If we hadn't been pissing about for the last 30 years we could potentially have charging highways now and you wouldn't need a big battery.

2008 Prius driver here. The battery in my vehicle still seems good. I haven t had to replace any parts so far, outside of expected maintenance. I am not sure I would buy a low-end electric with the technology being so young, but I would not hesitate in buying another Toyota hybrid. I certainly will never own a fully gas-powered vehicle ever again. I just can t go back. A used Prius is a great deal. I bought mine with about six years on it.

Luzwei wrote:jimmy two hands wrote:I would go full electric, but none of the models have enough range to be able to get me to the parents or the in-laws or the long work-related drives I gotta do pretty often, and the long recharging times make those drives really impractical for an electric.What's the range you would be most comfortable with?Something around 400-500 miles is what I'd need, and it looks like Tesla is the only one coming close to that. Problem with Tesla, they're moving to internet-only sales, meaning that the showrooms will close an there's no way to test drive one and I'm honestly not sure if that company is going to be in business much longer. Everything else I've seen has a range between 100 & 200 miles which will definitely not work even on a day-to-day basis.

blackmarket wrote:2008 Prius driver here. The battery in my vehicle still seems good. I haven t had to replace any parts so far, outside of expected maintenance. I am not sure I would buy a low-end electric with the technology being so young, but I would not hesitate in buying another Toyota hybrid. I certainly will never own a fully gas-powered vehicle ever again. I just can t go back. A used Prius is a great deal. I bought mine with about six years on it.My 2005 Prius is still going strong, and like you, I can't see settling for crappy gas mileage anymore. I drove an older Volvo sedan around for a couple weeks, and seeing 13-18 mpg, and having to fill the tank more than once a week was just not something I can do in good conscience. One of the most fuel efficient, and affordable, gas-only cars is the Honda Fit, but it's not a car I can be excited about. Another hybrid is obviously an option, but I'm also dreaming of a car that I will enjoy driving, maybe a little sporty. I don't think there's an electric that will work for me at this time.I love the look of the Tesla, but even used, it's more than I would like to spend. I drove a Smart four-2, and it was fun, and would be great for zooming around town, but on the highway? NOPE. I do travel a couple times a month, about 100 miles, round trip, and for work I sometimes drive 100 miles a day. So comfort is a factor, too.I still have reservations about electric car technology. Upthread the idea of a solar panel to assist w/ charging is mentioned, but I've read that solar charging is not very robust. With a hybrid, you always have the gasoline engine available if you need it, while with electric there's no backup plan if you run out of juice in the middle of nowhere. Electric cars are the way to go, but I just don't know that they're ready for primetime yet.

I am a huge fan of the switch to electric cars- as the mass transit infrastructure is decades out, and my way of making a living is dependent on flexibility. I was set to make the switch and pick up a 2nd hand Leaf- Certified used with under 20k miles sell for $12-14K in my neck of the woods. The real-world range of 70 miles is plenty for my typical commute. However, my duties at work have changed, and they will involve a lot more driving all over a 5 county region- which would be impossible with current charging infrastructure. Very glad I waited.My 2014 sentra gets 38mpg in typical day to day driving, which makes it better than a hybrid, given the price difference.

The only reason my wife and I have two cars is my 20 minute commute to work. I'm commuting in my wife's Smart while she has my car to be able to take our kids with her when she needs to run errands.The only thing I dislike about the Smart is that it's pretty loud and I often listen to podcasts in it. An electric Smart would be a great car for me, but it's about four times as much as I am willing to pay for a car.

I love the idea of electric vehicles. The problem is that we live down a long, hilly dirt road and it snows here in the winter. 4wd and decent clearance is a must and the last time I looked into it, which was a few years ago now, there really wasn't anything out there that would work for us. We also have 2 kids and are always hauling shit around so a compact car is a no go. We currently have a Subaru Forester with 200k+ miles that is on it's last legs. We're hoping to get through the summer with it and then we'll need to find something. So I guess my question is are there any decent 4wd electric cars out there at this point? Is it something that's coming soon or is it a ways off.

Chris Jury, I would go with a gen 1 Chevy Volt. I shy away from GM products, but I love mine. They overbuilt that model, so there are reports of Volts going 400K+ miles. Mine is at 140K, and so far, it's needed front wheel bearings and will be due for front struts soon-- not much else.Volts were designed for when the charging infrastructure wasn't particularly robust, so as used EVs go, it's a much better option than a Leaf or eGolf.Elisha, all Tesla models have AWD variants, but pretty much any EV will be an excellent snow car thanks to the low center of gravity and weight from the batteries. I keep a set of Blizzaks for winter, and it keeps up with my girlfriend's AWD CR-V no problem.

Illinois residents, it looks like your state legislature is proposing to increase the annual registration fee for EVs from $17.50 to $1000. The reasoning given is that it offsets the loss in revenue from gas taxes which, under the same proposal, would increase to $.44 per gallon. Put another way, the fee covers the lost tax revenue for over 1900 gallons of gas. Anybody here putting 1900 gallons a year into their (personal use) vehicle?$1000 a year is insane and pretty much eliminate any financial incentive to get an EV. I thought Ohio s recent increase to $200 was bad, but $1000 is a nonstarter.

As a quick sidestep to the discussion i wanted to add something about cars in general. A friend of mine is a engineer and inventor with some patents to his belt, he won a inventors competition (2nd) and then got to hang around with the r+d top hats from two motor companies. The lowdown is, they went on and on about what they already had developed, what is 100% finished and ready for production and what they are not allowed to build. Among that the fuel cell car, a car with a ceramic motor block which burns fuel way hotter and needs less than 50% gallons per mile (compared to similar engines) and (the heat in the engine) does put out just a fraction of exhaust. Then they went on to tell about batteries in the 70s for forklifts that were more efficient/faster recharging than anything you get to buy today. I checked that with dad and a few other oldtimers and those who remembered said it's true. It's not the first time i heard stories like these as i have a few uncles working in engineering.