SUVs are the most popular vehicles on the road today, so the creation of the electric SUV has come as no surprise.
Why is the SUV Best ?
An electric SUV seems to me to encompass the best of all worlds.
The comfort of a car …
The cargo space of a small truck…
The fuel efficiency of an electric vehicle – what’s not to love?
The day of the electric SUV has arrived, and new models are coming on the market every year.
While I wouldn’t necessarily advise anyone to buy a vehicle in its first year of production (most models need a year or two to correct mistakes made in the original design) there are a fairly large number of very tempting offerings out there.
The Hyundai Kona EV was new in 2019.
The 2020 models that are out now are slightly improved already, making it an even better choice than it was last year.
What are the most important features ?
Hands down the most important feature is the Range.
Range in an Electric Vehicle is how far can you go on a single full Charge ?
This Range will actually decrease as the Batteries age because as they get older they retain less total power.
This means that the second most important thing is Cost of Replacement for the Batteries.
Even if you don’t replace them before selling the car it is a major factor when you sell it.
Many times the battery replacement cast will be prorated into the purchase price of electric vehicles.
What is the best Electric car for 2020?
For sure the Tesla.
Not only is the Tesla Vehicles awesome to Drive but they look amazing too.
Look for Tesla Charging stations to pop up near you.
Imagine soon charging your car while shopping in the mall.
Full Electric SUV
Full Electric SUV has many features and many potential issues.
Electric motors produce far more power on the road than gas.
They are also a lot heavier because of the weight of all those batteries.
Then there is the charge time.
Fuel Cell SUV
Fuel Cell SUV’s potentially can be better than some of the Electric SUV problem issues.
For example the weight it a lot less because it doesn’t need all those extra heavy batteries.
But you do need hydrogen.
There is very small amount of places today to fuel up a fuel cell SUV.
The Competition
The Kona boasts a range of 415 km (257 miles) making it one of the longest-range electric vehicles in production.
The Tesla Model X beats it by a little over 100 km, with its range of 523 km (325 miles) but is more than $30,000 higher in price.
Volkswagen offers the Atlas.
Mercedes-Benz the EQC SUV.
BMW the iX3.
Volvo the XC40 Electric.
Ford the Escape and the Explorer, and there are many other electric SUVs coming onto the market this model year.
Next year promises to be even better, with almost all auto makers planning to begin or expand their electric vehicle lineup.
What you will need to go Electric
If you do buy an electric SUV, you will have to have a charging station installed at home.
You will need to become familiar with commercial charging station and their locations as well, but the savings in fuel costs will be jaw-dropping.
The average gas-powered SUV gets around 22 miles per gallon (10.69 L/100 km), with the more efficient ones getting up to 30 mpg (7.84 L/100 km),
If you use your vehicle a lot, your fuel costs will be a significant chunk of change every month.
Now consider that the fuel costs for an electric vehicle.
Each charge will run you about $2.50, so for a total cost of around $75.00 per month.
You can drive your vehicle as much as you want, essentially.
It would not take long to recoup the costs of installing a home charging station with savings like that, and you get the added bonus of knowing that you are contributing less to global climate change.
The Future of Electric SUV’s
The whole field of electric vehicles will be an interesting one to watch over the next few years, as fossil fuels get phased out and the world moves beyond the era of gasoline-powered transportation.
A smart consumer would probably choose to get ahead of the changes and make the switch soon.
I would bet that it won’t be too long before switching to an electric vehicle will be necessary due to the high costs (both financial and ecological) of fossil fuels.
Things change quickly, once they start – remember that in 1900, there were almost no cars on the roads in North America, and in 1913, cars outnumbered horses by a huge margin, making the ubiquitous workhorse of the 19th century essentially obsolete in only a few years.
Momentum is building, and electric vehicles will soon take over our streets.
