It’s Electric!

For many years I have wanted an electric vehicle(EV). I had driven many hybrids as rental cars when I traveled for work. I then had the opportunity to drive a Tesla Model X (thanks Darren) probably three years ago and I was sold. Yes, it would take a different mindset both while driving as well as when planning out longer drives but I was all in. I had already been saving up a car fund for when I eventually purchased an EV.

My initial prospect for an EV was going to be a Tesla. I’m even a Tesla stockholder. I liked their products and their charging network. But then their CEO went crazy. In fact, his behavior had likely always been erratic, but it began to have real consequences for the U.S. and the world. His propping up of Trump’s campaign and later being in Trump’s administration was horrendous. His platforming fascists and other far right personalities and organizations (such as Germany’s AfD) removed his mask.

The true Elon Musk

With Mr. Musk’s actions and allegiances, I started to look elsewhere. There were quite a few possibilities as over the last decade many car companies had started to get into the EV market. That's when I started researching alternatives and crossed paths with Rivian. A relatively new American car company but they had a couple of things going for them. Firstly, they had backing from Amazon, Volkswagen, and Ford (among others) even though Ford has sold off most of its stake. Secondly, Amazon had bought a fleet of electric delivery vans that I had seen all over Central FL.

In January I ran the numbers for my financials and I decided to finally decide on getting an EV. My first choice was the Rivian R1S and so I scheduled a test drive. It was better than I expected. When I got home I started the process of buying the vehicle. Over the next few days I worked with the sales agent to pull the trigger. I then worked with the delivery team over the next three weeks in order to get my vehicle. Overall the process was great even though there was a two week delay that I wasn’t expecting.

Here’s Big Blue!

This is definitely the largest vehicle I have ever owned but it does fit in my garage. I got the model with the largest battery mostly for future-proofing. It’s a joy to drive. I had an EV charger installed in my garage which is great.

I’ve been on a handful of trips with it and I’ve not had an issue yet.

Now most people ask about the range and the cost of charging so here goes a breakdown of a couple of trips. Anecdotally, in my recent trips to West Palm, Fort Myers, and North Carolina if I compare them to trips made in my Kia then the total cost cheaper with my Rivian. For instance, to go to Fort Myers I would fill up when I left home and fill up before heading back and I would probably have about a quarter of tank left when I returned home. This would be two fill-ups that probably cost $80 total. With the Rivian I filled up before I left home which costs about 15 cents per kWh so let’s just say $10. I would charge a little at the house in Fort Myers so let’s say another $10. Finally, I would hit a fast charger on the way out of town for about $40. So doing approximately the same amount of driving the cost would be around $60. The time it takes to travel is a little bit longer due to the time it takes to charge but I use that time to get out and stretch, walk the dog, use the restroom, and/or get food.

Using some online calculators my Rivian gets about 6 cents per mile which is equivalent to about 60mpg when I’m charging at home. Or when I’m on longer trips where I have to use fast chargers it gets about 19 cents per mile which is equivalent to about 20mpg. There are a ton of factors involved such as gas prices, comparison mpg used, price for electricity at home and at fast chargers, driving style, city versus highway (EVs benefit on city driving), etc.

Overall I love my Rivian. It’s definitely larger in both length and height than anything I have had before but I’m used to it now. Working with an EV is definitely a change in mindset but I adapted quickly and find that it is worth it. In general, I think EVs will improve and once we get to the point of recharging being close to the time it takes to fill-up a combustion vehicle at the pump then there will be few excuses for most drivers. But for now I will be driving in style in Big Blue and enjoying every minute of it. BTW, I have put 9000 miles on it since mid-February.