From a $1,000 boat to electric tractors and more, these are the wildest EVs I tested this year
Here at Electrek, I have the dubious honor of testing the more fringe offerings on the electric vehicle spectrum. Instead of the newest Tesla or Rivian, you’ll often find me on the newest electric motorcycle, boat, or non-road-worthy electric contraption.
This year was no different, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Here are the top five weird, wild, or just plain lovable electric vehicles I tested in 2023.
A $1,000 electric boat ordered direct-from-China
Believe it or not, this is the real deal. I even have the $1,080 receipt to prove it. I bought the world’s cheapest five-seater fiberglass electric boat and brought it all the way over from China.
The tale was long and not for the faint of heart, and ultimately cost me significantly more than the original $1k purchase price when I had to pay for freight, customs, taxes, drayage, etc., but it was well worth it in the end.
On delivery, I finally received a massive wooden crate and got to work unboxing my new pleasure craft.
It took a serious amount of work just to get the thing out of the crate, and even then I had some assembly on my hands followed by wiring in my own batteries. But it ultimately worked out quite well, and a few days later I was easing that boat into the local pond like an old man into a warm bath.
The underpowered motor could barely maintain 3 knots, partially due to the half-submerged propellor trying to push nearly as much air as water, but the boat was still a delight to putter around on. The fiberglass isn’t beautiful, but is still surprisingly good for $1,000.
And of course, the boat makes a perfect platform for modification, of which I already have big plans. I have a new motor that should significantly increase the power and efficiency of the boat, as well as some solar plans in the works as well. Hopefully, 2024 brings that project to fruition, and we’ll finally be able to see what this boat is capable of with a little more power in her stern. Stay tuned for that update!
Testing a Citroen Ami
The Citroen Ami is far from new or spectacular, at least if you live in Europe. But seeing as I don’t, the chance to rent one on vacation meant that I could finally experience all that a street-legal European tiny car has to offer.
My wife and I spent a week exploring the Greek island of Santorini purely by Ami, using that little micro-car for all of our daily travel and sightseeing.
Instead of renting a loud and obnoxious ATV like most of the tourists seemed to do, we were relaxing in a similarly fast and powerful (i.e. not either of those things) little four-wheeled vehicle.
Sure, it had some oddities. The symmetrical design took some getting used to, as did the lack of ABS and the spartan interior. And finding charging outlets on a Greek island isn’t as easy as it sounds (and it doesn’t sound easy, either). But for a simple and easy-going ride, it was a great way to get around and indeed replaced the need for a “real” car for us.
I don’t think it’d work great for a family of five. But fortunately, we’re living it up on Team No Kids and have enjoyed using two-seaters and one-saddles for most of our vacation shenanigans. If you’re one of a maximum of two people and need to get around at purely city speeds, a microcar like a Citroen Ami has a lot of pull!
Testing out an electric wheel loader
When it comes to backyard construction equipment – stuff smaller than a massive backhoe or bulldozer – there just aren’t many options. If you want to go electric, there are even fewer options.
And yet I somehow still managed to find one of the best, and only, options out there for electric heavy machinery designed for the average Joe.
Or perhaps more accurately, I found two of the best options: the Nesher L880 and L1400 electric wheel loaders.
These 2,500 lb and 4,500 lb machines are surprisingly effective for all sorts of smaller-scale jobs. I don’t think they’d fit the needs of a major contractor doing 8 hours of heavy-duty construction work every day. But I did do a full discharge test of moderate intensity work (moving pallets and digging in dirt/mulch/sand) and got an approximately 6-hour run time on the L1400.
For everyone from hobby farm operators to private land owners, these feel like a good option for right-sized machinery that come with all the advantages of electric vehicles. The operating costs are almost zero (charging costs around $1.50 to $2.00 depending on local rates), maintenance is nearly zero, and they are much quieter to operate. You’re also not breathing in diesel fumes for hours at a time.
I can definitely see how electric is the future of the construction industry, even it is more than likely going to start on the smaller end of the spectrum. I don’t think we’ll see an electric D9 bulldozer for a few more years, but you can already get a great electric mini-loader or tractor today.
Riding around in a Polaris RANGER XP Kinetic UTV
The off-road industry may not be going electric as quickly as the automotive industry, but there are already some great options. Chief among them is the Polaris RANGER XP Kinetic, an electric side-by-side that combines decades of Polaris engineering with the electric prowess of Zero Motorcycle’s drivetrains.
Polaris incorporated those motorcycle drivetrains into their top-of-the-line UTVs, adding several key changes along the way to make them even more robust.
The result is a seriously fun and hard-working platform that can tend to the ranch all week and then go muddin’ for fun on the weekend. Having tested the vehicles on multiple occasions, most recently when visiting the Huntsville, Alabama factory where they’re made, I can tell you firsthand how well they work.
With a powerful drivetrain and up to two electric motorcycle batteries, long-range and high power combine for the best of what utility vehicles are designed to do: get the job done.
To see what it was like to test these vehicles, check out my riding experience video below!
The Lectric XP Trike turns an electric bike into an electric vehicle
Electric bicycles will always be my first true love, but this is the year that I fell head-over-heels in love with electric tricycles, too.
There are great offerings in the industry, including highly engineered models like the RadTrike and ultra-budget offerings like the Viribus, but the Lectric XP Trike takes the cake as the best bang-for-your-buck option with a great design and excellent performance for a killer price.
I was able to put the trike through its paces, starting from the first unboxing to full use cases. Even right from the start, the XP Trike is easy to use by arriving fully assembled. From there, the comfortable design offers great performance with an industry-leading battery capacity and a powerful mid-drive motor setup.
It’s not the most elegant mid-drive, opting for a hub motor mounted centrally in the frame, but it creates a great setup with a rear differential and even comes with handy features like hydraulic disc brakes complete with a parking brake.
Not everyone is ready to switch from two-wheels to three, but I did enjoy the extra stability and the fun ride. Sure, e-trikes are more prevalent among older riders, but even as a thirty-something, I still love riding the hell out of that thing!
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The storm hit. The power’s out. With all the damage around you, it looks like you might be without power for a few days (at least). But you planned for this. You have a home backup battery. What happens now?
If you’re considering a home backup battery, or you already have one and haven’t needed it yet, you might be wondering what you’re supposed to do when the inevitable happens. The good news is: you probably won’t have to do much at all.
Whether you’ve got an industry standard like the Tesla Powerwall, one of the new GM Energy Storage Bundles, or any of the other excellent home battery systems on the market, from your point of view they’ll function in pretty much the same way.
Step 1: do nothing
Modern home batteries are paired with an automatic transfer switch. That’s a switch, usually installed near your home’s electrical panel, that allows you to go from grid power, to battery, and back. And, because it’s automatic, you don’t have to do anything at all.
The instant the grid goes down, the automatic transfer switch recognizes the loss of power and automagically disconnects your house from the grid, seamlessly connecting it to your backup battery instead. Your lights stay on, the refrigerator keeps humming, and whatever else you’ve chosen to back up just keeps on keeping on. In some cases, the transition to battery power happens so smoothly that you might not even realize the neighborhood’s lost power, not noticing the neighbors’ dark windows until you step outside.
When the power comes back, that side of the switch gets energized, and it does its thing again, only in reverse – switching you back from battery to grid power and intelligently re-charging the battery in anticipation for the next blackout.
How long will my battery last?
Unfortunately, this is one of those questions that doesn’t have an easy answer. In the simplest terms, if you have a small battery and try to keep the AC running, you might run out of juice in a few hours. On the other hand, if you have great big battery and save its electrons for just the barest essentials (a few lights, a laptop, and a phone or radio, for example) you might never run out of power.
To put some numbers to that, a 31 cu. ft. Samsung RF32CG5400SRAA stainless steel refrigerator is rated at 785 kWh/year. That works out to about 2.15 kWh/day. Factor in 20-40% higher energy needs for warmer temperatures, a few daily door openings, defrost cycles, inverter losses, etc. and you’re looking at 18-22 kWh of usable battery capacity to keep that thing running for a full week on battery power. Now do that same math for every appliance you deem a “must have,” then do the “nice to haves,” and on down the line.
That doesn’t even address the other form of “last,” and whether you’re looking for a ten- or twenty- year battery solution.
What you need to do, in other words, is talk to the experts. Let them know what appliances you need to keep running, how long you want to prepare for, and let them do the math to help determine which battery solution is right for you.
I’ve included a video that covers the process of picking a solar battery from EnergySage (a trusted affiliate partner), below, and invite you to share some of your own backup battery-picking experiences in the comments.
How to pick a solar battery
Original content from Electrek.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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Just days after Chevrolet beat the mighty Ford Mustang GTD’s Nürburgring track record with their Corvette ZR1 and ZR1X, Ford went back to the ‘Ring to reclaim some glory. They didn’t bring a Mustang along, though – they showed up with an electric van, and record-setting hot shoe Romain Dumas behind the wheel.
* it’s not your typical van. It’s a SuperVan.
Ford took back a fair bit of Chevy’s headline-grabbing glory this week when LeMans-winning driver Romain Dumas lapped the 12.9 mile Green Hell in just 6 minutes and 48.393 seconds – a blazing performance that makes the 2000 hp Ford SuperVan 4.2 the ninth fastest car to ever blast around the storied German racetrack.
Dumas is no stranger to the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife. He was first overall at the 2007 24 hour race there. He also holds the outright Nürburgring track record for EVs, which he set back in 2019 behind the wheel of the Volkswagen ID.R, completing the circuit in 6 minutes and 05.336 driving the Volkswagen ID.R.
The new ‘Ring-record comes just a few weeks after Ford beat out every other supercar at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK with its all-electric SuperTruck, crushing the “competition” with their 1,400 hp prototype EV silhouette racer.
No word yet on what track record Ford plans to snatch with an EV next.
Electrek’s Take
If there were still Ford guys and Chevy guys, I like to think I’d be a Mopar guy – but even from the sidelines, I can tell that Chevy’s been having a rough couple of weeks, performance-wise. Not only did their top-shelf ZR1X get beaten by a Ford van (even if it is a SuperVan), but their clean sheet, future-thinking, pie-in-the-sky concept Corvette got beat to the hypercar headlines by a Chinese rival with 1,000 extra hp.
Take my advice, GM: it’s time to drag Warren Mosler back home from the Virgin Islands, figure out where Rod Trenne’s hiding, and get them to build you a proper, 900 kg electric ‘Vette. Y’all let me know if you need help setting that up.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Ford.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
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EV drivers who use the Pennsylvania Turnpike just got a jolt of good news: Two Applegreen DC fast charging stations have come online, adding to the growing network of over 60 EV chargers along the 360-mile toll road that links Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia.
The new 400 kW Applegreen Electric charging stations are at the PA Turnpike’s North Somerset (MP 112.3 westbound) and South Somerset (MP 112.3 eastbound) Service Plazas. Each site includes two DC fast chargers for a total of four charging ports, with two NACS and two CCS plugs at each service plaza. The PA Turnpike says the sites are equipped to be expanded.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike plugged in its first EV charger in April 2014. A decade later, more than 60 charging stations are online at eight of its service plazas, giving EV drivers a reliable boost across the state. And thanks to a new partnership with Applegreen Electric, 80 new universal EV chargers are on the way. By 2027, all 17 service plazas will feature DC fast chargers.
“We are pleased to offer our EV customers convenient access to the latest, fastest technology – without leaving the PA Turnpike,” said Director of Facilities Operations Keith Jack.
The EV chargers at North Somerset and South Somerset, along with an EV charger at the Hickory Run Service Plaza scheduled to open this fall, were funded with grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Driving PA Forward program. The chargers at nine service plazas scheduled to open in 2027 are being funded through grants from the Biden administration’s federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program.
Applegreen Electric chief executive Eugene Moore noted that the PA Turnpike’s fast charger rollout “marks a key step in building a connected corridor with Pennsylvania as a vital part of the seamless network that now spans New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Delaware. With more to come soon in Ohio and Massachusetts, we’re accelerating the rollout of reliable, accessible EV infrastructure across the region.”
Applegreen is deploying fast chargers on the New Jersey Turnpike, with which it now has an exclusive agreement – it’s taking over from Tesla.
The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
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