Ask Lemmy

Absolutely loving my Mustang Mach-e, gets almost 400km of range, Cost's under $40k CAD used, and just an absolute blast to drive.

The absolute most basic electric car you can get is probably the Dacia Spring.

Great, small car. Less than 20.000€ in Europe. It's the closest thing you can get to a bare-bones electric car, and it's absolutely lovely.

About a month ago it got a face-lift, giving it a solid-state battery.

Absolutely worth checking out.

Dacia Spring on the official UK Dacia website.

I've got a first-gen 2017 Chevy Bolt, battery upgraded by recall in the 2nd year we had it (price of being an early adopter). No complaints, no issues beyond having to tape over the chrome on the dashboard so I don't get blinded.

The only maintenance so far has been tires; brakes last forever thanks to one-pedal driving. Eventually we'll have to do the regular chassis stuff like bushings and struts, but at 60+k mi we're still a little ways away from that.

Srsly the best car I've ever owned.

I have a 2020 ioniq ev and my wife has a 2024 leaf. Both are great and have different talents. Happy to answer any Q's  and would recommend either.

I see Rivians around a lot. Not sure how good they are but they are way prettier than Tesla's. Polestar also makes some nice vehicles. Both are still a little pricey though.

Rivians are everywhere here in LA, but they seem to only be for the rich.

I’m keeping an eye on Aptera, a solar powered vehicle based in San Diego that may start delivering this year.

I got a 2021 Chevy Bolt. Insanely cheap, has worked great. We have the highest trim model, but you can get lower ones with less features.

In the peak of used car nonsense post covid, we traded a 2012 Nissan Sentra (no trim level) with 80k miles for the 2021 Bolt with less than 3k miles. After tax incentives, I think the difference was $2,500. It didn't make sense at the time and still doesn't. But people were really afraid of electric cars then.

Been seeing a bunch of ionics around my semi rural area with very much not the infrastructure already existing.

I love my iX, fantastic family car.

UK. Wife has a Mini Aceman.

Gets about 200 miles range and is very fun to drive.

The only thing I dislike is the almost total absence of any physical buttons.

The Polestar 2 is great at being a (fun) car first and a electric car second, if that makes sense. The door handles are just regular door handles, the instrument cluster has an extremely clean and minimal design without visual noise, there's physical buttons for the radio and defroster and the gear (direction) selector! Range isn't as amazing as Tesla 3, but as a daily car I think it's nicer. Also the optional tow hitch is rated for a 1t trailer load which is a bit more than the Tesla 3.

Skoda Enyaq is another good alternative, though slightly bigger, more of an SUV. The Honda E was really fun to drive, but a bit expensive given size and range. For smaller cars the Renault Zoë is a a top contender, and quite popular here Kia has a whole range of great EVs, as does VW.

If I was in the market for a new car, I'd be seriously looking at the new Mazda 6e right now. It looks slick as hell, and it's one of the very few non-SUV non-5-door-hatchback EVs on the market. Another alternative is BMW i4 and i5. The i5 is even available as a stationwagon / estate , which as far as I know is a first for EVs.

The Lucid looks slick as well, for those with deeper pockets :D

You didn't mention where you live or what size and budget you're looking at, some of these models may not be available in all markets, and as you can tell wary greatly in size and cost

BYD is very popular here in Australia. Tried one out and it just goes.

Taycan 4S Cross Turismo (wagon). Absolutely incredible car all around. Competent on a racetrack, comfy on long roadtrips, tons of cargo room, easy installation of a roof box for even more cargo, very fast DC charging.

Ain't perfect and I could rant about software/infotainment but I'm not paying for the now-expired internet connectivity and it's been totally fine not having that, especially with Android Auto working with GrapheneOS.

No personal recommendation, but around where I am, I think that Hyundai Ioniq has been the most-increasing-in-prominence car in the same base price range as the Tesla Model 3.

It would also be a huge bonus if there were any models out there with the least possible features. I prefer cars with manual locks/seats/doors and no screen, which is of course impossible with current cars (sadly). But the less digital garbage the better.

The Hyundai Kona is less-expensive than the Ioniq. I know a few people that drive that and say that they like it.

If you're determined to have less stuff, the Slate Truck isn't out yet, but as sold, base, it doesn't have automatic windows or a screen or or a radio or speakers. No car computer. No cell radio to phone home. You get airbags and climate control, and you can mount your cell phone or tablet or whatever on the dash if you want a car computer, and that's pretty much it. Also considerably smaller than current trucks. Kind of a 1980s no-frills truck, but electric.

I don't have an electric car so I don't have any first hand knowledge/advice to give. However, the guy who runs the YouTube channel Technology Connections has a Hyundai Ioniq that he really likes and I believe it is a genuine expression. I think the biggest thing he doesn't like deals with how the car's internal navigation system handles recharging stops.

I have a Citroen E-Berlingo and I love it.

I wanted something with the best indoor space / outdoor footprint ratio I could get and also a car with a small battery, because imo big batteries on EVs defeat the purpose (too heavy, wears out tires and roads faster) and 99.9% of the time I travel less than 100km a day.

The same electric platform is on all Stellantis cars if I'm not wrong (eg. E-208, E-C3).

Also what I like about it is that I could opt out of all the "connected" junk and now it looks like a normal car (I don't use navigation, apps or anything, I just want my car to transport me).

Do not buy the Hyundai Ioniq. The car itself is great (although it has a lot of modern features you dont want) but dealing with Hyundai is such a nightmare that I will never again buy a Hyundai.

I drive a Volkswagen ID.7 since soon 2 years now, had a Tesla Model 3 before that. Absolutely love the VW. It's a "real car" with manual controls where you expect them yet all the modernities you can imagine. The AR HUD is absolutely awesome giving you all the relevant information incl. navigation where you're looking without having to take your eyes off the road.

There's a big screen as well though, but it's not something you have to poke at to do regular stuff as in Teslas.

We have an Audi e-tron GT. Wife wanted a 4-door car with a trunk and I wanted a low-slung sporty drive.

Not manual by any means, but it has Apple Car Play and buttons for almost everything else - aircon, media, driving controls etc.

We charge with excess solar so driving it is basically free.