I’m hoping to lease an EV in the next week or so. I’m in Vermont, and interested in something with AWD. Other than that I want the best deal possible on something decent. I will have a level 2 charger installed at home and it will be my wife’s daily for a 20 mile round trip commute. We don’t plan to use it for long road trips. Would consider 24-36 months and 7500-1000k miles.
I’ve looked at id.4, prologue, equinox, solterra, ioniq 5, ev6. I would prefer local pickup or delivery. Any suggestions? What is my best bet on a deal in the next few weeks?
Look for additional rebates with your local utility, on both the EV purchase and EV charger + installation. You can browse through the following site to find any offers you may qualify-
I’ve been operating an EV in VT for the past 2 years and my thoughts are mixed. Superchargers are few and far between, it’s crucial to be able to use Tesla sites. Even if you are just using it for short trips, if you forget to charge for a night or two it’s nice to have a quick option. Especially in the winter, when you will lose a lot of range due to the weather.
While the AWD systems are certainly helpful, the tires most EV’s use are maximized for range at the expense of grip. The weight of the vehicle also makes it harder to traverse class 3/4 roads. I would definitely suggest switching to gripper tires, at least high end all-season, if not M+S rated. Also, would favor an option with more ground clearance.
If you park outside, it’s hard to defrost an EV without the heat from the engine. The best answer is a garage, otherwise you will need to be diligent to keep snow off it. You will need the proper de-icing gear. This may add some time to the start of your morning commute.
From your list I would favor Honda Prologue or it’s GM equivalent Blazer. Would also suggest you consider an Ariya, Mach-E or EQB. If you want to push the budget, EQE/EQS/IX are superior options.
As a northern-state winter-getting IONIQ 5 driver, I would recommend the IONIQ 5. A few thoughts.
If you’re driving it 20 miles a day, you don’t need a Level 2 charger; you can use Level 1 on an outlet in your garage, assuming that’s where you were planning to install your L2 charger. L1 (@ 12A) will give you 3-4 miles of range back per hour. So if it’s parked 7 PM to 7 AM, you’ll recoup around 40 miles overnight. L1 cables used to come with the car but I’m not sure if they do anymore.
Agreed. If you’re really concerned about snow and ice, check out the prices for compatible snow tires for the vehicle.
I find this depends on what you need to defrost. The hood will not automatically sluff off snow and ice because there’s nothing under it generating heat. That said, the windows and windshield warm up quickly because EV cabin heaters warm up much faster than ICE heaters do (ICE needs to wait for the engine to warm up; heat pumps or resistive heaters in EVs don’t).
Agreed. I know you said you wont road trip with it, but once you experience the smoothness and quiet of driving an EV, you may be finding excuses to drive longer distances in it. Just in case, I’d suggest checking the chargers on your frequent long-distance travel routes; Tesla’s fast charging network is slick, but not the only option. Check out PlugShare (crowdsourced charger map) to see what chargers exist and how well they’re working.
His state offers free L2 charger and lower rate off peak charging.
He should 100% get in on that deal if not for the faster L2 charger then for the lower cost to charge at off-peak hours for what seems to be $0.15/kWh.
Same boat. Got a Lexus RZ. Sweet spot in 27 months (unless you have a state-specific rebate with a higher min lease length). Much nicer inside and better equipped than everything else in that price range IMO.
