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I'm curious.  Figure the EV has about a 250 mile range and can fast charge and currently costs about $8,000 more than some equivalent ICE car.  I've read some fast charge to 80% in 20 minutes, but that is pushing it today.

able to bring a given EV's battery back up to 80 percent of its capacity in around 30-60 minutes, depending on the vehicle ...

Chevrolet Cruze vs Chevrolet Bolt EV - CarGurus

Similar cars, the Cruze is rated 28/38 mpg.  The Bolt has a 256 mile range.  Recharging at 12 cents per kwhr would cost about $7-8.  The Cruze would use about 6-8 gallons of gas.  The Bolt is faster to 60 by a good bit.

I provided a salient example for that, the EV costs around $31 K and the ICE would cost around $23 K, currently.  Then you look at operating costs.  No brake pad wear, no fluid to change, much cheaper miles per cent.  Over time, it can pay out.  I think it's not there yet.

I provided a salient example for that, the EV costs around $31 K and the ICE would cost around $23 K, currently.  Then you look at operating costs.  No brake pad wear, no fluid to change, much cheaper miles per cent.  Over time, it can pay out.  I think it's not there yet.

The problem for most of us is that the payoff calculation is influenced heavily by your home/family/work situation.

I drive very limited miles now. My commute is 1.7mi so 3.4mi/day, 17mi/wk, 884mi/yr.

At 1,000 mi per year the annual fuel cost for a humongous Suburban 4x4 with the biggest gas engine offered (per epa.gov figures) is only about $200 so electric just wouldn't make sense. Now if I suddenly got a job 40 mi from home such that my commute increased to:

• 80mi/day
• 400mi/wk
• 20,800mi/yr

I would have a very different view of things.

All of that said, I favor cheaper initial cost over cheaper overall cost because situations change. Ie, if I had the above hypothetical job 40mi from home and bought a hybrid or electric car planning to recoup the extra cost with fuel savings over 5-10 years of ownership then got a job offer closer to home the electric car premium would end up as a financially unwise decision.

As an example of the above, when I was at tOSU I owned an old but paid for pickup that got about 14mpg. My plan was to drive it for a while after graduation and save up for a new car. However, when I graduated I realized that with the amount of driving I would be doing I could pretty much make my car payment with my gas savings. 

Per epa at today's prices my truck would have cost me about $750/mo in fuel (roughly 3k/mo, almost all highway) while the 5spd manual Chevy Cavalier that I bought would cost me about $275/mo in fuel. The $475/mo difference is more than enough to make the payment on the new car.

I'd consider an EV today using roughly the same logic.

I think "maybe in ten years or so" is the right answer for most folks.  Some leap in batteries could make that five.  I suspect at some point "normal" ICE cars will lose a lot of value because of lack of demand, that could be 2035ish.

But your CTS-V station wagon with a manual transmission could be worth a fortune.

As an example of the above, when I was at tOSU I owned an old but paid for pickup that got about 14mpg. My plan was to drive it for a while after graduation and save up for a new car. However, when I graduated I realized that with the amount of driving I would be doing I could pretty much make my car payment with my gas savings.

Per epa at today's prices my truck would have cost me about $750/mo in fuel (roughly 3k/mo, almost all highway) while the 5spd manual Chevy Cavalier that I bought would cost me about $275/mo in fuel. The $475/mo difference is more than enough to make the payment on the new car.

I'd consider an EV today using roughly the same logic.

I had a similar situation a few years back. At the time, I was driving an older F-250 and it was costing me about $500/month in fuel just to get to work and back. While I used it quite a bit outside of work, it just didn't make sense to spend that amount of money just to drive to the office on a daily basis. I bought a slightly used Toyota Camry that got considerably better mileage and only cost about $100/month in gas.  The payment on the Camry was about $200 and the insurance was not very much. Therefore, I acquired a car and still came out ahead just driving it to work and back. 

That was until my son took it out one night and totaled it. Then it was back to driving the truck for a couple of months. Since then, I have pretty much worked at home and now cost of driving an F-250 to work is nothing. 

You'd need to drive 12,000 miles a year to consider an EV near equal, I think, much of that around town.  The numbers still don't work if you consider taking that $8 K difference and investing it in something safe.  Each thousand miles in "fuel" costs around $28 versus around $80.  Figure $50 savings each 1,000 miles, maybe $600 a year, for ten years, add in no oil changes and brake pads etc.  Meh.

And in ten years, your range will have degraded.

Let's IMAGINE that in 2030, or so, the EV costs only $2,000 more than a comparable ICE car.  Say you drive 12,000 miles a year.  The EV saves you $600 a year at current gas prices.  The EV would have better acceleration and cornering (I'm talking lower end cars.)

Now I think you'd have rather quick adoption by mainstreamers.  It would still take years for EVs to replace half the ICE cars on the roads.