Hooniverse Asks: Which brand is doing “the EV thing” the best?

With a question like that, you could easily make a point that Tesla is the one doing it the best. By “it”, I’m referring to the development, building, and sales of electric vehicles. But the rest of the field is catching up and it will be very interesting to see what Tesla does to combat this. An army of loyal fans and essentially its own social media network will help, but there are now many great alternatives to a Tesla product if you want an electric vehicle. So who out there is doing it the best?

Ford is diving in strong with its Mach-E and the nearly here F-150 Lightning. Kia and Hyundai have a handful of offerings, tethered by their respective EV6 and Ioniq 5. Both of those are excellent vehicles. Volvo has big plans for the Polestar brand, BMW is ready to deliver a flagship electric with its i7, and Mercedes-Benz wants to make big moves with the EQ family of vehicles.

Which automaker out there is doing “the EV thing” the best, and why? Sound off below!

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7 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: Which brand is doing “the EV thing” the best?”

  1. Sjalabais Avatar
    Sjalabais

    Your illustration pretty much answers the question for me…the EV6 is extremely well designed: Spacious, ergonomic, it feels luxurious, drives very well and even looks good. It’s also priced very competitively and the 800V infrastructure pretty much removes most concerns about fast charging (even though EV owners know you’ll mostly charge your car at home or at work). A big bonus compared to countless other offerings is that someone actually tested this before it made production, and the most needed functions are available as buttons, not hidden in a screen.

    But there’s still something about Tesla that cannot be denied: Their software and product are a step in front of everyone still when it comes to efficiency. This is all the more impressive given that this has been a fact for years. It’s all the more clear if contrasted to a poorly designed EV like the Polestar 2, which has a significantly higher power consumption.

    My absolute favourite about the EV wave though is the choice it brings with it. From MW Motors to Hongqi to any big brand trying their interpretation…there’s just so much to choose from! And there are few bad apples.

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      It will be interesting to see how Tesla does now that they are no longer ‘first to market’ with the CyberTruck (vs F-150 Lightning).

  2. wunno sev Avatar
    wunno sev

    Tesla. i really dig the cars, even though not everyone does. but you can’t argue with the charger network. that’s doing the EV thing right.

  3. mdharrell Avatar
    mdharrell

    I’m heading out tomorrow morning to tow my 1977 Lyman Electric Quad to the California Automobile Museum so it can be part of a three-month exhibit on the history of EVs, so I feel obligated to say the correct answer is, or at least was, Lyman Metal Products (Electric Division) of Norwalk, Connecticut.

  4. Joe Avatar

    Tesla got the jump on the other manufacturers, but Henry Ford wasn’t the first to build cars. I think that whatever gap Tesla has now will be eliminated in the next few years. Whomever comes up with a solar powered electric car first may get a corner on that market.

  5. I_Borgward Avatar
    I_Borgward

    Not having driven any of the current herd of EVs, I can only go by what I read and see. That said, the Kias look to have the most practical overall packaging of the lot so far.

    But, I just spotted my first Ford E-Transit van out in the wild today. I’d already half-configured it into a camper in my mind by the time it disappeared into a parking lot.

    1. Sjalabais Avatar
      Sjalabais

      A good sized, square roof should make for an easy solar setup on a van like that. Around here, the BYD cargo vans have become quite popular. Very cheap, in all senses of the word.