My ex was looking for an EV SUV and as I have a friend that works at Vinfast we could have got employee pricing on a lease. Which would have meant a VF8 was INSANELY cheap.
But, overall, this whole thing was a disaster and I don't understand what they are doing. I get they sell a ton of these in Vietnam but I think their US operation is either a joke or not long for this world.
Anyway, first we head over to Vinfast for him to test drive the VF8 as, again, the price was right, and it's an EV SUV, what he wanted. First, my ex drove the VF8 they had as the test drive car. This thing was pretty bad... soooo bouncy, all the reviews of the 2023 are right. Now, here's the kicker, they have fixed this. The 2024s and 2025s have redesigned suspension. WHY ON EARTH are they using 2023s as test drive cars. My friend who works there let my ex drive his personal 2025 VF8 and it was NIGHT AND DAY difference. You are telling me they couldn't spare a single 2025 model? Like, anyone that drives a 2023 is going to leave in disgust, the suspension is just really that bad. But the 2025 drives like a normal, if not kinda cheap, car.
So, anyway, my ex tries to lease a 2025 VF8. Declined. His credit isn't great, so OK, I try to lease one in my name. Declined as well. ***? My credit isn't stellar but I'm at 731 and I have never been declined for a car in my life. And we're talking an approximately $150/mo lease, not the Equinox EV we ended up buying (not leasing) later in the day that cost 3x as much. Turns out Vinfast only works with US Bank for financing and apparently they literally decline almost everyone.
So, OK, if you actually want one of these things, unless you have 800 credit and make $500K/year, I guess you don't quality for a $150/mo Vinfast, actually getting your car isn't as simple as walking in, doing some paperwork, and leaving with your car. They have a parking lot full of cars (which are apparently mostly lease returns from the people that leased the 2023 for two years when it first came out). Anyway, how do you get your car? They have to order one and do all the prep and they deliver it to your house in 2-5 days. The only one "in stock" was a white one, fine, but you can't even get the "in stock" car the same day as they have to do their PDI before you take it. Like, what? You have this car sitting here for months and you can't take an hour to do a PDI in that time?
So, while we were there, my friend offered me a test drive on the new VF9. This is supposed to be a premium vehicle that competes with like the Kia EV9, Tesla Model X, Rivian R1S, etc. WOW.
So, I go to test drive the car, and the first thing I notice is that the steering feels broken. Like, when you aren't moving, the power steering is like, not strong enough? You literally can't turn the steering wheel until the car is moving slightly, then it works. Turning radius is somehow worse than the one in my Prologue. And, the backup cameras, like in the VF8, stutter at like 2FPS, so good luck trying to get out of the parking lot. Once I made it out of the parking lot, and started actually driving the car, it had errors. Every few seconds a new error flashed on the screen and it bing bonged. "Service parking lamp" "Service adaptive cruise control" "XYZ feature not available - service required" and this continued the entire test drive.
Oh, and for over 400hp, this thing is SLOOOOW. It's laggier than a gas car. Like, you press the accelerator, it takes a full two seconds before it responds, and then it starts to go. Once it starts going, though, it's actually decently zoomy, it just takes a while. Motor whine is very obnoxious. I've owned and driven multiple EVs and none have had this loud of "motors" as the VF9.
So, Vinfast, if you're reading this...
1. Drop the price. Make the VF8 lease at $199/mo with $0 down and the VF9 lease at $249/mo with $0 down.
2. Fire sale all your 2023 cars. Lease returns or demo cars, I don't care, sell them for $10K, whatever you have to do to get rid of them.
3. Have cars in stock, ready to go. Most people that want to or need to buy a car need it now, not next week.
4. Either throw US Bank wads of cash to approve everyone that walks in the door or find a different finance company that will. Again, if I qualify to lease a Honda Prologue AND buy an Equinox EV it's absurd I can't get the VF8.
5. And this is the biggest one, LET PEOPLE TEST DRIVE THE 2025 VERSION OF THE VF8!
But, overall, this whole thing was a disaster and I don't understand what they are doing. I get they sell a ton of these in Vietnam but I think their US operation is either a joke or not long for this world.
Anyway, first we head over to Vinfast for him to test drive the VF8 as, again, the price was right, and it's an EV SUV, what he wanted. First, my ex drove the VF8 they had as the test drive car. This thing was pretty bad... soooo bouncy, all the reviews of the 2023 are right. Now, here's the kicker, they have fixed this. The 2024s and 2025s have redesigned suspension. WHY ON EARTH are they using 2023s as test drive cars. My friend who works there let my ex drive his personal 2025 VF8 and it was NIGHT AND DAY difference. You are telling me they couldn't spare a single 2025 model? Like, anyone that drives a 2023 is going to leave in disgust, the suspension is just really that bad. But the 2025 drives like a normal, if not kinda cheap, car.
So, anyway, my ex tries to lease a 2025 VF8. Declined. His credit isn't great, so OK, I try to lease one in my name. Declined as well. ***? My credit isn't stellar but I'm at 731 and I have never been declined for a car in my life. And we're talking an approximately $150/mo lease, not the Equinox EV we ended up buying (not leasing) later in the day that cost 3x as much. Turns out Vinfast only works with US Bank for financing and apparently they literally decline almost everyone.
So, OK, if you actually want one of these things, unless you have 800 credit and make $500K/year, I guess you don't quality for a $150/mo Vinfast, actually getting your car isn't as simple as walking in, doing some paperwork, and leaving with your car. They have a parking lot full of cars (which are apparently mostly lease returns from the people that leased the 2023 for two years when it first came out). Anyway, how do you get your car? They have to order one and do all the prep and they deliver it to your house in 2-5 days. The only one "in stock" was a white one, fine, but you can't even get the "in stock" car the same day as they have to do their PDI before you take it. Like, what? You have this car sitting here for months and you can't take an hour to do a PDI in that time?
So, while we were there, my friend offered me a test drive on the new VF9. This is supposed to be a premium vehicle that competes with like the Kia EV9, Tesla Model X, Rivian R1S, etc. WOW.
So, I go to test drive the car, and the first thing I notice is that the steering feels broken. Like, when you aren't moving, the power steering is like, not strong enough? You literally can't turn the steering wheel until the car is moving slightly, then it works. Turning radius is somehow worse than the one in my Prologue. And, the backup cameras, like in the VF8, stutter at like 2FPS, so good luck trying to get out of the parking lot. Once I made it out of the parking lot, and started actually driving the car, it had errors. Every few seconds a new error flashed on the screen and it bing bonged. "Service parking lamp" "Service adaptive cruise control" "XYZ feature not available - service required" and this continued the entire test drive.
Oh, and for over 400hp, this thing is SLOOOOW. It's laggier than a gas car. Like, you press the accelerator, it takes a full two seconds before it responds, and then it starts to go. Once it starts going, though, it's actually decently zoomy, it just takes a while. Motor whine is very obnoxious. I've owned and driven multiple EVs and none have had this loud of "motors" as the VF9.
So, Vinfast, if you're reading this...
1. Drop the price. Make the VF8 lease at $199/mo with $0 down and the VF9 lease at $249/mo with $0 down.
2. Fire sale all your 2023 cars. Lease returns or demo cars, I don't care, sell them for $10K, whatever you have to do to get rid of them.
3. Have cars in stock, ready to go. Most people that want to or need to buy a car need it now, not next week.
4. Either throw US Bank wads of cash to approve everyone that walks in the door or find a different finance company that will. Again, if I qualify to lease a Honda Prologue AND buy an Equinox EV it's absurd I can't get the VF8.
5. And this is the biggest one, LET PEOPLE TEST DRIVE THE 2025 VERSION OF THE VF8!
Last edited:
as it is.
