We miss our EV!

Years ago I didn't have a car. I just used my bicycle for everything. But when I was about to get married I got a cheap car. From then on the wife and I stuck to few different 4 cylinder older cars including a 1972 VW Beetle, a 1993 2-door Mazda 323, and finally a 4-door 1985 VW Golf non-turbo diesel.

The diesel was our favorite and the car we had kept the longest. It was cheap to run and own and just wouldn't die. The main problems it had was from the inferior quality of aftermarket CV axles and door handles. It seemed like every 11 months I'd just take the CV axles off and take them in for a warranty exchange and would put the "free" set back on and continue for the next 11 months. Door handles would last about a week during the winter months.

But besides the CV axles and door handles it also made a huge cloud of black soot and had the acceleration of the titanic. I even got pulled over once because a cop was concerned since my vehicle was billowing out black smoke as I barely kept 25mph in a 50mph hill climb; the car fully loaded with our stuff of course.

So we decided we wanted a newer car. But something easy to work on and cheap to own and run. In December of 2016 we decided on a used 2013 Nissan Leaf. I installed a level 2 "charger" and off we went. Most of our driving was just short trip stuff, which the Leaf could handle easily. The few times a year when we'd go on long trips we'd chose between taking the ol' diesel, renting a car, borrowing a car or just taking it easy in the Leaf. Taking the Leaf on long trips was a challange. There are still hardly any public charging stations around here. We mainly would plan 70 mile legs driving along the highway as slow as possible, barely make it with any battery and charge all night off of 120V outlets, then do it all over again.

But then less than a year later things changed. We were needed about 70 miles away, over three mountain passes, on at least a weekly basis. We tried taking the Leaf for several months, but would creep along the highway at 25 mph just to make it. Then one cold morning we got stranded about half way there with no cell signal. It was only -13°F and things can get much colder here. So we decided to exchange the Leaf and Golf for something else.

So in November of 2018 we got our 2013 Toyota Avalon Hybrid. The car has averaged over 41 mpg and is nice and comfy. But then, even a before COVID hit, our need to go such long distances ceased. So now we're back to short distance driving again, which drives me insane. I hate warming up the car, especially for a trip that's just a mile or two. With the Golf at least I had a 1,500W block heater that got the engine up to running temps, but I haven't been able to install such a block heater on the Avalon. And even if I did, that wouldn't help warm up the catalytic converter.

So now we're wishing we still had an electric. On the other hand, idealy I wonder if it's possible to get used to biking again. It seems like everyone now owns an SUV and drives like an idiot. Plus I work at night, in the dark. I can't tell you how many close calls I've had in our cars. I don't like the idea of taking a bicycle out on icy streets at night with so many SUV owners. I'm not saying all SUV owners are bad drivers, but SUV's do have a higher statistic for running over pedestrians and bicycles and I've even known a couple of people that have been ran over and killed on their bikes in broad daylight not that many blocks from where I live.

So, what do I do now? Try the bike? Did I mention it gets as cold as -40°F here? Or do I start looking for a cheap EV? Or do we just keep driving the Avalon short distances that aren't enough to warm up the engine? The other problem is I just don't feel financially capable right now of taking on another vehicle that's not in the less-than-$1000 range. So do I trade out the big comfy Avalon for an EV?? I also have my project car, the 2006 Prius that's not currently road worthy.

 

Yes, I have a cartidge style OEM block heater. It helps a little. I'll keep looking for a way to heat up the engine more with more block heating solutions.

 

My wife sighs every time we drive by a Leaf. (But she also does the same thing every time we drive by an old VW.)

I did block the grill on the Avalon last winter. I'm not sure how much it helped. The only pain with that is living in the mountains when we do travel outside of town we have to climb some rather long steep grades meaning I either have to take the grill block out then put it back in, or built it for a happy medium, to where it covers just enough to not let the engine overheat during such hill climbs during the winter.

 

Man! If engine heat is the main determining factor I think I'll get to work at installing a bigger and better block heater!

The Avalon does have a coolant temp needle on the dash. I also have a ScanGauge. And I also have a bluetooth OBD reader and the Torque app on my phone.

 

The needle is made to make the car look good.
It starts moving at around 100°F 38°C
It gets to the middle at around 140°F 60°C and stays there clear up past 210°F 99°C.
I've never seen it go past the middle.

I've never had it overheat, not with the Scanguage either. I've also never taken it over a pass with any sort of a grill block. But I think I'll try the partial grill block. With the full block though the engine still seemed to cool down very quickly when parked.

I've always dreamed of insulating the entire engine. I don't know how practical that would be though.

 

Time to stuff the Avalon (and then the Prius)...