Looking to buy 1st cart, should I go electric or gas

ugaDAWGS09

I've been looking now for about a month and have been set on buying a gas cart. The main reasons are further travel distances, more speed (or so I thought), not having to replace batteries or worry about plugging the cart in every time I parked it.

However, I spoke with a golf cart dealer today and he is telling me that based on my needs I should go electric. I will mostly be using my cart to drive around my neighborhood, but I would also like to be able to drive to my parent's house which is about 5 miles away. This distance is what concerns me, 10 miles round trip plus driving the family around when I get there.

How many miles does a newer 48v cart go on a full charge? Does installing a radio and running lights reduce this distance? The dealer said the RXV electric cart was the way to go, any reason why the RXV over the TXT or club car? How much speed can I expect with a RXV and aftermarket tires/lift? I'm not opposed to electric and my wife probably would prefer it due to no gas smell and a quieter ride.

BGW

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Clemsoncartguy

You can go more that 20 miles on a charge. An rxv or TXT in PDS mode will be 19mph stock. Lift and tires will be faster but loose your torque. Electric can do it all you want. The downside is I think it costs more on upgrade than gas and the batteries will cost you a good bit every 5 to 7 years, you can buy a new clone motor every 5 for the price of a set of batteries.

All that said there is a coolness factor to electric. And there is no smell and also its quiet to ride.

teecro

Be honest with yourself and make a list of what you will do with the cart the absolute most and go from there... While I would have liked a ______ that I could take out of the hood and go off road with in the forest next door I knew that I would likely not do anything more than booze cruise with the wife and dogs and go down to the marina for a boat ride... For the use I realized (not settled) that an electric would be more fun than gas... If I want to burn gas I'll get in the car and run the A/C... Having said that I know my range is roughly 15 miles in our massively hilly HOA, if I took it out on the road outside of I'd expect closer to 20 miles as it is flatter. One can extend that range with bigger batteries (live & learn) or perhaps even keeping the charger in the bag well and plugging it in while your passing time at your parents.... Electric is nice in that your able to enjoy even the sound of birds as you ride...

Isaac-1

I am fairly new to electric golf carts having just bought a 2010 RXV a month or so ago, as a run about vehicle for the family farm (just under 400 acres), however I do have a fair amount of experience with engine driven carts / UTV's (John Deere Gator, Kawasaki Mule, 1990's EZGO utility cart which is still in a barn somewhere, and currently also a diesel powered Kubota RTV-900). In contrast to much of the above the RXV is first and foremost quiet, secondly easy to drive with nice smooth ride, no engine vibration, just hop on and go. Top speed on my non-lifted RXV with 20 inch tires in Freedom mode is just under 22 mph (controller limited) which is as fast as I would want to go, the RXV's A arm front suspension which gives a very nice ride, does also allow considerable body roll when cornering, so 22 mph on pavement requires 100% driver attention. I can't really comment on range as mine gets driven 1/4-1/2 mile at a time for the most part, however 10 miles round trip should not be an issue unless it is a very hilly area, also if you are going back and forth to your parents house there is always the option of having a second charger there to top the cart off (assuming you would be staying a few hours). I assume you are aware of the laws in your state for golf cart operation on the streets (some states are much more friendly about it than others, my state is one of the more unfriendly ones, only allowing golf carts with lights, turn signals, etc on specially posted streets where the speed limit is under 35 mph, I personally have yet to see one of these streets)

Clemsoncartguy

Probably have to be in a city where any imposed street is like 30mph. That's how the city I grew up in was I think. It it was posted that was the speed but unposted it was 30mph. On Every Street IN THE Old NeighborhoodS YOU Don't Have A Speed Limit sign.

Isaac-1

The state law here which is fairly new (a couple of years old) requires must have the various lights and turn signals, and that golf cart legal zones must be explicitly posted and can only be on streets where the speed limit is under 35 mph. Of course in reality at least where I live the people that live near the local country club golf course have driven plain regular golf carts on the residential streets too and from the golf course for decades, and those streets still have no special golf cart allowed signage. Of course the state has also done a few other crazy things regarding golf carts, like starting to treat them like cars so they are now sold without sales tax and the tax is collected at time of registration with the DMV. Of course this law is written to apply to only golf carts built after a certain date (2014?) so it is a honor system regarding paying tax on used carts bought from dealers built before that date, and of course registration is only required if they operate on public roads per that earlier law I mentioned. Oh and to add to this insanity the state also has a loophole exempting ATV's and golf carts sold for use exclusively on farm for agricultural use from sales tax, which in itself is not that cray, except for the maximum per vehicle cost of $45,000.

Clemsoncartguy

That's cool there is no sales tax unless you register. That means if you buy a cart and not register it you don't have to pay any sales tax!!

Helirich

I like the electric cart because it's so quiet. When driving it, you really experience the "outdoors". Otherwise, I'm with Teecro, just get in your car/truck and drive with AC and heat.

On the RXV, I'll give you my pro and con.

Pro- my son has one and it is a fast (19 mph) comfortable cart almost right out of the box. (His only mod is wheels/tires)

Con- if you are the type to upgrade later, there's not much available for these carts. My cart (TXT) is scary fast and pretty much astonishes everyone that goes for a ride. It is only about ten mph faster then my sons, but that is enough to make you look for something to hold on to.

The other thing nobody mentioned is you can get an "on board" charger installed under the seat. My cart can plug in anywhere with a standard heavy duty extension cord.

HiTechRedNeck

"Con- if you are the type to upgrade later, there's not much available for these carts. My cart (TXT) is scary fast and pretty much astonishes everyone that goes for a ride. It is only about ten mph faster then my sons, but that is enough to make you look for something to hold on to."

Why is it a "con" that the RXV is hard to make dangerous and illegal???

HUGE accessory selection for RXV's ---- just not much in the
way of easy/cheap -- motor/controller swaps.

EZGO has upgrade controller for high torque. great reviews for power increases. No change in speed.

Can add high speed gears --- NOT RECOMMENDED decreases brake ability
to dangerous level at high speed.

kgsc

As all have said, there are pros and cons to both. I own both and yes the electrics are much quieter and we run those at night in our little island community. That being said, during the day I am in one of the gassers. As long as it has fuel I can go anywhere I want plus it is usually hauling something.. For your distance and wanting to be able to run around once you are at your destination, I would go gas. No worries about making it home..

Also we are hearing Yamaha has a new gasser coming out that is supposed to be super quiet .. We will see