Author Archives: lukefrugalev

Lets look at a few common use scenarios for your family car, drawing from my experience lets compare commuting, errand running, regional, mid and long distance road trips between a gas car, and an EV. As we will see, the EV rules the shorter distance commuting and errand running categories, day-trips, weekend trips are veryContinue reading “EV vs Gas car”

While a charging station is your best bet, not every hotel I have stayed at has one. That leaves the EV driver dependent on outdoor plugs, which might be limited in the total amount of current they can deliver. Ill share some tips from my experiences charging my EV at hotels around Ontario. A littleContinue reading “Hotel power”

Just north of Barrie is a small ski-resort, perfect for beginners. But we still go, even with teenagers in the house, mostly its because of the sno-nuts (mini freshly made doughnuts), a fun filled attitude and a good lunch. What is not to like. Plus its only 130 km from Toronto. Why not stay overnightContinue reading “Snow Valley”

Suppose you live in a condo, and you got an EV or are considering getting one. I love charging my EV at home, and you should too. What are the options for charging? We discuss the simple (just use a wall plug), to the slightly more involved, to the silly expensive. The most sensible solutionContinue reading “EV charging for Condos”

Avid readers of this blog will note that I have a strong personal bias towards the first. E.g. buy a gently used car instead of financing or leasing a new one. But I must admit I get quite tempted by the wonderful new EVs that are starting to enter the market. Charging speeds well inContinue reading “Buy, Finance or Lease”

About 80 km North-East of Toronto, you will find Lake Scugog, and on its shores Port Perry. Its a cute town well worth a visit, offering ample food for both the car and driver. I enjoyed some wonderful cup-cakes as I strolled through the town, learned some of the local history (some of it toContinue reading “Port Perry”

As winter sets in, a youtube video surfaced of people testing out the Tesla Model 3 cabin heat system on a very cold day, getting little if any cabin heat as the car sat there (source). Well, I hopped in my Leaf on a very cold day, and sure enough I had plenty of heat.Continue reading “EV Cabin heat in the Cold”

As extensively discussed, charging availability (or lack there of) is a big concern amongst EV shoppers, less known, is that a similar fate might be in store for gas-cars. According to industry reports, the number of gas stations is dropping, particularly in large metro-areas as developers eye gas stations for their next condo project. ForContinue reading “Is the gas station doomed?”

Just east of Toronto sits Brimacombe, for those of us living in the east end of the city, you can get to the hill in as little as half an hour. For me its about 90 km, but its proximity is hard to beat, for the “close-to-the-city” ski-hills, it has one of the bigger verticalsContinue reading “Brimacombe”

When shopping for a new (or a new to you) EV, range appears to be top of mind for many shoppers. However, looking at long road trips, charging speed is much more important in determining how long it will take to go from here to there. Eventually your battery will run low and thus someContinue reading “Why charging speed is more important than range”