Vietnamese EV maker rapidly expanding network in the US. Experts say don't sleep on this

Even with the somewhat jarring experience, the Sprinczeleses are sticking with their new VinFast. "Things happen," Tracey said. "You can't expect everything to be 100%. It's a baby company ... things happen. And the people couldn't be nicer."

Bay Area resident Greg Chew was also intrigued by VinFast's competitive lease offer. Chew's had his VF8 Plus for about three weeks and wants to increase his mileage allowance because he drives it so often.

"It's so easy to drive that I want to drive it everywhere," he said. "It's been very comfortable. There's some minor quirks here and there but it's all reasonable."

Skeptics remain

VinFast didn't receive much praise last year from industry reviewers. Headlines on VF8 reviews included "VF8 Proves Building Cars Is Hard" from Car and Driver and "2023 VinFast VF8 First Drive: Return to Sender" from MotorTrend.

MotorTrend's Scott Evans, after testing a VF8 with multiple malfunctioning parts, wrote that the 2023 VF8 "is nowhere near ready for public consumption, yet it's already being delivered to customers." VinFast did recall the VF8 last year for a malfunctioning head unit display that could go blank because of a software error.

Thuy, the chairwoman of VinFast’s board, acknowledged during the automaker's earnings call that VinFast received "some critical but important product feedback" and has "listened to our U.S. customers," adding: "I'm really proud of our team for rapidly implementing a number of important improvements and updates across all aspects of our vehicles. We will continue to deploy resources and act decisively to meet and exceed customers' expectations."

Abuelsamid of Guidehouse remains skeptical of the vehicles and of the company's strategic decision-making since it did not come in offering a more affordable vehicle — precisely how foreign automakers historically entered the U.S. market.

"VinFast is not playing in that (affordable) market right now ... which does make them different from when, for example, Hyundai and Kia entered the U.S. market in the early '90s, and similar to the Japanese before that in the late '60s and early '70s," he said. But Abuelsamid credited VinFast for setting "pretty aggressive" lease prices.

VinFast did recently discuss plans to bring its VF3 model, a tiny hatchback SUV, to the U.S. at a price point of $20,000. But the vehicle probably won't reach American soil until the 2026 model year, according to Car and Driver. In the meantime, VinFast will have to fight through a crowded field with its SUV fleet.

"The designs are fine. There's nothing wrong with them from a design perspective," Abuelsamid said. "But there's nothing about them that sets it apart sufficiently from any of the competitive set."

Abuelsamid listed the Volkswagen ID.4, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra as main competitors for the VinFast VF8, adding that the Tesla Model Y and Mustang Mach-E are, arguably, in the mix too.

"It's hard to justify spending more money for something from a relatively new company with a limited service network," he said. "And who knows how long they're going to be around, if there's going to be support for this thing in two, three, five years."