Member Introduction

[AvLegends]

Might as well jump in here also...

I'm Mike, 59 and have had the Rav4 EV since last Saturday. Traded a 2012 Plug in Prius advanced that I loved except I just wasn't a Prius kinda guy. Beautiful car... with the DRCC cruise control, heads up display and incredible gas efficiency but I really wanted to cut the hose to the pump, at least with the daily driver. Wasn't keen on having to be easy on the pedal as well as keep below 62 mph to stay in EV. 11-12 mi range also was limiting. I really wanted an EV. Tesla model S someday but for now the Rav4 EV more than fills the bill

Been looking at the Rav4 EV since getting the Prius back in Nov. but it was just a little out of my reach. With current incentives and a trade offer my local dealership made on the Plug in that I could not pass on... off the fence I fell and here I am with the EV grin! Girlfriend asked me what are we going to take to Las Vegas and I replied... your car ... or the airplane... at least until we get the 85kw Model S

I am a pilot and aviation photographer and publish a calendar of antique and classic airplanes out of my hangar at Santa Paula Airport. I have been flying old airplanes for 30+ years and feel lucky to be based at Santa Paula, one of the best little airports in the world! This is my 20th year making my calendar and I can't complain as it gets me out to the airport every day and puts a little gas in the airplane. Photography is my background and I just love hanging out of an open door at 120 mph and 3500 feet shooting these old airplanes... hearing the roar of a radial engine over the headset gives me goosebumps... I just love it! I tell people... I have the best seat in the house. As Tony will confirm, the photos that I get are due to the great formation flying of the pilots that I'm shooting. They are that close... 30-40 feet or so. To see what I do please take a look at... http://www.aviationlegends.com

Look forward to learning about the Rav and EV's from such a great group as you all! Already have learned more than I ever thought.

Thank you all!

 

[Dsinned]

Welcome to all the Newcomers. This forum is really becoming something special with so many diversified, talented, well educated and enthusiastic EV owners. Btw, I'm Dennis (63), Retired Navy, empty nester, currently at the tail end of a Silicon Valley civilian career in electronics for the past several decades.

My favorite ride, not counting my gas guzzling Z06, is my "other" Chevy, a VOLT with my RAV4 EV a close second. But if I was being totally honest, it would have to be my two wheel ride, a 2004 Triumph Daytona 955i SE, triple cylinder, crotch rocket, fuel injected sport bike. It's not the fastest bike by any means, but it makes an ABSOLUTELY THRILLING, deep throated, induction SOUND at full song!

I just got a 3.5kW solar system on my roof and am loving it, and am currently looking into expanding it up to 5kW! Going GREEN is definitely the way to go nowadays!

Hey Tony, have a good trip, and I must admit one of my favorite activities in my RAV4 EV is trying to second "guess" the GoM. :mrgreen:

 

[Bassman]

I'm Glenn, 52 and married. Live in Angels Camp in the Motherlode and work for the California Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board as an Engineering Geologist. I regulate leaking underground storage tank cases that have impacted groundwater (gasoline stations mostly).
Have had my Rav4 EV for about a month now and also have a Nissan LEAF. Have had the LEAF for going on 2 years. Love the range on the Rav4, especially compared to the LEAF. I do plan on putting in solar next year at our ranch. But currently am on PG&E's 9B EV rate.

So far, the longest trip I've made on a single charge in the Rav4 is from Angels Camp to San Francisco (130 miles) and still had about 12 miles on the Range Estimate. I won't call it a GOM as it is waay more accurate than the LEAFs GOM.

Used to drag race motorcycles when I was younger. Have had a Kawasaki Z1B 900 pumped to 1200 cc (9.9 second quarter mile bike) and most recent bike I had was a 1999 Suzuki Hyabusa that had 165 HP at the rear wheel. My nephew who has a Subaru WRX STi says now that I've gone to EVs I've gone over to the dark side. :lol:

 

[TonyWilliams]

Race dudes, hot cars, bikes and airplanes? Woo Hoo!

I used to race motocross, and still do occasionally in the appropriate age bracket. I currently have two Husqvarna bikes, TE510 and TXC511. My last street bike was a BMW K1200LT.

For Mike, I used to live in Oxnard near the beach in Silverstrand, and was a controller at CMA tower. Also was at Oaklnad Center (ZOA) and SoCal Approach (SCT). I've owned airplanes, flown them, worked on them and just like hanging out in places like SZP.

I did do some (unsactioned) drag racing with several different Chevrolet cars; 1968 Camaro SS-396 4 speed, 1970 Chevelle SS-454 (LS5) auto, 1970 Camaro 350 4 speed, then I grew up and bought a really boring (but brand new during the van Nuys factory strike) 1985 Camaro Z28 5 speed, then a 1989 Corvette 6 speed (black/red). Recently I've migrated to the convertible BMW 330 and currently have Infiniti G37 convertible hardtop. There are lots of other cars in between.

 

[Daenfa]

Hi my name is Frederick I just took delivery of the last 2012 RAV 4 EV from Longo Toyota. (EV grin) Could not be happier. Traveling from home to work and back total of 88 miles having about 1/3 charge left. Fantastic acceleration. I agree with some that the Entune Phone software needs some work. Will not sync with vehicle unless very close which defeats the purpose. Also will not post to Facebook. Hoping a update come soon. The Hitch install looks like a great idea and will be looking into it. My RAV 4 EV is classic silver.

Hello all!

Frederick

 

[VQ EV]

Vic here. Picked up my blue Rav4 EV on Saturday. I have the 9th Leaf sold in the US 1/4/2011 and it is great. My wife drives it and it has lost about 10% of its original range in 2 1/4 years. My 2002 Audi Allroad needed to be replaced so I was looking at the Ford C-max energi to have a car that would have unlimited range but pluged in. I heard about the deals on the Rav4 EV and couldn't resist getting one for about the same price as an energi. I will have to rent a car a few times a year for hiking trips but it is great to be totally gas free. I have a 9.4 kW PV system so I'm totally running on sunshine. I picked up a clipper creek C-60 from the group buy guy and will replace my Blink EVSE (even at free it is over priced). The Leaf will charge at home (no charging at wife's work) I work for SDG&E and can charge the Rav4 EV at work for the same price as at home. I love the greater cargo room, power and range of the Rav4 EV over the Leaf, but the Leaf is still a great little car.

 

[AvLegends]

Welcome Vic!

 

[TonyWilliams]

Vic here. Picked up my blue Rav4 EV on Saturday. I have the 9th Leaf sold in the US 1/4/2011 and it is great... I work for SDG&E and can charge the Rav4 EV at work for the same price as at home. I love the greater cargo room, power and range of the Rav4 EV over the Leaf, but the Leaf is still a great little car.

You must have the first one at SDGE? Thanks for having me at your meeting a few weeks ago and welcome to the club. Please bring it by the meeting in Poway on the 20th.

http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2479#p2479

 

[khaliss]

Hi all, new owner of a Rav4-EV that finally arrived today (after a week of waiting)! Thanks to Dianne (Carson Toyota) for providing the smoothest deal on a car purchase I've done so far... and to this forum for vast info that led me to pull the trigger! BEST car I've ever owned, gave up a red '08 Mitsubishi Evolution-X for this:

I'm 38yr old IT guy, with a wife & 4yr old daughter. Live in central California. Always been fascinated with EVs, since I saw "Who Killed the EC". Finally made the jump and not looking back!

2012 Rav4-EV (purchase) & 2013 Leaf S (base, lease)

Happy camper:

EvoX sold, terribly miss it... but the Rav4-EV stole my heart:

 

[TeCKis300]

Hi All. Better late than never to introduce myself.

Paul, 35, married, with a 3 yr old daughter and a son on his way in 2 months. Blizzard Pearl RAV4 EV brought home on 12/31/12 from a great purchasing experience with Garrett at Frank Toyota. I live in Scripps Ranch in San Diego, with a newly installed 4.8 kW solar system

The RAV4 is my wife's daily driver and our weekend run about.

 

[waidy]

My Name is Waidy Lee, ancient EV driver. Own/owned 6 EVs in my life, drove over 230K fossil fuel free miles (see http://www.waidy.com/ev). My collection of EVSE's in my garage can be viewed at http://www.waidy.com/evse, source of juicing my EVs is at http://www.waidy.com/solar.

I am known of driving hypermiling, don't follow me.

 

[Dsinned]

Waidy, if there were a "Green Advocacy Citizen of the Year" award, you would be a cinch to win it! :mrgreen:

 

[EVnewbie]

I'm Andrew, 38, married, two kids (4 and 2) living in Santa Monica having just moved here from NYC. We didn't really drive during the week in NY and decided to purchase an EV once we worked out that you need a second car in LA. If you live and work in Manhattan, your car use is much different. Typically we would only use our car to take long trips (over 100 miles) for the weekend out of town. Now, having to commute to work by car, our driving patterns are more suitable for EV use. So far, we've been pretty happy despite all the previously mentioned quirks. There are an abundance of chargers in Santa Monica, but they are usually in use. Still waiting to install an EVSE at home.

 

[the2bobs]

I'm Dan, 34, also married with two kids (4 and 1) living in Redondo Beach. I've been driving hybrids for over a decade (started with a '03 Honda Civic Hybrid and moved onto an '05 Prius) but am very excited to finally go electric. I should be getting a 3.68 kW PV array next month to offset my usage although I generally work from home and don't drive that much. I could have gotten by with a Leaf just fine but the Rav4 EV wasn't much more expensive and the extra room, range, and power made it a worthwhile upgrade for hauling my family around.

 

[jspearman]

James, 42, and my wife Marlene, + 11 yr old son. Had a Leaf, had serious degradation issues thanks to the extreme heat in PHX, and Nissan bought it back. Great car, just not ready for AZ or the Middle East. Drive that for 18 mos., then Tony Williams talked me into the RAV. Bought the RAV, leased a Volt for 3 years, but now wish we had two RAV's. It really has been the perfect car for us, and the range really hits the sweet spot in Phoenix, which is a sprawling metro winch never seems to end.

We lived in a small college town in Ohio until 2 years ago and only needed one car for trips into Columbus, but Phoenix, like LA, requires two cars. Even though I have a bus pass and bike a fair bit, you don't want to bike when it's 110 degrees, and the buses take forever to reach your destination.

We have 15.4 kW of solar installed, so even with 2 EV's we still overproduce. It's the most unsustainable city in America, so I felt we should overcompensate!

 

[waidy]

James, 42, and my wife Marlene, + 11 yr old son. Had a Leaf, had serious degradation issues thanks to the extreme heat in PHX, and Nissan bought it back. Great car, just not ready for AZ or the Middle East. Drive that for 18 mos., then Tony Williams talked me into the RAV. Bought the RAV, leased a Volt for 3 years, but now wish we had two RAV's. It really has been the perfect car for us, and the range really hits the sweet spot in Phoenix, which is a sprawling metro winch never seems to end.

We lived in a small college town in Ohio until 2 years ago and only needed one car for trips into Columbus, but Phoenix, like LA, requires two cars. Even though I have a bus pass and bike a fair bit, you don't want to bike when it's 110 degrees, and the buses take forever to reach your destination.

We have 15.4 kW of solar installed, so even with 2 EV's we still overproduce. It's the most unsustainable city in America, so I felt we should overcompensate!

Welcome and congrat!! By the way, there is no problem to own 2 Rav4EVs. I have two 2 Rav4EVs.

 

[Spiffster]

Now that I have a RAV4 EV (BP White) I guess I should introduce myself. Jeremy, 33. I think that we now have 1/2-3 RAV4 EVs in Colorado. Been into the EV scene for a handful of years even before we bought our first one (Volt) last summer. The RAV4 is for my wife, so Im still driving the Volt.

Anyway I also go by EmpulseBuyer over at brammoforum.com, and I have my own blog about the Brammo Empulse at http://www.empulsebuyer.com. (I created a few online apps there that you folks may like) We also have a 4.96kW solar system installed which, during the summer at least, offsets most of our energy usage.

My wife and I absolutely love the RAV4. I really like the fact that, at altitude, its probably one of the faster cars on the road out here. A total sleeper car. BTW, with very similar motor output and top speed between the RAV4 and the Volt, how is that the RAV4 is so much quicker? Is just it under-rated? This thing MOVES.

 

[TonyWilliams]

BTW, with very similar motor output and top speed between the RAV4 and the Volt, how is that the RAV4 is so much quicker? Is just it under-rated? This thing MOVES.

Welcome to the Rav4 EV. The Volt does not have 273 foot/lbs of torque!!!

I'm trying to get some EV bikes in this summer's EV rally from Canada to Mexico. Since Brammo is up near the start, maybe I'll call them and see if they want to enter.

 

[Spiffster]

BTW, with very similar motor output and top speed between the RAV4 and the Volt, how is that the RAV4 is so much quicker? Is just it under-rated? This thing MOVES.

Welcome to the Rav4 EV. The Volt does not have 273 foot/lbs of torque!!!

I'm trying to get some EV bikes in this summer's EV rally from Canada to Mexico. Since Brammo is up near the start, maybe I'll call them and see if they want to enter.

It doesn't? Most of what I can find on the web says that it is exactly 273lb/ft. Is that not true?

 

[Dsinned]

Tony, I own a VOLT, and it absolutely is rated at 273 lb-ft max. torque (in Sport Mode), exactly the same as the RAV4 EV. And both EVs have the same top speed in this mode as well (100mph). But, as you know, the RAV4 EV has a higher numerical gear ratio which gives it more torque multiplication to the driven wheels. This implies that the RAV4 EV's electric drive train has a higher max. "rpm" governor limit. This is the only explanation I can think of for why the RAV accelerates faster. Unfortunately, the specs for max. rpm are not given by either manufacturer.

This brings up the question of how are BEVs rated in terms of max. HP? The VOLT is rated at 149HP, while the RAV4 EV is 154HP. Perhaps, this can be explained by the difference in max. rpm. Max. torque is at zero rpm, so maybe HP is measured at the wheels since there is no flywheel ahead of the gear reduction.

Another factor here is that the VOLT has about a 250lb weight advantage, but it is certainly clear to me (and others here) that the RAV4 EV accelerates like a banshee outta hell, which is superior to any other currently in production EV out there with exception of Tesla Model S.