New KIA EV3 Introduction

We agree.

Just pulled that out of my colon apparently.
MSM says BEVs 'should be' (meaning, probably WON'T be!) cheaper to in the next 3 years because of 'manufacturing advances' - probably meaning taking more humans out of the manufacturing loop.
Other than that they REALLY SHOULD be cheaper to produce because they're simpler.

My bad.

Yep.
That might help as well.

Couldn't HURT much!!!!

 

People do LOTS of things that they cannot afford to......

 

i couldn't afford a house, had to get a mortgage. it never occured to me that it wasn't my fault i couldn't afford it, it must have been someone else's.

 

Count your blessings.
Many people can't afford the mortgages.
There's a REASON that call them MORTgages.

 

is that when something becomes unaffordable?

 

I bought my last house at the bottom of the market, when interest rates were well below 4%.
Unlike automobiles which one can buy anywhere, and take everywhere, houses pretty much stay in one place.
I also had a 'yuge' advantage in that I did not have any school age children at the time and my neighborhood had become "God's waiting room."
Since our regional bank had 5-gallon buckets filled with house keys from owners that could no longer afford theirs - I suddenly COULD.
Today my neighborhood is 'gentrifying' because of the boom in private schools, and the emptying out of the 'waiting room.'
My house more than doubled in real-world value in a little over 10 years.

I could have done that on the street, but I would have had to do it with MY money instead of the bank's.

Tis an ill wind.....
In my very brief time here in PC I've seen Priuses go for MSRP +++ on more than one occasion.
I've also seen them steeply discounted.

Unlike my 21mpg GMC Sierra, Prius prices are tied much more closely to gas prices - so I fondly remember a time when gas was <$2(*) a gallon and one could get a brand spanking new 2015 for thousands under the book price - sometimes even behind the tinsel curtain.


(*) Gas is a commodity.
The current ($3.039) price isn't artificially low, as mentioned earlier on but rather it's artificially HIGH.
If as were taxed at the same rate as food, and pricing structures were similar gas would be about $1.80.
The reason that OPEC+ is struggling to comply with production caps AND the prices are "only" $3 a gallon at present is the fact that 'some' major sources (Iran, Russia) are NOT complying with production caps - and they're funding the two major conflicts that are raging on the other side of the pond.
People who run billion dollar industries are sometimes able to see around corners.
EVEN $3 a gallon gas is making a lot of new car buyers do the 'noodle dance' about affordability.....

 

I agree.
However the audience of the article is a lot of individuals. And each of those buyers consider “affordable” to mean something different.
That is why I said, and hold, that ‘affordable’ is a sliding scale.

 

tax benefits to the oil industry keep gasoline costs down.

 

I agree.

Where I think the author is getting it wrong is that he's opened with a declaration that "more affordable" is in demand. Am I crazy for thinking he's setting us up for the announcement of something that is... more affordable?

$35k-50k is a range that covers a useful slice of EVs, and I'm giving Mr. George credit for knowing that. And there really isn't much south of 35.

So why is he asking us to believe that this $35k-50k EV is more affordable than all the other $35k-50k EVs?

Again, nothing against the car itself. I just think this guy wrote a really weird review.

 

Dang:

And again:

 

no spare tyre, that's for weight

 

Starting around 1:20: 17", 19" AND 20" rims will be offered, so gotta cut weight somewhere...

 

Isn't it fun to think of what you thought way back when.

 

That was in 2024.
I Still think the same way in fact, because math hasn't stopped mathing.
If you're buying a new BEV at today's prices "to save money on gas" then you will indeed save money on gas but only because BEVs rely on an older and less evolved technology.
They ARE trying to catch up and at the current rate of battery and solar technology they may YET catch up - but SOMEBODY has to pay for the development.
If one "trusts the science" and if math IS a science I'm gonna come down on gassers - in 2026 just as I did in 2023 when I bought my last vehicle.
If you compare cheapest new gasser with cheapest new BEV then it's STILL not even close - AGAIN, using real math.

If you ALSO consider Economics to be a "real science" then the gap widens even further because only idiots buy new cars of ANY kind to "save money."

 

You won’t save money on the more evolved technology of hybrids either

 

PHEVs are about the best cars you can drive today because (A) they're scalable, meaning that you can get them in multiple sizes and platforms (real-SUV, fake SUV, Car, full size truck, car pretending to be a small size truck, etc.)
They're also by nature (B) true dual-fuel vehicles.
This means that with proper planning you don't have to ask passing motorists if they can spare a gallon of amps
PHEVs are really very good at just about everything except for COST - because as mentioned above - you ain't 'saving money' with them.

Dateline: 15 August 2026.....

The cheapest new Kia available in North America is the 2026 Kia K4 LX sedan, with a base manufacturer's suggested retail price starting at $22,290.

NOT really a fair comparison though.
It's a compact sedan rather than a subcompact crossover (hatchback.)

 

if it is actually available at that price, all the "there aren't any affordable cars anymore" people will be able to put their money where their mouth is.