10,000 miles / 10 month Fiat 500E electric car update

Many of you readers know I have an Fiat 500E electric car as a commuter. Today, I broke the 10,000 miles marker. It has been 10 months since and I have not yet entered a gas station. It is pretty flabbergasting to think that I drive by multiple gas stations everyday and do not even have a clue about current gas prices.

Hence, this is an update for those curious.

I started my morning with an average range of 101 miles. Some days it can go as high as 111 miles. The car has an EPA range of 88. However, it has surpassed my expectations.

After driving it 15 miles, I still have around 100 mile range and 89% capacity. Folks, this is the effects of regenerative braking. Stop and go commute will do wonders for the batteries.

Most importantly, this car has changed my life. Simply because of the perks. Driving in the solo diamond lane, I save a lot of time from my commute. I get to spend more time with my kids. In the morning, I am generally less grumpy. Pictured below is a daily scene. Commuters stuck at the Toll plaza; waiting as long as 30-40 minutes while solo carpoolers like myself just whizz on by. On average, I am saving more than 45 minutes each way. That time simply adds up. I save money on bridge toll. I get to pick up my kids earlier from day care; saving me those costs as well.

I'm actually worried about what happens when my lease ends. I'm contemplating how things will be like when the carpool benefits end in 2019. Yes, you can call me selfish but those perks are just too good.

Now lets talk about fuel economy. After my one-way commute into work, I have about 89 mile range left. I've driven more than 22 miles. Getting back home, my tank will be left with 60 or so miles of range to do errands. Not bad.

For over 10 months, my average economy is 4.2-4.7 miles per kWh. That is simply impressive or it just means I am a really good driver who knows how to get the most of his electric car. Based on today's readings, at 10 cents a Kw, my morning trip cost me 46 cents. My other car, a Range Rover Sport would have cost $6.23. This is not including the toll difference because I get a discounted bridge toll for being green. So the Range Rover would have cost me $12 just to drive into work versus $2.96 on my Fiat 500E. A 50MPG Prius would have to pay $7.76 (22/50MPG * $4 gas plus $6.00 toll).

Simply, the savings, you can't really complain.

Overall,the car hasn't been giving me any real problems. Like my last update, there were two  more instances where my car did not charge overnight. The car is on a timer and it starts to charge after 11pm for the cheaper rates. I don't know what the cause is. It could be my EVSE charging station, the grid, or the car itself. However, in one case, I notice the plugin electrical connector wasn't fully inserted. I've also notice the EVSE and car sometimes does not fully lock in and engage the connection. So now, I simply plug in, unplug and re-plug it in until I hear an audible click. The audible click tells me the car is fully locked into the charger and is ready to go. Since then, I have not had any charging problems.

After 10 months, I don't get irritated by carpool cheats anymore. When I first got my car and started driving in the HOV lane, I notice rampant carpool cheats. For some reason it really irked me. There are lots of people who want to risk $400-$600 fines just to drive in the carpool lanes. Those drivers are often rude and aggressive. I totally get that people want to get to work and home on time. Everyone is in a rush. By now, I sort of get numb. I simply let them in front of me especially where I know where the cops will hide. I'm beginning to see the patterns of how the police catch these guys and I'm going to keep it my secret. If they cheat, they will eventually get caught by the police. I've had two encounters with Police who didn't think my car was electric until they saw the decals.

So folks, look at the picture above. If you plan to cheat the carpool, the cops will eventually catch you. It is only a matter of time.

So there you have it. Nothing exciting. Same old fun. Same great fuel economy. No gas stations. Simply, a completely different outlook on driving cars.

6 week impression of the Fiat 500e

It has been about 6 or so weeks since I've had my Fiat 500e electric car. This is a follow-up report.

Since that time, a few other people I know have jumped on the cheap California "Electric" car lease deals. By now, I have to say this has been the best purchase (lease) of 2013.

First and foremost, the fuel economy and cash savings is incredible. I've learned quite a bit about electricity, cost, and stuff like that since I jumped into EV ownership. 

My car cost me roughly $1.50 to commute 50 miles every day. That is a buck $1.50. I average about 4 miles per  kWh. With a 24.4 kW battery, my average range is 92 miles. Just look below. On a cold California day, I traveled close to 47 miles and have 46 left over. That is roughly 92 miles of range. This is my average daily commute, a little less than 50 miles. 

At 4 miles per kWh, I need about 12.5 kW of energy charge everyday. I switched over to PG&E's EV-A EV car plan and get charged 0.9 cents (Winter)/10 cents (Summer) per kW. So at 10 cents per kWH X 12.5, my cost is $1.25 each night. However, if you account for Utility taxes and the fact that there is a slight loss of energy being converted through the EVSE charger, I will round it up to $1.50 per day.

Don't believe me? Well here is an average daily summary from PG&E. I have my two plugin cars charging at 11PM. My car takes 2 hours to charge while my wife's car takes 5 hours on 110. From 11PM to 1AM, I am well under $1.50 for charging two cars and consuming electricity for the entire house.

So let me stress that again. $1.50 for roughly 50 miles of commuting each and every day.
My Range Rover is a 15 MPG hog. I would need (3.3 gallons of California Premium @ $4.25). In other words, $14.03 each day to drive my SUV. Then add another $6 I have to pay for bridge toll, that comes to $20 a day to drive a SUV. My $1.50 electric car adds another $2.50 for discounted bridge toll and my day-to-day commute cost is less than $4. This is cheaper than public transportation. I'm currently saving $16 a day in commute or $346 a month.

OK, a Fiat 500e vs Range Rover is an unfair comparison. My last commuter, a 30 MPG Mini Cooper would have cost $12 per day (with Bridge Toll) versus $4. That is still a $8 a day savings or $173 a month.  No matter what 'gas' car you want to compare this to, the cost to drive an Electric vehicle is inherently very low in California.

Besides the obvious financial rewards, driving the car has been interesting. I haven't encountered any range issues. My daily commute now consist of extra entertainment; watching people cheat the carpool lanes. Since DMV issued me a solo driver carpool sticker, I've been saving 20-45 minutes each way. Driving in the carpool lane, I'm seeing lots of cheats and people who try to evade the system. The abuse is pretty rampant in the early morning when it is still dark. In the veil of darkness, people will risk those $500 fines by driving illegally in the carpool lane. These cheats will weave in-and-out of traffic. They will also bow out of the lane where there are known police waiting spots. However, eventually, those habitual cheaters eventually get caught.

For reference, I've been watching Stanley Roberts, a local TV reporter who chronicle traffic cheats on his TV news segment, "People Behaving Badly." If you  have a few minutes, these videos are pretty entertaining. I get to see this stuff everyday in real life.

There you have it. My 6 week experiences so far with the new California only Fiat 500e electric car.

Ford C-Max Energi update and Hybrid, Electric car shopping

As many of my regular readers know, about 2 months ago, my wife bought a Ford C-Max Energi Plug-in Hybrid.  The car that happens to have the worst 2013 year Consumer Reports reliability rating. However, it happens to have one of the highest number of owner satisfaction.
When asked, "Would you buy this vehicle again?" It ranked # 3 out 19 hybrids. It also got a high score of 83 from Consumer reports. No issues report for mechanical drive-train from their users. A majority of the complaint is from the Navigation Infotainment system, designed/powered by who else, Microsoft. Go figure, Microsoft is mostly responsible for bringing down a fairly advance, high-tech car. Yes, the Infotainment can be clunky for a non-techie person!

Well, it has been almost two months since she got the car and it has grown on me. I'm a petro gearhead and this car has pretty much help change my outlook a bit on cars. It is now shaping my opinions on cars in general. Don't get me wrong, I still love horsepower and European sports cars.  So this is my two months observation for those interested in a plug-in high tech gadget car.

In short, amazing little ride! Now, I know why this car has a high number of satisfied users.

First and foremost, the incentives are pretty much worth it. We'll be getting back more than $5,000 in tax credits/rebates which offsets the price (and I'll detail later below). But the main kicker are these green stickers.