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Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

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Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea, I had a ID.4 pre-ordered but canceled it after I realized how absurd the price is. I bought a utility e-bike instead and that was probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I barely use my car anymore and biking is way more fun and greener than any car.

Yeah, California is one of the very few places on Earth where you can do that.

This is a bad statement. California isn't even bike friendly. The Netherlands or Denmark, or hell, Germany are all VASTLY more bike friendly than California.

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is extremely common to fill up any ICE and get nearly 500 miles. It's almost like they sized the tanks to that standard.

I can get that in my diesel pickup not towing (19 mpg and 30 gallons) but no car I've ever owned can get 500 miles from a tank of gas.

A diesel mk4 VW Jetta/Golf easily gets 1000 km (620 miles) on the highway. Those cars were extremely common in NA at one point.

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#313
post #142

Is it their electric car or is it their car, electric ? I don't want your electric car. I don't want your e-initiative i-mobile green-tech tron-car. I want one of your actual cars, just electric . I don't want an ID.4 - I just want a Passat. I don't want the polestar e-initiative i-concept - I just want a V90 wagon. I don't want a future space truck, I just want a Silverado - but electric. God. Dammit.

> I want one of your actual cars, just electric.

VW did that for a while; the eGolf. The (rather similar-looking, in fairness) id.3 that replaced it seems to be doing a lot better.

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#314

My opinion is that the industry has gone in the wrong direction with batteries. Cars should use swappable rechargeable batteries swapped by robots at the charging station. Faster pit stops and simpler batteries (no need for water-cooled, etc) and cheaper cars. And elimination of concern of battery warranty.

Tesla attempted it and gave up. Given how much Musk loves ambition, there's probably a decent reason for it.

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A used Premier Bolt with DC quick charging is a good compromise here. The car software is well done, and while it isn't updated often that just means you can expect less bugs than Tesla's constantly updated software. Downsides to the Bolt include OnStar, 3rd party quick chargers are often broken, and their app is absolute garbage. Other than that I think ~$15k for 200+ miles is amazing.

What I don't think people understand is how quick these batteries can be charged. It is a plug in, get lunch, go to the bathroom, maybe stretch a bit, and get back on the road type of deal. How long does somebody really want to be driving/sitting in a car non-stop?

10-14 hours per day for a road trip is typical for me, with a single 5 minute re-fueling stop each day.

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#316

I feel like the prices on electric vehicles are starting to become their biggest hurdle (instead of range, availability, or charging which are solved enough). If you're from California or New York, I'm sure $40K starting for this or a Model Y seems complexly within your means, but there's a large chunk of the US (by population AND land) where People love to spam $40K US "average" while entirely ignoring that the aver…

Batteries are quite likely to continue to decrease.[1] Most industrial processes follow a learning curve inverse to the cumulative units produced. And it makes sense: each efficiency improvement has a fixed cost, and only gets made if enough units get shipped.

Estimates I have seen are that LI is on a 13% annual decrease, which means that your $16k pack will be $4.5k by 2030.

By then, I would bet that the Honda Civic EV is cheaper than the Honda Civic ICE. In addition to the batter, there are fewer moving parts and simpler assembly, which means less labor; this type of manufacturing has barely started to scale up. Not guaranteed, but my estimates might turn out to be conservative.

And as for rare earths: as demand increases, it becomes increasingly profitable to extract marginal deposits. That's what fracking is, after all.

[1] https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/20/5276/pdf

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#317

I'm puzzled why EVs are so expensive when they have simpler design and parts. Is it because of the battery? Also, isn't EMF radiation an issue for you?

Yes, the batteries are currently still very expensive. You're right that engine-wise, they're considerably simpler.

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#318

I'm puzzled why EVs are so expensive when they have simpler design and parts. Is it because of the battery? Also, isn't EMF radiation an issue for you?

> Is it because of the battery?

That's the big contributor, yep.

> Also, isn't EMF radiation an issue for you?

For who? I mean, if you happen to be an AM radio it may be an issue, but I can't see why it would be a problem for humans.

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#319

Here is a great no frills review of the ID.4 https://youtu.be/3oC9sUiwyL8 The TL;DR is even if its electric its not a serious competitor to tesla. The UI is terrible as the drive is unable to find a charger while navigating to their destination. Electric car charging stations are going to look completely different the gas stations as they costs a few thousand dollars to install rather than a cool million for a gas st…

id.4 comes with Android Auto and CarPlay compatibility. You'd be a fool to rely on the OEM tech. Tesla loses big in this regard because they don't offer either and their built-in tech is garbage.

Tesla's vertical integration means navigation + charging planning, plus the actual charging, is seamless. I doubt you'd see the same with an iOS or Android app. Every time I read about charging for other platforms, it sounds terrible.

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, California is one of the very few places on Earth where you can do that.

Do what? Use a bicycle for tasks many use a car for? If my guess is correct, I have to ask why you think California is unique in that respect given the absolutely huge set of data to the contrary? I mean, you have heard of the Netherlands, right? Of course, if my guess is wrong, ignore me. And be more clear next time. :-)

Literally every other person responding figured out that they were talking about weather, so I don’t think they had issues with clarity.
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