Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lol people are talking about derechos and the coming apocalypse and whether ice or electric is better. The reality is much more basic - if I drive to Virginia Beach on most electrics I have to stress the whole time about deviating from my path to find a charging station, pray there isn't a big line, and best case scenario sit there for 30-45 minutes. I also have to do this on the way back. A 3.5 hour trip becomes a 4.5 hour trip plus a bunch of additional worry. No thanks. Someday electric technology will be "ready" and that day is when cars can charge in 10 minutes or less and go 300-400 miles AND not be crappily made and boring (looking at you Tesla). That day is not here yet, but when it comes I will gladly buy one

There are no less than 10 supercharger stations on the way from DC to VA Beach. Why do you have to stress when driving one of your hypothetical 'most electrics'?

+1 that post cracked me up. It's not like that at all.

The additional worry is the WAITING for the car to charge up. I hear all these ridiculous Tesla owners being like "Well we just plan to stop and eat lunch while our car charges." That's great for you but some of us don't like pissing away an additional hour on a 3 hour trip with roadside junk food.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Tesla model Y (SUV style) is now about $50K. We have ordered ours (and it looks like a lot of folks in our NW DC neighborhood already have one). It has range of a little over 300. As I understand it, the advantage of buying a Tesla right now is that beyond the car itself, Teslas can charge on almost all chargers but only Teslas can charge on Tesla superchargers. So the ability to use the fast chargers on a road trip is a big advantage. That might change in the future, but right now Tesla is dominant for charging on the road.

We're thinking of buying a non-Tesla EV and just took a road trip in our gas car up I-95 -- we were paying pretty close attention to the EV charging infrastructure because we wondered about doing the trip with the new car. There were non-Tesla fast charging options at all but one of the rest stops we used for gas and/or bathroom breaks (and that one was about 15 miles from another one that did have a non-Tesla charging station).

I don't know what Tesla's price to use their stations is if you have one of their cars, so maybe that's an advantage if it's free or heavily discounted compared to one of the other networks. But I didn't see any particular reason to worry about availability of non-Tesla fast charging, at least between here and New York.

I think "up" is the operative word here. I'm assuming you were traveling north? If so, I can see where the NE states would have a larger footprint. I somehow doubt I would find that many charging stations on my way to SC to visit my parents, although I could be wrong.

PlugShare shows a ton of chargers along I-95 south from D.C. toward South Carolina, including a lot of Electrify America options that look like they'd probably get you from here to Charleston without having to pay for DC fast charging if you had a VW or an Audi and get free EA charging. Looks like there's one in Richmond, one in Emporia, Va. (just north of the North Carolina border), one in Rocky Mount, Smithfield, and Lumberton, N.C., and then one in Florence in the middle of South Carolina, plus options on the outskirts of Charleston, near Columbia, and near Greenville. And that's just the Electrify America stations. PlugShare shows a bunch of other ones along I-95 heading that way, too, but you'd have to pay to use most of those. I'd bet planning a trip to see your parents would be pretty easy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I want an EV for green reasons but there are no EVs out right now that appeal to me at all. The PP who mentioned Subaru is right in line with me: I want a safe reliable crossover SUV like I have now, but EV.

The Leaf and Bolt are too small; Tesla is too weird and has concerning safety issues. I don't want a sports car, or a statement car: I want a workhorse family car.

I'm going to wait it out with my battered, paid-off ICE car. Hopefully the offerings will improve.

You're in luck. Subaru just announced last week that a new all-electric model - the Solterra - will be available in the latter half of next year (2022). I think they will start taking pre-orders soon.

Wait it out with your paid-off ICE, but place your order as soon as they open for deposits. I imagine Subaru will have a massive wait list. So many brand-loyal Subaru customers have been waiting a looooooooooong time for Subaru to properly get into the hybrid and electric vehicle game.

https://www.subaru.com/solterra-ev

https://www.caranddriver.com/subaru/solterra

Can anyone tell how this car will compare to the Toyota Bz4x? The two seem identical.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Tesla model Y (SUV style) is now about $50K. We have ordered ours (and it looks like a lot of folks in our NW DC neighborhood already have one). It has range of a little over 300. As I understand it, the advantage of buying a Tesla right now is that beyond the car itself, Teslas can charge on almost all chargers but only Teslas can charge on Tesla superchargers. So the ability to use the fast chargers on a road trip is a big advantage. That might change in the future, but right now Tesla is dominant for charging on the road.

We're thinking of buying a non-Tesla EV and just took a road trip in our gas car up I-95 -- we were paying pretty close attention to the EV charging infrastructure because we wondered about doing the trip with the new car. There were non-Tesla fast charging options at all but one of the rest stops we used for gas and/or bathroom breaks (and that one was about 15 miles from another one that did have a non-Tesla charging station).

I don't know what Tesla's price to use their stations is if you have one of their cars, so maybe that's an advantage if it's free or heavily discounted compared to one of the other networks. But I didn't see any particular reason to worry about availability of non-Tesla fast charging, at least between here and New York.

I think "up" is the operative word here. I'm assuming you were traveling north? If so, I can see where the NE states would have a larger footprint. I somehow doubt I would find that many charging stations on my way to SC to visit my parents, although I could be wrong.

Anonymous wrote:In DC do you get a waived sales tax on the car or the excise tax? Or both?

I can't recall from the time before we bought our EV, but I think D.C. only charges excise tax, not also sales tax -- so the waiver for EVs basically means you pay no taxes, only registration fees (which are also reduced for EVs).

In DC do you get a waived sales tax on the car or the excise tax? Or both?

Anonymous wrote:Glad to hear you like your ID4. I test drove one and really liked the feel of it. A little shorter than the SUV I have now, but only by a few inches so I could probably get used to it.

We're waiting for the AWD version to come out, so we're looking at probably November (pre-ordered). How's the range in actual driving situations? Did you pay full MSRP?

We've been getting about 3.1 miles/kWh, so that translates to 238 miles, but that has also included a decent amount of highway driving and A/C use. We did pay full MSRP, but we managed to get the dealer to issue a credit to cover the "document fees," so at least we paid only MSRP + destination fee + tags. (No sales tax on EVs in D.C.) I haven't seen any sign that you can get them for less than MSRP, though I guess if you wait a year or two, that should be possible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lol people are talking about derechos and the coming apocalypse and whether ice or electric is better. The reality is much more basic - if I drive to Virginia Beach on most electrics I have to stress the whole time about deviating from my path to find a charging station, pray there isn't a big line, and best case scenario sit there for 30-45 minutes. I also have to do this on the way back. A 3.5 hour trip becomes a 4.5 hour trip plus a bunch of additional worry. No thanks. Someday electric technology will be "ready" and that day is when cars can charge in 10 minutes or less and go 300-400 miles AND not be crappily made and boring (looking at you Tesla). That day is not here yet, but when it comes I will gladly buy one

There are no less than 10 supercharger stations on the way from DC to VA Beach. Why do you have to stress when driving one of your hypothetical 'most electrics'?

+1 that post cracked me up. It's not like that at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tesla. Just bite the bullet and get it. You know you want it

This. This is the only option, OP. And you know it. You know you want one. Every other e-car only wishes it was the Tesla.

There are about 40 electric vehicles in the manufacturing pipeline that you will see in the next 5 years, some as soon as this model year. I can assure you that they don’t all wish they were Tesla. There are some really nice looking (and well engineered) cars on the way!

Tesla = iPhone. Everything else = Android. Do you really want green texts?

Not so fast. New Audi looks awesome!

Glad to hear you like your ID4. I test drove one and really liked the feel of it. A little shorter than the SUV I have now, but only by a few inches so I could probably get used to it.

We're waiting for the AWD version to come out, so we're looking at probably November (pre-ordered). How's the range in actual driving situations? Did you pay full MSRP?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VW ID4, hands down. Cheaper and better than Tesla and still comes with the tax incentive, looks like a real SUV instead of an egg, and comes with 3 years of free charging at Electrify America charging stations.

We got one two weeks ago and LOVE it! We are leasing it (because it was still hard for me commit) and haven’t installed a fast charger as an Electrify America station is super close to us. We got the base model. It’s minimalist and I love how it drives.

We just got one of these, too, and it's great. Haven't used the Electrify America stations yet, but am going to check one out soon before we take the car on a road trip just so I know I can figure out how to use it before we need it.

Anonymous wrote:lol people are talking about derechos and the coming apocalypse and whether ice or electric is better. The reality is much more basic - if I drive to Virginia Beach on most electrics I have to stress the whole time about deviating from my path to find a charging station, pray there isn't a big line, and best case scenario sit there for 30-45 minutes. I also have to do this on the way back. A 3.5 hour trip becomes a 4.5 hour trip plus a bunch of additional worry. No thanks. Someday electric technology will be "ready" and that day is when cars can charge in 10 minutes or less and go 300-400 miles AND not be crappily made and boring (looking at you Tesla). That day is not here yet, but when it comes I will gladly buy one

There are no less than 10 supercharger stations on the way from DC to VA Beach. Why do you have to stress when driving one of your hypothetical 'most electrics'?

Anonymous wrote:VW ID4, hands down. Cheaper and better than Tesla and still comes with the tax incentive, looks like a real SUV instead of an egg, and comes with 3 years of free charging at Electrify America charging stations.

We got one two weeks ago and LOVE it! We are leasing it (because it was still hard for me commit) and haven’t installed a fast charger as an Electrify America station is super close to us. We got the base model. It’s minimalist and I love how it drives.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lol people are talking about derechos and the coming apocalypse and whether ice or electric is better. The reality is much more basic - if I drive to Virginia Beach on most electrics I have to stress the whole time about deviating from my path to find a charging station, pray there isn't a big line, and best case scenario sit there for 30-45 minutes. I also have to do this on the way back. A 3.5 hour trip becomes a 4.5 hour trip plus a bunch of additional worry. No thanks. Someday electric technology will be "ready" and that day is when cars can charge in 10 minutes or less and go 300-400 miles AND not be crappily made and boring (looking at you Tesla). That day is not here yet, but when it comes I will gladly buy one

+1. My friends with EVs are like, "it's so easy! When we want to drive to the mountains or the beach, the nav system will direct you to the nearest charging station along the way, and you just spend an hour or so there, and then you're all set! You get back on your way!" Like, I have no interest in adding 45 minutes to a 4-5 hour trip to charge.

It's easy enough unless you're going on constant road trips, though -- the benefits of being able to charge your car fully at home (for about the cost of a gallon of gas) for everyday driving, plus the climate benefits, would seem to more than make up for the slight additional delay and logistical hassle on road trips. But we have an EV, so I guess I would think that.

VW ID4, hands down. Cheaper and better than Tesla and still comes with the tax incentive, looks like a real SUV instead of an egg, and comes with 3 years of free charging at Electrify America charging stations.