What's the smallest EV I can buy in the US?

Also, ideally one that won't track me or be able to be remote deactivated.

58 points · 44 comments · view on lemmy.world

44 Comments

ironhydroxide@sh.itjust.works · 32 pts · 2d (16 replies)

Fiat 500e 2013-2019.

What "tracking" they had is out of date and non functional (2G cellular). They're very compact (same dimensions as the contemporary 500 pop). They're fairly inexpensive. ($4500-9000 in my area) They can last a long time. (mine has 75k miles, I've seen 300k miles on others)

bowsertattoo@piefed.social · 8 pts · 2d (13 replies)

sick!

artyom@piefed.social · 20 pts · 2d (12 replies)

They're not wrong but they're also leaving out a ton of the negatives. Most notably the limited range of 150 miles and 85kw DCFC.

If that works for you, definitely go for it.

ironhydroxide@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 2d (4 replies)

Actually the first gen is even less miles and charge capacity (no dcfc).

But it's worked great for me for the last 7 years. Even with a 40 mile commute.

artyom@piefed.social · 1 pts · 2d (3 replies)

Yeah I mean if all you want to do is dawdle around town, maybe as a second vehicle, its great.

ironhydroxide@sh.itjust.works · 11 pts · 1d (2 replies)

Even a single vehicle. I've saved enough with this car to rent a car for road trips whenever I want and still come out ahead.

artyom@piefed.social · 2 pts · 1d (1 reply)

Also fair. I do wish it was easier to rent a car.

nilloc@discuss.tchncs.de · 2 pts · 1d

An I only have older ICE cars and I still rent at our local regional airport when doing long road trips. As long as it’s a 2-way trip, they usually have unlimited mileage because they assume you’re just sight seeing around the area. It’s kinda funny when you get a new car and return it with 3x the mileage.

Steve@communick.news · 7 pts · 2d

That's more than plenty for that car.
If you're going on a long distance roadtrip in a Fiat 500 (ev or otherwise), the range and charge speed are the least of your problems.

wewbull@feddit.uk · 2 pts · 1d (5 replies)

85kW is plenty for a car with 42 kWh battery.

artyom@piefed.social · -1 pts · 1d (4 replies)

85kW is 85kW, doesn't matter what size the battery is.

Skysurfer@slrpnk.net · 0 pts · 7h (3 replies)

It does matter, 85kW on something like a Fiat 500e with a 42kWh battery would theoretically take 30 minutes to charge (2C charge rate), while 85kW on a Silverado EV with a 205kWh battery would take closer to 1.5 hours (0.4C).
Edit: More like 2.4 hours, shouldn't post before coffee.

artyom@piefed.social · 1 pts · 3h (2 replies)

It doesn't matter, because the Silverado would absorb 3x the energy in that time.

Skysurfer@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 2h

The Fiat 500e does 3.4miles/kWh while the Silverado EV does 2.1miles/kWh, so with ~30 minutes at 85kWh the Fiat 500e would go 42kWh*3.4=142 miles and the Silverado EV would go 42kWh*2.1=88 miles. The bigger battery does afford much faster (350kW+) charging and can more than make up for the inefficiency, but when restricted by charging power, the more efficient vehicle will go farther on the same amount of energy.

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 2d (1 reply)

They still make the 500e. How many of you guys worried about tracking remove the battery from your phones while driving? or place it in a Faraday cage?

logi@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d

There is a new 500e which is a from the ground redesign. Neat car, a bit bigger, but still mostly an around the city car. I see a fair number of them on the road here, but I live in the "T" in Fiat, so you'd expect that.

lama@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 2d (1 reply)

The Chevy bolt is pretty good. It does come with tracking but is pretty easy to disable by unplugging a cable

Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 1d

And pulling out the TCP fuse for at least the 2nd Gen models.

jode@pawb.social · 9 pts · 2d (3 replies)

Used Volkswagen EGolf. Or an old Chevy bolt.

call_me_xale@lemmy.zip · 6 pts · 2d

+1 used Bolt. eGolfs seem to be a bit on the unreliable side, and the driving experience is really sub-par.

edit: lmao I didn't even realize I made a joke

fyzzlefry@retrolemmy.com · 4 pts · 1d (1 reply)

Used Leaf works in the same context

wewbull@feddit.uk · 3 pts · 1d

Leaf batteries tend to get hosed as there's no thermal management during fast charging.

artyom@piefed.social · 5 pts · 2d (3 replies)

Brompton folding ebike

Kind_to_Everyone@slrpnk.net · 7 pts · 1d (1 reply)

You can buy a full used car for less than the cost of that bike.

artyom@piefed.social · 1 pts · 1d

Well money was not mentioned.

fpslem@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 1d

This is the real answer.

fubarx@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 2d

Mini Cooper makes an EV: https://www.miniusa.com/model/electric-vehicles.html

Not sure about tracking. Pretty much all of them do it, under the guise of 'remote user' access.

essell@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2d (1 reply)

Do you have milk floats in America?

wewbull@feddit.uk · 1 pts · 1d

SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 1d

If you can find a SparkEV with fast charging and the 130km range works for you, they are pretty great and quite small and should be pretty cheap.

Too much torque at low speeds, so you chirp the tires unless careful. So much torque that handling can be rough if you’re pulling too hard. That makes it fun, too. Nice steering wheel and OK heated seats but everything else is budget trim.

Only four seats, but surprisingly a tall-ish person can actually sit in the back. With the seats down you can put a lot in the back.

It’s a Chevy but really it’s a Daewoo, it’s a budget compliance car based on the Spark. A lot of regular Spark parts will work.

Battery system has good thermal management so L3 charging only takes 15 minutes. Battery will probably outlive the rest of the car if you don’t abuse it.

Brkdncr@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2d (1 reply)
FrChazzz@lemmus.org · 1 pts · 23h

I wanted one of these bad, but couldn't find used when I needed to get a new car about six years ago. Wound up getting a 2017 Kia Soul EV and love it.

Hello_there@fedia.io · 2 pts · 2d (6 replies)

Fiat is smallest

reddig33@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 2d (5 replies)

Do they still sell Fiat in the US?

I would avoid the older Fiat EV. Beautiful car but too little range — around 80 miles on a full charge.

ironhydroxide@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 2d (2 replies)

I've loved mine for the last 7 years. Even with a 40 mile commute. Honestly how many miles do you regularly drive in a day?

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 7 pts · 2d (1 reply)

Consumer Reports data says avoid,

Least reliable EV you can buy, I believe it because nothing Stellantis makes is good.

I looked at this car. Test drove it. Noisy, squeaky, terrible suspension and in the end I avoided it because all FIATs are shit and don't last.

When FIAT returned to the NA market, they sold huge numbers of the 500 in Canada, and now they are all extinct. In the end, they sold 27 cars one quarter because so many owners got burned.

US: 47,000 to 919 in just 10 years. That's shitting the bed.

ironhydroxide@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 2d

For someone who refuses to understand how a car works and only trusts the dealer to work on a car that's valid information.

For others.... They're not terrible cars for what they are. Stellantis made the suspension, body, and interior. Bosch made the drivetrain and control systems.

Hello_there@fedia.io · 4 pts · 2d

He asked for the smallest car. That's one of the smallest I can think of - excluding the smart car one if that's a thing - but smart cars have always been shit - with the exception of being able to parallel park anywhere you want.

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 2d

Do they still sell Fiat in the US?

Not to anyone who bought them in the last 10 years.

Lemmyoutofhere@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 1d

The smart EV would be the smallest EV sold.

cymbal_king@lemmy.world · -5 pts · 1d (2 replies)

The Slate mini pick up truck should start deliveries soon

noodles@slrpnk.net · 3 pts · 1d

Probably the least tracking of a new car but far from small

QuandaleDingle@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1d

That's what came to mind for me, but it's not quite out yet. ;)