Got an electric car

[maxvintage]

A Kia Niro. It's basically a small SUV like a Rav4. We decided to lease it to see how we would like it--Kia was offering good lease deals.

The car tells me it's got 280 miles of range on a full charge. We shall see.

But wow the pick-up. This is not a particularly sporty car but in "sport" mode it really flies. It's 0-60 in 6.7 seconds in "normal" mode, not especially fast, but the instant torque is really remarkable. It's there at every speed: from 0 or at 60 mph, step on the accelerator pedal and it's instant.

The regenerative braking takes some getting used to but it was starting to feel comfortable on the first day. The car sends me emails about its state of charge. Just what i need, more emails. It makes kind of vaguely spaceship noises instead of engine revs.

I went to the local hardware store while out doing some errands and there was a guy with a really cherry maybe 64 or 65 mustang, and he was revving the engine loudly and smoking the tires driving around the parking lot, which seemed like a bad idea, see below, and then he revved it loudly and drove fast with smoking tires out of the parking lot and onto the street. It was a nice car and I can't blame him for wanting to show off although seriously dude this parking lot? There's a hardware and variety store where the blue dot is: people are walking right out onto the drive all the time.

But it was kind of ironic--the Kia would accelerate faster with no smoking tires and no noise. I realize the noise and the smoke are the point for the guy racing around a crowded parking lot like an idiot, but it was an interesting moment. Loud fast and dangerous and antique vs quiet, fast, efficient and safe. I'd like smoking the tires in that mustang, but not in an semi-urban parking lot.

 

[StevesBoogie]

Cool! I failed to digest if this is your first electric? I'm in the market for a short-term lease. Man, I am seriously considering what you did. Dumb question but you had to dedicate a garage spot for it, and keep it indoors at all times? Would love to hear your opinion about the entire car! (is it pretty cramped inside?)

 

[xjazzy]

I got my first EV in 2020 and been loving it.
My wife drives it most of the time but I can't wait to get an EV for me too. Unfortunately they're expensive so my 2002 Mazda 6 SW will have to do it for me until I'm able to afford another.

 

[gpw5150]

Nice to see people taking up the challenge of migrating from a combustion engine.

we are still toying with the idea of an EV; Audi E-Tron or Mustang Mach-E are the favourites. For a family car, we need range and size. We are an ‘outdoor’ family who travel a fair bit + distance relatives to visit. We have also toyed with a second car as an EV - Honda E or something compact. Any real world experience much appreciated in this thread.

 

[richiek65]

A Kia Niro. It's basically a small SUV like a Rav4. We decided to lease it to see how we would like it--Kia was offering good lease deals.

The car tells me it's got 280 miles of range on a full charge. We shall see.

But wow the pick-up. This is not a particularly sporty car but in "sport" mode it really flies. It's 0-60 in 6.7 seconds in "normal" mode, not especially fast, but the instant torque is really remarkable. It's there at every speed: from 0 or at 60 mph, step on the accelerator pedal and it's instant.

The regenerative braking takes some getting used to but it was starting to feel comfortable on the first day. The car sends me emails about its state of charge. Just what i need, more emails. It makes kind of vaguely spaceship noises instead of engine revs.

I went to the local hardware store while out doing some errands and there was a guy with really cherry maybe 64 or 65 mustang, and he was revving the engine loudly and smoking the tires driving around the parking lot, which seemed like a bad idea, see below, and then he revved it loudly and drove fast with smoking tires out of the parking lot and onto the street. It was a nice car and I can't blame him for wanting to show off although seriously dude this parking lot? There's a hardware and variety store where the blue dot is: people are walking right out onto the drive all the time.

But it was kind of ironic--the Kia would accelerate faster with no smoking tires and no noise. I realize the noise and the smoke are the point for the guy racing around a crowded parking lot like an idiot, but it was an interesting moment. Loud fast and dangerous and antique vs quiet, fast, efficient and safe. I'd like smoking the tires in that mustang, but not in an semi-urban parking lot.

Down here we have a thing called Summernats, a completely cringewortjy thing where everyone brings their hotted up late and early model cars and drag race them, do burnout comps, wet t shirt comps, you get the idea.. Anyway, a few years ago Tesla took a stock standard Model S down to the drag strip, it slayed everything! All the cars with half a mill poured into them to get that extra tenrh over the quarter mile were left for dust.. . Too funny!

 

[xjazzy]

Nice to see people taking up the challenge of migrating from a combustion engine.

we are still toying with the idea of an EV; Audi E-Tron or Mustang Mach-E are the favourites. For a family car, we need range and size. We are an ‘outdoor’ family who travel a fair bit + distance relatives to visit. We have also toyed with a second car as an EV - Honda E or something compact. Any real world experience much appreciated in this thread.

Around here we already have a good chain of public chargers. They're expensive, unfortunately.
I went on vacation with mine (Peugeot e2008) and did almost 1000km. The hotel I stayed in actually had a free charger so it was a nice bonus but there were plenty of chargers around. You just have to do the planning before leaving.
The Audi Q4 e-tron or the VW ID4 look like great options.
I know a sales guy who bought an ID4. He said he tried a few EV (he was a car sales guy for years) and the ID4 was the best price/range/quality he found.
In September alone he did 8000km and saved around 600€ compared to the previous car he had (Citroen C5 Aircross).

 

[Lawdawg]

Congrats! I just bought my first EV about a month ago. One of my biggest motivations for getting an EV was the lower maintenance costs -- so only time will tell on that. In the meantime it's been a great experience. I got a Tesla Model 3 but there are a ton of interesting new models coming out right now -- the Mustang Mach-E in particular looks quite nice as does your Kia Niro.

In terms of driving and performance, the Model 3 is incredible for a car in its price range. It's got super fast straight line acceleration, but it actually does quite well with overall handling. You wouldn't confuse it with a true roadster of course, but it's surprisingly nimble when you throw it around a curvy road.

I'm still wrapping my head around all of the practical implications (and benefits) of an EV. For example although my Model 3 has significantly smaller exterior dimensions than my old Lexus it replaced, the interior passenger space is about the same and the storage space is much larger than the Lexus. I made a Costco run and was able to squeeze everything in the Tesla's large trunk whereas I would have had to use the back seat in my Lexus for half of the stuff.

Once I got the hang of it, I absolutely love the regenerative braking. On many commutes I never have to touch my brakes I can only imagine how much longer they will last before I need to replace the pads.

The range on my car is just over 300 miles, in real world usage it's probably closer to 270 or so, which is well more than enough for my needs. I know there are exceptions, but for most daily commuters any EV with a range more than 200 miles is more than sufficient.

I'm excited to see so many new EVs coming on the market, more competition and selection will benefit all of us.

 

[maxvintage]

Cool! I failed to digest if this is your first electric? I'm in the market for a short-term lease. Man, I am seriously considering what you did. Dumb question but you had to dedicate a garage spot for it, and keep it indoors at all times? Would love to hear your opinion about the entire car! (is it pretty cramped inside?)

First electric car, yes. We have a driveway but no garage. We had a 240 volt line installed on the wall by the end of the driveway so it can be fully charged overnight. Bought an charger rated for outdoor use. My old car was a Hyundai elantra wagon, so this seems pretty big compared to that in the driver/passenger compartment. I would say the downside of the Niro, and why is was a little cheaper, is that it wasn't designed from the ground up as an electric car, it was built on the platform of the gas powered Niro.

I don't especially like the way it looks. It's a pretty much a bog standard compact SUV. But it was available now and I just could not stand doing all the little drives I have to do burning gas and also sinking more money into a 11 year old ICE car with 95,000 miles on it. I mean it had been a very good car and probably had a lot of miles left in it, but with most of our trips being under 20 miles--and by most I mean over 90%--it just made sense to try going electric. We have a friend who has the same car and likes it a lot.

It's really fun to drive. It's very quiet. It passes the eight foot 2x4 test--can I fit an eight foot long board in it? Yes. We are taking it on a longer drive this morning.

 

[imwjl]

Above all enjoy it in good health and safety! I look forward to learning from your experience. So far several all the EV owners among family and friends are very happy with their decisions.

We just passed on a car purchase after considering an EV a second time but no fault of the vehicles. Availability is poor and there are no bargains. At same time my mother in law just passed away leaving a nice VERY low mileage car we'll buy from the estate.

Another big factor in deciding is now it really does look like there will be EV minivans in 1-2 years, and a larger Ford electric van.

Again, those best wishes.

P.S. On acceleration, I often see an elderly woman with a Chevy EV in our area and she surprises people when the lights turn green. They don't have a look that really stands out so it's funny when you see the octogenarian woman scoot ahead of a flashier vehicle.

 

[maxvintage]

Congrats! I just bought my first EV about a month ago. One of my biggest motivations for getting an EV was the lower maintenance costs -- so only time will tell on that. In the meantime it's been a great experience. I got a Tesla Model 3 but there are a ton of interesting new models coming out right now -- the Mustang Mach-E in particular looks quite nice as does your Kia Niro.

In terms of driving and performance, the Model 3 is incredible for a car in its price range. It's got super fast straight line acceleration, but it actually does quite well with overall handling. You wouldn't confuse it with a true roadster of course, but it's surprisingly nimble when you throw it around a curvy road.

I'm still wrapping my head around all of the practical implications (and benefits) of an EV. For example although my Model 3 has significantly smaller exterior dimensions than my old Lexus it replaced, the interior passenger space is about the same and the storage space is much larger than the Lexus. I made a Costco run and was able to squeeze everything in the Tesla's large trunk whereas I would have had to use the back seat in my Lexus for half of the stuff.

Once I got the hang of it, I absolutely love the regenerative braking. On many commutes I never have to touch my brakes I can only imagine how much longer they will last before I need to replace the pads.

The range on my car is just over 300 miles, in real world usage it's probably closer to 270 or so, which is well more than enough for my needs. I know there are exceptions, but for most daily commuters any EV with a range more than 200 miles is more than sufficient.

I'm excited to see so many new EVs coming on the market, more competition and selection will benefit all of us.

We looked at the Tesla 3 but I still sometimes do gigs with an upright bass and my goal is to be able to get the bass, a small amp and two passengers in the car at the same time, which this does.

Yes more EVs is good in the sense that it drives innovation. There will be problems of course with materials for batteries and strains on the electric grid, it's not a utopian solution

 

[bgmacaw]

Congrats on your new vehicle.

While I like the idea of EVs, the current crop are impractical for me due to ranges I often have to drive, charging times and the lack of charging stations in rural-ish areas where I have to travel to for business from time to time.

 

[Lawdawg]

Yes more EVs is good in the sense that it drives innovation. There will be problems of course with materials for batteries and strains on the electric grid, it's not a utopian solution

There's no free lunch when it comes to energy and materials consumption for any vehicle and EVs are no exception. That said, I do think EVs potentially provide a far more energy efficient solution, and increased competition will hopefully spur improvements in that performance.

 

[ChicknPickn]

Nuclear power and a fortified power grid would get us where we want to go sooner, I think. But getting site approval for plants in the US has been a horrific undertaking.

 

[littlebadboy]

Nice to see people taking up the challenge of migrating from a combustion engine.

we are still toying with the idea of an EV; Audi E-Tron or Mustang Mach-E are the favourites. For a family car, we need range and size. We are an ‘outdoor’ family who travel a fair bit + distance relatives to visit. We have also toyed with a second car as an EV - Honda E or something compact. Any real world experience much appreciated in this thread.

Being a Subaru person, I am excited with the EV Subaru Solterra which has the outdoor person in mind.

https://www.autoblog.com/2021/11/17/2023-subaru-solterra-revealed/

Congratulations TS! We're toying with the idea, but our concern is that we long drive a lot and need AWD living in the snow belt.

 

[Yesyoudidyouare]

First electric car, yes. We have a driveway but no garage. We had a 240 volt line installed on the wall by the end of the driveway so it can be fully charged overnight. Bought an charger rated for outdoor use. My old car was a Hyundai elantra wagon, so this seems pretty big compared to that in the driver/passenger compartment. I would say the downside of the Niro, and why is was a little cheaper, is that it wasn't designed from the ground up as an electric car, it was built on the platform of the gas powered Niro.

I don't especially like the way it looks. It's a pretty much a bog standard compact SUV. But it was available now and I just could not stand doing all the little drives I have to do burning gas and also sinking more money into a 11 year old ICE car with 95,000 miles on it. I mean it had been a very good car and probably had a lot of miles left in it, but with most of our trips being under 20 miles--and by most I mean over 90%--it just made sense to try going electric. We have a friend who has the same car and likes it a lot.

It's really fun to drive. It's very quiet. It passes the eight foot 2x4 test--can I fit an eight foot long board in it? Yes. We are taking it on a longer drive this morning.

How much was it?

I have a Volt For 5 years now. LOVE IT.

Also when people “want to race” like your red mustang there, I smoke them. Until the dealer speed cap kicks in...

I charge it at my kitchen counter, or garage. Either way.

Still waiting for the world to get it, EVs and go Vegan. But I’ll keep waiting until others die off of cancerous meat diets, etc. I look far healthier than all my friends, sure it has nothing to do with DIET. . No drink no smoke. Water vegan food and ev.

 

[Yesyoudidyouare]

Nuclear power and a fortified power grid would get us where we want to go sooner, I think. But getting site approval for plants in the US has been a horrific undertaking.

just buy the car. Plug it in anywhere. Takes less electric than a fridge.

 

[GunsOfBrixton]

My wife has a Kia Niro plugin hybrid. It has a 24 mile range on electric only. It is perfect for her daily driving. She only has to top off the gas tank every few months if that. She is really happy with it.

 

[Blrfl]

I would say the downside of the Niro, and why is was a little cheaper, is that it wasn't designed from the ground up as an electric car, it was built on the platform of the gas powered Niro.

The upcoming EV6 looks very promising and should eliminate the Niro's downsides. I plan to drive one when they become available.

 

[ping-ping-clicka]

that's cool. Electric cars , Self Driving cars, what this world coming to
I'm not a Ludite by any means , just look at my pedal collection.
However ever I'm on this retro-tip.
I'm doing bikes because my bike runs on Sulphur and methane at no cost to me or you.
I guess that we've all heard of the term " Carbon footprint", well I've coined a term called the "methane butt print"

 

[Jim_in_PA]

But wow the pick-up. This is not a particularly sporty car but in "sport" mode it really flies. It's 0-60 in 6.7 seconds in "normal" mode, not especially fast, but the instant torque is really remarkable. It's there at every speed: from 0 or at 60 mph, step on the accelerator pedal and it's instant.

This is one of the benefits of both EVs and hybrids...electric motors have full torque from a stand-still and even "mediocre" performance EVs and hybrids can plant you back in your seat when you hit the skinny pedal!