Lou B

Surveys show over 45% of EV owners thinking hard about switching back to ICE cars due to lack of charging facilities.

Crito

You mean in the USA. In China over 50% of all cars sold are now EVs.


Thank God China is saving the planet from global warming because Democrats sure aren't.

MB37

Hell no. Why go backward? I got a few ICE that should last another 10 years.

Lou B

China is one of the three worst pollutors world-wide.
Plus, they are determined to damage the USA in any way possible.

c4004matic

I've bought 2 hybrids since buying the EQS one for our kid and one for the wife.. For myself, Im NEVER going back. The EQS is the best car I've ever driven. BTW its in for the first warranty repair the AC is not cooling.

dmstl

When it costs under $10 to charge it back to full in my OWN garage, why would I want to an ICE requiring $4-$6 per gallon premium totaling $70-$100 to refuel the tank? High but falling cost of the EV aside, instant acceleration is addictive! While the “first gen” EQS may not be as luxe as an S-class or my former first edition A8, it’s a pretty nice ride, and I’m happy with the lease so far.

lkfoster

I'm not, rather I didn't switch back. The EQS replaced an Audi e-tron six months ago.

LAZARU5

My 2023 EQS 450 4Matic SUV is my third EV following a 2018 Tesla Model 3 and a 2022 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo. The relatively high trade-in values for used cars through 2022 made it an easy decision to swap into progressively more expensive EVs, just for the fun of it. Now, I am one of the 45% of EV owners that won't be purchasing another one, mostly due to the poor charging infrastructure that makes roadtripping somewhat stressful.

While I regret not getting a luxury ICE sedan in 2021 (like a Porsche Panamera or an MB AMG GT 4-door coupe), I won't be switching to a gas-powered vehicle any time soon. The unrealized depreciation loss on my EQS SUV with 41K miles, combined with the low annual routine maintenance on the EQS SUV help to rationalize living with the pathetic condition of the public charging network.

After retiring in 2021, we went from a 3-car family to an EV only 1-car family. On one hand, this makes sense since my wife does not drive and more than 50% of our mileage occurs on overnight road trips. A second car would be grossly underutilized. On the other hand, having only an EV vehicle makes us extremely vulnerable in the event that our car is involved in an accident or experiences a serious malfunction while on one of our road trips. If we find ourselves stranded on the road and facing a month or longer repair due to an accident or major malfunction, we will most likely be forced into trading in the EQS SUV at a depressed value.

tooold2race

While I enjoy our EQS sedan, electric cars do not make sense for a lot of the driving public. I'm retired so I take ours to the nearby Mercedes store every 2 or 3 weeks, eat their 'horses orders', drink their fu fu coffees, chat with the people, and charge it for free. At 90% it always displays something over 500 miles of range but I've really never checked it. The car does everything we ask of it quite well. For special outings we choose from our Bentley, Ferrari or our new Z06 Corvette. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, we don't get to visit the gas station very much any more.

Yeah, I'd get another electric car but I'm not running away from the opportunity to enjoy some ICE based toys while I still can.....

HBerman

Buying an EV outright currently makes no financial sense. Leasing is a much better deal considering that the vehicle's residual value is known upfront regardless of the market conditions. My current example of leasing my 2021 E63S wagon was proof of this observation: 3 years, 12,000 miles/year, residual value $78,500 at signing; reality 2 years 11 months later with 21,000+ miles was $102,000 (check from dealer of $23,000+). However, the market now would not support that value prop and the car would have been closer to the residual value. Of course, the value could have been lower than the residual value and I would not be out of pocket more than $0. Unless you plan on keeping a car for 10 years, buying currently makes no sense financially. My mitigation for a long layup for repairs is called "renting a car". Lots of agencies out there and the probability of a major breakdown causing a significant rental cost is low compared to having an additional vehicle in the garage waiting to be utilized and depreciating every day. Of course, all bets are off it the second car is the "fun" car that's only driven on sunny days with the top down. I'm more concerned about the latest activity by low-life thieves cutting the charging cables from the EV stations in order to sell them for the copper value. Seems to be an escalating activity.

W205C43PFL

I understand the EQS is your daily but doesn't the aforementioned cars allows you to visit the gas station as well, even if you only drive it on the weekend it doesn't take long until a gas station visit though? (obviously depends on how heavy foot the driver is)Just curious that's all.

tooold2race

I save my 'heavy foot' for track days with the Corvette or the Ferrari. The EQS started out as our 'rain' car but because it's essencially FREE to drive (FREE charging for 2 years), it tends to be the 'go to' ride.

I might visit the gas station once or twice a month now to feed an ICE powered car now....

nath_h

I'm not going back. For what I value in a car (quiet, quickness, comfort) it does not get better than my EQS. Even living in Iowa, I have never had a problem charging while driving long distance, and I've been at this BEV thing since 2015. I drove my CL550 on a bunch of errands around our metro a few weeks ago...I burned 1/4 of my 21 gallon tank doing said errands. How do young families afford to drive their Suburbans endlessly to all the kids' activities?

W205C43PFL

I see.

AppleFan1

There is no way in hell I will ever consider an ICE again. I love my EQS 580. I will order the 2025 EQS prior to my 3 year one payment lease runs out next May, I will order the 2025 EQS. In fact, I’m going all electric even with the riding mower and snowblower. I despise going to gas stations. The new EGO riding mower is fantastic! I sold the 2 year old John Deere. I’m purchasing an EGO snowblower in September.

stealth.pilot

I find that a bit hard to believe. Unless 45% of Ev owners live in rental apartments and have no charging at home.

My experience has been home charging is a total game changer in terms of convenience and switching to ICE would be a real pain. I could not imagine adding another weekly errand to my list - refueling the car.

W205C43PFL

I guess if those 45% were true, maybe a PHEV might fit their needs better? Problem is that, when running in pure ICE it is carrying the load of the battery and electric motor while in EV mode it is carrying an inactive ICE with the transmission and other components.

stealth.pilot

The way you are describing the use of a PHEV is not how they should be used. In fact it is generally not a good idea to run it in pure EV mode. You should run it in hybrid mode all the time to maximize overall efficiency and range and get a better driving experience because on EV power you have a heavy car with maybe 100hp.

That said even if you never charge a PHEV it is more efficient than a regular Hybrid. The reason is that ICE engines have a lot of excess power production, and having a larger battery enables a PHEV to recover more of that wasted energy than a traditional hybrid can. When I had my Panamera Turbo S i was able to get over 30mpg even when the batter was not charged. And when charged I would get over 45 mpg. A regular V8 Twin turbo would have given me around 15-18mph given how I drive. a hybrid version of that would have added maybe 5 mpg but not more. the larger battery and motor of the PHEV is a game changer even if never plugged in.

OldManAndHisCar

I live in a hurricane zone. I have seen cars lined up for weeks waiting for voltage...maybe at worst two or three days for gasoline. I, for one will not allow an EV in my garage - period. Not because of any technology further than the fact that "they" can always spy on you, watch you and see your cameras.

I would have to guess that MOST of the people on this forum could care less about the cost of a fill up - at the end of the day. For me, I try and figure out how many hours at work I have to be so that I can "afford" something....a tank of gas (averaging about $70 when I fill up)...well, that is well under 15 minutes...and I am no where near the pointy end of the stick for income. The cost of fuel is the least of my concerns.....and, I need yet another set of tires....


As for power tools? Christ - two stoke is the ONLY way to go. Period. My neighbors STILL have a tree not fully down because their lack luster idiotic electric chain saw just cant get the job done.....this is not even a big tree. Another neighbor had a hell of a time pushing their dead electric mower back to the garage....they brought it back to Lowes and got a proper mans mower that takes gasoline

W205C43PFL

I see, I forgot regen plays a role.

MB37

I wasn't going to mention power tools, but I think leaf blowers are better when they go battery. I have one, and it beats 2 cylinders in every way except cost. Gotta' pay to play. However, if my full time job was blowing leaves, you are right with the 2 cylinders.

As for EV in hurricane zone(I also am in hurricane territory), NG generator is my backup plan. In my area, gasoline is not the issue. It's the gas stations that don't have power to pump the gas out of the underground tanks is the main problem. In the past, wide spread power outage from hurricane and tropical storms forced me to drive ~30+ miles to get a tank of gas. If they allow me to setup my own small wind turbines, I would look into it. For long term, I think wind turbine is much more effective than solar. We have so much NG we don't know what to do with it except burn it off at most major refineries. The cost of it is another discussion.

Gilbert580

I agree with you that almost everyone on this forum is far more likely than the average car owner to afford a thank of gas. Talking for myself, i did not have the price of gas in mind when purchasing my car.
Talking about spying, I believe car ICE or BEV have virtually the same ability to spy on their owners nowadays. Moreover, in general cell phones, home security systems and even your home desktops can and do spy more than any car dream off.