Let's Talk About Electric Cars!

Mr_Shiftright

Would you buy one now? Why or why not?

If you are seriously considering one, what might be your choices?

If you own one, tell us about your experiences, pro AND con.

Michaell

I'll start.

I'm probably a good candidate to own an electric car. My current car has 7500 miles on it after 16 months, so I'm not driving that many miles per day. Mostly around town errands, with a few runs to the office (13 miles one way) or into the city to meet up with friends (25 miles one way)

But, I'm the third car in a household with a two car garage, and my car is the one outside. Could I use an extension cord?

And, the lease payment for a pure EV is still a lot higher than for an ICE car. Given that I use 1 tank of gas every three weeks, I'm still coming out ahead with my current setup.

Mr_Shiftright

I heard there were some killer leases on Nissan Leaf? Is that not happening anymore?

You don't want to leave an EV outside in winter. That'll kill your range for sure unless it's plugged in all the time.

Where you live is kind of the worst world for an EV. Cold winters, so you'll be driving with the heater on, and lots of steep grades if you go into the mountains at all. You'll never hit advertised range.

Michaell

Mr_Shiftright said:

I heard there were some killer leases on Nissan Leaf? Is that not happening anymore?

You don't want to leave an EV outside in winter. That'll kill your range for sure unless it's plugged in all the time.

Where you live is kind of the worst world for an EV. Cold winters, so you'll be driving with the heater on, and lots of steep grades if you go into the mountains at all. You'll never hit advertised range.

I don't go into the mountains, as it is now. My car is strictly for errand running. Given the CO state incentives, there are an awful lot of pure EVs on the roads here, bad weather or no.

Michaell

Here is a good article on the charging infrastructure issues facing Colorado for EVs:

https://www.denverpost.com/2017/12/31/ev-revolution-charging-stations-city-of-denver/

Mr_Shiftright

Well the consumer has to pay for them. Tesla set up this dreamworld of "free fuel" but that door is closing for Tesla owners and some reality about owning and operating an EV will have to set in. Government might provide a handful of courtesy stations for charging but on a large scale it's going to have to be "pay as you go", buying by the Kilowatt hour.

Michaell

I think tesla has set up an expectation of free charging that consumers expect when they shop or go to work.

Are the charging ports universal?

texases

No, there are several ports and different charging systems. Kind of a mess.

Mr_Shiftright

Michaell said:

I think tesla has set up an expectation of free charging that consumers expect when they shop or go to work.

Are the charging ports universal?

If you buy a Model 3, you are definitely not getting free charging from Tesla. Maybe you would at work of course. I suspect shopping malls might put in a few dozen stations, 'round back somewhere.

Fast-chargers are expensive to install and really public chargers don't make sense if it takes 12 hours to charge your car up.

I'd say around 30-45 minutes would be ideal for either a total or at least a "fat" charge.

I wonder if things could get ugly around charging stations, like they sometimes do in crowded gas station lines.

texases

Here's an article describing the different types:
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098401_electric-car-charging-the-basics-you-need-to-know

Michaell

texases said:

Here's an article describing the different types:
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1098401_electric-car-charging-the-basics-you-need-to-know

Thanks - that was informative.