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Deal breaker that might keep you from buying?
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Deal breaker that might keep you from buying?
updated 24 minutes ago 97 Members · 114 Replies -
The charging, was unaware of the 3.3KW charger, are pretty weak honestly.
I can deal with a wrap. I can deal with a yoke. I can deal with some promised tech, such as rear view mirror cameras not being added.
I just think that an electric vehicle should have the highest possible ability to charge. Relying on the solar aspect is one thing, but getting the battery topped off (20 – 80%) should not take more than a half hour. This is critical.
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Privacy might be a deal-breaker. I want some of the capabilities made possible by transmitting data. I don’t want to give up all privacy for a few capabilities. Please just allow me to choose.
An inability to escape marketing media is another potential deal-breaker. Ford’s patent for using the entertainment system to display ads is an example of such a deal-breaker.
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Biggest thing for me is moving from J1772 to Tesla plug – At least around here, there are a *LOT* more J1772/CCS1 chargers then Tesla – and they are the only ones free at malls / gov. buildings. A CCS to tesla adaptor and agreement with Tesla as they open their network seems to make a lot more sense to me then the other way round – and that presumes they *CAN* get access to the Tesla network.. what if they don’t, or it’s ridicules expensive? Have to use *always* use an adapter to public charge?
Not to mention it’s what is already in my garage for my i3…
Also not a fan of the yoke, not to sure about the wrap. All these things changed since put down deposit.
Hopefully the regen braking is either aggressive, or adjustable, and has some of the same tech BMW did around auto-hold at lights/hills…. I’ve gotten really good at driving without *ever* touching the actual brakes with the i3.
Final thing is I hope they figure out how to get nationwide demos / experience events before they start mass delivery. I’d hate to have to return it in “lemon” period if I can’t adjust seats to to fit / be able to see out windscreen comfortably. There have been several cars I *really* wanted until I actually got in for a test drive.
- This reply was modified 5 months, 4 weeks ago by
Mark Brandon.
- This reply was modified 5 months, 4 weeks ago by
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Not a fan of the yoke, not to sure about the wrap. All these things changed since put down deposit.
Hopefully the regen braking is either aggressive, or adjustable, and has some of the same tech BMW did around auto-hold at lights/hills…. I’ve gotten really good at driving without *ever* touching the actual brakes with the i3.
But biggest thing for me is moving from J1772 to Tesla plug – At least around here, there are a *LOT* more J1772/CCS1 chargers then Tesla – and they are the only ones free at malls / gov. buildings. A CCS to tesla adaptor and agreement with Tesla as they open their network seems to make a lot more sense to me then the other way round – and that presumes they *CAN* get access to the Tesla network.. what if they don’t, or it’s ridicules expensive? Have to use *always* use an adapter to public charge?
Not to mention it’s what is already in my garage for my i3…
Final thing is I hope they figure out how to get nationwide demos / experience events before they start mass delivery. I’d hate to have to return it in “lemon” period if I can’t adjust seats to to fit / be able to see out windscreen comfortably. There have been several cars I *really* wanted until I actually got in for a test drive.
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If I see a single blind spot camera or camera in place of my mirrors, I’m removing them. When I saw that screen in front of the wheel that just shows side display I immediately thought about how to remove it. I don’t want cameras anywhere near my car. There are mirrors for a reason.
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This may have been said already, but the company seems very keen on R2R and upgradability. I wouldn’t be surprised if it launches with a yoke, no heat pump, etc with the option to modify or upgrade them to accommodate a different steering wheel or other technologies as they improve (eg. non-yoke steering, better battery chemistry, better bms, etc).
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My new deal breaker: would be this ugly POS console
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I didn’t have anything on my “deal breaker” list until readying this thread. Living in AZ and reading concerns about a wrap has my attention.
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There will be a lot about the car I will not be able to assess until I see it in person. Are the seats comfortable? I have had 4 back surgeries and still suffer pain. I cannot ride is some cars such as the Honda Civic or Cadillac CTS. One big issue is the need to have my knees bent. In most sedans, the legs are nearly straight at the knee. Pulling my knees up results in a bend at the waist that induces pain. I will have to sit in the seat to know a result.
The touch screen is a major concern. While driving, I prefer to be able to operate a switch or knob without looking at it. I have been an electronics engineer for 40 years so tech does not scare me. The user interface will be a significant factor in my decision. Any thing short of simple and spectacular is not adequate. The bar nearly as high as a GPS database. A 99% accurate map is an abject failure.
I do worry about software in critical systems. I have evaluated and written a lot of software; it always has bugs. Complete testing of even modestly complex software could take 65,536 years or more. Engineers do the best they can. It is ubiquitous in all cars, and that worries me. The less software in critical systems, the better.
I’ve seen some interesting discussion about trying to open a door when the keyfob, car electronics or 12v power system fails. (The solution on the Ford Mach-e is just laughable.) My CR-V has a mechanical lock as backup. Any all-electronic approach may be doomed to unrecoverable failures. This is one of many potential pitfalls I will want to evaluate when I get a look at the Aptera first hand.
I’m still quite interested in the Aptera. It is a logical result from the criteria and constraints presented by an EV. It takes efficiency to a new level to get a lot of range from battery technology that is currently wanting. The design will scale well with better batteries. The result is technically rational and aesthetically odd, but not ugly. I don’t know enough, but from what I do know, I can say, Good job.🙃
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I am concerned about the width of 88″. Our driveway is only 95″ so somewhat challenging but I am also concerned that other drivers will not understand/see that then front wheels are significantly past the main body. I am not living in suburbia but in an old city with narrow streets (Santa Barbara) so cars pass close either driving or parked ones on the street.
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I’m concerned about getting an obsolete modem. I’ve had two different manufacturers, one 2001 vehicle that had a 2G modem, and a 2015 that had a 3g modem. Burnt twice. If they don’t put a 5G modem in this than you can expect that it will go obsolete in 5-6 years when they remove all the 4G towers. If they had an option to connect over Wi-Fi, then that would effectively future proof it with any mobile hotspot.
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1. Needs to be successfully homologated under the EU L5e-A rules.
2. Being able to afford it (between potential price rises and our 20% sales tax, it might be tricky)
Nothing else is a deal-breaker for me. There are things I would prefer to be different (yoke, width), but they’re not deal breakers.
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None that I can think of. It’s such a different forward thinking vehicle that there is going to be a learning curve with both Aptera and its customers, but I expect we’ll be able to work through that.
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Based on the latest info of the Aptera design, I decided to postpone the purchase until 2027-2028. I hope I will still have the 5% discount as an investor. I don’t have one deal-break issue, but a combination of the following:
- I was planning to replace my (now) 5 year old vehicle. The longer I wait, the less I can sell my current vehicle for. At this moment I have 2 vehicles, and in 2027-2028 I will need 3, so the Aptera would fit in perfectly.
- No incentives. The $7,500 tax credit would mean a lot in making the final decision. Hopefully the legislation will change.
- Potential price increase. My current order is at $34,500 (400 mile battery), and I am thinking about downgrading to the 250 mile battery, but I would not proceed with a 20% price increase.
- Yoke, which doesn’t have any place in a road vehicle. Hopefully they would offer a round steering wheel in 4-5 years from today, as this was in their original design when I put my reservation.
- Windshield wiper stalk, which they don’t have right now. Hopefully they would offer one in 4-5 years from today, as this was in their original design when I put my reservation.
- Regenerative braking with no shift paddles to change the regen level. One foot driving is terrible and not very energy efficient. I need to choose in a split moment if I want to coast or regen brake (2-3 regen brake levels). I had an eGolf with this feature and it was awesome, coast when you want to and engage the regen (with 3 regen levels) when you need to.
- Cooled seats. Hopefully they would offer one in 4-5 years from today, as this was in their original design when I put my reservation.
- Body wrap. I prefer paint, it’s more durable. Hopefully they would offer one in 4-5 years from today.
- Window buttons instead of touchscreen operated windows. Hopefully they would offer one in 4-5 years from today.
The only reason why I would even consider getting an Aptera is the solar charging and absolutely nothing else. My current daily commute is 12 miles in total, and because of the comfort and the cost of my current ICE vehicle it would not make any sense for me to replace it with a more pricey and less comfortable vehicle, even if it’s solar charged. If the price is less, I would sacrifice some comfort.
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Ride comfort. I saw that it’s been mentioned a few times in this thread, but for a vehicle that is designed for long distances, I really hope it will be comfortable for such. It will be difficult to enjoy it if it isn’t.
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No rear window. My reservation is for the the solar hood. The rear hatch window has been shown on the Alphas and the gamma. I followed the first time around aptera of years ago; it had a rear window too. I wish aptera well because like many of you I’m invested. Hopefully sometime in the future they will have an optional rear window.
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My concern is the yoke, it’s a safety issue, we’re not flying an airplane.
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#1 was lack of Fast Charging but that’s resolved!
Now my #1 is the unknown price, as this is basically a toy car for me.
Also waiting for some real world reviews, before I lay down 33K$, the Aptera may not
be as amazing as we want to believe.
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My own mortal demise before delivery would be a dealbreaker. Anything short of that…probably not 🙂
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The only deal breaker for me is if another car company makes a better more efficient solar vehicle.
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My deal breaker comes in the form of 2 basic issues.
1) unknown price point
2) delay after delay after delay
Number 2 is a bigger deal. I’ve been nursing my daily driver along for a year now. Waiting for the 2021 delivery date that never happened. The. The 2022 now they screwed us out of 2023 with the accelerate program ( IF they deliver anything this year it’s going to be to the payola winners ) not the average reservation holders. So that makes it 2024 before any average holder sees anything.
And I’d be will willing to bet they push it back to 2025 before all is said and done
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I share your frustrations, however the delays have resulted in Aptera being a much better and faster to produce vehicle. So depending on where you are on the list to be produced, these delayes could have resulted in preventing you from getting a lower quality vehicle, or could let you get a better vehicle faster.
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I had two big ones but a third sneaked in after reading the thread:
– Actually being able to buy the car in Denmark and not having to arrange picking it up on the westcoast. This includes all the approvals for Danish use off course.
– Being able to charge it properly at home. I have a really good Easee Home 3 phase charger able to do 11 kW. Charging at home is 1/5 the cost of public chargers here and there is no economic advantage to an EV without home charging.
– Privacy, adds-invasion, notifications: Nobody records me, nobody sells my data, no constant notifications, emails etc. I just want to drive the car to work as cheap and comfortable as possible without any interruptions.
I just hope my Ioniq will last until you get the Aptera ready for Europe in 2024-25, my reservation has been done 🙂
/Jim
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> “Being able to charge it properly at home. I have a really good Easee Home 3 phase charger able to do 11 kW. Charging at home is 1/5 the cost of public chargers here and there is no economic advantage to an EV without home charging.”
It’ll max out at 6.6kW or thereabouts, but that is plenty for overnight charging (the slower the better, as far as battery life is concerned). A 40kW battery would max out in 6 hours from empty at that rate (it may be better to limit the charge rate below that just to limit battery degradation as much as possible).
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White interior touch points are a deal breaker for me. So bummed, I’ll be watching to see when this issue is rectified.
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Fabric dye is your friend.
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No thanks, fabric dye does not work very well on high touch point surfaces, i.e., steering device, door pull handles… Also you are suggesting that I disassemble the interior the day I take ownership? Sorry, no deal, this thread is on what is a deal-breaker for ownership. This is mine.
- This reply was modified 2 days, 4 hours ago by
David DeCesare.
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To each his own. I would not usew fabric dye on a new car either.
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It is either that or replace the yoke with a proper steering wheel. That white yoke will be discolored with in days just from skin oil. Of course always wearing gloves might help.
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- This reply was modified 2 days, 4 hours ago by
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Steering wheel is now black in most recent photos
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+1 – love that improvement. Saves me making a cover to achieve the same result.
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And it looks less like Hello Kitty!
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KISS, keep it simple stupid. Steering wheel. Ability to charge for 40 minutes and achieve roughly a 400 miles or more range for road trips. Make it Tesla Supercharge compatible.
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Many are not getting the message. No steering wheel, only yokes no matter how many forum comments or complaints on social media. Purchasers of Aptere need to either adjust to driving with a yoke, or, after purchase, replace it with a third party wheel, or buy something else. I think the other two are coming with the LE.
- This reply was modified 1 day, 23 hours ago by
John Malcom. Reason: Corrected spelling
- This reply was modified 1 day, 23 hours ago by
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My deal breaker may be not being able to realize any state or federal electric vehicle tax credits.
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I will be in DC this week about fighting climate change and that a credit for solar vehicles wood help.
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Could you keep us posted on how it goes? Maybe you could also provide contact information for the Aptera community to help promote/support that?
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