Yep. The Chevy Bolt (not EUV version) was the absolute perfect size in EVs - nice compact hatchback, plenty of storage room, still a standard 5-seat layout (albeit the seats were... not the most comfortable ever), could park it absolutely anywhere even in Seattle, excellent.
I sold that car in 2020. Fast forward about 4 years and the EV market is all just soulless massive tanks needing Oversized Load flagging trucks to go through narrow tunnels /halfjoke
+1 on the Bolt EV. I've been riding passenger in one pretty often lately, and it seems pretty damn good for a GM econobox EV. Not overboard in the crazy vaporware/unfinished tech garbage like a Tesla, and the 200hp/3500lbs is totally adequate. Could use a bit more range, but it's enough for most peeps IMO.
I've always been a fun and sporty 2-door coupe kind of person. I'm not aware of any EVs that fit that description and don't cost several arms and legs for some damn reason.
Weight (and the battery capacity to deal with it) is a major factor in EVs; we should be seeing things like Ford Focus wagon EV, Honda Fit EV, Toyota Corolla EV.
But everything we have now was planned assuming zero interest rates forever and that consumers will always demand more technology regardless of what it does.
Have y'all seen the photos of the new version of Apple Car Play in a Porsche? It's like nobody ever stopped and said "wait, is this a car that people are going to drive? Or a really uncomfortable workstation?"
The Nissan Leaf is a nice size for an around town EV. I currently have a twenty year old truck that I need for a side hustle, along with normal household and yard work, but I really hate using it for all those short trips to the grocery store, the library, and anything else nearby that doesn't involve moving around a large, heavy, or messy objects.
The economics of having a Leaf as a second vehicle just doesn't work very well, especially since my primary job is a remote work from home one which requires no daily commute. Used Leafs, even with batteries in terrible shape that will need an expensive replacement, are priced too high and the days of being able to add additional vehicles to an insurance policy for little cost appear to be gone. From an environmental point of view, using the truck for short trips probably is net better than having an entirely different vehicle, even if it's an EV, but it always feels wrong.
We've got a 2005 CR-V and a 2015 Nissan LEAF for our 4 person family and it's pretty ideal. There are enough days where we both need a car (often because kid #1 is doing X at Y and kid #2 is doing M at N and we need both cars to get both Y and N).
The LEAF gets the bulk of the random nearby errands and still has ~70 miles of range (62-65 in winter). Our total insurance is $1220/yr for two cars, two drivers, and substantially higher than standard coverage limits. In 9 years and 25K miles, the LEAF has needed wipers twice, washer fluid, one tire plug, and is about to need 2 tires. That's ideal for the guy who turns all the wrenches on the family car. (The Honda is low maintenance, but the LEAF is nearly zero.)
