I am probably going to trade in my car for an EV this year. I have been following the technology for a while but I really do no not like all the touchscreen nonsense.
Do you like your EV? What is it? What are the pros and cons of your experience?
The Ford MachE and the Subaru Solterra are at the top of my list but I like the KIA too.
Pros:
• Unbeatable bang for buck (a luxury sedan that does 0-100kph in 3.8 seconds for under 70kAUD including on roads!)
• Stupidly comfortable to drive (no noise, no rattles, all the bells and whistles)
• Cheap to run, especially if you charge at home. I use a smart plug with the supplied granny charger so it only charges during free or cheap power times. This means the most it will cost to fill my “tank” - even assuming it only charges in the cheap period with no free usage at all - costs the equivalent of 1c per kilometre.
• Cheap to service (about $150 per 20,000k for the Performance model, less for the lower spec versions)
• No noise or stink if you’re parked waiting somewhere. I really notice how obnoxious my diesel is by comparison if I’m outside it.
Cons:
• Everyone else is so damn slow to take off by comparison. It’s just a constant source of frustration being stuck behind old sootybois paddling through their gears as their oil burner slowly gets to a point where it makes enough torque to get moving, only to run out of rpm and have to do it all over again using a new ratio.
• Doing stuff like touching fuel bowsers feels about a million times more disgusting now, and spending $100 AUD in one go to only travel 600k (or less) is rage inducing.
• Car noises in general are crazy frustrating now. It’s just constantly some revving, or backfiring, or turbo whooshes, or engines screaming, or some other unnecessary audible pollution. When I was participating I didn’t notice as much, but now that we’re rolling dead silent it’s really obvious.