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Topic 2 Posts

cars

Criss-crossover

Test-driving EV crossovers.

Overall niceness

  1. VW ID4
  2. Nissan Ariya
  3. Hyundai Ioniq 5

—
Toyota BZ4X

Cushy driver seat

All top 3 are comfy.

  1. Ariya
  2. Ioniq5
  3. ID4

—

BZ4X cramped

Ride on rough road

  1. Ariya: mid-smooth
    –
  2. Ioniq 5 : meh
  3. ID4: meh

Value

  1. Ioniq 5: base trim has all tech you need. Great deals.
  2. Ariya: base trim has power driver seat, leatherette, HUD. “Zero G” driver seat is very comfy. Great deals.
  3. ID4: higher-priced, no deals

—
BZ4X: expensive, cramped, no deals

Ariya

+

• Comfy
• Spacious
• Great value

–
• Specs are mid

• Cheesy, flat, fake-wood capacitive buttons have poorly implemented haptic click, delayed like half a sec after you tap

• Acceleration decent, but felt artificially delayed so it’s like gas

Toyota BZ4X

+
• Small steering wheel easy to drive
• Binnacle screen right in front

–
• Poor specs (charge speed, range, efficiency)
• Weird black quarter panel
• Cockpit design with closed center console is cramped
• Expensive
• Sales so surly and ignorant, seemed designed to steer away from EVs

Crossing over

Am test-driving crossovers for parents. Stunning how far back most legacy automakers are, just not competitive on EV price/performance.

VW ID4 Plus top trim had choppy zoom, scroll and control animations. Slow charging. 275 mi. Voice control didn’t recognize “play radio.” Rough ride and creaks on a rough road. Less cushy driver seat than Ioniq. No true one-pedal or frunk. Significantly more expensive than Ioniq 5 lease.

On plus side, white plastic screens and controls, and capacitive buttons, feel more refined IRL than the toy-like look in photos. 3D model of the car you can rotate and control. Neat throbber stripe at base of inner windshield for voice control and presumably charge status. Swipe capacitive strip to retract glass roof shade. Perforated massage seats. Quiet ride.

Ioniq 5 was ~strictly better, almost no tradeoffs. 12 min 20 → 80% charge. 303 mi. Responsive screens. Cushier driver’s seat. Looks big but not when driving, just a larger Bolt / tall hatch. True one-pedal.

Physical buttons for frequent functions. V2L putting out 1.9 kW for camping / tailgating / power outages on SEL mid trim. Quiet. Cheapest lease deals of any EV if you use a broker.

UI a little geeky / Android. Very Korean: good electronics, specs monster, decent software with unrefined UI.