I get questions, one of the most common being along the lines of "Yes, but which electric vehicle do you think I should get now?" or the more usual: "I was thinking about getting an electric to do -blank,- what do you think?" ...and as usual the answer, as always is 'It Depends.' Keeping fully in mind that this advice is worth every cent you paid for it.
There's all kinds of stuff "Coming real Soon!" from just about everybody. The only one I suspect is really serious is Volkswagen. They should have viable stuff, sorted out and ready to purchase in 2021. If you can wait that long they might be good. Just don't expect them to be much cheaper than the $35K average of the stuff below. As for the eGolf? Don't.
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| Modified Slide from a Nissan L+ presentation |
If you've got the bucks, the answer really is nearly always Tesla.
SUV kinda thing? Tesla Model X, about $100K.
Large-ish sedan? Tesla Model S, around $80K.
Smaller sportier sedan? Tesla Model 3, the bottom end of which has penciled out around $35-37K for quite awhile now when you include Federal incentives (assuming you qualify) and color choice and destination charges. Yes I know they say $35K up front how, but the 'mid-range' model back last year was around $36-38K after incentives and the 'new' Standard+ Model 3 is still about the same amount. [If you are going to argue about dinky 2-3% ($1K) differences, well, go somewhere else.]
If you think you're going to sign up for a base model (around $37K out the door) and get it in time to qualify for the 'half-incentive' that's still available for a couple more months, well, good luck.
The 'small SUV' cross-over version of the Model 3 [Model 'Y'] has been announced for sometime in 2020, and doesn't look worth the $5-7K higher price to me, but some people really go for things like that.
Note: We actually had the money set aside for a Tesla Model 3, the base $35K one. after incentives here that would have worked out to a little over $26K all in. From our perspective here, just --barely-- worth it.
Delaying the introduction date of the lower price model until after the Federal incentive expired was cruel and unusual. Exactly the type of calculating corporate slime-ball-ism that Tesla claims not to 'be about.' So now ... I'm not buying one.
Tesla Model S's seem to be aging well so a 2015 well under $50K with high miles on it wouldn't bother me, earlier ones would become increasingly questionable. 2014 maybe... OTOH I'm not someone who is spending $50K on a car regardless. YMMV.
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If, just by chance, you happen to live where they're available the Hyundai Kona looks like a fine deal. About $38K out the door and the Fed$$ are still available. Pretty nice form factor too, if you're into the mid-size SUV thing. Sounds like few of the dealers will get the base model, so it's probably an 'order and wait' thing. The previous Hyundai/Kia electric rig was nicely done.
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Ford and GM seem to be decreasing the availability of most of their options, although both have announced big plans for late 2020-early 2023 (we'll see...) with the exception of the Chevy Bolt, more on that later. If you need short range (20-30 miles) combined with gas hybrid capability the Chevy Volt can be a good buy. 2016's can be had around $15K. Nice!
For basically the same price as a Nissan Leaf Plus or a Tesla Mod.3 I just can't see the point of the Chevy Bolt. People who have them seem to like them and crow about American Made [actually about 28% of the content is US origin, drivetrain, electronics, motor and battery are all from Korea. The body is made here, and the (awful) seats] They handle and accelerate well, but not by comparison with a Mod.3 and the Leaf+ is better at comfort and carrying capacity and has about the same range and price. Ironically the Leaf has much higher U.S. made content than the Bolt, but alas, it says Nissan on the badge...
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If you have to get real work, day to day transportation done now, and you don't happen to have the XL size bank account then we're back to pretty much the same choices that have been out there for awhile now, with the one addition of the 'Plus' version of the Leaf and the Mod.3 Std.. Lets look at how the recommended options stack up. Here we're going to use real world range and Oregon-rebate-included prices, YMMV:
Tesla Mod.3 Std. $34K Range 220 mi. note: Superchrgers are Nice!
Nissan Leaf Plus. $27K Range 200 mi. note: Fast charging less available
Nissan Leaf 40KWh $21K Range 120 mi. Good as the Plus if lower range OK
Chevy Volt (used 2016) $15K Range 30 mi. plus gas beyond that
Nissan Leaf 24 KWh used'15 $10K Range 70-80 mi. Not a bad rig for the price.
Mitsubishi iMiev (used'12-14) $5-6K Range 50 mi. *See notes below
Notes:
Buying used electric cars is not quite the same as buying a standard I.C.E. (gasoline engine) in that you can't take it down to your average shade-tree mechanic to get it checked out. Use CARFAX as usual to check history. There are previous posts on this blog about using Canion and LeafSpy to check the batteries on the Mitsubishi and Nissan respectively, but it will take some research time on your part to determine how to use these correctly. The MyNissanLeaf and MyIMiev forums are a goldmine of useful information. Having it into the dealer could be good too, although I've heard enough stories of the dealers' having little clue about battery testing (some only check the 12V battery, seriously!) that doing your own checking is wise.
Still, if you're willing to put in a couple hours effort (OK, 10-15 hours...) you can get around town in fine electric style for under $10K.
The Volt's are nice although the maintenance costs can be a bit higher. (I'd look for an extended warranty...)
* We're (collectively) still using our 2012 Mitsubishi iMiev and have four friends that have them. They're all still going strong and some have over 7 years and 50K miles on them. Sure they're an around town runabout, with maybe occasional trips 10-15 miles out of town. For that they work great. They're basically useless for longer trips. Even the ones with fast-charging capability are lame on even slightly longer jaunts. Don't buy them for that. I'd hold out for a 2014 given the 2 years less battery ageing. Great 4 passenger local transportation that's awesome in traffic and when parking...
IF If if you have a Mitsubishi dealership with factory trained iMiev mechanics in a reasonable range of your house. If you can't get it fixed, don't buy it regardless of how good a 'deal' it is. That applies to the Nissan's too.
