EV car thread?

F

Fah Kiew Tu

Curmudgeon, First Rank
11,483
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Tasmania, Australia
IStream said:
My wife is thrifty too, at least on the big stuff. I'm definitely in your wife's camp on driving the wheels off a car you've already got versus buying a new one, even if it's more efficient to operate.

In our case, we needed a car anyway so it made sense to go EV and we went with the smallest one that would do the job. Having owned an EV for a few months now, I will never buy another ICE car but we will keep the old ICE minivan for long trips and large hauling chores. By the time it dies and needs to be replaced, I figure there'll be plenty of EVs that have the range, charging speed, and capacity to do what the van does.
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My current plan is to buy a smallish IC vehicle, drive it until it dies as I usually do, then buy an EV. I can't justify the cost of an EV at their current prices though I'd definitely like one. The value for money simply isn't there for my use-case.

FKT
 
IStream

IStream

Super Anarchist
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I felt the same way, but the mid-trim Chevy Bolt EUV I bought was only $24K after the various tax incentives and included a $1500 credit towards the installation of a level 2 charger, so it was too good a deal to pass up and better than most of the ICE vehicles we were looking at.
 
Q

Quickstep192

Super Anarchist
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Chesapeake
How are the seats in the Chevy Bolt EUV?

It seems that my ass is older than the rest of me (which is plenty old to begin with) and good seats are a must for me.

I was looking at Volvo EV’s for the comfort, but I’m having trouble with the price tag and no rebate.
 
IStream

IStream

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The pre-2022 seats were universally criticized as terrible so I think GM paid close attention to that issue when they refreshed in 2022. Both my wife and I find the seats in the 23 EUV to be very comfortable, with the caveat that it's a narrower than normal car with narrower than normal seats. When I first saw the car on a test drive, I was pretty skeptical but figured I could put up with some compromises given that it's largely a city car for us. I have to say that after several months of ownership, it's exceeded my expectations in every way especially in terms of seat comfort.

Note that we ordered the "Comfort" option package with the LT trim EUV that upgrades the driver seat with power adjustments and both front seats with heaters. I don't know if that also upgrades the seats with better foam or other comfort-related design details. Also, our seats have the cloth upholstery, which somehow feels better to me than the leather, possibly because it breathes better, grips better, or some combination. The foam is firm and supportive and the lumbar support is the right height for both of us, with a good range of in/out adjustment. I'd have no problem spending several hours in the Bolt.

All that said, comparing the seats in the Bolt or really any car in the Bolt's price range with Volvo's world-class seats is probably a recipe for disappointment but comfort is so subjective I'd say you'd be crazy to take my word for it either way. One way or another, I'd find a Bolt and spend some time in it.

As I said, I wasn't expecting a penalty box but I also wasn't expecting something so composed. The car's solid without feeling heavy and it's powerful enough to feel peppy if you put your foot into it but if you drive it calmly, it's extremely efficient. The blended braking is almost imperceptible and the range is great. My only real quibbles are the poor rearward visibility, the efficient-at-all-costs Michelin tires, and the slow DC fast charging rate which makes it a poor road tripper for distances over 200 miles at a stretch. If you get the Premier trim, you get a rear view camera that improves visibility (and gives you leather seats), plus a 360 camera setup for parking, so the first quibble is easily addressed with more money. I figure that by the time I need new tires, there'll be much better options than the stock Michelins, so that'll take care of itself. As for road tripping long distances, that's why we still have an ICE vehicle.
 
Q

Quickstep192

Super Anarchist
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Chesapeake
Thanks for that info. I never thought of tires as being a significant contributor to mpg, but it makes sense.

I recently got Michelin Cross Climate tires for our daily driver. They’re great. I like them so much that I might replace the tires on a new car and sell the original tires to a used tire store. Quiet and great traction rain or dry. I read an article that says they improved mpg when replacing stock tires, so that’s good news too.

E61BBE40-6046-4B82-8C1A-68BCA716B597.jpeg
 
IStream

IStream

Super Anarchist
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The Bolt's standard Michelin Energy Saver A/S Selfseal Green X tires aren't terrible (they're quiet, comfy ride, low rolling resistance) and they have decent dry grip but I live in Seattle, so wet and occasional snow grip are important. I figure that in 5 years or so when we've worn them out the next-gen EV-optimized tires will have better all-season traction.
 
Jkdubz808

Jkdubz808

Megatron
4,080
617
Stuart, FL
Quickstep192 said:
Thanks for that info. I never thought of tires as being a significant contributor to mpg, but it makes sense.

I recently got Michelin Cross Climate tires for our daily driver. They’re great. I like them so much that I might replace the tires on a new car and sell the original tires to a used tire store. Quiet and great traction rain or dry. I read an article that says they improved mpg when replacing stock tires, so that’s good news too.

View attachment 594702
Click to expand...
Thats what I will be putting on my EV6 before we move north, and the Tesla I am trying to get as a company car hopefully. Gets great reviews.
 
Mike in Seattle

Mike in Seattle

Super Anarchist
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Latte land
IStream said:
,,, and it's powerful enough to feel peppy if ,,,
Click to expand...
? peppy ?

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IStream

IStream

Super Anarchist
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Looks cool but based on the lack of actual content on those websites, it seems like vaporware at this point.
 
Olsonist

Olsonist

Disgusting Liberal Elitist
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New Oak City
I have an out of warranty Model S (2015) that I'm keeping. It's been very low maintenance along with free supercharging. If the battery pack were to catastrophically die (unlikely), maybe I'd get rid of it but otherwise it is extremely low maintenance. It still gets around 255 miles of range. I drive it up to Seattle and back a couple of times a year. Elon has gone completely nuts though.
 
Last edited:
billy backstay

billy backstay

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Long River meets the Sound....
IStream

IStream

Super Anarchist
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IStream

IStream

Super Anarchist
11,130
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I'd say that's nonsense. CCS is still a thing and will be for a long time. It's going to be a CCS + NACS continent for years and even when it's not, a simple adapter is all it'll take to make a CCS car NACS compatible.

And keep in mind that 99% of charging is done at home with a Level 2 EVSE that currently has a J1772 connection. So if your car is J1772 and your L2 home charger is J1772, you won't need any adapter for the vast majority of your charging for the life of your car.
 
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