Need a longer range ev

[PV1]

Comfort package gives you heated mirrors, heated front seats, and heated Leather steering wheel. Interior protection package includes all-weather floor mats and cargo mat.

Besides the Confidence package (rear parking sensors, cross-traffic alert, blind spot monitor), the only remaining options are winter/summer package (carpeted and all-weather floor mats) and blackout package (different wheels, sport pedals, and black bowties).

What color?

[rmay635703]

If your going new be aware that the 2019 Volt is already out so steep discounts should be possible, also the 2019 may be within a few $100 of the 18 if you get a good dealer plus 19’s offer 7.2kw charging, on the off chance something changes and you can find a charger that works that is a game changer.

Good Luck

[Don]

You must buy the Premier package to get ACC and only ACC equipped cars have high speed emergency braking - Those were a must for me. For 2019, Premier models get the 7.2Kw charger, but I *think* if you're special ordering your LT, it may be an extra cost option, but special ordering any car usually costs you more than any deal you'll get by buying something the dealer already has on his lot

We bought our '17 used because we don't qualify for much if any of the federal $7,500 credit and the good news there is that much like our iMiEV's, used Volts can be found at really good prices. Our car had 20K on the clock when we got it and the window sticker was $41,850 and we paid $25K. If you're buying used and want ACC, it wasn't available on any 2016's and only on 2017's manufactured after about June of 2016. The ACC is only a $600 option on a Premier, but the car must have both DC1 and DC2, which most Gen2 Premiers seem to come with anyway

Added incentive - If you have an ACC equipped Gen 2 Volt, for about $500 you can modify it to be self driving

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDtaOe4WXZo

Don

[DougC]

Hi Don,

Please elaborate on what the ACC / emergency braking is and why I need it.

Thanks!

[Don]

ACC is Adaptive Cruise Control and since it's only a $600 option on a Volt Premier, it really doesn't make much sense to buy a Volt without it - The automatic high speed emergency braking that comes with it can save you 10 times that much in ten seconds. Unfortunately, it's not available on Volts with LT trim

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/157 ... es-it-work

I suspect it's on it's way to eventually becoming standard on every car sold, much like back up cameras are now - Maybe in 10 years or so. For me, I would much rather buy a used Volt with ACC than a new LT without it for the same money, but then I've never been big on paying the premium to buy brand new anyway - You typically lose 25 to 35% in depreciation the very first year

Don

[JoeS]

Joining this party rather late ...

DougC, in re-reading your comments I was confused as to how many dollars you were willing to commit to this purchase.

In the last 30 years I've only bought two new cars, the i-MiEV and a Gen1 Honda Insight. I'm a firm believer in letting someone else take the depreciation $$ hit.

In keeping with this thread's title and considering only BEVs (ICE bing a dirty word), my vote would be to buy the cheapest non-salvage non-accident Tesla you can find. I've recently seen some nice-looking ones for under $40K, and I have to wonder how many of those are up for sale by owners who just bought a Model 3? Used Tesla prices take steep dips for no autopilot or different autopilot versions, differing battery capacities, single vs. dual motor, with perhaps the biggest factor for low price being whether it's gone past its initial 50,000 mile warranty. Seems Tesla owners are petrified of this milestone and "fear of the unknown". Every used Tesla I've ever looked at was beautifully maintained.

Absent that, a pure BEV with range to meet your requirements ("I'm going to need 100+ miles of highway a couple times a week") narrows the field to the Bolt, the latest Leaf, and perhaps RAV4-EV (the one with the Tesla drivetrain). Used Bolts are slowly coming on the market, but few are under $30K.

If you're buying new, the pecking order for a BEV to meet your needs, (at this moment in time) is -

Tesla
Bolt
Leaf
The next-gen cars such as the Hyundai Kona EV or Kia Niro EV aren't here yet...

If you must go hybrid, I'd reluctantly settle for -

Volt
Honda Clarity
Prius Prime

BTW, I've talked three friends into getting the Bolt, and they all love it, as do all my friends who bought a Tesla Model 3. Who doesn't love their BEVs?

[rmay635703]

Joining this party rather late ...

DougC, in re-reading your comments I was confused as to how many dollars you were willing to commit to this purchase.

In keeping with this thread's title and considering only BEVs (ICE bing a dirty word), my vote would be to buy the cheapest non-salvage non-accident Tesla you can find. I've recently seen some nice-looking ones for under $40K

Used Tesla prices take steep dips for no autopilot or different autopilot versions, differing battery capacities, single vs. dual motor, with perhaps the biggest factor for low price being whether it's gone past its initial 50,000 mile warranty. Seems Tesla owners are petrified of this milestone and "fear of the unknown".

BTW, I've talked three friends into getting the Bolt, and they all love it, as do all my friends who bought a Tesla Model 3. Who doesn't love their BEVs?

Being petrified of warranty expirations on Tesla’s are just as warranted as BMW owners fear of the same.

If something breaks out of warranty on a TSLA it can be a painful maze of delays.

Tesla is a rich mans car with rich man repairs.
Heck even salvage yard parts for a Tesla are overpriced.

Definitely a car where an extended warranty is actually worthwhile.

As for Model S folks trading up to Model 3 that isn’t really a huge thing either, many keep the S and the 3 is a second car, others avoid the 3 altogether

https://cleantechnica.com/2018/08/05/te ... rspective/

[Don]

As to whether to buy an extended range EV or something like a Volt, Clarity, Plug in Prius etc, much depends on how and where you would use the car. After more than 6 years, we love our EV's, but getting something for extended range travels, we had to evaluate where we live, where we travel and what support is available

Since we do virtually all of our local driving in the iMiEV's, whatever we buy would largely be a garage queen when we're not traveling and do I really want a $50K Tesla sitting in my garage unused for months at a time depreciating? I decided I did not. To my way of thinking, there are two methods for long range EV travels - Those which use the Tesla network of chargers which are nearly everywhere and have enough stations at each one that you're pretty much guaranteed of getting a quick charge without a long wait . . . . and every other EV out there which can't use the Tesla network

A quote made by Joe in another thread praising the Bolt bought by a relative - " . . . . he's made a successful 800-mile round-trip down to the SF Bay Area to visit his daughter in it - but what a hassle fraught with unknowns and and a few slower (25kW) chargers . . . . " - Keep in mind that this is travelling up and down the I-5 corridor, one of the best supported EV routes in the country. It's much worse everywhere else

So, no $50K Tesla and no interest in a $25K, 100K mile used Tesla and not wanting the hassle of the more sparse charging facilities available elsewhere, and specifically in our neck of the woods, we ruled out the other EV options.
Instead, we looked at other longer range cars where recharging was an option to be considered when it's convenient and not a necessity to be able to go at all - We settled on a Volt and so far, we're pretty happy with it. We do find an excuse to drive it locally once in a while (twice or three time a month) but other than the 1,000 mile trip to bring it home, we haven't put 500 miles on it in the 6 months we've owned it - The iMiEV's are just too darned good at what they do, and why would you want to park a $25K car in the WalMart parking lot (or anywhere else?) when you have two perfectly capable cars which make that trip easier and less expensive, so the Volt pretty much sits in the garage . . . . but then, that's what we expected when we bought it

I really do like driving the most practical vehicle for the task at hand, even though it means paying insurance on 4 cars. We have a little Ford Transit Connect van that we travel in when we're taking our Segways and other cargo along and it also has a trailer hitch for those trips to Lowes to trailer home heavy, bulky items - It too sits in the garage for months at a time . . . . we've racked up only 12,000 miles on it in 3 years, but since 95% of those are freeway miles, it's averaging nearly 29 mpg for us

Every vehicle is a compromise - None of them can do it all . . . . oh, the guys driving F-150's all think their truck can, but one of my prerequisites is not burning ANY gas around town . . . .

Don

[kiev]

i talked with a 2018 Leaf owner yesterday, it is a much better looking car than the previous version--looks like a regular Nissan with sporty lines with a huge storage area under the rear hatch. i'll be looking for a used one to replace the miev when the time comes.

He said it has a 40 kWh pack with EPA range of 150 miles, and the previous day he went 119 miles to birmingham running the heater (for the gf comfort) at interstate speeds with 2 bars to spare. Pretty impressive.

So if Chademo stations are available within 120 miles then long trips are feasible with the new Leaf. i forgot to ask about pack cooling etc, although he mentioned there was a pack heater option for the cold winter regions.

[JoeS]

So, DougC, what did you finally settle on?

We're up in Medford (came up a few days ago for Thanksgiving to get away from that choking smoke in the SF Bay Area) and I was talking with my brother-in-law who loves his Bolt and recounted how he now despises going to gas stations...

As a sidenote regarding Tesla costs (remember, zero Supercharger 'fuel' cost), after 60,000 miles of my ownership (the car has 90,000 miles on it and has never been in for 'service') I just had my fourth expense (the first being a cabin air filter for $7.50, the second being the windshield wipers which I have yet to install): yesterday I bought two Michelin Primacy tires for little more than what the i-MiEV's cost. As my final expense, one of the Tesla's taillights had somehow been punctured, which a piece of transparent Gorilla tape is still holding together just fine. A nice clean junkyard replacement $45 light is waiting for me to install. Still waiting for the shoe to drop... Yes, I did knock on wood!