Talk of The Villages Florida - 4 Fwd EVs: Evolution, EZGO, & Star Considerations & Turning Radius Limitations?!?

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- - 4 Fwd EVs: Evolution, EZGO, & Star Considerations & Turning Radius Limitations?!? (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/all-about-golf-carts-things-156/4-fwd-evs-evolution-ezgo-star-considerations-turning-radius-limitations-359394/)

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianL99 (Post 2439165)

I would urge anyone considering an Evolution golf cart, to do some serious research, before spending your money. You may find there's a lot of truth in the old adage, "you get what you pay for".

As for "Made in USA" thing .... over 80% of the components of Club Car golf carts are USA sourced and the carts are entirely built in the USA. Beyond question, they are the Cadillac of the main stream golf cart manufacturers.

Park an Evolution next to a Club Car or Star Sirius or drive each of one them, side by side ... you'll never buy an Evolution.

& no, I don't own a Club Car.

BTW, I have never run across anyone who's bought a 4 Seater (front facing) cart, who's happy with the purchase, 6 months later. They're slow, they're unwieldy, wheel base is too long, center of gravity is too high, they don't work at the golf courses ... & hardly anyone needs 4 seats on a regular basis.

Do a bit more research - the "USA sourced" is just a play on words by Club Car. Yes, 80% of their parts are sourced from other USA companies. However, this actually means that they don't make 80% of their own parts, and the majority of those sourced companies use parts from overseas. It's a shell game used by both Yamaha and Club Car.

I have parked my Evolution next to Club Car (used to own) and Star Sirius. I own an Evolution D5 after test driving. 5,000 miles in and I'll never own another Yahama or Club Car - at least not at the exorbitant price increase over the Evolution. Note that the Evolution D5 and their older Classic are two completely different models. I would never own the Classic. It is truly a low end cart. The D5 was a completely new design from the ground up and is a far better built cart.

I love the 4 forward facing seating. It is what drove me to look at Star, E-Z Go, and Evolution. And when company comes in, they love it too. No one wants to ride backwards.

Quote:

Originally Posted by idlewild (Post 2438976)

We’re looking at a new EV and really wanting as much golf cart for the money so considered the Evolution D5 Ranger, EZGO Liberty, and Star Sirius 4.

We researched and drove all and here is our personal experience/thoughts.

1. We loved the Evolution D5 Ranger (and so do 90% of our neighbors who we see buying them ~90% to other carts here in the new development areas) and dismissed the “Chinese junk” backlash. Still we were informed about the “dumping” lawsuit and have heard from two independent dealers that Evolution will be out of business in 6 months if they lose that federal case. Yikes.

2. We also liked the EZGO Liberty as it didn’t have the full Chinese market dependency, had been in business for generations, and was carried by the Villages (sort of a stamp of approval in our opinion). The biggest issue we had with the Liberty was the back row seemed lot make the cart less stable given the torque. I sat in the back while my wife accelerated and took a corner and we nearly lifted off the ground. We crossed it off mainly for that reason.

3. We also drove the Star 4 - both the Capella and Sirius. We had heard the Villages promoting the later as the “premier” (maybe apart from Club Car?) golf cart. Our concerns with the Star 4 forwards are the length and wheelbase - too much of a bus? Specifically, the Capella is 124.75” long, barely fitting our GCG. And it’s not as upgradable as the Sirius (no hard top enclosure for the Sunbrella, no CarPlay on the same 10” screen, etc.). The Sirius 4 is actually almost 2” shorter but still has a massive 96” wheelbase. (By comparison the Sirius 2+2 is only 6” shorter at 117” but has a 30” smaller wheelbase at 66”). Here’s a great specification sheet from Star.

And an “outside the bubble” honest salesman actually cautioned us about using a Sirius 4 for golfing and noted the raised curbs the Villages uses in some golf cart tunnels and roundabouts would be difficult if not impossible to navigate. He encouraged us to consider the Evolution D5 Ranger again even though he sold both models and his sale would be roughly $5k lower.

So, we’re now a bit torn and wanted to ask the group (1) for any general comments on the above considerations/analysis across makes and models and more specifically (2) is there any truth the the golf cart curbs in the Villages being too tight for the Sirius 4 to navigate? We know all about the height at the tunnel up north (Saddlebrook?) but hadn’t considered that the developer would be installing barriers that the golf cart that even they sell cant navigate!

If you really believe in supporting American manufacturing (as well as getting an excellent product), buy EZGo. It’s American. Even if it is more expensive or has different specifications, here is an unusual opportunity to support your country’s manufacturing. So many products we no longer make, like most clothes. But you can buy an EZGo. Walk the talk!

Quote:

Originally Posted by PoolBrews (Post 2439359)

I have parked my Evolution next to Club Car (used to own) and Star Sirius. I own an Evolution D5 after test driving. 5,000 miles in and I'll never own another Yahama or Club Car -.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. There are folks who believe Kia is one of the best automobiles on the market and they're surely entitled to that opinion. The market disagrees. Evolution has a minuscule percentage of the market ... probably lower than Kia.

Quote:

Originally Posted by idlewild (Post 2439053)

Thanks. I'm not concerned with the height as much as the length and - assuming you got the Stealth with the 4 Forward - it looks like that's 129" which is 6" longer than the Star Sirius 4, and I couldn't find any literature on the wheelbase. Would you know? What's the turning radius like?

I measured the wheelbase at 48". I haven't had any real problems with the turn ratio, although it is tight turning into some tunnels. Sometimes you might have to go into the oncoming lane a bit to get into the tunnel.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PoolBrews (Post 2439154)

I have the Evolution D5 4F. My cart is a bit over 1.5 years old and I'm at 5,000 miles. Love it. With regards to length - it's a bit shorter than a Yamaha with a rear seat and a lowered tailgate for feet. Much shorter than a Yamaha forward 4 seater. Turning radius is definitely a bit more, but I've had no issues anywhere.

I did lower the rear of my roof by 2.25" (any dealer should do this for free - I did my own). Lowering the rear will get you through any tunnel (Saddlebrook is the lowest in The Villages), but it will still be very close. I also had the dealer replace the standard 14" wheels with 12" wheels. This lowered the cart another 2", and now it's about the same height as a Yamaha.

What is the process to lower the roof? What did they do?

We love our EV. We bought our first 2 years ago, sold it and bought a 4 seater all front facing 4 months ago. There are so many features we enjoy with our new cart as far as storage, sound system, and performance. I would buy one again.

We went with the EZGo. Have had it for 3 years and love it. We were going to buy outside of the Villages but decided we liked the convenience of going right here to get it serviced and any questions we had, they were there to answer. LOVE the fact that we have rear facing seat but would recommend seatbelts for any rear facing carts. Make sure they put the lift kit in the back so it does not bottom out when going up hill and such with passengers in back. Went through all tunnels so far and no problem what so ever, north was with ease. Also, going over the bridges it is the right width as well so to maneuver through those tight knit areas. That may be what are going to be your tight turn radius. We finally serviced ours after 2 years and they basically made sure all was tight and battery was running great (oh and an 8 yr warranty on that too). The other great things is they are quiet, it will go from top to bottom of the Villages and back on one charge AND you just drive it into your garage and plug her in! Golfing is great in it as well. Its nice to take late night (well I mean after 9pm) drives cause it is so quiet and your neighbors won't even know if your coming home late. We bought ours from Daniel at Brownwood Villages Golf Cars. And we are about ready to purchase another from him soon for a family member too! Stay close and choose easy. ENJOY!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianL99 (Post 2439380)

Where are you getting market information? I've looked but have yet to find anything useful.

I'm skeptical that "the market" captures relevant information. Number of carts in use will certainly favor the long-time manufacturers. Number of carts purchased for golf course use might be significantly different than number of carts purchased for retirement community use. A minuscule percentage of carts on the street sounds bad but a measurable percentage, even if minuscule, could show a cart making inroads.

Yamaha, E-Z Go, and Club Car have the most carts currently in use. However, Star, Evolution, and Atomic have been around long enough now to give some confidence that they won't be going out of business soon.

I have a 2025 sirius 4. and have no problem whatsoever going around any corner or parking anywhere.

I would not worry about that aspect for your decision

I've owned a Star Sirius for over three years and have not experienced any problems as described by the salesman. I have driven my cart in both the northern and southern parts of TV without any issues. It is a great cart.

Shop
ONE STOP GOLF CART
on 301
a new dealer with
Unbelievable Prices
And 3 New Brands
Quantum is 1
Go Outside the Box

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianL99 (Post 2439165)

Would you like to meet me and a bunch of our friends who have evolution D5's and love them? Had it for a year. Dude, I worked 40 years in manufacturing and have an engineering degree and I will tell anyone to get a D5 for $12k over a more expensive Yamaha or star or whatever for 50-100% more. In fact if they were the same Price it would be tough to make a recommendation. I have a Yamaha quietech that I have had for 6 years and I like the evolution better overall. Is it perfect? No, but it's in the same quality range as any of the others. Drop the back 2.5" and buy one. Why would I pay double for a star carts?

I have a friend who bought an evolution from botero and the cart failed a couple weeks after they bought it new. When he called botero, they told him it old be a month before they can pick it up. He argued with them and they picked it up within a couple days, but it sat there for a couple of weeks before they worked on it.
Went over to the dealer on 301 and they didn’t seem they knew the evolution availability and some of the features. I know somebody that bought a cart from this dealer and the week it was supposed to arrive, they called and told him it was going to be delayed till a few weeks

No thanks. I'm sticking with gas.

Quote:

Originally Posted by roadrnnr (Post 2439401)

I have a 2025 sirius 4. and have no problem whatsoever going around any corner or parking anywhere.

I would not worry about that aspect for your decision

Thanks! This is one of my original questions so this really helps to hear you have had no issues. Do you like the cart overall? Biggest pros and cons?

We also drove the Star 2+2 and are torn now since - to us - that drives better and is much easier to maneuver (especially for golf and in town squares/parking), and the back seat of the Sirius 4 was a bit...tight.

It's a tough call, but we're leaning towards the 2+2 as we won't have guest that frequently to justify the 80% of the time it will just be my wife and I driving it.