Decided to go for it with the Trump Presidency coming and likely/near-certain cuts to EV rebates. Got a 2024 LTD, paid a little extra for gray/white interior but got a good deal, got insurance for 6 months as I hadn’t been driving regularly and therefore couldn’t get normal insurance.
My wife and I have been driving the car for a week or so now, and here’s a few highlights:
1. “Don’t lose your key fob,” they said at the Dealership. “It’s 1,000 bucks if you do.” We promptly lost one. Have looked endlessly in the snow and ice with no luck. I bought airtags, have attached them to the second fob and have been told that local locksmiths could supply us with another for much less than $1,000. Curious if I should buy a replacement as insurance might cover half, my deductible is $500, but then would my insurance go up?
2. Have already visited neighboring towns, in winter, on ice…trips I possibly could do via bike/bus but likely wouldn’t. It’s expanded our world. We’re still biking whenever possible, as it’s more fun, more exercise, better for environment, and I’d like to save our limited miles for roadtrips.
3. The car smells. There was a recent report on formaldehyde in cars and how it really doesn’t fade much over time. So we keep the windows open in the beginning of each trip, air it out.
4. Love the moonroof. I’m tall, pretty close to the roof, and it makes all the difference. I don’t feel cramped, even if I am.
5. We have a kid and a mid-sized dog (who barely fits in the back), so it’s pretty tight, but not in a bad way. We all fit and don’t have tons of extra car we’re toting around.
6. We got charged for idling, almost $10 bucks, yesterday, at a Electrify America spot. We couldn’t figure when the charging would be done via the screen, but maybe that info was on the app and I didn’t check. In any case we came back from lunch with family 15 late, and the guy charging next to us had kindly unplugged us as he saw we were getting charged. Love that kinda community.
7. We got stuck to a charger in the first few days, as we had turned the car on to see the level of charging, and then the charger couldn’t come out ’cause the car was on…I don’t remember the whole thing, but it was very frustrating, went on and on…and support couldn’t figure out how to help. Finally they suggested we manually disconnect from inside the hatch, which worked. Good thing to know about! Also, at that same charger, we had to walk along the highway 20 minutes to town and our appointment and lunch. We didn’t mind the walk, but it’s tough when towns don’t have a charger and you gotta walk along a highway.
8. Bought an insulated extension cord for home, snaked it through the back yard 75 feet, and plugged in the car yesterday. Both the kind of extension cord and knowing to switch it to 12 from 6 amps? came from forums in this subreddit. Thank you all!
9. Overall, love the look of the car, the handling, the ease of charging, and the price. It was the first car, after 16 years, at the right price point, that tipped me over from being a full-time yearround cyclist.
10. I shared the deal/timing on FB etc and four friends went out and leased/bought EVs, too. Photo of my Ioniq and a pal’s, here:
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