I’ll admit I’m not an auto enthusiast. That could make me the best person to cover the Electrify Expo Seattle 2023 — if the event can get me excited about EVs, it can animate anyone — or the worst, given an indifference to vehicles that shades into dislike.
The two-day expo took place last weekend, sprawling over the equivalent of more than 15 football fields in Redmond’s Marymoor Park. Participating companies rolled out all things electric, from e-skateboards and e-balance bikes (not sure why that’s a thing) to luxe battery-powered Porches and BMWs. There was an area for enthusiasts to showcase their customized EVs, including a Tesla painted with chameleon-worthy shifting colors and a ground-skimming electric VW bus.
While I was curious about the e-bikes on offer, it was an unseasonably hot, mid-80s afternoon and my time and energy were limited. That meant focusing on one thing: cars.
I’ve actually wanted an EV for years, motivated entirely by climate concerns. I even made an offer on a new Chevy Volt in 2017, despite finding the car seats somewhat uncomfortable and the interior pedestrian even for my boring tastes. But the dealership’s service was also lousy, so I wound up driving home a Prius from another lot. The Volt marked my first and last EV driving experience.
But in my climate tech reporting role, EVs remain top-of-mind. Every day my inbox is loaded with EV updates, including the latest on rapidly expanding EV adoption (22% of new cars sold in California are electric!) and investments in new chargers (Washington state has $64 million to award for charger installations!) — as well as cautionary tales (U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm runs into charging snags on a public road trip!).
It was time for some firsthand experience with the newer cars and the Electrify Expo was ready to oblige.
Grabbing the e-wheel
After my husband, teen and I cruised the vehicles on display at the park, we made our way to the test drive area. The demo sign up was already full for Porsche and Volvo — I was only interested in the latter, no surprise — but we could take spins in a Kia and a Polestar.
Kia had its EV6 and Niro models available. Both are marketed as crossover SUVs, which is an SUV body shrunk to fit a car-sized platform. The EV6 is the racier of the two, and my milquetoast sensibilities preferred the Niro — plus its line was much shorter and the sun very hot. I passed a requisite breathalyzer test and we hopped in.
Turning a dial to move from park to drive felt weird and I missed having an emergency brake to disengage, but those were minor considerations. The Niro’s most notably EV-feature was the ability to toggle between different degrees of regenerative braking. All of the electric and plug-in electric passenger vehicles sold today include the feature, which captures the energy generated when a driver presses the brakes and sends it back to the battery.
On the lowest level of the four regenerative braking settings, the function wasn’t particularly noticeable. But turned all the way up, I felt like a first-time driver of a five-speed transmission, lurching through acceleration and deceleration.
That highest regenerative braking mode also allows drivers to use “one-pedal driving,” which means using only your accelerator to speed up and slow to a stop. With cranked up regenerative braking, when you take your foot off the accelerator, instead of coasting like you do in a combustion engine car or truck, the car will slow down so you don’t need to use the brake pedal as well.
It feels weird to use the accelerator this way after decades of driving gas-powered cars, but I think it could be fun to play around with and get used to. Aficionados assure me it takes only a couple of days to master.
My husband got to drive the swankier Polestar 2, which is a Volvo brand. The vehicle is described as being somewhere between a sedan, a hatchback and a compact SUV. My husband, who really likes cars, appreciated the elegant, understated exterior and the simple, user friendly controls of the interior. My assessment didn’t go much further than “this is nice.”
Considering an EV future
We walked away impressed with both cars, and even potentially interested in buying the somewhat more affordable 2023 Kia Niro, which as it turns out ranks No. 2 for electric non-luxury cars by Consumer Reports. The model sells for around $40,000-45,000. Unfortunately it’s not currently eligible for federal tax credits due to where it’s manufactured. The vehicle should qualify for a discount on state sales tax for $15,000 of the price.
Hopefully additional dollars would be recouped over time given the lower cost of charging versus buying gas and lower maintenance costs.
But there are other sticking points.
I want to replace my husband’s gas-powered Subaru Forester, which has served us well for vacations that require lots of gear, transporting bikes and handling snowy conditions. That means all-wheel drive, which isn’t an option for the Niro, and my husband really wants a battery range of 300 miles. The Niro is listed at 253 miles for range (more extreme cold and hot conditions could reduce that) and a fast charging time of 45 minutes to get from 10% battery power up to 80%.
I’m more impulsive and ready to take the EV plunge. Worse case, I figure, we could rent an all-wheel drive when on the occasional ski trek.
For now, we’ll keep researching and considering the options — leasing might be a way to go as the field is evolving quickly. And in the meantime, there are still all of those e-bikes to explore.
Continue scrolling for a few more photos from the event.
