electric car owners, be honest, what's the biggest pain owning an EV?

[Anonymous]

Been thinking long and hard about owning an EV for my next car. I have zero experience owning one of course. Are there things you find annoying with owning an EV? Do you feel you have to also own a combustion engine car if you want to go on a longer trip? Is it annoying having to wait a long time for a charge on a long trip? Have you ever encountered a charging station where there is a line of cars having to wait 20 minutes for cars to charge and then getting into fights with other EV owners about the lines at an EV station? Do you just rent a fossil fuel car if you need to go on a long trip?

[Anonymous]

charging, range, price

[Anonymous]

I got a great deal on a lease for a few years and I loved it.

Pros— incredible acceleration, being able to warm/cool the car from inside the house, car is full of fuel every day, “one pedal driving,” range extends for stop and go traffic

Cons— range drops in cold weather or highway driving, having to plan out long trips (i actually kind of liked this but spouse didn’t), possibility that a charging station might be out of order, maintaining different network memberships for charging stations

The last couple might be less of a problem these days, and plugshare helped a lot with finding reliable stations.

We did rent a car for a long trip or two, but also the stations have increased an incredible amount over the last few years.

[Anonymous]

We have a plug-in electric hybrid minivan and itshonestly the best of both worlds. We have 15k miles on it, about 9k electric and 6k hybrid combustion. I can drive to and from work daily on all electric, just plugging into a regular house outlet at night. Then when we take kids trips we have like 500-600 mike range on a single tank of gas. I’ve had a few situations where I would have loved to stop for lunch and power back up the electric, but a charging station was broken or occupied by someone not even charging, but I always see those as busts bonuses because I don’t have to depend on that. I love this car like wow. Performance In electric mode is incredible!!!

[Anonymous]

What is this minivan?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is this minivan?

I bet a Chrysler?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a plug-in electric hybrid minivan and itshonestly the best of both worlds. We have 15k miles on it, about 9k electric and 6k hybrid combustion. I can drive to and from work daily on all electric, just plugging into a regular house outlet at night. Then when we take kids trips we have like 500-600 mike range on a single tank of gas. I’ve had a few situations where I would have loved to stop for lunch and power back up the electric, but a charging station was broken or occupied by someone not even charging, but I always see those as busts bonuses because I don’t have to depend on that. I love this car like wow. Performance In electric mode is incredible!!!

Similar--I have a Ford CMax Energi, which is alas no longer made. But I love it!

[Anonymous]

Of course the downside of hybrids is the Worst of Both Worlds when it comes to maintenance, because you have to maintain an electric powertrain AND an ICE powertrain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course the downside of hybrids is the Worst of Both Worlds when it comes to maintenance, because you have to maintain an electric powertrain AND an ICE powertrain.

Not really, the Prius is easily one of the most reliable cars ever made. It might be "worst of both worlds" if you buy from a brand with crap quality control like Chrysler or BMW.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course the downside of hybrids is the Worst of Both Worlds when it comes to maintenance, because you have to maintain an electric powertrain AND an ICE powertrain.

We have a Chevy Volt. The ICE powertrain needed just an oil and filter change in 6 years of ownership. The engine only runs a few times a year, so it doesn't get much use.

The electric powertrain needed no maintenance at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a plug-in electric hybrid minivan and itshonestly the best of both worlds. We have 15k miles on it, about 9k electric and 6k hybrid combustion. I can drive to and from work daily on all electric, just plugging into a regular house outlet at night. Then when we take kids trips we have like 500-600 mike range on a single tank of gas. I’ve had a few situations where I would have loved to stop for lunch and power back up the electric, but a charging station was broken or occupied by someone not even charging, but I always see those as busts bonuses because I don’t have to depend on that. I love this car like wow. Performance In electric mode is incredible!!!

I have the same and I completely love it. Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid. It’s hard to think of any negatives. Ok, maybe one is that the range is reduced when you have a lot of heat or AC on... but that doesn’t matter because you also have a gas engine.

[Anonymous]

We have a Tesla model S. Only downside is that it takes longer to charge than it does to put gas in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is this minivan?

It’s a Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. It’s the only successful compromise my DH and I have ever made as a married couple...I wanted an electric car and he wanted a minivan. I never thought I’d be a minivan driver but wow, do I love it. Still would love a little fully electric vehicle but I consider every electric mile we drive to be a small victory.

[Anonymous]

We have two electric cars, both bought after leasing two other electrics. The only downside is that there aren't more options because people don't buy them. Nissan Leaf has an issue with battery degrading because they have no thermal.management, but I personally haven't had this happen.

[Anonymous]

We have a Tesla Model X. The only downside is that the thing is so heavy and has such enormous tires that it gets flats more often than other cars. That’s it. Otherwise, we love it for our family of five.

We’ve taken it on plenty of road trips, and would need to stop for the kids and take a break anyway, so charging stops are easy. We’ve never had to wait to charge it. We haven’t had range anxiety with it.