Electric Vehicles: General topics

[Cmaier]

The Ioniq 6 can give you more range with the large battery. Something like 50 additional miles (~15% more) compared to the 5.

True. But I think anything over 300 is fine. My tesla was supposed to be around 285 or something when I bought it. Since the battery is degraded, it’d now report 240-250 at full charge. And in actual driving it would get around 75% of that given how I drive. And I only charge the car to around 70% of max. In practice I’ve only had to stop and charge at a supercharger on one trip in all the years i’ve owned the car.

So I may prefer having more room for luggage and carrying stuff. I guess I’d have to go sit in both and see.

I suppose the BMW i4 is another possibility, but last I checked bmw nickles and dimes you on subscriptions for stuff, and the cost with options I’d probably get is quite a bit more than the ioniqs. My wife drives a BMW (our second) and I like the service over there, at least. Never owned a Hyundai so I don’t know what that’s like. (I did represent them in a lawsuit, though!)

 

[Citysnaps]

Ioniq 5 is another possibility.

IIRC, Nycturne rented one for a few days last year and probably has some opinions.

Early last year I was seriously looking at an Ionic 5 and watched a lot of Youtube reviews. But availability was scarce and ADM was high, so never followed through.

Lately we've been leaning towards a hybrid.

 

[Cmaier]

IIRC, Nycturne rented one for a few days last year and probably has some opinions.

Early last year I was seriously looking at an Ionic 5 and watched a lot of Youtube reviews. But availability was scarce and ADM was high, so never followed through.

Lately we've been leaning towards a hybrid.

I reached out to the nearest hyundai dealer and I’ll go in and test out a 5 and a 6 late next week. I should probably take a look at an i4, too, i guess. Not sure what else is out there. I figure I have a little time, since i won’t have to make a repair decision on my car for a month (assuming it remains driveable). The Hyundai guy seems to think the models I’d be interested in would take a month or two to arrive.

 

[Citysnaps]

I reached out to the nearest hyundai dealer and I’ll go in and test out a 5 and a 6 late next week. I should probably take a look at an i4, too, i guess. Not sure what else is out there. I figure I have a little time, since i won’t have to make a repair decision on my car for a month (assuming it remains driveable). The Hyundai guy seems to think the models I’d be interested in would take a month or two to arrive.

BMW is coming out with an i5 in 2024 with a 300 mile range. But we don't want to wait that long and I suspect it'll be priced beyond our budget. And have a long wait time.

Toyota just came out with their bZ4X ev that looks kind of interesting. 250 mile range, and I like the hatchback style (other than the black fender trim) for hauling stuff. The tech looks promising too. We've had a couple of Toyotas over the years (I still have a 2012 Highlander) and they've been super reliable.

Looking forward to your Ioniq 5/6 assessment.

 

[Cmaier]

Meanwhile, in a lawsuit involving an alleged self driving death, Musk doesn’t want to be deposed about his public statements regarding the car’s capabilities:

“Their position is that because Mr. Musk is famous and might be more of a target for deep fakes, his public statements are immune,” wrote Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Evette D. Pennypacker. “In other words, Mr. Musk, and others in his position, can simply say whatever they like in the public domain, then hide behind the potential for their recorded statements being a deep fake to avoid taking ownership of what they did actually say and do.”

Tesla lawyers claim Elon Musk’s past statements about self-driving safety could just be deepfakes

A new way to avoid liability: the deepfake defense

www.theverge.com

 

[Herdfan]

Thoughts on Ioniq 6?

It's good looking for sure.

 

[Citysnaps]

“Their position is that because Mr. Musk is famous and might be more of a target for deep fakes, his public statements are immune,” wrote Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Evette D. Pennypacker.

trump: Hmmm...

 

[Yoused]

When I look at the Ioniq reviews, I see them talking about touch screens. I thought Hyundai was the company that expressed a commitment to physical controls. Touch screens just seem like mostly a bad idea for stuff.

 

[Eric]

True. But I think anything over 300 is fine. My tesla was supposed to be around 285 or something when I bought it. Since the battery is degraded, it’d now report 240-250 at full charge. And in actual driving it would get around 75% of that given how I drive. And I only charge the car to around 70% of max. In practice I’ve only had to stop and charge at a supercharger on one trip in all the years i’ve owned the car.

So I may prefer having more room for luggage and carrying stuff. I guess I’d have to go sit in both and see.

I suppose the BMW i4 is another possibility, but last I checked bmw nickles and dimes you on subscriptions for stuff, and the cost with options I’d probably get is quite a bit more than the ioniqs. My wife drives a BMW (our second) and I like the service over there, at least. Never owned a Hyundai so I don’t know what that’s like. (I did represent them in a lawsuit, though!)

The benefits of living close to where you work and play. Since I regularly travel back and forth to the Bay Area the first thing I have to do is charge as soon as I arrive at either end and it's proven to be costly, not just monetarily but in time and planning as well.

That should change because we put in an offer on a house in the Santa Rosa area, which is far closer and technically a part of the Bay Area. That will eliminate hotel stays and extra planning for charging but I'll still keep my eye out for 300+ miles on my next vehicle.

I'll just say this about BMW, as a former owner of several the experience of buying one has become like that of a used car lot, shitty service, pushy salespeople and a good day to get through negotiations and purchase. It used to be excellent service but they've slipped. Buying the Tesla took me all of an hour from start to finish and was all done through an app, no fan of Elon but gotdamn it was the easiest experience I've ever had.

 

[Cmaier]

The benefits of living close to where you work and play. Since I regularly travel back and forth to the Bay Area the first thing I have to do is charge as soon as I arrive at either end and it's proven to be costly, not just monetarily but in time and planning as well.

That should change because we put in an offer on a house in the Santa Rosa area, which is far closer and technically a part of the Bay Area. That will eliminate hotel stays and extra planning for charging but I'll still keep my eye out for 300+ miles on my next vehicle.

I'll just say this about BMW, as a former owner of several the experience of buying one has become like that of a used car lot, shitty service, pushy salespeople and a good day to get through negotiations and purchase. It used to be excellent service but they've slipped. Buying the Tesla took me all of an hour from start to finish and was all done through an app, no fan of Elon but gotdamn it was the easiest experience I've ever had.

Things are getting serious - I just ordered a Tesla charger-to-J1772 connector so I can charge regular EVs at home without replacing my wall charger. Here’s something I didn’t know - my wall charger (from tesla) is 80A. Apparently everything now tops out at 48A?

We owned a new x5, which my wife loved, and after she got in an accident we replaced it with a used X3 about a year before the pandemic, both bought from stevens creek BMW. The buying experience was not bad, though certainly not the “click a button and you’re done” that Tesla provides. Ignoring the time we spent looking around the lot and test driving, it took about an hour and a half to get through the paperwork, though I think we paid cash. As for negotiations, for these new, hard to get, electric cars the dealers just won’t do it (at least not on price).

Service may be slipping, but it’s nowhere near as bad as what I’ve seen from Tesla in the last year. My wife shows up, they give her a loaner, and she leaves. They provide reasonably accurate estimates of when it will be done, and they call her when it’s ready. If she has questions, there is a phone number she can call, and she doesn’t have to use an app. If she needs to add an additional item to be serviced, she can just call and they don’t give her a new date a month later. These are all things that no longer happen at Tesla service. She also uses a local independent BMW shop for some stuff, and the guy is really good and will even tell her when, for certain things, she’s better off going to the dealer. Good luck finding an independent Tesla service place.

That said, the Hyundai’s have some advantages, but I don’t know anything about their service.

One thing I like about the BMW is that, though they probably charge monthly fees for stuff, it is integrated really well with iPhones. Probably the best integration there is. Tap your phone to open the doors, CarPlay on multiple screens, and carplay is wireless (unlike the hyundais, for some reason).

The price difference is about $5k, which may or may not be worth it.

 

[Nycturne]

IIRC, Nycturne rented one for a few days last year and probably has some opinions.

Honestly, as a car, I liked the Ioniq 5. For the size of car the cargo space is surprisingly small though. ID.4 is shorter front-to-back and thinner, yet has more usable space in the boot. Go figure. There's a couple things that annoyed me about the interior of the Ioniq 5, especially placement of USB ports for CarPlay/etc. The seats were a bit tight on the hug from the bolsters. The 6 fixes some of these complaints. I do recommend sitting in one as my complaints and why I passed on the Ioniq 5 are subjective. I would happily recommend it for folks that it works for.

In my short list, it really came down to the ID.4, the Kia or Genesis variant of the Ioniq 5 (EV6 / GV60), or the Nissan Ariya. But I'm also aiming for something that can haul camping/astronomy gear, bikes and the like. If I had to buy again, I don't think my short list would change, but I'd be giving the Kia and the Nissan a much closer look. I finally saw an Ariya on the road just this last week, and the lack of availability is what made me skip on it for now.

I actually like the exterior look of the Kia version a bit better, but the Hyundai gets the nice toys like the glass roof.

 

[Citysnaps]

Honestly, as a car, I liked the Ioniq 5. For the size of car the cargo space is surprisingly small though. ID.4 is shorter front-to-back and thinner, yet has more usable space in the boot. Go figure. There's a couple things that annoyed me about the interior of the Ioniq 5, especially placement of USB ports for CarPlay/etc. The seats were a bit tight on the hug from the bolsters. The 6 fixes some of these complaints. I do recommend sitting in one as my complaints and why I passed on the Ioniq 5 are subjective. I would happily recommend it for folks that it works for.

In my short list, it really came down to the ID.4, the Kia or Genesis variant of the Ioniq 5 (EV6 / GV60), or the Nissan Ariya. But I'm also aiming for something that can haul camping/astronomy gear, bikes and the like. If I had to buy again, I don't think my short list would change, but I'd be giving the Kia and the Nissan a much closer look. I finally saw an Ariya on the road just this last week, and the lack of availability is what made me skip on it for now.

I actually like the exterior look of the Kia version a bit better, but the Hyundai gets the nice toys like the glass roof.

Thanx... Any thoughts on the new Toyota bZ4X ? It's a hatchback, but might not be enough for your cargo needs.

 

[Nycturne]

Thanx... Any thoughts on the new Toyota bZ4X ? It's a hatchback, but might not be enough for your cargo needs.

The Solterra / Busy Forks was what got me looking at EVs seriously. But it dropped off my short list quick.

Range is a bit low, fast charging slow and limited to 3 times a day. Even worse than the ID.4 in the cold when it comes to charging and range. And to top it off it’s outright larger than the ID.4 with less cargo space with the same style body. Overall it’s an electric RAV4 that feels half hearted.

I wound up with the ID.4 and have been driving it since Dec. Don’t regret my choice, but I’d still love an EV wagon/estate to come to the US.

 

[Cmaier]

Test drove the BMW i4 today. Drove fine. Not as fast as my model s, but in sport mode it felt more than good enough. Lots of space in the trunk. Controls were ok - better system than tesla. But the fact that it is built on an ICE platform caused real trade offs. The back seat had no legroom at all, and I couldn’t sit in it because there is no headroom - if you are more than 6’ tall, forget about it. There’s also a transmission hump (presumably with nothing under it). The battery seems to suck a couple of inches of vertical height, which made the driving position feel a little weird too.

I don’t often sit in my back seat, but I don’t even think my kid or wife would be comfortable back there for more than a very short ride, with their legs jammed up against the front seats.

Now thinking about the iX - testdriving that next week. I did poke around one today, and it looks a hell of a lot more comfortable. Nice flat floor, tons of space, designed from the ground up as an electric car.

 

[Eric]

Elon & Cybertruck got stuck in south texas had to be saved by a diesel truck in Robstown.

 

[Cmaier]

Elon & Cybertruck got stuck in south texas had to be saved by a diesel truck in Robstown.

Saw the tesla semi (with no trailer) driving toward El Camino along Page Mill Road today. White and dopey-looking. Sorta like Elon.

 

[Nycturne]

Welp, I think I'm getting tempted to do something I've never done before: ditch a car before at least 4 years of ownership.

Here's the irony. I still think the ID.4 is practical and great value, but I've noticed that no matter where I place the seat, I get muscle problems in my right hip. Likely due to pedal placement relative to the seat. After taking time to try to rectify it through seat adjustments, adjusting how I use my feet to hit the pedals, changing the type of pants I wear (cheaper than replacing a car...), I just can't get it to be comfortable to drive for commutes. Which is weird because I spent nearly 4 hours in ID.4s before actually buying one. And I still think in terms of the metrics that matter to me, it's still the best overall fit. But instead I'm feeling a bit like I'm constantly recovering from a stretched muscle, not debilitating or anything, but enough to be annoying. It's bad enough I inherited weird joints to begin with.

As this needs to be a daily driver, not being in mild pain most of my week is kinda a priority, and I think I've given it enough time to try to resolve it through means other than getting a different car. So I'm thinking of spending some time sitting in an EV6 and seeing if it's any better. The rented Ioniq 5 gave me no issues, so odds are pretty good the EV6 will be similar, and I prefer the look/interior of the Kia twin to the Hyundai twin.

I guess I'm not used to this because I've driven Outbacks for the last 15 years or so and have usually just had issues if I don't take enough breaks while on road trips. But getting up and stretching, and being good to go in 15 minutes is very different from "don't drive for a couple days to make pain go away".

 

[Apple fanboy]

Welp, I think I'm getting tempted to do something I've never done before: ditch a car before at least 4 years of ownership.

Here's the irony. I still think the ID.4 is practical and great value, but I've noticed that no matter where I place the seat, I get muscle problems in my right hip. Likely due to pedal placement relative to the seat. After taking time to try to rectify it through seat adjustments, adjusting how I use my feet to hit the pedals, changing the type of pants I wear (cheaper than replacing a car...), I just can't get it to be comfortable to drive for commutes. Which is weird because I spent nearly 4 hours in ID.4s before actually buying one. And I still think in terms of the metrics that matter to me, it's still the best overall fit. But instead I'm feeling a bit like I'm constantly recovering from a stretched muscle, not debilitating or anything, but enough to be annoying. It's bad enough I inherited weird joints to begin with.

As this needs to be a daily driver, not being in mild pain most of my week is kinda a priority, and I think I've given it enough time to try to resolve it through means other than getting a different car. So I'm thinking of spending some time sitting in an EV6 and seeing if it's any better. The rented Ioniq 5 gave me no issues, so odds are pretty good the EV6 will be similar, and I prefer the look/interior of the Kia twin to the Hyundai twin.

I guess I'm not used to this because I've driven Outbacks for the last 15 years or so and have usually just had issues if I don't take enough breaks while on road trips. But getting up and stretching, and being good to go in 15 minutes is very different from "don't drive for a couple days to make pain go away".

Does it have cruise control (or better adaptive cruise control?). I use mine a lot in my BMW so my feet have plenty of movement. That's what helps my ageing joints.

 

[Nycturne]

Does it have cruise control (or better adaptive cruise control?). I use mine a lot in my BMW so my feet have plenty of movement. That's what helps my ageing joints.

It does, but it doesn't help. Inherited joint problems are fun.

I actually spent some time in an EV6 today, and my hip felt better after the test drive. Drove home in the ID.4 and right back where I was. Fun.

 

[Yoused]

I envisioned a one-pedal system, with a midpiont you could feel where the car cruises, lifting up to accelerate and pushing down to decelerate, with brake engagement tension at the bottom and a trigger system that causes the car to slow to a stop if your foot is off the pedal. Then, I thought, it should be a two-pad setup, to allow you to switch between feet.