[lawgolfer]

Admittedly, lithium batteries have changed the calculus in buying a cart. The increased milage/charge, lighter weight, and the absence of battery acid leaking onto your garage floor all increase the attractiveness of a lithium cart. On the downside, although small, there is the potential for a fire with a lithium battery.

The greatest difference between a Yamaha cart and those of all other manufacturers, is in the comfort, durability, and quality of the product. Only Yamaha has an independent rear axle, which makes a great difference in the ride. No other manufacturer comes close to the quality of Yamaha, the durability of its carts, and the retention of value over a period of years. EZ-GO, Club Cart etc all have to give substantial discounts to golf courses to make a sale or lease of a fleet of carts for the simple reason that after 2-3 years of hard use, their carts are "claptraps". If you question this, find a number of different brands of carts that are more than 5 years old and take a comparison ride. It is akin to a comparison of a Yugo to a Volkswagen, assuming you could find a Yugo to make the comparison.

This glaring difference was brought home to me in the recent past when we had two different couples visit on consecutive weeks, For the first , I rented an EZ-GO from the dealer. It was brand-new. I didn't get out of the parking lot before I considered returning it because of the harsh ride, vague steering, and "rattling" suspension. The following week, I rented a Yamaha from a small business which delivered it to our house. It was pre-2017 and not a "Quiet Tech". I don't know its exact age, but it was upwards of 10 years. Except for having a cheaper seat, and manual turn signals, it was no different than our personal, two year old, Yamaha.

What is needed is for Yamaha to return to making an electric cart with a lithium battery. Given the popularity of lithium carts, I doubt that will be long in coming.