Reviews for normal people
Reviews for normal people
I am looking to buy my first EV, it will end up as our second car and probably our primary vehical for our growing family. I have been looking at reviews and test driving when I have time.
One thing that has been getting to me about the reviews is they focus so much on how sporty the car is, especially it's acceleration. Thing is, I live in a big city and don't particularly care about that kind of thing. Yeah, I get that the tech for an EV is inherently more tuned for that, but it's like every review is "It's so fast!".
They also compare to Tesla a lot, but as this would be my first EV, it doesn't really mean a lot to me and I am not particularly interested in Tesla.
Seems like the things I really want to know never really get talked about - how does it hold up with kids? can it fit car seats without a hassle? How frustrating are the controls I actually use (climate, environment, lights, wipers, etc)?
Are there any resources aimed at just the normal every day experience in the car?
There are several car reviewers on youtube that specialize in reviews for parents. Most of them will review electric cars as they get the chance. Here are a few of the better known ones.
https://youtube.com/@JimmyMak?feature=sharea
https://youtube.com/@TheCarMom?feature=sharea
https://youtube.com/@BabyDriveReviews?feature=sharea
Thank you, these are much more in line with what I am looking for.
Pretty much any EV is going to get up and go. Some things to keep in mind (If you’re in the US).
- Look for one with a decent range. I get about 160 miles out of my Bolt EV during the summer because I have to run the AC, and GM in its infinite wisdom has chopped off 20% of my battery range for “safety”.
- The current Nissan Leaf is a nice car, but you can’t charge it anywhere but home because it uses a dead connector standard called ChaDeMo.
- Older used Nissan Leafs (previous compact design) are cheap because their batteries are out of warranty. I would avoid these.
- There are some older “compliance car” EVs that don’t go very far (60-80 miles when fully charged). These would be things like the EV Golf, and Fiat 500e. I would avoid these.
- Be sure to check the blind spots. I regret not paying extra for the blind spot alert and the simulated overhead camera mode.
- You likely don’t need to install a 240v charger. Especially if this is a second car. He travel charger it comes with plugs into a normal outlet and will likely replenish it enough overnight. Try it first and see (Unless you’re getting a rebate and the 240v charger ends up being free with installation.)
Linus Tech Tip's Shortcircuit youtube channel does show EV reviews. Yes, they still talk about the acceleration but tend to focus on ths user interface, sound system, ride and space inside. It's because they're a tech channel, not a car channel.
Hello there,! The questions you’ve asked are super generic that would honestly depend on the brand (holding up with kids, control button layouts, etc). Just like ICE cars, what you pay is what you get. The higher you pay the better the materials and build quality (except maybe tesla). I’m sure you could find some bloggers that have a family and use their EV. Maybe I can help add my short experience to help you decide.
A little background:
- I just bought my EV, a 2023 Chevy Bolt, three weeks ago, so I’m brand new to the EV scene
- I live in Texas where its currently 101 degrees Fahrenheit, so my range is limited due to the heat drawing the battery a lot.
- I have a family of 4 (7 and 3 years old kids), with both kids needing car seats for their age group. Car seat installation was super easy even though my car is TINY.
- Our car was meant to be a second car just for going around town. We have a 2019 Toyota Sienna for long trips or for trips that need space for whatever reason.
- My mother bought a Tesla model Y about 1.5 years ago, so I had some exposure, but I live around 12 hours away so it was just getting to see it during the holiday visits. I did get get to take it on a road trip with my dad and brother as a get together which was fun.
I’ve found that the bolt is an amazing second car for driving around town. It really saves us from taking out the van just for short runs. My kids are on the shorter side (I’m 5’8” and my wife is 4’11” so they ddon’t have a chance), but they seem to have enough room for travel. I will say that the base model bolt doesn’t have decent cup holders, they’re built into the doors, but they really suck. They don’t have any chargers in the back either so for tablets they would need to use their battery.
The climate controls are okay, but they did take a page from tesla’s book and made them controlled from the screen. It isn’t as bad though because there are physical buttons for the speed of the fans and the temperature.
I find that the smaller size helped save a ton of room in our already small garage, which was really needed. I had a 05 honda accord and it would barely fit in the garage with the shelves we had in there and with the van. This isn’t the case with the bolt.
I also like that my car qualifies for the US tax credit. I checked with my liabilities and it looks like I’ll probably be able to utilize all 7500 which I’ll use to pay down the car. You can do similar things with other EV’s that don’t qualify if you use the leasing loophole (if you look at the EV subreddit you’ll find it).
Additionally, GM payed for a new outlet to be installed in my garage for me to have a level 2 charger. I just ordered my actually charger unit so it’ll be nice to use that instead of the trickle charger.
All in all, I think that maybe as a primary vehicle it might prove to be difficult if you drive a lot of miles in a day, or if you want to road trip in it. I hope this helps.
I don't recall where i saw the review that mentioned it but i think Volvo and Polstar are supposed to have the best controls/software. i also recall reading that Volkswagen has the worst software. Just a slightly helpful tidbit. also, if a car you're looking at has been reviewed by Doug Dimuro on youtube, he goes pretty extensively into the "quirks and features" of cars, so you might look him up.
I'm not sure how long your timeframe is but an important think to think about is that many manufacturers are switching the type of plug they use over to match the Telsa plug, allowing easier use of tesla super chargers. in my experience driving a Tesla Model 3 for three years, the non-tesla charging stations aren't very reliable. I charge at home 99% of the time though, so my experience would be kind of limited. the 1% of the time i do take long road trips i find that there are plenty of tesla superchargers for just anywhere in the eastern US.