WORDS KIM REYNOLDS

PHOTOS BRANDON LIM

EVs

And because they’re battery-electric ones,

they’re tightly interwoven with their

respective fast charging infrastructures.

At no time since the gas crisis of the

early ’70s would people endure waiting

hours to refuel their cars, so this Super-

charger saturation is now a troubling

issue for Tesla’s bespoke system. If a

Model 3 is your only car, are you willing to

put up with this possibility on your next

holiday road trip?

Two years ago, we assembled a trio very

much like this, featuring 2017’s most

incandescent electrics: Tesla’s then-

brand-new Model 3, Nissan’s second-gen

Leaf, and that year’s reigning Car of the

Year, Chevrolet’s Bolt. As we flip forward

25 calendar pages, our lineup has evolved

a bit: The Model 3 is back but in its

cheaper (more mainstream) $40,690,

250-mile Standard Range Plus version.

The Leaf returns, as well, now as the Plus

SL, with a bigger battery and a critical

65-mile gain in range, bumping it up

to 215 miles.

But the Bolt—last round’s runner-up—

has been benched for the newer and

frankly more compelling Kia Niro Eco

Electric ($44,045 to start, with 239 miles

of range) despite the Chevy’s improved

info screen and a battery update of its

own that adds 21 miles.

I see the cartoon balloon question

marks popping up over your attentive

heads: Why keep the Leaf Plus with its

still-iffy 215 miles and add the Kia but

disinvite the newly 259-mile Bolt?

The Niro has been waved forward

in part due to our already exhaustive

exposure to the Chevy—and how quickly

it’s being engulfed by the shadow of Ford’s

looming Mach-E, the presumptive best

of the Detroit electrics. But also—and

critical in this setting—there’s the Bolt’s

retention of its once-fast, now-obsolete

55-kW DC Level 3 peak charging rate.

That’s molasses compared to the Model

3 Standard Range Plus’ peak of 170 kW at

Version 3 Superchargers (with a recent

over-the-air update), the Leaf Plus’ 100

kW, and the Niro’s observed 77 kW. (I’ll

show you how this impacts real-world

recharging on the go later on.)

Our biggest struggle last time was

vexing over whether the Model 3 could

conceivably win, given its big-battery

version’s ridiculous $22,585 price

premium over the Leaf; it was a merely

absurd $16,595 more than the Bolt.

Since then, Tesla has released a magic

trapdoor beneath its early price penalty,

with this Model 3 (still with good range

and quick performance) now actually

cheaper than its two contemporaries.

$47,405

ChargePoint offers

noticeably cheaper

rates, but unfortunately

this one was dead.

Lesson: First check your

app to ensure it works.

APRIL 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 43

Kia Niro Eco

Electric