We have one of each .. an ICE car (our old family car) and an EV (a Polestar 2 i get through work). We use both daily but to be honest we prefer the EV and use that whenever we can. Been running the Polestar for over a year now, at first we had all the usual anxieties about range and charging, but its been fine. The range is far enough that we've only needed to charge out in the wild maybe half a dozen times and each of those have been quick and easy. For sure both tech's have their pro's and con's. To anyone unsure, i'd say don't knock it till you've tried it.
Does anyone here have an EV?
- Thread starter Ryan Love
- Start date
Howard Jones
Supporter
Musk is now Bond.
Jeff Young
GT40s Supporter
His toupee is better than Connery's.
Once you drive an EV you'll always want to drive one, no going back now.
While the question is not about hybrids, we also have a 2024 Lincoln Corsair Plug-in hybrid. While the battery range is limited (a max of about 30 miles) it is returning great fuel mileage, in the 44-60 MPG range. I will run it full electric around town and mixed mode when going further. Will see the road trip results in April when we go to Florida.
Have picked up one of the limited 2023 Abarth 500e Scorpionissima's, which makes me smile when I drive it.
Ron Earp
Admin
Yep. I have no interest in acquiring another ICE vehicle. I absolutely realize that isn't how a lot of people will feel, but ICEs aren't going anywhere anytime soon, so they'll always be able to obtain one. We share our EVs with friends and acquaintances interested in driving one and it's made several converts.
We've been shopping for a Tesla replacement but wish to wait until the NACS ports are standard on the models, most of which are switching now. The Mach E is certainly in the running, as is the Blazer/Lyriq, but we're in no hurry.
As an aside I'm still racing and of course have an ICE. But a new thing I've been doing a bunch of is electric karting. Man, these things are so much better than gas karts. They have the ability to adjust torque output for weight on league races or for kids races, and is a huge improvement over weight vests and ballast. Smooth, and most of all, quiet so you can hear the tires. And no smell, which keeps the indoor facility nice. We've been going to this place:
Indoor Go Karting in Morrisville, NC - Rush Hour Karting
2-story indoor karting track with electric karts capable of reaching 40 mph. We offer golf simulators, conference rooms and an upscale restaurant & bar!
rushhourkarting.com
Which is two miles from my office, quite convenient!
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There's a similar saying about... better not.
My wife has a 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV (slightly larger than the Bolt EV). She loves it. In good weather it has nearly a 300 mile range (but she has the changing set to stop at 80% to preserve the batteries, except for long trips when she charges it to 100%).
I replaced my Ford F-150 3.5L V6 Ecoboost, with a 2024 F-150 3.5L V6 Ecoboost hybrid (after getting stuck in an 8-hour/40 mile traffic jam(*)}, I had plenty of time to wonder about how the stop-and-go traffic would have been driving a hybrid truck. With ~4,000 miles on the truck, about 10% has been on battery. It doesn't use the battery while towing, so it probably would be closer to 20% on battery. Slightly annoying, I can't tell it when to run on battery, like for driving to the grocery store, instead it decides based upon load. At highway speeds while going downhill or stuck in stop-and-go traffic, it will usually switch to battery mode.
Since the truck is a hybrid, I got the 7,200W generator option, so it can power my house in a power outage. Possibly it can slowly charge my wife's Bolt with the level 1 charger that it came with.
(*) Went to northern Vermont to watch the solar eclipse in April (amazing event). Afterwards, we got stuck in a huge traffic jam as everyone chose to leave at the same time after dinner (supposedly the population of Vermont doubled on that day). When we left my parents, the GPS said it would be about 3 hours (usually it's 2 1/2 hours) for 150 miles, so I was willing to deal with a little traffic on the highway. By the time we made it home, it took more than 10 hours and it was 5 am.
I replaced my Ford F-150 3.5L V6 Ecoboost, with a 2024 F-150 3.5L V6 Ecoboost hybrid (after getting stuck in an 8-hour/40 mile traffic jam(*)}, I had plenty of time to wonder about how the stop-and-go traffic would have been driving a hybrid truck. With ~4,000 miles on the truck, about 10% has been on battery. It doesn't use the battery while towing, so it probably would be closer to 20% on battery. Slightly annoying, I can't tell it when to run on battery, like for driving to the grocery store, instead it decides based upon load. At highway speeds while going downhill or stuck in stop-and-go traffic, it will usually switch to battery mode.
Since the truck is a hybrid, I got the 7,200W generator option, so it can power my house in a power outage. Possibly it can slowly charge my wife's Bolt with the level 1 charger that it came with.
(*) Went to northern Vermont to watch the solar eclipse in April (amazing event). Afterwards, we got stuck in a huge traffic jam as everyone chose to leave at the same time after dinner (supposedly the population of Vermont doubled on that day). When we left my parents, the GPS said it would be about 3 hours (usually it's 2 1/2 hours) for 150 miles, so I was willing to deal with a little traffic on the highway. By the time we made it home, it took more than 10 hours and it was 5 am.
That 10 hour trip sounds perfect for a hybrid or a BEV if within its range window. I have noticed that using the HVAC will effect range which does not normally show up so much in a ICE car, so it’s not necessarily the range but time operating the vehicle that effects it. I’ve just put a BM6 battery monitor on the 12V auxiliary battery so that I can see how often the HV battery is topping that up. Trying to work out if that needs to be increased in size.
I think I read that the F-150 hybrid has a range of ~35 miles, so it might have been able to handle most of the 8 hour traffic jam.
If it's an option on an EV, get heated seats. They use less power than an EV's heater.
Ron Earp
Admin
We have a Bolt and a Model 3P, and the HVAC effects are interesting. I think GM does a great job with the software and management of the EV, and are very open with how things work. For example, if it is cold out the Bolt will adjust its projected range based on the temperature. And, it will also show you the impact of the HVAC (heat mainly 1.5kW-2kW draw on the resistive heater unit, it is fast!). If the car shows a range of say 260 miles and you turn on the heat, that range estimate will drop down by 20 miles or so and you'll see that happen on the gauge. Turn it off, it'll go back up. IT might not be perfectly accurate, but it isn't a bad strategy and I appreciate the honesty.
Tesla does none of that. Charge the car in cold weather and it'll show the same max mileage in warm weather. Heat on or off (Tesla has a heat pump so more efficient but people do complain about them in Canada and other cold places) the range it projects is always the max EPA rated range. That sucks, because as you drive the range will drastically decrease but you really don't notice it that much. Poor strategy. Now, if you trip plan with the map it will account for cold weather impacts on range and so on, which is a nice feature and accurate. But one shouldn't have to use the navigator to get a realistic range estimate.
As I've always said the Bolt underpromises and overdelivers, while the Tesla over promises and under deliveries. At least, that is what Julie and I feel our seven years of driving both the cars together have taught us. We've even done fun experiments where we drive both cars, fully charged, same day and same time down to the beach house to observe these behaviors. We've proven that the real world range of the Bolt is the same as the Tesla, despite the difference in EPA ratings and advertised ratings.
Chevy Bolt resistive heater unit
Tesla does none of that. Charge the car in cold weather and it'll show the same max mileage in warm weather. Heat on or off (Tesla has a heat pump so more efficient but people do complain about them in Canada and other cold places) the range it projects is always the max EPA rated range. That sucks, because as you drive the range will drastically decrease but you really don't notice it that much. Poor strategy. Now, if you trip plan with the map it will account for cold weather impacts on range and so on, which is a nice feature and accurate. But one shouldn't have to use the navigator to get a realistic range estimate.
As I've always said the Bolt underpromises and overdelivers, while the Tesla over promises and under deliveries. At least, that is what Julie and I feel our seven years of driving both the cars together have taught us. We've even done fun experiments where we drive both cars, fully charged, same day and same time down to the beach house to observe these behaviors. We've proven that the real world range of the Bolt is the same as the Tesla, despite the difference in EPA ratings and advertised ratings.
Chevy Bolt resistive heater unit
Neil
Supporter
What happens to the range when you turn on the A/C in hot weather?
It goes down!
Same as if you have a bike rack or trailer on the back.
A mate has a Kia EV6 Air.
It will adjust the range based on what temperature you have set, as well as what fan speeds you have set as well. So if you turn the fans up high and the temperature down low it will adjust the range accordingly in real time.
The dash display would lose or gain range for every adjustment made. They have certainly spent some time on the programing. My mate seems to think the range thing is reasonably accurate, he has been evaluating the vehicle as part of a fleet trial for the company he works for. The intention was to get some more of them for other staff should it be suitable.
Same as if you have a bike rack or trailer on the back.
A mate has a Kia EV6 Air.
It will adjust the range based on what temperature you have set, as well as what fan speeds you have set as well. So if you turn the fans up high and the temperature down low it will adjust the range accordingly in real time.
The dash display would lose or gain range for every adjustment made. They have certainly spent some time on the programing. My mate seems to think the range thing is reasonably accurate, he has been evaluating the vehicle as part of a fleet trial for the company he works for. The intention was to get some more of them for other staff should it be suitable.
A agree! I suffer from Range Anxiety. OK, well maybe a Tesla Plaid for thrills, but that's IT!
You & Bennie Hill, eh?
Ron Earp
Admin
Drops a tiny bit, but not as much as with the resistive heater. Pretty simple arithmetic. The car will go about 4 miles on a kWh. So, if you're using 1kW for an hour to heat the car, you'll burn up for miles of range. AC and heat use isn't something I consider or think of in the use of the car, but it is nice that it accurately accounts for it.
Neil
Supporter
Here in Arizona the A/C is a vital feature.
