We own EVs. Ask Us Anything.

[nolen]

Unrelated to the current line of questioning (sorry).

My family just jumped aboard the EV train earlier than expected. With the federal tax credit going away, and some seriously massive incentives by manufacturers to move product before then, combined with the likelihood of tariffs and inflation driving up vehicle prices more over the next few years, we took the plunge.

We picked up our 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9 yesterday. We got it for almost 25% off of MSRP. Enough of a discount that instead of paying a premium for an EV, it was actually a few thousand less than a similarly equipped Toyota Sienna/grand highlander.

Still pricy for my blood, but I’ve done the math 6 ways through Sunday, and even compared to used 3 row vehicle pricing, it’s not bad. We paid a few thousand more than the avg used 3 row vehicle with <60k miles on it. And the math shows that over 5 years, the “fueling” costs for the Ioniq 9 is between $6000 -$14000 cheaper if charging at home.

Anyway, we are still learning. But our PHEV experience was good enough we wanted a 3 row family vehicle. Although we did keep the PHEV for road trips for now. Maybe the scout will be a harvester for that purpose when it arrives. Or maybe we will be comfortable enough with EV’s by the time the scout comes out to get the BeV version. We will see.
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These 2 vehicles are 29 model years apart!

I'm really torn on doing something similar. I have found a 2025 Honda Prologue 2WD EX that, if the online quote can be believed, would be $4999 down, $73/month to lease for 3 years, and 15k miles a year (I will probably drive ~20k). I think that plus charging and increased insurance costs comes out to ~$6500 more in 3 years than I would spend on gas a month with my current car, so if I had that much in maintenance and repairs I would be better off leasing the Honda. It is hard to decide which is the better bet. And with a potential government shutdown coming up, I don't know if I want to give up the $5k for the downpayment. But I'd hate to have my car die on me a year from now and not have any good options.

 

[Chuckles]

Okay I have another question. I had to go to an appointment in Chicago today and my husband drove the Supra. It was 100 miles to where we were going. Now between us and Chicago there’s long stretches where it’s just corn fields and no traffic and you look down and you are doing 90.

I keep hearing this 70 mph number for range. Let’s say you do go over that for a period of time how much does it affect your range?

How Does Speed Affect EV Range?
We took a blocky Kia EV9 and an aero-friendly Lucid Air to the test track at speeds between 35 and 95 mph to find out.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a65490029/how-does-speed-affect-ev-range-tested/

 

[Logan]

I'm really torn on doing something similar. I have found a 2025 Honda Prologue 2WD EX that, if the online quote can be believed, would be $4999 down, $73/month to lease for 3 years, and 15k miles a year (I will probably drive ~20k). I think that plus charging and increased insurance costs comes out to ~$6500 more in 3 years than I would spend on gas a month with my current car, so if I had that much in maintenance and repairs I would be better off leasing the Honda. It is hard to decide which is the better bet. And with a potential government shutdown coming up, I don't know if I want to give up the $5k for the downpayment. But I'd hate to have my car die on me a year from now and not have any good options.

Yeah, its a hard decision. Personally, I rely a lot on the math to soothe my indecision.

We purchased ours, simply because I believe that with the tax credit going away, and with many companies saying "the big incentives are going to disappear" (GM said that recently), that EV prices are going to go up. Both new, and used, as I think that the Tax Credit was actually one of the big drivers in EV depreciation so far. This is just because the EV's were almost never purchased at MSRP, so it was almost unfair to look at their depreciation compared to MSRP.

Also, the deals right now really are significant. FWIW, I got my Ioniq9 for the ~same as what I see used EV9's going for right now on Carvana. So if I can have brand new, for the same price as a used vehicle from a year or two ago, that also seems like a win to me, and another sign that once the tax credit is gone, prices for new, and used are likely to go up.

So, for the math, all of those things and more were included in the decision. The other half for us, was the "relative need". We really have been a 1.125 car family for the last 5 years, as I've worked from home all but like 2-3 days a year (it was wonderful ). There were only infrequent occasions 1-2x every 2 weeks or so where we'd have to be two places at once. So my old jeep was totally fine as the second vehicle. However, we're going to have to come into the office more in a few months, which changes things.

And while I love my Jeep, and it has actually been reliable (never left us stranded anywhere), its not the vehicle I would take on our long road trips anymore. Both for space/comfort, cost, and potential reliability reasons. So for us, it was really about having 2 reliable vehicles. I'm thrifty by nature, but I've reached the phase of life where I feel the expectation of reliability for my family has gone up compared to what it was when I bought the Jeep used, 16 years ago (and it was already ~12 years old then).

The Ioniq 9 is going to be capable of road tripping, as it does charge pretty fast (max rate of ~220-240kw, and a 10-80% charge time of ~24min). But we may still end up driving our Tucson PHEV to Utah and back next summer, simply because its still better at road tripping on those big long days. Although, maybe by then we'll prefer the extra space/features enough that we end up driving the newer/nicer vehicle. We will see.

 

[MountainDad]

I'm really torn on doing something similar. I have found a 2025 Honda Prologue 2WD EX that, if the online quote can be believed, would be $4999 down, $73/month to lease for 3 years, and 15k miles a year (I will probably drive ~20k). I think that plus charging and increased insurance costs comes out to ~$6500 more in 3 years than I would spend on gas a month with my current car, so if I had that much in maintenance and repairs I would be better off leasing the Honda. It is hard to decide which is the better bet. And with a potential government shutdown coming up, I don't know if I want to give up the $5k for the downpayment. But I'd hate to have my car die on me a year from now and not have any good options.

If you can install a L2 charger at home and use that rather than fast charging publicly, your payoff *may* be faster, but your running costs will always be lower. My home had capacity for a 50A L2 charger, which was $750; installation was an additional $1300 including running conduit from my breaker box which was already in the garage to the mounting location. This was not including federal and state tax incentives. We started with one 75kWh (usable) EV, which costs us about 6 cents per kWh to charge overnight once per week, typically from about 25% to 90%. We added a second EV which replaced a vehicle requiring premium fuel, with the same size battery. Now our install cost ROI is cut in half. We also charge that one once a week, whether we need to or not. Our EVs are daily driver/town cars.

We still have a large diesel SUV as the family Sherpa which costs about $3.50/gal before grocery points to fill up once per month, more often on occasion when we take road trips to the mountains. Diesel is cheap in Colorado. I have filled it for as little as $2.50/gal. I drive it 40 miles per week to work and back one day per week just to keep it going, and this is the vehicle a Scout Traveler Harvester would replace, mainly because the diesel offers effortless torque at 10,000+ feet in elevation for the Colorado Rockies where we spend a lot of our leisure time, but I would also daily drive it in pure EV mode.

 

[nolen]

If you can install a L2 charger at home and use that rather than fast charging publicly, your payoff *may* be faster, but your running costs will always be lower. My home had capacity for a 50A L2 charger, which was $750; installation was an additional $1300 including running conduit from my breaker box which was already in the garage to the mounting location. This was not including federal and state tax incentives. We started with one 75kWh (usable) EV, which costs us about 6 cents per kWh to charge overnight once per week, typically from about 25% to 90%. We added a second EV which replaced a vehicle requiring premium fuel, with the same size battery. Now our install cost ROI is cut in half. We also charge that one once a week, whether we need to or not. Our EVs are daily driver/town cars.

We still have a large diesel SUV as the family Sherpa which costs about $3.50/gal before grocery points to fill up once per month, more often on occasion when we take road trips to the mountains. Diesel is cheap in Colorado. I have filled it for as little as $2.50/gal. I drive it 40 miles per week to work and back one day per week just to keep it going, and this is the vehicle a Scout Traveler Harvester would replace, mainly because the diesel offers effortless torque at 10,000+ feet in elevation for the Colorado Rockies where we spend a lot of our leisure time, but I would also daily drive it in pure EV mode.

our power co-op has special time of day rates for EV charging (and a $50 credit on the first bill). I think I could hit the super off peak most of the time. I don't plan on fast charging often. We have chargers at work also which are 16 cents/kWh if I need them. Gas currently is about $2.80/gal here. My Flex gets 22mpg with my typical use and 24mpg on long trips.

Summer Energy Charges: April 16-October 15​
On-Peak Monday-Friday 1-6 p.m.	33.69¢ per on-peak kWh
Off-Peak All other times.	7.40¢ per off-peak kWh
Super Off-Peak 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. All days of the week, including weekends and the holidays designated below.	3.98¢ per super off-peak kWh

Winter Energy Charges: October 16 -April 15
On-Peak Monday-Friday 6-10 a.m.	26.42¢ per on-peak kWh
Off-Peak All other times.	7.40¢ per off-peak kWh
Super Off-Peak 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. All days of the week, including weekends and the holidays designated below.	3.98¢ per super off-peak kWh

​

 

[6-ScoutFamily]

Here is a question plaguing me. For those of you driving EV’s, what has been your insurance experience? When buying your first EV did you stay with your same carrier? Who was it? What are your experiences with finding coverage/paying premiums/filing claims while insuring your EV(s)?

Inquiring minds really want to know.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

Here is a question plaguing me. For those of you driving EV’s, what has been your insurance experience? When buying your first EV did you stay with your same carrier? Who was it? What are your experiences with finding coverage/paying premiums/filing claims while insuring your EV(s)?

Inquiring minds really want to know.

When we got our Mustang, we had been a 1-car family for about six months. The cost wasn’t different enough to note from the gas car we’d sold. The cost of insurance going from the Tacoma to the Lightning went down slightly. We had no trouble getting coverage. We stayed with the same carrier—GEICO. We haven’t needed to file any claims.

Insurance costs seem to be so region, individual, vehicle etc dependent and the actuary tables have so many parameters that I wouldn’t want to suggest that you will have the same experience.

 

[Chaz26]

Here is a question plaguing me. For those of you driving EV’s, what has been your insurance experience? When buying your first EV did you stay with your same carrier? Who was it? What are your experiences with finding coverage/paying premiums/filing claims while insuring your EV(s)?

Inquiring minds really want to know.

I am with Progressive and was before I got my EV, premiums weren't too much higher. I did shop around a few places but couldn't find anywhere significantly cheaper. I haven't had any incidents in mine so no experience on filing claims.

 

[6-ScoutFamily]

I am with Progressive and was before I got my EV, premiums weren't too much higher. I did shop around a few places but couldn't find anywhere significantly cheaper. I haven't had any incidents in mine so no experience on filing claims.

That’s encouraging. I’m with Progressive at the moment too.