Why I Haven't Bought an EV
Mar. 27th, 2026 10:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerI've been thinking for a while about writing on the topic of "Why I haven't bought an electric vehicle (EV)." Recently that topic came up on a Discord my partner is active in. Except it wasn't people sharing a thoughtful self-examination of why they have or haven't bought an EV, it was smug self congratulation, "I bought an EV and I am so pleased with my choice that I cannot imagine why any other person has not bought an EV unless they're morally defective or plain stupid."
That kind of high-functioning idiocy, being smart enough to figure things out except when they involve questioning your own assumptions or grasping the consequences of your own actions— including, "Huh, I'm being really insulting right now, could that be the reason people are responding harshly to me? Nah, it's gotta be because they're mean, toxic, stupid people and so I should block them."— is sadly prevalent in that community and why I dropped out of it a few years ago. But anyway, the question worthy of thoughtful self-examination remains: Why haven't I bought an EV yet?
Let me first clarify things that are not the reasons why I haven't bought an EV:
Let's start with this one:
Related to that is....
I'll note, also, in the "costs to refuel" ledger, the people who are most excited about pocketbook savings are people who can charge their EVs for free at their place of work or school. I don't have the benefit of using OPM (Other People's Money) to run an EV.
The other dimension of savings people talk about is savings to the environment. That one's hard to quantify. But qualitatively one thing we consider is the impact to the environment of having a whole new vehicle manufactured for us.
Also related to #1, above:
Our other car, now going on 15 years old, is a 4x4 SUV. We use it for real off-road stuff. EV SUVs capable of real off-road stuff haven't existed until the past few years. The few that have come out— Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1— are bigger than what we want. They wouldn't even fit in our garage. Plus, it's unclear how capable they really are in off-road situations that aren't staged for cameras. I'm really curious to see how the new Rivian R2 pans out, as it's more the size of vehicle we'd want. I'll watch how it tests in real-world situations.
Then there's the problem of refilling. I know that charging stations are way more prevalent now than, say, 10 years ago. I know people are doing coast-to-coast drives in EVs. But I also know from thinking about it myself, and having this verified by friends who are actual EV owners, that it takes a lot more planning to do a long distance road trip with an EV. You can't just pack a bag, hop in the car, and go, trusting that there'll be a filling station pretty much wherever you need it, that you can get in and out of in 5 minutes.
"Filling station wherever you need it" is especially an issue with trips offroad or just to remote areas. The gasoline infrastructure is built out well enough that even small towns that don't have a stop light have at least one gas station. I know, because in the past year I've stopped in several of them to buy just a few gallons of gas. EV charging was nowhere nearby.
That kind of high-functioning idiocy, being smart enough to figure things out except when they involve questioning your own assumptions or grasping the consequences of your own actions— including, "Huh, I'm being really insulting right now, could that be the reason people are responding harshly to me? Nah, it's gotta be because they're mean, toxic, stupid people and so I should block them."— is sadly prevalent in that community and why I dropped out of it a few years ago. But anyway, the question worthy of thoughtful self-examination remains: Why haven't I bought an EV yet?
Let me first clarify things that are not the reasons why I haven't bought an EV:
- I am not unaware of EVs, how they work, or where/how they present possible economic savings for their owners.
- I do not dismiss EVs as "clunky", "quirky", "slow", "unreliable", or "woke".
- I am not a climate change denier.
- I'm not poor. Inability to buy one is not the reason.
Let's start with this one:
1. I'm not in the market to buy a car.
I haven't bought a car in 5 years. I don't expect to buy one for at least another few. That's the main reason I haven't bought an EV— I haven't bought any car recently.Related to that is....
2. I don't see the advantages of an EV as so compelling I'd replace an existing car prematurely.
One of the big wins people cite in switching to an EV is the savings in gas. Well, the price of gas is not killing us. We drive our vehicles very little on a regular basis. Hawk hasn't had a daily commute for two years. I haven't had one since 2018. If one or both of us were commuting us was commuting 50-60 miles a day, 4-5 days a week? Sure, the gas savings would add up fast. But right now our regular driving works out to less than 10 miles/day. Add in occasional road trips and our cars have been logging only 5,000 miles/year recently.I'll note, also, in the "costs to refuel" ledger, the people who are most excited about pocketbook savings are people who can charge their EVs for free at their place of work or school. I don't have the benefit of using OPM (Other People's Money) to run an EV.
The other dimension of savings people talk about is savings to the environment. That one's hard to quantify. But qualitatively one thing we consider is the impact to the environment of having a whole new vehicle manufactured for us.
Also related to #1, above:
3. EVs that matched my desires/needs haven't existed.
The last car I bought, 5 years ago, was a sporty convertible. I really wanted a convertible. We really wanted a convertible. There are no EV convertibles. If there were we'd have seriously considered one.Our other car, now going on 15 years old, is a 4x4 SUV. We use it for real off-road stuff. EV SUVs capable of real off-road stuff haven't existed until the past few years. The few that have come out— Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1— are bigger than what we want. They wouldn't even fit in our garage. Plus, it's unclear how capable they really are in off-road situations that aren't staged for cameras. I'm really curious to see how the new Rivian R2 pans out, as it's more the size of vehicle we'd want. I'll watch how it tests in real-world situations.
Then there's the problem of refilling. I know that charging stations are way more prevalent now than, say, 10 years ago. I know people are doing coast-to-coast drives in EVs. But I also know from thinking about it myself, and having this verified by friends who are actual EV owners, that it takes a lot more planning to do a long distance road trip with an EV. You can't just pack a bag, hop in the car, and go, trusting that there'll be a filling station pretty much wherever you need it, that you can get in and out of in 5 minutes.
"Filling station wherever you need it" is especially an issue with trips offroad or just to remote areas. The gasoline infrastructure is built out well enough that even small towns that don't have a stop light have at least one gas station. I know, because in the past year I've stopped in several of them to buy just a few gallons of gas. EV charging was nowhere nearby.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-28 04:02 pm (UTC)That's just one of our cars, though. We're going to remain a two-car family. The other car can be our around-town grocery-getter and staying-on-main-roads road-tripper. But all 3 reasons I identified still apply. In a few years, when we're ready to replace a car, if what we want is available in EV form; sure, we'll absolutely consider it.