By Phil Royle — May 5, 2023

The Tesla showroom was far more crowded than VinFast’s for many reasons. For one, the person I was with admittedly didn’t even know other companies were aiming to take on the big “T” in the world of electric cars – a belief that I imagine is fairly common among non-enthusiasts. And two, Tesla’s showroom was front and center at Santa Monica’s Promenade, just a few blocks from Southern California’s famed beaches. VinFast’s showroom, meanwhile, was tucked in a dark corner of that open-air mall, nuzzled next to an escalator where only the “down” side worked and a nearby elevator was seemingly a non-functioning prop.

The VinFast store itself was pleasant and cozy. Two VF 8s sat inside the showroom, with one outside. Also in the showroom were three employees, a large TV, and a couple of stylish chairs. As I neared the storefront, a couple were concluding their tour of the store. With them now gone, it was just me, my five-year old, and three employees. I rolled up my sleeves to see what could be learned.

I was quickly approached by a young and enthusiastic employee, who greeted me with a smile and easy attitude. There was no hard sell – in fact, he never asked for as much as my email address. He was quick to show me around the VF 8s – he asked whether I’d heard of VinFast and assured me that if I so desired, he could get me behind the wheel of my very own VF 8 in no time at all.

Then he asked if I had any questions.

With my five-year old bouncing around the showroom on an ice cream sugar rush from a prior treat, I turned to the employee and went to town. Here’s what I discovered.

VinFast Batteries will not be leased
Shortly after VinFast announced it was coming to America, the company also said it would lease its EV batteries to customers. That meant you’d be buying or leasing an SUV, then separately leasing the battery underneath it. Questions – everyone had questions. How much would the SUV cost? At the time, nobody would say. How much would the battery lease be? The response was eerily similar. The plan seemed ill thought out, and VinFast officials danced around the topic for a year until late in 2022 when details began to emerge. Since then, the plan has changed once more.

I knew VinFast abandoned the battery lease concept earlier this year, but I asked the VinFast showroom employee anyway: “I heard you have to lease the battery. Is that true?” The answer came quick and direct – this guy wasn’t doing a corporate dance. “Oh, we dropped that,” he laughed, adding, “It was too confusing.”

VinFast VF 8s on California roads right now are “City Editions”
A few weeks earlier, I’d seen a VinFast VF 8 cruising down the road just north of Los Angeles. It wasn’t wearing manufacturer or dealer plates – this was a genuine VF 8 in the wild. I was floored. When it was passing by, I turned to my wife and exclaimed, “That’s a VinFast!” She first asked, “Where?” Then came, “What’s a VinFast?”

The VinFast VF 8 City Edition is exclusive to California and features 207 miles of range for $49,000. It’s also the only VinFast on American roads as of this writing. (Image courtesy VinFast)

At the showroom, the employee informed me that he’d also seen one on public streets, and that all VF 8s we currently see on the road are “City Editions.” The City Edition is the little sibling of the full-fledge VF 8, although externally the VF 8 City Edition takes up the same footprint. The difference seems to be range.

I was informed that the City Edition has a range of 207 miles, while the big mamma jamma VF 8 will travel 300 to 350 miles. VinFast’s website confirms the range number for the City Edition, but states the VF 8’s range will target 293 miles – his sales pitch was close enough for me.

The VF 8 City Edition makes no sense
The salesperson had no interest in selling me a VF 8 City Edition; he was only interested in pushing the regular VF 8. Looking online showed why: The City Edition makes no sense.

Can you tell the difference between this VinFast and the orange one a little higher up in this story? This is the VF 8, which seemingly offers everything the VF 8 City Edition does, plus about 90 more miles of range, for the exact same price. (Image courtesy VinFast)

Online, the VF 8 City Edition Eco (the lowest trim level) is listed as $399 a month with $3,000 down for a 24-month lease, or $49,000. For specs, charge time is measured from 10-70%, with the company stating you’ll be standing around for approximately 24 minutes for that to happen.

The upgraded VF 8 City Edition “Plus” will run you $56,000, or $5,000 down and $499 per month for a 24-month lease. Range is presumably the same.

The VF 8 (non-City Edition) features nearly 300 miles of range, charges from 10-70% in 31 minutes (its 87.7 kWh battery will be larger than that of the City Edition), can be equipped with 402 hp that will run the SUV to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds (same claimed acceleration as the City Edition, so presumably the same power output), and has a starting price of … $49,000.

So, for the exact same price as the VF 8 City Edition, you can buy the VF 8 with an additional 90 miles of range.

The sales person indicated that a nicely equipped VF 8 will ring up around $65,000.

There are VinFast-branded home chargers
VinFast’s wall-mounted Level 2 charger on display in the showroom appeared cheap, but looks can sometimes be deceiving – it also should be noted that the wall-mounted unit in this showroom looked nothing like the one on VinFast’s website. Meanwhile, VinFast’s Level 2 portable charger was the spitting image of the one that comes with the Ford Mustang Mach-E.

If VinFast’s portable charger is from the same supplier as Ford’s, that means it will be a 40 amp, 240 volt charger (with a 120 volt dongle) that is unable to vary the 40-amp pull. I previously experienced a headache with Ford’s portable charging unit when I attempted to charge the Mach-E on a 30-amp circuit, and neither the charger nor the car could reduce the amperage pull like Tesla does. I don’t know if VinFasts will be able to limit their amperage draw separate of the charger.

Three weeks to ownership – yeah right
If I wanted to test drive a VF 8, I was told that I needed to submit a request online (the salesperson had a tablet handy for that), then he’d walk me outside and we could go for a drive. If I wanted to buy one, the salesperson assured me that he could have a VF 8 in my driveway in the next three weeks.

Three weeks and the VF 8 is at my house? Really?

Back at home, I headed to VinFast’s website to confirm the claim. The company’s website will gladly take $200 from my credit card as a “reservation deposit,” but nowhere on the website does it say I’ll be driving one in three weeks. When does VinFast’s website estimate delivery? It doesn’t. The company will take my $200 reservation, but the information flow ends there.

VinFast is a new company, so comparing EV delivery dates to the likes of Tesla, Ford, Kia, and more is unfair – but the problem is that VinFast’s showroom salesperson is claiming three weeks, while the website stays mum.

There is a disconnect somewhere in this process.

Don’t expect the VF 9 anytime soon
“Doesn’t VinFast have a three-row version?” I asked. The response was an enthusiastic yes. “When can I test drive one,” I inquired. From the salesperson came a chuckle.

VinFast debuted the EF e36 — the company’s three-row EV SUV — at the 2021 LA Auto Show. The vehicle has since undergone a name change to the VF 9. The timeline for its availability is still up in the air. (Image by Phil Royle)

“It should be fall, but you know how these things go,” he said of the company’s larger, three-row VF 9 SUV. I laughed too.

He told me some of the VF 9’s specs (stating that it’s built on the same chassis as the VF 8 and it should start in the $90,000 range – maybe $95,000), but he didn’t even have a photo to show me.

VinFasts won’t qualify for federal tax credits
The most recent federal EV tax credits are confusing at best, requiring a certain percentage of the battery’s components to be sourced from specific places. The VinFast salesperson said VinFast qualifies for precisely zero of that.

VinFasts will, he noted, qualify for California EV rebates. According to the California Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, VinFasts are eligible for up to $7,500 in California tax rebates.

I would consider purchasing a VinFast
That shocked me.

I’ve poked around VinFast’s various models at auto shows over the last two years, and I can’t say I’ve been overly impressed. Hands-on reviews of early models by other websites haven’t been effusive with praise, so I entered that Santa Monica showroom expecting the worst. What I discovered were two decently-built VF 8s. The salesperson even encouraged me to let my five-year old climb around the cabin. “There’s nothing in there he can break,” he said. So in my kiddo went – and indeed, nothing broke.

The VinFast VF 8’s interior, like all VinFasts we’ve seen so far, are simple and elegant, boasting unusually large (and kid-tested) PRND buttons on the center console. (Image courtesy VinFast)

Much of this cabin rigidity could be attributed to the interior being as, let’s say, “simplistically elegant” as every Tesla on the road. That’s to say VinFasts have a 15.6-inch touchscreen in the middle – and that’s about it. VinFasts feature unusually large drive selectors on the center console, but while that may seem to some like the Duplo of shifters, it’s also very rugged when your young child decides he wants to go from the driver’s seat to the back via the center console.

I’m certainly not slapping down my $200 reservation deposit right now, but I am going to keep an eye on the VinFast showroom. While the salesperson’s claimed price tag of the three-row SUV is a little rich for me, maybe I’ll test drive the VF 9 when it arrives in the showroom anyway.

To be safe, I’ll likely give them a ring in the fall rather than assuming it’s already on display.

(Lead image by Phil Royle)