detriment of its usability as a car outside of places like California with Perfect Weather Basically All The Time
-
I found gas for less than $6 today and felt a little thrill, which tells me that maybe it's time to get an EV. I am—obviously—not getting a Tesla, and I'd just like a reliable, regular EV that can fit a kid and a few friends. But the offerings in the US seem confusing and gimmicky. I don't want a big truck or an experimental mess full of panel gaps and slow charging. I don't want my feet nailed to the floor of some proprietary subscription HUD; I want to use CarPlay like a normal person
@glyph look at Kia. Their EV offerings are surprisingly compelling.
(My gf has an EV6 and I had a Niro.)
-
I found gas for less than $6 today and felt a little thrill, which tells me that maybe it's time to get an EV. I am—obviously—not getting a Tesla, and I'd just like a reliable, regular EV that can fit a kid and a few friends. But the offerings in the US seem confusing and gimmicky. I don't want a big truck or an experimental mess full of panel gaps and slow charging. I don't want my feet nailed to the floor of some proprietary subscription HUD; I want to use CarPlay like a normal person
@glyph VW e-Golf owner for 6 years. People get hung up on charging speeds too much IMO but I also don’t know your situation so all I can say is I’ve really liked the car. CarPlay works and I have buttons galore. Used prices are very reasonable now.
TeslaBjorn’s YouTube channel has many 1000km road trips on many (most?) EVs in Norway weather and he has Google Sheets with data on charging speeds and trip times. He also has data on used EVs.
You may enjoy this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NG4hycq8n0 -
I found gas for less than $6 today and felt a little thrill, which tells me that maybe it's time to get an EV. I am—obviously—not getting a Tesla, and I'd just like a reliable, regular EV that can fit a kid and a few friends. But the offerings in the US seem confusing and gimmicky. I don't want a big truck or an experimental mess full of panel gaps and slow charging. I don't want my feet nailed to the floor of some proprietary subscription HUD; I want to use CarPlay like a normal person
@glyph I can't vouch for the new model, but our 2017 bolt is still going strong (minus 15-20% of the battery, but it's been almost 10 years) the only thing that makes me consider upgrading is the slow DC charging, but we only take 2-3 road trips a year, so an upgrade hardly seems worth it. EVs are stupid reliable, handle well, and save $$$ if you have access to charging at home. (Also, unless you commute long distances to work every day, you can probably get away with trickle charging)
-
@glyph I have an Ioniq5 and it (as well as its cousins the Ioniq6 and EV6/9) ticks all those boxes. I love it, best car I’ve ever owned.
@glyph Another +1 for the Ioniq5. I still driving is terrible and avoid it when I can but I am glad to have the ease of charging and safety features when I have to.
-
@glyph Polestar 2. Used is probably fine.
Happy to make other recommendations, but that's what we have and we love it.
-
@mattdm @glyph @chrisjrn There’s now also the new Bolt, but GM means no CarPlay (I don’t understand it either). It at least does come with native NACS/Tesla-style charging though, no adapter required.
The New 2027 Bolt | Electric Car | Chevrolet
The Chevy Bolt is back and better than ever with its fast charging, comfort-focused interior, enhanced tech, and updated safety features.
Chevrolet (www.chevrolet.com)
Yeah, and they're planning to make it for only a year and stop again? Seems like the dumbest move ever. ("Americans love big cars! Stop buying this smaller one! Okay, fine, we'll make it again, but seriously, stop!")
-
I've been putting this off for several years both because it's good to not buy unnecessary stuff but also because everything seems to have some huge bizarre inexplicable downside, or be mind-bogglingly expensive and depreciate at a rate of ten dollars a second. And why don't these things all have photovoltaics on their roofs yet?
@glyph there was a company in NL that attempted to create a car with solar panels on the roof. The efficiency was not there, and it also stops when you park in a garage or under something. It turned out to be more of a gimmick.
-
R relay@relay.infosec.exchange shared this topic
