- NicoleDeRosa
- Apr 20
- 11 min read
There’s an electric model available, or on the way soon, in almost every market segment.
Less than $20,000 to spend? Get a Nissan Leaf. Want to spend six figures +set 0-60 mph records? Get a Tesla Model S or a Porsche Taycan.Want something functional for a small family with a little bit of style? Try the Hyundai Ioniq 5 or a Kia EV6. Need a hardworking full-size truck? The Ford F-150 Lightning starts under $40,000 and can even power your house in a blackout.
Mistakes To AVOID When Shopping For an Electric Vehicle
1. INCENTIVES
By now, you’ve probably heard that the federal government offers a tax credit for purchasers of new electric cars. That’s somewhat true. First, that federal incentive doesn’t always work out. The full credit is available only on the first 200,000 electric vehicles a manufacturer sells. Past that number, it fades gradually. About a year after an automaker sells its 200,000th electric vehicle, it’s gone.
The most successful electric vehicles burn out the incentive. Currently, Tesla + General Motors are too good at selling electric cars to qualify for the electric vehicle tax incentive. The newest electric vehicles are the safest bet when it comes to the federal tax credit.
Second, that federal incentive isn’t the only one offered. Some states offer their own savings programs for electric vehicle buyers. These can include tax credits, cash rebates, reduced vehicle taxes, single-occupant carpool-lane access stickers + exemptions from registration or inspection fees. Even states with no incentive programs for individual electric vehicle buyers sometimes have programs to help businesses replace their fleets with electric cars.
Even local electric utilities can help defray the cost of a new electric vehicle. After all, when you shift your gasoline budget into your utility budget, it’s the electric company that benefits. Of course, they want to help you send them more money.
CON - Own an electric car in New Jersey? An extra yearly EV (electric vehicle) registration fee is now in effect. To register an EV, owners now have to pay the regular registration fee + an additional yearly fee of $250. This will increase $10 per year for the next 4 years, according to the governor's office. The price will be capped at $290. New EV owners will be required to pay 4 years up front - an extra $1,000.
Check on state, local + electric company programs before you sign for a new electric vehicle. You may qualify for more assistance than the federal government offers.
2. RANGE
What we want when car shopping + what we need in our day-to-day driving are often very different things. According to a recent J.D. Power survey, the single factor most important to buyers in choosing which electric vehicle to buy was range. Yet, according to the federal government’s most recent National Household Travel Survey, the average American drives less than 40 miles a day. Electric vehicles available on the market can easily reach that. The shortest-range electric vehicle on the market — the short-range version of the older Nissan Leaf — offers an EPA-certified range of 129 miles.
Overpaying for needless capability is the biggest mistake car shoppers make. Don’t buy a 3-row SUV for your family of three just because mom + dad visit once a year. Save yourself thousands of dollars buying something family-sized + rent a bigger vehicle one week a year.
Likewise, don’t spend thousands more for an electric vehicle with a slightly longer range when you seldom use that range. Rent for long road trips + enjoy the day-to-day savings of an electric vehicle even if it can only handle three or four times your regular needs.
3. LOCAL ELECTRIC CAR INFRASTRUCTURE
Charging infrastructure is the biggest factor holding back large-scale electric vehicle adoption. To make owning an electric car seamless, you’ll need regular access to chargers. It’s possible to charge an electric vehicle from an ordinary household outlet. But the charging times you see advertised generally assume you plug in with a Level 2 charger, which is wired into a 240-volt outlet like an electric clothes dryer. That’s handled easily enough if you own your home. Most dealerships will happily sell you a Level 2 charger to go with your new electric vehicle + even arrange installation.
4. WEATHER
Some electric cars do charge slower + struggle to hold a charge as long in cold weather. Some also ship with low rolling resistance tires that perform poorly in cold weather. But those problems don’t apply to all electric vehicles. They apply mostly to smaller, lighter electric vehicles with limited battery insulation designed specifically for the U.S. or Japanese markets. There are plenty of electric vehicles for sale in the U.S. designed for colder weather.
In the Norwegian Automobile Federation testing over high-altitude mountain passes in weather that’s 28 degrees Fahrenheit, cars like the Audi e-tron + Hyundai Kona Electric kept more than 90% of their estimated range.
This is also likely to get better + better over time. Most manufacturers are still building their first generation of electric cars. With experience, engineers will learn to solve many of the problems of early electric vehicles.
5. WAITING
There are more than a 100 electric vehicles for sale in the U.S. Many will be considerably more advanced in just a year or two. Automakers keep developing new platforms — modular architectures they can scale up or down to produce different electric vehicles. Take Hyundai, for example. The Korean automaker currently sells the Ioniq electric vehicles + the Kona Electric. Each gets built on a chassis developed for a gasoline or hybrid-powered car + modified to accept a battery + electric motors.
But Hyundai engineers have developed a new platform they call the Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP). It consists of a chassis, battery + electric motors that can be scaled up or down to produce vehicles of different sizes. Engineers can place an electric motor on either or both axles, creating front-wheel-drive, rear-wheel-drive + all-wheel-drive vehicles. Crucially, the E-GMP platform isn’t a modified gas-powered car. It’s an EV from the ground up.
Hyundai says it will sell at least 23 models based on the platform. The Ioniq 5 offers all kinds of advantages over electric vehicles built from gasoline-powered cars — including a perfectly flat floor that creates a startlingly spacious feel inside despite a relatively small footprint.
Shoppers might also want to wait to see what happens with those federal incentives. Your next car may very well be an electric vehicle. But you might benefit from waiting another year or two to let both technology + policy improvements take hold.
2025 SAFEST ELECTRIC SUVs
The first SUV electric vehicle with the go-anywhere confidence of a Subaru.Standard Symmetrical AWD (all wheel drive) combined with 8.3 inches of ground clearance. ZERO EMISSIONS.
2024 SAFEST ELECTRIC CARS
9.6 - AUDI - E-TRONÂ (2023)
9.4 - RIVIAN - R1T (2023)
9.0 - NISSAN - LEAF (2023)
8.7 - KIA - EV6 (2023)
8.7 - GENESIS - GV60 (2023)
8.7 - AUDI - Q8 E-TRON (2024)
8.6 - TESLA - MODEL 3 (2023)
8.5 - HYUNDAI - IONIQ 5 (2023)
8.5 - VOLVO - XC40 RECHARGE (2023)
7.9 VOLVO - C40 RECHARGE (2023)
7.7 - VOLKSWAGEN - ID.4 (2023)
BEST OVERALL ELECTRIC CARS FOR 2024 + 2025
According To Car and Driver
Mini Cooper - Countryman SE ALL4.
Approx. $339 a month for 36 months w/ $4,289 due at signing. Includes $7,500 electric vehicle credit.
10 SAFEST HYBRID SUVs of 2025
According To Car and Driver
Car and Driver‘s rankings are arrived at from the results of their extensive instrumented testing of several hundred vehicles each year + from their expert editors’ subjective impressions gained in real-world driving. They’ve chosen the safest hybrid SUVs based on data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety + the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration + then ranked each SUV based on roughly 200 additional data points encompassing acceleration, handling, comfort, cargo space, fuel efficiency, value + how enjoyable they are to drive. This list contains every SUV that offers a hybrid powertrain + earned both the IIHS’s Top Safety Pick award + a five-star safety rating from the NHTSA for 2024.
More Categories:
DRIVE TIME vs CHARGE TIME
Best to Worst
BMWÂ - M340i xDrive
HYUNDAIÂ - Ioniq 6 AWD
BMWÂ - i7
LUCIDÂ - Air Pure AWD
GENESISÂ - Electrified GV70
KIAÂ - EVG GT
MERCEDES BENZÂ - EQE350 4Matic+
NISSANÂ - Ariya e-4orce
VINFASTÂ - VF8 Plus
CADILLACÂ - Lyriq AWD
AUDIÂ - 04 50 e-tron
KIAÂ - Niro EV
GMCÂ - Hummer EV SUV 3X
LEXUSÂ - RZ 450e
NOTABLE MENTIONS
Just one of the many Tacoma trims, is an overlanding inspired variant of the top dog TRD Pro. Toyota designed it for rooftop tents + backcountry camping.
This larger 3 row SUV is a Highlander in name only. The 6.3 second 60 mph estimate seems conservative. The steering is somewhat lighter than I'd prefer, but the ride is generally smooth + lacks any float. More than its size medium namesake, the new Grand Highlander is a compelling road trip crossover. It's also likely to win Toyota converts who might have bypassed the Highlander because it didn't measure up.
ALFA ROMEOÂ - TONALE - Alfa Romeo's smallest SUV, the Tonale, proves less flavorful than it's brand-mates. The Alfa Romeo Tonale makes a good first impression. It's styling oozes Italian + it's cabin is a tasty mix of old school dials + clever Uconnect 5 tech. But summon the 1.3 liter 4 cylinder engine + hit the throttle + the sober reality sets in. This is not a junior version of the vivacious sharp driving Stelvio. The Tonale is related to the Dodge Hornet. All wheel drive is standard + the wheels powered solely by a 121 hp motor.
FISKERÂ
An American EV (electric vehicle) company. Designed for humans, for humans building a #CleanFutureForAll FISKER customers will gain access to Tesla superchargers as company adopts North American charging standard.
Designed to be the safest Volvo car ever made. A modern Scandinavian icon.
2024 Mitsubishi Outlander
CAR DEALERSHIPS
Screen for: Year range, Mileage under 30k etc.
CARVANA
As I was doing my research, over 15 people recommend Carvana on Nextdoor. If you do buy from Carvana:
1 - Get your own financing, they work well with Bank of America.
2 - Inspect it thoroughly before accepting it off delivery.
3 - Immediately bring to an expert to search for any possible problem. Even if Carvana does 150 pt. inspections, I still highly suggest a third party to do their own inspection. If you live in Monmouth County, New Jersey, JA Auto Works on Newman Springs is a great shop.
4 - Don’t hesitate to send back if there are any problems. A neighbor on Nextdoor mentioned returning a vehicle back to Carvana because of an undisclosed accident.
PRO - Carvana takes care of all your paperwork which is a relief so you don't need to visit the DMV. It is typically a very smooth transaction.
PRO - Another neighbor said: "I've purchased or leased 11 cars from dealers but most recently got a Jeep through Carvana last August. I'm not sure I will ever buy a car from a dealer again. It was smooth, easy, well run + the price was fair based on a lot of research. What a time saver too. It probably helps if you can find the same exact make/model/year/package on a local car + test drive it first at a dealer. Although Carvana allows you to return your car without a fee if you don't like it, I believe you can only do that twice. So, you'd want to know exactly what you're looking for in advance."
PRO - Another neighbor shared the following: "My son purchased his Mustang GT from Carvana in October. The car had 3000 miles on it so it was essentially new + under dealer warranty. Our experience was incredibly positive + we can’t say enough good things about Carvana. He saved thousands not buying it brand new from the dealership. Separately, my cousin was going to trade in his BMW + buy a Porsche SUV. He decided to sell the BMV to Carvana + he received twice as much as the dealership was offering. So, in summary it is an excellent company with superb customer service."
PRO - And another happy customer said, "I just purchased my car from them in March, it was great! Hassle free, easy, efficient + 24/7 contact. I will purchase from them any time! I also traded in my minivan with over 140k miles. Carvana offered me much more than the dealerships. I highly recommend Carvana!"
CON - Carvana is not always the best place to sell your car to for some - One neighbor said, "I did contact them when I was selling my daughters car + Carvana offered me, I think it was $1,600. I ended up selling the car privately for $4,500, which was the going rate. So, they definitely give you hardly anything for what your car is worth."
CON - Be aware of transfer fees + delivery charges. Always ask about them both up front.
ENTERPRISE - Yes, the car rental company. If you live in New Jersey, visit their location at: 449 Lincoln Highway Iselin, NJ 08830. Enterprise is constantly reselling cars for a steal as they update their rental selections.
CARMAX - I purchased my Mitsubishi Outlander at their dealership in California. I had an exceptionally great experience.
CARS.COM - will bring up Carvana + Vroom + if you're trying to sell your car, this site will give you a good idea of it's value. If you're looking to buy a car, you can do a 200 mile search for exactly what you want.
WeBuyAnyCar.com - According to a neighbor "They pay more than Carvana for your vehicle. We used them which is another online service comparable with Carvana. We Buy Any Car quoted 2.5 times higher for my Nissan Sentra."
TRUECARÂ - I don't know much about this company but it was mentioned by a few neighbors on Nextdoor.
VROOMÂ - Get your own financing, they work well with Chase. One neighbor shared the following experience, "My niece just sold her car on Vroom. She supplied photos + details via their online portal. Vroom sent her an offer which she was free to decline (it was a good offer). Once she accepted it, Vroom scheduled a pick-up from her house, it was completely contactless + happened lightning-fast."
VINTAGE CAR DEALERS
On the flip side, I also love to check out these companies too because there is nothing quite like the style + design of a classic car.
Vintage Modern - My brother is a fan of their latest build in Raven Black + Ball Leather.
VAN CONVERSION DEALERS
#EVsÂ
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