Prospective Sparker

[markEVmark]

Hello,

I just relocated to the the Palo Alto/Mountain View area from the midwest, and need a vehicle and am considering the Spark - my commute to work is about 20 miles round trip - the main concern I have is that I won't have a charging option at home or at work.

There is a Walmart with some kind of charging stations by my gym, and I thought about charging it up while I work out (2 hours altogether) 4-5x per week. I also do some freelance web development work outside of my daily 9-5, and thought about being able to find a charging station near a coffee shop or someplace where I could work for a 2-3 hours a few times per week.

Based on my situation, how realistic is to think that this type of arrangement could work? Would I be better off looking at a Volt or Prius?

Also, I haven't started to investigate charging plug/connector standards, networks, free stations, etc- does anyone have suggestions for a newbie on where to look to educate myself on this topic?

TIA for your feedback!

 

[ExtensionCord]

I wouldn't do it personally if I couldn't charge at home. That would just be one more un-needed stressor in my already stressful life... Your situation may be different tho. 20 miles round trip? If it's economy you are looking for, then the cheapest route would be a 10 year old gas powered econobox (Mazada 3, Yaris, Focus etc). Cheap to buy, cheap to maintain, cheap to insure.

If you want electric, the Volt would certainly make the trip. But obviously costs a whole lot more...

If you are young, single and don't mind a little adventure, then it could be fun to do as you are thinking of, just know it's going to be a problem every once in a while that you will have to adapt/overcome.

 

[14Volt]

It's certainly doable. With a 20-mile round trip work commute, you're looking at finding a charging station every 2-3 days to top off. Looking at plugshare.com, there are several SAE Combo fast chargers around you, so if you get the DC fast charge option on the car you will be golden. You can also rely on 240V chargers, but it will take much longer... the Spark EV is unfortunately limited to 3.3kW charging on 240V. Posting this while plugged in to 240V charger during lunch break .

 

[Curyousgee]

Go for it, thats what I do, I charge at the gym almost everyday for 2 hours. With that I have driven 855 miles in 3 weeks and have only charged once at home.

You will get roughtly 10-12 miles per hour of charge depending on your charger. So with 20 miles roud trip , expect to charge about 1 hour and 45 min to top off to full.

 

[markEVmark]

Thanks for everyone's ideas and suggestions so far! I really appreciate all the different perspectives and leads to follow up on! Time to hit the web and the streets and do some research.