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That is fine in principle, but atm rapid charging is more expensive than normal charging. Do lamppost chargers require much new wire to be laid? Also, we are currently (sic) advised that slow charge rates are better for our batteries, so using high currents for each charge should be avoided.
Eta also more no lamp lampposts aka slow charging posts could be installed if there was demand. Of course there may be implications for the capacity of the supply in the road, but similar issues might arise for a battery of rapid chargers.
You'd better have a think about how you define hiked prices. Yes these things are expensive, so are a lot of other things, plus prices are coming down if you compare range or some other performance metric against time. An Audi is more expensive than a BYD - is the Audi hiked, or it more expensive to build something in Europe?
I find it annoying that most everything is described as a ripoff these days. How much are you paid by the way, for what you do? The irony is that this forum is a hotspot for very expensive bicycles , often in steel, and e-bikes, that are very hard to justify on arbitrary price/value grounds.
Everyone’s working on these, and they all have numbers like that. But it won’t be used for 600 mile range cars (or at least not many). They will make 300 mile range cars that are 2/3 the price they are now and smaller and lighter. The minute they put a 600 mile car on the market and people are faced with the choice of a 30k car or the same car at 50k with more range, they’ll realise that 300 miles is enough.
The head of BYD (and he'll know) thinks they'll appear on high end cars first , in that 5 year time frame, then creep down downmarket. And yes, for most users, 300 miles of driving is a lot, particularly in one go
There are many startups working on battery tech and most of them are being funded by the manufacturers who are their future customers – makes sense.
Let's face it new battery tech will most likely come from the likes of CATL, BYD, Samsung and LG not by a startup somewhere funded by a legacy OEM. Witness the debacle that is Northvolt, bankrolled by Volvo and VW where BMW recently pulled out of a 2.2 billion contract becuase Northvolt will fail to deliver.
we need cheap decent EVs
Well they are here already without tax breaks. MG4 £27k, Corsa Electric £27k, BYD Dolfin £26k, Fiat 500e £25k. Might not be your idea of cheap but we live in a world where a new Ford Puma ICE starts at £24k.
Hyundai just opened a new factory in the US for example – that’s where part of the UK government tax-break on new EVs went.
Did you really mean UK government tax breaks? I'm assuming you meant the US EV tax credit. The US have been clever linking the tax credit to the % of the vehicle sourced and assembled in North America, especially the battery. That's why Hyundai have opened a factory there. I'd be quite happy if we did something similar in the UK but I doubt our market is attractive enough to persuade the likes of Hyundai to build an EV factory in Europe outside of the EU. Tax breaks without conditions like that will just be used to boost profits and shareholder dividends.
@wbo - it is you who have raised the issue of off-ripping and "hiking" in this discussion. Observing that prices vary does not imply that. I think that on the electric car charging thread the question of why rapid charging costs more was discussed and I don't recall cries of "rip-off!".
But, if long slow charging is convenient and does not cost your time (because you are asleep, working etc.) then why pay more? Or to put it another way, why waste money on a product that is overkill for your requirements at a particular time?
Also, we are currently (sic) advised that slow charge rates are better for our batteries, so using high currents for each charge should be avoided.
We are speculating about the future possible with solid state batteries that will take very high charge rates without degradation rather than current battery tech.
It was seeing a new Model S Plaid pull into one of the new 250kW Tesla charging bays with the charger in the middle of the bay that provoked my thinking. I didn't time it but the car was there about 15 mins and had probably put in 60kWh. It's getting more like filling up with petrol all the time and solid state batteries will take it a step further.
Do lamppost chargers require much new wire to be laid?
Well, I'm not sure the circuit for actual lamp-posts is very high capacity but remember that the cabling for all the houses is also in the street so there probably is capacity. It's the same wiring that would be carrying the same load if the chargers were in driveways, isn't it? (I'm assuming)
Did you really mean UK government tax breaks? I’m assuming you meant the US EV tax credit.
Well, I'm guessing that the money they put up came from their corporations around the world which would probably include the UK one. I mean - what would you do if you were the boss of a major car company? If I were still selling all the cars I could currently make, I wouldn't lower prices - I'd keep them high and re-invest the money into production capacity. Then when that comes online I'd lower the prices to increase demand. We might be at that point now. There's a lot of R&D going into cheaper EVs like the VW iD2 which is expected to be £22k. Still not cheap enough mind. I think we'll get shorter range version of that, after people own the longer ones and then realise that a short range car can work as a second car.
Well they are here already without tax breaks. MG4 £27k,
That's still a lot of actual money though. Not far off twice the price of a Toyota Aygo.
That’s still a lot of actual money though. Not far off twice the price of a Toyota Aygo.
I'd like to present the Dacia Spring. An EV for the same price as a Toyota Aygo.
I’d like to present the Dacia Spring. An EV for the same price as a Toyota Aygo.
Yep. It's just the one model though so far.
But its still the same price as an Aygo.
BTW the Aygo doesn't even make it into the top 20 cars to be sold in the UK in 2024 so it appears our fellow citizens aren't as desperate as you might like to think they are to buy cheap cars.
How would those in favour of lampost chargers feel if there were rows of 250kW chargers on the exits of large supermarkets, DIY store and places they regularly go?
This would be a good improvement! Part of the issue currently is that (as a good citizen) I do my shopping on foot or bike, and it seems silly to increase the miles I drive to facilitate an EV.
However, 250kw charge rates really does bring things into the realms of filling up at petrol stations, and 10 minutes at the start of a long journey could certainly be an option, since thats what we often do at the moment.
it appears our fellow citizens aren’t as desperate as you might like to think they are to buy cheap cars.
Superminis (which includes Fiestas, Corsas etc) are about a third of UK car sales so it's significant. What's also significant is that a regular Corsa base model is £18k RRP and an e-Corsa is £26k. That's a big difference, and that's what needs addressing IMO.
I think the Spring is a realistic proposition for a runabout. Much better than the MiniE I had as a courtesy car that had 99 miles of range for nearly £40,000.
That sort of thing would work for so many people and what would one cost second hand? £7000 in two years?
Realistic.
The Sainsbury’s near me has a bunch of high speed chargers at 79p/kw, and the Lidl near me has some 7kw chargers for FOURTEEN p per kw… Before I had the home charger, I’d often just pop to Lidl and start charging, and head home.. then before the 3 hour max stay was up, I’d do my shop and then head home.
14p/unit is super cheap for not-at-home charging!
DrP
I do think the Spring is a game-changer, yes, but it will suffer from an image problem. They don't have the footprint that other manufacturers do in the UK and people still think they are basic and crappy. I reckon a £22k VW will create more buzz and sell more than the Spring - rightly or wrongly.
Deals are out there. This came up on Xitter this morning. Good car for very decent money.
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With prices like that brands that manufacture in Europe respecting human rights, environmental norms and employee protection are doomed. Protectionism needed. I wouldn't buy one if it were 10e but too many will.
Protectionism needed. I wouldn’t buy one if it were 10e but too many will.
That could have unintended consequences of Chinese OEMs setting up production in the EU or Europe. BYD are looking to invest a billion in a new factory in Turkey and both BYD and Nio are showing interest in the Audi EV factory in Belgium that is under closure threat.
So they'll then be competing on a level playing field, just as Honda, Nissan and Toyota do or did in the UK. It then just needs no-selling-at-a-loss legislation to avoid dumping, France already has that.
Be careful what you wish for. More than 30% of the value in many EVs is now coming from the battery and many of the European OEMs are having their batteries produced in China. Those protectionist policies might just hurt you too. Coupled with the increase in tariffs applied by China to EU goods and that sting might be bigger than you bargained for. BMW, Mercedes and others argued against the tariffs.
It's also worth noting that a majority of Europe's automotive sector (when one considers the who supply chain) is centred in Germany. German protections are high, as are wages, as are taxes, as are subsidies and RnD incentives (the highest state sponsored RnD incentives anywhere in the world)...the whole of Europe pays for those last two, not just the Germans. It may not be quite the level playing field you think it is.
I collected my new EQA last week with 20" wheels included. They are huge and kinda garish but i dont think the ride is too bad. TBH i drive any EV in 'little ol lady mode' so its not getting thrashed about. It does everything i ask. Yes i mean i just ask it and it does it (Other than actual driving).
It went straight into motorway driving with me so its done about 500mls so far of which 350 are on motorway at 70mph. Current overall average is 3.4m/kw but today on an A road drive its averaged 3.8m/kw at speed limits so it is steadily improving. Probably go down once the proper cold weather kicks in.
Charging is simple. 36kw goes in in my 'window' for cheap leccy at 7.9p (£2.80 for a charge like this) and ive just decided to charge it when it gets down to about 30kw unless i know there is a long journey the next day. Its on 34% at the moment so about 70% by tomorrow morning is more than enough and i would be able to charge more if a bigger journey crops up.
So far so good.
I think you'll find that European manufacturers are increasingly making use of the capacity that is coming on line in Europe, Daffy. Renault used to source its batteries in South Korea but now gets them from Poland, Hungary is also a big producer. If you are interested in buying an electric car check where the batteries are sourced before you buy if it's important to you, it is to me.
Which European brands source their batteries in China? Obviously Dacia does because the car is just a rebadged Chinese thing. Others?
Current overall average is 3.4m/kw but today on an A road drive its averaged 3.8m/kw at speed limits so it is steadily improving.
Why would it improve.... Isn't the change in figure just because you were on a slower road?
Does an electric motor become more efficient?
Serious Q as I'm currently vaguely considering <em style="font-size: 0.8rem;">maybe going for a used ridiculous EV!
I'd heard [Harry's Garage] that insurance was bonkers but a quick quote has shown I could insure something stupid for about £700 which is only £300 more than I pay now.
I guess it's cos I'm old!
BMW. Mercedes. I think some of the VAG. Not the pack, but the cells themselves. The packs are assembled elsewhere. I don’t know if this is also true for others (pack assembly, but cell manufacture elsewhere, But as much of the value is in the cells, origin rules work against them.
Googling says you're right about BMW and Mercedes but VW is mainly Korean cells with three suppliers to one Chinese, and Merc is rethinking some of its European cell commitments. Amusingly they're still planning on buying French cells. Mercs with Renault ICEs and now with French cells. The German government dropping subsidies on EVs looks like screwing some European cell factory building. Short sighted or short sighted.
Why would it improve
Well, I think that the battery capacity improves with the first few cycles. I'm not sure if the car's efficiency estimates take that into account because they are presumably measuring voltage as a proxy for state of charge. Possible but I don't know. Otherwise the final drive transmission will ease up slightly but I would not expect that to make a lot of difference. Again I could be wrong.
It’s more likely that the efficiency calculations vary with your driving. My car sometimes promises over 310 miles on a full charge, the manufacturer number is about 280. On slow traffic days we sometimes get well over 5miles/kWh (indicated). I don’t think the onboard calculation is particularly accurate anyway, the current trip estimate sometimes drops when I’m rolling downhill and vice versa.
Sharkbait yes thats kind of what i said. Its averaging 3.4 with mostly motorway use which i dont think is where it performs best. Once i got onto a A road journey it went upto 3.8. My journey to work and back is even higher at about 5. Basically it needs a bit of time to get a real picture of its average and i expect it to improve the figure. I wasnt referring to any performance improvement.
I find the predicted range isn't very useful and rely more on what I've learned from experience. I know that locally range isn't an issue, I just charge when down to about 25% and back up to 90%. On long runs in Summer on main roads I know there's about 300km between charges and 250km on motorways - less in Winter depending on temperature. What it says on the dash isn't very useful. Arriving in ski resort it'll tell me there's 180km left and 40km later 230 with exactly the same charge in the battery.
I wasnt referring to any performance improvement.
Gotcha [my bad!]
Arriving in ski resort it’ll tell me there’s 180km left and 40km later 230 with exactly the same charge in the battery.
Maybe it's similar to my ICE car which can only base the predicted range on the most recent consumption. If I've been doing silly short trips it may say I've got 300miles left at the beginning of a long journey - but 30 miles later it might say I've got 320 miles left as the consumption has dropped and it's recalculated.
Well our EV experience has now started in full. Not only did we finally get our Ohme Home Pro installed, but we also got Renault (not so) Easy Link connected services re-connected.
Our car is an early 2021 Zoe, so its 3 years' free connected services expired. Not the data connection, that was still there, but the services from Renault. The My Renault app and web page indicate that these can be renewed, but they can't. So I rang up the Renault UK helpline suggested by the app and they took some details and said they would get back to me. A week later I was surprised to get an emaiil from someone called Paula at the multimedia services team saying that as the online store for services renewals was not up and running yet, they would set us up with 6 months' free in-car connectivity stuff and 12 months free map updates. Which have now all come through (though I had to re-install the My Renault app to see that). As luck would have it, that was just in time to enable our shiny new Ohme to speak to the car. So we can tell the Ohme to "get the car charged to 80% by 9am tomorrow", also tell the car to get warmed up for us (via the Renault App). As far as I can see, without the Renault connectivity, we would only have been able to tell the Ohme (or the car) to charge for a certain period overnight. But maybe we could have asked Ohme to deliver a certain amount of juice, not sure.
Interestingly, this issue with Renault and services renewals has been around for at least a year according to some posts on ev forums, I have no idea whether they actually intend to do anything about it, or what makes it difficult. Perhpas it is just a demand/pricing issue. As far as I can see the advantages are:
- monitor charge status from app;
- link car to ohme for more detailed programming of charges (eg by % fullness);
- tell car to warm up via app (I think car may need to be plugged in to do this, or to do it much?);
- update maps automatically (we could have updated them manually via a phone and a usb stick it is claimed).
Since they are free it is nice to have this stuff. But not a deal-breaker, and as pointed out on the "what SIM for a car" thread, Google Drive and plugging your phone in* will get you up to date mapping, and arguably a better mapping app, though the native mapping on the Zoe appears OK (I think it is Tom Tom). It also suits Mrs g who likes to leave her phone in her handbag. How much we would have been willing to pay as a monthly/yearly subscription to it is moot for the time being.
The faff *appears* to be finally over!
*Our car does not support doing all the Google Drive stuff wirelessly, though more modern ones do apparently.
As far as I can see, without the Renault connectivity, we would only have been able to tell the Ohme (or the car) to charge for a certain period overnight. But maybe we could have asked Ohme to deliver a certain amount of juice, not sure.
Yes - if the car doesnt support talking to the charger ( as our car - merc eqc - doesnt support), then you just tell the charger to add x% by y time - as opposed to telling the charger to charge the car to x% by y time,. The charger only knows how many kwh the cars theoretical battery capacity is (by looking in a database of car models) not what its current state of charge actually is. So in reality you set a default routine on the charger to add 100% by 8am, and it tries to do that. Usually though the car is not fully empty when you plug it in, so it stops charging at some point before the charger has delivered 100%.
Our car does not support doing all the Google Drive stuff wirelessly, though more modern ones do apparently.
You can get wireless adapters which apparently work pretty well.
[By Google Drive I guess you mean Android Auto - GD is their cloud storage]
[By Google Drive I guess you mean Android Auto – GD is their cloud storage]
Ooops yes. Same combination of meanings,, somewhat different different things!
Yes – if the car doesnt support talking to the charger ( as our car – merc eqc – doesnt support)
AFAIK no charger supports this.
Since they are free it is nice to have this stuff. But not a deal-breaker, and as pointed out on the “what SIM for a car” thread, Google Drive and plugging your phone in* will get you up to date mapping, and arguably a better mapping app, though the native mapping on the Zoe appears OK (I think it is Tom Tom)
Android Auto also doesn't know how much charge your battery has. So in our car if you've planned a route it will adjust the charging stops based on how much charge you have, how much you put in each stop and how you're doing. E.g. if you get caught in heavy rain and your efficiency goes down it might change its mind about where to stop. Not all cars do this though.
On the plus side, Google routing is better than Hyundai, and if I use Android Auto I can get Amazon Music and WhatsApp, which my car is too old to support. Although Ioniq 5/6s do support Amazon Music apparently.
As another Zoe owner that's run out of free connective services - I never used them anyhow. I use the phone for navigation and could still connect it to the car but don't, it sits in the tray by the gear lever charging with the nice Mapy lady telling me where to go (though we often disagree). The car lives in a garage so I don't pre heat and I'm not wasting leccy pre-heating if it's away from home at public charger prices. I didn't use the time or percentage thing, that's sorted by me or the charger. It's not that I'm a technophobe (well maybe a bit), but I'm not a geek either, I like simple solutions.
AFAIK no charger supports this.
Yes it is not a direct conversation (which surprises me a little). The car talks to its server and the charger (or perhaps the charger manufacturer's server) talks to the car manufacturer's server (presumably via a published API). A bit like the way your Garmin talks to your computer via Strava.
Yes it is not a direct conversation (which surprises me a little)
It kinda makes sense.
Your car has an app that talks to the manufactures server* as well so it's better to just do one upload from the car, rather duplicate the data to the server and to the charger as well.
Plus there's many makes of charger and the car manufacturer doesn't want to mess with the software to talk directly to each one.
* (and China - obvs)
Indeed, but possibly a modest open protocol for establishing a secure link over the wire and another one for agreeing on a charging plan, which would require some exchange of data. There isn't a lot of stuff that needs to be shared, I would have thought there would have been some arm twisting from governments to get industry bodies to work this out.
the nice Mapy lady telling me where to go (though we often disagree).
Quelle surprise 😉
I've now got two women in the car telling me to go the wrong way. 🙂 But at least the Mapy one doesn't throw the map book out of the window. The Google one was really annoying, she kept diverting me to the autoroute, I reckoned she was sleeping with VINCI so gagged her, but sometimes untie her for the last km to a Supercharger, she must have a thing with Elon too.
AFAIK no charger supports this.
Yeah I meant indirectly via apis not directly over the charging cable.
Pretty sure you can tell Google to avoid motorways and also avoid tolls which should stop it telling you to go on the Autoroute.
Pretty sure you can tell Google to avoid motorways and also avoid tolls which should stop it telling you to go on the Autoroute
You definitely can and it stores the settings (or it did last summer when we last used it).
Not to be recommended for a route when trying to travel from Derbyshire to Hampshire via the Motorway network (non EV in my case). Top tip when using it to avoid a major motorway hold up while travelling north, remember to turn it off before coming back south a week later. 🙁
Your compass direction may vary.
Google should automatically route you around traffic jams too. If it doesn't, it's because the alternative is slower despite what it feels like.
What it doesn't seem to realise is that sometimes driving on open roads is preferable to a sitting in a queue even if it is slower.
Pretty sure you can tell Google to avoid motorways and also avoid tolls
You can but after a few minutes it defaults back to taking you to the autoroute. It also gives route alternatives so I tried selecting the one that didn't take the autoroute - exactly the same, in a few minutes it defaults back to the autoroute route. Sometimes it'll take you on a ridiculous detour to get you on the autoroute even when there are obviously quicker routes. It'll always take you to the nearest échangeur even if it's through town in the wrong direction and it's better to avoid the town and take the next one. And it always assumes 130kmh on the autoroute whatever the weather (autoroutes are limited to 110kmh in the wet) or traffic conditions.
Try it the next time you drive in France.
Even when there aren't autoroutes the route suggested is sometimes bananas. In Toulouse recently and heading for a Supercharger the Google route went through the whole length of the commercial zone to the Supercharger, parallel to the traffic-free toll-free 70/80kmh ring road.
The Polestar, and a few other Volvo/Geely vehicles use Android Automotive, which is kinda android auto BUILT IN to the car's native entertainment unit..
The great thing there is that is
a - uses google mapping, which is great, and
b - knowns the cars SOC and therefore will route you to chargers en route if you plot in a 6000 mile journey. It'll also precondition the battery pre-arrival at the charger.
Is it as FAST as a modern phone plugged in...possibly not (my car is a launch edition from 2021, and the polestar 3 and 4 have newer infotatinment units...) It gets OTA updates all the time so should stay up to date, but I wonder how well the hardware will fare in 15 years time!
The screen AKA brain IS replacable (i had mine replaced under warranty) so i wonder if there's ever the option to replace a 2020 screen/brain with a 2028 one, when the time comes??
DrP
DrP
Google should automatically route you around traffic jams too. If it doesn’t, it’s because the alternative is slower despite what it feels like.
I am fairly certain the algorithm is weighted to keep people on major roads and not send everyone through nearby towns and villages* (up to a point - i suspect theres a tipping point in terms of delay times).
Also it certainly does have a habit of changing your route - the thing pops up saying 'faster route found, click here if you DON'T want it', and if you're not paying attention it changes your route without you realising.
*This is nicely balanced out by the way in rural areas it'll take you off the perfectly servicable B-road, and send you down almost impassable farm tracks for 3 miles, because it's 1cm shorter, and being ungraded, technically is an NSL road...
Early satnavs would route based on the classification of a road on the map, and its speed limit; but Google routes you according to how fast people actually travel on it. It's logging when and where all its users are driving and how fast they are going. It flags it as a traffic jam when people are going significantly slower than the typical speed for the road.
So it SHOULD know how long a country lane takes to drive normally better than you do. The only problem with that in the UK is that it only takes a few cars to turn a lane from a clear run to a bottleneck, so we as drivers may not want to take the risk. We also know that lanes are harder work to drive on even if they are quicker. For example, when I drive to North Wales Google wants to send me up a B road from Llanidloes to Llanbrynmair because it's a fair bit shorter. However it's a big climb and pretty windy, so you might enjoy it if you want to rag your car but if you are after a relaxing drive you won't. The journey is certainly much easier if you go the longer way. It also doesn't seem to care if you are on a 30 min drive or a 5hr one.
So yesterday i did my first real longer distance round trip in my new EQA. The car 'should' have been able to do the full trip without top up but motorway speeds meant in reality it might not.
So it was a 240ml round trip. The car has a range from 250-300mls and it started the journey with about 96% charge. I got to the half way point with 49% battery used so i was pretty confident of getting back. I put the return journey in the sat nav and it said i wasnt getting back without a charge on-route. In the end i decided to just back off the speed a little and save range which worked and i could easily have made the full journey without a charge.
However, i also decided that this was a good opportunity to try out the public Tesla superchargers. I was very impressed with them. Plenty of chargers with some marked as Tesla priority (understandable) and the rest free to use. Drove up, plugged in, flashed my bank card and walked off. £0.48 per KW. I was only testing it out so i thought i would see how much it would put in if i just went inside, had a pee and came back out. In the 6 mins it took to do the business it put in 10.685Kw costing £5.12.
I know thats not the cheapest way of charging but for convenience it takes a lot of beating. At those figures, going for a coffee and coming back, say 30mins i would be looking at fairly full battery for £25 with little inconvenience
So it SHOULD know how long a country lane takes to drive normally better than you do. The only problem with that in the UK is that it only takes a few cars to turn a lane from a clear run to a bottleneck, so we as drivers may not want to take the risk. We also know that lanes are harder work to drive on even if they are quicker.
I think there are some roads that it just doesn't even have data on. Earlier this year it sent me down a road in mid-Wales that was basically a farm track; I scraped the bottom of my car on a rock, had branches slapping the sides of the car all the way down, and had to go through the middle of a farm, watching out for dogs and ducks etc. Coming home I returned on the well-surfaced B-road that it had eschewed, and it was a lot quicker and easier!
i also decided that this was a good opportunity to try out the public Tesla superchargers........Drove up, plugged in, flashed my bank card and walked off
can you use bank cards to start a charge at a tesla charger now? when I last used one (in august) you had to use the tesla app to start the charging process, they didnt take contactless cards. It worked fine as long as you had a cell signal to get an internet connection for the app.
Has something changed?
edit : according to tesla you still need to use the tesla app to start a charge in a non tesla car - so either the tesla website is out of date, or those werent tesla chargers you were using
Hi Julians.
Yes 100% they were tesla chargers. The site i used is the gretna village site and from what i saw its two big banks of tesla chargers. Actually i took a photo of the unit/screen (to show colleagues) and it says Tesla all over it.
I was a bit dubious myself (Which is why i wanted to try it out in a non emergency type situation). It didnt look like a normal card payment setup. I put my phone on payment and it beeped as accepted. Happy days.
Nice, look like the newer tesla chargers allow contactless cards then, that's a good improvement. The tesla app works fine, but it would be easier with just a payment card.
My one and only use of Tesla chargers in a hired Merc EQE and I had to download the tesla app stood next to the charger at the Trafford Centre, super easy once I'd downloaded the app and registered.
I put my phone on payment and it beeped as accepted.
Are you sure it was the card payment it picked up, not interacting with the Tesla app?
I'm doing the rounds of testing various EVs with a view to making a private purchase before the end of the year and have driven two this week. The first was a Lexus UX 300e which was more ICE like than I expected, apart from the 0-40 pickup and was pleasant enough to drive. I then drove a Volvo EX30 today which had one pedal driving and a revelation to me, but the ride was hugely fidgety on poor country roads which is a deal breaker for me. I'll definitely be revising my list to only one pedal driving.
molgrips.......i dont have the tesla app
shinton. What is 1 pedal driving? Is that where it has huge recuperation breaking?
Yes, that's the one. As soon as you take your foot off the accelerator the car slows significantly compared to an ICE and it becomes a really nice way to drive once you get used to it. In theory you should hardly need to use the brakes.
put the return journey in the sat nav and it said i wasnt getting back without a charge on-route
mine does this if the battery will fall below something like 10 or 20% on the trip so plans in a stop just in case. On my journey yesterday it said I needed a stop so I did and once the charge got about 50km over the distance left it recalculated and said a stop was no longer needed. I got home and calculated I would of made it without the top up charge.
One Pedal driving is called i-pedal in Hyundais.
<geek alert> Apparently it uses both motors (max regen) for drive (so 4 wheel drive) so actually using econ and level 3 regen rather than i-pedal which is 2 wheel drive and doesn't quite bring you to a stop, is considered the most efficient mode.
Is the Lexus UX300e not the one that has the Chademo charging?
I’d avoid that if so.
My recommendation would be whatever Kia/Hyundai e-GMP platform car tickles your fancy. There are a fair few variants about now and the platform is, in my opinion, currently the best available. I’m awaiting delivery of an EV6 after having had a Genesis GV60 which was excellent.
Yes it does PP.
Chademo is the Betamax of charging standards. Probably technically superior but the battle for supremacy was lost long ago. Get a CCS car.
re: Tesla chargers - the latest V4 ones (solid inside, longer cable on the outside) have contactless readers.
V3 and earlier (empty middle, cable inside) don't so you need to use the app.
I’m awaiting delivery of an EV6 after having had a Genesis GV60 which was excellent.
I've put in a request in for a test drive of the GV60. Also going to look at the Smart #1 but it has the same base as the EV30 so the ride may be similar.
The GV60 is my favourite car I’ve ever had.
Not perfect though. Boot is relatively small, no rear wiper, rear visibility is poor and it had the turning circle of an oil tanker. Styling isn’t to everyone’s taste but very much was to mine
Other than that it was brilliant. I’d have another tomorrow if it was an option.
simon_g that sounds like the reason. If thats the case, how are you supposed to know if a site has the latest chargers etc? A bit of a minefield tbh
As soon as you take your foot off the accelerator the car slows significantly compared to an ICE
That's just the ability to adjust the regeneration effect when you lift off. One-pedal driving means that the car will actually come to a stop, so you don't need the brake pedal at all. My Ioniq Electric has three settings for how much regen you get when you lift off, but it won't actually stop so it's not one-pedal.
In most cars this setting just changes which pedal you have to press to slow down and how much - it doesn't change the actual amount of electricity regenerated since the actual brake pedal will also use regeneration. There are a few exceptions though.
The EX30 just has an option to enable/disbale OPD. It does stop the car and engage auto hold but if you disable OPD it enables 'auto creeping'.
I love one pedal driving (both teh LEAF and polestar have it)..you get really good at slowing down to a stop RIIIGHT on teh line after a while...feels smooth and natural.
barely touch the brake pedal now!
DrP
I have no idea if this is normal, but my electric car has 'flappy paddles' so I can control the amount of regen braking – it goes from ICE-like coasting when you lift off the accelerator to *almost* one-pedal stopping on maximum regen. I have quickly got used to using it – it's normally set at mid-range but I whack it up to max when going down hills. It's fun.
It's not as normal as it should be
I have no idea if this is normal, but my electric car has ‘flappy paddles’ so I can control the amount of regen braking
E-GMP cars all have this with settings from full coasting with no regen all the way to full one pedal driving.
If you hold down one of the paddles though it has an auto regen mode which constantly adjusts the level on the fly depending on where and how you’re driving.
It’s witchcraft.
Conversely, the VW ID4 I’m temporarily driving at the moment has only two regen settings - Some (D) and some more (B)
No 1-pedal driving at all. Seems a bit antiquated by comparison.
most cars have a 'level' of regen, from nil, to some, to most...
Flappy paddles is cool though!
I've just seen on teh Polestar FB group that a few people have utilised the 'homelink" buttons in teh earlier generation P2s - basically 3 buttons on teh underside of the rear view mirror that utilist 'home link' RF frequencies.
It's meant for garage doors etc, but i've bought a bunch of 12v homelink switches from Aliexpress, and will connect them to all sorts of piontless goodies!!!
Musical airhorns.... remote controlled LED flood lighting.... Fast+Furious undercar lighting...
the possibility is endless!
DrP
My Q4 has the regen with flappy paddles, don't really use it though. I set the drive mode to Comfort and B, this does regen at the max setting.
Having issues with my Ohme app though. Every night this week I've had a message to say that there was an error with charging, charges to about 78% each time (set to 80%). But I also ask it to pre-heat the car and windows for 20 minutes. It doesn't seem to do this. Also had one night where it wouldn't read the car's battery at all - I had to remove the car and then add it. Don't suppose anyone has had similar with the cabin pre-heating?