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Need some help testing out some tools I built to research finding the right electric vehicleI

Discussion in 'General' started by EV1, Mar 23, 2022.

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  1. Mar 23, 2022 #1
    EV1

    EV1 New Member

    In 2018, my wife and I bought our first two electric cars, and we have been hooked ever since. We had to do homework to convince ourselves that EVs are worth the investment, and fitting our unique needs was a time-consuming, difficult task. After a couple of friends who ended up buying electric vehicles had similar challenges and could not find simple resources online, I decided to build one. For the past two years, I have been working on putting together some tools we call Electric Driver, and I need the communities to help. There are a few things our tool is trying to go for


    - Match you with the EVs that closely meet your needs – When my wife wanted to buy an electric vehicle, she had a list of wants. She wanted a reliable, safe, seven-seater that would cut down her $400 per month fuel bill, and she wanted to be able to drive at least 200 miles on a charge. Initially, she wanted to spend around $55K (this eventually changed). When trying out the big car research sites, I found out I had to look at each vehicle model and figure out which vehicle models met my wife’s needs.

    - The next issue I ran into is that we found two options back then that met our needs (a Tesla Model S with the booster seat option and the Model X with the seven-seat add-on). Each of these two vehicles had its pros and cons, and we had to evaluate which of the two was the better fit based on our needs. Fast forward to the present (and even more so over the next few years as more EV models hit the market), evaluating will become more time-consuming as new options hit the marketplace. Again There was no resource to help show what EVs best meted our needs and help us assess them. Eventually, I built a tool for that into the Electric Driver.

    - The last issue was education-based. Specifically, once we found the electric vehicle we thought was a contender, we needed to understand how the electric car could save us time, money, and the environment. We did not know how much money we could save by switching from gas to electric, are electric vehicles less costly to maintain, and how reliable they were. Also, we had no clue about where we could charge and could we travel to all the locations we wanted to. Again this information was disparate took time to complete. Again we built information to give anyone interested in an electric vehicle to understanding of what they are getting into.


    Where we need the community’s help is for anyone curious or would consider buying an electric vehicle to visit https://electricdriver.co and tell us if the site all the questions you would have to consider selecting a specific electric vehicle model. If not, what would you want to see? Also, any other feedback Is greatly appreciated.
     
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2022

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  2. Mar 23, 2022 #2
    bwilson4web

    bwilson4web Well-Known Member Subscriber

    Huntsville, AL
    From just the first page:
    • replace "Autopilot" with something more generic ... say "Driver Automation" or "Driving Assistance".
    • replace "Cargo Capacity" with something suggesting a towing capability ... "Cargo and Towing".
    • combine "Charging Time" and "Cost to Drive" with something like "Driving Costs and Charging"
    • not shown, "How to Buy"
    I did not duck into the sections as I feel a good index is the place to start. Also alphabetize the index as the order implies your value set ... too much like a dealer 'sales critter.'

    If you have a specific area you want feedback, let me know. Fix the index and we can go from there.

    Bob Wilson
     
  3. Mar 23, 2022 #3
    teslarati97

    teslarati97 Well-Known Member

    Out of all the combinations tried, Tesla was always the #1 best match regardless...and Bob's your uncle!
     
  4. Mar 23, 2022 #4
    bwilson4web

    bwilson4web Well-Known Member Subscriber

    Huntsville, AL
    Which ones so I can review one or more of the others.

    Bob Wilson
     
  5. Mar 23, 2022 #5
    teslarati97

    teslarati97 Well-Known Member

    Price range $25,000 - $195,000
    Seating 4+
    100 miles per charge

    Once you hit $60,000+ it's Tesla, Tesla, Tesla!! Tesla simply outperforms everything.
     

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  6. Mar 25, 2022 #6
    papab

    papab Member

    Colorado
    2 questions you missed: Ground clearance and AWD
     
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  7. Apr 11, 2022 #7
    EV1

    EV1 New Member

    @pabab Do you agree with the over $60K and its Tesla or do you think something is off. If so what could you please explain what do you think is missing.
     
  8. Apr 11, 2022 #8
    EV1

    EV1 New Member

    @papb Are you saying ground clearance and AWD should be a searchable attribute? If so can you explain why?
     
  9. Apr 11, 2022 #9
    EV1

    EV1 New Member

    @teslarati97 Do you think that once you hit over $60,000 Tesla should outperform everyone else or is something off/missing. Please let me know if this passed your sniff test or if we are missing something.
     

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  10. Apr 11, 2022 #10
    papab

    papab Member

    Colorado
    Isn't the whole point of your website to search for attributes that are important to you so you can compare vehicles? It seems obvious to me.
    Those are important attributes to me because I live in a rural mountainous area & I need some ground clearance to drive to a trailhead. One example is about 5 miles from my house and the rough section to the parking is pretty short, but I still need a little ground clearance. A Tesla Y AWD doesn't make the cut, nor does a Mach E. They are hatchbacks, not compact SUV's.
    I drive in the mountains in the winter, AWD is an important attribute. One of the many times this winter I went skiing there was someone getting stuck in the parking lot, which was mostly plowed pretty well, but not completely because it snowed a lot. The parking lot attendants were making fun of the tourists that drive up in their 2WD rental cars.
     
  11. Apr 11, 2022 #11
    papab

    papab Member

    Colorado
    No, that's a tesla fan boy speaking. Perhaps if acceleration is what is important it is Tesla, but that's not important to me. My other post explains some of what Tesla is missing.
     
  12. Apr 11, 2022 #12
    EV1

    EV1 New Member

    @papb Thanks for the context. I can see your point. Beysides ground clearance and AWD, what else do you look for when traveling off-road?
     
  13. Apr 11, 2022 #13
    papab

    papab Member

    Colorado
    To be clear, it is not 'off-road'. It is off smooth roads. I don't think you can fine tune the selection process with a web site search like you have very much. If I were to eliminate the low/standard ground clearance vehicle the list is very short right now. ID4, Rivian, Subaru/Toyota.
     
  14. Apr 11, 2022 #14
    R P

    R P Well-Known Member

    Vancouver, BC, Canada 2023 Solterra Tech Pkg
    Look at the Subaru Solterra. It has 8.3" ground clearance.
     
  15. Apr 11, 2022 #15
    papab

    papab Member

    Colorado
    It's at the top of my list. Waiting for them to be available (or the Toyota twin)
     
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  16. Apr 11, 2022 #16
    R P

    R P Well-Known Member

    Vancouver, BC, Canada 2023 Solterra Tech Pkg
    I have a pre-order in for the Solterra, as does my son. We don't expect to see them earliest at the end of this year and more likely early 2023. I also have an Ioniq 5 on pre-order and don't expect to see it either until early 2023.

    We just sold our Kona EV, and got $5K more than we paid for it 3 years ago (and had free charging the whole time). So now we are EV-less and have to share an ICE car. But next year at this time, hopefully, we will be a two EV household.
     
  17. Apr 12, 2022 #17
    teslarati97

    teslarati97 Well-Known Member

    I am simply being facetious about spec sheet comparisons. The Tesla brand can extremely polarizing when dealing with the cult-like vitriol towards other EV and legacy manufacturers.
     
  18. Apr 12, 2022 #18
    EV1

    EV1 New Member


    Thank you. The Off Smooth road comment makes sense.
     
  19. Apr 12, 2022 #19
    EV1

    EV1 New Member

    @bwilson4web Thank you for your feedback. When you mentioned "how to buy" in your initial post could you elaborate? What sort of information were you looking for?
     
  20. Apr 12, 2022 #20
    bwilson4web

    bwilson4web Well-Known Member Subscriber

    Huntsville, AL
    Often there may be a vehicle being replaced:
    • Sell it individually - slight risks, maximum cash, may take time.
    • Sell it to a reseller - lower cash but easy.
    • Trade it in - in Alabama, this avoids some sales taxes and you drive old car to pickup new.
    Bob Wilson
     
    Last edited: Apr 12, 2022
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