Comment by audunw
5 days ago
I think the car looks excellent for what it is. It’s not like there’s a lot of choice in stunning micro EVs. My friend drove a Buddy for a few years. Really neat car, but that’s definitely one that nobody would call beautiful. I’ve seen many people who thinks the Aptera looks great. It has some very good design qualities (sleek and elegant IMO), even if I can see why others wouldn’t like it.
Like others have said, you’re objectively wrong about the solar panels. If you live in a sunny area, if you don’t have off-street parking, and you just need something to commute to work and do errands, the Aptera is technically an excellent choice. You would rarely have to visit a charging station. There’s no denying that the Aptera js efficient enough that the roof solar actually has a meaningful impact for people with median daily use.
The solar panels aren’t meant to make a huge impact on long road trips. So your criticism just doesn’t make any sense. I can kinda understand the confusion considering we’re commenting on this story in particular. But this test is more about demonstrating what the excellent aerodynamics brings to the table. So maybe read a bit more into the intention of the design choices before critiquing it?
These guys are based here in San Diego county. I've been watching them for years.
It's good to see some new news, and I think the road trip and report are an interesting update.
But I do think they could have avoided criticism like what we're replying to above, if they had stated clearly how much of the 300 mile day was powered by the photovoltaic, and how much relied on plug-in charging.
I'm not critical at all, and I still want to know those details 8-/
Solar powered daily errands and even a modest commute are totally viable here in the southwest. I work from home, and plug my Nissan Leaf in about twice a week. So that's about 300 miles per week. I could almost certainly do my driving in the aptera without plugging in at all.
The look is strictly "form follows function", it's not intended to be a fashion statement, it's intended to be maximally efficient.
Clearly trying to attract Kunk Daddy and the thug crowd away from giant blacked-out escalades with gold wheels, isn't the demographic addressed by this vehicle.