Acting Citizen: Joining the Ranks of EV Owners

It’s Happening

By James Knudsen

I’m not sure we can claim to be “early adopters,” but the Knudsen household has joined the ranks of electric vehicle (EV) owners. Andra’s Subaru Forester began developing issues, and Andra favors new cars. New Subarus to be precise. All of which found us in the local dealership on the Memorial Day weekend selecting a Subaru Solterra to be Andra’s daily driver.

    Dad would have immediately began dissecting the name “Solterra.” Sunland? That’s a suburb of Los Angeles. One’s attention should be on “Subaru,” because this car is in fact a Toyota bZ4X badge-engineered to be a Subaru. If we’re interested in stretching the badge-engineered claim, we can also say it’s the same vehicle as the Lexus RZ450e version of the Toyota.
    Toyota is best known for its expertise in hybrid vehicles, and until now it has stayed clear of the EV universe. Like typical American consumers, we did plenty of research about our purchase – after we had signed all the paperwork. Early reviews about Toyota’s debut EV are less than glowing. Its advertised range is nothing spectacular, its ability to fast-charge is more like not-slow, and its 0-60 time is very internal-combustion-engine, as in nothing exceptional.

    What Toyoto’s debut EV does claim to promise is a battery that will remain healthy for many years. Toyota is the company that has provided consumers with such “run forever” names as Camry, Corolla, and Land Cruiser. With a reputation like that to protect, Toyota seems to be betting that its customer base will accept a sub-250 mile range, along with 50+ minute recharge time to 80%, in exchange for that legendary “Toyota reliability.” To know if that is in fact the case will require us to keep the car for 10 years, and I would not advise placing any money on that wager.

    We do know that we are through making stops at the gas pump. And public chargers will only come into play on long trips. The presence of an unused 50-amp, 240-volt outlet on the kitchen wall, which is shared with the garage, provided an inexpensive way to create Level 2 charging capabilities at home. My rudimentary carpentry skills created a serviceable “voltage pump.” Once the school year resumes, a single charge should handle Andra’s weekly commute.

The transition to EVs will, I suspect, never be 100%. But I do believe they will come to dominate the consumer market. We can point to a number of reasons why this will happen: growing concern about the environment, climate change, a smoother, quieter driving experience, all true. What I believe will make converts and keep them is maintenance. EVs require no oil changes, tune-ups, or smog inspections. The household refrigerator comes to mind when I think of the EV. When consumers begin to realize that the regular trips to the mechanic and the re-scheduling of daily routines are over, the gasoline powered car’s days will be numbered.

Copyright © 2023 by James Knudsen