You've heard the announcements. You know the specs. You may even be able to guess how the showdown will play out. But unless you were in San Jose, California, this week for Plug-In 2010, you've probably never seen six contenders for our future electric vehicle dollars all in one room. We hopped in our late-80s gas guzzler and hit the show floor in your stead, snapping enough pictures of the Leaf, Volt, Focus, Prius PHEV, fortwo Electric Drive, and the i MiEV to give you a virtual tour. See what we saw after the break.
Chevy Volt
Pricing for the Chevy Volt was certainly big news at the show, but the rest is old hat at this point; click through to the gallery for some additional pics of the design and the portable 120V charger, but for the rest you'd best refer to
our test drive. $41,000 (or $350 a month to lease) buys you a PHEV that can travel 40 miles on battery alone.
Smart fortwo electric drive (cabriolet)
We'd long heard that Smart would bring its
Tesla-powered fortwo to the States, but we've never been quite sure when it would arrive, so it's most pleasing to hear October will see the launch of Daimler's miniature electric drive. 250 vehicles will be available for four-year lease at the surprisingly steep price of $599 a month, allowing consumers the chance to enjoy the electric vehicle's 83-mile range (and curse the 60 MPH top speed) well before a planned 2012 general release.
Toyota's plug-in Prius Hybrid
Toyota's plug-in Prius was on display at Plug-In 2010, but we also came across a special treat -- a presentation by the company's Monique Richard that explains just how the extra-electrified version works. Sadly, the car won't arrive till 2011, we still have no word on price, and the 150 units destined for the US have been completely spoken for. However, we were told the vehicle now has an estimated 13 mile all-electric range, plus a slightly different GPS, and -- because batteries take up the spare tire spot -- the car will ship with run-flats.
Update: We've been asked to remove the presentation.
Nissan Leaf
The
Nissan Leaf was front and center at Plug-In 2010, and it wasn't hard to see why -- the automaker obviously invested quite a bit in the booth, and far more in the vehicle's lovely modern design. See it inside and out, then read
what a Leaf is like to drive.
Ford Focus Electric
This
Ford Focus Electric was just passing the time at
Coulomb's booth, with nary a Ford representative in sight; when we tried to peek inside, we were shushed away before we could tell if the floor model held a
MyFord touchscreen.
Mitsubishi i MiEV
Mitsubishi's poor
i-MiEV, meanwhile, never seems to get a break --
once destined to cruise the sunkissed California coast, these days the poor creature gets relegated to vehicular charging tests (like those conducted by Eaton, who showcased a 30-minute rapid EV charger at the event) or
Tokyo taxi service. Though we've heard a US production version may still appear this year or next, the two at Eaton's booth were most definitely still right-hand drive.
posted July 29th 2010 5:24PM
Too bad that very very little is being invested in battery research on the fundamental level.
Two bad all of these vehicles are either:
--too small for my needs (hauling multiple brass instruments)
or
--too effing expensive ($41K GM? Really? WTF?)
@JS See the scib announcement from yesterday...
@JS too bad electric cars arent really all that necessary or "environmentally friendly" because:
1) most of the electricity in the country is made from coal
2) damage to the earth and destruction of ecosystems due to retreval of lithium in the batteries
@JS
Really? Because there is a lot of capital flowing to battery research projects.
@antyhil119
I doubt we will be seeing any coal or lithium spills causing a major ecological disaster.
Personally, I want an electric car for the lower maintenance.
@antyhil119 Lithum can be recycled properly, secondly coal stations are much more efficient in producing power than your motor, therefore if everyone switched to electric cars, our co2 emissions would be lower regardless of coal, never mind renewables being used.
@antyhil119 Once an electric vehicle is purchased you also have the option to charge the vehicle off the grid through wind or solar means.
Most people will charge from the grid, but that doesn't mean certain charging stations can't provide green power in the future.
I like the look of the Volt.
I'm not spending that much for one though, even with the subsidies.
@Meekermoloko
But think of the alternative-- buy a Tesla and you can have five times the sexy at only three times the price!
Pity that the Tesla wasn't represented at the show, but it's not a good fit when compared to the others.
@sullivan504 Well, the mythical Tesla S Sedan is supposed to debut in 2012 at around $50K (after subsidy)...seats 5+2 (funky backwards facing seats in the trunk) and at least on paper, looks like a beauty.
I kind of hate the Nissan Leaf's interior, that's not to say that I prefer the exterior styling much more, though. It looks like they just shoved a black square on a mound of beige plastic.
And the winner is:
Not the Smart car or the i-MiEV
I would be be glad to have any of these, and I hope electric motors quickly become cheaper. The ability to convert any vehicle to electric without going entirely broke would be nice...
@NCase
The electric motor NetGain 9" is $1700, 11" is $3000. Those are powerful enough to move a S10 at highway speeds.
It is the batteries and controllers that could come down in price.
@rcappo
Ah, well I don't know that much about.... cars in general. Excuse my ignorance.
Waiting for the Tesla Model S...
this electric vehicle kicks more ass
solar powered, regen, ultracapacitors, LiFePO4, ground effects..
http://www.thekpv.com
I only like the look of the Volt.The rest..meh.
@Bud92
I take that back. The Prius looks nice also. The rest arent Meh, they are ok.
Why cant they just take the body of a normal luxury car, and make the inside electric?
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/09q4/2010_bmw_activehybrid_7_7-series_hybrid-first_drive_review
Almost like that.
@Bud92
Why can't they take an S10 (or an EV1) and convert it. They have done this before, and they are still on the roads. But with the new LiFePO4 batteries (or SCiB/other newer tech), I would like to see what they could do, and if the car would be under $20k.
I am converting an S10 for about $10k-$11k with LiFePO4 batteries currently.
@Bud92
you mean like the focus up there?
@Bud92 What about the Tesla Model S?
God that Smart car is utter fail:
1) only fits 2 people
2) 64 mile range
3) costs $600 a month for a 4 year lease (that means you owe god knows how much to buy it outright after that)
The Nissan leaf is looking like the full-EV winner, though I think the public will embrace plug-ins until we all feel comfortable with a true EV refill infrastructure.
@Bhima
the Volt is such a better deal for lease. Plus once the battery runs out, you can still keep going. It is also far more practical (if you go somewhere other than a few city blocks by yourself or buy more than a handful of groceries at a time).
@Bhima
I can't exactly comment on the price, but the Smart is very good at the thing it's designed for: driving in cities. The problem is that most Americans probably don't really have as much need for this sort of thing and that in the places where it is necessary it's often still not going quite far enough compared to just ditching a car and using public transit.
In San Francisco I see them almost all the time. Hell, I have at least one and I think two or three on the blocks surrounding my apartment. I mean, yes, they're small, but that's the point. You can actually find a parking place for them... or, well, you have a slightly better chance of finding a parking place for them.
Can only go 64 miles? The city's only 7 miles on a side (and that's why pizza places a mile and a half away will consider you too far away for delivery). True, that means it won't work for those times when you actually leave town; which is one of the few reasons to actually own a car.
The big problem, as I see it, for electric cars in a city is that most people are renting and park on the street so there really isn't any place to actually charge them. They'll need to hit a critical mass to get public chargers around in order to have a chance to actually make them work.
Where's HONDA in all this? >:-(
I love the look of the European Focus. Which is Focus Electric is based off, I believe.
Also, the Prius gets the ugly award.
The new Ford Focus looks a bit... lame. It makes my 2000 model look sporty.
But that all electric model looks awesome.
Now, if only they could only pack as much power in one as their gas equivalents, for the same price.
If I was buying one of these, it would probably be the Nissan Leaf. I like the battery/generator system of the Volt, but their price is absurd. The most expensive component in these cars is their battery pack, and the Volt has a small one due to the onboard generator. It should be significantly cheaper for that reason. Makes me feel like Chevy is going after everyone's EV Tax Credit. Pfft..
I'll take the Leaf, add one of those little motorcycle trailers to the back, and put a biodiesel capable generator on it for less $$..
Kinda makes me think about the first decades of horseless carriages.. They were pretty ungainly and ugly too. As to the price.. That's the premium for having private transportation. The alternatives? Foot, bicycle, or public transportation. Maybe we should be taking a lesson from THE REST OF THE CIVILIZED WORLD and investing more in public transit? But I guess that's not as sexy as these hybrid/electric cars.. oh, wait...
@Worldctzen Maybe we should be taking a lesson from THE CIVILIZED WORLD and investing more in public transit?
There, fixed it for you.
@Worldctzen
If you can figure out how to make mass transit work for much of suburbanized America, then let the rest of us know.
Until then, there's nothing wrong with private vehicle transport.
@Worldctzen
Lol, if you can figure out how to mass transit suburban america you'd be a rich bitch lol. Let me know what you come up with.
Btw, atlanta, ga's MARTA is going bankrupt. Mostly because or suburbia, but cheap minorities that sneaky free rides dont help either......
@Gooch818 Minorities? You mean like teenagers?
I think the fact is, manufacturers dont want to sell EV's. You remember the EV1's? Scraped and no one knowd why. Electric cars have been around almost since the cars birth. I really want to see EV's take off, but I just see this as "positive" PR for car manuf. Dont mean to sound all debbie downer, but this isnt exactly new tecnology, and over the last 10 plus years there is no improvements in mpc (miles per charge). I hope im wrong though...
@Gooch818
The EV1, if built today, could use LiFePO4 batteries or the SCiB ones and get a Tesla like range (200-300 miles). It was aerodynamic and lightweight. But the Lead Acid and later the NiMH batteries weren't very long lasting (both in terms of single charges and lifetime).
@Gooch818 You think the oil companies would appreciate things running without the use of their gas? I mean, sure, they can charge more for electricity and all but...it won't make them as much money as the production of gas guzzling cars. I don't want to sound like a conspiracy nut or anything like that but the relationship between carmakers and oil companies is a good relationship. It's just that carmakers are being pressured into creating alternative fuel vehicles so they have no choice in the matter.
When your customers are driving hell in a Toyota... very sustainable mobility!! Right on Toyota.
@xix0nmn /to hell
This is the first time I've seen people complain about a car for just $41k. Here in Norway, a Toyota Aygo would cost the same.
The Chevy Volt is just a flopp or lie, though. A 180HP Volvo XC70 could do more or less the same fuel efficiency.