Blue View – Choosing an EV: And the winner is…

This is beginning to seem like the never-ending blog… but, at long last, the end is in sight. We had the opportunity to test drive several of the remaining candidates, see how all the new gizmos work and check out the options. All of the EVs were fun to drive, and, while it might take a while to get used to all the new safety features, I like them.

One-Pedal Driving

Something new to me was one-pedal driving. With an ICE, you speed up when you press on the accelerator, and when you take your foot off the accelerator, you coast. You slowly lose speed, but to stop, you have to press the brake pedal. With an EV’s one-pedal driving mode, pressing the accelerator causes you to speed up as you’d expect, but when you take your foot off, the car uses its regenerative breaking system to bring you to a smooth stop. The brake is still there if you need to stop quickly, but for most of your driving, you only need to use the accelerator. Like several of the new features, it took this old dog a little while to get used to it, but once I did, I liked it. Some EVs come with one-pedal driving, some don’t, and some allow you to switch the mode on or off.

Along with the test drives, we also spent time with each of the dealers determining what the “out-the-door” pricing would be for the remaining candidates. And finally, when deciding which EV we consider to be the best, there were a couple of other factors that swayed our decision:

Tax Credit

In August of 2022, the government discontinued the $7500 tax credit for any EV that wasn’t built in North America. This meant that many EV models like most of the European models and the cars made in South Korea and Japan were no longer eligible for the credit. The Treasury Department also indicated that all or part of the tax credit would be discontinued in 2023 if their batteries were also not manufactured and “mostly” sourced in the U.S. This was delayed until April, while the exact requirements were worked out. The new list of qualifying EVs was released on April 20, and only a handful of vehicles still qualify. I’ve taken the tax credit (or lack thereof) into account in determining the price of each EV.

Dealer Add-Ons

Many dealers insist on adding a market adjustment to their pricing. Of the three local Kia dealers, for example, two add a $10k market adjustment to the MSRP of their EV6 model, while the third advertises “no market adjustment” but then adds almost $10k in unwanted dealer options like powder coated rims for a mere $3000 (really?!), and won’t sell the car without them. Not only do these gouging techniques irritate me no end, they also raised the price of the EV6 well over our $50k upper limit, eliminating it from contention.

Best Around Town EV

Hands down, the Chevy Bolt EUV would be the one for us if we only used it around town or short road trips. It has a respectable 247 mile range, lots of nice features, and all the latest safety options. We found it quite comfortable to drive. Chevrolet also tosses in a free installation of a home charging system. It’s biggest downside is the slow charging rate – 60 minutes to charge from 10% to 80% of full charge, making it a tough sell if long road trips are in your plans. The local dealer sells it at MSRP, with no add-ons and was easy to work with. The base price is $27,800, but the price with the options we would choose is $34,000. Best of all, it still qualifies for the full $7500 tax credit, which, if you can take advantage of it, brings the price down to $26,500.

Best All-Around EV Under $40,000

We really liked the Tesla Model 3. It was very comfortable (note how this old geezer now rates comfort as more important than the time it takes to goes from 0 to 60 MPH), and was fun to drive. Tesla has removed virtually every mechanical knob and dial normally located on the dash and console and replaced them with soft keys on the Model 3s large display. It takes some getting used to, but it’s something I like. This was also the first time we drove a car with one-pedal driving, and like the soft keys, once I got used to it, I thought it was great. The base model has a decent range of 270 miles, slightly better than the Bolt, but the charge rate is much faster – 20 minutes to charge from 10% to 80% of full charge, making it a reasonable road trip car. If we were real road warriors, we might opt for the more expensive Performance Package or move up to the Model Y Long Range version, both of which have a much larger range, but for around town and the occasional long road trip, the base model would work for us. The base model has the features we’d like, but Tesla has a rather nice option – if you want to add some of the autonomous driving features – say on a long trip, you can buy a monthly subscription, and your Model 3 will be magically upgraded. You can, of course, charge your Tesla at any of Tesla’s thousands of chargers, or use any other public charging station. The warranty is better than most, and Teslas seem to retain their value better than many other vehicles. While the more expensive models still qualify for the full $7500 tax credit, the base Model 3 only qualifies for a $3,750 credit. The cost for the basic Model 3 is $41,380, but the tax credit brings it down to $37,630, well under $40,000.

Best EV Under $50,000 – Hyundai Ioniq 5

There’s a reason Car and Driver rated the Ioniq 5 number one of all EVs and Motor Trend named it its 2023 SUV of the year… it’s an awesome car. It has a range of 344 miles and an extremely fast charge rate – 18 minutes to charge from 10% to 80% of full charge, making it quite acceptable for long road trips. It boasts two 12.3” displays – one for navigation, climate control, and a host of vehicle functions, while the other is devoted to the driver’s instrument panel. Hyundai really thought through its design, and there’s not much to complain about. Comfortable, roomy, fun to drive, all the latest safety features and a futuristic design. Hyundai also has the best warranty of any of the other contenders, with a 5yr/60,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, and a 10yr/100,000 mile drive train and battery warranty. As an added plus, Hyundai offers free, unlimited 30 minute charging sessions at Electrify America charging stations across the country for the first two years of ownership. (I checked, and while their network of charging stations is nowhere near as plentiful as Tesla’s, most metro areas have at least one Electrify America charging station). Our only criticisms are that it’s on the pricey side, especially since it doesn’t qualify for the tax credit… and it doesn’t come in red. The cost for the Ioniq 5 is $47,450, and our local dealer sells it at MSRP with no market adjustments or unwanted add-ons. BTW, Hyundai is building a U.S. plant, and will be building the Ioniq 5 there starting in 2024, which, presumably, will qualify it for the tax credit.

This blog took much, much longer to put together than I anticipated, but now that it’s done, we’re almost ready to buy an EV. Since we’re heading out on a six month road trip in Blanche, however, it makes more sense to buy it on our return. We just sold our Kia so it won’t sit in the garage depreciating over the summer, and now we’ll have several months to contemplate which of the three winners we’ll actually choose. Of course, the 2024s will be out by then, and the whole scenario might change. We’ll see.

Marcie just asked about my first car. It was a seventeen year old 1947 Mercury, and it still remains one of my favorites. It cost me $35 - about a week’s wages at the Dairy Queen. Its list of safety features was rather short - brakes and a horn.

My Mercury was silver, and the paint wasn’t quite as nice - but I loved it all the same

See you next week…

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