Electric Vehicles

[therealhantsram]

It's getting time to change the family car.  130k miles, 10 years old and things are starting to go wrong...

I am pondering whether we should be looking at an EV or hybrid this time around. Car would be mostly used for school run, local shopping, with the odd journey of up to 150-200 miles round trip.

I am curious about any experiences you have with EVs of hybrids.  Would you recommend them?  What things should I look our for or avoid?

[Mostyn6]

A lot depends on your budget. 

[therealhantsram]

45 minutes ago, Mostyn6 said:

A lot depends on your budget. 

It won't be a Tesla, let's put it that way!

[Mostyn6]

2 minutes ago, therealhantsram said:

It won't be a Tesla, let's put it that way!

some of my Vehicle Engineering colleagues at JLR, when we were still working on the PHEVs and MHEVs, got to test a lot of the then-existing electric cars. They take some getting used to, instant power and re-gen on the brakes. 

From memory, the Nissan Leaf, from a practicality, engineering and driveability point of view, came out as the overall favourite. It may be a bit pokey, but hey ho.

[Wolfie]

Mrs Wolfie has a Toyota CH-R Hybrid (self charging), which we really like.

I find that when I drive it, I compete with myself how long I can have it running on electric (when you accelerate anything other than gently, the engine kicks in again). Small boot and I wouldn't call it fast, exactly, but it is still a lot of fun to drive on a bendy road.

We'll be swapping it middle of next year and are seriously considering going full EV next time - current favourite is the Hyundai Kona EV. the new ones are quick and with a 280 mile range.

Full EV's are expesnsive to buy but will hold their value well, as they get more popular in years to some.

[Ghost of Clough]

1 hour ago, therealhantsram said:

It's getting time to change the family car.  130k miles, 10 years old and things are starting to go wrong...

I am pondering whether we should be looking at an EV or hybrid this time around. Car would be mostly used for school run, local shopping, with the odd journey of up to 150-200 miles round trip.

I am curious about any experiences you have with EVs of hybrids.  Would you recommend them?  What things should I look our for or avoid?

I currently have a fully electric Corsa. As long as you aren't doing long journey's on motorways you shouldn't have any issues as the range drops significantly above 60mph. Although, if you don't mind a half our pitstop every couple of hours then it's not so bad.

I don't think the upfront cost is worth it unless you're looking at a salary sacrifice scheme of some sort. Charging from home you're looking at about 4p a mile vs 8-10p with a petrol/diesel car.

[mozza]

4 hours ago, Ghost of Clough said:

I currently have a fully electric Corsa. As long as you aren't doing long journey's on motorways you shouldn't have any issues as the range drops significantly above 60mph. Although, if you don't mind a half our pitstop every couple of hours then it's not so bad.

I don't think the upfront cost is worth it unless you're looking at a salary sacrifice scheme of some sort. Charging from home you're looking at about 4p a mile vs 8-10p with a petrol/diesel car.

As much as I don't like Vauxhalls, (me being an avid Ford fan) I agree the electric Corsa does seem a decent option, having watched Top Gear the other night.. 

[Rev]

Get the fastest petrol car your budget can stretch to, and enjoy every opportunity to hoon it around until EV becomes the default, possibly only choice. 

 

[BaaLocks]

Depends on your range - if you really are only doing the school run look at some gen one plug in hybrids that you can now pick up quite cheaply (Vauxhall Ampera, BMW I3, Nissan Leaf) as long as you can get a low mileage one that hasn't had the batteries hammered.

I have an Ampera which I bought a few years ago, currently doing about 94mpg (it has a petrol engine that kicks in when the batteries run out). Most of my runs in it (especially in the last six months) are less than 30 miles, I honestly can't remember the last time I was at the petrol station. One point, less so in modern versions, is that range differs significantly summer to winter - my Ampera charges to about 40 miles electric in summer but in winter that is down to 28-30 miles and in colder weather that can end up being a couple of miles less.

But, to repeat, if you really are doing a few <10 mile runs a day it's a steal - I reckon by the time I trade in mine I will have saved more than half the initial outlay in fuel savings and I'll sell it around half what I paid for it. Not many cars you can say make you money.

I love the ride in electric mode, it's totally different as you don't have gears and torque is way above a petrol equivalent. But I'm still not in a head space where I think we can commit to all electric - just still need that petrol engine 'other car' for the long motorway trips.

[RamNut]

I spotted one of the new Honda E electric cars over the summer.

It was a bit of a head turner externally, but has a naff timber laminate finish internally. 

quite expensive. 

 

[jono]

A friend has an electric VW Golf and loves it. Does mostly short journeys. Used to fill up with petrol twice a month. Now it’s 20 quid on the leccy  bill. They have a static in the lakes (live in Burnley) It will make that one way trip without difficulty unless you hammer it. Charge falls very quickly above about 55/60 MPH. Biggest expense ? Closing the tailgate on a new iPhone ! 
 

I’d love one but not ready for that leap yet. Charging time and infrastructure have a way to go for me but if anyone wants to give me an iPace I wouldn’t say no ?

[tinman]

my concern with full Electric vehicles is the lifespan of the batteries. How quickly do they degrade? With your phone, the drop off in capacity it quite large each year.

 

[Ghost of Clough]

34 minutes ago, tinman said:

my concern with full Electric vehicles is the lifespan of the batteries. How quickly do they degrade? With your phone, the drop off in capacity it quite large each year.

 

They say they need to be replaced every 8 years or 100,000 miles. I think it costs about £5000 to replace. I imagine the likes of Tesla to cost more.

[Grumpy Git]

19 hours ago, reverendo de duivel said:

Get the fastest petrol car your budget can stretch to, and enjoy every opportunity to hoon it around until EV becomes the default, possibly only choice. 

 

5.0 litre Mustang, snip at £40K

[Rev]

23 minutes ago, Grumpy Git said:

5.0 litre Mustang, snip at £40K

There's an electric SUV version on the way. 

[BaaLocks]

1 hour ago, Ghost of Clough said:

They say they need to be replaced every 8 years or 100,000 miles. I think it costs about £5000 to replace. I imagine the likes of Tesla to cost more.

The 100k looks like the more firm line to be honest. My car is seven years old but has only done 45k miles - charge capacity doesn't seem to have fallen off at all in that time.

That new Polestar - from Volvo - looks pretty snazzy but, like the OP, is a bit out of my budget.

[jono]

23 hours ago, reverendo de duivel said:

Get the fastest petrol car your budget can stretch to, and enjoy every opportunity to hoon it around until EV becomes the default, possibly only choice. 

 

I long for the day it becomes the only right choice. An electric motor has few moving parts, has instantaneous maximum torque with a flat torque curve. It’s an engine in the true sense of the word. And they don’t smell !

thing is though, batteries aren’t there yet .. they will arrive  For sure but until that day, if I win the lotto I’d want want multi cylinders, I.e 6 or more - normal aspiration and sounds that tingle your spine. In short I am right behind electric cars but they need to deliver in critical areas. Electric cars are at ZX spectrum level .. the petrol engine is an iPad .. but it’s close to the end of its development potential. .. in a way I am jealous of youth because in 20 years there are going to be some fantastic electric cars 

[Sith Happens]

how crap we are still seeing electric cars playing catch up, especially considering they pre date petrol or diesel cars 

[TigerTedd]

I’m very seriously considering upgrading my Peugeot 3008 to a new hybrid 3008 when it comes out in January. 

we’re on a PCP scheme with Peugeot, so we pay monthly. We pay about £250-£300 a month on petrol. Before lockdown my wife would have to drive about 80 miles a day, and I’d have to do some long trips to Manchester. We were spending about £500 a month between us. 

Electric motor has a range of about 40 miles, which is exactly what my wife needs to get to her new work and back. 

so I figure, if it increases our monthly payment by £100-£150 we should be quids in. 

we also have solar panels, batteries, and a leccy tarriff that pays us for using electricity during the night, which should reduce recharging costs to virtually zero. 

thinking of investing in a fast charger too. That way I can finish work, get home at 5, stick it on to fast charge, and then it’s fully charged ready for her to get off to work at 7. 

I did fancy a full electric for my next car, going hybrid feels a bit like being a vegetarian who still eats fish and chicken on special occasions. But I think a plug in hybrid is a good, sensible half way house til the infrastructure catches up. 

Edited November 4, 2020 by TigerTedd

[therealhantsram]

On 03/11/2020 at 19:42, RamNut said:

I spotted one of the new Honda E electric cars over the summer.

It was a bit of a head turner externally, but has a naff timber laminate finish internally. 

quite expensive. 

 

Head turner because it's particularly ugly? ? And that walnut effect inside. I agree.  Seems they are banking on a 70s revival that just won't happen.