Yamaha Battery Carts
 

Why can't Yamaha make a good battery cart? I asked the salesman about their carts and he said that Yamaha doesn't make a good battery cart for distance. Why? Other cart brands get + 50 mile run time.

Maybe the others are pulling you’re leg? :D

50 hour run time? I get a 50+ mile range with my EZgo but that's around four hours of run time.

my camry that gets 600 miles per tank wont run more than 12 hours on one tank ??? 50 hours.......

More like 50 miles, but who would want to drive 50 miles in a gas or electric cart?

I assume you are referring to their lithium-ion carts. If so, they do come with a relatively small lithium-ion battery when compared to some other brands. One possible reason is they are primarily marketed to golf courses where you only need enough range for 2 rounds of golf before recharging.

But the range goes down every time you use it.

Perhaps they are being smart and are letting their competitors hang themselves chasing the electric market and competing amongst themselves while they continue to crank out the best gas carts available?

You would think Yamaha would offer a 160/210ah battery in their PTV versions. It would probably be extremely profitable like EZGO Elite models.

Take a look at the Evolution, priced way better with great standard features

I agree, let the EV gang hang themselves. I wouldn’t own one nor an EV car. Too expensive, too expensive for the long run (how much to replace the lithium battery in 8 years?), and mileage isn’t all that great in the winter months. I picked up an electric loaner while I needed an oil change, and belt replacement and the charge dial went down over 1/2 just going 16 miles. Newer cart, battery was 3/4 full, and I was worried I wouldn’t make it back to the shop.

Someone who lives in Moultrie Creek and wants to play Lopez??????

They are not. Maybe closed-minded people who don't recognize technology advancements think gas-power is the only transportation option for life.

Resorting to ad hominem usually means your logical argument is weak.

It's a free country and you can drive what you want but none of these things are true about EVs. The reality if that you have a full tank every morning with 250+ miles of range. On a trip you bang out 200 miles, take a pit stop, and you're ready for another 3 hours of driving. Mine cost under 35K and the thing drives itself. It's a ridiculous improvement over my 2017 ICE vehicle. But there will be plenty of gas cars to drive for the next several decades, fossil fuels aren't going anywhere. The modern ICE car is a marvel of engineering, no doubt about that. I just wish they could get the efficiency a little higher.

I agree with the OP....if you can buy an EV that goes 250 miles and lasts for hundreds of thousands of miles for $35-40K, why does it cost $20K for an electric golf car? And why doesn't Yamaha make it?

Joe

Do you realize that Yamaha has been making both gas and electric carts for some time now ? What is new is that they now offer lithium-ion batteries in addition to lead-acid batteries in their electric carts. Approximately 80% of the golf cart market is electric.

This ^

I am what I'd call a motorhead and enjoy fast cars and motorcycles, there's nothing like a car running down a 1/4 mile track or a motorcycle (or dinky roadster) carving through the hills or canyons. I've enjoyed many Yamaha motorcycles, ATVs and jet skis, I think Yamaha (and Honda) make the very best small engines in the world.

All that said I recently bought an Evolution d5 golf cart, it will go 75 or 80 miles on a charge and that's more than enough for me in a day. Its fast, quiet doesn't stink and has all the needed options to make it comfortable. It was nearly half the price of a Yamaha or Star cart so if it self destructs in a few miles I wont have lost much, I hope it has a long trouble free life but only time will tell. If it lasts 7 or 8 years and needs a 4k battery I'll still be 6 or 7k ahead of the other brands.

I will continue to enjoy my v8 powered f150 until a 'good' electric vehicle comes along and at that point I'll probably make the change but not just yet.

Or maybe the salesperson has other brand electric carts on site and wants to close the deal vs ordering you a Yamaha electric and risk you changing your mind.

Depreciation
 

A little off topic but, I just saw a video from a retired car salesman and his son. They claim the EV car market in some cases are losing over 50% depreciation on new cars. The example they used was the cash offer price on a 2023 vehicle with 500 miles. Who knows if any of it's true but something to think about. Not sure if this would play into the golf cart market also.

That statistic might be correct for short distance use like golf course rentals, but certainly not for other applications requiring driving significant distances. Just walk around Lake Sumter Landing any busy Saturday evening and take note of the mix.

The Villages is a unique environment and probably one of the few places where gas carts outnumber electrics, for now. I was responding to your post where you said " letting their competitors hang themselves chasing the electric market and competing amongst themselves". Nobody is "hanging themselves". They are responding to market demand.

Yamaha Carts
 

Why make a "good electric cart" when Yamaha make the BEST gas model.
Focus on what you do best.

The comment wasn't about the quality of Yamaha electric carts. I believe you will find the electric carts are of just as good a quality as the gas carts. I believe the poster wants Yamaha to offer a larger battery for additional range. Perhaps they will.

While I understand many of the arguments for and against electric golf carts IMHO it will have very little effect on your smelling exhaust. I have a Yamaha gas cart, and the only time I smell the exhaust from MY cart is when I am backing up.

For me the electric golf cart makes a lot of sense since the 50 mile range seems to be more than enough for a day and then just recharge in your garage overnight. The EV autos are a little different if you want to drive long distances with the extra time and limited infrastructure. As technology increases the range and speed to charge will increase and more and more we will switch to owning an EV.

Waiiiiit... Mods, an IP check please, this sounds suspiciously like another frequent poster here - I'm suspecting a ghost account to bypass any imposed posting restrictions.

Went golfing yesterday, drove back home and then went to Spanish Springs for lunch. Then went to Southern Trace for groceries. Then went to Brownwood to the Square and home, without worrying about range. This is what I call living The Villages Lifestyle!

Reside at Linden, play all of the courses up north without any issues.EZGO Lithium.

Maybe Yamaha is content with the 50 miles and uses LIGHTER batteries which jmprove handling, acceleration, and deceleration when compared to the brands that use heavier batteries. Higher weight can be a disadvantage. And Yamaha has a reputation for quality that they want to protect, so I would give them the benefit of any doubt.

Or perhaps Yamaha is targeting golf course rental fleets as their target electric cart market, where the need for range is less important than coming in at a certain price point. That would give them a competitive advantage for electric fleet vehicles while they already are the clear leader in the gas personal transportation vehicle market.

Welcome back! I hope your "vacation" was prosperous...

He's back! & He's right! If the electric carts are getting 50+ miles, then the new villages of Moultrie Creek, Shady Brooke, & Water's Edge will spend most of that 50 mile range coming & going with not much left over for a round at Lopez. Actually, they probably could play, but would need charging stations on the way home.

Just a guess, but government subsidies on electric cars may be why the EV is $40K and cart is 20. No subsidies for golf carts.

Anyhow I'm waiting for the hydrogen powered carts. :D

I ALWAYS smell golf carts when I am working in my front yard and they go by. They have to be about 30ft away before the smell rises above the exhaust pipe level. Newer Yamaha golf carts have little or no smell compared to other models and older Yamaha golf carts.

I believe that the 80% number is for the total USA. For SOME (?) unknown reason The Villages has a greater % of gas golf carts.

Probably because most of the country uses them for only golf and we use them for regular transportation.

No mystery at all. When I bought a gas cart 10 years ago, I estimated I would be spending $1000 every 2 -3 years on new batteries for an electric cart based on how many miles I thought we would put on the cart each year. The choice of a gas cart was pretty much a no-brainer. It turns out my estimate of annual miles was a bit low so the decision was better than I originally thought. With the availability of lithium-ion batteries, the equation has changed and electric carts are more attractive to me now. In fact, we own a gas cart and an electric cart. Since electric carts had more than enough range 10 years ago, that was never an issue. Since you don't own a golf cart, I don't really expect that you would have understood this.

No. Lithium-ion batteries are very light; much lighter than lead-acid batteries. I doubt weight is an issue. It is more likely that Yamaha's primary market for their lithium-ion carts is golf courses where only enough range for 2 rounds of golf is required. They can keep the price lower by right-sizing the battery for the application. Perhaps they will eventually offer higher capacity lithium-ion batteries for other applications where greater range would be attractive.

I see you didn’t take mommy’s advice. :pepper2:

I find it hard to believe you believe anything? :wave: