I would love to have something like this as a daily driver. But I think we need to be realistic about Elio Motors.
I would've loved one too, 6 years ago... That same $7500 will buy you a solid used Jetta and can net you 40+mpg interstate with passengers. Prizm/Corolla even cheaper and same results. Depending on initial spend you can buy a TON of fuel at roughly $2.50 a gallon with the savings. Parts and maintenance are going to be easier also. You already know resale was going to be nothing.
But but but, late last year, they said they were going to be doubling production in 2019......... oh..wait. 2x0 still = 0. Ponzi scheme. Should have named it Madoff Motors.
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It only costs $6,800. That’s about what you would pay for an outboard motor to power a rowboat.
$6,800 for a pair of oars?
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 04-07-2019).]
But but but, late last year, they said they were going to be doubling production in 2019......... oh..wait. 2x0 still = 0. Ponzi scheme. Should have named it Madoff Motors.
$6,800 for a pair of oars?
Estimated base model is now $7450 and that's with the 25% early buyer discount. $10k will buy a nice ass eco box and you can have it today. No way to seriously justify this purchase at today's gas prices. We've had salesman that drive a thousand miles a week, but that's all they do. I've delivered pizzas and don't even recall putting down that many miles. This is a ridiculously impractical machine now. I see smart cars similarly. Awful MPG and expensive. No room at all. I'm not even going into the whole too small in a wreck thing,.
Originally posted by ls3mach: I would've loved one too, 6 years ago... That same $7500 will buy you a solid used Jetta and can net you 40+mpg interstate with passengers.
Ironically, my daily driver is a Jetta TDI, which gets over 40 mpg. I bought it a couple years ago, got tired of waiting for the Elio.
PS - You can also get a good used Prius in that price range. And they're common as dirt. So replacement parts shouldn't be hard to find.
I would've loved one too, 6 years ago... That same $7500 will buy you a solid used Jetta and can net you 40+mpg interstate with passengers. Prizm/Corolla even cheaper and same results. Depending on initial spend you can buy a TON of fuel at roughly $2.50 a gallon with the savings. Parts and maintenance are going to be easier also. You already know resale was going to be nothing.
I get 45 out of my Prius, with the cruise set at 85 going back and forth from Missouri to Michigan. And I spent much less than 7500 on her.
The bonus is that now I'm better than everyone else.
Ironically, my daily driver is a Jetta TDI, which gets over 40 mpg. I bought it a couple years ago, got tired of waiting for the Elio.
PS - You can also get a good used Prius in that price range. And they're common as dirt. So replacement parts shouldn't be hard to find.
We own a TSi, that was where my figures carne from. My buddy has a TDi and claims to average in the 50s. Diesel fuel and maintenance obviously being more. Can't say where the break even point would be. VW is number one in the world for a reason. We dig ours.
I get 45 out of my Prius, with the cruise set at 85 going back and forth from Missouri to Michigan. And I spent much less than 7500 on her.
The bonus is that now I'm better than everyone else.
When you bought that used was the included dental damn also used? For only a couple extra MPG over the couple I listed I wouldn't take on the extra associated battery issues. Replacement and regenerative braking are just an added potential expense for little or no gain. Our Jetta is peppy as hell compared to any Prius I've ever driven. 180hp 1.8 turbo. Well into the 200HP with just a few bucks on a chip. Regardless, your statement makes the same point. I'm not trying to act like 84 MPG wouldn't be epic, but it is still science fiction at this point 6 years later.
A friend has a Polaris Slingshot which is pretty much the same thing only with side by side seating and no top. Ive messed with it a few times and hated it. I dont know what the gas mileage is since Ive never driven it more than a few miles at a time. I do know it will light up the rear tire pretty easily (by mistake anyway). I wouldnt want to own one...but thats just my opinion.
Originally posted by ls3mach: My buddy has a TDi and claims to average in the 50s. Diesel fuel and maintenance obviously being more. Can't say where the break even point would be.
Nice. Mine has "only" averaged about 44.5 mpg over the last ~20k miles. That's mostly city driving. I calculated the cost of ownership (fuel, maintenance, registration, insurance, etc) at just over 15 cents a mile.
When you bought that used was the included dental damn also used? For only a couple extra MPG over the couple I listed I wouldn't take on the extra associated battery issues. Replacement and regenerative braking are just an added potential expense for little or no gain. Our Jetta is peppy as hell compared to any Prius I've ever driven. 180hp 1.8 turbo. Well into the 200HP with just a few bucks on a chip. Regardless, your statement makes the same point. I'm not trying to act like 84 MPG wouldn't be epic, but it is still science fiction at this point 6 years later.
I dug into the battery issues that people brought up, and I didn't find anything that showed it was actually a thing. On the first Generation it was an issue, as was the transmission. There are fleets of the second gen and newer being used as Taxis with over 500k average on the clock, and no battery issues. I'm sure it happens, there are always exceptions, but I'm not worried about it.
At most I will have to replace the battery pack, and it'll cost me around a grand, likely less by then. Compare that to my "rock solid" Lincoln that was running 4 grand a year in repairs, and still had problems when I traded it for the Prius. My Van cost me 3 grand last year and it's a common GMC. My Prius hasn't cost me a dime other than oil changes since I purchased it. The same for my wife's Toyota Avalon.
It's not super peppy for sure, but I actually have a lot of fun driving it. It's like a golf cart that goes 100 MPH! .... I mean, the speed limit, it goes right up to the speed limit and not a smidge more. I think I have somewhere around 80 HP under the hood of it, and the computer limits the torque from the electric so it doesn't tear it up.
