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Gretna
The chargers at Gretna can be quite busy. Maybe better going to the Ionity in Carlisle which is two minutes off the motorway and has 12 350kw chargers next to a Starbucks/m&S foodhall/Asda.
I’d be topping up at the Ionity in Polmadie in Glasgow, again two minutes off the M74 for the final leg. Or the Osprey at Loch Lomond Shores
Charge place scotland works best with an RFID card but you’re probably too late to get one. Mine took a couple of weeks to arrive. You can use the app though.
Going back a page I'm surprised anyone gets wheelspin these days, are there any recent EVs that don't have ABS, traction control, ESP... ?
Thanks Perchy this is useful info 🙂 I'm not sure to what extent I'll follow the ABRP plan since the charge stops don't necessarily align with comfort breaks. For example, that Ionity one you mention looks great and it's 5hrs/240 miles away. So leaving early we could have a quick toilet break at say Stafford and then press on to Carlisle and have a long lunch. Given we're heading out into the wilderness I'll want to stay topped up as much as possible so I'd probably do both Carlisle and Fort William. Hopefully the holiday flat will let us use the granny charger.
Has anyone been to the Higlands/Islands with their EV? There are plenty of chargers but many are singles, I am not sure how busy they'll be.
Or the Osprey at Loch Lomond Shores
Looks like it's labelled as Queen of the Loch on Zap Map with 6 chargers.
Going back a page I’m surprised anyone gets wheelspin these days, are there any recent EVs that don’t have ABS, traction control, ESP… ?
Yeah it feels like something's up with their car - mine refuses to spin no matter what I do, and it has crap front tyres on at the moment.
Speaking of tyres; the above mentioned crap tyres are E rated, and our range is currently around 195 miles at 100%. We're getting Goodyear Efficient Grip EV specials on Thursday, I'm hoping this might give us another 10 miles. It will be interesting to see what we can get on the motorway. Previous best at 70mph the best was 4.8 so we might hit 5.
I'm keen to find out how the in-car satnav handles things.
molgrips
Yeah it feels like something’s up with their car – mine refuses to spin no matter what I do, and it has crap front tyres on at the moment.
The MG5 estate will certainly spin its front wheel(s), especially trying to get out the the tight left-turn exiting my office onto the busy main road.
Quite a few people were moaning about it on speakEV recently as well. Can't find that thread now but here's another one that came up on google
https://www.speakev.com/threads/wheelspin.165022/
The wording in the CPS app suggests that there's an overstay charge for rapids, but not for slower type 2 chargers...?
Every CPS charger is different pricing, different rules. It’s essentially an umbrella billing app for a multitude of privately owned chargers.
2nd day of work commute in the Y, outer to inner London, discovered the turning circle is more oil tanker than black cab... significantly cheaper than the train, albeit significantly slower than both train and bike into the Camden office.. Learning where the front corners are is exciting as the sensors seem to allow for a significant tolerance
Anyone used the Seasucker type racks - I'm borrowing one for our half term jolly in the grim north. It will be a good test before I shell out for the Tesla one..
https://www.seasucker.com/collections/bike/products/mini-bomber-1
@molgrips my CPS card took 2/3 weeks to arrive when I got mine a few months ago. When I was up at Loch Long last August for a few days the chargers I saw never had a car at them. That said it was mid week and pi$$ING down. Might be different on a sunny weekend. Whenever I am at Lomond shores there are cars charging there, but I tend to only go there an the sunny hence busier days.
Going back a page I’m surprised anyone gets wheelspin these days, are there any recent EVs that don’t have ABS, traction control, ESP… ?
My leaf would wheelspin like a spinnywheeled thing - was terrible on teh solid rubber tyres it came with... much better on CC2s, but would still wheelspin with ease if pushed.
I've yet to manage it I think) on the Polestar - being AWD and probably smarter is likely to have helped.
DrP
Learning where the front corners are is exciting as the sensors seem to allow for a significant tolerance
That’s because it doesn’t have any sensors. It’s using the camera at the top of the windscreen and machine learning based on vision. So it’s making up where it thinks things are based on where it last saw them.
Anyone used the Seasucker type racks – I’m borrowing one for our half term jolly in the grim north. It will be a good test before I shell out for the Tesla one..
I used one for a while but only on tin top cars. On the Model 3 I had, Seasucker said you needed to make sure that the rear attachment went on the boot metal and not wholly on the glass. I ended up using the boot as I didn’t trust Tesla to glue to roof in properly. I tried it on the Polestar a couple of weekends ago, but if you shook the bike you could see the glass flex. Decided discretion was the better part of valour and sold it in favour of roof bars and fork mount rack.
Seasucker racks are totally trustworthy, glass roofs, not so sure…
Cheers, noted on camera system rather than sensors.
On the Sea Sucker thing, I see the internet has plenty on the model 3, less on the Y.. Pushing the rack back to spread the load across 2 panels appears to be what folk do. In the case of the Y that'll mean the rear bike tyre will sit on the boot glass..
Will have a look in the manual....
@molgrips I've been to Scotland from Yorkshire many times, not had a problem, with a bit of planning. Key thing for us is to make sure we can charge at the holiday let as we are out walking/climbing most days so usually doing longish drives to mountains and don't want to be messing around at public chargers too much. At Fort Augustus hol let there was a free CPS 50kw just down the road so we used that most days, elsewhere we've charged overnight at hol let from the 3pin. As said gretna is often busy as is tebay. The superchargers at gretna are closed so it might have a bit of a knock on effect. Can't remember what I did with the ID3 but I never used the old electric highway chargers at services so I must have used somewhere else on the M6 probably something like osprey/instavolt at Penrith or Carlisle. Obviously charging the Tesla was slightly easier before the ID3 (definitely used Tesla fort William enroute to fort Augustus). I've also used a charger at Tyndrum real food cafe. We are staying near Glencoe (kentallan) next month so I'll have to start planning for that, but I'm back in a Tesla so it'll be Tesla chargers all the way this time because it's half the price of other networks. Looks like the two CPS chargers in mallaig area can't be relied on, so hope you've sorted charging at you holiday let, unless you're not planning on using the car much.
At least where we were recently, Islay, and Kintyre, the CPS were available and very reasonable at 25p kWh
Going back a page I’m surprised anyone gets wheelspin these days
It's instant torque on cheap tyres for a lot of people. Or heavier, harder, weight rated tyres.
Doesn't help that it's really hard to do traction control well in an EV using ICE software/hardware/control modules (think i've mentioned it before).
Doesn't help that a lot of people still try to throttle like they do in their ICE.
Nice tyres going on ours tomorrow.
As a slight aside re Tesla ultrasonic sensors, it was only post 2022 I think that they began to discontinue them with plans to refine the cameras ability for parking etc. Our older M3P has them and they work well. Auto park is getting better too, it was flawless when I let it park the other day.
Re traction, the ability to immediately modify output to each wheel pretty much instantaneously should mean traction for all EVs will get better and better. Tesla, and I presume others, have got it pretty much nailed already; even in the wet, the grip ours generates from a standstill is mind boggling, makes the performance Audis with Quattro we’ve had in the past seem a bit archaic. 🙂
The more miles we do in ours, the more we love it, not trying to be economical and we’re getting near enough 4 miles per kWh at the moment with something that has bonkers performance for an everyday car. It makes me really tempted to get rid of our caravelle and get a used model S with roof bars to waft around in…
the ability to immediately modify output to each wheel pretty much instantaneously should mean traction for all EVs will get better and better. Tesla, and I presume others, have got it pretty much nailed already
I think the suggestion was that some cars or older cars are adapting the same software from ICEs which doesn't work as well; but Tesla would not have this issue.
I need a new car and am wondering whether to go for a 3-4 year old Niro. I have questions:
Do people buy these from one of the national chains or locally? What do I need to look out for? Do I really need to inspect it in person before buying?
What charging cables do I need, what will I get with the car? How long does it take to get that Kia charging card I need / want?
you dont need the kia charging card.
great cars, should come with a CSS cable (for plugging into the AC charges when you are out and about) and a granny charger for using a 3-pin (used mine maybe twice in 2.5 years).
There was a recall/maintenance update for swapping out the battery coolant a year back (done at my last service and covered by Kia) other than that its been faultless.
got for the 3 or 4, 2 is poverty spec and it's lacking a couple of things IMO.
Found this
Tesla appear to take a dim view on non Tesla products in their user manual (unsurprisingly).
I've emailed Sea Sucker to see what they say. Be good to take my bike on hols...
Absolutely loving the eNiro so far....driven home from Cannock to Congleton in it. 4.7m/kWh. We got the 4.....having never really owned a nice car before I'm probably not ideally placed to comment, but I'm blown away by the spec. Heated steering wheel!
Absolutely appalling service from Car360 put a bit of a damper on things, wouldn't use them again. Very pleased with it though, just charged at a rapid charger in town (we'd paid for it to be fully charged, the gave it to us on 40% FFS). Charged for free for some reason, very bizarre. Anyway, went from 20% to 85% in just under an hour.
having never really owned a nice car before I’m probably not ideally placed to comment, but I’m blown away by the spec
This is sort of an EV phenomenon. Originally the batteries made them expensive, so to offset that they packed then with gadgets that they previously used to differentiate their offerings but aren't really that expensive to produce. Then, all their EVs were high spec so you weren't comparing say an iD3 with a base spec Golf, you had to compare it against the high spec model so it looked more favourable. The gadgets themselves were all things that had previously been available only on fancy cars. However that has sort of stuck and now people expect all the gear in their EV. My 2020 Hyundai has a much higher spec than my 2013 Mercedes.
Glad you are enjoying the car 🙂
Cheers for all of your posts on this and other threads @molgrips....it has been incredibly helpful in understanding the EV market.
As suggested those massively reduced Nissan Leafs were of interest and we are picking one up Monday so now a 2 EV household. The better half really liked it on a test drive and at that price was just too good to ignore. Range suits her use and for the tiny amount of times she may need to public charge I’m happy there’ll be enough chademo points for the foreseeable. Be nice to have solar to charge them with……
They’re all from Charge Place Scotland – what do I need to know about them? I presume it’s app based.
There is a ChargePlace Scotland App but its unreliable, shonky and requires mobile signal which can be a problem in the Highlands. Just get a ChargePlace Scotland RFID card which will start any old crappy legacy CPS charger (and most CPS chargers are crappy legacy). It really does transform the CPS charging experience.
I’ve emailed Sea Sucker to see what they say. Be good to take my bike on hols…
I've been a bit scared to buy roof bars for my Model Y ,in case the range drops too much. Kind of hoping I’ll get my bike in the car, through the rear seat middle drop down, with my adult kids either side.
great cars, should come with a CSS cable (for plugging into the AC charges when you are out and about) and a granny charger for using a 3-pin (used mine maybe twice in 2.5 years).
A type 2 cable for AC, you mean? CCS is rapid charging.
I don't think granny chargers are as common these days; ours didn't come with one. We have one anyway, but I can't remember the last time we used it. It's easier to use rapids than faff about waiting hours and hours for a granny charger to do anything worthwhile.
Our e-niro came from Arnold Clark, mainly because they had quite a few so we could find the one that best suited us.
the ability to immediately modify output to each wheel pretty much instantaneously should mean traction for all EVs will get better and better.
Unfortunately the "old" architecture of cars and various system safety set ups means that the traction control/brake ECUs have *very* high requirements on robustness (for obvious reasons), but the "go faster" and motor control (invertors etc) don't. So a lot still split the system over multiple modules. Which has led to many using the existing modules and tweaking parameters. So the TC module in many cars is still rigged up with all sorts of torque ramps and time delays to allow for fuel injection timing, engine and transmission inertia, torque convertors, shift maps and so on. With an EV set up they all need adjusting to some almost random point between zero or infinity, and a lot of the original ICE stuff only needed a range from maybe 50 to 10000. And then they need to communicate with the "go faster/go slower module to cut the torque". Delays everywhere!
So it's not as straightforward as it sounds. And one of the very limited places where tesla and the EV first manufacturers actually really did do something better (the architecture, not the implementation). Legacy manufacturers do have a handle on it now, but it's not cheap to re-engineer the whole thing.
To put it into perspective, there are now 800+ bhp EVs that can launch from stationary at 100% throttle on dry tarmac with calibrated in wheel chirp and no spin. The last ICE car i drove with anywhere near that much grunt wouldn't (even though it was bigger, heavier, larger tyres and less torque...)
Just get a ChargePlace Scotland RFID card
With a two-week lead time that's not an option.
Cheers for all of your posts on this and other threads @molgrips….it has been incredibly helpful in understanding the EV market.
I do have a bit of a Hyundai/Kia bias though! It's purely because of the engineering aspect though - VFM on these used cars now is tremendous, and the rapid charging combined with towing capacity on the newer ones for us is ideal.
If I weren't towing, and I were buying something recent now - what would I get? Perhaps an Audi/Merc SUV since they are surprisingly reasonably priced and plush, but they are SUVs which I really don't want - I don't want to give up range for the sake of image. So that discounts most of the market. VAG cars have usability issues and VW iD4/5 are ugly as hell. BMW are great but expensive.. Maybe in years to come I'll consider a VW iD7 and hope the usability is improved. I'd consider a Polestar 2 but on paper I'd much rather have an Ioniq 6.
ah yes, type2. my bad.
as for the roof bars, just stick em on, doubt you'll really notice until going long distance at speed.
ours are on all the time.
Looks like we’re joining the EV club.
The wife has had an unexpected promotion resulting in a company car coming our way in Sept. No idea why as she doesn’t travel for work much, only the commute about 12 miles each way. I’m hardly going to complain though as it’s a 72 plate Model 3 Performance 😁
We’ve borrowed it on a few occasions already for the odd weekend and it’s definitely a step up on the current 14 year old Toyota Aygo.
I’ll be researching if it’s worth while getting a home charger as she can charge it at work during the week.
any experience of insuring new young drivers as main driver on EV's ?
Our youngest, who turns 18 in July, should pass his test in the next month. He starts a well paid apprenticeship mid August and will have a daily commute of 20 miles each way. He will be staying at home with us and is keen to buy a new car, which we fully support. His elder brother got a new Corsa when he passed his test, 3 years ago and that is his daily driver, he does about 15k miles per annum, with annual insurance with him as main driver of about £1800 (on a family Admiral fleet deal). Car is fully funded by him.
So for youngest, current options we are looking at are, either another new Corsa, petrol, which can be has preregistered for about 16k (we'd do it on a HP over a few yrs), or for similar money on a PCP, a 2-3 yr old eNiro or similar. He would be main driver.
Advantages of Corsa - conventional car with manual gearbox - seems the 'right thing' for a new driver, cheapish to buy, 3 yr warranty, we know roughly what insurance would be.
Advantages of EV - probs more 'fun', though is that a good thing... Very cheap to run - we have an Easee charger for my i4, and are on IO. Disadvantages being insurance costs (no idea), and setting him on a route of not having experience with a conventional gearbox etc ??
keen for thoughts.
Manual gearboxes will likely disappear with ICE cars, not immediately, but probably not that big a worry for today's youngster
See also pens, phone boxes, standing up to change the channel, all sorts of iother stuff that was dead important when I were a lad
Curious to know if the quick acceleration of an EV brings higher insurance costs with it. Differences in repairability too, and the type of damage they are likely to sustain - not sure if those are worse or better, guessing worse
You'll save half the cost of an Ioniq or similar in fuel alone. I cannot see a reason to buy an ICE. Every time I fill up my diesel, I just think of the fact that that entire tank of hydrocarbons is going to be converted into pollution and sprayed all over the city and countryside everywhere I go.
Re insurance, we were on £800 last year, now it's going down to £500 which is about the same as our diesel. Ioniqs are slow by EV standards, the 0-62 is about 10s. This may help. Go on Money Supermarket and set up your details - you don't have to have the car to get a quote.
Thanks, yes, certainly appeals on paper, plus the eNiro option has a transferable 7 yr warranty, so buying from a dealer at 3 yrs old on a 4 yr pcp is attractive and low in risk.
Still loving the eNiro again on day 2....so nice around town. Need to sort the app out, it seems to still be registered to previous owner FFS. Not sure if anyone has any ideas on that.
Insurance wise, I was actually quite surprised. Feel free to flame away; I have 9 points on my license. Only cost £600 to insure, I was expecting a LOT more than that. I think that I'm now lower risk due to job change (I was a musician, which is very high risk apparently)
Need to sort the app out, it seems to still be registered to previous owner FFS. Not sure if anyone has any ideas on that.
There's a reset button on the headunit that you need to press with a pin or something similar. This resets everything including the link to the previous owner. After setting it up again it should work with the App.
^^^ also Glasgow area, good to know, and kinda what I was maybe expecting !
Seen a couple of videos on the Kia EV3. Looks great. Decent efficiency too despite the boxy shape. . By the time my car goes back, I won’t still need the space, so I’d happily end up in one of these.
Big battery and 350 mile range from what is meant to be a budget model. Could be good.
had a google at Insurance for my son, not gonna work, base petrol Corsa group 12, eNiro group 29...