Like the title says, are there any EVs that just have a Bluetooth radio and that’s it? Like a normal car, not a smartphone on wheels? If not, do you all think that this will actually happen at some point? This is the main reason why I can’t (and will never) buy an EV. I like to have actual buttons everywhere on my car. I think those massive tablets on these cars with all the touch buttons are very dangerous. I like an “entertainment system” that only connects to my phone with either a headphone jack of or Bluetooth. It’s a car, not a PC.
Old man yells at cloud.
Had a 1998 Citroen Electrique once. Not much fancy electronics there…
How about the 1974-1977 CitiCar, highest volume American electric car until Tesla. It came with an 8-track player.
Not that I know of. Let smaller automakers make EVs and we might get something like that.
But with the federal government mandating that all cars must have automatic braking after a certain date in the future I guess we’re never going to get away from tons of sensors and computers in cars.
I mean, the government has mandated that all cars built since the 90s have to have a lot of computers and sensors for engine monitoring and emissions logging so that ship has long since sailed. Automatic braking is also credited with eliminating something like 1 in 5 fatalities in car accidents, so as long as we have any motorized vehicles around at all I don’t really have a problem with the government requiring manufacturers to spend the extra 20 dollars or so per vehicle it costs them to add a few ultrasonic sensors and a microcontroller it takes to slow the vehicle to the point where a driving into a pedestrian might just be survivable.
They also mandate a backup camera, so that means they need to have a screen.
Automatic braking doesn’t require the level of tech that’s being packed into EVs these days
You could make automatic breaking without a full blown computer, but it’s so much cheaper to put a full-blown computer than it is to do it all in hardware. Everything uses turing complete equipment now, it’s actually less expensive at this point.
There’s absolutely no reason not to put multiple computers in the car I think the real win is not surfacing it to the end user.
“Tech” is a conflated term. The way I read OP is that they don’t want their cars main user interface to be a smartphone app. Doesn’t mean the car can’t be technologically advanced.
Exactly. If my car can connect to the internet then it has too much tech in it.
The ability for a car to call emergency services in the event of a crash, and thus the mobile / data connection required to do that, has been mandatory since 2018 in all new cars sold in the EU.
So there is no cost incentive not to have the internet connection in there, as it is a basic safety feature now, like seatbelts.
You don’t need a data plan to call emergency services. Any protocol-compatible device can dial 911/112/etc. for free.
This is why in remote areas your phone may say “Emergency Calls Only”. Your carrier isn’t available, but someone else’s is and they are legally obligated to route emergency calls.
Of course if your car has a modem and a computer, adding a data plan isn’t a huge leap. But it’s a recurring expense and plenty of cars sold today do not have internet connectivity, at least on the cheaper side.
You might want to look into taking an older car and paying to get someone to install a conversion kit. If you have an existing car you could see if there’s a compatible kit that’ll save you some money.
From what I’ve seen, conversions are generally preferred on pre OBD cars, as even the accessories like lights, AC etc run through that.
It puts you back looking at vehicles from the 70s or earlier. VW beetles, combis,Porsches seem to be popular choices.
OBD2 wasn’t mandatory until 1995 in the US, and OBD1 was really primitive. I suspect an EV conversion of an '80s or early-'90s car would be okay too.
Is there an issue with running OBD for the accessories, but not the engine?
If your hate only goes towards touchscreens and not having physical buttons, Mazda is (or at least was) very anti-touchscreen. I haven’t done any research on their current stance or if they have good EVs, but a neighbor of mine was really happy with his Mazda ICE car for having a button for everything.
That’s awesome. Never knew that about Mazda.
I’ve owned nine cars, and the two Mazdas were my favorite. a 1999 Mazda 626 5 speed, and then the 2013 Mazda 3. I’ve been driving a 2022 Sentra for a couple years and the Mazda was better. I needed to upgrade to get Android auto and the safety features, but I wish I had upgraded to another Mazda
Hmmmm, y’all are making me like Mazda. Lol. Anyone likes Mitsubishi around here? Haha
2024 has touchscreens now
I have a Mazda (not an EV) and am loyal to the brand because of their dial system. The dial makes it so easy to navigate menus without taking my eyes off the road for long
How Are mazdas? I’ve never even ridden in one, believe it or not. Tell me more, I’m interested. Lol
I have the 2021 Mazda3 Hatchback Premium Plus, so I have all the options (the COVID used car prices were great for when my previous one got totaled, the insurance company really paid out). It was brand new when I bought it. I have very few issues with it.
It’s quick, fun to drive, and feels really premium for not being priced insanely. I personally think it’s comfortable, but if you’re looking for more space, it’s probably not the way to go. For example, the front seats aren’t very usable with a rear-facing car seat in the back. The trunk space is pretty good imo. But I hate large cars in the first place.
I don’t use Android Auto or CarPlay because I enjoy the ease of use of the built-in system. The control scheme uses a dial between the seats where your arm rests, so it’s really easy to keep a hand on the wheel and navigate menus with it. There are also some quick buttons and a volume knob. The software could use a little work because sometimes album art doesn’t show up, but that’s mostly been fixed by changing Bluetooth settings on my phone. I truly don’t think there’s a better way to build a car control system.
I can’t speak on reliability of my own car, but my mom had a CX-5 and it seemed to last a good while without maintenance issues. I’ve personally had no problems so far. I’ve had good luck with Mazda dealership service too and I’ll probably stick with getting maintenance from them just so I can be sure someone who knows how those cars are built is working on it.
If Mazda comes out with an EV that has decent range and doesn’t utilize a touchscreen, I’d for sure get like, the 3rd or 4th generation of it (because 1st and 2nd Gen anything can suck.
2024 Mazdas have touchscreens, so much for that analog vision of theirs. And they have just as much telematics and always-connected privacy-invading tech as other makes.
All new cars have infotainment systems and computerized controls and displays these days. This is in no way specific to EVs. In Europe there is the Dacia Spring. That’s a very simple and down to the absolute essentials kind of vehicle. But not something I would ever want to drive.
BMW iX3. It has both and is almost exactly like the X3 ICE predecessor.
With age, convenience features become more desirable. YMMV.
Just rented a KIA Niro and wouldn’t have been able to tell it was an EV from the interior. HSS Bluetooth but I usually opt for Android auto.
I tried an VW ID3 this weekend, the software was low key, it mostly relied on you having Apple Car or it’s android equivalent.
I mean, I think EV needs to be separated from the fancy systems here. I see ICE vehicles with fancy touchscreens with no buttons, they aren’t an EV specific thing.
As for me, I have the Hyundai Kona EV, I love the thing. Yes, it has screens, I think they’re neat, but specifically it has physical buttons below the screens to control the entire car with physical buttons. That was a hard requirement of mine. So, if you want no screens or anything then no, unless you buy the cheapest car out there right now you’re probably getting something “smart”, and those happen to be ICE cars because at this point they’re cheaper. If your actual issue is physical buttons, then sounds like you need to go actually test drive some. The only EV I know of with no buttons is a Tesla, and there are a ton of other EVs out there.
specifically it has physical buttons below the screens to control the entire car with physical buttons. That was a hard requirement of mine.
I’d love to get av EV with physical buttons too. My current car is a 2012 Mazda 3, but I want to get a EV to take advantage of my solar panels.
The Kona looks nice. Do you know if it supports Qi wireless charging, and wireless Android Auto?
It does! Just used it today! There’s a wireless charger just under the main dash in front of the drink trays, and I can confirm Android Auto works perfectly wirelessly. When we got it the sales guy said it’d be coming in a later update, and we were like “uh yeah, sure”, but it honestly worked day one, no updates needed. Feel free to DM me, happy to answer any questions honestly.
I don’t think you can easily find new thermal cars without technology, so EVs
Hopefully someday.
I think you’re conflating a couple of different things here.
just have a Bluetooth radio and that’s it
and
I like to have actual buttons
These are two separate issues. The former, in my view, deals largely with what is seen as an extraneous or even potentially unwanted set of features. Especially in so much as cars are quite famously some of the worst devices people own in terms of keeping their data private and secure. Better to have a car that doesn’t collect that data in the first place, and just sticks to being a car that goes vroom. Or whirrrrr, as the case may be with an EV. But there are advantages to the more advanced features too. Navigation, lane assist, adaptive cruise control, etc. Whether you want the features or not is an entirely personal decision.
But this is not the same as the question of how you interface with the car. Yes, more advanced features are probably going to require a more complicated UI, maybe including a touch screen, though centre console knobs can achieve the same.
But the core of this criticism, I think, is about whether you can keep your eyes on the road while driving. And that means that you should be able to do the core things related to driving: steer, accelerate, brake, indicate, turn on/off lights (including high beam), and adjust wiper settings all from the steering wheel. And secondary but important frequently-accessed settings like AC temperature, radio volume, radio channel/mode, and turning on/off cruise control should be doable using physical knobs and buttons, though these may be located in the centre console. The important thing here is that even if some more advanced features do exist to be interacted with via touch screen, they don’t have to mean (and shouldn’t mean) the important driving-critical features are only available via a dangerous touch screen.
Further, in terms of safety, having a large display built into your dash showing you navigation is much better than a small device you jerryrig onto a vent or something. It’s easier to see via your peripheral vision, and won’t put you in a situation where you need to go find it off of the floor when it falls off.
I’d prefer a decent phone holder instead of a screen in the center console, or at least a solid place to mount a holder. A couple 1/4-20 threaded holes in the dash would be awesome.
I’ve got a decent adhesive mount phone holder that I stuck to the top left corner of the infotainment system. Because fuck that screen with a rusty shovel.
Same thing with things like messages and text via the infotainment. You can hit a button and have it read out to you. Saves any temptation from even glancing st your phone while you drive.
Main reason i won’t get a rivian is it doesn’t support android auto nor any of the functions I mentioned above.
Tasker.
When my phone is connected to the audio system in my car, any texts that come in are automatically read aloud.
In my experience, android auto has always been a flaky nightmare.
automatically read aloud
Oof. I’ve got some mates with word choices that would raise some questions from the toddler.
Ah, yeah, I don’t have that problem. If I have someone in the car, I just turn on the radio instead of the Bluetooth.
But, I could pop up what tasker calls a “scene” when a text comes in, which would ask me if I wanted it read.
My 2017 Chevy Bolt is fully electric and has less fancy integrations than most cars sold today. It’s got Bluetooth and aux audio in but you have to connect a phone with a cable for Car Play or Android Auto, it’s got normal buttons and switches for all the car stuff too. It had a remote start until I ran out of free On Star months.
Seeing how OP hasn’t replied to any comments, I’m starting to wonder if they’re just anti-EV and trying to stir the pot. I test drove the newer bolt, the leaf, and a few others, it’s clear OP hasn’t really done much research if that’s an actual complaint they have, most are as you said. They range from basic to super fancy.
I have a 2016 Nissan Leaf. It’s a short range commuter car, it makes a great second car for a family but it’s no good if it’s your only car.
I live in a left-hand drive country that gets heaps of used imports from Japan (who is also left-hand drive), so they are cheapish and easy to get YMMV,. The entertainment system is not touch screen, it has physical buttons including controls on the steering wheel. I’m not sure if it can phone home since it’s no longer in a supported country. We use Bluetooth for music and that’s it as the Nissan Connect stuff doesn’t work here.
The Nissan Connect stuff doesn’t work anymore for any of the 2016 Leafs, they used a form of cell service that is no longer in operation.
I swapped a nice Kenwood head unit into my Leaf for a couple hundred dollars. It maintains the backup camera, steering wheel controls, and the built in USB port while offering a larger screen and touch screen controls for Android Auto or Apple Car Play if you want them. It’s awesome and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants a short range commuter car.
That’s what I tell people who are just pure “anti” EV. No one should be anti EV, that’s a stupid take IMO. (Even the things about the environmental cost, I mean, fair, except their solution is to continue to keep destroying the planet by burning gas/diesel so you know they don’t actually care about that issue).
EVs are perfect for commuter cars and around town cars, which I’d say is 95+% of driving for most people. They just don’t want to admit it. Their vision of how they drive is wild and free on an open road, but most of them are just going to walmart, to work, for groceries, and around town. Since most of America is 2+ cars per house, it makes absolute sense for one to be an EV and the other to be an ICE/hybrid.
EVs are perfect for commuter cars and around town cars, which I’d say is 95+% of driving for most people.
The real "EVs"1 – that is, e-bikes – are even more perfect for that use case, though.
(1 Because most electric vehicles sold are, in fact bicycles, not cars)
