As a few of you already know, I’ve been making an attempt 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 sometimes drop down into third gear on the freeway and who is aware of what number of different gremlins hiding below the hood, it clearly wanted to get replaced. On the similar time, regardless of not feeling snug promoting it to another person, I additionally couldn’t fairly work out what to do with it as a result of it nonetheless ran, and the gasket sealer I added did cease many of the oil leaking for the final 12 months.
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 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 buddy the Fiat 500e was additionally sitting there, calling my title.
At first, I thought-about leasing a brand new one. That may have given me the chance to offer it a correct long-term check, and I might deal with the fee. It’s a significantly 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 a little bit dearer than I hoped for, however that’s partly as a result of previous 500es have held their worth significantly better than you would possibly anticipate. It was additionally practically 90 miles away from the place I reside, which isn’t precisely ultimate when the automobile itself is barely EPA-rated at 87 miles of vary.
On the similar time, it’s not like I wasn’t accustomed to the first-generation 500e. I owned one after I lived in LA and beloved just about every little thing about it. I didn’t like it 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 unbelievable day by day driver that value nearly nothing to maintain on the highway. The one drawback is that I reside in Georgia now, which is way more unfold out than my previous neighborhood in Koreatown. It may additionally get fairly chilly right here, which isn’t good for EV vary.
Nonetheless, simply how dangerous might or not it’s? I used to be already accustomed to 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 superb, 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 exterior of a significant 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 arms, and I used to be free. Besides it was additionally about 40 levels out, and the drive residence 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 previously, 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 fairly drive with out stopping to cost. After 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 fee of simply 6.6 kW, a full cost takes about 4 hours, and you’ll neglect quick charging. Nonetheless, it wasn’t dangerous. I spent my time re-familiarizing myself with the automobile and infrequently standing again simply to admire how good it appears to be like. You don’t should 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, however it was clear I’d be reducing it shut. Because it turned out, “shut” meant one mile and two p.c. Oops.
Fortunately, I don’t drive wherever 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? Actually, the furthest I’m going is to my girlfriend’s home, and roundtrip, that’s solely 35 miles or so. However, I’m not going to faux it’s going to be worry-free till spring. We’re at the moment in the midst 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’d anticipate.
I’ll additionally should hire a automobile to go on a highway journey, and I can’t high off my battery in 15 or 20 minutes like you possibly can with a long-range EV. I’ll most likely additionally should take care of some vary anxiousness till it will get a little bit hotter, but when nothing about your automobile causes you anxiousness, 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.
