It's not like you have a lot of choices. If you do not need a crossover, get a Model 3. If you need a crossover go with the Audi e-tron.

 

If you are willing to go front wheel drive I really do recommend looking at the Chevy Bolt. It is a very good balance of price and range, but its not fancy. Most of the interface is CarPlay or AA so that part you will know. I really did like mine, but obviously not at all a Jaguar.

I think the Audi E Tron is too big and too conservative.

 

I don't mean to compare apples to oranges, but having gone for the Jaguar brand name in the first place, and having been so disappointed, I don't mind looking at a solid non-luxury EV. Have any of you thoughts on the 2019 Hyundai Kona Electric, or Nissan Leaf plus? They come up often on the "Best EV's of 2019" searches and some of the reviews are not bad.

 

In that case, I would go for the Kia E-Niro if you can find one. It's roomier and less uglier than the Kona.

 

The Hyundais don't have much of a reliability record, but the Kona drives well for a FWD compact car. The Leaf and the Bolt have the best track records. Stay the **** away from Tesla, though, if you don't want to deal with warranty issues that take ages to get solved.

If I were in your shoes, I would consider the I-Pace again. I keep thinking of getting a Model 3 performance, but then I read all the newest horror stories and I shy away. The Kona is half the cost of the I-Pace, but it's also half the car. Half the comfort. Half the performance. A tenth of the style.

 

Another vote for the Bolt.
It's both nimble and stable, and it has punch right where you need it most.
It's larger inside than it looks.
True one-pedal driving if you want.
Smoking deals on them right now.

Someone can correct me, but I believe the GM / LG Chem battery design roots hold the record so far. Nearly 500,000 miles on 2012 Volt with the 16 kWh battery and it wasn't the battery that failed, IIRC.

That would be like a Model S 100 going 3 million miles on it's battery.

 

I know someone at work with a Bolt. Seems to love it and no reported issues. Too econoboxy for me.
Not real excited about LEAF as it has no active thermal management of the battery. If travelling you get just one QC then it is throttled due to heat.
I would be inclined to go Audi. I have not even seen one in person. But I did buy the LEAF, RAV4-EV, and I-Pace sight unseen.
If you need max range I would be in the Model 3 or better if you can wait for the Y. Not quite the classic driving experience I want.
Niro and Kona I assume are good... need to see these in person and go for a drive.

Good luck on the search.

 

Broadly agree here. However:

Let's say that the probability of an i-Pace being a lemon like yours is 1%. Or 3% at most.
The fact that you had a lemon has no influence whatsoever on whether the next one is a lemon (unless you buy an old VIN off the lot).
So I would just get another, much-later VIN, i-Pace.

 

I suppose it depends on what is important to you. If you bought the I-Pace for it's quickness, and you need to get to 60mph in less than 5 seconds, the only BEVs quicker are the Teslas. If you bought the i-Pace for the premium luxo-feel, the Audi is the only one equivalent or better. If you bought the I-Pace for it's uniqueness, you are kinda out of luck as the eTron looks just like the Audi Qs and Tesla's are relatively common now.

I would encourage you to look & test drive each of them versus making up your mind sight unseen. I hear a lot of people say the eTron is big, but although it is boxier looking than the I-Pace, it honestly isn't markedly larger when the are parked side-by-side. Styling is very much a personal taste, but it is hard to argue that the eTron doesn't lose. style points to the I-Pace. Driving them back to back, the Audi has my vote by a large margin, mostly because I am so, so disappointed in all the things the I-Pace doesn't get right, which primarily are associated with the infotainment/driver assist/general 'feel' of the car behind the wheel. For me, the eTron seats, steering wheel adjustability, instrument layout and functions are all superior on the eTron.

Best of luck in your search.

 

Not to derail the topic but I do wonder why there is such a large difference of experience between vehicles on this board. I believe all the I Paces are built in the same place/assembly line. For example mind arrived in Feb (built in Dec) and I really have had no issues outside of software for the first 3000 miles, yet others with similar time frames have had multiple issues addressed.

Could it be as simple as the issues were addressed before delivery?

 

I agree with much of the feedback above. Just wanted to briefly second sciencegeek. As a participant in the prior generation BMW 535 high pressure fuel pump debacle (lemon), I also recommend carefully examining the rate of lemons among the first year I-Paces. Some rate of lemons is to be expected, as are repairable failures (like my failed BCM). Corporate/dealership response is another issue (and unfortunately typically poor across the industry). But there are plenty of viable EV alternatives now, as listed above.

 

Just found out -- the Kia and Hyundai electric cars are not yet sold in North Carolina. That's a bummer -- narrows down the choice

 

If you wait 6-9 months there will likely be several additional options available...if they stay on track we should see: Rivian, Polestar, M-B EQC, Model Y

 

BMW is finally revitalizing their efforts after having been an early entrant and losing some steam since:
https://electrek.co/2019/06/25/bmw-accelerates-electric-car-plans-new-ev-concepts/

Timeline is too long for someone looking now however ...

[Regarding Rivian: check out their web site .. do you believe anything they say there? I'm hearing echoes of Theranos, a fraud in my field; maybe it's not that bad, but do we really believe that you can have a high-performance truck at the price point they quote, at the quality that's necessary for the real market?]

 

[Regarding Rivian: check out their web site .. do you believe anything they say there? I'm hearing echoes of Theranos, a fraud in my field; maybe it's not that bad, but do we really believe that you can have a high-performance truck at the price point they quote, at the quality that's necessary for the real market?]

I believe you are overly pessimistic on Rivian - https://www.thedrive.com/tech/28323...om/tech/28323/the-drive-interview-rivian-automotive-founder-and-ceo-rj-scaringe

 

Fisker eMotion! One great looking car with long range. I saw one on the street recently and thought if my I-Pace is a lemon.....

 

eMotion was delayed to at least 2022

https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/18/18270350/henrik-fisker-electric-suv-karma-emotion-delayed

 

Unless something dramatically changes, $70k, 180 kWh, full sized pickup, and 400 miles are not going to mesh.
Pick any two.
A V6 5/6 seat 4x4 pickup is $40k stripped. A normal build with a full sized (not HP) engine is $60,000. That's not fully equipped.
A 180kWh pack with armor, cooling, charger is ~2,400 lbs. The weight of a standard duty full sized 5 passenger pickup is <4,800, with the entire driveline being 800lb.

The best a 5 passenger Rivian could weigh with a 2400lb off-road battery is about 7,000lb. That is not going to give good mi/kWh due to the tires that will be needed and the ground clearance.

 

This appeared in today's Consumer Reports. Interesting reading. However, won't help in the coming weeks -- I still need an alternative for the I-Pace when I return my Lemon.

https://www.consumerreports.org/hybrids-evs/all-electric-rivian-r1t-pickup-truck-and-r1s-suv-debut/

 

My bad, I obviously didn’t read it closely as I thought it was MY2020 end of this year, not production end of 2020...I will say it is really quite fugly...

 

Here's guessing at the First Edition of the Rivian (180kWh, luxury performance 4x4 pickup) = $127,400.

 

And it's a mid-size - something I rarely see being talked about. Think Ford Ranger.

For another $25K I could buy a BMW I8.

I like the Rivian, even with the weird headlights. I'd like to see their Illinois factory succeed. I just don't think I like it $70-$100K (or more) worth.

 

....it seems like the 2020 Rivian R1T will be smaller. A mid-size pickup has a futuristic design and we can’t wait to see the production version of the R1T.

https://2019trucks.com/2020-rivian-r1t/

 

Available BEVs/PHEVs

If interested, you can find current, future and discontinued BEV/PHEV models on evadoption.com as well as possibly some other useful info.

Currently available EVs: https://evadoption.com/ev-models/

Currently available BEVs: https://evadoption.com/ev-models/bev-models-currently-available-in-the-us/

Future EVs: https://evadoption.com/future-evs/

Discontinued EVs: https://evadoption.com/ev-models/discontinued-electric-vehicles-evs/

 

Here is the latest I-Pace opinion( rather lukewarm)from Consumer Reports:
https://www.consumerreports.org/car...orts.org/cars-driving/talking-cars-209-jaguar-i-pace-kia-soul-software-updates/

 

So much wrong there.

The "engineer" claims it takes 13 hours to charge, has no DCFC, no 10% or 20% or 30% warnings or any other charge status warnings.

And they started out the convo with "Tesla Killer" which is a buzzword like "Compelling" that is seldom used by anybody who is not a Tesla advocate.

So they focused exactly on what you read on the Tesla Blogs. The perceived (or inaccurate) advantages of the Teslas.

 

It was a bit of a weird conversation between them. They seemed to grudgingly admit, or gloss over where the i-Pace succeeded and overplayed where it might fall short. They seemed surprised that a smaller, lighter car (Bolt) might be more efficient than a heavier premium car. What a shock. Did they already forget how these two cars would compare in MPG had they both been gas? They also complained it was small. It is actually as wide as my old Lexus RX (yes, it is lower) and has a fair but of room (as a lot of reviews complement the space). Not sure what their point was in the end.

 

back to original topic

I finally found an opportunity to take the I-Pace off-roading, so now can (again) state there's no other EV available or on the horizon that I'd replace it with.


I've been eyeing the Rivian SUV (~2 years away) but it is being shown with the same Pirelli Scorpion Verde tires (so no more rugged) and once I was back on the tarmac, I lowered the I-Pace and was back in quiet fast sportscar mode, which I prefer over the larger SUV format.


So, other than a longer range and all the early adopter issues we've been discussing, the I-Pace remains the best fit for me.

 

I like getting the CR opinion, knowing what it's good for. It's like asking the most boring person you know what they think of something. So if I just want an appliance, they're the go-to people. Beyond that, well...

 

My replacement will be a RIVIAN R1S next month.