What's par though? Again, electric range is up to and far surpasses the range that most people will need most of the time. Sure, if you're going to be traveling over 100 miles each day to work, this isn't the solution. Buying a car that you'll use for, let's say, ten years, with so much weight on conditions that might arise four or five times out of that decade, and probably a good deal less as the already large number of charging stations continues to grow, is like buying a pair of hiking boots for your daily pair of shoes because you go hiking every odd year.

And that brings up another point. Most people who buy a new car will use it for a good deal of time. We're seeing so much growth in the fully electric vehicle market and in charging stations that it's a good bet that zero emission vehicles will meet even your standards pretty soon, and therefore for most of the life of the car. It's already up to par, and it will only get better.

Obviously I'm here because I have a Prius. And I love it. But given the choice today, I would go with the Model 3. Still it is a good deal more expensive, and that also means I would have to make sure there's a charging station between here and wherever I plan my next road trip to be. Does that mean a Prius, or a Prius Prime is a bad choice? Not at all. It's a much better choice than loads of other cars right now, and I can definitely see the heuristic satisfaction of having the base of "what if I want to go further than that" covered. It's intuitive to plan for those sorts of occasions. But is it smart? Well, if you don't take those sorts of trips all that often, I don't think so. It's not dumb by any stretch, it's just not the best way to look at the situation. Automobile as a metaphor for freedom is deeply rooted in the American psyche. Limiting the range of our vehicles to such a tangible number feels off. I get that. Even if that number is something that almost all people can work within almost all of the time, it still feels weird. Heuristics are helpful for quick decision making, but buying a car shouldn't really be a quick decision.