My last post covered our experience with heat pumps over the past year, and in the wake of a particularly cold snap. In general, the verdict was a strong “recommend”. For this post, I’ll take a look at the other big electrification investment we made last year – our electric car. As a reminder, we downsized from two hybrid cars to one electric car, made possible because I work remotely and only have to go into the office once per month. So what’s the verdict?
tl;dr The Verdict
Overall, our EV is more expensive than if we had just right-sized from two hybrid vehicles to one, or bought a new hybrid vehicle, even taking into account the state and federal incentives. It also has more limitations despite its relatively long range and fast-charging capabilities compared to a hybrid vehicle. I have no regrets about getting our EV because of the environmental benefits and because it reduces the exposure to fluctuations in gas prices. However, given the price point and operating realities of our EV, it may not make sense for many – or perhaps most – households.
Despite my recommendation having some caveats, from a policy perspective, EVs are a huge win. The air quality benefits alone are substantial; the ability to have a mix of energy sources that feed our grid reduces dependence on any one fuel; and widespread adoption of EVs is critical if we have any hope of hitting environmental targets. If anything, our experience with the EV has demonstrated the need to continue innovating, experimenting, and investing in this technology.
How We’ve Used It
First, a little refresher on the car we chose. We went with a Hyundai Ioniq 5 as our EV. It’s gotten a number of awards like “Car of the Year” from Auto Express and “EV of the Year” from Car and Driver. Do those awards actually mean anything? I have no idea.
One of the main advantages the Ioniq 5 has over some other EVs like a Chevy Bolt is the Ultra Fast Charging capability. On 350 kW chargers (also called Level 3 chargers, generally only available from Electrify America), we can take the Ioniq 5 from 20% to 80% in about 15 minutes. For reference, it would take five or six hours to charge that much using our at-home Level 2 charger.
The estimated range on an Ioniq 5 is roughly 300 miles for a full charge, though that depends heavily on the weather and driving style. Given this fast-charging capability and long range, we’ve been able to use it for 99% of our trips. My wife uses it daily to get to Westfield for her job, and I use it once per month to get to Medford (~100 miles one way). I can make it back an forth on one charge, comfortably.
We’ve also taken several short road trips with the car, going to New York City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. We have to do a little bit of planning to figure out where to stop and charge it, but we typically find a location with a fast charger and time it to when we would want lunch – not a problem at all.
I did take one longer road trip between Holyoke and Kentucky, which wouldn’t have been practical in the EV. It’s about 850 miles, which means stopping at least three times to charge. Assuming I could find a fast charger at appropriate intervals (every 250 miles or so), that’s about 90 minutes of charge time. Tack that onto about 14 hours of driving, and it pushes a one-day trip into a two-day affair. So, I rented a car one-way (again, not a big deal and much cheaper than having a second car).
So, what’s the verdict? In terms of how we’ve used the car, I would give it a solid “recommend” rating. It has met all of our typical travel needs, with minimal inconvenience related to being an EV. Bonus points that we can recharge at home, saving trips to the gas station. However, for a person who uses a car regularly for very long trips, an EV probably isn’t a good option.
Comparing Cost
Cost is more complicated. We purchased the car for just under $50,000, which is important because the Massachusetts EV rebate only applies to cars under that mark. However, we got a $2,500 state rebate and will receive a $7,500 federal tax credit once we file our 2022 taxes, bringing the cost down to around $39,000.
So from a capital investment perspective, it is more expensive than the kind of hybrid car we would otherwise have bought, even taking state and federal incentives into account. But what about the cost to operate?
According to the app for the ChargePoint charger that we have (and got for free from Holyoke Gas & Electric!), it costs about $10 to get 250 miles of range at current electric rates. At $3.50/gallon, the Prius that I used to own cost about $17.50 for 250 miles of driving, and my wife’s Rav 4 hybrid cost about $20. Below is a rough breakdown of the upfront and annual operating costs, assuming 10,000 miles of driving per year.
I wish it weren’t so, but from a financial perspective, it would have made more sense to stick with the Prius or Rav 4 than switching to an EV. With the Rav 4 Hybrid, it’s nearly a wash – just a couple of grand difference over 10 years. With the Prius, it’s a clear loss, even after the rebate and tax credit.* Of course, the more you drive, the more the balance shifts in the EV’s favor, so this might pencil out better for other households.
Another thing I’ll note is that the cost of a 2023 Ioniq 5 has come down to $43,000 before incentives – though it’s not clear yet whether the 2023 federal tax credits will apply given American final assembly requirements under the Inflation Reduction Act.
So, what’s the verdict? From a cost perspective, sadly, I can’t recommend switching to an Ioniq 5 (maybe other, less expensive EVs would do better). I recently read a Politico “The Long Game” interview [here] with Toyota’s Sustainability Chief, Tom Stricker, who suggested that perhaps the best option is for people to get a plug-in hybrid that gets them to most of their destinations without the gas engine kicking on. That’s an intriguing argument, and one that I want to explore more.
*Without getting too math-y, I will note that I didn’t use a discount rate to account for the time value of money. If I had, the EV would have performed more poorly.
A Repair Postscript
In November, on the way down to Princeton, NJ, I got rear-ended on the highway in Yonkers. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and I was able to drive away. That said, the rear bumper of the Ioniq 5 was totally smashed.
Getting it repaired has been an Odyssey. It is scheduled to go into the body shop next week, nearly three months after the crash, due to parts availability (and further delayed by the holidays and COVID). Once in there, it is likely that the mechanic will find something new once he starts pulling things apart, meaning yet another parts order and potentially weeks or months of more waiting.
On the plus side, it’s been remarkable that the car continues to drive just fine for all of these weeks since the crash. On the downside, the newness of the car means that getting it repaired has been even more complicated than if we had something more standard (like a Prius or a Rav 4). So I don’t think this is anything related to the EV itself, but getting this car fixed has really been a ride. The verdict on repairability is a big thumb’s down (though I don’t know that any other car in the world gets a “thumb’s up” on that).
Pioneer Valley Planner 