I've owned several EVs over the past 10 years, and I've settled on a so-called "hybrid garage." That is, one EV and one PHEV. I've owned two luxury EV brands priced over $80k, and yet my favorite EV is still my first one, a 2013 LEAF now worth less than $5k.
The cheap and tiny EV is a no-fuss/no-worry car that zips me around town for my daily driving. It's small and nimble, and I don't really care about what happens to it. I park in spaces a lot of other people would pass up because they're too cramped and they're worried about door dings or whatever. By now it has about 50 miles of range, but I never get close to that on any given day. In fact I tend to go several days in a row between plugging it in.
The other car is a PHEV that only has about 20 miles of range. It dips into the gas tank here and there, but that's so infrequent that stops at the gas station happen only maybe once every month and a half. And when it's time to do a family vacation or other out-of-town trip, it's only using gas, which is super-easy to come by and only requires 5 minutes to replenish. Best of all I don't have to deal with any rapid charger drama.
My next car is going to be a midlife crisis purchase, and I'm taking a pretty hard look at a manual transmission ICE. The idea of buying something like a Taycan and then having to roll the dice with the substandard rapid charging infrastructure doesn't sound appealing to me at all.
I know Tesla superchargers are a thing and that they will be available more broadly in the years to come, but I'm also looking to reduce the tech in my car, in particular anything that reports my location all the time to some mother ship.
You sound like a version of me with deeper pockets. We have a Volkswagen eUp! as an EV, which is a lot of fun to drive and does all the inner city commute. Then I have a station wagon that I bought for 15000€ in almost new condition, which is used for all longer trips or cases when stuff needs to be transported. Sometimes I drive it on short trips only to not let it sit around for longer than two weeks. I would go for a PHEV, but currently I have other financial priorities.
> My next car is going to be a midlife crisis purchase, and I'm taking a pretty hard look at a manual transmission ICE.
That sounds like a Porsche 911 Carrera T, at least that would be my midlife crisis choice if I had the money.
Going completely off-topic here but I have to ask: why spend that much for a Carrera T in a world the Cayman GTS 4.0 exists and is superior in virtually everything that matters for a sports car for significantly less?
Manual transmission and purism. I am not in the financial position to buy a Porsche, but if I was I would not go for the best power to price ratio, but for the car that gives me most joy.
I had to double check in case they removed it for MY 2024 but they didn't: the GTS comes stock with a manual, the PDK is an option that costs over 3k€.
Regarding the joy, I get it but that's why I asked: the GTS comes with the 4.0 NA engine and incredible balance (though I haven't driven a 992 so I can't speak from experience there).
The cheap and tiny EV is a no-fuss/no-worry car that zips me around town for my daily driving. It's small and nimble, and I don't really care about what happens to it. I park in spaces a lot of other people would pass up because they're too cramped and they're worried about door dings or whatever. By now it has about 50 miles of range, but I never get close to that on any given day. In fact I tend to go several days in a row between plugging it in.
The other car is a PHEV that only has about 20 miles of range. It dips into the gas tank here and there, but that's so infrequent that stops at the gas station happen only maybe once every month and a half. And when it's time to do a family vacation or other out-of-town trip, it's only using gas, which is super-easy to come by and only requires 5 minutes to replenish. Best of all I don't have to deal with any rapid charger drama.
My next car is going to be a midlife crisis purchase, and I'm taking a pretty hard look at a manual transmission ICE. The idea of buying something like a Taycan and then having to roll the dice with the substandard rapid charging infrastructure doesn't sound appealing to me at all.
I know Tesla superchargers are a thing and that they will be available more broadly in the years to come, but I'm also looking to reduce the tech in my car, in particular anything that reports my location all the time to some mother ship.