Salivating over diesel mileage without any apples-to-apples comparison is counterproductive. So here are some Quick Maths to help with that:

(Tiny rant. Pay no mind.)

First Gear:

On a more serious note, EVs built on ICE platforms are fucking stupid. There’s no reason to give up the inherent space and efficiency benefits that the smaller, more modular EV powertrain provides just to make cars easier to build—if no one wants to buy your car, you won’t need to build any of them and “ease of…

Exactly this. If you do it carefully, you can absolutely design a platform to accommodate BEV and ICEV alike, and sharing platforms cuts production costs.

I have Volt and even I think the i3 is ugly.

1kW was assuming they’d use the hood and trunk, too. I looked up some more articles, and it seems they aren’t.

To run a ≈300cuft AC, you need around 1kW — same as you’d get from a 120V outlet. By rule of thumb, that’s 4m² of ordinary solar panels in direct sunlight, which is very doable for a car of this size.

Let me fling some numbers at ya.

The 500e might wear Fiat clothing, but make no mistake, this is a Bosch.

You can find 2011 Leafs for less, but they’re also a gamble. AESC never really nailed the chemistry, and some of them have aged like milk. The pack in the 500e is by Bosch/Samsung and liquid cooled on top of that. I can trust a 500e drivetrain not to be a lemon, but I’d need discharge/capacity data before buying an old…

This is the cheapest commuter/second car you’ll find. Sure, you can find a $2k crown vic, but drive it for three years, and you’ve spent another $6k on fuel, oil, and parts. An EV will save you $1.5-2k/yr, and with the drivetrain and liquid-cooled battery made by Bosch (not Fiat), the 500e will keep chugging for many,…

First Gear:

they start losing steam as the engine loses power at high speeds. Having a second gear is sufficient to keep it in its power band longer.

Yah, especially with induction motors.

According to the website, the Solo has heating, A/C, and heated seat and mirrors. And I’m not sure how much power steering matters for a 1500lb vehicle.

Check out the Electra Meccanica Solo. $16k, 100 miles. Only carries one person + groceries, but at least they’re not vaporware.

I like it. Longer, thinner, and lower is the way to go. Based on the height, you might have to get creative with battery placement, but removing the middle seats opens up some real estate.

Time stopped has virtually no impact on EV range. Lights, radio, etc, have such tiny power drains that you could run them for weeks. In my experience, blasting AC in >100°F heat will drain ≈0.5mi in 15 minutes. About double that for seat warmers.

Nissan should bring the e-NV200 to the US. It runs on a Leaf platform, but with active thermal management. Around 75mi for the old 24kWh version, 110 for the 40kWh version. Longer range in city driving.