How do you grade a car? (Pick an EV to buy)

[limtless]

I have my personal criteria, I have an internal spreadsheet based on these factors that I rate a car. I don't always follow it, sometimes my impulses grab me and I want what I want.

My Criteria 1-5, 5 best:

1. Technology (EDITED: per @hydbob )
   1. Hardware
   2. Software
2. Looks
3. Range
4. Efficiency
5. Price
6. Performance (per @Steveinarizona)

Total it up and figure out which one draws me in. How do you do it?

Currently, Lucid scores bad on 1 & 5, but great on 2-4. In the past I have ignored 1, but I have come to realize (for me) that 1 is very important.

 

[hydbob]

I think 1 you need to change or separate into hardware and software

 

[Steveinarizona]

I think range and efficiency go together. I would go Performance, range/efficiency, looks technology and price.

 

[limtless]

I think range and efficiency go together. I would go Performance, range/efficiency, looks technology and price.

They are actually very different. Range is how many miles can you go and Efficiency is how fast can it charge back to 80% or even 100%. Even kW per mile is a big factor. Those can vary a lot by manufacture and model. Refer to Car and Driver EV charging chart on the EVs they tested for 2022. I thought about performance and it's a good point, I should add it because it does make a difference.

 

[Steveinarizona]

They are actually very different. Range is how many miles can you go and Efficiency is how fast can it charge back to 80% or even 100%. Even kW per mile is a big factor. Those can vary a lot by manufacture and model. Refer to Car and Driver EV charging chart on the EVs they tested for 2022. I thought about performance and it's a good point, I should add it because it does make a difference.

I know but in my mind they go together. The more efficient a car is, the less range I need and the inverse.

 

[EVCar]

For me, reliability is also a factor. Problem is good data are usually not readily available and EVs are so new so no long-term track records.

 

[SDHacker]

Range is how many miles can you go and Efficiency is how fast can it charge back to 80% or even 100%. Even kW per mile is a big factor

Range is battery capacity times efficiency (your last sentence - mile per kwh). A measure of efficiency is kwh to travel 100 miles. If you consume 20 kwh to travel 100 miles and you have a 120 kwh battery then 100/20 X 120 = 600 miles of range. So your efficiency is 5 miles per kwh. Speed of charging back to whatever capacity is a measure of charging capacity (of both the charger and your car) and charging efficiency. For charging efficiency, if the charger output 100 kwh , how much went into the battery versus heat loss, conversion, battery cooling.

@Steveinarizona is absolutely right, range and efficiency are tightly coupled. If you drive 90 mph, your efficiency drops so your range is shortened compared to going 45 mph when efficiency is higher.