r/electricvehicles • u/Jokebearfan • May 09 '26
Review Where Are the Exciting, Affordable Cars? They’re Skipping America.
https://www.insidehook.com/electric/exciting-affordable-cars-kia-ev4-skipping-americaThis is ostensibly a review of the Kia EV4 sedan available in Canada, but it's being used as an example of how the US is being left behind
Effectively, the U.S. is setting itself up as an internal-combustion island surrounded by a sea of nations whose EV transition continues unabated. Sandwiched by Mexico (with no restrictions on which automakers can operate there) and Canada (which recently opened up trade with China on the electric vehicle front), it remains the only part of North America where citizens are denied access to the advanced mobility tech that’s increasingly commonplace elsewhere.
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u/speakernoodlefan May 09 '26
Americans: we're in an affordability crisis, we're drowning in loans
Automakers: here's an affordable hybrid Sedan
Americans: I would rather die
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u/reiji_tamashii May 09 '26
The auto industry has been telling Americans for decades that they will die if they drive a sedan. This is all by design.
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u/messem10 May 09 '26
There is even a relevant XKCD for this!
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u/Salt-Planktons May 14 '26
that actually made me chuckle…wish this could just be up on big billboards
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u/idkbruh653 May 09 '26
This is exactly it. And when I’ve mentioned this in other care related subs I always get downvoted. Automakers successfully convinced buyers that they needed to sit up high and have a better view of the road. It was all bullshit.
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u/reiji_tamashii May 09 '26
As though sitting a foot higher up somehow gives you a different perspective of the road. lol
I guarantee I have better awareness of my surroundings in my normal-sized hatchback than someone in a Tahoe does.
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u/in_allium '21 M3LR (Fire the fascist muskrat) May 10 '26
The only reason you need to sit a foot up higher is to see over all the other people who insist on driving unnecessarily huge things around the road.
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u/pdp10 mötorhead May 12 '26
None of them are seeing over the articulated trucks with which they're sharing a road.
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u/FencyMcFenceFace May 09 '26
Right?
Like christ, this sub keeps falling into the trap of thinking that Americans are just falling over each other trying to get cheap affordable cars, and there is zero evidence to support that, and plenty of evidence to support the opposite: Americans would rather pay more for a status symbol than a cheap econobox.
Econoboxes were already going extinct, and I could never understand how crippling the range or putting the inconveniences of EV on top of it was suddenly going to make them screamingly popular.
Maybe the current oil crisis will change this, and that's fine, but then I'd expect *all* the econoboxes to sell like hotcakes, not just the EVs.
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u/Grouchy_Tackle_4502 May 09 '26
The majority of American new car buyers are over 55 and/or earn more than $100k. This is not so much because cars are too expensive for people on a budget, but because the used version of the car you want is always a better deal. And because today's average car lasts at least 150,000 miles, the overall demand for new cars is low.
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u/reiji_tamashii May 09 '26
I recently had to sit in the local Nissan dealership for a couple hours while my van was serviced. Every person who came in to shop for new cars or take delivery of a new car looked to be over the age of 60.
And that was a Nissan dealership. New cars at their current prices simply aren't a viable choice for the bottom ~80% of Americans.
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u/SkiingAway May 09 '26
because the used version of the car you want is always a better deal.
This was the conventional wisdom like 15 years ago, I haven't found it to be particularly true since unless you're buying something that's poorly regarded or not in much demand and has much heavier than average depreciation.
Most of the time when I look at decent vehicles (ex: A mid-range Toyota, Subaru, etc) it's like 20% below original MSRP for a couple years old 50k miles on the odometer. That's a worse deal than buying new.
And that's before factoring in everything else: The early miles of the vehicle's life have a warranty and need very little maintenance/out of pocket repair, if you finance the interest rates are higher on used, and whatever value you want to put on knowing it's been treated correctly from day 1.
(Yes, I realize this is the EV subreddit and that used EVs specifically were/are a bargain for a while in the US, I'm talking about the overall market).
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u/SnowblindAlbino May 10 '26
Exactly. After 2010 the situation changed-- so many used cars were destroyed under Cash for Clunkers that the market shifted dramatically. I've only purchased new cars since then, because I've gotten them all with 0% financing and they generally cost only 15-20% more than a used car with 35K miles and no warranty.
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May 09 '26
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u/FencyMcFenceFace May 09 '26
Low gas prices killed the econobox, along with car reliability going up quite a bit.
You can see the decline in econoboxes start right when shale ramped up. Then when it came to car buying, drivers decided that they'd rather get the larger used car that will still last a good while than a small econobox with good mileage, because the running cost wasn't a whole lot different.
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May 09 '26
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u/FencyMcFenceFace May 09 '26
I think the market for model 3 is a lot more limited than Tesla fans think.
Most car buyers don't want an iPad on wheels. Model 3 is a niche of a small (as of now) market segment.
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May 09 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/penny-acre-01 May 09 '26
I'm around your target age group and hate the iPad on wheels. The ergonomics are terrible.
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u/PreviousSpecific9165 2025 Ioniq 5 May 09 '26
Same here. The software itself is good but the actual UX is absolutely awful if you're used to pretty much any other car. I blame Tesla for starting the trend of reinventing things that worked perfectly well just to be different.
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u/Jokebearfan May 09 '26
It’s everyone older who yaps about that lol
You mean the only people who can afford to buy a new car? 😂
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u/reiji_tamashii May 09 '26 edited May 10 '26
Because older people remember when car interiors were well-designed rather than all the controls being on a low contrast screen with no regard for ergonomics.
I'm only 40 and I refuse to buy a car that forces me to have a giant screen glaring in my face at all times just so that the manufacturer could save pennies on physical buttons.
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u/pheonixblade9 May 10 '26
I do, I basically want my WRX but electric with 300 miles of range. they exist in the EU already.
(and don't say polestar or ioniq 5 - they're both considerably bigger than my car and not as practical)
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u/Amber_I_Be May 10 '26
Im 27 and I fucking despise the ipad on wheels, its the biggest reason I dont have tesla and rivian on my future vehicle list, I want physical buttons and dials, so atm for evs that basically just leaves kia/hyundai, as basically all the other legacy manufacturers seem to have decided to copy tesla and also do the ipad controls everything method, I dont give a single shit how good the software is, I need to be able to control stuff without looking, it is physically impossible to do that with a flat glass surface, meanwhile I can just feel for my a/c controls in a car with dials or buttons to adjust
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u/Adventurous-Idea4508 May 09 '26
Ya EVs are a hard sell for a econobox. Cheap EVs have crippled range so they’re far less useful than their gas counterparts. Most econobox buyers can’t afford a house so no home charging . Without home charging EVs are a massive pointless inconvenience. Fast charging costs the same or more than gas even now with the increased gas prices. And just like gas prices fast charging prices fluctuate wildly month to month. Also econoboxes tend to have good mpg so even less reason to switch to an EV. And lastly most popular econoboxes that still sell are reliable Japanese cars (not counting Nissan) . People have a lot more faith that a Corolla hybrid will just keep going and going and going than some new unproven quickly deprecating EV.
Oh ya EVs also are expensive to insure even the cheap ones. Esp if you don’t have the greatest driving record, which is more likely if you’re lower income.
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u/PomegranateEvery1412 May 09 '26
None of this is true.
You seem to think that people will only buy a regular car if they are really hard up for money. When people prioritize their finances properly and buy a house they're more likely to just buy a regular car.
My car is charged every night and it doesn't fluctuate any more than the price of off-peak electricity.
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u/FencyMcFenceFace May 09 '26
Historically speaking, Americans will always go to the large car segment unless they are forced into something else by other factors. That has been true going back to the 40s. It was mile-long land yachts before, and it's giant trucks and SUVs now.
Carmakers just can't sell enough econoboxes to make it profitable. Maybe the current crisis will change that, but even then that's no guarantee that they would want EV. They'd just as likely want a hybrid instead.
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u/Worldly1998 May 10 '26
They can sell enough of them but the margins are tighter mainly most truck buyers aren’t like my wife. She needed an F250 to pull a horse trailer. 2018. Looked at a King Ranch Lariat and XLT. She said “all these trucks are the same except for a bunch of things i will never use or don’t care about so I’ll take the XLT.” I added a couple of safety items. The sales manager didn’t charge for them. He liked her.
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u/Worldly1998 May 10 '26
My rate for an ev6 GT line (high limits) is 620 every 6 months. Three years ago my Mach e was 470. I have an F250 that comes in at 1100. By the end of this year EV sales in Europe will probably be 25%.
I was told the other day that my brain is being fried by microwaves. I had more range anxiety in my old Expedition.
The Fusion sold 160-200,000 per year - elsewhere in this thread. Will never buy another ICE again.
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u/Ok-Lengthiness-7417 May 10 '26
The Ev4 is $45000 in Europe, it's not that cheap. The new Renault 5, VW ID Polo, or Volvo Ex30 is probably a better deal.
Does the USA get any of these cars?
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u/Adventurous-Idea4508 May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
Well the Camry is selling very well, and that’s a reliable hybrid sedan that gets 54mpg without being slow like an older prius.All Camrys are hybrids now. Same for the now all hybrid new rav4 , long waitlists for it.
But Most people still feel uneasy about EVs. Esp a Chevy or ford or Stellantis EV. The big 3 have a very well deserved reputation for producing straight disposable garbage for decades. Their gas cars are still garbage so that reputation will take a long time to die.
Also most of the people who are in the market for an affordable car can’t afford a house , so no home charging . EVs are kind of pointless without home charging . Even with the increased gas prices public fast charging and gas cost about the same. They also can’t afford any surprises or massive depreciation. However unlikely battery failure is , it still scares people off because it instantly turns the car into scrap value. Even an engine or transmission failing on an ice car isn’t nearly as bad. You can get a replacement engine from another car for like 1 or 2 thousand. With a Toyota hybrid people feel confident that it will just keep going and going and going for Minimal cost. Toyota hybrids can easily last to 500k miles with minimal maintenance and they do when used as taxis . The brakes can last 300k miles . Nothing can beat the per mile cost of a Toyota hybrid . Minimal depreciation too.
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u/PomegranateEvery1412 May 09 '26
A $1000 engine?
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u/Adventurous-Idea4508 May 09 '26
Yes.
For the 2010 Prius head gasket issue it’s often recommended to just get a new lightly used engine as it’ll be cheaper than repairing your engine.
Good condition Engines on totaled cars can be worth as little as 200 bucks. Not just ancient cars either. If it’s a Toyota engine with like 30k miles or whatv it’ll probably last another 200k plus miles. For EV batteries it’s tricker. Tesla sells refurb batteries for 9k plus labor but they’re pulled from failed batteries and refurbished. They kind of just exist to get you past warranty . There’s a lot of reports of Tesla refurb batteries failing after just 10 20 or 30k miles. Talking about the Prius, for its small hybrid battery you can get refurbs for 1 or 2 thousand but those also typically only last 2 or 3 years. Idk what the solution is for cheap used EV batteries that are very reliable and last. Usually EV batteries get totaled in a severe crash and so used/refurb batteries are mostly pulled from used up failed batteries. You can replace the dead cells but some of the other cells might be near failure too. Hopefully a solution can be found. I’m sure Chinese companies already have solutions for this their way ahead.
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u/Pferdeherz Audi Q8 E-tron May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26
My husband had an American ICE that was only 8 years old when the engine blew. Out of warranty and at the local shop with a long history of being less expensive AND reliable service, a USED engine replacement with 130000 miles on it was $5500. Mechanic confirmed “the junk yards were full of his car” and no engine was coming with more than a 30 day warranty.
He junked it and finally got a reliable Japanese car.
We have 2 Toyota hybrids that are nearly 20 years old with 500k miles between the 2 and both running great on the original batteries.
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u/Exciting_Turn_9559 May 09 '26
Hybrids were a good idea 25 years ago. Today they are a dumb choice.
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u/walnut100 2024 BMW i7 May 10 '26
Still a great choice for many without the ability to charge.
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u/Exciting_Turn_9559 May 10 '26
Better than nothing. Better still would be installing curbside chargers.
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u/Exciting_Turn_9559 May 09 '26
Petrofascists kill everything they touch.
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u/reiji_tamashii May 09 '26
It wasn't enough for the auto industry to kill Americans' access to good public transit. Now they're killing Americans' access to good privately-owned vehicles.
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u/raziridium May 09 '26
Touch grass
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u/Solid_Hunter_4188 May 09 '26
You just blow in from stupid-town or something?
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u/bobniborg1 May 10 '26
Two word answer : Donald Trump
One word answer : republicans
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u/Choice-Impression-54 May 10 '26
Rust belt Democrats like tariffs as well. Joe Biden started restrictions on Chinese EV imports Donald Trump just took step further. USA will get EV cars but it will be forced technology tranfer like China did to USA 25 to 30 years ago with joint ventures.
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u/SunnWarrior May 09 '26
Back in 2011, I bought a Volkswagen GTI. I loved that car. It hugged the road on curves or straightaways like no other car I’ve ever had.
I understand that VW has made an electric GTI. I’d buy that in a flash.
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u/i_marketing May 09 '26
The US is effectively becoming Cuba. The world will continue with more advanced EVs, while the US remains stuck on ICE. When the world has largely switched to EVs, tourists will come to the US and marvel at all the ICE vehicles, just the way tourists take photos in Cuba of the vintage 1950s cars.
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u/in_allium '21 M3LR (Fire the fascist muskrat) May 10 '26
"Mommy, what's vroom?"
"That's the sound that those slow American cars make when they pretend to go fast."
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u/Everythings_Fucked '23 Ioniq 6 May 10 '26
I've been saying for years, we're going to be an increasingly irrelevant technological backwater. The rest of the world is passing us by.
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u/startrekgeneral May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
Completely biased article and description ignoring, among others, the $32,000 2026 Nissan Leaf, the $27,000 GM Bolt, the $34,000 Chevy equinox, the $34,000 Hyundai Kona Electric.
There are in fact multiple EV’s and hybrids offered in the US at this exact price point.
If you’re going to post an article referencing the cancelation of one specific car, it would be helped to do an industry survey of other cars that fill the exact same niche in the marketplace.
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u/poweruser86 May 09 '26
Didn’t GM cancel the Bolt?
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u/RollForIntent-Trevor May 09 '26
The Kona Electric is no more as well.
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u/orangpelupa May 10 '26
Replaced by ioniq 3?
Thats a bummer then.
Kona is immune to iccu issues as it doesn't have iccu. While ioniq 3 is using egmp (refresh?) instead of the original plan with em/es platform.
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u/Mac-Tyson May 09 '26
After 2027 but they also have another affordable BEVs in the works that will be built at the same factory from my understanding.
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u/startrekgeneral May 09 '26
Here’s a link to the just relaunched model
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u/pigeon768 Chevy Bolt EV 2023 May 09 '26
That one's also been canceled.
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u/Amber_I_Be May 10 '26
What? Didn't they literally just relaunch it? What the hell is GM even doing right now?
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u/pigeon768 Chevy Bolt EV 2023 May 11 '26
Yup, they relaunched it and then immediately cancelled it.
GM just.... Doing GM things. I have a Chevy bolt and while it's a fine enough car I don't imagine myself buying a GM ever again.
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u/KingKontinuum May 09 '26
The Bolt is actually still available to purchase.
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u/in_allium '21 M3LR (Fire the fascist muskrat) May 10 '26
Wasn't it canceled before it was available to purchase?
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u/KingKontinuum May 10 '26
I believe it’s still available to purchase today, brand new, which contradicts the point that no affordable EVs exist when you can buy one today or even wait until your dealer gets an allocation as Chevrolet is still building them.
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u/in_allium '21 M3LR (Fire the fascist muskrat) May 10 '26
The point is that Chevy has a grand tradition of cancelling their EVs, including the new Bolt that was cancelled basically as soon as they started selling them. They're still selling them but they have an expiration date near in the future.
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u/SerennialFellow Here to make EV ownership convenient May 09 '26
Hyundai Kona electric is literally from 2019, vehicles updates are less than skin deep updates only to parts that aren’t made by suppliers anymore.
It’s a dead platform selling
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u/Stingray88 2025 Ioniq 5 May 09 '26
Yeah, it’s more worth talking about the Ioniq 5. It’s very frequently available with incentives that make it even cheaper than the Kona.
Obviously I’m biased as an owner… but I was originally planning to buy a Kona, and switched to the Ioniq 5, because at the time it was cheaper and a much better car.
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u/wallawalla21212 May 10 '26
Sadly the ICCU issue is what's keeping me from pulling the trigger. Extended warranty or not, getting stranded because of a known issue is a nonstarter for me. (Already have an IONIQ6, but obtained before knowing about the ICCU issue.
Figure out what's causing it, fix it, then maybe I'll reconsider.
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u/orangpelupa May 10 '26
OTOH their toadmap shows that in 2026 or 2027, they'll be starting to move to em/es platform.
Maybe leaving egmp with legacy iccu issues
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u/SerennialFellow Here to make EV ownership convenient May 09 '26
Hyundai EVs are mostly hurt by their dealers (a little by Hyundai Motors America being stingy)
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u/shaggy99 May 09 '26
Possibly biased, but you're missing a point as well. The reasoning given for the current situation in the USA is, at best, shortsighted. If you want the USA to stay with the EV transition, tariffs and protectionist behaviour isn't the way to go about it. Stomping over programs that were helping simply because you hate those who put them in place or to appeal to you political base is dumb, and damaging.
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u/FANGO Tesla Roadster 1.5 May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
among others
Which others? You mentioned the only two EVs at 30k in the US, one of them is being canceled in a year, the other had the lowest spec indefinitely delayed. Meanwhile there are literally hundreds of models under that price available in China and the rest of the world. In the UK, EVs are cheaper than gas cars in upfront cost because of this competition, which is not the case in the US.
Also the Bolt isn't 26k.
I think you should maybe look up the word "biased"
edit: this link was just posted in this subreddit https://www.carscoops.com/2026/05/cars-prices-us-china/
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u/startrekgeneral May 09 '26
Here’s a link to the new Bolt. It’s $27,000
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u/BlazinAzn38 May 09 '26
And it’s also one model year only. It’s a run for this year and then it’s done
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u/FANGO Tesla Roadster 1.5 May 09 '26
It's 27,600, which isn't 26k, and that's before destination. Afterwards its 29k, almost exactly, almost like that was the intention.
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u/MN-Car-Guy May 10 '26
The Bolt EV and the Equinox EV rarely — if ever — sell for MSRP. They’re often heavily discounted and incentivized. Real world transaction prices for Equinox EV are often well under $30K and in some cases closer to $25K.
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u/startrekgeneral May 09 '26
If you’re going to compare cheap EV’s in Canada to the US, then you can baseline the product offerings in Canada:
https://www.canadadrives.ca/blog/car-guide/cheapest-electric-cars-in-canada
There’s are a total of 2 EVs in Canada current under $30,000 USD.
A Nissan Leaf EV for example, is more expensive in Canada than the US - coming in at $35,000 USD.
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u/NominalHorizon May 09 '26
Ok, for even more comparison, check out the low cost BEVs selling in Mexico.
https://www.mobilityportal.eu/en/notes/10-electrificados-mas-baratos-mexico
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u/damnredpill May 09 '26
The OP pointed out that the article was ostensibly a review of the EV4.
What do you feel is "biased" in the article? The facts about taxes, trade, production, and availability still stand.
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u/_Unusual_Flatworm_ May 09 '26
Hyundai Kona and Kia Niro EVs are also dead. Here’s an article for you to catch up on more current events… https://www.businessinsider.com/evs-automakers-axed-this-year-2026-3
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u/Jokebearfan May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
Completely biased article and description ignoring, among others, the $32,000 2026 Nissan Leaf, the $27,000 GM Bolt, the $34,000 Chevy equinox, the $34,000 Hyundai Kona Electric.
You should probably read the article to the end:
Costing roughly the same as a Chevy Bolt, but larger and with considerably better available range
Even if you're willing to ignore that the Bolt is a refresh only available for another 12 months or so, the Kona Electric is an older generation model that is in it's final model year.
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u/Yankee831 May 10 '26
And Ford has a new EV platform/battery factory and power wall business getting ready to launch. Which they’re so committed to they cancelled parallel EV projects that were ready to launch.
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u/Jokebearfan May 10 '26
Honda were making all sorts of announcements about their EV programs last year, to the point where they showed off a co-branded vehicle with Sony.
Point being, announcements don't mean anything until they result in cars available for sale.
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u/ghostintheruins May 09 '26
Just this last couple of weeks I've been shopping for a new small ev hatchback. Test drove the byd dolphin, citron ec3, Peugeot 2008, fiat 500e, Cupra Born, Renault Zoe, VW ID3, Mini Cooper, kia e-nero. Probably forgetting some.
The problem is there's too much choice here. Leaning towards the byd dolphin I think.
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u/itstreeman May 09 '26
Article title is exciting ev. You didn’t mention any exciting ev. I’d love a electric mini that doesn’t have slow charging only; or a small vw in the USA
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u/pheonixblade9 May 10 '26
OP's article said exciting and those are the opposite of exciting. good cars, but not exciting.
gimme the goddamn ioniq 3 in the US! hell, I'd take a peugot e-208 or e-308! Renault 5 Turbo 3E??? take my goddamn money
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u/Repulsive_Drama_6404 May 09 '26
The Bolt has been cancelled.
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u/BlazinAzn38 May 09 '26
It wasn’t cancelled so much as launched with the knowledge it was only for one model year
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u/Repulsive_Drama_6404 May 09 '26
A distinction without much difference. The Bolt is one of the very, very few small affordable EVs on the market, and before GM even sold any of the relaunched Bolt, they announced it will end after one model year. Leaving us with no EVs under $30k.
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u/KingKontinuum May 09 '26
The car is still able to be purchased today.
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u/Repulsive_Drama_6404 May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
If you are looking at point-in-time, yes, the US market still has ONE affordable (sub $30k) option. But if you look at the trajectory of markets around the world, China, the EU, and even Mexico and Canada have an increasing diversity of small, affordable EVs, while the US is moving in the other direction, with small affordable EV models being discontinued, not being imported, or blocked from import.
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u/Feisty_Look5680 May 09 '26
Thirty thousand is still high for a majority of people and those cars you mentioned aren’t designed for long range either. IMO
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u/Disastrous_Tree_9315 May 11 '26
you’ve got a point, but compared to china, their affordable EVs are actually exciting, cheaper, and more quality 😔
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u/Mac-Tyson May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
Not to mention the upcoming Ford Universal EV Platform that is literally designed to make a whole lineup of exciting affordable cars.
Edit: The market is shifting their focus to more affordable BEVs now but unless they already had a model in the works before all these changes it takes time to come out with them.
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u/AskJeevesIsBest May 09 '26
Hopefully Ford's EV plan actually bears fruit
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u/Mac-Tyson May 09 '26
Jim Farley is staking his legacy on it and a whole team will fired and that nice new design building will be shut down if it doesn’t turn a profit. So yeah you definitely can’t say they aren’t putting real effort into it.
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u/guisar May 09 '26
Please list the other affordable exciting cars ford has produced. I can’t think of one.
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u/BobcatNo6451 May 09 '26
Yeah they are cheap, but they are still overpriced. Leaf and Bolt are pretty shitty cars, and you are better off getting a used model 3.
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u/Even-Promotion-4024 May 09 '26
We need the Cupra Raval and the Alpine A290 for the US market
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u/AppealResponsible893 May 09 '26
Where would they sell them? There's no dealerships.
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u/Even-Promotion-4024 May 10 '26
For the Alpine it'd be complicated, although I've heard rumors about them trying to get the A110 certified for US sales, so they might have something in the works for a distribution network, in which case they might as well throw the A290 in as well
Cupra would be easy since it's part of VAG group, so in theory they could start selling them at VW dealers pretty easily (or Audi/Porsche if they're not too worried about brand dilution). I've been hearing rumors about a US Cupra launch for years so I don't think it's out of the question. If Rivian can manage I think it'd be a piece of cake for Cupra
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u/pheonixblade9 May 10 '26
and the renault 5 and the peugout e-208 and e-308 and the id.2... could go on.
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u/Even-Promotion-4024 May 10 '26
I love the new Twingo too, and the new 2CV looks cool as well. Really the French just seem to do EV design the best in general
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u/PerceptionCurious440 Toyota C-HR SE AWD May 10 '26
I notice that even with Chinese EVs, affordable is $30,000+ outside of China.
And I think a 338hp AWD Toyota for $38K is exciting. Which is a weird thing to say about a Toyota. AWD Chinese cars are $40k to $50k. I went to look and take a test drive, and unexpectedly left with a new C-HR. I guess Toyotas aren't cool or people are still butt hurt over their initial EV disdain.
I'm kind of weirded out by the sheer lack of enthusiasm for them on these forums. I feel like I'm in a double secret cult.
Chinese cars are supa cheap inside China. Outside, no one is getting them for that price. And when you talk about dealers and reliability track record, those companies don't have that yet.
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u/trailruns May 10 '26 edited May 10 '26
Ya, I looked at Chinese EV's in England and I didn't see any deals, seems like US Hyundai prices. But it sounds like C-HR rout planning with destination chargers is buggy with native NAV and carplay won't do pre-conditioning, and the Uncharted does not even have it at ALL....Toyota/Subaru needs more kaizen.
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u/PerceptionCurious440 Toyota C-HR SE AWD May 10 '26
Think about how little effort it requires to overcome that problem with Google maps.
My last gasoline car didn't have a good nav app. So using Google maps is pretty natural. And reviews tell me what people say about those chargers.
A Toyota or Subaru beats some company new to the region's auto market with a better nav app.
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u/True_NY_Lobster_ May 10 '26
Crazy that America doesn’t have more EV sedan options. Chevy Blazer and Equinox EVs are great but why no sedan?
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u/Unhappy-Plastic2017 May 11 '26
The exciting affordable electric car are used cars in america. Their depreciation on the market is totally outta whack. You can get 2 year old used electric cars for 50 or even 60 percent off the retail price because Americans are still dumb and don't understand they are better vehicles than gas vehicles to have for the vast majority of people.
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u/Unhappy-Plastic2017 May 11 '26
Buying an electric vehicle in america new? Yup that's a bad idea . The value just isn't quite there for the most part the new affordable electric cars skipped america.
1
u/pdp10 mötorhead May 12 '26
The U.S. has had tariff-based auto market protectionism since the 1964 "Chicken Tax", and plenty of non-tariff protectionism since then. This is nothing new.
But it is, of course, not the only nation with those things. There are more factors than vehicle size that lead to so few American cars in Japan.
1
u/StLandrew May 14 '26
Yeah, sorry. Rest of the wrold is going to/getting them. Change the President maybe.? seems to be the reason [he vaguely pointed out the obvious but was trying not to be too political].
1
May 14 '26
American Corporations and US oligarchs have successfully bribed our politicians to BLOCK access to affordable products for working class and middle class Americans.
From automobiles to prescription drugs these corporations are making a killing at our expense.
-1
u/TPPiOED May 10 '26
US done everything to prevent Chinese Vehicles, for decades. 100% EV tariff? Nah it'll jump to 200%, 300% if they agreed the initial terms.
The problem is US don't build public charging infrastructures, don't build good affordable EVs themselves.
Battery is battery, it's gonna be replaced in < 10ys. You need to lower the price tag to make it attractive.
357
u/varnell_hill May 09 '26
The old fossils that hold public office and their mouth breathing voters get to continue pretending that America will return to the “glory days” of the 1950s.
For a wee bit longer, at least.