ValueVroom.com By November 2020, the Tesla Model S was no longer the new kid on the block. It was the seasoned veteran. It had been dominating the luxury EV segment for nearly a decade, largely because it was the only car in the luxury EV segment. But late 2020 was a very specific moment in Model … Read more
The Nissan Leaf is the elder statesman of the modern EV era. It walked so Tesla could run. It normalized the idea of plugging your car into the wall. But by 2020, the second-generation Leaf was in a weird spot. It looked sharper and drove better, but it was clinging to older tech in a … Read more
Before the pixelated Ioniq 5 stole the show, and before the streamlined Ioniq 6 won awards, there was just… the Ioniq. It was Hyundai’s three-pronged attack on the Toyota Prius (Hybrid, Plug-in, and Electric), packaged in a liftback shape that was aerodynamic, sensible, and almost aggressively boring. November 2020 was a weird time for this … Read more
If the Chevy Bolt was the sensible shoes of the 2020 EV market, the Hyundai Kona Electric was the pair of trendy sneakers. It had cladding. It had attitude. It had a front bumper that looked like a Stormtrooper who forgot to put in his mouthguard. In November 2020, the Kona Electric was riding high. … Read more
If the Hyundai Kona Electric was the style icon and the Chevy Bolt was the economy play, the Kia Niro EV was the pragmatic grown-up in the room. It didn’t have weird doors. It didn’t have a closed-off grille that looked like a muzzle. It just looked like a Kia. In November 2020, that “normcore” … Read more
For a brief, delirious moment in 2022, the Tesla Model 3 was the only car in history that defied physics. You could drive one for two years and sell it for more than you paid. It was the infinite money glitch of the automotive world. But that party is over. The lights came on, the … Read more
In November 2020, the Tesla Model Y was the new kid on the block. It was the car everyone predicted would eat the automotive industry alive—and they were right. It eventually dethroned the Toyota Corolla to become the best-selling vehicle in the world. But buying a Model Y in its freshman year (2020) was a … Read more
The BMW i3 wasn’t just a car; it was a rolling science experiment. It featured a passenger cell made entirely of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), sustainable eucalyptus wood on the dash, and rear doors that opened backward. By 2020, the i3 was entering its twilight years. The “weirdo” of the BMW lineup had received … Read more
When the Mini Cooper SE (often just called the Mini Electric) launched in 2020, the reviews all said the exact same thing: “It’s so much fun to drive, but that range is pathetic.” It was a weird proposition. Mini took the electric motor from the BMW i3s, stuffed it into a standard 2-door Hardtop, and … Read more
The Chevrolet Bolt EV is the cockroach of the electric car world. I mean that as a compliment. It is unkillable, everywhere, and despite attempts by its own parent company to put it out to pasture, it keeps scurrying back into our hearts (and driveways). Back in 2020, the Bolt was Chevy’s golden child of … Read more
