On a site with fossil fuels in the name, I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that EV's received the amount of shade they do here. While there of course the ultra-ridiculous "if it doesn't go 800 miles and charge in 2 minutes, I'm not interested" crowd, I think there's more it than just random EV hate. A lot of EV's simply seem to look and feel more like a high-tech appliance than what most people consider to be a "car". I'm in my mid-fifties and have been driving since I was 15, so I certainly fall into that category. Many EV's seem more like Iphones to me than cars. Personally, I'm OK embracing the new experience, even as a long-time car guy.
But... roads let me a different direction, and upon spending a few months in my new car, I couldn't help think "this is an EV a Bitog'r would love!". Enter, my new ride, the VW E-Up!
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First, I had three different cars from the VW MK7 Golf family (Alltrack, GTi and Golf R), so this my color my thoughts a bit, but this is the simplest car to operate I've ever been in. All of the controls are dead simple. If you've never sat in a VW, you would still know where everything is in about 2 minutes.
Secondly, there is almost nothing to differentiate this car from a gasoline car. Of course, part of that is because they make this same car with a gas engine. Still, when you get in it, it just feels like a car. Not an X-Box. Not an Iphone. Just a very simple car.
Lastly, this is one of the rare "put batteries in a gasoline car" platforms where the end result is actually better than the gas version. I've driven both, and while you feel the weight a bit in the corners, it feels a bit more planted to me, it's a lot quieter, and seems to get blown around a lot less on the highway. It also feels a lot faster than the numbers suggest, due to the high torque and low weight. The operating costs on this car are incredibly low.
Downsides? Well, first, if you need a lot of space it isn't the car for you. The car is much more spacious than a lot of cars in this segment (Fiat 500, for instance). It has usable rear seats and reasonable cargo space. Funny thing is, while today this is considered a micro car by many, it's roughly the size of my MK1 GTi (and has more overall cargo space). In many ways, it actually reminds me of my first GTi. For me, the small size is actually why I bought this car. Originally, I was had a deposit on a VW ID3, but after 2 weeks in a rental car that was the same size, I realized it was just far too big. My wife and I moved to a small village in Spain, and the roads here are tiny, as is the entrance to our garage. I just didn't want to worry about not being able to get to our house some days because of how someone else parked.
And the big one that causes so much heartburn: range. I can get an honest 160 miles out of this car, shocking considering that's the published range and it had 30K on it when I bought it. That said, there's very little highway driving, and--the bigger reason it's not an issue--I live on a small island. The longest drive I've done in a day is about 70 miles, and had a bit more than half of the battery left. Range anxiety will never be a thing for me with this car. If I'm doing a long road trip, I'll rent something. That said, 2 things come to mind: 1: I would have loved to have this car in Seattle. It would have sufficed for 95% of my trips just fine, been easier to park, and perfectly suitable for the driving there. 2: medium distance trips aren't actually that bad with it. I bought the car from a dealer in Madrid (cars are crazy expensive on the island), and had to drive it to the ferry, about 300 miles. I did charge twice on the trip, both times at a Repsol on the highway. 37kW is the fastest charging speed on "fast charge", but with a battery this size, that means 40 minutes and you're from 20% to 80-85% in about 40 minutes. And while I generally hate stopping for gas, Repsol totally changes that dynamic for me. Stop in and get a sandwich, pastry and a coffee, and by the time I'm done the car is charged. Simple. Honestly, for a road trip where you aren't in a hurry, it was actually fine. And, part of moving here is to never have to be in a hurry again! So, no pasa nada... The thing is, the small range is also what makes this car great--it's still quite light and maneuverable.
Overall, I have to say I'm a big fan of this car. I got it thinking "I'll get a real car later", but it the longer I have it the more I see it as being my main ride. It definitely feels like the "anti-EV EV".
and I used text to speech on my iPhone for this post. I corrected a million things already. Hope I didn’t miss any.
