> I'd also like discussions of car affordability to shift to TCO unless there's been an announcement of free fuel that I've missed.

If you buy/lease new cars every 3 years - which the the typical market for new cars - the TCO is almost entirely based on the cost of the car. Insurance and taxes are based on the price and so there is a direct relation. Maintenance costs are nearly zero as oil changes are cheap and everything else is warranty. What is left is fuel and that is cheap (14000 miles per year at 25mpg with gas at $3/gallon works out to $140/month).

If you buy used cars the economics are different, but you are not longer the direct target for new cars.

A very quick glance at lease costs for the current ICE Polo vs the ID. 3 (so one step up the VW range from the expected ID.2/Polo) suggests monthly fuel cost differences could essentially close the gap in europe, so instant savings from day one are likely with the new ID.2/Polo that was considered to be too costly by (hypothetical) upfront sales price above.