smartzuuk Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 So we took home a 2020 e-Golf on April 30th... maxed out the available incentives including a "scrap-it" voucher, and said good-bye to a Volvo C30.... Managed to find a "non-loaded" Comfortline with leatherette in a good colour.... was not interested in the Technology and Driver Assistance packages which would have added more than $5000 out the door for what I describe as a bunch of fluff.... fluff that looks like it could act up in the future, seeing as it is all sensors and bells and whistles, and not really anything physical, save for some ambient lights and a 1 inch bigger screen, lol So $41,000 plus 12% tax on the top, less $5k federal rebate, less $3k provincial rebate, less $6k "scrap-it" = $32k out the door Impressions 10 days later? The car at 80% charge has a nice weather range of 230 kms, and charged at home on a Level II, you could quite easily get that range up 290 kms in a pinch if you were planning on a long day or a distant trip... Anecdotally, we are easily able to get the European rated efficiency out of the car, which is 13.8 kWh/100 km, and I can eke out as low as 11.0 Heated seats use very little battery range! Heat, AC and heavy fan use obviously will eat up range. That said, even in winter, I predict 130 kms of useable range while charging the battery up to 80% from 30% remaining.... which seems to be the consensus on what to do the majority of the time on a Level II (home) charger to extend battery life expectancy Car has an Eco and Eco+ mode which tame the throttle input, max speed and even restrict climate control in the case of Eco+ You can be engaged with the car using the shifter to select 4 stages of regenerative braking - great for everything from stop lights to long mountain highway descents... Lots of free charging infrastructure available, even some BC Hydro Level III fast chargers. Most of the fast charging has a fee, deservedly so, but there are lots of places to get Level II juice without cost. We're only using free charging right now until we move in July and get a home charger installed... Car has power, drives great, and being a Golf (ie: not designed as an electric car), it has personality that possibly is lacking in some of the austere EV specific models other makes have out. True - the e-Golf is now done... but I think this will remain a classic EV for years to come, and VW will certainly do well with their next EV specific offerings if they hit the price point that "average joe" can relate to and make the move on.... The closest Tesla is many thousands more, with a ridiculous software limited range enforced on it... Kia is $7000 more at least... GM about the same... Nissan also, and you don't get the extra range in the Leaf without spending almost $15k more 250 km range from 110-0 and 130-180 range charging optimally and depending on weather is highly useable, and we're turning this into a shared car and putting most of the mileage onto it At 200,000 kms, the car is but a $6500 cost overall factoring in the reduced operating costs and reduction in "fuel" expense - even maintenance is $3500 less over this timeframe by my pessimistic estimate - that's based on 30 DIY oil changes, one timing belt/water pump, a couple tune ups and other various items.... Thankfully, we have hydro-electric power in BC, and I hope they will introduce time of day billing, as these cars should charge during the night Buying an electric is not going to save the planet or help climate change in any meaningful way, but I hope this helps the air quality in the Fraser Valley.... Like Mike T, I jokingly refer to these cars as "EEV's" / "elsewhere emission vehicles", and my opinion is largely unchanged if you're in a region that's burning coal to power them.... but since BC is not doing that.... Vin # begins with "WVW"... for better or for worse. I would NOT have wanted a Mexican VW though.... so it mattered to me. Fire away! lol 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 Cool! The Mk7 Golf is a really great looking car, and 230 km range is pretty decent. $32k is still a hefty chunk of change after all those incentives, though. But it's been a while since I've bought a car at all, so my perspective is probably skewed. Looking forward to reading about your ongoing experience with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartzuuk Posted May 18, 2020 Author Share Posted May 18, 2020 You would be $40,000 out the door with any other EV.... even despite that level of incentives... The absolutely disgraceful Tesla software limited range of 150 km base model you can only order in the store (not online) starts at $45,000 and you can't get Scrap It with it.... The Bolt EV and a coupe of the Hyundai/Kia products have better range, but will run you more $$$. So I think for our first EV, VW, hit the sweet spot, in terms of range and price. They say it costs $100 USD per kW for battery size, and if you are thinking life-cycle impact on the environment etc.... buying more battery than you need should be verboten. Rare earth elements, and mining, and all that. Mazda's new MX-30 should be interesting, with a similar EV range as the e-Golf, but more than likely a rotary engine generator on board to turn it into a longer range vehicle.... we'll see what we end up with in Canada soon enough. That would be a vehilce type I would consider if we should need a second vehicle for anything more than occasional use, which as of late is not the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebikerboy Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 (edited) We've had our Leaf SV for over a year now and am still very happy with it. Best thing about owning an EV model that's been around for ten years is, there's lot's of batteries around to use as a replacement plus, there are now aftermarket companies starting to produce them... I hardly ever drive with the radio on as, I find the quietness so satisfying. Edited May 19, 2020 by lebikerboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 Given what's happened in recent months, I'd be skeptical that Mazda has the resources to invest right now in a rotary range extender for the MX-30. Even bringing a new EV to market right now is going to be a challenge for Mazda. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebikerboy Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 (edited) This morning I was heading over to Vancouver's West Side to bike ride around the area plus UBC to my amazement, at the corner of Georgia and Denman there was a Tesla Model S on my left, a Telsa Model 3 on my right and A Kia Soul EV next to him. Four Electric vehicles in a row! Times they are a changin'... Edited May 19, 2020 by lebikerboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartzuuk Posted May 24, 2020 Author Share Posted May 24, 2020 Hmm... I sure do see a lot of Tesla product on the roads... but Leaves and Bolts as well...... lol, couldn't resist I would expect to be able to change out the battery in the VW if it bites to bullitt after 8 years We are trying to operate it almost all of the time on Level II between 30% and 80% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartzuuk Posted August 15, 2020 Author Share Posted August 15, 2020 Getting closer to 10,000 kms on the eGolf with zero issues. Except occasional brake noise - because they get used so lightly and get pretty dusty.... German build quality shines on this car. It's all the car one really needs, lol. Range is proving itself to be reliably 150-180 useable kms operating between roughly 25% and 90% of battery charge, ie: from 230-240 kms down to around 50-60 remaining... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartzuuk Posted August 15, 2020 Author Share Posted August 15, 2020 Read an article on incentives and net prices of the upcoming Rav4 Prime... Quebec sure is making gasoline obsolete! Anyway, there was an interesting remark about the Prius Hybrid and how hybrids far surpass Tesla's in terms of net tailpipe GHG reductions when looked at based on the electric battery size.... ie: more hybrids on the road for the same amount of battery materials... I haven't dug into whatever might exist for the analysis backing this up, but it makes sense. Making a battery with 85kW or 125kW of potential storage "just to cure range anxiety" is pure silliness.... I can see where a 400 km rage vehicle makes a lot of sense (newer Leaf for example), but 200 ish is still going to meet 90% of daily users needs... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willys Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 49 minutes ago, smartzuuk said: Read an article on incentives and net prices of the upcoming Rav4 Prime... Quebec sure is making gasoline obsolete! I can't see anyone making gasoline obsolete except within city limits maybe and that will be a massive maybe.....but that is just me. I agree totally that most city dwellers can use a 200 km range vehicle easily for the rest of their days. Rural folks can't, so making fuel obsolete is a crazy notion.....and I know you didn't mean completely doing so.....lol. BUT I do see the usefullness of a 400 km vehicle even for us country bumpkins...lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeT Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 Our next and last new car will most likely be a hybrid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebikerboy Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 (edited) On 8/15/2020 at 8:33 AM, smartzuuk said: Read an article on incentives and net prices of the upcoming Rav4 Prime... Quebec sure is making gasoline obsolete! Anyway, there was an interesting remark about the Prius Hybrid and how hybrids far surpass Tesla's in terms of net tailpipe GHG reductions when looked at based on the electric battery size.... ie: more hybrids on the road for the same amount of battery materials... I haven't dug into whatever might exist for the analysis backing this up, but it makes sense. Making a battery with 85kW or 125kW of potential storage "just to cure range anxiety" is pure silliness.... I can see where a 400 km rage vehicle makes a lot of sense (newer Leaf for example), but 200 ish is still going to meet 90% of daily users needs... Other than the fact that there are two drive trains to worry about plus the normal ICE maintenance requirements and whenever the ICE is started...sorry it's a crock. Edited August 16, 2020 by lebikerboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartzuuk Posted March 23, 2021 Author Share Posted March 23, 2021 LOL, quick update..... So back in December, a used 2019 Hyundai Kona appeared on a Hyundai dealers lot with just 19,000 kms and a very convincing price.... I took the VW in, and made a deal the same day and drove home for less total cost than the difference would have been to get the Kona new as oppised to the eGolf..... the VW clearly was the better vehicle overall I must say, but even knowing that, the range of over 400 kms is well worth the extra out the door... The VW had 19,000 kms on it as well, so it was a real no brainer to swap... $8700 extra after tax. New, a Kona would have been roughly $3000 more than what I was now out of pocket in total.... Good weather is now on the menu in BC, and a 90% charge is giving almost 450 km range... 80% just about 400! I can use as little as 13 kWh/100 km as per the vehicle estimate The VW ID.4 will kick the snot out of the Kona once it is actually available.... but until then..... Already at 36,000 km+ and going to add 20,000 or more this year before winter arrives I think I keep an eye open for smart electrics... saw one once for $8000 which would be an ok deal I think.... although such limited range is an issue, even for a daily commute here in the valley The VW was never intended to be a long range vehicle... we simply upgraded for the longer range after our expectations with an EV were exceeded I have no qualms about taking the Kona cross country at this time.... probably will do a trip to Manitoba this spring at least 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeT Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 I don't think we will every buy another new car now that Peugeot is bailing on Canada and USA again.....actually I didn't REALLY need one anyway. The Benz has only 306K km and should be good for 500K km easy. Scrapping usable reasonably economical car like this one before their service life is over is super dumb anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartzuuk Posted August 23, 2021 Author Share Posted August 23, 2021 Well, time for a short update.... So, we've been without the Kona already for 7 weeks, and there's probably 3 more to go before we'll get it back.... it was part of the battery recall, and the software update they did to "tide it over" ended up bricking the vehicle altogether July 2nd.... SO yeah, a $40,000+ "investment" inoperable for the ENTIRE summer... A couple days ago, GM announced an expansion of their Bolt battery recall - it covers every Bolt they have ever made, including the 2022 models - many probably in transit to dealers and on lots or just delivered....! We had been thinking of ditching the Kona and getting a Bolt EUV - the 2022 pricing is really attractive, and it would have cost very little extra to start fresh. Except forget it now. Planning to just dump the Kona once we finally get it back and revert to gas. Current fleet is: 2003 Toyota Corolla 108,000 kms, recent swap with a friend for a Suzuki Vitara that they will lift up! 2007 Volvo C30 jus 113,000 kms - recently acquired because the price was ridiculously right and it will help offset some other vehicle expenses at the end of the day once I move it 2005 Mazda3 with 210,000 kms - got this from a friend who was offered $1500 trade. He was the original owner. Full maintenance history. Nice car! Cynthia will drive this for awhile. The Corolla is now being marketed for sale.... All are automatic, the Volvo and Mazda are pretty much full load... none are great on fuel, but the Toyota is not too bad.... I reckon we'll drive the Mazda through the winter, and keep the Volvo til at least next year. The Corolla and Kona should both be gone by September hopefully. I'm 90% likely out of the EV game now for a few years til they get their crap together... Might consider a used hybrid of some sort, and was enthusiastic about the 2022 Ford Maverick - but will probably wait at the very least for a used one to come up eventually.... With the way the world is going, driving may not even be required..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willys Posted August 23, 2021 Share Posted August 23, 2021 11 hours ago, smartzuuk said: With the way the world is going, driving may not even be required..... That's the way.....to see it imho. I have said from the beginning with this battery powered crap, I'll let them figure it out then after 10 years of trying, IF I'm still driving, MAYBE I'll buy one...but never buy a new to market idea until they have tried it for a while.....there is always plenty of issues that ruin the experience for those who think they are doing a good thing...imho. Time to buy another low mileage Smart for a run around, CDI of course if fuel consumption is a concern....lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartzuuk Posted August 23, 2021 Author Share Posted August 23, 2021 On 3/23/2021 at 9:57 PM, MikeT said: Scrapping usable reasonably economical car like this one before their service life is over is super dumb anyway. And with that, the Scrap-It Program in BC is being scrapped for 2022.... The End! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebikerboy Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 Yes, service life not over and neither is the greenhouse gases they emit. If anyone can't see where we're headed burning fossil fuels... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willys Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 47 minutes ago, lebikerboy said: Yes, service life not over and neither is the greenhouse gases they emit. If anyone can't see where we're headed burning fossil fuels... No good starting this topic until China, India and all the other polluters get on board IMHO. We are a drop in a massive bucket compared to any of those animals.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebikerboy Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 (edited) China is way ahead of North America as far as manufacture/adoption of BEV goes... And as far as calling them animals, that's a very derogatory comment to make. Edited August 24, 2021 by lebikerboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willys Posted August 24, 2021 Share Posted August 24, 2021 LOL...you are about as sensitive and FB and their mamby pamby censors banning me for saying Canadians are stupid for voting for someone.....my god, people need to grow a set and get over worrying about simple words that are not aggressively derogatory or insulting.....but that is another topic all together and not one for this site as yes we also are far too sensitive it seems now a days. I don't know how most would have survived growing up back when we did.....damn! My statement was regarding their pollution counts and the way they disregard it in general. Have you not seen all the youtube videos showing how badly they pump out all sorts of pollutants and couldn't care less. People simply dumping garbage into water ways to get rid of it on the next tide.....by the truck load! Factories pumping black, coloured clouds of god knows what into the atmosphere. But here in Canada and the USA we are forced rightly so to do our best to not do these things...period. We get taxed to death for so called Carbon Tax, yet our country has so many trees we are so far in the neg it would be impossible for us to generate enough pollutants to register on the scale, compared to the worst of the other countries. Yes China has a far superior need for these micro vehicles and battery powered vehicles, why is that? Wouldn't be because of their massive population or cramped cities would it? Or the fact they don't have enough resources to power conventional powered vehicles? I don't know? Then we must bring in the distances we drive, for the most part, except for city dwellers who seem to never go further than a few miles in either direction for all their needs. Sounds very similar to the other country we are speaking of. But, you folks who live like this are not the only folks who drive, some of us drive further than you may in a week just to get our weekly single trip to the grocery store. It takes me 20 minutes at 80 kmh each way to get to our nearest grocery store. more than double that to get to the nearest hospital. So, for us to be forced to drive an electric vehicle with the range restrictions and also the lack of charging stations in our communities is unrealistic. Sure when they manage to get the raqnges to where we can rely on it to safely get us home again without the need to recharge while out, then maybe. BUT, at the moment they are falling a little short on range and reliability seeing as the batteries are catching fire or turning into a block of locked out nothing. IMHO they are still a novelty for the city dwellers who as I said above do not need to come close to distance I need to drive for the bare necessities. etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebikerboy Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 Typical Neanderthal mono neuron reasoning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willys Posted August 26, 2021 Share Posted August 26, 2021 Hmmm....and away you go again.....see ya...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartzuuk Posted August 31, 2021 Author Share Posted August 31, 2021 Well I can tell you I am done with EV now - by the way I am STILL without my fully paid for EV - heading into week 9, or maybe even 10.... next week is week 10 I think. No denying a change in climate, but actually, I don't think we can do much about it except get ready. " Typical Neanderthal mono neuron reasoning" is perhaps a fine example of cunning linguistics, but is it helpful? I mean, Willy's is driving a really LOW GHG emitting vehicle no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smartzuuk Posted August 31, 2021 Author Share Posted August 31, 2021 On 8/24/2021 at 0:09 PM, lebikerboy said: China is way ahead of North America as far as manufacture.... of BEV goes... Consider that EVERY Bolt made right up to model year 2022 is being recalled. Batteries made in China. Same as for the Kona - Hyundai is diddling around still, and I am heading into 10 weeks soon as noted with a fully paid for vehicle sitting with plates on it in a dealer compound. So yeah, China is way ahead....... Because we are STUPID in Canada...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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