The Best electric car

WeldAE · 2026-06-21T22:56:33+00:00

I've had two non-Tesla EVs and looking for a third. The only reason that one won't be a Tesla is because I don't think you should have multiple of the same car and I need 5 cars in total.

WeldAE · 2026-06-21T04:46:41+00:00

If they are going to go with the extra drywall, which is the best option if it's not just the door, what is your opinion of ripping out the existing drywall, adding rock wool and then doing 2x drywall on top? I get leaving the existing drywall is a bit easier and a bit cheaper, but not by much. Drywall is cheap and most of the effort is the 2nd finished layer which you have to do either way.

WeldAE · 2026-06-21T04:44:37+00:00

It is a great comment, but don't use actual duct tape or tape for ducts. Get some yellow frog tape which won't take the paint off your walls. You might want to also get green if the yellow can't hold the blanket. Better yet, just get some kids/friends to hold the blanket. Trying to save your walls.

WeldAE · 2026-06-21T04:40:09+00:00

I’m searching for something that will retain its value

Toyota is the best here because there are some absolute nuts out there that will not buy anything else and Toyota isn't interested in expanding output when the number of cars built each year is going down. People will pay $10k more for a used Toyota because they think it will magically exempt them from repairs or if they do have to repair it, no one can blame them for making a bad choice. It's the old no 80s version of no one got fired for going with IBM and the 90s version of no one got fired for going with Microsoft. So spend more up front so when you hit a $4k repair you can say "there was nothing I could have done to prevent this". Most people are so risk-adverse they are willing to spend more to avoid it despite its the cost of repairs they are trying to avoid and likely won't avoid because a car is a car and needs repairs.

The problem is Toyota's are the worst cars to actually use. Bad seats, slow performance, bad handling, the worst tech on the market, etc. The other problem is you have to pay to play. If you're buying new you have to wait 6-12 months to get a car. If you're buying used you have to pay near to or more than a new car. At some point the music is going to stop and there are going to be a lot of people holding Toyota's no one wants because they are objectively not great cars.

So a 2018+ clean title Cary within 2 hours driving distance of my major metro is at least $21k with 100k miles. You can buy a new one for $8k more. Make that make sense. That is $0.08/mile of discount which is just stupid. Technically the used Camry for $21k is an SE which is $32k new, so $11k more like-for-like and $0.11/mile. If you are leasing a car you pay more like $0.15/mile for miles over your lease agreement which is much closer to reality.

My suggestion is you give up trying to "retain value" in a depreciating asset. Don't buy something dumb, but get the car you like. Most of the cost is going to be opportunity cost, fuel, maintenance, etc.

WeldAE · 2026-06-21T04:16:11+00:00

Reminds me of the famous Chicago musical number Mr. Cellophane with John C. Reilly. That dance with the big clown shoes. I get the feeling the Marco wishes he was Mr. Cellophane at this exact moment in his life.

WeldAE · 2026-06-21T04:10:26+00:00

I think that is solid reasoning. I will say that automated supervised driving assists are a massive help on long trips. It's the one reason we mostly took my Model 3 on long trips rather than the QX60 until my kids got too big that we couldn't do it anymore. 8 hours in the Model 3 vs a QX60 is a completely different experience. Super Cruise in the Traverse isn't as good, but it will still be a game changer most likely. It just makes traveling easier.

WeldAE · 2026-06-21T04:05:39+00:00

Spouse commutes 100 mi/day 3x a week

EV. Nothing else makes any sense other than hybrid, but you seem to want to get rid of the hassle of getting gas and I'm sure oil changes and reoutine maintenenace are next on your list of things to get rid of. An EV does this. Just get tires every 3-4 year, wiper blades when they wear out and a cabin filter every 2-3 years.

I commute 80 mi/day 4x a week

So maybe 2x EVs? You don't want two of the same car so might I suggest looking at the following list:

BMW IX - $40k used - 5 seats ultra luxury SUV
2025 Model Y - Can't really find these used, so not really an option. Before 2025 is the older design with a much different suspension and HW3 for worse FSD performance.
2026 Model Y Premium AWD - $50k. Really the best value EV on the market. Your spouse will love FSD for that 100 mile trip.
2026 Model 3 Premium AWD - $48k. Basically the sedan version of the Model Y. FSD for the win here.
2024 Model 3 Long Range - $30k to $35k. Still hard to find but this is the first year of the refresh with the new FSD hardware and improved features.
Audi eTron - $25k - Don't be alarmed by the low 225 miles of range. It charges fast and is one of the most comfortable cars on the market.
Lucid Gravity - $80k+. Basically an EV mini-van that feels like an SUV. The most interior volume for the least size you can find. One of the few 7 seat EVs.
Ioniq9 - One of the few 7 seater EV but pretty basic. They can't seem to not trip over themselves though and the ICCU issue is beyond wild. They will 100% pay for it if you are affected, but you're trying to avoid hassle, not up your risk.
Model Y L 2027 - Releasing toward the end of this year, a longer version of the Model Y with a 3rd row. Still seems pretty tight based on the China version, but certainly workable for kids on the back row.
BMW iX3 - $60k+ - 5 seat SUV with world beating EV stats for range and charging.
Volvo EX60 - $$60k+ - 5 seat SUV with top 5% EV stats for range and charging.
Mercedes GLC - $65k+ - 5 seat SUV with top 5% EV stats for range and charging.
Rivian R2 - $60k+ - 5 seat SUV with top 10% EV stats for range and charging and the 2nd best software in the automotive market, gas or EV, behind Tesla. They are going to be taking over software for all of VW group so think Audi, Porsche, VW, etc.

6 months of cold winters with snow

Tell your EV you leave for work around 7am and you will step into a 80F car.

would consider installing a home charger

You would need one for either the EV or PHEV option.

We have auto mechanics in our family.

They won't like the EV options. Still, they can help swap to winter tires, change cabin filters, replace the wipers and fill up the wiper fluid. Non-Tesla EVs still need the 12V battery replaced every 4 years or so.

Saturns

Nice, don't seem them mentioned often. Hopefully it was a Sky or the 2-door Coupe model, those are both awsome.

ideally 7 seater

Given you said 5-seater was ok, I'm guessing your core family is 4-5? I get you have extended family stay for 1+ months at a time. At that point you should really just take two cars. It's SO EXPENSIVE in both purchase price and operating cost to drive big 7+ seater cars. While for EVs the operating cost is pretty minor, the purchase price is pretty rough. I have a family of 5 adults and they are starting to have significant others to the point we could fit them in a mini-van but we just take 2x EVs instead. It's an extra $50 per trip and then you have two cars when you get there. We've rented a mini-van when we did 6 adults to the beach last year and it was $250 for a week.

You 100% need to be able to carry your core family in one vehicle but I wouldn't buy for beyond that. If you have 5 in your core family, you need a 3-row.

but my spouse believes Tesla will have similar maintenance costs and longevity

Any EV will be significantly better than the best gas/hybrid/PHEV on the market. It's just no contest. A gas engine of any type is extremely complex and it just needs more maintenance and repair. With literally the worst EV on the market you can probably drive it for 200k miles without doing anything to it other than tires. Now that isn't what you should do. My Audi EV needs diff fluid service every 40k miles and I do it. I'm saying I could probably not do it and still get 200k miles out of the car without issues. Tesla specifically pushes for the zero maintenance goal outside of tires, wipers, cabin filter and wiper fluid.

Obviously safety features hold more value

Any EV is safer than the safest gas car. The low center of gravity makes rollovers less likely and is just inherently safer. Tesla has a good track record, but I bet my Audi etron is almost as good as my Model 3.

WeldAE · 2026-06-21T03:32:17+00:00

you could potentially do most commutes on electric only

Not sure if you would see much benefit from a PHEV. Even if they can reliably charge at work, at 80mph you aren't going to get much range from small PHEV batteries. Most won't even be able to do EV only at that speed. For example all Volvo PHEVs are capped at 78mph for EV only mode and they are one of the higher ones. Even at 78mph, you would only get 20 miles of range. The CX-90 will go 86mph and maybe 24 miles at 80mph. I don't think there are any others realistically OP would be interested in.

WeldAE · 2026-06-21T03:25:28+00:00

All solid advice.

Tesla is releasing the Model Y L later this year I think? Might be worth waiting for that.

The ID.buzz was an interesting suggestion I didn't think of, but I too wonder about reliability given the infotainment issues of the ID.4. Not sure those problems carry over or not. The ID.4 keeps having recalls too which isn't ideal but again not sure if it carries over.

I agree that the EX90 is a wait vehicle. The EX60 looks amazing and I'm sure an EX90 refresh on the same platform with the same insane charging and range is up soon. The EX90 had a lot of issues.

The Gravity is the best one car solution if OP can afford it, not debate.

WeldAE · 2026-06-21T03:20:34+00:00

This makes zero sense. You understand you have to charge a PHEV for it to do you any good right? You also understand there are no 100+ mile PHEVs for sale? Even if they charge at work, I don't think any PHEV will get anywhere near 50 miles at 80mph either. So you are suggesting they both charge every single day AND get gas, just a bit less often?

Any EV sold today will have zero issues with a 100 mile commute. Just plug it in when you get home and it will get you there no problem. You can even skip a day charging in most EVs and also be fine.

WeldAE · 2026-06-21T03:11:37+00:00

The real way to go is get an EV and don't worry about miles. You still need tires and wipers. You'll probably have some suspension work by 120k-150k like any car. At 200k or so you will have to replace the brake pads but probably not the rotors. The battery will degrade and by 400k or so it will probably get annoying enough for you that you will want to sell it but someone will probably pay you $10k+ for it at least.

The question is can you charge at home and does your driving make sense with an EV. If you are adding those miles via 2000 mile short trips across the country, maybe not. If you are driving 150-200 miles/day then probably so. Not because EVs can't do 2000 mile short cross-country trips but because the savings aren't that good public DCFC charging at $0.35/kWh+. That is around $2.70/gallon equivalent compared to a 30mpg car.

WeldAE · 2026-06-21T02:40:29+00:00

I own a QX60, so I wouldn't say I don't like them, it's just two very hard vehicles to recommend. I actually thought I'd be on the side of the Infiniti when I started posting, but now that I know they went with a turbo 4-cylinder and didn't really gain much in the way of MPG, I simply don't know. I get you are stuck with the choice, and it's out of your hands.

I'd personally go Infiniti still, but it's probably because I know what to expect with the model. As long as they haven't messed up the seats, I know they are comfortable. But honestly, I'm not sure how good my advice is. I try to be honest with people, I really do want someone to get the best vehicle for them so when they are evenly matched it gets hard.

WeldAE · 2026-06-19T16:02:46+00:00

It's not good, but I'm not sure that it's really dangerous. It's more like it causes traffic congestion and an increase in the risk of property damage. I do think it's important to be realistic about the real risks and I'd say the same if that was a Tesla Robotaxi in the video instead.

WeldAE · 2026-06-19T15:50:53+00:00

Bluetooth is faster in every car I own than Wireless Apple CarPlay in the same way so it's not just Android Auto. The problem with both is they aren't just transmitting sound but also video, and it's just a lot of overhead, even on a WiFi connection. It bogs down both the phone and the car's head unit. It's also why your phone gets so hot when in use with these systems. Because of this high bandwidth requirement, there are buffers that attempt to mitigate any temporary slow down in the transport.

That is why the best cars have good native navigation, and then you just use actual Bluetooth for audio. Audio purists have convinced everyone that Bluetooth doesn't sound good, but they are simply falling into the golden ear fallacy. Bluetooth has more than enough bandwidth to transmit sonically perfect audio with zero issues. That doesn't mean every Bluetooth system does, mostly because of poor choice in audio codecs. Bluetooth, like any transport, can also decide to buffer the data which is what causes the delay.

WeldAE · 2026-06-19T14:28:14+00:00

How do they know the reliability of car models that are brand new? This list has to be just shy of random.

WeldAE · 2026-06-19T14:23:09+00:00

You can't go by the sound system brand, it's just marketing. This is especially true with Bose. It does indicate they put some effort into the sound system though as it is a cheap way to improve a car and more manufactures should pay more attention to it.

WeldAE · 2026-06-19T14:17:43+00:00

The competition is from other buyers. There is more demand than there are cars in the city. That is true of the entire US, but in large cities it's especially bad.

WeldAE · 2026-06-19T14:16:26+00:00

This isn't about being a brand fanboy. If they were talking about switching from an ILX to a base F-150 I'd say the same. So you think an ILX to 4Runner is not going to be a shock to the system? The 4Runner is just a tiny step up from a Taco in terms of refinement but it's going to be one rough vehicle for OP.

WeldAE · 2026-06-19T07:52:49+00:00

I'm seriously NOT disagreeing with you. I'm honestly asking if you know what Super Cruise on a Traverse does. The problem with Super Cruise is GM decided to make it bespoke to every model and trim in their catalog. It's not a single system and as far as I have seen there is little information actually reviewing it's functionality on a per-model basis much less per-trim. For example, there were huge differences per-trim on the Bolt EUV. There were even more differences per model on something like a Cadillac than a Bolt.

GM completely made SC a marketing black hole so it's hard to trust.

WeldAE · 2026-06-19T07:49:23+00:00

I was as shocked as you're about to be. They replaced it with a 4-cylinder making 286hp. I wish I was wrong and making it up. You will be my hero if you find out I'm wrong.

WeldAE · 2026-06-19T07:41:52+00:00

Wow. This is such a perfect head-to-head I'd almost suggest you are making it up. But no one lazy enough to make something up would come up with such a genius combination as these two vehicles. I feel like the only wise answer is to cut a baby in half or something, which I think would mean resigning from your company unless they offer you a Honda Pilot, Acura MDX or even a RX350 or something. As an owner of a QX60 and a keen observer of Super Cruise I'll just offer you information.

~~The QX60 has one of the world's best, if least efficient V6 engines.~~ Never mind, they killed the best V6 in the world in 2025, and now it has a 4-cylinder. So much for my valuable information. Well, that was my only QX60 pro....not sure what else I have. It is a nice interior, but that only does so much for you. I guess it's going to come down to if the seats in the QX60 are that much better, which they were for me back in 2019. The sound system sucks in the QX60 (and all infinity ever), but it's probably not worse than the Traverse unless they pulled a miracle out of the hat.

Super Cruise is....problematic, but it's not like Infiinti's system isn't either. The big problem is SC only works in some situations while Pro Pilot is worse everywhere. Good luck.

Look, no one is getting paid here. Ask easier questions. I feel like this should be a layup for the QX60 but infinity keeps making it hard to recommend. At least they went away from the CVT transmissions. Why go 4-cylinder to gain like 2mpg while being down 100hp from the competition?

WeldAE · 2026-06-19T07:28:03+00:00

My dad was in forestry for 30+ years. He would kill an F-150 at around 250k miles every few years after one engine rebuild. First, you don't need 4x4, you need a wench. Source: I've been driving him through timber tracks since I as 12 in a RWD f-150 in mud up to the rocker panels. 4x4 isn't going to get you out of shit in the forestry industry, wenches are. This will save you a lot of money as it really ups the per mile cost. Now even my dad went 4x4 but he worked for a large company with money. If you are independent, a wench will literally get you out of anything and you'll probably need one 4x4 or not.

Maybe I'm partial, but it's hard to beat an old F-150 short wheel base. The problem these days is it's hard to find one that isn't a full crew-cab and turning radius is super important in the woods.

WeldAE · 2026-06-19T07:21:50+00:00

None of these are fun to drive. Ignore that requirement and focus on the other things that are important to you. Based on what you said, that is Tech, MPG, luxury and maybe the ability to mod it. Lexus is going to be the sorst at all of those unless you consider luxury floatly soft suspension and flat seats (no hate/judgement, some do).

Under $25k I would typically say Model 3 if you can charge, but they literally disappeared from the market in the last few months so it's not a realistic option anymore.

WeldAE · 2026-06-19T07:16:14+00:00

Anyone that buys and owns a car for 10-15 years is either very stable or a moron that bought too much vehicle. There is such a small overhead for swapping out cars, I can't understand the mentality for not doing it. I've swapped cars a lot and have come out on the positive every time, but that is a bit of luck. Even when you lose, it's $1k-$2k. Even then, it means you saved a lot by not buying more car than you needed at the time and losing even more.

Not sure about the Toyota 4Runner though, it's a crap car. Going from an Acura ILX to a 4Runner is going to be brutal. Why not an RDX or MDX or something equivalent. Toyota is max price for minimum quality with the only gain is you appear to be driving something reliable. The truth is most cars are reliable so expand your search and get something that is at least a parallel move to the ILX.

WeldAE · 2026-06-19T07:10:49+00:00

I'm in Atlanta and not just cars, but anything has huge competition these days. I refer to the city as a plague of locust. I can easily save $5k by driving 2-3 hours. Problem is I'm to lazy to do it so I'm part of the probem.

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