EV Alternatives to Model Y?

[rjpjnk]

Greetings all,
New potential Tesla owner here looking for advice from those who know the MY well. I bought a 2021 Prius Prime Limited this year and while It is an excellent car in many ways, I now feel I want to go pure EV. I didn't realize until I bought the Prime just how nice EV driving is. Now I get disappointed whenever the ICE starts. I love the smooth torquey feeling of the electric motor. That's what made me interested in the Tesla. The MY is probably more car than I need since I don't place a huge value on acceleration and actually am fine with the Prius Prime's appearance. I realize the MY is in another league all together in terms of luxury, class, and technology, but curiously it's also missing some basic technology my Prime has like BSM mirrors, HUD, Apple Play, and AM radio.

So my question is this. Are there any other EVs worth looking at other than Tesla that might be a bit less expensive but still get at least 100 miles range in cold weather? My daily commute is 100 miles round trip.

I'm still leaning towards the MY, but want to keep an open mind to other potential vehicles that might meet my needs. So far I am aware of the Chevy Bolt and WV ID.4. Any others?

Thanks for any help.

 

[brettjson]

Depends what your budget it. There are several expensive EVs (iPace, Taycan, eTron) on the market and coming to market (BMW i4, lucid air, rivian).
As far as affordable EVs that are not Tesla you have the Bolt hatchback, Bolt SUV, Leaf, MachE, and ID4. Down the line Toyota and Honda will have some but they are not out yet.

There are a plethora of detailed YouTube reviews out there going over all the pluses and minuses. I would start with “Engineering Explained” and “Doug Demuro”.

Ps Doug can annoy some folks but he does a great job of giving an overview of cars so please don’t criticize me for mentioning him.

 

[Stealth.Pilot]

It's hard to beat the price of the Model Y SR+ ($40k base), but the best cheaper options with the kind of range you want is the Hyundai Kona EV SEL. This one starts at around $37k but since they refreshed it a little for 2021, you can get new 2020 models for a good discount.

BTW Here is an example of a 2021 Kona EV Limited listed for $10k off at $33k. I'm not surprised. Few people would pay over $40k for these when you can get a Tesla now for that price.

Autotrader - page unavailable

 

[OCJeff]

It's hard to beat the price of the Model Y SR+ ($40k base), but the best cheaper options with the kind of range you want is the Hyundai Kona EV SEL. This one starts at around $37k but since they refreshed it a little for 2021, you can get new 2020 models for a good discount.

BTW Here is an example of a 2021 Kona EV Limited listed for $10k off at $33k. I'm not surprised. Few people would pay over $40k for these when you can get a Tesla now for that price.

Autotrader - page unavailable

Plus don't forget to mention the Fed. Tax Credit that is still available for EV's outside of Chevy and Tesla (if you have at least $7500 in tax liability).

 

[Need]

I think Mustang Mach-E is probably closest to MY. If your commute is shorter, I would say to look at Rav4 Prime. It has a pretty good EV range and fast too.

 

[dhanson865]

cheap option might be the 2017 Bolt if the stop sale gets lifted. The quote below is me from another thread, still mostly on point, though now 2021s are in the mix.

your options are

* Tesla at new price - the better vehicle if money isn't an issue.
* Bolt at new price
* Bolt at used price - the value play

can you use some sort of logic to say the 2020 bolt at dealer discount prices is worth buying, sure if you live in a state or power company region that has new car only rebates you might get one cheaper than a used one.

But for me there is no reason to buy a 2020 bolt if I can just wait a few months for the brouhaha to settle and get a 2017 bolt way cheaper. There isn't a dealer in my state that will sell me a 2020 below the prices of a used 2017.

 

[_tb_]

My parents just ordered a 2022 Bolt EUV (the bigger one). It's going to come in at about $43-44K with Super Cruise, ventilated front seats, and 250-ish miles of range, which seems like a decent value. It certainly won't perform like a Tesla, but it should be a nice replacement for their early BMW i3.

Here is a Car and Driver magazine writeup.

 

[Needsdecaf]

I think Mustang Mach-E is probably closest to MY. If your commute is shorter, I would say to look at Rav4 Prime. It has a pretty good EV range and fast too.

Agreed, this is the most direct competitor. I would definitely look at it.

 

[angus[Y]oung]

I think Mustang Mach-E is probably closest to MY. If your commute is shorter, I would say to look at Rav4 Prime. It has a pretty good EV range and fast too.

@Need the problem with the Rav4 Prime is availability. I'm sure I heard that Toyota did a very limited production run and I believe most if not all are already spoken for. I haven't checked Toyota's US site, but a quick look on Toyota Canada's site even has this little notice: "RAV4 Prime has very limited availability, please contact your local dealer for details."

 

[cris97]

The problem with any other cars is that they don't have an extensive supercharger network like TSLA does. or Maybe I didn't research enough. Sure I commute in town most of the time and barely need to use supercharger, but I want to be assured that whenever I do, I have an option to do it. And it has to be quick and efficient enough to continue my trip. I can't spend an hour for just an addition 20-30 miles.

 

[kkw249]

If you're planning to wait a year or two, check out the Nissan Ariya and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 as potential alternatives.

 

[Braveanthony]

I think Model Y has the best value even if tax credit is considered. Sure it’s a bit more expensive but its features and technology more than makes up for it. No contest.
I think M3 SR is at the only one that is better value than MY.

 

[Giraffe950]

@Need the problem with the Rav4 Prime is availability. I'm sure I heard that Toyota did a very limited production run and I believe most if not all are already spoken for. I haven't checked Toyota's US site, but a quick look on Toyota Canada's site even has this little notice: "RAV4 Prime has very limited availability, please contact your local dealer for details."

They aren’t even going to be selling them in PA. At least that’s what the Toyota dealer here told me when I went for a test drive.

 

[cris97]

If you're planning to wait a year or two, check out the Nissan Ariya and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 as potential alternatives.

By that time, Elon's gonna bring back the SR to up the sale. Too many competitions.

 

[rjpjnk]

Thanks for all the replies. It seems things are changing rapidly in the EV world. The next couple years should be very interesting. It is an exciting time of new development, but at the same time I get the feeling that whatever I buy today will be outdated in 3 years. It might be wise to wait for things to settle a bit, but it is hard to wait.

 

[my808]

I had a BMW 530e hybrid, and I wanted to get rid of it for a Mercedes EQA,but production for that got delayed. That ugly little BMW i3 is like $50K!!! nope..... I wanted an SUV. I went through your dilemma, and chose the Model Y as a "transition car" while I wait for better options. The reason I went with Model Y was the price, and also that Tesla has a service model that (gripes and bad service aside) appeals to me: the guy in the van. To my surprise, I rather like the Model Y, I got a flawless one, AND the Mercedes EQA review has it as sluggish with sub-optimal range, so their delay was my good fortune.

When my lease is up in 3 years, I expect to have some pretty decent choices, but now having experience with the Tesla, the other guys better really step up.

 

[Need]

The problem with any other cars is that they don't have an extensive supercharger network like TSLA does. or Maybe I didn't research enough. Sure I commute in town most of the time and barely need to use supercharger, but I want to be assured that whenever I do, I have an option to do it. And it has to be quick and efficient enough to continue my trip. I can't spend an hour for just an addition 20-30 miles.

Agree. Even though I only use my Model 3 for commute, there were a few days last year that I forgot to charge my car. If I don't charge it up to over 200 miles, I can't go to work (and back home with margin) as my commute is over 135 miles. A 200 miles on the Tesla's display can go about 165 miles in the winter at SoCal if you drive 80mph. But with a supercharger 2 miles away from my home next to the freeway entrance, I could just stop for 5 to 10 min in the morning and good to go.

 

[cris97]

Agree. Even though I only use my Model 3 for commute, there were a few days last year that I forgot to charge my car. If I don't charge it up to over 200 miles, I can't go to work (and back home with margin) as my commute is over 135 miles. A 200 miles on the Tesla's display can go about 165 miles in the winter at SoCal if you drive 80mph. But with a supercharger 2 miles away from my home next to the freeway entrance, I could just stop for 5 to 10 min in the morning and good to go.

Yep. Park the car. Plug in. Order Starbucks on app. Pick up in store. Come back and the car is ready to go.

 

[euro2012]

Thanks for all the replies. It seems things are changing rapidly in the EV world. The next couple years should be very interesting. It is an exciting time of new development, but at the same time I get the feeling that whatever I buy today will be outdated in 3 years. It might be wise to wait for things to settle a bit, but it is hard to wait.

I have had my model 3 performance for 2.5 years. It still feels like a new car to me. We started our into the ev world with a Bolt, and beside the model 3 it quickly became clear that Tesla was well ahead of everyone else. We have since added a Model X, and traded the Bolt in for a new Y. Couldn’t recommend Tesla more. It’s easy to justify anything else sine you only drive 100 miles as your commute, but what about other times? When travelling the supercharger network is amazing, and I have never wished for a smaller battery or less range, lol.

 

[Uncle Paul]

If you plan to ever drive more than a couple hundred miles away from your home, the Tesla Supercharger systems makes their cars quite compelling, compared to the competition.