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Appears they like to go for a slide more than an ICE car does
Maybe due to less radiated heat after driving? They just sit on top of the ice and snow. Your dino juice car radiates masses of heat from the engine bay, melts the ice around and under the tyres (unless it's really cold).
Interesting thread on Pistonheads at the moment regarding electric cars which are sliding hours after being parked up as they are parked on an incline and on snow. Appears they like to go for a slide more than an ICE car does
funny you say this as exactly this happened to me the other day. Parked up in my usual car park which is on an incline. The car park was covered in snow so I picked a spot that was snow free (obviously had been a car in this spot when the snow fell keeping the ground clear). The last couple of days never really got above freezing so the ground was quite icy. Went back to the car a few hours later to find it had slid about 5 car lengths down the hill! Lucky the car park was deserted so it never hit anything. Not sure if it’s the extra weight of the car or just me being stupid parking on an icy hill?
Like Winston, I encountered the huge snow dump driving back to Hove after school pickup...
However, AWD and all season tyres meant my driving was little, if any, different!!!
#brag!
Was funny watching a merc AMG absolutely floor it, engine roaring, to even get moving though!
DrP
Born doesn’t have a choice of regen braking, it on or off. When it’s on and I take my foot of the accelerator it was sketchy on the ice, trying to brake on the ice.
Can you not apply a bit of accelerator pedal instead to bring the total brake torque back to less (or zero)?
Does the Cupra set up allow you to do that? I know it's on most of the cars i've driven. Max regen is at zero% pedal and zero torque is at about 8-10-12%pedal. So you can play with the whole range between max regen and max acceleration on the one pedal.
been mulling an ev car for mrs b been on various forums and FB groups for different manufacturers to get the feeling for issues, faults and features of models. The one thing that stands out is that the 12v batteries continually fail leaving some unable to open car, drive the car or it goes into limp mode, why would this be when there is a massive battery slung underneath that it could trickle charge from if need be. Or is it the recent cold spell a 12v battery killer on ev's
The more I read the more I think many ev's models have just been rushed out and not really a refined product or am I just hearing the negatives over the positives then there is depreciation not really sure when that plateaus out due to car age.
We haven't had any issues with the 12v battery on our eqc.
We did have an issue a couple of weeks ago where a canbus wire had chafed against a bit of sharp bodywork causing a short circuit, apparently due to an issue during assembly where the wires were not routed correctly. This was sorted by merc for free, outside warranty.
I had a lot more 12V problems with ICE cars.
- Writing from Norway, and as a long term leaf, now RWD ev6 owner i think EV's are as good as an ice car. Not sure what you're getting up to. I am on full, but spikeless, winters tho'. Drove into the hills last weekend to go climbing.bing again, no stress driving on 5cm packez snow. And no sliping downhill ?
The one thing that stands out is that the 12v batteries continually fail
Is that from actual facts or just what the usual facebook etc algorithms are serving up?
Personally I've had no 12V battery issues, but cars have been all new (first was changes at 9 months old and the current is 18 months old) so a bit soon to tell.
One thing that is true is that EV 12V batteries are generally significantly smaller and lower rated as they don't need to provide the heavy amps to start an IC engine so are typically around half the size - so maybe do fail / need replacing sooner? Although given the modern nature there should be warnings etc before actual failure.
The massive "traction" batteries are typically 400V or higher. For safety reasons they are isolated when not actually in "drive" mode hence only charge the 12V battery when the car is being driven. So yes, you can have a car that is impossible to start and drive due to a "flat battery" despite having a fully charged tractions battery. Maybe this will change in the future but right now it's a fundamental safety system that's necessary when dealing with 400 or increasingly 800 volt systems.
@bruneep I had to replace the 12v battery on our zoé twice in 4 years which wasn’t unexpected apparently. Not a major issue, but a bit scary when you first see the catastrophic electrical failure error on the dash which actually just means that the 12v battery needs attention.
The massive “traction” batteries are typically 400V or higher. For safety reasons they are isolated when not actually in “drive” mode hence only charge the 12V battery when the car is being driven.
Pretty sure my Kona charges the 12V from the main battery at rest; in fact certain, there's a little LED lights up when it is doing it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/KonaEV/comments/z7ink7/green_light_on_hyundai_logo/?rdt=35130
12v charging is fairly simple on an ICE car, as long as there’s enough to start the car the alternator can take lots of spare energy to charge the battery and run the 12v stuff all the time. When it gets too low (or the condition is poor) you notice it as the starting gets laboured or not at all.
In an EV it’s a fine balance. They don’t need the cranking amps so they tend to be smaller 12v batteries. Charging it from the high voltage battery is taking some power that could be used for moving the car. Doing that charging when the car is off means using the 12v to control the contactors to enable the HV battery. It’s all software, and a bunch of decisions made by engineers about when and why the battery should be charged or not under various conditions, and some manufacturers can get that a bit wrong.
All cars can go a bit haywire when the 12v is low but in an ICE once it’s started there’s enough to keep everything happy. In an EV it could be started but a computer hasn’t decided to let the DC-DC converter top up the 12v yet.
A lot of the issues with EV 12v charging get sorted out with software updates. But tbh the little jump packs are so cheap and useful I keep them in both the petrol car and the EV just in case.
Our old i3 was still on its old battery when we sold it. 8y. Our new i3 is on its original at 4y.
Anyone had issues on an egolf with the charging flap not opening? And any tips for getting it open?
Think the solenoid has gone but can't get it seen to for 2 weeks so the wife isn't happy using the 13 year old Audi petrol.
Anyone had issues on an egolf with the charging flap not opening? And any tips for getting it open?
I don't know the egolf specifically, but usually there's a way of manually releasing the charging flap, usually in the boot, hidden under some trim there might be a pull cord, or lever you can reach to make it open, have a search of the user manual or the owner forums.
I don’t know the egolf specifically, but usually there’s a way of manually releasing the charging flap, usually in the boot, hidden under some trim there might be a pull cord, or lever you can reach to make it open, have a search of the user manual or the owner forums.
Thanks julians I'll have a look in the boot. See if there's an easy way to access it
VW ID3 had a pull cord immediately behind the charger flap, there was a circle of trim that you accessed it thru. I had problems releasing the charger first thing, until I worked out that it was an option in the screen menu to have it release automatically without going thru some sand dance with the keys and locks and then resorting to the emergency pull cord
A couple of things struck me on our annual Christmas pilgrimage from Aberdeenshire to Norfolk (500 miles each way in our ICE car) and got me thinking about Teslas.
First, at lunchtime on the Saturday before Christmas the Gretna Green superchargers were busy, as you'd expect, but even then there were a couple free, which was reassuring.
Playing count the EV on the way there and back it seemed as though there are more Teslas on the road than all other EVs combined, although I've not been able to find actual data on that.
I've since looked at sales figures for the past few years though and see that the Tesla model Y features in the top ten most popular cars sold every year since it was released (and is the only EV in the list). That means a lot of Model Y Teslas have been sold over the past couple of years. Or more likely leased, which means a lot must be about to hit the second hand market.
There are already 556 Model Y Teslas listed on Autotrader and I guess that number will increase over this year.
Musk's antics are also probably putting a few potential UK buyers off. So, we have increased supply and decreased demand.
I also read that Tesla's profit on each car sold has gone up over the past year (due to cost saving in manufacturing). This, coupled with increased competition from Chinese manufacturers could mean a price reduction sometime this year, further decreasing used car values.
All of which makes me think that this could be a good year to pick up a used Model Y. If you can square that with your conscience of course.
Personally I'm no fan of Musk and I do think that how you spend your money can be a powerful political act if you want it to be. But refusing to buy a car due to the political views of the CEO seems a stretch to me.
I had the charger flap issue with my Enyaq and the AA chap had to break it to get it to open… still worked just wouldn’t lock until replaced under warranty. AFAIK the cable in the boot is to release the plug from the socket and nothing to do with the flap.
Looking at possible EV on motability, but we'd like something more SUV with a bit of ground clearance and 4wd/AWD.
Struggling a bit tbh, only really seeing hybrids, like the Tucson, or a Subaru and these and othe hybrids seem to have pretty poor mpg.
It'd be used for short trips, day trips and a couple of 350 mile trips a year.
Are there any EVs we should be looking at in particular?
AFAIK the cable in the boot is to release the plug from the socket and nothing to do with the flap.
Ah yes you're right, I was miss remembering
lovewookieFull Member
Looking at possible EV on motability, but we’d like something more SUV with a bit of ground clearance and 4wd/AWD.Struggling a bit tbh, only really seeing hybrids, like the Tucson, or a Subaru and these and othe hybrids seem to have pretty poor mpg.
It’d be used for short trips, day trips and a couple of 350 mile trips a year.
Are there any EVs we should be looking at in particular?
Skoda Enyaq is available on Motability in AWD form. Quite large though.
But refusing to buy a car due to the political views of the CEO seems a stretch to me.
Not for me. I'd rather down a pint of cold sick than buy a Tesla, despite knowing my next car will be an EV.
Could you absolve the CEO of anything, or do you have limits before it would turn you off a brand that tolerates him? And are we calling being a racist 'political views' now?
Re 12v battery, I think my Ioniq battery was replaced by the previous owner a year ago after a recovery.
Currently my car isn't being used and the bluelink app won't connect until the car is powered up and moved in order to protect the 12v battery.
Could you absolve the CEO of anything, or do you have limits before it would turn you off a brand that tolerates him?
It's an interesting question and I'm really not sure exactly where I would draw the line to be honest. Refusing to buy a product because of the views of one person who is part of the company that makes the product seems a step too far to me. If that one person is the CEO rather than somebody who works on the shop floor then I guess that is more of an issue, but I still struggle with the link between a product and the views of somebody involved in producing that product.
I can see why you might boycott Twitter because of Musk. In fact I have. But in that case he is using the product to do harm (in my opinion). I can also see why you might boycott, say, VAG group cars over the behaviour of the company with regards to emissions testing as that was the actions of the company. But much as I disagree with Musk I don't see what is to be gained by refusing to buy a Tesla.
I think, if you are going to boycott a company then you need to be clear about what it is that you want to see changed in order to start buying the product again. What I object to is Musk's use of his media company to sow division and spread hatred, not his cars and I don't see how refusing to buy a Tesla changes that. At best he sells Tesla and has even more money to spend on his other activities.
I realise I'm probably in a minority (even within my own family) on this one though.
At best he sells Tesla and has even more money to spend on his other activities.
To be honest, that alone would be enough. Tesla, the brand, is the vehicle to give him the money (through payments and stock price to leverage finance) to buy the influence he is so manifestly not equipped to wield well. The collapse of Tesla's stock value (and the total collapse of 2nd hand car prices would certainly help here) is possibly the only thing that might put a muzzle on him.
For me - to buy into his profit machine, is to be complicit.
Yeah I’m in the market for an EV and if it wasn’t for Musk I’d be picking up a 2 year old Y but since he’s gone full fascist I just know I’d hate myself every time I got in it…..that and the fact it doesn’t have any buttons or an instrument cluster - that would also annoy me although I might have adjusted to that - but not now, not with that stroker sticking his nasty little face in world politics like it’s his toy to break
I'm delighted to be back driving a petrol after 3 years of ev and 7 diesel.
No more range anxiety and no more driving behind trucks, trying to eek out the range to the next rapid charge point on longer trips.
A modern light hybrid Petrol (with an automatic gearbox) is a thing of wonder, almost diesel like fuel economy, and with near instant torque like an ev.
Yeah I’m in the market for an EV and if it wasn’t for Musk
Likewise - I've not even considered a Tesla. I have looked at VAG though - aiui they made some high level changes after the emissions issue and their association with a fascist is way in the past.
Some lovely efficient rolling EV tyres removed from my car recently.
Unsurprisingly, not great in cold wet conditions, and rubbish in snow.
I very luckily scored a set of four wheels with barely worn Vredestein winters for £500.
Turns out, a 4wd EV is really very good in snow when shod properly.
Incidentally, the guy I bought them from worked for Tesla for seven years, and thoroughly enjoyed most of his time there. Key to the good working environment was that Elon didn't take much to do personally with Tesla UK.
For whatever reason, about a year ago he took a sudden interest and this guy was getting emails directly and things were going rapidly downhill. He saw the writing on the wall and left last summer.
I know violence isn't the answer, but I wouldn't be saddened to hear that someone smacked him around the head with a baseball bat, in much the same way I shed no tears for that insurance CEO guy getting shot.
Another go at the image....
Removed the side trim in the boot but there's no access to the solenoid from this side. I can see the connector and cable that goes through a rubber bung thing.
Reading on golf forums, some reckon access is from under the wheel trim which is where I give up and wait two weeks to get it repaired. It's still got 100 miles left so should be fine for local journeys till I get it fixed. Thanks for the help.
I'm in domestic negotiations about replacing our family car with an EV. Budget about £17k. A Kia e-niro looks like it fits the bill but I wonder if there are any owners here who could offer their opinion? TIA
A Kia e-niro looks like it fits the bill but I wonder if there are any owners here who could offer their opinion?
Had one for 2 years. Fine car, no problems. Only downside is comparatively slow DC charging compared to modern EVs, especially in winter. Get the 4+ spec with the heatpump if you can.
If that one person is the CEO rather than somebody who works on the shop floor then I guess that is more of an issue, but I still struggle with the link between a product and the views of somebody involved in producing that product.
Without wishing to derail this thread... I think Elon is a bit of a special case here - he's actively using the fortune he's made from Tesla to further extreme right-wing political BS, including funding political parties. Tesla money also allowed him to purchase Twitter which he's turned into a cesspit for extremist views.
Personally that was a big factor in me opting for a Polestar 2 instead of a Tesla Model 3, I don't think it needs to be for everyone but a big decline in Tesla sales is probably the only thing at this point that could make him take notice that the disinformation he spreads can have consequences to him not just some innocent immigrant on the other side of the world.
I took Tesla off my list of cars to buy as I simply couldn't countenance giving financial support to Elon Musk which is what you are directly doing.
Yes, if it's in the price range and you can charge at home a Niro will tick many boxes
Niro is a solid EV but its charging speeds let it down these days, that wont really be an issue if you are mostly keeping it local.
Unsurprisingly, not great in cold wet conditions
Decent energy saving tyres (by which I mean A rated for fuel and wet grip) are good in the cold and wet. For some unfathomable reason they fit complete rubbish to new cars which wrecks the whole concept.
No more range anxiety and no more driving behind trucks, trying to eek out the range to the next rapid charge point on longer trips.
Why the hell would you do that? There are charge points every 30 miles at least on the motorway network so that's definitely operator error.
Stop and think about what happens when you fill your petrol car. You put in 60l of fuel - where does it go? It gets converted into airborne pollution in the human environment. We have no choice but to breathe it in. Then when that 60l is converted, you get some more.. and some more... over 100m litres of petrol and diesel in cars every single day in the UK is converted to pollution and sprayed in our breathing air. The only reason we put up with it is because we're used to it.
Key to the good working environment was that Elon didn’t take much to do personally with Tesla UK.
But (unfortunately) when he was a regular at the design and manufacturing facilities he would get very involved in subjects he knew exactly nothing about. I have several friends who are now ex-tesla employees for not doing what Elmo wanted.
I'd have a hard time buying a tesla because of the way elon musk acts , as fuzzywuzzy states its the money from tesla (and his other ventures) that allows him to act in the way he is acting, and I'd rather not support that . But I wont/dont judge anyone else who chooses a tesla, ultimately if its the best car for someone then its the best car.
Thanks @julians That probably sums up where I am at the moment. A (used) Tesla model Y is probably the only EV I would consider buying at the moment as everything else just seems like a step backwards. So, it's either that or carry on driving ICE cars for a bit longer. Musk is the only thing putting me off pulling the trigger and I still can't decide whether it is worse to enable his antics or to just keep on polluting the environment.
Niro is a solid EV but its charging speeds let it down these days, that wont really be an issue if you are mostly keeping it local.
Thanks. I did see the low charging speed but I think this would only be an issue a handful of times per year.
Thanks @julians That probably sums up where I am at the moment. A (used) Tesla model Y is probably the only EV I would consider buying at the moment as everything else just seems like a step backwards.
Despite what I've written to date, I can see that juggling your automotive needs and your ethics can still be a hard one for some.
Out of interest, what is it (specific features, performance numbers, styling, finance etc) about the model Y that makes it head and shoulders above the rest that might 'force' you to hold your nose? What's the best of the rest in your eyes/head that can't hold a candle to it? I wonder if the STW massive are able to enlighten you with other options that might narrow the gap for you.
I'm in a different financial league sadly. A 2nd hand Niro is currently the number one choice here too- but a post facelift (vegan interior....just like a tesla 🙂 )and specced with the optional heatpump. I've decided that despite my location, 2wd rather than 4wd is a compromise I'll make as long as I have a 2nd set of wheels with winters on. I hope I don't regret that. XC40 with dual motors and heat pump is also an option, but is just a bit too big....And the Subaru Solterra 'should' be what I want, but its efficiency is dire.
A (used) Tesla model Y is probably the only EV I would consider buying at the moment as everything else just seems like a step backwards.
Yet, despite having the option of a Model Y and not particularly caring about the fortunes of the Space Nazi I have twice in a row chosen other options because the Tesla wasn’t, in my view, the best car.
Best electric vehicle on paper maybe but I don’t think they are anywhere close to being the best car to live with.
Opinions are highly subjective though.
Out of interest, what is it (specific features, performance numbers, styling, finance etc) about the model Y that makes it head and shoulders above the rest that might ‘force’ you to hold your nose?
It's a combination of lots of small things really, but mainly:
Ease of charging: Most of the time any modern EV would be fine as we would charge at home, but a few times a year we will drive 500 miles in a day (and probably over 300 miles at least half a dozen times a year). Doing that over Christmas reminded me that when we do those journey we really don't want any extra faff. Opening up the supercharger network to other makes has reduced the advantage, but the fact that you can just drive up to one in a Tesla, plug in and walk away is still a big plus.
Range: I like to keep a car for a while (say 7 years). So I look at the large crop of current cars with WLTP ranges around 250-300 mile and can't hep thinking that they are all going to look a bit dated in three years time when 350+ is the norm.
Maturity of tech: Lots of modern EVs are packed full of tech and when you look on drivers forums all you read are endless complaints about it not working. Flaky software, apps that wont connect to the car, cars that lock you out, navigation systems that think you are in the middle of the north sea, alarms that set themselves off for no apparent reason etc, etc. Tesla seem to be the iphone of the EV world. You have to buy into their ecosystem but if you do ten everything just works.
Also, while I'm prepared to accept that I probably don't need AWD to cope with the snow the recent spell of snow reminded me that clearance is quite important as various friends got stuck on our drive in cars with 5" clearance while my wife and I had no issues in our cars that both have 7" clearance.
And the Subaru Solterra ‘should’ be what I want, but its efficiency is dire.
We have the Lexus version of the same car (there is also a Toyota version) and I agree – efficiency/range is not great. Even in Eco Mode I struggle to get much more than 200 miles out of a full charge (my wife gets even worse but she can't get her head around driving an electric car like an electric car and just charges around with the heating on high, despite it having heated seats, steering wheel and even knee heaters, all designed to keep you warm but using less energy). And, after 5,000 miles it is averaging 2.7kwh.
It's a lovely car to drive though.
Thanks. I did see the low charging speed but I think this would only be an issue a handful of times per year.
I'm 2 months in to having a 21 Kona, which is the same car basically. I've done over 2000 miles and used public chargers twice, both times no issue. One (AC) was plug in and walk away for a couple of hours while we visited my MiL; the DC charger I used was advertised as 50kW but max I got (in the cold) was about 42kW, however if using for top ups that'll still give you 70-80 odd miles in a half hour stop.
If that's a handful of times a year that's no issue for me, and far outweighed by the owning experience so far.
roverpigFull Member
Maturity of tech: Lots of modern EVs are packed full of tech and when you look on drivers forums all you read are endless complaints about it not working. Flaky software, apps that wont connect to the car, cars that lock you out, navigation systems that think you are in the middle of the north sea, alarms that set themselves off for no apparent reason etc, etc. Tesla seem to be the iphone of the EV world. You have to buy into their ecosystem but if you do ten everything just works.
I think you're seeing what you want to see there. I now know a few people who've had Teslas past the honeymoon period and they moan about software a fair bit. Just google "tesla software problems" and you'll see there are plenty. My friend describes the software in his as being in "constant beta test" and that's on a 20 plate (i.e. you think it'd be pretty stable by now).
the fact that you can just drive up to one in a Tesla, plug in and walk away is still a big plus
I don't see how drive up, plug in, tap your debit card and walk away is all that much different. That's all I do. Biggest benefit I can see to superchargers is that they are half the price, but that's more or less what it is for non-Teslas too.
Looks to me like those tesla advantages are a triumph of marketing over reality, but everyone has to make their own decision over that. Very happy with our Kia over the last couple of years, it just works (and is extremely comfortable and performs very well generally).
You have to buy into their ecosystem but if you do ten everything just works.
Not a chance.
The screen going black and rebooting whilst driving is a biggie - in fact it even happened during a review on the Fully Charged Show. Its a real danger on the Tesla as it has no instrument dials or buttons so you lose everything and have to pull over till it resolves itself. I genuinely can't believe its allowed to not have an instrument cluster screen or god forbid, real dials separate to the main infotainment screen.
Also many many reports of dodgy door handles not retracting and one of the reps we have visiting had his Y brick in our car park and it had to be recovered to a main dealer for a complete reflash or whatever they do as the over the air attempt to resuscitate it didn't work.
I'm not saying they are any worse than others considering the numbers out there but they ain't infallible by a long way
Nobody mentions cost? how much is a Tesla, is it comparable with a practical ICE vehicle or is it in the performance car bracket?
New a Model Y seems to be a similar price to an Audi Q5 or a Volvo EX40 or VW ID7. The 'long range' Tesla does 311 miles which is only 20 more than the Volvo but a whopping 70 less than a VW ID7 at a similar price. I expect a Q5 would out-range the lot.
Model Y doesn't look very inspiring IMO and the 'Juniper' update is just as plain but with bonnet & boot lights. Interior's got as much excitement / personality as the current Y which sets a pretty low bar and it still only has one screen which is a bit Marmite if you ask me.
Even Tesla's USP of a supercharger network is being diminished as more and more charge sites get installed by the competition, they're even opening up the Tesla sites to non-Tesla's now too.
Full disclosure, I don't like Tesla's and I don't get the hype around them. The build /software quality doesn't seem to match the price tag and there are plenty of other manufacturers providing worthy alternatives that are either cheaper or better made (or both).
Just poking around on Zap Map, there are maybe 30-40x more non-Tesla chargers than Tesla Superchargers.
Question of when it becomes economical to get an electric car instead of an older model ice car? There is the extra cost of insurance and initial price. I would love to get an electric car but as I mostly use public transport (I live in Sweden) it would cost a lot to buy and run an electric car. So I have come to the conclusion that getting an electric car would cost a lot and not be very environmentally friendly due to not driving very much. At the moment they seem to be priced as a rich man’s thing and wondered how much the monthly cost of ownership was.
It's unlike ICE for cost of fuel, where fuel might be +/- 10-15% around the average between seeking out supermarket prices vs paying for a tank at a motorway services. So you might pay more if you always filled at motorway pricing, but it wouldn't be (%) that much more.
If you charge at home you could be paying less than 1/10 of the cost of fast charging. I showed my working out a page or two back, but on my mileage I'm saving £160/mo in fuel costs, comparing almost entirely home charging vs average fuel costs on a 1200mi/mo
Buying second hand I didn't see a huge difference in the cost of ICE vs EV, particularly on a PCP deal. The residual value at the end should offset the highr purchase price.
Ownership - only had a couple of months but told that servicing is way cheaper, there's very little to spend on stuff like oil and filters and the like, etc.
And I'm paying no extra for insurance - not sure quite where that idea comes from.
And I’m paying no extra for insurance – not sure quite where that idea comes from.
agreed. When I got my Born last year there was no cost to swap over from my Ateca and it’s actually dropped a fair bit on renewal last month. We were looking a a 500e for my wife and called for a quote and found it was virtually the same as her current car, a Fiat panda, all with AXA.
I have solar so that is one of the reasons I was interested but my current petrol costs are probably less than £70 a month. Still interested in peoples monthly costs. My current car is a Volvo v70 and cost about £5000 but was in great condition and it has had zero problems in 6 years. A decent electric car second hand would be around 3/4 times that price in Sweden. Here the full insurance doubles after the first 3 years. The maths just don’t add up
Well Muskrat doing Nazi salutes on live TV should knock another grand or two off the price of a model Y for anyone thick skinned enough to still want one…
My insurance went up by £170 a third to insure a 4 year old £10k Ioniq 38kw supa doopa version over a 16yr old Skoda Roomster £1k. The cost of running the car for the last 6 months and 5000 miles has been minimal, 1 £70 service, cheap home charging, sometimes less than 0p on the agile tariff. I saved £15/month from July 24 till April until whenever I get taxed on the EV.
I guess I'll loose money if I sell at this moment in time but I intend to keep this car for a few more hopefully trouble free years at which point I will have absorbed any depreciation and saved for a new un.
No more range anxiety and no more driving behind trucks, trying to eek out the range to the next rapid charge point on longer trips.
If you have a crappy DC charging speed, or you're an extreme cheapskate and won't pay for really fast charging you may have reason.
Us practical types just get on with it.
in fact it even happened during a review on the Fully Charged Show
Check out Jayemm for cars and his Tesla test recently. His 3 jammed the brakes on while cruising on the motorway and Tesla tried to blame him.
cheap home charging, sometimes less than 0p on the agile tariff.
I'm not sure that's working so well ATM with Agile prices being so bloody high ?
How many of you on here run an elec car but with no home charger - how much of a benefit is it over an ICE?
For those wanting to get a full electric car - after roughly 10 years of owning 2 Tesla's i will be reverting to PHEV which in my opinion is far the best option at the moment.
I believe electric cars aren't quite there yet. Charging outside the Tesla network is pretty bloody expensive and a real faff.
Until the range is a reliable 400 miles i'll stick to PHEV and ICE cars.
I went up to Wales from Surrey to do some winter mountaineering last week when the temp was -7 and i barely got 200 miles range (i have the long range Tesla Model Y). I know that the temperature is a rare occurrence, but it did make the journey overly stressful as when you get into Wales charging options are incredibly limited. I should have taken the Hilux...tons of mileage, but no whoopeee cushions!!
I believe electric cars aren’t quite there yet. Charging outside the Tesla network is pretty bloody expensive and a real faff.
That's a sweeping statement and possibly true (I don't have an EV yet) but a lot of people can run without needing external charging other than a couple of times a year.
And yes, thanks to the Welsh government/Councils there's little in the way of public chargers available - I use the A55 a lot, it's a busy road yet there's almost no charging facilities!
I don't have a home charger, but I've a charger about 150 yards away in a public car park. I also have the luck to be close enough to the office that I can park it up after work and get a few hours bike ride down as the car charges.
Work charge is free, public charging could be as low as 35p per kWh (with around 7kwh charging) up to 79p for a fast charge.
I've got access to plenty chargers near me so I'm not finding it a major problem. My biggest grumble is how often I can't get a parking space at the office during the day...and that is more just an inconvenience for me than a major drawback.
Biggest issue is the colder weather as I'm definitely seeing a drop in range so charging more frequently.
I have a home charger at home, but I work away from home.
For my use case EV and no charger is absolutely fine. I top up once a week to 100%, gives me about 190 real world miles. By the time I get to work I’m left with 70%. I top up in Tesco on a slow charger once a week. Gives me another approx 40 miles for about £5. I do this while I’m at the shops so time wise is fine.
I have just signed up to Lidl for charging, that’s a Medium charger so should work out better. I haven’t come close to running out, but I’m someone who likes to know I can jump in the car and know I have plenty of miles. There is also a fast charger a couple of miles away, but that’s at £0.85. Will only be used in an emergency.
(Audi eTron, rubbish average miles, 2.7 long term average over 12000 miles)
Re: Niro, while there’s newer cars with higher headline charging speeds, it’s more efficient than many. RSEV did a test a while ago of driving a bunch of cars including the Niro 160 miles one way, then charging enough to return. Actually not a lot in it for time, the faster charging stuff tended to use more power so needed more charging. And the Niro will do that reliably on any 100+kw charger with not much penalty for using a 50kw, no need to seek out special fast ones.
Always worth a play on abetterrouteplanner with routes you plan to do and cars you’re thinking of, you can spend a lot on extra battery capacity and charging speed just to save half an hour a couple of times a year.
Hahaha, I consider the local 22kw chargers as fast...there are 2 50kw chargers and they are a revelation as so much quicker, but I don't have access to them frequently. At the office I charge to 100% (mainly as it is free and I'm sitting at my desk for 8 hours), for public chargers they go to 80% charge.
I use the A55 a lot, it’s a busy road yet there’s almost no charging facilities!
Eh!? There are 11 rapid charging hubs on, or very near, the A55 between the border and the Menai Bridge including a nice Tesla Public Supercharger at Flint Mountain with 8 stalls and an Osprey hub at the same place with 12 chargers.
Until the range is a reliable 400 miles i’ll stick to PHEV and ICE cars.
Do you honestly ever drive 400 miles non-stop? 200 miles is 3 hours motoring in the UK and we should all be taking a break at that point for safety reasons so why not charge at the same time?
I can park it up after work and get a few hours bike ride down as the car charges.
Are there other people in the building at this time? Our insurance stipulated that cars should not be charged out of office hours, presumably because nobody would be able to react to a fire risk.
Do you honestly ever drive 400 miles non-stop? 200 miles is 3 hours motoring in the UK and we should all be taking a break at that point for safety reasons so why not charge at the same time?
I have had my Polestar for a couple of months now and I am actually loving the 200 mile mindset change. Stretching the legs and grabbing a drink is a real pleasure. The main problem for me is that the car charges too quickly whilst I am doing it 🙂
Do you honestly ever drive 400 miles non-stop? 200 miles is 3 hours motoring in the UK and we should all be taking a break at that point for safety reasons so why not charge at the same time?
In EV threads on STW in previous years, you could be forgiven for thinking that 60% of the STW population drive from Aberdeen to Morzine, every week, with bikes on the roof, without even stopping for a wee....
i will be reverting to PHEV
Ug. I had one and went back to diesel - it was the worst of all worlds.
Now have an EV and just get on with it. According to the app i am in the top 1% for doing miles and I can make it work.
My very first EV trip was 500 miles to Scotland and back. It wasn't that hard to adjust.
In EV threads on STW in previous years, you could be forgiven for thinking that 60% of the STW population drive from Aberdeen to Morzine, every week, with bikes on the roof, without even stopping for a wee…
Whilst towing a caravan.
Thanks for the Tesla comments folks. I read them all with interest.
I don't want to derail what has been an interesting thread about EVs by getting into politics, but suffice to say that Mr Musk's antics over the past 24 hours haven't exactly increased my desire to buy his car 🙂 Having said that, a bit of digging suggests that second hand Tesla prices are unlikely to have any impact on the Tesla share price. Car sales overall make up a smaller proportion of the Tesla business than you might think and it is still the case that the Tesla share price would probably drop if Musk left the company as a lot of the "value" is down to his ability to convince investors that good stuff is just around the corner.
On to the car itself, I did watch that Jayemm video and I agree that Teslas are not without their faults. To be fair, most adaptive cruise control systems will give the occasional case of phantom braking. My 7 year old Suzuki did it when a fairly large plastic bag blew across the road, for example. He did also say that Tesla got a lot of things right and there was a lot other manufacturers should learn from.
I have spent rather too much time reading EV forums and watching Youtube videos and I still get the feeling that Tesla drives on average are more happy with their purchase than drivers of other EVs. Where is the "Just Get a Kia" channel 🙂 I'll accept that this could be perception rather than reality though and could be down to a few vocal fans. It's hard to get an objective view on this really.
All said, I think I will renew my efforts to find a non-Tesla EV that I actually want, even if that probably will mean a few more months of ICE driving.
The maths just don’t add up
At £70 a month on fuel, no. They never will. Stick with your V70 until it dies.
I had one and went back to diesel – it was the worst of all worlds.
And mine (so far) seems to be the best of all worlds...