The Polestar 2 is great at being a (fun) car first and a electric car second, if that makes sense. The door handles are just regular door handles, the instrument cluster has an extremely clean and minimal design without visual noise, there's physical buttons for the radio and defroster and the gear (direction) selector! Range isn't as amazing as Tesla 3, but as a daily car I think it's nicer. Also the optional tow hitch is rated for a 1t trailer load which is a bit more than the Tesla 3.

Skoda Enyaq is another good alternative, though slightly bigger, more of an SUV. The Honda E was really fun to drive, but a bit expensive given size and range. For smaller cars the Renault Zoë is a a top contender, and quite popular here Kia has a whole range of great EVs, as does VW.

If I was in the market for a new car, I'd be seriously looking at the new Mazda 6e right now. It looks slick as hell, and it's one of the very few non-SUV non-5-door-hatchback EVs on the market. Another alternative is BMW i4 and i5. The i5 is even available as a stationwagon / estate , which as far as I know is a first for EVs.

The Lucid looks slick as well, for those with deeper pockets :D

You didn't mention where you live or what size and budget you're looking at, some of these models may not be available in all markets, and as you can tell wary greatly in size and cost

No personal recommendation, but around where I am, I think that Hyundai Ioniq has been the most-increasing-in-prominence car in the same base price range as the Tesla Model 3.

It would also be a huge bonus if there were any models out there with the least possible features. I prefer cars with manual locks/seats/doors and no screen, which is of course impossible with current cars (sadly). But the less digital garbage the better.

The Hyundai Kona is less-expensive than the Ioniq. I know a few people that drive that and say that they like it.

If you're determined to have less stuff, the Slate Truck isn't out yet, but as sold, base, it doesn't have automatic windows or a screen or or a radio or speakers. No car computer. No cell radio to phone home. You get airbags and climate control, and you can mount your cell phone or tablet or whatever on the dash if you want a car computer, and that's pretty much it. Also considerably smaller than current trucks. Kind of a 1980s no-frills truck, but electric.

I don't have an electric car so I don't have any first hand knowledge/advice to give. However, the guy who runs the YouTube channel Technology Connections has a Hyundai Ioniq that he really likes and I believe it is a genuine expression. I think the biggest thing he doesn't like deals with how the car's internal navigation system handles recharging stops.

I drive a Volkswagen ID.7 since soon 2 years now, had a Tesla Model 3 before that. Absolutely love the VW. It's a "real car" with manual controls where you expect them yet all the modernities you can imagine. The AR HUD is absolutely awesome giving you all the relevant information incl. navigation where you're looking without having to take your eyes off the road.

There's a big screen as well though, but it's not something you have to poke at to do regular stuff as in Teslas.

Taycan 4S Cross Turismo (wagon). Absolutely incredible car all around. Competent on a racetrack, comfy on long roadtrips, tons of cargo room, easy installation of a roof box for even more cargo, very fast DC charging.

Ain't perfect and I could rant about software/infotainment but I'm not paying for the now-expired internet connectivity and it's been totally fine not having that, especially with Android Auto working with GrapheneOS.

I've got a first-gen 2017 Chevy Bolt, battery upgraded by recall in the 2nd year we had it (price of being an early adopter). No complaints, no issues beyond having to tape over the chrome on the dashboard so I don't get blinded.

The only maintenance so far has been tires; brakes last forever thanks to one-pedal driving. Eventually we'll have to do the regular chassis stuff like bushings and struts, but at 60+k mi we're still a little ways away from that.

Srsly the best car I've ever owned.

My wife has a Honda clarity PHEV that goes about 40 miles on a charge and for the most part she only needs the engine for highway driving day to day.

From an engineering and tech standpoint Honda makes an impressive hybrid system I just wish they had it on the Odyssey. You can get it on the Civic and Accord hybrids.

I'm personally looking at the Pollstar and Volvo wagons since I won't get a Chrysler Pacifica PHEV. But I'm also taking a serious look at the Porsche Taycan as it's essentially a wagon.

The mustang Mach E is actually a decent car, one of my best friends wanted an EV and had not even thought about Ford when I suggested it. He test drove one and took it home that day!

I have also tested the VW id BUZZ and it's great but as a van it's not as good as the Odyssey.

What I want more than anything is Honda to get it's shit together but I'm at 200k and I won't wait forever so one of the above vehicles is going to get my money if Honda won't sell me what I want.

I have a 24 Aryia. I’ve got 13k miles on it and so far it’s been great.

I have a Citroen E-Berlingo and I love it.

I wanted something with the best indoor space / outdoor footprint ratio I could get and also a car with a small battery, because imo big batteries on EVs defeat the purpose (too heavy, wears out tires and roads faster) and 99.9% of the time I travel less than 100km a day.

The same electric platform is on all Stellantis cars if I'm not wrong (eg. E-208, E-C3).

Also what I like about it is that I could opt out of all the "connected" junk and now it looks like a normal car (I don't use navigation, apps or anything, I just want my car to transport me).

Do not buy the Hyundai Ioniq. The car itself is great (although it has a lot of modern features you dont want) but dealing with Hyundai is such a nightmare that I will never again buy a Hyundai.

The new Leaf is supposed to be pretty good, as far as appliance oriented transportation is concerned. VW has been putting out decent cars too for a while. Both these manufacturers fundamentally understand how to put a car together which puts them ahead of Tesla. I’m wary of Toyota and Honda offerings as they’ve spent a fair bit of time avoiding them. USA big 3 make some compliance cars, which are appliance grade but I’d only consider them if they’re dirt cheap.

Up-market, Volvo and Polestar are putting out some interesting cars, and if I had USD200k I could only use on a car, it would be a Lucid - politics aside, I think they’re doing some great engineering. BMW and Mercedes’s offerings are not inspiring, but Audi has some interesting stuff they share to some extent with VW.

The up front costs of car + solar are not negligible, but the operating costs are dirt cheap. I spend less on my payment than I used to spend on gas.

We have an Audi e-tron GT. Wife wanted a 4-door car with a trunk and I wanted a low-slung sporty drive.

Not manual by any means, but it has Apple Car Play and buttons for almost everything else - aircon, media, driving controls etc.

We charge with excess solar so driving it is basically free.

My neighbor has a Volvo EX90, and he swears by it. It replaced his older Tesla S, and he says the build quality is leagues apart.

EX90 is far from a "simple" car, though. And a lot larger than most people need.

I have a 23 Mustang Mach E. Due to where I live, I felt AWD was necessary and that limited my EV options substantially (along with all the tax incentive changes happening at the time I ordered it in 2022).

Honestly though, while it's bigger than what I wanted and doesn't have as many manual features as I would prefer, it is a supremely fun vehicle to drive. I wish EV charging infrastructure was better so that taking it on a road trip was more feasible.

The absolute most basic electric car you can get is probably the Dacia Spring.

Great, small car. Less than 20.000€ in Europe. It's the closest thing you can get to a bare-bones electric car, and it's absolutely lovely.

About a month ago it got a face-lift, giving it a solid-state battery.

Absolutely worth checking out.

Dacia Spring on the official UK Dacia website.

Kia ev6 has been going strong. The only downside for me is the first gen doesn't have wireless carplay.

BYD is very popular here in Australia. Tried one out and it just goes.

I see Rivians around a lot. Not sure how good they are but they are way prettier than Tesla's. Polestar also makes some nice vehicles. Both are still a little pricey though.

You can always go the route of converting an older car. https://www.fellten.com/system/mini

The ford lightning has been a very good truck for me so far.

Range is a bit less then I would like but having all the plugs and the capacity to move things around are things I use every day.

The wife and I love her Volkswagen id4. It is comfy, gets good mileage, and is cheap on the used market.

Of what I’ve personally driven, even for just a test drive.

Tesla S: meh Tesla 3: cramped for a tall guy Rivian truck: middle back seat is super uncomfortable. Only option is 1PD (one pedal driving) and I hated that. Everything else about it was cool Polestar: again, not good for tall people MachE: great unless you have to ride in the back seat. Plenty of room, but likely to induce motion sickness Lightning pickup: perfect, no notes except its overall bigger than it needs to be. Loading stuff up in the bed is more of a pain than it needs to be. Some people don’t like the range, but I’ve done a couple 1500+ mile road trips and never minded it.

Generally, anything that isn't a Tesla because politics aside, Teslas are built terribly and are reportedly already falling apart, so not only is the Tesla brand saddled with baggage, but the cars themselves are built like crap.

Performance-wise if you're filthy rich, the Rimac Nevera is one of the fastest EVs in existence and snatched performance records left and right when it launched.

If you have mech and electrical skills, you could also build your own out of something like a Geo or an older Civic by swapping the gas drivetrain for the drivetrain out of a wrecked EV, although you'd need a custom controller for it.

Buddy of mine has a Fiat 500e and it's surprisingly non-gadgety. If you don't need cargo, more than one passenger, or out of town range it's probably exactly what you want.

Doesn't have one pedal driving though. At least his doesn't. That's a no-brainer feature on an EV.

Love my kia Niro ev. Looks like any other normal car. Fun to drive.

I have only drove electics in car sharing. Models were Tesla Y and VW iD.3. I really liked Tesla for how fast it would speed up. But really fuck the main console and controls. Nothing is more annoying to me is 1 pedal driving (can be changed) and to look at main console to check speed. Fuck that shit with the deepest corners of my heart.

iD.3 was kind of fun. Also is quite powerful machine with lower range. Drive controls are bullcrap but at least they work. It has a better console imo and what is epic is windshield projection of speed and line assistance. Going from Tesla's "Look at the left bottom of the screen on the console" to "Just keep looking ahead while glancing slightly down on the road to check speed" is an insane difference to me. I believe SAABs had this first back in the day. It is indeed a game changer. Should really be in every car.

My city also recently had an influx of BYD electrics and it seems people like them.

Chevy Bolt EUV (sorta kinda bigger than a normal Bolt) Premier without self driving: very good.

Cheap feeling like any American car. Infotainment is trash; you can't skip tracks on CarPlay using the steering wheel controls most of the time because it's always indexing. A problem no other OEM or even the cheapest of aftermarket radios I've ever touched has had. Remote climate control (essentially what we always mean when we say remote start) is locked behind a $50/mo OnStar subscription. Spies on you to sell data.

But, it costs like $30-40 a month to drive, it's zippy enough, I've got front and rear seat warmers, it's a hatch, and most importantly, it was a steal. We got it like four days before the tax credits were eliminated. Before that I'd have said EVs were the only deals to be had in the automotive space. Now there simply are no deals. My $18k Bolt Premier was the last chopper out of 'Nam for getting anything resembling a decent deal of a car.

We like it. Charging at home is nice. We hope it doesn't break. Hybrid is a smarter buy because of the added flexibility afforded by gas but again, you weren't getting any 2022 fully* loaded hybrid with 60k miles for $18k. Since this isn't our only vehicle this was the easy choice.

I love my iX, fantastic family car.

If you can handle the slow charging any chevy bolt from 2022-2024 is a good buy for second hand. If you need bells and whistles you'll need to spring for the mid trim euv which has adaptive cruise, lane assist and some automated driving on the highway. For the auto driving you'll need to spring for onstar so it'll be a monthly subscription. You could also import a BYD if you're in the states.

https://www.wired.com/story/this-is-how-you-get-a-chinese-ev-into-the-united-states/

I have a Chevy Blazer which is nice except it lacks android auto. If I drove professionally their OnStar is enough better than Android Auto (and I assume Car Play) as to be worth the price, but I don't drive much and so it isn't worth the cost.

My wife has a Pacifica PHEV which is a decent compromise - we probably save $200/month by driving electric, but can make long trips through desolate areas without worrying about finding a charge (some of them are desolate enough that we have to worry about finding gas - though if you plan either will work: gas just needs planning the next 20 miles while electric is plan the next null.

UK. Wife has a Mini Aceman.

Gets about 200 miles range and is very fun to drive.

The only thing I dislike is the almost total absence of any physical buttons.