As a few of you already know, I’ve been attempting to determine what to do with my 2008 Subaru Forester for some time now. With an engine that wanted to be rebuilt, a transmission that will often drop down into third gear on the freeway and who is aware of what number of different gremlins hiding beneath the hood, it clearly wanted to get replaced. On the similar time, regardless of not feeling comfy promoting it to another person, I additionally couldn’t fairly determine what to do with it as a result of it nonetheless ran, and the gasket sealer I added did cease a lot of the oil leaking for the final yr.
Sadly for me, I’m not precisely swimming in money, so no matter I changed it with needed to be low cost to purchase, function and insure. Second-generation Porsche Cayennes proved to be a tempting possibility, however as a lot as I really like the thought of proudly owning an affordable Porsche, I simply couldn’t carry myself to drag the set off, particularly with the prospect of tariffs on imported elements looming on the horizon. Particularly not when my previous pal the Fiat 500e was additionally sitting there, calling my identify.
At first, I thought-about leasing a brand new one. That might have given me the chance to present it a correct long-term take a look at, and I might deal with the fee. It’s a a lot better automobile than its predecessor and comes with considerably extra vary, however then I noticed it. A child blue 2015 Fiat 500e with about 68,000 miles on the odometer. It was somewhat costlier than I hoped for, however that’s partly as a result of previous 500es have held their worth a lot better than you may anticipate. It was additionally practically 90 miles away from the place I dwell, which isn’t precisely supreme when the automobile itself is simply EPA-rated at 87 miles of vary.
On the similar time, it’s not like I wasn’t conversant in the first-generation 500e. I owned one once I lived in LA and cherished just about every part about it. I didn’t find it irresistible when somebody tried to steal the copper out of my charging cable and ruined it, however that wasn’t the Fiat’s fault. It was only a implausible every day driver that price nearly nothing to maintain on the street. The one drawback is that I dwell in Georgia now, which is way more unfold out than my previous neighborhood in Koreatown. It might probably additionally get fairly chilly right here, which is rarely good for EV vary.
Nonetheless, simply how unhealthy might or not it’s? I used to be already conversant in the automobile, the one I discovered was a Good Coloration and it’s not like I drive 100 miles a day. I’d charged one off a wall outlet earlier than simply high-quality, and there was no purpose I couldn’t do the identical factor once more. The truth that I might write concerning the actuality of dwelling with a low-range EV outdoors of a serious metropolis was additionally a bonus.
So I pulled the set off and picked up my new-to-me 2015 Fiat 500e over Thanksgiving weekend. The dealership took the Subaru off my palms, and I used to be free. Besides it was additionally about 40 levels out, and the drive house was nearly all freeway miles, which as most of you already know is horrible for an EV’s vary. Fortunately, there have been additionally loads of chargers alongside the route, so I didn’t have to fret an excessive amount of about operating out of juice. I’ve had good experiences with ChargePoint prior to now, so I picked one which was about 40 miles away and set off.
Did I make it, and did the charger work? You wager. Sadly for me, that was additionally about so far as I might moderately drive with out stopping to cost. Once I say chilly climate straight-up destroys the previous 500e’s vary, I actually do imply it. And for the reason that automobile maxes out at a cost price of simply 6.6 kW, a full cost takes about 4 hours, and you may overlook quick charging. Nonetheless, it wasn’t unhealthy. I spent my time re-familiarizing myself with the automobile and infrequently standing again simply to admire how good it appears. You don’t must agree, however I actually am in love with the colour.
An hour and $2 later, I figured I’d charged lengthy sufficient and set off once more. As I handed the final charger between the place I used to be and the place I used to be going, I even felt assured sufficient to skip it. Not lengthy after I did, although, the estimated vary began to drop quicker than it had been earlier than. Perhaps I used to be driving up a mild incline and didn’t discover, nevertheless it was clear I’d be slicing it shut. Because it turned out, “shut” meant one mile and two %. Oops.
Fortunately, I don’t drive anyplace close to that far every day, and I’ve but to chop it that shut once more within the, uh, three days I’ve owned it? Truthfully, the furthest I am going is to my girlfriend’s home, and roundtrip, that’s solely 35 miles or so. Then again, I’m not going to fake it’s going to be worry-free till spring. We’re presently in the course of a chilly snap, and lows are within the 20s. Even with the warmth off, I most likely solely have about half the vary you’ll anticipate.
I’ll additionally must lease a automobile to go on a street journey, and I can’t prime off my battery in 15 or 20 minutes like you possibly can with a long-range EV. I’ll most likely additionally must cope with some vary nervousness till it will get somewhat hotter, but when nothing about your automobile causes you nervousness, what are you supposed to fret about whereas driving? Nothing? I’ve bought my flaws, however I’m not that a lot of a psychopath.
