Featured Motortrend: Prime vs Volt (and other alt. vehicle comparisons)

As impressed with the tech as I am, I also note the stopping distances of the Volt, Bolt, Prime and Ionique. One of them would stop before the three others were well crashed into the car ahead from their 60 to zero tests.

 

pretty good article, especially for mt. all cars have their advantages and disadvantage, pick the one that's right for you.
we no longer purchase based on styling.

 

Sounds like a plan <BEEP> <BEEP>

Bob Wilson

 

Is this what you meant?

Bob Wilson

 

I have yet to sit in a Hyundai Ioniq. I wouldn't be surprised to find Ioniq has generous steering wheel telescope which in turn allows for usable legroom (seat that slides back far, but steering wheel out of reach is phony legroom in my book, Prius deal breaker here).
Before anyone calls me a t-Rex with short arms, even though my arms are actually very long, the Bolt has very generous driver seat AND steering wheel telescope adjustment and it was nice driving position to me.
Perhaps the scant driver seat room is more of a Japanese car trait. Hit or miss, a few have generous room, many don't

 

From a quick look at the "price as tested", they likely all have advanced safety features. None were feature cut 'loss leader' base trims.

 

That looks like a Morris Minor 1000.

 

That was a great review, comparing the bad and good of each in non technical terms. I have a tad bit different take on final choice because of "infrastructure", but he discusses those points fairly.

I don't have 220V in my garage, so that pretty much leaves out a real EV unless I only drive every other day. <g>, I live on the east coast, not the west, so Hydrogen, what's that, I've never seen a hydrogen filling station. (Though the Mirai looks similar to a Prime, and I actually don't think it's ugly like a lot of people say)

So that leaves me with an Ionic PHEV, HV, or the Prius HV, Prime. Well, Hyundai doesn't quite have the reliablilty thing down pat, and it's kind of plain looking, so that leaves the Prius. And I'm loath to say this as a Prius Gen3 owner, there's not anything it has that the Prime doesn't except for a slightly better cargo capacity and a somewhat functional 5th seat. The Prime really wins hands down, and that's what I ordered, even though it's not quick to get.

In my search for a new car I just looked at two, the Volt and the Prime. The long charging times of the volt wasn't great, it costs significantly more, and I have this aversion to chevy's design choice for the ICE (what's with that anemic, low gas mileage, non optimized thing, it feels so old-school, I *know* they can do better). Also there's even less colors for the volt than the prime, and there are *no* light colored interiors in the model that has the DRCC, strike three, you're out of there!

 

Found this graphic from the article informative.

It's a side(front to back) profile of the cars' trunk space. One along the trunk's width of the car would have been nice, but we know the generic suitcase is 14.5 inches wide; just need a width measurement of the trunk.

Ever get a quote for installing a 220V line to the garage? It could be a worthwhile investment in the home beyond charging your own car. Not only is plug in ownership rising, but a high voltage outlet is also needed for some power tools and welding equipment.

Using all the tricks to get the best performance, whether for power or efficiency, increases the cost of the engine. Cutting the cost of the Volt there is a reasonable choice. As the EV range of a PHEV increases, high ICE efficiency becomes less important to the car's operational costs. When looking at the amount of fuel used over a time period, the higher EV range, lower hybrid efficiency PHEV could end up using less fuel than something with better hybrid efficiency.

The engine in the Volt is a big improvement over the one in the first generation; better efficiency and performance while only needing regular fuel. The combined hybrid fuel economy is still much better than what the majority of people are buying.

 

My other problem is a fairly long commute, 37 miles each way, and that's if I don't go to lunch or anything. Yes, the EV's can go that far and a 220V charging station would allow me to do that, but you're still stuck with a car that can only go x amount of distance. That just rubs me the wrong way.

If I had bought a Volt, I have no doubt I would have put in a 220V.

As for power tools and welding equipment, I promise you, you don't want to let me play with that stuff.

 

A gasoline car can only go y amount distance, but I get where you are coming from. There are many multi car households out there that could shift a lot of their gasoline consumption to electric with a BEV. For a one car household, though, the BEV limits become starker.

I think the article put too much emphasis on the Ioniq Electric's shorter range as a con. Yes, it won't work as an ICE replacement, but Hyundai is correct in its range exceeding what most people need for daily use. The price difference between the base trims has the Ioniq more than $7000 less than the Bolt, and you have to pay more to get DC fast charging for the Bolt.

As for the 220V in the garage, it would also let you take the Prime out on EV for even activities, and could add to the home's value. mainly because plug in ownership is going to grow. Somebody needing the higher voltage for tools might be able to put it in themselves.

 

But there's all these gas stations around, y is effectively infinite, even here in south carolina! I'm just a single guy, and really don't want to own 2 (or more) cars.

 

looking at the bolt and ion ev, the graphic is deceiving.

 

The trunk graphic? In which way?
Can't speak on the Ioniq Electric, but that is exactly how a carry on suitcase can fit into the Sonic which has a similar cargo area to the Bolt. Just giving the number of suitcases that can fit across the space in the same position would have added more to the graph.

Which makes a BEV a poor option for a single car household at this time. Back when the Leaf was really the only BEV option, the UCS estimated that 40% of the households in the US could use a BEV as a daily driver for a member. With increased range that percentage increases.

By the time the multi-car household with available at home charging market gets saturated with BEVs, the public charging infrastructure will be better at supporting a BEV as ICE replacement, and for single car households.

 

the bolt, at 17 feet, looks like it could hold 2 suitcases, whereas the ion ev, at 24 feet can only hold one plus some loose items.

 

Definitely agree that for one car households that a true BEV doesn't work well for a lot of those people. PHEV makes the most sense for those people, for now. That will change within the next 5 years I would think.

 

I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree with some of this:

A home charger implies the car has 'round trip' capability including the inevitable unplanned detours and side trips. A better model is increasing the distribution of L2 chargers at 'point of sale' and 'end destinations.' This converts the EV range into a radius versus having to divide it by half. Let me give an example.

In November 2016, I 'loaned' an L2 charger to Propst Drugs, 717 Pratt Ave., Huntsville, AL. Here is the usage metrics:

Although I achieved many longer charge sessions at home, the charging at Propst promoted the local business and ensured I could reach home regardless of how many earlier trips had been taken. This is the key to wider adoptions of EVs, more L2 chargers at point-of-sale locations.

Bob Wilson

 

Could be, hard to tell. South Carolina is often times behind the curve by a good margin, but the local area has got a google data center, and now some kind of Amazon presence, so maybe we wont be quite so far behind.

They still have to get charge times down to 5 minutes or so though, otherwise gas will remain the "easiest", and that means the most used.

As for me, I almost have a claustrophobic response to an EV. I don't like to travel at all, but I have to be able to!