Electric cars are growing in popularity all over the world, and it’s no surprise – they’re quiet, easy to drive and smooth in acceleration, but which one to choose?
Whether we like it or not, this electrified trend will only intensify in the near future. The main thing that has kept customers from choosing an electric car so far is the short duration of the trip on one charge and infrastructure problems. However, these issues are not so acute in modern models – the mileage of 300 km is the norm, and the number of charging stations on roads is growing like mushrooms after the rain.
So, which e-cars should be considered for purchase in 2019? Here’s a list made by auto expert, James Smith at the Best Arny blog.
Hyundai Ioniq
Ioniq is a modern budget model that can be purchased with three different electrified powertrain options:
- soft hybrid;
- chargeable hybrid;
- fully electric version.
The last version has a quite comfortable interior, where there are no longer those “good old” hard panels and poor design as if intentionally scaring off customers. You can even order premium equipment and heated front seats. In addition, a mileage of 280 km on a single charge is quite enough for daily trips around the city and its suburbs.
BMW i3
The model exists for about six years on the market, which means that the manufacturer has already dealt with all the “infantine diseases”. As for the design, i3 still looks modern and also has a unique body with carbon and aluminum components that compensate for the weight of lithium-ion batteries.
Of course, in six years the model has become a little outdated technically, but after the last upgrade, it has become better driven, and the range of mileage has increased to 255 km per charge – not the most outstanding figure, but quite sufficient for urban conditions.
Tesla Model X
At first glance, an electric family SUV looks like a dream come true, offering exterior design and Range Rover luxury with green energy savings from Tesla. Of course, in terms of appearance, great battery life, and practical interior – there are no questions for this Model X – it’s almost the best in the class. Still not ideal, though, because the entry-level versions are quite simple in the interior. On the other hand, even the basic version allows you to drive up to 380 km on a single charge, while the top models can drive up to 475 which is quite enough even for long distance trips.
Volkswagen e-Golf
As Volkswagen prepares for large-scale electrification and the launch of a range of electric vehicles, including minibusses and crossovers, customers are offered an electric version of e-Golf which, unlike BMW i3 or Nissan Leaf models, is based on an ordinary hatchback. On the other hand, it’s not bad, and, in the case of e-Golf, even good because the car has all the advantages of the classic and most popular in Europe hatchback, along with fuel economy of the electric model. Mileage is classical for the given class – 300 km per charge.
Renault Zoe
The main strength of the French e-car is that it looks like a normal, stylish and a kind of fun hatch, and is also relatively cheap for the current market.
The power of the electric motor Zoe is quite enough to win traffic light jerks. The interior space and the volume of the trunk are large enough in comparison with the models of the same class. Plus, Renault promises that the updated model, which soon will appear in salons, will be able to cover up to 400 km per charge, what makes it, in fact, Tesla.
Tesla Model S
Speaking of Tesla. With all due respect to Renault, the American company, which has already become an icon of electric cars in the modern world, is still ahead of its competitors in terms of technical, design and marketing strategy, and the Model S is almost ideal e-car of today in terms of price/quality ratio.
Judge for yourself – quite a spacious sedan with a well-done interior and smart information stuffing which gives the opportunity to control every part of the car through a 17-inch display. The cherry on top of the whole thing is acceleration up to 100 km in 4.1 seconds and a range of 500 km per charge.
LeBron seemed sincere in his opening press conference for the season, and it’s a fair point to not want to help players that aren’t helping you win a championship. The thing is, LeBron has been giving advice to all kinds of young players in a very public manner after games. We saw it with Lonzo Ball. The very next game against the Jazz we saw him and Dwayne Wade pull another rookie, Donovan Mitchell, aside and give him a short lecture. You might remember last year when he did the same thing with a rookie Jaylen Brown.
Before Kobe Bryant became a Laker, he was a lifelong fan of the organization. He watched old tapes of the Lakers-Celtics Finals as a kid, and grew to hate the Celtics as much as he loved the Lakers. So when the Celtics called him in for a workout, he was reluctant, but he did it. According to Celtics management at the time, he was more than impressive. But they wanted somebody who could come in and contribute right away. Bryant was a high schooler that needed to develop his game further. So, the Celtics passed on him with the 6th pick and went with Antoine Walker. Kobe was drafted 13th by the Hornets, immediately traded to the Lakers, and the rest is history.
The Celtics won by 39 and the Celtics were NBA champs again. Paul Pierce won Finals MVP, and solidified himself as a true Celtics Legend with the help of his new all-star teammates. Kobe watched the team he hated most celebrate, and was already thinking about getting revenge. He averaged 25.7 points, 5 assists and 4.7 rebounds on 40.5% shooting to Pierce’s 21.8 points, 6.3 assists and 4.5 rebounds behind 43.2% shooting.
“I learned my lesson my rookie year, when I was talking to him. He fouled me out in like 7 or 8 minutes. From that point on, I knew I couldn’t talk to him. He was kind of buttering me up. He’s asking me where am I from, how you doing young fella? Where you from? I like your heart, young fella. Before you know it he’s head faked you three times and got the and one off the backboard, came off the pick and roll and dunked on you.” -Tony Allen
That reality smacked everyone in the face after a blowout loss to the then 5-20 Bulls. Even rookie sensation Jayson Tatum had a truly poor all-around game for seemingly the first time in his career. In the next game against the Nuggets, the C’s gave up a season high 118 points. Tatum did bounce back with the swagger of a vet, however, contributing in his uniquely important role for a rookie. Back to his usual self, he made selective but big plays all game long, and they found a way to win. Kyrie also once again showed what he can do in the clutch. Still, you have to wonder how far a team can go relying on late-game heroics with such consistency.
Speaking of epic, he’s done some amazing things on the court already in his young career. The dagger stepback 3 in game 7 of the 2016 Finals immediately comes to mind. This year for the Celtics, he’s become as good a closer as Isaiah Thomas was last season. That’s saying something considering IT earned the nickname, King In The Fourth, after averaging nearly 10 points in the 4th quarter alone. Kyrie is proving he can step up for the big moments at the end of the game, what he calls “winning time.”
It really is amazing how calm and confident Kyrie is in the clutch. As a fan, I feel confident when he has the ball late, and the fate of the game is in his hands. It makes you wonder if we’ve been looking at Kyrie, the man, all wrong. Maybe he has it together more than any of us. He knows the naysayers will always be around, so he doesn’t care about the media. He knows at the end of the day they’ll have their own story, far removed from the picture he would paint, if only he had the brush. It makes sense.