Like the title says, are there any EVs that just have a Bluetooth radio and that’s it? Like a normal car, not a smartphone on wheels? If not, do you all think that this will actually happen at some point? This is the main reason why I can’t (and will never) buy an EV. I like to have actual buttons everywhere on my car. I think those massive tablets on these cars with all the touch buttons are very dangerous. I like an “entertainment system” that only connects to my phone with either a headphone jack of or Bluetooth. It’s a car, not a PC.
I have a 2016 Nissan Leaf. It’s a short range commuter car, it makes a great second car for a family but it’s no good if it’s your only car.
I live in a left-hand drive country that gets heaps of used imports from Japan (who is also left-hand drive), so they are cheapish and easy to get YMMV,. The entertainment system is not touch screen, it has physical buttons including controls on the steering wheel. I’m not sure if it can phone home since it’s no longer in a supported country. We use Bluetooth for music and that’s it as the Nissan Connect stuff doesn’t work here.
That’s what I tell people who are just pure “anti” EV. No one should be anti EV, that’s a stupid take IMO. (Even the things about the environmental cost, I mean, fair, except their solution is to continue to keep destroying the planet by burning gas/diesel so you know they don’t actually care about that issue).
EVs are perfect for commuter cars and around town cars, which I’d say is 95+% of driving for most people. They just don’t want to admit it. Their vision of how they drive is wild and free on an open road, but most of them are just going to walmart, to work, for groceries, and around town. Since most of America is 2+ cars per house, it makes absolute sense for one to be an EV and the other to be an ICE/hybrid.
The real "EVs"1 – that is, e-bikes – are even more perfect for that use case, though.
(1 Because most electric vehicles sold are, in fact bicycles, not cars)
The Nissan Connect stuff doesn’t work anymore for any of the 2016 Leafs, they used a form of cell service that is no longer in operation.
I swapped a nice Kenwood head unit into my Leaf for a couple hundred dollars. It maintains the backup camera, steering wheel controls, and the built in USB port while offering a larger screen and touch screen controls for Android Auto or Apple Car Play if you want them. It’s awesome and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants a short range commuter car.