View Full Version : New (to me) Electric Vehicle
My timing, as usual, is spot-on.
Two weeks ago I bought an electic vehicle to use as my mostly-island car. Right before the market crashed, gas prices plummeted (elsewhere, it's still > $4.50/gallon here), and the world fell apart from the virus.
Some fellow here is buying up just-off-lease EVs in California, and shipping them up here to the island and selling them for a teeny markup.
I got a 2017 Fiat 500E, a cute little clown car, with about a 90 mile range. With ~20,000 miles on it, and several years of warranty left, and looking brand-new, it cost me, well about as much as I paid for my last (quite nice, but not insane) bicycle.
It's reasonably zippy and sporty - the 0-30 times are ~2 seconds, and it handles great with the low center of gravity. Top speed here is 35mph, so that's good enough.
As a "California Compliance" car, Fiat lost about $15k on each one of these they provided in California. And with California tax policies, nobody buys these when they come off lease, they just lease a new one again, so there is no market for the used ones. It is however absolutely packed with technology - good brake regen, battery pack heating/cooling, etc. etc.
If I go to the village once a day, basically once a week I have to plug it into a regular wall outlet in my garage overnight. It recharges a fair bit just going *down* the mountain to the village.
Anyways, even with recent events, I'm pretty happy - I couldn't have got this rate of tax free return on any other sensible investment before the Great Financial Kablooie, and now it is even better.
It is essentially zero maintenance, and we have free public chargers around the island.
iris lilies
3-18-20, 2:19pm
My Fiat is neither electric nor anywhere near the cost of a bicycle.
But it IS small. And cute. And very red.
3137
My Fiat is neither electric nor anywhere near the cost of a bicycle.
But it IS small. And cute. And very red.
3137
My other Fiat has 800hp, and is very red too :-)
iris lilies
3-18-20, 5:29pm
Bae, does yours have an ABARTH badge in front?
https://www.fiatusa.com/abarth.html (https://www.fiatusa.com/abarth.html)
Bae, does yours have an ABARTH badge in front?
https://www.fiatusa.com/abarth.html (https://www.fiatusa.com/abarth.html)
3138
Congratulations, bae! Sounds like a fun vehicle to stomp around in.
Great cars!
Not a Fiat and it's a hybrid but in March I purchased a 2020 Prius. It's the first new off the lot car I've ever owned. I ran the numbers and if I make it to 175,000 miles (and I have every expectation I will) I pay less per mile than a used Prius. Apparently, I am a "highly qualified" buyer so my interest rate is extremely low which was the deal maker. I know you aren't supposed to love things that can't love you back so let's just say I'm really enjoying this car. I especially like not having to futz with an ignition key and now feel annoyed when I drive DH's car and have to handle the key.
Congrats, bae! That sounds like a fantastic car, and a great deal!
Anne Lee, I know how you feel. In 2007, I was driving home from seeing my DH play with his pipe band in the Memorial Day parade. We were going to Scotland the next day for a big, big family trip (I had saved almost 300,000 frequent flier miles to get everyone there).
On the way home I was passing a Toyota dealership, and I just swerved in on an impulse. My DD had just graduated college, and so she was going to get the VW Beetle we had shared for her 4 years in college. I needed a car, and I always wanted a Prius. I had just been promoted to VP of Research. A Prius would be my "made it" car.
So I parked the Beetle, told my two kids to wait a sec, walked around the lot, saw a loaded white Prius, walked into the showroom before the salesman even had a chance to accost me, gave him a check and told him I'd be back to pick it up when I got back from Scotland in 10 days.
I am sure I am the easiest sell he ever had. And I KNOW, between a brand new car and a trip for 7 to Scotland, it was the most expensive month I ever had.
That was 13 years ago. I'm still driving it. It has 134,000 miles on it and it has been GREAT. I still love it, even though the GPS is pretty outdated by now. I figure if I keep my mileage low, there's no reason it can't be the last car I ever own. If it's not, I'll go for an electric Fiat like bae's :)
I hope your Prius and you enjoy a long time together!
My timing, as usual, is spot-on.
Two weeks ago I bought an electic vehicle to use as my mostly-island car. Right before the market crashed, gas prices plummeted (elsewhere, it's still > $4.50/gallon here), and the world fell apart from the virus.
Some fellow here is buying up just-off-lease EVs in California, and shipping them up here to the island and selling them for a teeny markup.
I got a 2017 Fiat 500E, a cute little clown car, with about a 90 mile range. With ~20,000 miles on it, and several years of warranty left, and looking brand-new, it cost me, well about as much as I paid for my last (quite nice, but not insane) bicycle.
It's reasonably zippy and sporty - the 0-30 times are ~2 seconds, and it handles great with the low center of gravity. Top speed here is 35mph, so that's good enough.
As a "California Compliance" car, Fiat lost about $15k on each one of these they provided in California. And with California tax policies, nobody buys these when they come off lease, they just lease a new one again, so there is no market for the used ones. It is however absolutely packed with technology - good brake regen, battery pack heating/cooling, etc. etc.
If I go to the village once a day, basically once a week I have to plug it into a regular wall outlet in my garage overnight. It recharges a fair bit just going *down* the mountain to the village.
Anyways, even with recent events, I'm pretty happy - I couldn't have got this rate of tax free return on any other sensible investment before the Great Financial Kablooie, and now it is even better.
It is essentially zero maintenance, and we have free public chargers around the island.
Sounds like the perfect runabout for you! Enjoy it!
early morning
7-27-20, 12:56pm
Oh how lovely! I love those little Fiats!
Oh how lovely! I love those little Fiats!
After 4 months, it has basically become my favorite little car, of the too-large assortment of vehicles sitting in the driveway.
bae, I know this is the wrong thread for this but was curious your thoughts now on electric bikes a little over a year after you shared your insights about yours that I've just re-read. Am I correct that yours is a type-3 since it goes 28 mph? Did you also try out 1's and 2's? What are your thoughts on the differences? Keeping in mind that I live in the city of steep hills. Would I be disappointed with a type 1 or 2? Ideally I'd like to not drop quite as much cash as I remember you did...
bae, I know this is the wrong thread for this but was curious your thoughts now on electric bikes a little over a year after you shared your insights about yours that I've just re-read.
I've got a fair assortment now of electric-assist bikes:
- A Trek Super Commute 8+: this goes 28mph, has a great range, is sufficient for most on-road uses, carries a fair bit of cargo, is comfortable, and has enough power to help me up the mountain here. It could use a lower gear still for some of the steeper hills.
- A Specialized Turbo Levo mountain bike. Type 2, only goes 20 mph. Has significantly more torque than the Trek though, and a lower range gear set. I can't pedal it much more than 22-23mph because I run out of gears. However, it is a beast climbing hills, and it is full suspension so it is just wonderful on the 60+ miles of trails we have on the mountain I live on. I ride this into town if I'm not carrying any cargo, and if I don't need to go to the far side of the island. The 20mph speed is fine, though it feels slow after the 30mph+ I can get the Trek going to.
- A Brompton Electric - this is limited to 15 mph, has a bit shorter range than the other bikes, has small wheels, and isn't especially suited for off-road use at all. However, it folds into thirds, and is easily carried and stowed in overheads of trains/buses/subways and such. And it fits well into small airplanes and boats. I use this bike a lot off-island, as I can throw it in the back of a boat, or the trunk of a car, find a good parking place, then pop out and unfold the bike. The 15mph feels slow to me, but it is way better than walking. It's also geared low enough that it does climb hills reasonably well - I can pedal it to the top of the mountain here, and it manages.
The key for hills isn't the top-speed rating of the bike, rather it is the torque the bike can produce for hill climbing. There are a lot of inexpensive ebikes out there with hub drives (built into the wheel), and many of those lack sufficient torque. The mid-drive bikes seem to do better, they are a bit more expensive.
I tried out one of the Radpower bikes, which seem quite popular, and it didn't have quite enough torque for my liking on the hills here. The specs on some of these bikes don't seem to match what they actually produce, so I'd strongly recommend a test ride on a representative hill before committing to a bike.
Thanks. I had read that the mid-drive bikes were better for torque, and thinking about why that is it makes sense. I will definitely be riding several before making a decision and will be testing this.
It also seems like there are a few main motor units out there. Are any of them significantly better or worse?
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