What should the person buying an Aptera as their first EV know and/or consider before buying?
The Aptera that I have on order will not be my first EV and I would guess that’s true for a large fraction of buyers. But I remember well enough the difficult paradigm shift that was required to find the functional comfort zone of a successful and satisfied EV user, now with over 100 thousand EV miles behind me. The Aptera will be alike in some respects and different in others. The vastly greater range and eased charging (more miles/kms per hour on any given charger) may well alleviate the need I have had to switch to a backup ICE car for long trips.
Every new EV owner has to sort out what kind of charging infrastructure is needed and available for their circumstances and use pattern. And how reliable is it?
Just how different is it to drive a three wheeler? I have heard the story of how Musk got behind the wheel of an Arcimoto and promptly drove it into something. Maybe that’s much like learning to ride a bike. You struggle a bit then you get the hang of it for the rest of your life.
The smooth and quiet acceleration of an EV is immensely satisfying. My family and I laugh now (or cry) when some smoke bellowing diesel or sputtering, souped-up subcompact accelerates by.
I am sure others here have more wisdom and advice to offer particularly to the folks thinking of buying an Aptera as their first EV. How about it?
I can only speak as a person who never owned an EV because none met my needs
But from what I am learning from Aptera, all to be confirned with the Dev vehicles
I am in a solar eight zone so a full solar should take care of my daily needs
I plan to 110 v charge off peak “ if ever needed“, but I alsi have a Level II charger installed in 2020 and have that incentive to write off...
Even with the J1772 plug... they say there will be adapters, once they settle on what they will have ( they do not like the J1772 plug).
I ride in but did not drive the Aptera 2e They say that it just takes a little time to get use to it m, especially parking
Now with video side view and rear view displays... another change to adjust to
They say that the driver can see the tops if front wheel covers, another change....and we all are not the same size
I expect a range hit on my 60kWh, AWD Off Road choices.
I am hoping I can just take off my off road, items when not needed
I live at 4200’ which helps but will be riding sometimes to much lower elevation again range hit
No real cold day range hits but some upper 90F are realized
Hope this helps
Getting used to the 'wing-span' width is the main thing. Also large bumps while turning at significant G force may cause rear end to get air and want to rotate. Can be mitigated by front motors somewhat
One of the issues that many first time EV owners will find is how well supported is their geographical region on EV charging stations. Although some are going to use the Aptera as a city car with sub 40 mile daily mileage, for those of you who are planning longer trips, you might find yourself at charge stations. This of course will depend upon your battery capacity, engine configuration, and use of air conditioning and heating. Here in So. California the cost of longer trips to various areas will depend upon access to various charge station networks. There is a wide range of charging pricing. Of course while some of my family's Teslas are covered under free charging, our other cars must pay for electricity. Home charging is usually around $0.13 per kwh, cheaper if one has their own solar panels. Electrify America is one of the bigger charging networks, but they charge $0.43 cents per kwh if you are a guest non subscriber. A subscriber pays monthy membership fee of $4.00 whether you use them or not that month. Members pay as little as $0.31 per kwh depending upon which subscription membership you have. If you are lucky to have EVGO stations in your vicinity or along your planned route of travel, they charge $0.27 per kwh. I am lucky that one of my cars the BMW has its own gasoline generator built into it (Rex). When burning gas, I can travel cheaper than using Electrify America electricity. Nothing beats home charging, but remember that one should do it as slow as possible. The faster the charging, the faster the long term battery degradation. I would suggest using 120 volts if you have enough time to charge each evening. Hope this helps.
I am looking forward to Aptera being my first EV car purchase. I still want to test drive it before committing but I put down a deposit for a 400mile version (custom colors inside and out + full Solar) to replace my work commute vehicle (which is 11 years old at this point) The full solar charging I believe will cause me to almost never need to charge manually (as I expect daily mileage to be under 15 miles). I am in Northern California so we get lots of sun. The biggest change will be going from a much bigger minivan to the smaller 2 seater but with the oldest heading off to college it is a good time to move on from the minivan anyway.
I can't wait though for when they do open up test drives so I can travel down and convince myself to follow through on the purchase.
You are a wise man. Like many first edition vehicles, whether it be a first year model change or upgrade, you really never want to purchase the first year model. The first year is really a massive test scenario to find those hardware and software problems. Just look at the C9 mid-engine Corvette, the Tesla model Y and each new Toyota Prius models. The second year production is where the problems are smoothed out. I would say that this is even more at issue here since it is a first time production of a novel company using concepts never previously used in a car. I am hoping for their success. We have heard similar promises with the Elio.
I drive about 350 miles a week at 3.9-4.0 miles per kWh and rely almost entirely on a trickle charge from a 110 outlet. That’s near continuous charging both at home and at work during the work week though and doesn’t quite cut it when the weather is especially severe and/or cold. Little or nothing to spare for side trips in any case.
An Aptera getting closer to 10 miles per kWh and with a significantly more capacious battery would dramatically ease those constraints. Just plugging in while at work (which I don’t pay anything for) might cover most of my need then.
There is also a city utilities sponsored L2 charger in town that is free to use and almost always available. The sorts of things you look to discover when driving a marginally adequate EV but which could benefit anyone.
Even with one of the smaller battery packs, you would probably get away with charging at work a few time a week. But now with extended capacity, you will discover all kinds of places to explore in the Aptera.
I'm an absolutely HORRIBLE example of "the difficult paradigm shift that was required to find the functional comfort zone" of my nearly flawless first-edition 2013 BEV.
I just plug into a standard wall outlet when I arrive at home or work, exactly like I do with my cell phone. My US average commute distance fully recharges from an extension cord in 8 hours at work OR in my garage while I sleep. It has 2.5 times that range where I drive (75% mild-weather city), so I'd be fine if I ever did forget to charge one day AND night AND the following day, which is extremely unlikely due to a warning showing automatically when range is down to a one-way commute.
At a drag-strip it's a bit slower than the 1st-edition sportscar it replaced (with a highly-flawed gas engine), but real-world it's wicked fast & scared the crap out of me once shortly after purchase. Now driving a GAS car scares me whenever I floor it to pass & there's a split second delay. That's about the worst aspect: I'm super-spoiled by the instant torque now.
Insurance is just as cheap, as are tires, wipers, bulbs, etc, & even a super-cheap $35 12V starter battery works fine. I also no longer need an oil change, smog check, engine air filter, brake pad replacement, or stop to refuel.
As my first FWD car, I did have to "adapt" to that, but I think Aptera will have even more neutral high-g cornering, & its hub motors might even eliminate torque-steer.
EV owners often rate their experience with their cars higher than do owner/operators of ICE cars. That seems especially true for Teslas, but more generally true also.
The unfortunately rarer people who have a photovoltaic installation providing all or some proportion of the energy they use in their homes also tend to feel especially satisfied about it.
With the days getting longer again, and more often sunny too, I am reminded of this latter point. In the evening of a recent sunny day, I glanced at the metrics on my PV monitoring system and was smilingly off to brag to the rest of the family how many kWhs we generated that day. Feels pretty darned good to be making something useful just because I have this thing (a PV array) in my back yard.
That satisfaction is way out of proportion to any empirical value. "Couple of dollars worth of electricity? Big deal", the pessimist might say. But that doesn't make it any less satisfying.
Now I imagine heading off to work in my Aptera. Not only do I get the inordinate satisfaction of an EV, but I also know that mine is by far the most efficient EV on the road. And damned sporty too! When I get to work I park in a sunny spot and go about my business. Hours later I'm ready to head home and, low and behold,the PV on the vehicle has generated enough power to get me home again without having had to add anything.
The prospect of all that compounding satisfaction is enough to make me giddy with anticipation. Since I get bits of this already with the home PV and the current EV, I've a good notion of what to expect. I am so stoked for Aptera to pull this off!
I have 24 PV panels on my roof & Aptera on order. One of my goals for my new Aptera is I want to drive it daily for at least 1 YEAR & never have to plug it into my Level 2 charger. I just hope the software in the Aptera will record the date & time it was last plugged into the grid so I can have photographic evidence how many days since the last plugin.
Any EV you can get is a good EV. You find out how nice it is to drive. You find out range anxiety is just another flavor of anxiety and is nothing to worry about. That's the only phony thing Aptera is doing - pushing the 1000 mile range like it's a big advantage. It is a fun consequence of the extreme efficiency of their design, but not really important. Why are there always parking problems in cities, universities, etc? Answer - cars spend a lot of time just sitting around. You're going to come home and have the car parked for at least 10 hours most days. Even with a dryer plug (Level 2) charger you can top off your car daily.
So if you're cool enough to own an Aptera as your first EV and you realistically have only yourself and one other to haul around, go for it. If not get a Chevy Bolt - it's a very nice car. If you have the $$$ get a Tesla - they have the assist mode that is light years ahead of what anyone else has. Ask anybody who has an electric car if they like it. We still have two regular ICE cars, and I enjoy driving them, but I feel like Captain Nemo firing up a steam engine when I start them up.
Agreed 100% (that's 1000% in an Aptera 😉)
Heck, even without a dryer plug: In 8 hours of work or sleep, the average EV recharges an average daily drive from just a standard wall outlet/extension cord.
& if you don't have the $$ for a used Chevy Bolt, a used Fiat 500e can be had for $6k!
Now that I think of it, that's probably one of the better EVs to own first, since it drives very much like a gas car*, with an old-fashioned key-ignition to twist to on, then "start", a manual handbrake, & NO "confusing" settings for regen, or sport/eco modes.
* Except that the torque is instant.
The Aptera would make for a great 1st EV because most people won;t have to have the anxiety of having to plug them in because they would be solar.
At this point, I agree with many of the above comments, but am keeping my horizons open. We are in an exciting and interesting point of the EV evolution. More has happened in the last 5 years than has happened over the past 100 years. Almost every stable car manufacturer is working on this topic. I am seeing some very nice designs coming out of So. Korea, China, and Germany. We will have several new models out in the next 2 years. Through this forum, I see that different individuals have different needs and expectations of their perfect EV. The number of passengers, payload capacity, towing, pure solar charging, efficiency, DC fast-charging availability, range on batteries, comfort, handling, servicing, city or long range needs, cost, reliability, "wow"-factor, and uniqueness are all individual aspects. The Tesla model 2 should be on the drawing boards, and the Volkswagen ID.3 and ID.4, Kia EV6 may well be on US roads later this year. Used Chevy Bolts are at a good price. There will be a few EV pick-up trucks out within 2 years at prices comparable to the Aptera. These cars certainly have their merits. They will have established service and repair sites, as well as safety records based upon previous models from the companies. Most of all, they may be less expensive than the Aptera. A number of you are sold on the solar charging aspect. This will only happen under ideal conditions; bright overhead sun, not partial shading of the panels by trees or buildings and whether one plans to garage his EV. Panels are most efficient when pointed directly into the sun, which may mean moving the car during the daytime hours to make charging the most efficient. As one can see from photos, the front panels are angled differently that the ones on the rear lift hatch. I would probably angle those panels directly into the sun. My own driveway is partially shaded from the sun in the morning, worse in the winter. Great for bragging rights (as with the 1000 mile range), but it may not be useful or obtainable in some situations. But getting back to the main topic of this posting: I think that the Aptera is a good first EV for some, and a conventional EV may be better suited for others depending upon the owners mechanical, electrical skills and the supporting DC fast charging options in their state. My road-trips are usually under 600 miles, and would consider flying if the trip was any longer. My Lexus hybrid is the perfect long range vehicle at this point, for I know that there are dealerships and independent service/repair along any major highway. The comfort and safety features are already well proven. We all have different needs, other vehicles, and life-styles. This is solely my own opinion and may not be shared with others. We are certainly in exciting times.
Yeah, for these couple of folks who seem to be looking for a bulletproof APC, the Aptera is probably not going to be the right choice. But for someone like me with a long highway commute, or an inclination to invest in minimalism, or to make capital investments today that spare me ongoing costs later, Aptera could be just right. Just right for still other folks too, I am sure.
The Aptera will be my first EV but not my first 3-wheeler so driving one will not really be a stretch for me. Current Polaris Slingshot owner
@Victor Dungca You can Teach us much. Can I ask?:
What insurance company do you use for the Slingshot and do you think they will insure the Aptera ( registered as s motorcycle ) in your state?
Is you slingshot ground clearance much more than the 5”(wheel covers) and 9”( body) of the Aptera?
Ever have a pothole hit with your slingshot’s rear wheel with major problems?
Is it difficult to parallel park your three wheel Slingshot?
Do you ever have to rotate the tires? How? Align the wheels?
Thx
@Len I'm here in Hayward (SF), so I'm using Nationwide as my insurance. Its registered as a motorcycle on my dmv ppwk so my rate is about $1/yr but thats likely because I upped it on the coverages. Its likely Aptera will be similar in price and coverage.
My sling sits on oem suspension, so its the same as the Aptera, around 5". Think Corvette height clearance.
I hate potholes so my previous owner told me the best solution is to make sure the pothole is between the center wheel and the front wheel (left or right). My technique is to make sure its right under my steering wheel as I go over it. If I do hit it, its no different when I drive over one with my car- drive over one hard enough and you'll damage your wheel/tire.
Parallel is always an issue but it helps to have those convex mirrors attached to my side. That way I can see the road, But treat parking as if you were driving a new car- practice.
I haven't rotated (or aligned) the tires as the rear is a different size than the front. My slingshot has a typical front wheel suspension and steering so just get a standard front wheel alignment if necessary.
Hope this info helps
@Victor Dungca Thx!
Very helpful!
I am new with EV AND a three wheel so you are a great resource!
I will have to talk to my local Nationwide, in the coming year , when some Aptera VIN numbers are out to help them quote coverage
Aptera could also have a slightly larger rear tire ( TBD )
Does your Slingshot have a maximum weight load ? Aptera may be 500# , which includes passengers
I suppose the Slingshot’s front wheels are not 88” to the outside fenders and may have a bumper?
The slingshot is as wide as a corvette, which makes it almost a 1ft narrower than the aptera
@Victor Dungca WOW!
Aptera should have an interesting ride/ handling....
The Aptera is my first EV. My reasons for going to EVs may be a little odd.
I have 10 vehicles (all ICE) (down from 12). One is from the 90's and the rest are from the 60s and 70s. I like understanding how my machines work and being able to work on them. These vehicles are simple and easy to work on including rebuilding the engines.
I am now 71 years old and find it physically uncomfortable to work on my vehicles. I must take the one vehicle from the 90's to the dealer and I am very irritated at having to deal with them.
I will not have to work on the EVs and will still derive enjoyment from understanding how they work. (My masters thesis at Purdue University was "AC propulsion systems for electric vehicles".)
I will keep only a few vehicles from the 70s and go electric with the rest. I anticipate also getting the European cybertruck when it becomes available.
My plan is to totally skip the era when vehicles were run by computers and the motor was covered with hoses and sensors. I will go from the 70s era to the EV era, skipping that "in between" era.