10 000 Kms

[dpollo 8]

Today I passed the 10 000 km mark. My "Electrosmart" is now a part of the family. My commute is 36 Kms each way,however I usually return home indirectly, covering more ground. It takes about 23% of the charge from home to farm (my place of business)and about 30 % to get home as the grades are steeper and I live at a higher elevation. I charge overnight at home with the 120 volt chargerbut often top up at the farm with a 240 volt Bosch 16 amp unit purchased in the US for about $450. Range anxiety has completely gone awayso I sold my '08 gasser last week. Electricity costs me about $1 per day. Each of my charge stations has its own private kwh meter . I have also taken advantage of complimentary charge stations in Duncan BC. .....but I can never get away from one without a conversation with passers-by. I am very pleased with this car over all. Tire noise and a speedometer that is in error by 9% remain my biggest complaints. It has not been back to the dealer for any service or warrantee work. I admit, I miss having the windshield cleaned by the young lady at our local garage but I am compensated by saving the time a fuel stop used to take. Realistically I do not think there will be any financial benefits given the extra cost of the car itself and the spectre of eventual battery replacement. However, it is fun to drive and different. Probably not zero emissions but close. Incidentally, most of my running is open road and highway. When I do come to a stop at a traffic light or congestion It is nice to know I am not burning up fuel needlessly. Would I recommend this car. An emphatic YES but it is not for everybody. dp

[SmartElectric 31]

Realistically I do not think there will be any financial benefits given the extra cost of the car itself and the spectre of eventual battery replacement. However, it is fun to drive and different. Probably not zero emissions but close. i

For me, the financial aspect is positive, in that commute is city streets which produced a gas milage of 12L/100km in my previous car. The Smart ED is part of a two car family, one being a gas SUV which is now driven very seldom by me. I agree, having driven this car for more than 6 months, I am never going back to a gas car. In fact, my wife said she'd like one when the next generation ED comes out based on the new 453 chassic (she likes the blue on white).

[steveyfrac 73]

By the time all was said and done, My Smart ED ended up costing me around $14k. ($27k base price, - $3k dealer incentive - $8500 government rebate - $2k for demo model price reduction).I don't think I could have purchased a regular gas smart with similar options for that price, so the financials are definitely positive for me. And I don't think the battery is going to be an issue... The battery is made by Li-tech, which was claiming 4500 cycles before they were bought up by Mercedes. That's 12 years of charging every day. Realistically, it's going to be age that kills the battery packs, not cycles. Expect 70 - 80% capacity at 10 years.That's a lot of gas not burned. Probably enough to buy a new battery. Hopefully.--Steve

[YUGreen 4]

Well, I'm happy to report I've now joined the 10,000km club after 10 (trouble-free) months of driving a 2014 model. Still a joy to drive!

[SmartElectric 31]

My two electric cars are comfortably over 10000km.

My Smart has 12000 and my other electric car (picked it up today) has almost 60000km. :-)

[darren 192]

I just passed 10,000 km a couple of weeks ago myself. I can't see myself owning another petroleum-powered vehicle. We are a two car household, so I can't say we'll be 100% gasoline (or diesel) free until the range and/or charging infrastructure cease to be an issue at all. But I think I can confidently say that one of our cars will be electric going forward.

[darren 192]

My two electric cars are comfortably over 10000km.

My Smart has 12000 and my other electric car (picked it up today) has almost 60000km. :-)

What'dya get? What'dya get?

[YUGreen 4]

I just passed 10,000 km a couple of weeks ago myself. I can't see myself owning another petroleum-powered vehicle. We are a two car household, so I can't say we'll be 100% gasoline (or diesel) free until the range and/or charging infrastructure cease to be an issue at all. But I think I can confidently say that one of our cars will be electric going forward.

That's pretty much what I tell most people -- any household that has 2 cars could probably function perfectly well if one was electric. We've found that the ICE uses considerably less gas these days because the EV gets used for more more short trips.

[SmartElectric 31]

My two electric cars are comfortably over 10000km.

My Smart has 12000 and my other electric car (picked it up today) has almost 60000km. :-)

What'dya get? What'dya get?

Bought a CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) Tesla Model S directly from Tesla. Has fresh 4 year warranty, and they included new tires, new brakes, new charge connector. Prepared the car to like new condition. We're thrilled with it. What a car!

[Jaguar 16]

@SmartElectric

An 85 or a 60?

Edited June 30, 2015 by Jaguar

[darren 192]

Fantastic! Congratulations! They are indeed one heck of an automobile.

[SmartED 9]

Fantastic cars they are for sure. Tesla that is. Enjoy and share with us, if you will, your adventures.

[steveyfrac 73]

So, I'm about to cross over 19k kms. I'm guessing I will end up hitting 20 during the summer here. Any idea how many K's Marc Hanna has on his ED? I'm guessing I'm one of the more well traveled ED's at this point.

[marchanna 115]

Not sure exactly, but I think I'm at about 46,000.

[SmartElectric 31]

@SmartElectric

An 85 or a 60?

It's a 2013 Tesla Model S 85. We've already done a 2500 km road trip in our first week with it. I may be delaying my (eventual) retirement, but YOLO. Figured that I'd rather have it when the kids are young enough to enjoy it together. I did look into the 60 kWh cars, but the range wasn't high enough in the winter for our every-weekend trips to KW, Cambridge, London and beyond from Toronto.

[SmartElectric 31]

Not sure exactly, but I think I'm at about 46,000.

Great! You must be saving a bundle on gas compared to the car you previous drove!

[marchanna 115]

Enormous! The savings in gas pays for it.

[steveyfrac 73]

I saved $3050 on gas last year. This is more than my lease payment..

[marchanna 115]

I'm over 50,000kms now.

[steveyfrac 73]

Wow! So you're a little over 25k per year?

[marchanna 115]

No quite that much, I've had the car since April 2013.

[steveyfrac 73]

I'm averaging almost exactly 20k per year. Hopefully this winter I'll be able to do a bit more driving.

[14smartelectric 0]

I'm like Darren. I can't see myself getting another gas car. I have 3 cars now. I try to use the ED whenever possible and try to keep the usage to the gas cars to a minimum. Anytime I go out with the wife to dinner or to run errands, I always take the ED. I wish solar panels and batteries would be cheap enough so I could build a 240V charging station for the back yard. If they could just get all fo the parts to be less than $2,000, I'd be set!

Every time I drive this car, I feel like I turn into an instant A-List celebrity. Every place I go people are watching, especially with this color combination. I really get looks when driving down the expressway. LOTS of heads turn as if they were looking at Tom Cruise or some other famous celebrity driving a vehicle. You don't get that in any other vehicle.