Evolution 180AH Lithium Golf Carts
 

I test drove an Evolution Electric Plus 4 Passenger cart today at Villages Discount Golf Carts on 441. I have a 2013 gas Yamaha 4-seater and am looking at new lithium battery carts.

It had the LED display, speakers, and back up camera and fancy wheels/tires. But other than that, it's a barebones cart--no locking glove box, for example. I drove over a pretty deep pothole without a bounce (compared to my 2013 Y). I definitely liked the price.

Evolution owners:

• Do you like it?
• Does the "jump" start throw you off or do you get used to it?
• Nothing on the dash has a closure. Do you have problems with items blowing away--maybe there's a hack to make a cavity a glove box?
• What is the mileage on the 180AH battery charge? The sales rep said 55-65 miles.
• What advice do you have about the Evolution cart or about the dealers in the area?

--Ruthie

Buy gas

Oh was that the question? I guess I misunderstood.

I see where you get your nickname.

Gas is history. Electric is the future.

Love my lithium EZGO, 70 mi range, quiet, no exhaust smell, strong acceleration.

We bought a "loaded" 2-seater last fall. We really love it. It does get up and go, but after a few times, you figure it out. I can't quote a range. I also have a Yamaha gas cart for the longer trips; however, I'm confident the EVolution could get it done as well.

We have two carts, brand new Yamaha four seater gas and a six year old EZ-GO electric.
No comparison, electric is the way to go.
It’s fast, it’s quiet, no stink, no maintenance to speak of, doesn’t get a hot seat in the summer, no lag going up hills, charges fast, charge lasts a long time, automatic parking brake, no trips to the gas station, no spills, no brainer.

But it sounds like you don't trust it. I get it, it is hard to give up a trusty Yamaha.

Electric Golf Cart w/ 60 - 80 Mile Range
 

We have a STAR EV golf cart whose range exceeds 60 to 80 miles. It has 8 lead-acid batteries, which are almost 3 years old. So, I'd expect the range that the salesman quoted you is probably accurate.

My buddy bought one and loves it so I bought one also. Great cart. Much nicer than my club car and customer service at the dealer is great. Not like cart world! Have the shelf installed and you don’t have to worry about storage.

Golf Cart
 

Take a look at an Atomic. They are in Wildwood. I get around 100 miles/charge on mine.

Before you buy, consider an Atomic golf cart. They are looking across the street from Sparr
They drive like a car and have all The features of car does including air conditioning heat electric windows back up camera windshield wipers high and low beams and so much more. It’s very quiet and reliable. It can go almost 100 miles

Just add solar and get the best of both

We have one on order; demand exceeds supply right now. They can adjust the ‘jump’ at the start to make it less noticeable without effecting the top end speed. The 180 Amp Hour battery should last you for a drive anywhere in the Villages and back. We currently have a 120 Amp Hour battery on our EZGO and driven it at top speed for over three hours and still showed a quarter charge on the meter. Gas is yesterday’s familiar habit, lithium is the future.

can I use lithium batteries in my old elec golf cart?
 

We have a basic, old electric golf cart. Is it possible to buy the new lithium batteries for an old cart?

I just had a total duh moment...why would you need gas a gas cart if you just had a roof solar panel in the FL sun on an electric cart? Is there someplace that installs solar panels on electric carts? Why isn't this standard from the manufacturers in 2021? Almost all new RVs have a roof solar panel to charge the house battery to run the fridge. Why are golf carts so behind the times? Who wants to go on shark tank with me?

Check these Dakota Lithium batteries as replacements for lead acid. Good pricing.

Lithium Golf Cart Batteries - 36 Volt & 48V - Dakota Lithium

There was somebody selling this in The Villages a few years ago. Seemed to be too expensive for what you were getting. You can go on Amazon and buy a solar panel for around $100 today. There are basic and folding versions available. They all output 12v, so you would need to integrate the panel with your specific battery system.

Put the larger RoyPow lithium Batteries in 2019 electric club car in January 2021. I don’t give it a second thought to dive anywhere in TV. Batteries installed at dealership in Leesburg, they did a very clean job of installing batteries and charger. Only need a extension cord to recharge.

Evolution golf cart
 

The quality of this cart is terrible. I own one and sorry I do. The roof is of such thin plastic it cracked under the weight of the curtain in the back. They had to replace the roof. It also rides like a tank. They will not set the speed above 20mph. Impossible to pass a cart doing 15mph on cart path. There is no attention to detail on this cart.

Probably.
People tend to post OPINION, not knowledge.
You apparently have lead acid batteries. In terms of same capacity, amp hours, they will be heavier. As they discharge the voltage goes down, reason why it is not as fast at low charge.
Lithium Ion batteries will be lighter for the same capacity. The voltage curve is flatter but it falls off a cliff at the end. Accurate remaining charge is likely less accurate. Cost, lithium ion batteries have gone down in price they are not as inexpensive as lead acid
and you will likely need to purchase a new charger for lithium ion batteries.
Neither battery type lasts forever. A guess 5-7 years. Typical warranty is based on list price. No one pays list price so the warranty is in reality less than it seems.

We just ordered Evolution 4 seater Plus from STM Golf Carts in Ocala.I did not like how Village Discount Golf Carts does business. When it comes to the Evolution you take what they have, they don't let you customize your cart. They are more of a Yamaha dealer and have only been selling Evolution for about 6 months. Stm has been selling Evolution for 5 years. Evolution comes from the factory with speed up to 25mph but Village Discount turns it down to 20mph.The Evolution also comes with a 2 year warranty but Village Discount tells you 1 but that they warranty the cart for 5 years. What they don't tell you is that you are paying over a $1000 for their extended warranty. Talk to Sam at STM first, it's a family business. Lithium is the future. It's 350lbs lighter than regular batteries and with the 180mah I like the idea of being able to go from one end of The Villages and back as it's getting so big. Also no maintenance and have a 5 year warranty on the battery. STM also can change out regular batteries for Lithium on some carts. The Lithium batteries come with a plug that can go in any outlet, no more heavy charger. The charger is built in.

Robbie, I'll be looking at an EZGO Freedom RXV Elite 4.0 when we come down to TV in a couple weeks (Lifestyle Preview visit). Could you share some info on your cart? What features did you get, where did you buy, what model year, breakdown of the price? Thanks!

Gas vs. Lithium…

If one can average 15 mph going under tunnels, stops, street crossings, etc., that’s pretty much top speed for a golf cart in The Villages. Driving a Lithium cart with an 80 mile range would mean you’d spend almost 5-1/2 hours in a day driving your cart about as fast as you can go on Villages cart paths.

Are you EVER going to have your fanny parked in the seat of a golf cart going as fast as you can make it go in TV for 5+ hours in a day? If not, the choice of the quiet, odor-free Lithium cart is obvious. Plus you never have the messy job of filling the batteries or going to a gas station every month or so.

Totally disagree with golf carts. Remember they are a golf cart.

Sounds like decision made. Good luck check in when you need replacement.

I'm sure things have changed since my purchase from Villages Golf Cars a year and a half ago so check in with them. You can customize most everything, comfortable seats should be near the top of the list.

I hear order lead time for Lithium is 6+ months. (This is true for almost everything now days...)

I also heard some Lifestyle homes have referbed carts retrofitted with Lithium but have not confirmed that rumor.

Enjoy your visit!

You can read my review of Evolution. The 130 AH battery barely gets 45 miles. The 180 AH might get 55-65 miles but there is something basic wrong if that's all it gets.

I'm still getting 65 miles with the 105 AH Roywpow battery after 6 months of use. Link to that review is below. That is a great solution for an older cart with lead-acid batteries.

I highly recommend STM golf carts in Ocala if you want to buy Evolution or install the Roypow battery.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...2020-a-313404/

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...review-313809/

It sort of depends what you intend to use the cart for IMHO. If you golf often, the Atomic is a PIA with it's doors. Plus golfing and getting in and out of AC all the time will make you feel more uncomfortable than just being in the heat and adjusting to the temps.

Yes that was me, just sold the first one built back in 2013, it was never plugged into a charger.
Went 50 miles + easy.

With the ranger trojan batteries,

Building another now you need about 250 watts to maintain the charge and I have a controller that prevents over charging

It was hard sell here with all the stinky gas cart folks. :1rotfl:

Funny that electric seems to be the future for many. Disposing of batteries, not easy. Even with solar and wind there is not enough electricity produced to sustain this electric movement. Group think surmises that road vehicles consume the vast majority of fossil fuels, not true. Ocean going vessels shipping products consume the most. Buying into this “electric trend” as some sort of antidote to us having a greener and better life is a joke at best.

Budfor
 

The solar panel on top will not fit through all of the tunnels!

Top speed?

Lithium
 

It certainly is possible, but expect a higher price. They have a much higher capacity, require no maintenance, are lighter, and last far longer than the old style lead battery. Lithium-ion Batteries: A Complete Guide - GolfCarts.org

I agree. This whole electric fad is not better for the environment.

I'm surprised that ocean going vessels use the most fossil fuels. I would think that it would be airplanes. There are so many more planes in the air on a daily basis than there are ships. I would imagine that one ship crossing the ocean would burn more fuel than a plane doing the same trip, but when you consider that there are about 10,000 planes in the air at any given time in the U.S. it seems that as a group they are going to burn more fuel.

But people tend to not consider the energy that it takes to make batteries and how the electricity that charges them is created. And as you you point out the disposal is not environmentally friendly.

I much prefer electric golf carts and I have one here. If I could extend the range that would be perfect. But as far as electric cars go, I see a bit problem with the time that it takes to charge them. If you're on a long trip and go 200 miles before needing a charge, you're going to have to stop for hours to recharge.

I think that if environmentalists were really concerned about air quality we'd see a move to natural gas. It burns more cleanly than gasoline producing a fraction of the pollutants. It is plentiful, current cars can easily be converted and we have infrastructure in place to distribute it. People with natural gas in their homes could add a filling station and current gas station could easily be converted. We have natural gas lines running everywhere in this country. It would be much easier than creating electric charging stations.

And if President Biden's goal of having all electric cars by 2035 comes to fruition, what happens to all of he gasoline cars in existence now? And do they think about people that can't afford to buy a new car?

China is responsible for 30% of the world's air pollution. The U.S. is responsible for 15%. If we cut ours in half it's a small dent.

I prefer electric golf carts but I think that they idea of all electric cars is pure folly.

Did you buy from Villages Discount Golf? I'm curious how long the warrantee work took to be completed... Did you get the big display and how has that held up? --Ruthie

Thanks for the info. We'll be in Ocala next week so will stop by STM and talk to Sam. How long does it take from ordering to receiving your cart? I like the 110 volt plug as I don't park my cart near a garage wall; we can plug a short extension cord into the garage door motor and drop it from above. --Ruthie

How is the ride??
Every electric I ride in has a very stiff ride.
(because of the battery weight)
With the new batteries, has the ride improved??
:gc:

Thanks, Footer. Yes I had read your review closely before submitting--what you returned is exactly what I am looking to purchase.

I will definitely look into buying after market mirrors. I also was a little put off by the too-simple design of the rear seat connection but the ones I saw did all line up. I am quite short so puffy seats are uncomfortable for me (my current cart has very low-profile [read: hard] seats). I am unsure that I would ever drive 45 miles in one day, let alone 55-65; as it seems to be a concern, it appears that they've changed the standard from 130AH to 180AH. Interesting that you found the ride rough; I went over a deep pothole without hardly noticing it but I'll look for more rough road when I test drive others. --Ruthie