PHEV instead of Electric if home charging a issue?

Body weight: 2,972 BMW i3 vs 3,145 Mini Cooper SE (source: wiki)

Bob Wilson

 

I drove a Ford C-Max PHEV before choosing the Clarity, and the driving experience was not great. Hard transitions between ICE and electric; didn’t feel natural. That car was discontinued. I got the Clarity because I couldn’t tell which engine was being used; seamless.

 

I drove a 40kW Nissan Leaf for 2 years without charging at home - not even 120V - so it depends greatly on your driving needs. Because of my work (part time) location, I was able to manage comfortably with public DCFC charging - an hour a week in the summer, and two hours a week in the winter.....If I'd been able to charge at a 120V at my building, I could have cut that by less than half. I did not want to by a PHEV, which seemed like only going half way across a bridge. I was either going to go electric or stay with gas, so I decided to commit the time to going electric. My family was skeptical it would work without charging at home, but it definitely could be done without much stress (if I spend an hour sitting in front of a computer at home answering emails and cruising the web, I could do that on my phone in my car while it's charging) -- they were surprised that I stuck with it. I'm buying a new car with greater range now, but only because my driving patterns have changed with a longer commute and an out-of-town cottage.

 

With that much of a commute, level one charging in that plain old wall socket with a BEV may do you just fine. Of course, it will depend on the car and the kind of driving you do, but with my 2020 Kona Electric I only charge with a regular outlet and the level one charger that came with the car (except the occasional stop at a free Volta level 2 plug while shopping). Overnight in about 12 hours I can add roughly 19% of battery capacity and 53-55 miles of range. So for me a commute significantly longer than yours would be covered without needing a level 2 charger. Again, your mileage may vary, but don't write off the possibility of a BEV rather than a PHEV.

 

But will it give you the ride you want?
Most say the ID4 is a very comfortable compact SUV, but the Tesla M3 SR+ is more of a sport car and is definitely faster.
I know, decisions, decisions

 

Yeah, closest Tesla outlet is Toronto.

VW Canada is only letting select dealers handle the ID.4, the closest to Sudbury would prolly be Newmarket. They might have one this Fall.

Dunno about the Mazda, but suspect that won't be seen until next year.

Think Georgian Mini (BMW in Barrie) has a Cooper SE you could try ...