Got an EV6

[Laconian]

If you have any friendly Tesla neighbors (or Tesla chargers at grocery stores etc) you could use one of these: https://www.evseadapters.com/products/tesla-to-j1772-adapter/

The kind neighbor who let us borrow the L1 also told me where their hide-a-key is, so that I could let myself in and hook my car up to their L2 while they're at work. 3 hours 'til full. Now we're talking! Once I have a surplus the L1 will suffice until the L2 arrives and is installed. We were planning to have this done in advance, but we were really thrown off balance by my recent layoff.

[Morris Minor]

The kind neighbor who let us borrow the L1 also told me where their hide-a-key is, so that I could let myself in and hook my car up to their L2 while they're at work. 3 hours 'til full. Now we're talking! Once I have a surplus the L1 will suffice until the L2 arrives and is installed. We were planning to have this done in advance, but we were really thrown off balance by my recent layoff.

Sounds like a lovely neighbor. If you're getting an outlet installed make sure the electrician installs a decent one.
https://youtu.be/aTVm8Bt_YUw

[Laconian]

Sounds like a lovely neighbor. If you're getting an outlet installed make sure the electrician installs a decent one.
https://youtu.be/aTVm8Bt_YUw

We're going to get wired straight to the breaker panel. Plugs can't be used if you go as high as 48A.

[AutobahnSHO]

Got it! I rode back in the Miata with earplugs and my husband wafted in the EV6 on L2 assist.

FINALLY!

I was excited to see it. Pics look great!

[Laconian]

The latest OTA update added EXCLUSIVE new sounds from the guy responsible for the soundtrack of Parasite and Squid Game! What's next, a holographic BTS concert on the AR HUD?

[dazzleman]

That was a long trip. 3.5 hours of MX-5 on the interstate, my ears are still ringing from the roadnoise.

After we got arrived I grabbed the keys and romped around for 30 miles. Man this car is AWESOME! The test drives didn't give me a chance to appreciate just how well this car handles, but sheesh, it really knows how to impress if you throw it into some corners!

Congratulations!  It looks sweet

[CaminoRacer]

It looked like our local Kia dealership has multiple EV6s in stock on the lot right now. I think they're all Wind models though, no GTs

[Laconian]

The car has way too many options, knobs, and toggles.

One interesting discovery is the auto regeneration mode. The car will dynamically adjust the level of regeneration based on traffic ahead, the slope you're on, the speed versus the current limit, and the navigation route (if set). If there is no need to decelerate, the front motor is disengaged to reduce friction. It's well implemented. The car is noticeably more efficient (+15%) yet fairly invisible at the same time.

[giant_mtb]

Wait those things can go invisible??

[Laconian]

Whoops, edit fail. I meant the mode is invisible

[Laconian]

The car's still amazing. I can't get over how fast and refined it is. The stress of dealing with traffic are so much lower with the extremely quiet ride. It's not just the fact that there's no engine noise, it's also because Kia just did a really good job of sound insulation overall. I've never owned a Lexus or Mercedes so this is really my first taste of "luxury" ride quality. The TSX doesn't count; it was still a Honda at heart.

My only gripe is that the instrument cluster is mounted too low for my seating position. I have to lower my head in order to see it through the steering wheel. The HUD makes up for it somewhat, but conveniences such as the blindspot cameras aren't very useful because I can't see them very easily.

[Morris Minor]

The car's still amazing. I can't get over how fast and refined it is. The stress of dealing with traffic are so much lower with the extremely quiet ride. It's not just the fact that there's no engine noise, it's also because Kia just did a really good job of sound insulation overall. I've never owned a Lexus or Mercedes so this is really my first taste of "luxury" ride quality. The TSX doesn't count; it was still a Honda at heart.

My only gripe is that the instrument cluster is mounted too low for my seating position. I have to lower my head in order to see it through the steering wheel. The HUD makes up for it somewhat, but conveniences such as the blindspot cameras aren't very useful because I can't see them very easily.

I've heard this from others, i.e. that EVs are so much more relaxing to drive - less exhausting. Noise is tiring: without being aware of it we burn a lot of brain CPU cycles filtering it out.
Manufacturers have to work extra hard with EVs because there's no noise maker under the hood anymore masking NVH shortcomings. The crutch has been kicked away.

[CaminoRacer]

I've heard this from others, i.e. that EVs are so much more relaxing to drive - less exhausting. Noise is tiring: without being aware of it we burn a lot of brain CPU cycles filtering it out.
Manufacturers have to work extra hard with EVs because there's no noise maker under the hood anymore masking NVH shortcomings. The crutch has been kicked away.

It sounds like most EVs have done well with NVH except Tesla. They're the only cars I hear complaints about

[Morris Minor]

It sounds like most EVs have done well with NVH except Tesla. They're the only cars I hear complaints about

They now have laminated acoustic glass, & are allegedly better than they were. But my guess is the glass roofs are an NVH handicap - resonating & reflecting rather than damping & insulating.

[Laconian]

I read that the suspension of the MY and M3 is tuned very stiffly.

[Laconian]

Installed a dashcam in the EV6. The car has a billion cameras, and in some countries you can use them as recording cameras, but not in the USA for some reason! The install was actually super tidy because I used this Dongar adapter that lets me splice 5V from the rear view camera power hookup. https://dongar.tech/collections/adapters . The camera is a Viofo V119 PRO 4k. It cost around $120, is roughly as compact as a toll bridge transponder, and has an extremely basic feature set. That's great. I don't want yet another LCD hanging out in my field of vision.

I really do wish I could use the EV6's cameras instead though, grr...

Also, Lane Keep Assist needs to warn the driver when it bails. The only indication of that happening is that a green icon turns white... that, and the car starts continuing straight into the oncoming lane around a bend. I respect that it is very conservative at how much steering it's willing to do, but it seems dangerous that the driver is not better informed about the transition.

[CaminoRacer]

Nice. I need to get a new dashcam, the Miata's cheap $45 one seems to be on the fritz. It's too bad it doesn't have a dimming mirror for that type of dongle, that's a slick set up.

[Laconian]

Here's what it looks like.

Some more bonus points for basic design:
The camera needs to function well without an app. I don't want the camera to go obsolete when the manufacturer goes bankrupt or otherwise just stops paying attention to app development. You can plug the camera into your phone or just eject the SD card and read it that way.

The camera should only run on the car power and NOT have a lithium ion battery. Another thing that can die an early death and potentially create a fire hazard for the car. It has a built in supercapacitor which is used to gracefully flush the buffers on power loss.

[giant_mtb]

Nice.  Having a dashcam is easy peace of mind.

I had one that had WiFi and an app...the app was garbage and finicky.  The camera lasted about 6 months.  So I spent the same amount of money for one that didn't have an app or Wifi or any of that stuff.  Much, much better.

I'm sure the apps for some of the more expensive, name-brand dashcams (Garmin, etc.) are probably far better, but for the cheaper $100-150 random cameras...eh, not worth it.

[Laconian]

The apps might be better for now, but nobody's going to be grinding out updates for a camera that's branded EOL.

[Morris Minor]

The warning for lane keep assist losing the plot is an interesting one. You want to alert the driver, but not be so loud obnoxious & frequent that people just shut off the alarm or never use the feature in the first place. A gentle buzz of the steering wheel in there somewhere maybe?

[afty]

The warning for lane keep assist losing the plot is an interesting one. You want to alert the driver, but not be so loud obnoxious & frequent that people just shut off the alarm or never use the feature in the first place. A gentle buzz of the steering wheel in there somewhere maybe?

When the Tesla loses the lane markers, the screen flashes red, there's a loud alert, and it tells you to take control immediately.  That feels like the right level of alert to me, considering the alternative is for the car to start drifting out of its lane.

[giant_mtb]

The warning for lane keep assist losing the plot is an interesting one. You want to alert the driver, but not be so loud obnoxious & frequent that people just shut off the alarm or never use the feature in the first place. A gentle buzz of the steering wheel in there somewhere maybe?

Taco has lane departure assist...turned it off immediately.  Rumble strips are enough for me.  Or I just...y'know...pay attention.

[CaminoRacer]

Taco has lane departure assist...turned it off immediately.  Rumble strips are enough for me.  Or I just...y'know...pay attention.

I could see it being useful on a long road trip, in case you start to drift. But otherwise I've never liked it on the rental cars I've driven with it (Kia and Toyota). Radar cruise control is enough automation for me.

[CaminoRacer]

The camera should only run on the car power and NOT have a lithium ion battery. Another thing that can die an early death and potentially create a fire hazard for the car. It has a built in supercapacitor which is used to gracefully flush the buffers on power loss.

I think the capacitor is what's failing on mine.

[Laconian]

Noooooooooo! Capacitor, you were the chosen one!

[giant_mtb]

I could see it being useful on a long road trip, in case you start to drift. But otherwise I've never liked it on the rental cars I've driven with it (Kia and Toyota). Radar cruise control is enough automation for me.

Yeah, I suppose it could be handy on a really long drive.

And, yes.  I absolutely love radar cruise control. 

[Laconian]

Supervised lane keeping definitely reduces fatigue on long trips, I've noticed that.

[MrH]

I think I'm going to get a Garmin dash cam mini 2.  No screen, very simple.  It has an app, but it all works via microSD too, so it should be fine.

[giant_mtb]

I think I'm going to get a Garmin dash cam mini 2.  No screen, very simple.  It has an app, but it all works via microSD too, so it should be fine.

Been considering that one as well.  I have my old one from the old Taco and it works just fine...been too lazy to install it, so my brain is like "just buy a new one, then you'll be excited about installing it and actually do it." lol