"Not Yet" to Electric Cars

Tesla Model S

I'm half-heartedly looking for a new car. My current vehicle will be nine years old in December so I might want to buy a new car late in 2023. But I'm debating that because my current car, despite its age, runs great, looks great, rides great, handles great, etc. Part of that is the German engineering and part is that I've taken care of it.

I only want a sedan. I'm not interested in an SUV or-- gag--a crossover. I considered briefly a certain station wagon but decided to not go that way. I've narrowed it down to two cars: an Audi and a BMW. I was surprised to learn the BMW had more horsepower and was cheaper. And came with three years free maintenance.

But before I looked at internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, I looked at electrics. My criteria for an electric was 300 miles of realistic range and/or the ability to recharge in ten minutes.

When it comes to electric cars, there is something called the "EPA Range." This is like EPA mileage number for an ICE vehicle: not realistic in real-world driving. For example, the Tesla Model S Long Range has an EPA range of 375 miles. But Car and Driver magazine got only 281 miles diving the car at 75 miles per hour. And if the weather is hot, or cold, or you go up hill too much or you run the heat or the air conditioner, you can lower the range a lot. Car and Driver found with a Model 3 from Tesla, in cold weather the range was nearly cut in half.

Lucid Motors (which has yet to put a car on the road) claims an EPA range of 520 miles for its Air Dream Edition. But it's MSRP is $169,000 and that is rumored to be going up due to high demand. And that's a bit more than I want to spend on a car.

I was talking to a man who owns an electric car. He says if he wants to drive out of town, he rents an ICE car. Also, sometimes you come to a charger and someone is already charging so you have to wait. That adds to the "refuel" time.

I keep reading about coming amazing batteries that can go 1,000 miles and refill in 9 seconds. But who knows how long it'll be before those become reality. If ever.

For now, I'll stick with an ICE car. Even with gas prices being ridiculous.

UPDATE: Lucid has delivered 300 cars about to customers.