Meet the Sakura, the best-selling electric car in Japan. It has driver assistance, auto-parking, fast charging, bi-directional power, and acres of charm. The killer stat: It only costs $17,000.
Trust me. You do NOT want to go on a long distance road trip in a kei car. Even if you are super short.
Kei cars are amazing for commuting and grocery store trips. They are horrible for basically anything beyond that so you are still getting that chair delivered and so forth. Once you start cramming it full of luggage or camping supplies you will rapidly feel the claustrophobia.
112 miles is perfect for driving around a city or going to the park on the weekend or whatever. 40 minutes for 10->80% is a bit… ouch. But if you can charge it over night (with even an L1 charger) that doesn’t matter for day trips and… trust me when I say you want to take a long lunch and stretch your legs if you are taking a kei car on a road trip.
Which… also speaks to how consumer vehicles “should” be treated. Get something with great efficiency for your commute and every day driving. Rent a car for long range driving. First off… if you actually take wear and tear into account it isn’t THAT much more expensive to drive a beater for your 500 mile road trip. Second it means that you are saving a LOT of money on your commutes and normal shopping trips and can drive something optimized for that which reduces pollution considerably.
I don’t live in car land. Hence I don’t commute or shop groceries via car. Charging seems a hassle for typical trips, but I am not an experienced driver. I want mini cars to be cheaper, not go farther, so using one is more sensible.
Trust me. You do NOT want to go on a long distance road trip in a kei car. Even if you are super short.
Kei cars are amazing for commuting and grocery store trips. They are horrible for basically anything beyond that so you are still getting that chair delivered and so forth. Once you start cramming it full of luggage or camping supplies you will rapidly feel the claustrophobia.
112 miles is perfect for driving around a city or going to the park on the weekend or whatever. 40 minutes for 10->80% is a bit… ouch. But if you can charge it over night (with even an L1 charger) that doesn’t matter for day trips and… trust me when I say you want to take a long lunch and stretch your legs if you are taking a kei car on a road trip.
Which… also speaks to how consumer vehicles “should” be treated. Get something with great efficiency for your commute and every day driving. Rent a car for long range driving. First off… if you actually take wear and tear into account it isn’t THAT much more expensive to drive a beater for your 500 mile road trip. Second it means that you are saving a LOT of money on your commutes and normal shopping trips and can drive something optimized for that which reduces pollution considerably.
I don’t live in car land. Hence I don’t commute or shop groceries via car. Charging seems a hassle for typical trips, but I am not an experienced driver. I want mini cars to be cheaper, not go farther, so using one is more sensible.