View Single Post
      05-20-2019, 11:46 AM   #41
The HACK
Midlife Crises Racing Silent but Deadly Class
The HACK's Avatar
1817
Rep
5,337
Posts

Drives: 2006 MZ4C, 2021 Tesla Model 3
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Welcome to Jamaica have a nice day

iTrader: (1)

I dunno. I was an early convert to EV due to gasoline prices.

Back in 2013, I had a "cheap" daily, a 2012 Hyundai Veloster Turbo. This is besides my "fun" weekend car, a 2006 MZ4 Coupe. A friend tipped me off about a bunch of racer/HPDE instructors in NorCal that got together and organized a "group buy" for 2013/2014 Fiat 500e's. For the state rebate as down payment, the monthly lease with a variety of incentives FCA was throwing at it, the cost to lease was as little as $100 a month. Some were even able to get it down to $88 after taxes.

I didn't need it. The Veloster Turbo and the MZ4 Coupe were both paid off. I had no car payment at the time, but I did have a relatively long commute (40 miles each way, 80 miles round trip) compared to average, during a time where gas prices were comparable to today ($4.00-ish for regular). I didn't want to take on another car payment, but realized that for the amount of driving I do, even if I was being judicious on the throttle, I'm still spending about $250 a month on gas in the relatively fuel economical Veloster Turbo (30mpg combined).

So I cashed in the Veloster Turbo for a Fiat 500e.

The first 2 weeks were harrowing, to say the least. Even the trip home was nerve wracking, since the dealership was 65 miles away, they didn't fully charge the battery after the test drive, and it read 80 miles range remaining. By the time I'm near the top of the small hill I have to crest over to get home, about 45 miles away, the little EV was telling me I have enough charge to go another 38 miles. I didn't have a level 2 charger at home at the time, as this decision was done rather quickly, so I couldn't even drive the car for nearly 2 days until it's fully charged using a 120V charger.

Eventually I got used to a routine and knew exactly how far I can go and where to plug in at work for some extra juice to make sure I get home. Fast forward 6 years, 3 more EVs later, I'm now contemplating trading in my wife's 335D for a Tesla Model S. At this juncture, I'm not even doing this because it's cheaper or more environmental or whatever. I'm doing it for two reasons.

1. They're fun as f**k to drive.

2. They're convenient as f**k as well.

Now, don't get me wrong. For fun to drive factor, NOTHING new, short of spending over $150K, is going to beat what I already have in my garage. Even if we get the Tesla, it is unlikely to be faster than either one of my "fun" cars, both in a straight line and in the twisties (we won't be getting the P100D nor the Model 3 Performance). For what it's worth, the 2x two-seaters in the garage is what I take to the track too, so I don't foresee either the Bolt EV (current) or the potential Model S/Model 3 replacement for the 335D is going to EVER see the track.

From a fun to drive perspective, you really can't beat the instantaneous torque delivery of an electric motor. All 3 EVs I've had so far, the Fiat 500e, the BMW i3, and the Chevy Bolt EV, all do that. You floor it from a dead stop, and feel the corner of your mouth curl into this wicked sh*t eating grin involuntarily. There's no turbo to spool up, there's no throttle plate delay, there's no lag as the torque converter struggles to lock up. It takes off. Like a bat out of hell. And believe you me, I'm used to one of the fastest responding inline 6 engines ever made, with 6 individual throttle bodies and a 3,200 lbs chassis, the MZ4 Coupe produces insanity inducing throttle response. But with a measly 265 ft*lbs of torque that doesn't plateau until 4,000 RPM, the throttle responds quick but the real power doesn't come on until high up in the stratosphere of the screaming engine's range. And while the 335D has nut cinching torque from down low, that turbo and torque converter lag is made doubly apparent when you demand power from a light to zero throttle with a rapid throttle tip-in.

Out of all my ICE possessions, the Corvette Grand Sport probably has the best of both worlds. 6.2 liters of naturally aspirated V8 with high compression and direct injection, torque similar to what the diesel delivers from near idle, and yes, it takes off like a bat out of hell (I can confirm this too). Yet with 465 ft*lbs of torque, most of them available from near throttle tip-in without waiting for a turbo to spool, any of the 3 EVs that I have had will likely take the Corvette in a drag race...If it's from the first 100 ft. Even the slowest and least powerful of the 3, the Fiat 500e, despite the 0-60mph of around 7 seconds, gets up and go from 0-30mph FAST (and it peters off after that).

And they're all shockingly nimble. The exception being the i3. While it was quick and nimble around town, the skinny tires it came with really rears its ugly head when you want to have some fun at higher speeds. Imagine my surprise when navigating a high speed sweeping interstate transition at speeds MAYBE significantly above the posted recommendation, and feel the subtle signs of DSC engaging to prevent the car from sliding sideways at speeds still significantly LOWER than what I'm used to navigating this particular transition ramp at. But man, any of these 3 EVs? I would love to take them auto crossing. They're not going to set FTD, but they'll be fun as f**k to drive for sure.

As long as going significantly above 70mph isn't your goal, any EV is as fun as some of the best ICE vehicles on the road today.

And they're convenient as f**k.

I haven't had to worry about getting gas, unless it's for a track day, for over 6 years now*. I haven't had to deal with or think about if I have enough gas to get to work, or enough gas to get home, or if I have cash in my wallet for gas, or ANY OF THAT. In the morning, I unplug the EV, go to work, plug in at work, drive home, plug in. DONE. It's just like my phone. I wake up, unplug the phone, plug in at work, unplug when I leave, plug in when I get home. Never run out of charge. So simple. Heck with the Bolt EV, I think I plug it in once a week just for the heck of it. With 240 mile range on a full charge, unless I'm really STUPID and/or like living on the edge, I don't even really think about it. And you know what I haven't done in 6 years**?

Visit a car dealership for routine maintenance.

**Caveat: The Fiat 500e had a half dozen recalls, and stranded me on the freeway during rush hour one time because the car's charging system failed at 65mph. You read that right. Cruising in the carpool lane all by myself while mere plebeians deal with bumper to bumper in rush hour traffic at maybe 20-25mph average, car all of a sudden shut down. I made it about 3 lanes over on a 6 lane highway when all forward propulsion stopped. Yeah. That was fun.

Fix it again, Tony.

But other than the Fiat, I had made zero oil change in 6 years on any of the EVs (duh). No brake pads nor rotors. No annual "inspections." Nothing. Changed wipers, changed 1 set of tires (the i3, for some weird reason, eats both the front AND rear tires. Fast. They last about 10,000-13,000 miles). No service whatsoever. The i3 had a voluntary recall, that was it. Everything drivetrain wise, works as advertised, and never a single issue (again, outside the Fiat). Are there things I can nit pick on? Hell yeah. But from a convenience stand point, they are wonderful in that there's zero maintenance, they go where you want to go for a short distance, and all three had a ton more room than what their small size and stature imply. Even the Fiat 500e, I managed to haul a couple of folding tables, a half dozen moving boxes, and 2 31" computer monitors in their boxes during a move.

So yeah. I still got my go-to in the garage for the kind a fun that leaves my fingers shaking at the end of the drive. The EVs can't match that. They don't give you the visceral pleasure that the subtle vibrations sent through the shifter when you execute the perfect heel-toe (cheating in the Corvette, BTW. Comes with RevMatch®) downshift into a decreasing radius hair pin in the mountains. Nor does it give you that tingling sensation when the exhaust pops and burbles or wails with a tinny soundtrack as you push the pedal through the metal onto the front straight. Those I can always get from the MZ4 Coupe and the Grand Sport. You can pry the keys to the MZ4 Coupe out of my dead hands.

But today's EVs are actually fun-tactic cars. Certainly, for every day use (and then some), they're just as fun and enjoyable as 99.95% of the plebeian garbage you'd fine everywhere, and frankly, even though "saving money" was the primary motivator for me getting an EV 6+ years ago, saving money NOW is no longer a consideration between an EV or an ICE for me, as my commute now involves a 20 some feet walk from my bedroom to my computer in the hallway.

But I'd still take an EV in a heart beat.

* Another caveat. I said no gas unless I'm going to the track, and that's absolute truth. When we go on long vacation trips, we take my wife's 335D. D as in DIESEL. I once made a 600 mile round trip in a single tank (well, chickened out and refilled with about 40 miles left, but the trip odo suggest we had plenty to make it home with diesel to spare). I don't see why the move from the diesel to a Tesla would impact our vacation trips though, as I suspect we'd likely rent an SUV for comfort if we have to go for more than a week and 200 miles plus, as NONE of the vehicles in the garage and driveway right now are friendly for such an extended trip. The diesel was a stretch as is, since the E90 platform is barely big enough for 2 adults, 1 very tall child, and enough luggage for a week plus various equipment for trips.
__________________
Sitting on a beat-up office chair in front of a 5 year old computer in a basement floor, sipping on stale coffee watching a bunch of meaningless numbers scrolling aimlessly on a dimly lit 19” monitor.

Last edited by The HACK; 05-20-2019 at 12:31 PM..
Appreciate 4
Red Bread4462.00
SoCal_NSX2363.00
Humdizzle6024.00
roastbeef11571.50