I….sadly, don't understand this reference.All of these are more expensive than the Yugo I bought in 1985 for less than $4,000 which I use to drive trombones deep into the woods.
This is only for the 2023 model year, correct? The 2024s all start around $42K+ MSRP (but you can probably get one cheaper with discounts).But the regular $39,995 Mach-E surely does.
An affordable one, too—here in the US, the EX30 starts at $34,950. Volvo might wince every time it sells an EX30 here, however. Tariffs on Chinese-made cars imported into the US were 27.5 percent when Volvo set pricing for the car, but they've now leaped to 102.5 percent as Washington bows to pressure from the US auto industry. Volvo is also planning on building EX30s in Belgium, so it ought not to be a problem for too long.
Every Ars EV article comment section has two weird contingents in it: people who insist all cars must be bare bones point A to point B tools and should cost less than the average car in 1990 (the Yugo joke), along with people who insist EVs don't work because they drive 900 miles a day doing some completely bizarre job that never gets anywhere near civilization (the long running rural trombone repair man joke).I….sadly, don't understand this reference.
It's a reference to an infamous old Ars comment thread where somebody complained that EV's aren't practical because what if you had to do an all-day road trip to deliver a part for a trombone repair and couldn't stop for charging because your boss wouldn't allow it...truly stupid shit.I….sadly, don't understand this reference.
My Leaf is a fine car for what it is, but the ChaDeMo connector needs to be changed in newer model years.Nissan might be open to deals on the Ariya—it's one of the few OEMs not to see significant growth in EV sales between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024.
Huh, I’m a few inches taller than you and found the Leaf very comfortable. But I also like small cars, so maybe I’m the odd one.Has anyone driven a newer (last 5 years) model Nissan Leaf recently? I was wondering if they managed to make the drivers seating area able to accommodate anyone over 5' 9". I have tried a couple of times to sit in a Leaf at a car show, only to feel like I'm sitting in a clown car with my legs jammed up. It wasn't just me that I saw this happen to.
The Mini is similar I think and we own one. My wife uses it to commute to work (about 10mi each way) and I have an ICE 3 series we use for family stuff. It's a nice second car (n.b. I wouldn't buy a Fiat...) and my wife likes the styling, interior materials etc. The electric Mini is a nice second car if you don't care about the range and are fine with spending a little more on what it offers.The Fiat 500e is hilariously overpriced for something that is really only suitable for driving to the grocery store with at max one adult passenger.
A Corolla Hybrid is in the same price range, and gets such impressive gas mileage that it negates the financial incentive to move to EV in most cases, and will last for decades with basic maintenance. That said, this list is more targeted at people who would like to move to EV for non-financial reasons.Still way overpriced for what they offer. A Civic starts at 24k.
I'm not sure that really changes the point, though, since the most expensive version of the Civic is still less expensive than most of the cars on this list.Not that it's really all that important, but a Civic doesn't actually start at 24k, it's 25k, and it goes up from there pretty easily. From Edmunds:
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People just need to adjust to the reality of car prices. What you bought your car for years ago isn't relevant to the world now.
Ioniq 5 is starting to lose the novelty for me. I see them on the roads enough that they're just another SUV styled hatchback which is bigger than it looks. Ioniq 6 otoh, now i'm lusting over that one. It's a shame that Hyundai has forgotten how to amber turn signal.I gotta say I love the styling on the Ioniq 5. It pushes all the right nostalgia buttons for me. I smile every time I see one.
The Ioniq 6 is a nice looking car, but it's very obviously trying to be a Porsche, and Porsches just never did anything for me.Ioniq 5 is starting to lose the novelty for me. I see them on the roads enough that they're just another SUV styled hatchback which is bigger than it looks. Ioniq 6 otoh, now i'm lusting over that one.
What's the point actually?I'm not sure that really changes the point, though, since the most expensive version of the Civic is still less expensive than most of the cars on this list.
That isn't the purpose of this article. Not every article serves the same purpose.I applaud the sentiment behind the list but I think it would be more valuable if it'd been divided into categories. The Fiat, Mini, Toyota, Nissans, and Subaru might better fit under a city car or short range EV category. Also, some on this list are cars that honestly no one should buy. Given that this list gives at least an idea of the good alternatives it'd be worth noting in less diplomatic terms which aren't worth someone's money. I hate the top X listicle crap too but all these options are not remotely equally good.
What's sillier is even if you have these requirements, just move on. You don't have to comment on every vehicle that's not for you.It's a reference to an infamous old Ars comment thread where somebody complained that EV's aren't practical because what if you had to do an all-day road trip to deliver a part for a trombone repair and couldn't stop for charging because your boss wouldn't allow it...truly stupid shit.
EDIT: Took me a sec to dig it back up, here's the link.
Huh, I’m a few inches taller than you and found the Leaf very comfortable. But I also like small cars, so maybe I’m the odd one.
It’s true that I was highly motivated by “if we don’t electrify transportation we’re screwed” and the a feeling of responsibility to be the change I wanted to see in the world, but the EV6 we bought is easily the best car I’ve owned (Acuras, Hondas, Toyotas, etc.) and is almost as much fun to drive as the CRX Si I bought with my first well-paying job.That said, this list is more targeted at people who would like to move to EV for non-financial reasons.
I'd say that the issue is not that you can buy an EV for less than $40,000, but whether the EVs stack up against ICE cars less than $40,000.
EG the Soltera has about a $14k premium over a 2024 Forester (and is roughly the same size). Without the EV tax rebate, that pays for about 150k miles of driving at $3/gallon gas. With the $7.5k rebate (no idea if it's applicable) that drops to 70k miles of driving - but that's still a lot of driving. And that gap worsens because the electricity isn't free.
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Don't get me wrong. I'm all for electric vehicles, but I'm just playing devil's advocado here.
The milage numbers I estimated are based on my real world lead-foot usage of my 2020 Forester. And I drove my 2001 Accord into the ground at around 165k miles with no extremely costly repairs over its lifetime. I expect my Forester (and any cars manufactured nowadays) to deliver a similar amount of lifetime.I am not sure you are properly accounting for the hassle of owning an ICE Subaru, that are gutless, get bad mileage, and are guaranteed to need one or another extremely costly repair or replacement way before 150k.
Subaru seems to me like the 1 company that should be going all-in on EVs as fast as possible. As the 17th-largest Japanese car maker their engine development has languished badly for 25 years. They can leave all that behind them with EVs, where the necessary engineering just isn't that complex. Leveraging their brand to sell EVs at a slight premium to their customer base of west coast lesbians should be exceedingly simple.
This is only for the 2023 model year, correct? The 2024s all start around $42K+ MSRP (but you can probably get one cheaper with discounts).