Electric car thread

[Sirshredalot]

I’m interested in what’s going to happen at the corporate fleet level... the company I work for has maybe 1000 vehicles on the road as company commuters: Fusions, F150s, and Explorers.

At a certain point it makes economic sense to go to electric... but how do you handle the charging aspect? Install charging stations at all office locations - that doesn’t work for us... commercial construction with jobsite locations changing too often... but the alternative - subsidizing install at employees homes doesn’t seem to make sense either...


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

It would be hard to get the charging infrastructure there even for commercial fleets with fixed lots.

I read an article about how they ran into something like this in the UK where they had heavy PHEV incentives for businesses. The business would buy the vehicle and then the employees who were driving it wouldn't bother to plug it in overnight, even in the company lot. They weren't paying for the gas, the company was.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[bodywhomper]

This will be figured out soon. Some medium sized utilities like SMUD will be having a fully electrified fleet by 2030. I believe, but am not certain, that will include heavy-heavy duty equipment.

[joeshek]

Picked up a 2020 base Leaf at year end on a two year lease. Cost less than internet bill every month... no clue how they are pulling that off, but the residual on it is more than the initial price.

So far really happy with it getting around town. Good zip, decent amount of storage in the back.

Only things that I’m pretty sure will bite me are 1) due to no engine noise, it’s REALLY easy to accelerate well past the intended speed, and 2) driving with the e-pedal/ heavy regen braking is awesome, but also takes some relearning of the brake pedal when I jump back in our 5000 lb sequoia.

[glademaster]

Only things that I’m pretty sure will bite me are 1) due to no engine noise, it’s REALLY easy to accelerate well past the intended speed

Engine speed (and consequently noise) =/ vehicle speed. It's okay, you can just admit you don't pay attention while you're driving.

[joeshek]

Engine speed (and consequently noise) =/ vehicle speed. It's okay, you can just admit you don't pay attention while you're driving.

Sure, my wife has made this extremely clear.

Also want to thank you for explaining that. Maybe transmissions have something to do with it?

It’s clearly impossible to be familiar with the noise+gear:speed correlation, so I must have been making that up all this time.

[old_newguy]

Engine speed (and consequently noise) =/ vehicle speed. It's okay, you can just admit you don't pay attention while you're driving.

Er, what? I can easily determine rough vehicle speed based on engine noise and external engine noise.

It’s noticeably more difficult when I switch vehicles.

[glademaster]

You can be going pretty damn slow while bumping up against the rev limiter in second gear with the engine screaming like a raped ape, or you can be going 90 mph at 2300rpm in overdrive, and there will be a whole lot of wind and tire noise, not a whole lot of engine noise.

[old_newguy]

You can be going pretty damn slow while bumping up against the rev limiter in second gear with the engine screaming like a raped ape, or you can be going 90 mph at 2300rpm in overdrive, and there will be a whole lot of wind and tire noise, not a whole lot of engine noise.

With visual clues it’s not hard to figure out which is which though.

[glademaster]

With visual clues it’s not hard to figure out which is which though.

That's irrelevant, because the post I was replying to stated "due to no engine noise..."

[old_newguy]

That's irrelevant, because the post I was replying to stated "due to no engine noise..."

It’s irrelevant because you are a pedant.

[Ted Striker]

This is a silly conversation, but tire noise is absolutely an indication of speed.

[glademaster]

It’s irrelevant because you are a pedant.

Agreed!

[54-46]

What is the airspeed of a swallow?

[basinbeater]

Drove this thing today. Brutally fast off the line. Launch control was snap your head back fun. Nice firm suspension with little body roll, but still very smooth. Impressive compared to my bilstein bmws and koni Porsche. But... Steering was numb feeling, felt similar to the nissan leaf we have. And it felt big. Really big. Really wide, and felt heavy. Because it is big and heavy. Very cool looking car and I love the monochromatic exterior, but despite it's immense size, outward visibility from inside compared to my 944 turbo or bmw 540i is downright awful, and makes the huge car feel somewhat claustrophobic. Where the 540 and 944 both feel very open and airy thanks to low cowls, and large windows, the taycan felt dark and cramped. So, pretty fun little joyride, but I had more fun on the ride to lowes in the e30 convertible. Or I am just pretending I did to make myself feel better about the fact that to could never afford one of these.
Taycan 4s

sent from Utah.

[Sirshredalot]

Drove this thing today. Brutally fast off the line. Launch control was snap your head back fun. Nice firm suspension with little body roll, but still very smooth. Impressive compared to my bilstein bmws and koni Porsche. But... Steering was numb feeling, felt similar to the nissan leaf we have. And it felt big. Really big. Really wide, and felt heavy. Because it is big and heavy. Very cool looking car and I love the monochromatic exterior, but despite it's immense size, outward visibility from inside compared to my 944 turbo or bmw 540i is downright awful, and makes the huge car feel somewhat claustrophobic. Where the 540 and 944 both feel very open and airy thanks to low cowls, and large windows, the taycan felt dark and cramped. So, pretty fun little joyride, but I had more fun on the ride to lowes in the e30 convertible. Or I am just pretending I did to make myself feel better about the fact that to could never afford one of these.
Taycan 4s

sent from Utah.

I parked next to a Taycan over the weekend and gave it the ol' hairy eyeball. It's a long boy, for sure, and I thought it looked nice. It's nice to hear that it drives nicely.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[riser4]

Needs a ski rack.

[ötzi]

Drove this thing today. Brutally fast off the line. Launch control was snap your head back fun. Nice firm suspension with little body roll, but still very smooth. Impressive compared to my bilstein bmws and koni Porsche. But... Steering was numb feeling, felt similar to the nissan leaf we have. And it felt big. Really big. Really wide, and felt heavy. Because it is big and heavy. Very cool looking car and I love the monochromatic exterior, but despite it's immense size, outward visibility from inside compared to my 944 turbo or bmw 540i is downright awful, and makes the huge car feel somewhat claustrophobic. Where the 540 and 944 both feel very open and airy thanks to low cowls, and large windows, the taycan felt dark and cramped. So, pretty fun little joyride, but I had more fun on the ride to lowes in the e30 convertible. Or I am just pretending I did to make myself feel better about the fact that to could never afford one of these.
Taycan 4s

sent from Utah.

Chris Harris liked it

[basinbeater]

He does like it, but he owns an e28 m5.
Little off topic... Bet you can have more fun dailying the m5 over the taycan. The taycan is just so fast. Don't ever get anywhere near being able to push it without going way too fast on public roads. It is very nice, and it is GREAT looking. I wouldn't drive one. Big and heavy, and feels like it. (Then again I am well out of the market for one). The main thing that makes a car to drive for me is being able to really engage with the car and be able to feel what it is doing, being able to make it dance. With the taycan, it had high levels of grip, and incredible speed and power delivery, but everything felt numb and isolated. And maybe because I am used to smaller cars, it felt huge! Wide. And at the same time, it felt cramped inside where my smaller older cars feel more open and invite the outside in.
#basinbeaterisacurmudgeon

https://youtu.be/FzOPR7STqrQ


sent from Utah.

[carlh]

I am planning on an ecar purchase/lease this summer post moving back to Seattle. I sold my e91 in prep for the move as I am ready for something different and it almost stranded me last winter (water pump failed).
Use case will be around town, MTB trips (~80-150mi round trip) a possibly some ski days if the range is not pushing it to snoqualmie and back (~120mi round trip up/down 3k ft in the cold). We also have a Q7 TDI for towing an trips.
The market has gone crazy but there are still some advertised deals out there.

Top options are:
Kia Niro lease, I drove one and it was fine if I can get it for <300/m all in
Nissan Leaf lease, pluses are more than a niro, might consider a standard for ~200/m if I can find one. Haven't driven yet but expect to be pretty crappy
Used Tesla S 85, 2015s are in the mid 30k range, bigger, can get AWD. I drove a Y but have not driven an S, it was nice but not $50k nice.

Bolt is out due to crappy seats, Kona is too small. New 3/Y are more than I want to spend and a long wait.

Any input? Is an older tesla a bad idea?

[adrenalated]

I am planning on an ecar purchase/lease this summer post moving back to Seattle. I sold my e91 in prep for the move as I am ready for something different and it almost stranded me last winter (water pump failed).
Use case will be around town, MTB trips (~80-150mi round trip) a possibly some ski days if the range is not pushing it to snoqualmie and back (~120mi round trip up/down 3k ft in the cold). We also have a Q7 TDI for towing an trips.
The market has gone crazy but there are still some advertised deals out there.

Top options are:
Kia Niro lease, I drove one and it was fine if I can get it for <300/m all in
Nissan Leaf lease, pluses are more than a niro, might consider a standard for ~200/m if I can find one. Haven't driven yet but expect to be pretty crappy
Used Tesla S 85, 2015s are in the mid 30k range, bigger, can get AWD. I drove a Y but have not driven an S, it was nice but not $50k nice.

Bolt is out due to crappy seats, Kona is too small. New 3/Y are more than I want to spend and a long wait.

Any input? Is an older tesla a bad idea?

I actually thought the Leaf Plus was just fine. The ProPilot system is really nice. The touchscreen is too small, that was my only real complaint. I went with the Bolt only because I got a better deal than I could find on a Leaf Plus. But, I also think the seats in my Bolt are fine, so perhaps don't listen to me.

[frorider]

Kind of a fun read: https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...distance-race/

[abraham]

I saw a polestar 2 the other day on my way home, it's not a bad looking car from a brief look.

[muted reborn]

Kind of a fun read: https://www.caranddriver.com/feature...distance-race/

Nobody is gonna buy an EV after reading that.

[adrenalated]

Nobody is gonna buy an EV after reading that.

That would certainly be the American way - refuse to buy the vehicle that's better in nearly every way for 99.5% of the driving they actually do because it's slightly more inconvenient on their once-per-year road trip.

[MegaStoke]

Last week, I did a 1000 mile road trip in my gf’s new 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV. I wasn’t in a hurry, but didn’t find charging to be a nuisance at all using Electrify America DC fast charging. A little slower paced for sure, but it’s not like having to take a break every 200+ miles is the worst thing.