The E-Tron, EQC and Taycan were among the first non-Tesla EVs widely available in Europe that weren’t utter shit like the Leaf and I-Miev. The original Ioniq (without a number) was also quite shit, it barely had a battery. There are plugin hybrids with similar size batteries out there. The Kona EV and its Niro sister were about the only cheap EVs that didn’t absolutely suck, but these were also more expensive than their ICE counterparts and I have a hard time figuring out the actual depreciation because there are very few used ones for sale here outside of super low mileage ones at dealers. Despite the lower price, they seem to have sold much worse here than the luxury EVs. Basically 6-8 years ago if you were buying an EV, you probably weren’t looking for the cheapest possible option because if you were, you would’ve just stayed with an ICE vehicle and probably buying used anyway.
If we’re talking about total cost of ownership for EVs over their lifetimes and saying that EVs were cheaper to run than ICE vehicles for “a long time” already, those are the cars we have data on. Once we get into the 2020s, there are lower priced options that don’t suck, and their depreciation curve isn’t as bad. And honestly, the Ioniq 5 is probably a better car to own than the e-tron or i-pace. Which is why I’m saying that any of the early options that didn’t suck, depreciated so much it was hard to justify them economically compared to ICE vehicles.
Hmm, fair. And oops, I forgot since I basically drive my Prime like an EV, haha (almost exclusively short distances; filled up twice this year).
I was thinking of the Ioniq next… But I do have high hopes for the Hyundai Casper… Haven’t heard much about it, though. Anyway, I feel like a lot of the price depreciation is due to the industry’s age. Their insurance also costs more because parts are rarer, but as they proliferate, that should even out.
I test drove the Ioniq 5 when it came out and I was mildly underwhelmed by its comfort and handling because I was comparing it to a 2 decade old Mercedes at the time and it was noticeably worse. The acceleration was a ton of fun though, and that was just the RWD model, not the dual motor AWD one. Left my little inline 5 diesel in the dust easily.
The unfortunate fact about the Ioniq lineup and the related Kia EV lineup is that the ICCU tends to fail in a significant amount of cars. The fortunate bit is that in some countries, they now offer 15 years/300k km of warranty for the ICCU. The other unfortunate fact is that they apparently can’t keep the parts in stock to keep replacing everyone’s ICCUs, there’s a wait time.
So I suggest keeping your Prius Prime if you don’t really need a new vehicle. It’s almost certainly more reliable. Toyota’s been lagging on EVs, but at least their hybrids are top-notch and despite the transmission being called a CVT, it has nothing to do with the unreliable CVTs that people know about. It’s actually super simple mechanically. There are still tons of original Priuses and Lexus GS450hs and RX400hs still going. As they age, they usually need the battery replaced or repaired at some point, but the drivetrain is rock solid. And those are over 20 years old.
A Prius is not an EV, it’s a hybrid.
The E-Tron, EQC and Taycan were among the first non-Tesla EVs widely available in Europe that weren’t utter shit like the Leaf and I-Miev. The original Ioniq (without a number) was also quite shit, it barely had a battery. There are plugin hybrids with similar size batteries out there. The Kona EV and its Niro sister were about the only cheap EVs that didn’t absolutely suck, but these were also more expensive than their ICE counterparts and I have a hard time figuring out the actual depreciation because there are very few used ones for sale here outside of super low mileage ones at dealers. Despite the lower price, they seem to have sold much worse here than the luxury EVs. Basically 6-8 years ago if you were buying an EV, you probably weren’t looking for the cheapest possible option because if you were, you would’ve just stayed with an ICE vehicle and probably buying used anyway.
If we’re talking about total cost of ownership for EVs over their lifetimes and saying that EVs were cheaper to run than ICE vehicles for “a long time” already, those are the cars we have data on. Once we get into the 2020s, there are lower priced options that don’t suck, and their depreciation curve isn’t as bad. And honestly, the Ioniq 5 is probably a better car to own than the e-tron or i-pace. Which is why I’m saying that any of the early options that didn’t suck, depreciated so much it was hard to justify them economically compared to ICE vehicles.
Hmm, fair. And oops, I forgot since I basically drive my Prime like an EV, haha (almost exclusively short distances; filled up twice this year).
I was thinking of the Ioniq next… But I do have high hopes for the Hyundai Casper… Haven’t heard much about it, though. Anyway, I feel like a lot of the price depreciation is due to the industry’s age. Their insurance also costs more because parts are rarer, but as they proliferate, that should even out.
I test drove the Ioniq 5 when it came out and I was mildly underwhelmed by its comfort and handling because I was comparing it to a 2 decade old Mercedes at the time and it was noticeably worse. The acceleration was a ton of fun though, and that was just the RWD model, not the dual motor AWD one. Left my little inline 5 diesel in the dust easily.
The unfortunate fact about the Ioniq lineup and the related Kia EV lineup is that the ICCU tends to fail in a significant amount of cars. The fortunate bit is that in some countries, they now offer 15 years/300k km of warranty for the ICCU. The other unfortunate fact is that they apparently can’t keep the parts in stock to keep replacing everyone’s ICCUs, there’s a wait time.
So I suggest keeping your Prius Prime if you don’t really need a new vehicle. It’s almost certainly more reliable. Toyota’s been lagging on EVs, but at least their hybrids are top-notch and despite the transmission being called a CVT, it has nothing to do with the unreliable CVTs that people know about. It’s actually super simple mechanically. There are still tons of original Priuses and Lexus GS450hs and RX400hs still going. As they age, they usually need the battery replaced or repaired at some point, but the drivetrain is rock solid. And those are over 20 years old.