Few questions before purchase.

[sbportech]

I have been reading the forum for about a month and am getting closer to getting a Rav EV. First off I love electric car, have never owned any but have driven quite a few. Why I am interested in the Rav is I like SUV's and the wife will not go to a car, we currently have an X3 and a Porsche Cayenne (both rare with stick shifts). trying to see if it makes sense to get one both financially and if it will work for what we need to do.
First off my wife and I commute together to work about 35 miles one way but up and over a mountain pass (hwy 154), I do have the ability to charge at work but do not want to if I do not have to and also some days she has the car. Will it make it to and from?
Next we have a 10 week old and a car seat is a must, how is the room with a car seat installed?
The wife runs a catering company and has to move a tow behind BBQ sometimes, is there a hitch that is available and would towing a 1000lbs 3-4 miles be a good idea? any further than that I would just use my truck.
How much does it cost to charge/drive? I see people on here saying 3mi/kwh but the window sticker says 44kw/100miles so that is a little over 2mi/kwh. What is the charger efficiency?
The biggest hang up I have right now is both of our cars are paid for and we spend about $400/month in gas, so if I have a lease payment and pay to charge does it really make sense to get one or just keep buying gas?
Thanks for any advise
Jeff

 

[TonyWilliams]

The Rav4 EV will easily handle 70 miles round trip in any weather.


Toyota has neither tested, nor recommends trailer towing. Here's my trailer hitch install.

http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=152

 

[n3ckf]

So i regularly drive my Rav4EV in the mountains (to about 3300 feet, i've driven it to over 8000' a few times going from my house to South Lake Tahoe (about a 70 mile trip one way). No problems with range to get there. (that trip started at 3300' and ended at 6000' going over 8000' midway through). It was below freezing for a good part of the trip (i've done this twice with very similar milage numbers, i keep logs).

On charger efficiency, I just charged the car (its a year old now, 13K miles on the clock) and to get a 35KW charge in the battery (charge to "standard") i put 41KWH into the charger (i have metering on my power draw at that house). So the efficiency between wall socket and battery is *about* 85%. This is with the recommneded Leviton charger at 40 Amps/240V). It took 4 hours and about 15 min to get that charge in. If i'd charged all the way to "extended" (which i dont normally do except when doing the drive up to the house and back down), it would be about an hour and 20 min more.

3.2Mi/KWH seems to be about my "average" long term in the car, which includes significant driving in traffic and up and down hills.

That'll let you calculate what your cost will be within about 10% i'd guess.

 

[mark_rivers19]

I have been reading the forum for about a month and am getting closer to getting a Rav EV. First off I love electric car, have never owned any but have driven quite a few. Why I am interested in the Rav is I like SUV's and the wife will not go to a car, we currently have an X3 and a Porsche Cayenne (both rare with stick shifts). trying to see if it makes sense to get one both financially and if it will work for what we need to do.
First off my wife and I commute together to work about 35 miles one way but up and over a mountain pass (hwy 154), I do have the ability to charge at work but do not want to if I do not have to and also some days she has the car. Will it make it to and from?
Next we have a 10 week old and a car seat is a must, how is the room with a car seat installed?
The wife runs a catering company and has to move a tow behind BBQ sometimes, is there a hitch that is available and would towing a 1000lbs 3-4 miles be a good idea? any further than that I would just use my truck.
How much does it cost to charge/drive? I see people on here saying 3mi/kwh but the window sticker says 44kw/100miles so that is a little over 2mi/kwh. What is the charger efficiency?
The biggest hang up I have right now is both of our cars are paid for and we spend about $400/month in gas, so if I have a lease payment and pay to charge does it really make sense to get one or just keep buying gas?
Thanks for any advise
Jeff

Other members have addressed your concerns quite extensively especially about towing and charging.
Now, we have a 7 month old ( infant car seat/ rear facing ) which will be the same kind you're using right now.
fits well in the middle, left or right using the LATCH system.
We prefer the middle part, and my wife rides on either side comfortably.

(on a different note, our ICE cars are 2013 Lexus RX 350 and a 2010 Land Rover Range Rover HSE)
and i can say that the RAV4 EV can hold its own.
because of the instant torque, it's actually sporty.. a lot of Torque steer though since it's a FWD.

As for leasing a RAV4 EV instead of paying $400/month for gas.
You're forgetting one component. Car Insurance.
so car insurance payment ( varies a lot between drivers) + electric bill CAN be OVER/Equal to your gas payment of $400.

in our case, it was LOWER than putting gas on an SUV that has 14city/19highway mpg.
electric bill was $100 more per month/ every night charging from LO to full standard charging.
car insurance was $80 more per month ( same coverage of 500,000/750,000 ) with 500 deductible.

i wouldn't compare insurance since we don't have the same age/zipcode/policies/driving records etc.

Now, can i be the devil's advocate and suggest a Hybrid/Plug In instead?
my colleague recently got a Honda Accord Plug In. It's not your typical Honda hybrid anymore.
Honda got it right this time.

anyway, the RAV4 EV can meet all your needs.
good luck!

 

[fooljoe]

On charger efficiency, I just charged the car (its a year old now, 13K miles on the clock) and to get a 35KW charge in the battery (charge to "standard") i put 41KWH into the charger (i have metering on my power draw at that house). So the efficiency between wall socket and battery is *about* 85%.

Did you start the charge from a completely dead battery? I'd guess that you still had 2-3 kwh in the "tank"; the efficiency number that I use within RavCharge calculations is 80%, and it's so far been pretty much spot on in predicting time-to-charge. Of course this number should be expected to vary depending on the EVSE / power supply, external temperature, normal vs extended charge, and so on.

Like the efficiency, the cost of electricity will also vary quite a bit depending upon your utility and rate plan, and when you charge. The best deal is typically to switch to time-of-use (TOU) metering and do all your charging in the middle of the night. Add solar as well and it can become an incredible deal. In my case (with SCE) it costs about 9c/kwh to charge overnight, but thanks to my photovoltaic system earning credits during the pricey on-peak period, I don't pay anything.

As far as your overall question, I'd say the Rav will work just fine for you. You won't quite come under the $400/month you're currently spending in gas, especially since you'll probably want the unlimited mileage lease, but paying a little bit more is worth it for the thrill and other intangible benefits of driving electric. Plus if you sell off one of those paid-off cars you'll potentially be avoiding a good deal of depreciation, which could tilt the economic equation in favor of the Rav.

 

[sbportech]

Thanks for the info, I will most likely end up getting a rav, I am going to try and drive one tomorrow. So does anyone want a cayenne?
Next question is there a way to get the charger with out having me come out to install or is there a cheaper solution that will till work with the delayed charge? I already have a 50 amp plug right inside my garage that I use to plug in the RV.
Heater question, if I have the car pre heated how long will it stay warm, we don't have vary many cold days but getting the wife to ride in a cold car might be a challenge.
Also it sounds like the a/c does not kill the range as much as the heater.
Again, thanks for the input.
Jeff

 

[ehelmholtz]

... I already have a 50 amp plug right inside my garage that I use to plug in the RV.

Lots of options in this space if you already have an RV 50A outlet installed. Here's some:

1. A popular option is to buy a Tesla UMC Conversion called the JESLA by Tony Williams. It's portable and very slick with lots of options. It's able to charge the Rav4EV at full speed and work both on 120V or 240V. The drawback is that it's expensive at $999.Here's the link.

2. Clipper Creek has several options that charge at 30A as well as one that can do 48A. Cost is from ~$500 upwards.

3. There are numerous other manufactuers that have EVSEs from between $500-$1000.

4. Get your stock EVSE upgraded to work at 120V and 240V for about $300. The problem is that it limits current to 12A which isn't that fast for a Rav4.

The last option is my favourite. Build your own OpenEVSE with more versatility then all of them. The cost will depend on the options you choose; it will cost less then $300 for a no frills one or close to $500 for all the extras. Here's an example: portable 40A openEVSE.

 

[n3ckf]

On charger efficiency, I just charged the car (its a year old now, 13K miles on the clock) and to get a 35KW charge in the battery (charge to "standard") i put 41KWH into the charger (i have metering on my power draw at that house). So the efficiency between wall socket and battery is *about* 85%.

Did you start the charge from a completely dead battery? I'd guess that you still had 2-3 kwh in the "tank";

I had about 2-3 miles left before Turtle. 1KWH maybe (then whatever you have when you hit turtle). I make that same drive regularly so i dont really worry about being at 3-4 miles of range left when i get there.

 

[n3ckf]

Thanks for the info, I will most likely end up getting a rav, I am going to try and drive one tomorrow. So does anyone want a cayenne?
Next question is there a way to get the charger with out having me come out to install or is there a cheaper solution that will till work with the delayed charge? I already have a 50 amp plug right inside my garage that I use to plug in the RV.
Jeff

You will likely need an adapter but you can plug in pretty much any 240v level2 charger that comes with a plug on it there.
You likely have a NEMA 14-50 plug. The Leviton charger i have has a NEMA 6-50 on it.

Everything you wanted to know about plugs here

 

[sbportech]

So yesterday I was able to take a test drive for the first time, my wife actually liked the car to my surprise. So we are one step closer to getting a Rav. Few things, that I wil have to get used to. The intior quality is not what I would expect on a $50k car, and after coming out of a Porsche and a BMW. Question for people that have owned for a bit how does the intior hold up? Next the reverse beeping, how do you turn it off, that will drive me up a wall as I have a long drive way to back out of? Last is if I do not get the levtion charger will the delayed charge still work?
Thanks
Jeff

 

[smkettner]

The dealer can change the reverse to a single beep rather than a repeting beep. Specify this to be done before initial delivery as part of the purchase.

You can use the departure time setting in the RAV or a delay timer on the EVSE but not both afaik. Either works fine to charge at overnight rates. I use the onboard RAV timer and it works great.

 

[Weekdayskier]

I added aftermarket leather seating. Both Katzkin and Roadwire offer professional kits. Clazzio offers seat covers. Research that thread in this forum, then talk to the dealer about adding leather if that's what you want. I have the Roadwire kit installed. It's a much nicer than my 4Runner factory leather.

 

[jimbo69ny]

I added aftermarket leather seating. Both Katzkin and Roadwire offer professional kits. Clazzio offers seat covers. Research that thread in this forum, then talk to the dealer about adding leather if that's what you want. I have the Roadwire kit installed. It's a much nicer than my 4Runner factory leather.

How much did it cost to have your leather installed?