Hi everyone. Science educator and car enthusiast from the southern US checking in. I've had numerous fun cars over the years and a few weeks ago made the (nearly unthinkable) decision because of my job to swap out my awesome little M235i for a 2017 Chevy Volt. My daily commute is around 30 miles (for much of which I am reimbursed at $0.42/mi) round trip and it just no longer made sense to be doing that using gas. Plus, I've long fantasized about the possibility of driving an EV. So I said a, what I thought would be sad goodbye to the 2 and hello to a silver Volt in LT trim. It could cover my commute day to day using only electricity, but still be able to go long distances if necessary.
Definitely had to accept a reduction in the fun-to-drive factor, and let go of some of the nice amenities that BMW offers, but a week of driving while using exactly no gas whatsoever really won me, and as it turns out, my family, over. So much so, in fact, that after that first week, discussions started turning toward "Do we really need this gas guzzling SUV when we see how nice it is to not use gas in the Volt?" That gas guzzling SUV would be a Porsche Macan S that would easily drink 15-17 mpg in town, maybe 23 mpg on the highway with the wind behind us.
Conversations turned to shopping, and you know how that goes. Last week we said goodbye to the Macan and hello to a 2017 BMW i3 REx in Tera World trim with Tech+Driving Assistant and a Moonroof.
The difference was noticeable almost immediately over the Thanksgiving break. Traveling to various family functions saw a gas expense of a whopping $2 (!!) in the i3, and that was for a 160 mi round trip through the mountains! Another trip required approximately $6 in the Volt. Compare either of these to the $40 in usual gas expense for the Macan or 2, and I'm totally willing to let go of those 'fun' cars. Besides, EVs can be fun in their own way. I can't help but grin a bit when I pass by a busy gas station.
I do still have a fun little ICE car in the garage in the form of a 2003 Z4 3.0i for fair weather weekend jaunts, and we have an old pickup for the heavy lifting, but I'm thinking that from here on out, the DDs will be EVs.
Thanks for reading.
Definitely had to accept a reduction in the fun-to-drive factor, and let go of some of the nice amenities that BMW offers, but a week of driving while using exactly no gas whatsoever really won me, and as it turns out, my family, over. So much so, in fact, that after that first week, discussions started turning toward "Do we really need this gas guzzling SUV when we see how nice it is to not use gas in the Volt?" That gas guzzling SUV would be a Porsche Macan S that would easily drink 15-17 mpg in town, maybe 23 mpg on the highway with the wind behind us.
Conversations turned to shopping, and you know how that goes. Last week we said goodbye to the Macan and hello to a 2017 BMW i3 REx in Tera World trim with Tech+Driving Assistant and a Moonroof.
The difference was noticeable almost immediately over the Thanksgiving break. Traveling to various family functions saw a gas expense of a whopping $2 (!!) in the i3, and that was for a 160 mi round trip through the mountains! Another trip required approximately $6 in the Volt. Compare either of these to the $40 in usual gas expense for the Macan or 2, and I'm totally willing to let go of those 'fun' cars. Besides, EVs can be fun in their own way. I can't help but grin a bit when I pass by a busy gas station.
I do still have a fun little ICE car in the garage in the form of a 2003 Z4 3.0i for fair weather weekend jaunts, and we have an old pickup for the heavy lifting, but I'm thinking that from here on out, the DDs will be EVs.
Thanks for reading.
