In most U.S. zip codes, electric vehicles are cost-competitive with their gas-powered counterparts, according to a new study. And regarding emissions benefits of EVs, individual driving patterns matter as much as regional factors like the local electricity mix.
U.S here, and I’m legit considering selling my CR-V and getting a used electric if I could find one, provided it could go more than 40 miles on a charge and wouldn’t need a ridiculously expensive battery replacement in like 3 years.
I drive like 45 minutes to and from work, and filling this little tank multiple times a week is BRUTAL.
Thing is, we’re still paying off the SUV and I was worried it’d be all stupid over-inflated like everybody would be doing this due to gas prices…maybe?
…and no, I want nothing to do with Tesla and their “swastikars” and “kampfwagens”.
I just wonder which electrics would be at least a LITTLE user-respecting…the car spyware lately is ridiculous. We really need FOSS cars and firmware…
…but now I’m ranting…lol
…Is it still possible to switch without being rich or am I too late? Haha.
All cars spy on you not just the electrics. But it’s simple enough to disconnect the TCM or bridge a resistor across the antenna terminals.
If you really want out of box no spying get an old Nissan leaf. They use 3G and 4G radios and were never upgraded to 5G so when the towers shut down they had. Nothing to communicate with.
Most EVs being sold now will go at least a couple hundred miles on a full charge if you don’t drive like a maniac. And if you find yourself stuck with a low charge, level 3 chargers are pretty widely available and can get you to 80% in a half hour or less. Kia and Hyundai are good options on a budget, just don’t look at the high-end models like the Ioniqs. We bought a used Kia Niro EV last year. It’s a great little commuter car for my wife since her employer is making her drive into the office every day now. Nissan Leafs are often pretty affordable used, too. I’m with you on Tesla. The dealerships were flooded with them when we went looking last summer, and they were desperate to sell us one. “Are you sure? I can make you a great deal on a Tesla!” Not interested.
Sadly, you might be about a year late for the really good deals, and the Republicans allowed the EV tax credits to expire in September. If you can’t find a good deal on an EV, you might consider a hybrid, or pluggable hybrid (a hybrid with a larger battery that can be charged when it isn’t running). A former co-worker of mine used to drive a Chevy Volt pluggable hybrid to work and bragged that he only filled the tank once a year.
Thanks so much for all the information! Yeah I got a pretty poor impression when a family member had a 1st gen Leaf, and the thing was a street-legal golf cart, basically lol.
I’ve been looking into it more based on all the good information from you and others, and I’m looking around at possibly Chevy Bolts or a newer Leaf, because I definitely require a solid heat management system out here in the desert! 🏜️
It really feels like a no brainer, if maybe I can private-sell this CR-V we’re still paying down, or something.
We have ultra cheap KWh, and family already has solar on the roof and a hybrid with a charger installed. The city’s got pretty good charge infrastructure too (as long as the cables are compatible? A lot of them are Tesla chargers. Ugh)
I really don’t see myself going deep into the sticks anytime soon, and electric infrastructure is expanding fast.
Even still, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if portable charge tanks don’t become a thing in a few years, or fold-up photocells for if one gets themselves stranded. 🤔
45 miles? Unless you’re looking at one more than 10 years old you won’t have a problem.
And on the battery… even with a battery problem you don’t need to replace the whole battery. You need to replace the cell that’s borked. There are battery repair specialists that will do this.
The car spyware problem is across all cars. ICE and EV
All excellent information. Thank you so much! That’s really cool about the individual cell replacement. I thought that was still on the horizon! The future can be very cool.
This is sounding more and more like a good idea. Especially with how fast this 15 gallon tank is dropping every week…
To give you a little more info as you seem genuinely interested.
Taking the battery size in kWh and multiplying by 3 or 4 will give you a rough range in miles. Big heavy cars will be more like 3 miles per kWh. Small cars will be closer to 4.
My 2017 BMW i3 (34kWh, tiny battery by today’s standards) still gets 100-120 miles and it’s coming up for 9 years old. That’s why I say 45 miles won’t be a problem.
As somebody else stated, some more modern cars are making the battery less serviceable. Tesla’s especially, but others too. Fact is batteries have lasted longer than we expected a decade ago so manufacturers aren’t prioritising making them a serviceable component. That’s good and bad.
The exception is when the battery isn’t cooled properly. Nissan leafs suffer with huge battery damage because the leaf didn’t cool it’s batteries during charging.
Thank you for the tips! Especially the quick offhand battery / range formula.
Yeah, I’m definitely looking into this. I’m mainly worried about all the nonsense with only having the 2016 CRV for like 2 years and making payments on it.
It’s a good car. I just really can’t stand another $2000 maintenance bill on top of skyrocketing insurance and gas… I’m hoping we’re not “upside down” on the loan but I’ve never tried to do this before so I really gotta be careful with how many gotchas I imagine there are with this process…
(Ugh. Dealers suuuuck…)
The 2021 Chevy Bolt has my eye, though. It seems really roomy for being a small platform and the range is pretty great! I’m at least gonna go try and test drive one. They’re running for roughly $17k, which is what I got our CRV for…
If it lasts even 5 years with all those reduced costs, it feels like it’ll be pretty worthwhile…
Not all battery packs can replace individual cells. Tesla models (Model S/X) use cylindrical cells glued into modules, while newer models (such as structural 4680 packs) are epoxied together to form a solid brick. Why? Because Elon Musk is an asshole.
U.S here, and I’m legit considering selling my CR-V and getting a used electric if I could find one, provided it could go more than 40 miles on a charge and wouldn’t need a ridiculously expensive battery replacement in like 3 years.
I drive like 45 minutes to and from work, and filling this little tank multiple times a week is BRUTAL.
Thing is, we’re still paying off the SUV and I was worried it’d be all stupid over-inflated like everybody would be doing this due to gas prices…maybe?
…and no, I want nothing to do with Tesla and their “swastikars” and “kampfwagens”.
I just wonder which electrics would be at least a LITTLE user-respecting…the car spyware lately is ridiculous. We really need FOSS cars and firmware…
…but now I’m ranting…lol
…Is it still possible to switch without being rich or am I too late? Haha.
All cars spy on you not just the electrics. But it’s simple enough to disconnect the TCM or bridge a resistor across the antenna terminals.
If you really want out of box no spying get an old Nissan leaf. They use 3G and 4G radios and were never upgraded to 5G so when the towers shut down they had. Nothing to communicate with.
Most EVs being sold now will go at least a couple hundred miles on a full charge if you don’t drive like a maniac. And if you find yourself stuck with a low charge, level 3 chargers are pretty widely available and can get you to 80% in a half hour or less. Kia and Hyundai are good options on a budget, just don’t look at the high-end models like the Ioniqs. We bought a used Kia Niro EV last year. It’s a great little commuter car for my wife since her employer is making her drive into the office every day now. Nissan Leafs are often pretty affordable used, too. I’m with you on Tesla. The dealerships were flooded with them when we went looking last summer, and they were desperate to sell us one. “Are you sure? I can make you a great deal on a Tesla!” Not interested.
Sadly, you might be about a year late for the really good deals, and the Republicans allowed the EV tax credits to expire in September. If you can’t find a good deal on an EV, you might consider a hybrid, or pluggable hybrid (a hybrid with a larger battery that can be charged when it isn’t running). A former co-worker of mine used to drive a Chevy Volt pluggable hybrid to work and bragged that he only filled the tank once a year.
Thanks so much for all the information! Yeah I got a pretty poor impression when a family member had a 1st gen Leaf, and the thing was a street-legal golf cart, basically lol.
I’ve been looking into it more based on all the good information from you and others, and I’m looking around at possibly Chevy Bolts or a newer Leaf, because I definitely require a solid heat management system out here in the desert! 🏜️
It really feels like a no brainer, if maybe I can private-sell this CR-V we’re still paying down, or something.
We have ultra cheap KWh, and family already has solar on the roof and a hybrid with a charger installed. The city’s got pretty good charge infrastructure too (as long as the cables are compatible? A lot of them are Tesla chargers. Ugh)
I really don’t see myself going deep into the sticks anytime soon, and electric infrastructure is expanding fast.
Even still, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if portable charge tanks don’t become a thing in a few years, or fold-up photocells for if one gets themselves stranded. 🤔
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/03/youve-got-20000-to-spend-on-an-ev-here-are-some-options/
There are still plenty of deals on electric cars, especially used ones.
45 miles? Unless you’re looking at one more than 10 years old you won’t have a problem.
And on the battery… even with a battery problem you don’t need to replace the whole battery. You need to replace the cell that’s borked. There are battery repair specialists that will do this.
The car spyware problem is across all cars. ICE and EV
All excellent information. Thank you so much! That’s really cool about the individual cell replacement. I thought that was still on the horizon! The future can be very cool.
This is sounding more and more like a good idea. Especially with how fast this 15 gallon tank is dropping every week…
To give you a little more info as you seem genuinely interested.
Thank you for the tips! Especially the quick offhand battery / range formula.
Yeah, I’m definitely looking into this. I’m mainly worried about all the nonsense with only having the 2016 CRV for like 2 years and making payments on it.
It’s a good car. I just really can’t stand another $2000 maintenance bill on top of skyrocketing insurance and gas… I’m hoping we’re not “upside down” on the loan but I’ve never tried to do this before so I really gotta be careful with how many gotchas I imagine there are with this process…
(Ugh. Dealers suuuuck…)
The 2021 Chevy Bolt has my eye, though. It seems really roomy for being a small platform and the range is pretty great! I’m at least gonna go try and test drive one. They’re running for roughly $17k, which is what I got our CRV for…
If it lasts even 5 years with all those reduced costs, it feels like it’ll be pretty worthwhile…
Not all battery packs can replace individual cells. Tesla models (Model S/X) use cylindrical cells glued into modules, while newer models (such as structural 4680 packs) are epoxied together to form a solid brick. Why? Because Elon Musk is an asshole.