I was one of the guys that was kind of a jerk when it came to EV cars. I was one of the guys that would kind of scoff at anyone in a Prius and wasn't really on board with the size of the batteries and what not. I thought somehow that this was a system that wasn't going to work and that we were digging our own graves by attempting to persuade the population into buying these.
I didn't have any idea my parents were involved in getting one but the thing is with them, they were kind of anti-EV-without-really-knowing-why-they-are as well. I think it is just distrust of the system on my part and perhaps theirs as well. Face it, these cars haven't been around long enough for us to really know what they are all about and honestly, we still don't really know. I guess we will all find out in 10 years or so. We will either be really upset that we let ourselves fall into a financial trap or the batteries will hold up and it will be a wonderful vehicle decision.
My parents didn't take the choice lightly though and the definitely do their homework when it comes to any purchase that involves a great deal of money. But this BYD Song Plus has been just incredible in their minds and I had my doubts even before I turned up but after being in this car almost daily for a week or so and driving it just a little bit I can confirm that this is a really really good car.
I remember thinking, perhaps foolishly that the car was going to be slow. It is definitely not that. I had a Toyota Supra at one point in my past and this thing's acceleration easily rivals that. It's roomy inside, the seat are comfy, and while we are all still figuring out a lot of the digital controls (I can see that being a problem if anything ever goes wrong with that) the things we have figured out properly have all been wonderful.
It has been a while since I had to back up into a tight parking spot and when that was something I did do on a regular basis I was better than most at it. With the BYC backup cameras and what not, this is something that you can't really screw up unless you are trying to do so. The sensors tell you exactly how far you are from everything, and there is a little vector drawing on the display that shows you where your car is going to end up if you continue along the path that you are currently heading in.
There have been many times in the past where from my perspective in the driver's seat I thought I was mere centimeters from taking the bumper off the car next to me when backing out of a parking spot but with these cameras and sensors you know EXACTLY how much space you are dealing with. This is just amazing.
Yesterday we were caught in some "stop and go" traffic because of Mexican Independence Day and this can be really annoying, especially if you are in a stick shift. But yesterday is when my Dad, who was driving, found out that you can completely take your feet off the pedals in this sort of traffic situation and the car does the "stop and go" action for you. We are not fools so he still kept his foot hovering near the pedals but it looks like that wasn't really necessary. The car keeps the necessary distance and conservatively handles the traffic without issue.
There are other perks such as having seat air conditioning to keep your back and butt cool, which would always be nice, and while they are still working on it and aren't a huge fan of this side of technology anyway, you can say "Hey BYD" and then ask it just about anything and it will tell it to you. For example you could say "Hey BYD, open the GPS to get me to the nearest Starbucks" and it would do so without you ever needing to touch the display. By the way my family would never go to Starbucks that is just an example that I think everyone can relate to.
This EV is a hybrid. My parents were quite particular about that because they live in a rather remote part of Mexico and they cannot find themselves in a situation where the battery is going to run out and they are going to be stranded. When the car switches over to petrol/gasoline the motion of the engine or something that I don't really understand, also charges the batter somehow with movement and therefore getting stranded is something you would really have to work on to make happen. It goes from a dead battery to a full batter in 4 hours if it is plugged in at home as well.
Mexico isn't great for having charging stations, especially down where they live, but there are some. Mostly they just charge it while it is in the driveway and then forget about it.
The thing about this car that was really appealing to me is that fact that it isn't super-expensive like I thought it would be. When they were car shopping it was actually a bit cheaper than cars that don't have any EV aspect to them.
I can find no fault with these vehicles and other than me being a bit worried about the fact that they haven't been around long enough for the population to truly know what their longevity will be like, they do seem like the future to me.
I have no need for owning a vehicle where I live so I am not going to be in the market any time soon but I have to say that after a week of being in this thing daily and also seeing how very easy it is to drive, that I am a convert for sure.
My folks were one of the last people in Mexico to be able to get a BYD with some sort of upcoming governmental trade agreements that I don't know anything about and I hope that can get worked out so that they aren't stuck with a car that nobody can work on! I suppose that is my only concern at this point. Stupid government seems to be really dead set on ruining anything that they can!