July 2020. Central Valley, CA.
We bought our first EV in 2013: a new 2012 Toyota Rav4 EV. We absolutely loved that car. The Rav was our daily driver and #1 family car. In July 2020, after 7+ years and 88,000 miles of travel, we sold our Rav. This was the end of a chapter for us, but the beginning of a new chapter for another family. This short post recaps our thoughts on this car and how selling our 7 year old EV worked for us.
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July 2021. Monterey, CA.
Five years ago we drove our Rav4 EV to Monterey to cool off and visit the aquarium. We’d added QC Charge‘s JdeMO DC charging port to our Rav, which greatly reduced charging time and made the trip doable. The kids got to see the Monterey Bay Aquarium and other landmark buildings in the area. Great trip, and all electric thanks to QC Charge.
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This review was originally published in 2014 on the Transport Evolved website. The review was based on my experiences after driving the all-electric 2012 Rav4 EV for one year.
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This review was originally published in 2014 on the Transport Evolved website. The review was based on my experiences after driving the all-electric 2012 Rav4 EV for one year.
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This review was originally published in 2014 on the Transport Evolved website. The review was based on my experiences after driving the all-electric 2012 Rav4 EV for one year.
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January 2016. Sierra Nevadas, California.
This article was originally posted on the Transport Evolved website in January 2016.
We live in California’s Central Valley about 100 miles from beautiful spots in the Sierra Nevadas, and we try to get up there as often as possible. Our town sits just above sea level, so traveling to the Sierras involves a climb of 7000 feet. This could be a problem for EVs that have 80-100 miles of range and no options for rapid DC charging, especially in the winter.
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September 2015. California
This article was published on the Transport Evolved website in 2015 after we added a DC Quick charging port to our 2012 Toyota Rav4 EV.
While market share of electric cars still has a way to go, the number of electric cars on the road today has reached the point where companies are springing up to serve the needs of electric car drivers. Third party companies sell aftermarket accessories, home charging stations, mobile charging cords and more.
Now, we can add to that list a DC quick charging port for the 2012-2014 Toyota Rav4 EV.
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April 2020. California.
Have you wondered how much of a difference it would make for the environment if you started driving electric? This year for Earth Day I analyzed our data from 15 years of driving to compare the carbon emissions produced by the gas-powered and electric cars we’ve owned.
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May 2020. California.
We bought our Rav4 EV seven years ago today. Never before did we remember or mark the day we bought a new car, but we do love the Rav4. This EV continues to do it’s job very well for us. It’s a very good commuting car and has plenty of storage for family duties, shopping, and regional camping trips.
The 2012-2014 Toyota Rav4 EV range estimate (the “86 miles” shown below on the left side of the dashboard) gives you a rough idea of how far you can drive.
July 2018. California and Nevada.
Since getting our first electric car 5 years ago we’ve taken our EV on summer road trips. Last week we took our first road trip in our Model 3. How was it? We saw some great sites, interesting history, and beautiful vistas. Continue reading
December 2018
This post is short on words, long on pictures to give you an idea of what it’s been like for us to live with the all electric Rav4 EV for the past 5+ years, and how an electric car may fit into your life. I initially posted these pics in June 2016, and updated the post in November 2018 to add some pics and a couple thoughts as more affordable, longer range electric cars are showing up on the roads. Continue reading