Buying the Electric Vehicle
So I needed a new car. I had a 2011 Hyundai Sonata with 145K miles and I put a quart of oil in the car every 2 weeks. It is not that it is dead, but it is showing signs of heading that direction. I don't have lots of extra wiggle room in the budget, so I figured, the only way to take on a car payment (Hyundai paid off) was to give up gas. Not that it was a definite, but it was something that I wanted to check out.
So I checked out every used Electric Vehicle on the market. In reality, the tax credits are awesome on the new cars, but I don't have the funds to cover that up front. So used we go.
There are plenty of used EVs (electric vehicles) out there that get in the realm of 80 miles per charge. The issue is, can I rely on that from a used EV? If not, am I willing to change my life and spend an extra hour on my commute charging every day?
Let me explain my commute. I commute 40 miles to work, but the commute is no on the freeway. It is on a stretch of highway called Ortega HWY (from Lake Elsinore to San Juan Capistrano). It is a mountainous road that is a single lane (35 miles). The speeds rarely get over 50 mph and most of that has been coasting in my Sonata. What will that look like in an EV?
The decision... So I had narrowed it down to a 2017 Nissan Leaf and a Kia Soul EV. When it came down to it, I went with a 2016 Kia Soul EV. Kind of because it does not look like an electric car and kind of because of the price. The Kia Soul EV gets 93 miles per charge, where the Nissan Leaf gets 107 miles per charge, but I wanted a car that looked like a car and not like a bug-eyed spaceship. No offense if you have one. They were both great cars and I loved driving them both. I do like the torque of the Kia, so I went with that.
So why am I blogging about this? I am a data nut. I have looked into the arduino-based OBD-2 sensors to get more data on the EV power consumption, range, etc. Since I do not have the time to go to those lengths right now, I figured I would just record data and recall it through my driving. That it what I am doing here.
Can I replace gas with a plug?
Can I do it without changing the length of the commute with charging during the day?
Today was my first day of work. I will write about my commute later, but the punch-line is... I made it without charging. I did get a CHARGE NOW sign, but I made it.
I will be giving more information about the terrain, the commute, how I drive, how my driving lead to the distance that I am able to get. My hope for this is that this helps. I bought my EV knowing as much as you can know about EVs, but in the end, there was a risk in purchasing the one I purchased...Just a little risk. I figured I would write and help others out. I figure that if more people know and purchase EVs, then the more Charging Stations will be available for me to use. So it is a selfish motivation for doing this.
I hope you enjoy. I hope it helps if you are trying to make a decision.
So I checked out every used Electric Vehicle on the market. In reality, the tax credits are awesome on the new cars, but I don't have the funds to cover that up front. So used we go.
There are plenty of used EVs (electric vehicles) out there that get in the realm of 80 miles per charge. The issue is, can I rely on that from a used EV? If not, am I willing to change my life and spend an extra hour on my commute charging every day?
Let me explain my commute. I commute 40 miles to work, but the commute is no on the freeway. It is on a stretch of highway called Ortega HWY (from Lake Elsinore to San Juan Capistrano). It is a mountainous road that is a single lane (35 miles). The speeds rarely get over 50 mph and most of that has been coasting in my Sonata. What will that look like in an EV?
The decision... So I had narrowed it down to a 2017 Nissan Leaf and a Kia Soul EV. When it came down to it, I went with a 2016 Kia Soul EV. Kind of because it does not look like an electric car and kind of because of the price. The Kia Soul EV gets 93 miles per charge, where the Nissan Leaf gets 107 miles per charge, but I wanted a car that looked like a car and not like a bug-eyed spaceship. No offense if you have one. They were both great cars and I loved driving them both. I do like the torque of the Kia, so I went with that.
I name all my cars. Meet Eve, from Wall-e. It sings when you back up.
Can I replace gas with a plug?
Can I do it without changing the length of the commute with charging during the day?
Today was my first day of work. I will write about my commute later, but the punch-line is... I made it without charging. I did get a CHARGE NOW sign, but I made it.
I will be giving more information about the terrain, the commute, how I drive, how my driving lead to the distance that I am able to get. My hope for this is that this helps. I bought my EV knowing as much as you can know about EVs, but in the end, there was a risk in purchasing the one I purchased...Just a little risk. I figured I would write and help others out. I figure that if more people know and purchase EVs, then the more Charging Stations will be available for me to use. So it is a selfish motivation for doing this.
I hope you enjoy. I hope it helps if you are trying to make a decision.
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