Electric cars $40k and under

Discussion in 'Off Topic Area' started by Mitlov, Jan 20, 2021.

  1. Mitlov

    Mitlov Shiny

    Last fall, I posted a thread about a new sport sedan or sport compact. About a week after that thread, my county burned (Almeda and Obenchain fires) and thousands lost their homes. I'm fine and didn't lose my home...but it made climate change a lot more real and personal, and so I'm going to go electric for my next car.

    I'm looking to spend about $40k or less (net price after any applicable federal tax credits). Tesla is probably off the list because of Elon Musk and because of no Android Auto. The Ford Mach-e looks cool but I don't want to beta test a brand new design.

    Right now my top contenders are the Hyundai Kona Electric, Chevy Bolt, and Kia Niro EV. Anyone have any experience with any, positive or negative? Any others that I'm missing that are worth looking at?
     
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  2. Mangosteen

    Mangosteen Hold strong not

    It might be worth holding out for about a year. The USA joining back into the Paris accords and COP26 will drop prices massively and the recent development of fast min charging batteries is another game changer.
     
  3. Mitlov

    Mitlov Shiny

    Sadly, the poop-box I'm driving might not last another year. I've been aiming to replace it this May as a birthday present to myself.

    If I was waiting another couple years, the Ford Mach-E and VW ID3 both look amazing. But they're also cars I would not buy in the first or even second model year, and they're debuting late 2021.
     
    Mangosteen likes this.
  4. Mangosteen

    Mangosteen Hold strong not

    Have you thought about retrofitting?
    It's around 10,000 gbp in the UK to retrofit cars to be electric.
    How to put an electric car on your driveway for as little as £900 | Autocar

    Beyond that, I cant really help as we drive an old tiny Japanese car from 2008 and only bought it for the pandemic (and only use it once a week for food or doctors appointments)
     
  5. Mitlov

    Mitlov Shiny

    Not interested in a retrofit. It's not the engine on my car that's failing, it's everything else!
     
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  6. Mitch

    Mitch Lord Mitch of MAP Admin

    You might be best avoiding a Tesla anyway. A friend had one recently, and he said that whilst the tech is awesome, the build quality is shocking. Panel fit was so bad that one door permanently whistles over 30mph.

    Apparently body shops are taking new Teslas, cutting out door hinges and rewelding them as there is no adjustment left to get the doors to fit.
     
    Mitlov likes this.
  7. bassai

    bassai onwards and upwards ! Moderator Supporter

    I was at a tech clinician a couple of years ago and a Tesla was was named as the highest warranty cost per vehicle in the UK.
     
  8. Mitlov

    Mitlov Shiny

    Yeah, the detailed reasons why I am not considering a Tesla:

    * No Android Auto support. All that tech and I need to pull out my phone to switch Spotify playlists?

    * Atrocious build quality.

    * To make that worse, no local dealer/showroom support. I have three Chevy dealers within a 30-minute drive. The nearest Tesla shop is five hours' drive one way.

    * Elon Musk's sociopathic defamation of the British rescue diver; he's still unrepentant.

    * Elon Musk has flagrantly violated SEC rules about stock price manipulation. May be literally criminal, certainly dishonest.

    * You know what GM did during the pandemic? Repurposed their production lines to make $500M worth of ventilators and 13M masks (4M of which were to protect their own workers, 9M donated to hospitals and schools). Even today they have over a hundred employees working full time making PPE for covid instead of cars. They pushed back some new models a full year because that's not what they needed to focus on in 2020. You know what Tesla did? They violated state and local health regulations to keep making luxury cars during California's lockdown, and they fired multiple employees who chose to stay home as required by state and local law. Then at the end of 2020 they publicly bragged about meeting their production targets for the year.

    Sometimes you need to vote with your wallet. And for me, refusing to do business with Tesla is one of those times.
     
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  9. Dead_pool

    Dead_pool Spes mea in nihil Deus MAP 2017 Moi Award

    He also didn't invent PayPal or Tesla motors he bought into both organisations and paid extra to be known as a founder.

    He's a terrible human being, and dad, who got his start due to his own dad's emerald mine money, but does employ some amazing engineers, who he does not look after.
     
  10. Mitlov

    Mitlov Shiny

    Does anyone have any useful experience with PHEVs (plug in hybrids)? I'm contemplating expanding or refocusing my car search to include PHEVs. While they lack that pure-electric power delivery, they provide a lot more practicality in rural areas without well-developed charging networks, allowing for day-to-day commuting on electricity with a small battery and electric motor, but also a gas engine for longer trips.

    Despite the mechanical complexity, PHEVs like the Subaru Crosstrek or Kia Niro PHEV are lighter and cheaper than electric cars like the Chevy Bolt and the Niro EV, since long-range batteries are so heavy and expensive.
     
  11. bassai

    bassai onwards and upwards ! Moderator Supporter

    Played with a few phev kugas (I believe it’s called the escape over there) drive really nice , though we’ve got quite a big recall on them at the minute to replace the battery packs.
     
    Mitlov likes this.
  12. Mitlov

    Mitlov Shiny

    I heard about that. I had been interested in at least looking at the Escape PHEV as another handsome/practical/affordable option, but the fires in the near-identical Kuga delayed the US release and also gave me a bit of concern about whether it will be recalled right after release here too.
     
  13. bassai

    bassai onwards and upwards ! Moderator Supporter

    If it’s been delayed over there I’d imagine they will all come with the modified batteries , and if it helps , I believe there were only 2 fires over here and they’re offering affected customers more than I’ve ever seen on a recall in 26 years of working in Ford dealers.
    I’m actually half way through my first recall at the minute.
     
    Mitlov likes this.
  14. Mitlov

    Mitlov Shiny

    That's really good feedback. I'm now seeing articles that the fires were from a manufacturing defect with a specific batch of batteries, not a design defect, and that US production will kick off April 5. I'm buying in May, so if local dealers have them available, I'll definitely test-drive one.

    Right now the Subaru Crosstrek PHEV is the leading option in my mind, but I'll withhold final judgment until I test-drive.
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2021
  15. bassai

    bassai onwards and upwards ! Moderator Supporter

    I think it comes down to limited supply , my understanding is that a small number of manufacturers supply hv batteries to all major car manufacturers hence many marques seemingly suffering from similar problems.
    I love the way the Kuga/Escape drives , but Ford seem to have got the handling right on all of their cars since the mk1 Focus.
     
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  16. Mitlov

    Mitlov Shiny

    So I feel like GM was watching this thread, because the new Bolt EUV feels like it was custom built for me. Drivetrain of the current Bolt, but with a longer wheelbase and new interior and exterior. Modern without being sci-fi like the Prius Prime, and traditional without being bland like the Kia Niro. And pricing starts at $33,900.

    [​IMG]

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  17. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

    I know zero things about cars, apart from "wheels and foot things makes go go and stop stop".
    Yet Im fully invested in this thread.... good luck @Mitlov and glad you're safe.
     
    Mitlov likes this.
  18. Mitlov

    Mitlov Shiny

    Test-drove the Chevy Volt (with a V, not a B). AMAZING. It drives like a pure electric car, with smooth, powerful, effortless acceleration. Steering is direct and precise, and handling is confident and even playful on a twisty road, without it being harsh over rough pavement like my Civic Si. The interior is snug, and some of the plastics in back aren't luxurious, but the seats and wheel are fantastic. It wasn't fully charged when I took it out, so it ran out of power partway through the drive...and the gas engine kicked in, acting as a generator instead of powering the wheels directly...so the power delivery was still EV-esque, instant and smooth, even after exceeding the battery's range.

    I also test-drove a Crosstrek PHEV (hated hated hated it...good on paper but the suspension was a mess, the drivetrain noises were truly obnoxiously loud, and the driver's seat had no lumbar support). Will test-drive one or two options next weekend (primarily the Prius Prime), but I'll likely go back and buy the Volt. I absolutely adore it.
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
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  19. bassai

    bassai onwards and upwards ! Moderator Supporter

    Interesting to read , Chevrolet have almost no presence over here apart from a couple of attempts a few years ago.
     
  20. axelb

    axelb Master of Office Chair Fu

    Yes the Chevrolet were part of vaxhall, I recall them pulling out of European sales. I don't know if Vauxhall have an equivalent.
     

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