CR: Will an Electric Car Save You Money?

About the source:

Will an Electric Car Save You Money?
We calculated energy costs, tax credits, and hidden discounts, and have the answer.

By Keith Barry
Data analysis by Anita Lam​

I agree that you have to do the math to figure out if it makes sense. But this starts with a requirements analysis of the current driving. For example, our previous Prius:

• ~18-20,000 miles per year - yes, road warriors
• +95% urban

So when I bought our new 2019 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus:

• $24,000 - out of pocket because we traded in a low mileage Prius Prime with 16,000 miles.
• Buy the most efficient - the Tesla Model 3 has the lowest kWh/100 miles.
• In 2019, I paid ~$2,000 for AutoPilot that is free today and then took the time to learn it.
• I also paid $1,500 for blue paint.
• Frunk full of AC charger adapters ranging from 110 VAC through NEMA 14-50, 208-240 VAC, 40 A.
• A good, sticky string tire patch kit and pump with needle nose vice grips to remove puncture object.
• After market 2" receiver for light weight towing or receiver platform.

Our first EV was a 2014 BMW i3-REx bought used for $29,000 in 2016. It taught valuable lessons like CCS-1 style DC charging is expensive and unreliable. For example, $24 electric to Nashville versus $6 gas to return.

The article has a number of omissions:

• Owner satisfaction - Tesla's are off the chart.
• Charging Supercharger versus the unreliable and costly CCS-1 networks.
• Efficiency on the highway and around town that Tesla leads the way.
• Buying pre-depreciated EVs instead of new.

Because of Consumer Reports abysmal Prius coverage that only got 'less bad' in the past five years, I don't subscribe and no longer even buy their vehicle summaries. I just can't stand to pay for journalism that does not match my hands-on experience. There are better car reviews out there.

Bob Wilson

 

I found the article balanced, as it identified 2 sectors where hybrids were a better deal and 2 sectors where electrics were a better deal. Their methodology makes sense to me, although one could ask how they chose the vehicles to compare. It’s difficult to arrive at extensive conclusions because only 1 vehicle they compared has both a hybrid and electric version.

 

There aren't that many models with an EV and ICE version on the market now. I would have included the Niro for this, and the Bolt over the Leaf. They did stick to models that are on the CR recommend list, which apparently knocked out the Bolt from contention.

 

Consumer reports is for simpletons.

I pay $0.10 per kilowatt at the house which would be $1.70 to go 40 mi in the Tesla model 3. Cost me about $3.05 to go the same 40 miles in a Prius. Over 200,000 mi of use I couldn't make up the price differential of the Tesla through electric savings and I would lose even more money trying to charge at those 47 cent per kilowatt places along the road. Hybrid still wins for convenience as well because I don't have any range anxiety. Even at 10 cents per kilowatt I'm still better off with the hybrid...for now