The Electric Car Thread

Surprisingly few Cambridge hotels with EV charging at the affordable end of the spectrum

Choice is certainly limited, but it is there and will hopefully grow..

We stayed in Yorkshire in a place with a 22kWh charger and have booked places in France for this summer. Many who offer EV charging appear to be offering an external socket as a charge point, it pays to check photos against description and email the owners to confirm, I bought a waterproof adapter for the the granny charger.

Adaptors to use a UK EV granny charger in Europe

Surprisingly few Cambridge hotels with EV charging at the affordable end of the spectrum

is that really surprising ?

is that really surprising ?

Maybe not. There are few hotels of any sort at the affordable end of the spectrum.  More seriously, I see cheap hotels round here with chargers, why not in tech-land?

I’ve now had a chance to test drive an ID7 and it’s actually a very nice car. The clever regen/coasting is impressive, I liked the massage seats and the HUD, and the lane assist and smart cruise control was rudimentary but effective.

Less impressive is that even the newest version of VW infotainment sucks compared to the Tesla. And the automatic parking is supposed to be the bees knees, but reversed the shiny new demonstrator into a bollard when the salesman demoed it…

Ultimately the leasing company offered a pretty good price for me to buy my salary sacrifice Model 3 outright, so I think I’ll probably keep it for another 3 years. I’ve abused the battery the whole time by charging it to full and using DC fast charging on every journey, and it’s lost just 1% capacity per year.

Also solves the problem of not wanting to give the Musk-child any more money. Much that I dislike the man, his company does make very good cars.

ID7 is on the list for me as a first EV through salary sacrifice. The level of tech for the price is astonishing compared to Audi my usual go to.

I’ve lined up a day for ID7, Tesla and Polestar 4 test drive but it’s a crowded place with the Ioniq 6, EV5 and Seal as well. Did you test any of them, what did you think?

@Flaperon – I totally agree. I’m in the fortunate position to have access to a contributory salary sacrifice car scheme. Had a Model 3 for 4 years. Been testing Hyundai/Kia and VW cars and the way you interact with the vehicle is just so clunky in comparison. Everything seems like a chore.

Worth mentioning that ChargePlace Scotland recently partnered with Electroverse so for those of us EV drivers making occasional trips to Scotland there’s now no need to pay a tenner for the CPS RFID card. Might still be worth getting the CPS card if you are in Scotland regularly as it seems to be a bit cheaper than using Electroverse, at least on fast chargers.

As CPS is administered by SWARCO it seems that all SWARCO operated chargers like EVolt are now also on Electroverse.

I’ve just been to look at a 2020 ioniq

Had a good look at it and it seemed to be in good condition. It hadn’t been valeted but the interior looked good.

Went for a test drive, via a fast charger to add a few miles of range to it. Added 10kwh in 15 minutes. Slow but useable.

Handled fine. Reversing camera has better guidance than the Corsa e. Heated and cooling seats worked. Touchscreen was responsive.

Did some extra measuring (thanks Molgrips for the initial measurements) and the interior length behind the front passenger seat when slid forward is around 1.8m so good for long stuff. Width of boot around 1m. Sales rep was 6ft 3 and could just fit in the back seat with knee and head clearance.

Offered me some money for my 16yr old Skoda roomster which is having age related issues which seemed fair. The car has just had another £500 knocked off it front is previous advertised price so that was good.

There are a few other similar ioniqs for sale some with less miles and more expensive and some with similar price and miles but only 1 key. I didn’t fancy buying remotely or traveling any significant distance to view and then have to deal with any after care issues that might crop up.

Lots of servicing receipts in the glove box so that’s reassuring.

I stuck a refundable deposit on it.

Probably collect at the weekend.

Nice!

The satnav/infotainment has had major upgrades since it came out which may not have been done since it’s the owner’s responsibility to either do it or ask for it to be done – mine had not been done. You install an app on your computer, it downloads a big file and puts it onto a memory stick (64Gb required) then plug it into the car and wait. It’s worth doing, you get the live charging station updates and route planning amongst other things which I don’t think was there originally.  It’s surprisingly good.

The car connects to the live services and the app through its own SIM which I think is free for 5 years then requires a sub.  I will be paying when mine runs out.

10kWh in 15 minutes is 40kW, you only get this sort of speed under about 60% or so. From memory it does 45kWh ish subject to temperatures up to 60% then it drops to 33 until 70% then I think 21 to 80%. Then it falls off a cliff.  20-80% takes roughly half an hour and it represents about 2hrs of driving.

Cooling seats feel like you’ve sat in something wet, at first.

I’ll look for the sat nav infotainment updates and see if they need to be applied.

The battery was at 7% before charging so it took a few minutes to speed up. First time I’d been to a fast charger since last September. I will use them again on longer trips and I doubt it’ll bother me at all that it charges slower than the Corsa e.

I tried the ventilated seats and was able to tell the difference to the heated setting.

Compared to the Corsa e the dash display and infotainment screen seems to give lots more info. I still like the Corsa e though for the simplicity + it’s a bit quicker 😬.

The 3 pin charger will be in use for the time being. A wall charger will be added at the point of a house rewire. I can use the ohme charger where the Corsa e lives as well over night.

Just got to empty the Roomster and bid it farewell. It has been a versatile car over the 10 years I’ve had it. Slightly annoyed I put £20 diesel in it recently 😭😂

What do we think about the EU tariffs on Chinese EV ?  First of all, will we see tariffs here in Brexit-land? I thought we’d taken back control, and all that stuff? Secondly, will there be knock on effects for British EV owners?  Any informed guesses ?

China have better EV’s at a cheaper cost…..there are of course huge ethical production considerations that play a part in that; of course ethical production is a big issue for EVs more broadly.

Hard to see it as a positive for EU customers though and it’s a small part of a very big storm ahead in the Net Zero economic transition.

Hard to directly answer either of your questions though.

Cars are a funny thing.  When this was discussed years ago, the wholesale price of cars varies a lot across countries to absorb the tax paid and the pocket depth of the market.  They are made in few places so it seems the manufacturers are happy to take more profit in some places and less in others to maintain market share.

So I suspect that if tariffs are placed on Chinese cars in the EU, the local manufacturers will raise their wholesale cost (or, for EVs, not lower them as much since costs are falling) to remain just competitive enough to sell them, when factoring in possible anti-Chinese sentiment.

In the UK, they may well charge less to compete with un-subsidised Chinese cars, if that happens here. That said, the UK govt would do well to match EU tariffs otherwise they might end up eroding the UK/EU car industry.

I collected the Ioniq today.

Garage had trickle charged it, not bothered valeting it. Maybe it is what I’ve come to expect from dealers when you don’t take a finance agreement?

Anyway. My initial impressions are good. I went for a drive up the local motorway and the adaptive cruise control worked. The furthest distance to the car in front seemed close enough at motorway speeds, maybe too close?

Shale lighter coloured leather on the interior makes the car brighter.

Road noise is minimal, wipers worked. Navigation worked (need to check for updates).

Reversing camera is good. I like that the mirrors dip when reversing.

The electric seat moves quickly and I’ve enabled the seat movement for entering and exiting the car.

My better half thinks the seats are comfier than the Corsa e.

I’ve scheduled some cheap overnight charging on the 3 pin to see what I can add over 6hrs at a moderate load. 6kwh would be more than enough for day to day and therefore be near a full battery for my days off.

So far so good. ?

Had a Model 3 for 4 years. Been testing Hyundai/Kia and VW cars and the way you interact with the vehicle is just so clunky in comparison. Everything seems like a chore.

This. Most cars I’ve seen recently are the same old same old but some have electric motors. Many folks don’t like the minimalist/cheapskate Telsa approach of screen/speech control. I have my occasional ‘ugh’ moments wit hit but on the whole I like it. When we last tried non-Teslas back in 2019 the offerings were very weak for UX. Peering into new EVs over the past few months I’m unconvinced that legacy car makers have figured out what user needs are. Seeing a recent Audi ad in cinemas showing, yet saying, that HUD was an optional extra made me think they’re playing an old, familiar, options game with what they consider optional motive technology.

@retorick IDK, if it wasn’t acceptable for pickup I’d have made a fuss. There are plenty of cars to be bought. If it isn’t at least as neat and tidy as I’d keep it then I’d not accept it. Still, sounds like it’s working ok for you so far. Mirrors dipping on reverse is OK unless you need to reverse a fair way. Then it is less than optimal. Hey ho, computers can’t impute our true wishes…yet.

The condition of the Ioniq was acceptable. Not a deal breaker at all. I just think that less effort is put into the sale when no finance is bought. I have no evidence to suggest this is the case as I’ve been fortunate to not have to use finance but that’s the impression I have come too.

The 3 pin charger didn’t work on the first attempt. It shows a fault at the charger so I’ll need to try a few other sockets before heading back to the garage to see what they can do about it if it doesn’t work. I knew I should have tried it at the garage etc etc

Any recommendations for a replacement 3 pin granny charger in the less than £150 range? There seems to be plenty of options from a large online retailer.

A wall charger will be fitted down the line but not at the moment.

I just got a cable off amazon, it’s branded “Jolt”. I needed 10m so there wasn’t a huge choice but the one I have is fine. It has a delay timer (which I don’t use) and also allows different charging rate (which I limit down to 10A, to reduce the load on my dodgy domestic wiring). I have a smart timer plug between the cable and the socket to handle the overnight scheduling, much simpler than having to set the delay timer every time I plug it in.

NB smart timer plugs themselves can be vulnerable if you run at 13A for a long period. I found a 30A model that needs wiring in to a cable.

Perhaps I should get a proper charger….

@retrorick the dipping wing mirrors can be turned on and off as needed. Press the mirror selector button to the centre to turn off or to either side for on.

Thought I’d do a report after 2500mile Morzine round trip from Stirlingshire via Hull/Rotterdam, in case anyone interested. First big trip for me in an EV, and in the ID Buzz. This thread has been very helpful, and the charging one, so maybe some of this is of use to others.

Range/Charging:
50-70mph is would get 200-220ish mile range, around 75mph this dropped a fair bit over long distances, 80mph/130kmph gave about 170miles. So basically gave 3hrs between charges/breaks on my route. Was fine.

Electroverse card worked pretty much everywhere, favourite chargers by a mile are Fastned (fast, easy to use, under shelter).

Electroverse app route planning always seems to choose stops that are indeed rapid chargers as I selected, but also often some way off the main road (so not motorway service stations), often without facilities. Maybe i can narrow the filters. Ionity ones nr Wellin in Belgium had more cows than vehicles. The one behind a Mr Bricolage (french B&Q) in the arse end of Metz with nothing but an empty car park was stressful as my eyeballs were floating at the time.

Apart from that, charging a total non issue as eventually I just relented for ease of coffee, toilet and bitterballen purchases and used chargers at usual service stations which were all excellent. Many places have replaced petrol pumps in main forecourt with chargers now (FR and BE).

NL/BE/L/FR charge prices are much lower than UK. CH, surprisingly, is about 50% of price here. CH also has the best charging stops in the world (see photo overlooking Lake Geneva – not me, no swooning, my pal we picked up en-route)

ID Buzz:

Flawless over duration of trip.

Super comfortable (with the fancy electric seats with extending thigh support and massage), quiet, cabin ambience lovely for long drive, stereo i think is really excellent, cabin stays cool without blasting out cold air even in v hot weather (30c+).

Apple car play used the whole time, no resets or wobbles which is a lot more reliable than previous VAG cars.

Predictive cruise 90% effective, but it does read sliproad and other road speeds which causes some frustration.

Space for 3 mtbs, 4 pairs of wheels, luggage, tools and passengers. no bother. could have put in 5 bikes + wheels, bags etc and 5 people if we filled to the roof. Buzz board stayed in the garage, pointless thing if not sleeping.

Rides a bit better when ‘full’, just like my previous 2 caravelles did.

Special shout out to the fancy IQ headlights – they are incredible! No really, nuts. once you realise what they are doing it’s real ‘holy shit’ stuff

Pole position on Hull ferry, both ways, meant lots of chat with others about the Buzz. It was a bit of a traffic stopper the whole trip, saw 2 others with much waving etc :-)

Met Amaury at the top of the Plenney, he was getting mobbed by everyone but his team mate Dylan Maples was ignored. So we all got a picture with Dylan and got Amaury to take it. Much laughter and cheering, moment of the holiday, and I think we inspired him to his win :-)

(for some reason unable to upload images – soz!)

I’m making some progress with my Ioniq.

The local Hyundai dealership topped up the battery coolant (they had replaced the coolant last December). They also confirmed the 3 pin charger was broke and said they would try and replace it under warranty. Very pleased with their helpfulness.

I went back to the car dealership I bought the ioniq from and they were also helpful. They said they would source a replacement charger for me.

I’m other news, my electricity smart meter has stopped sending the half hour readings for the octopus agile tariff! Right at the point I was going to benefit the most from it. Hopefully it’ll be a short lived blip in the service.

I’ve also been pinning the latest Tesla open for all chargers on Google maps for any future long distance trips. Pleased to see a few more. If like to see some further north of Manchester though.

Tesla Model Y owners (or testers).  I’m currently weighing up whether or not there is any value on going for the LR over the RWD (aside from the obvious extra range, but I figure on the occasional long journeys I’ll be having to charge en route anyway so this somewhat negates this).

I know AWD vs RWD is better traction which is nice but not a deal breaker.  The RWD has no fog lights, and a slower max charge rate, is there anything else I’m missing here??  I test drove the LR last week, not driven the RWD.

I know there is a facelift in the pipeline, but don’t. think it will work with my timelines (need a new car 30th Sept) and Tesla are doing interest free finance before then as well which helps with the costs.

my electricity smart meter has stopped sending the half hour readings for the octopus agile tariff! Right at the point I was going to benefit the most from it.

So has mine, after working almost flawlessly certainly since November last year, it suddenly became patchy in June with about 7 days missing over the 30days. In this first 2 weeks in July I’m missing 9 days. It hasn’t communicated since the 10 July. I sent an email about a week ago asking them to look into June data, to which they’ve only just replied today. However I phoned them yesterday and the guy said the data would be stored in the smart meter and they could retrieve it. However I’m quite worried, last time a day was missing they charged me the full rate for electric. The guy I spoke to said there wasn’t any system wide comms problem, however the metering team were very busy.  I don’t understand why it’s suddenly become very flakey.

First of all, will we see tariffs here in Brexit-land? I thought we’d taken back control, and all that stuff?

I’m no fan of brexit but I think in this occasion it may benefit us. The import of chinese EVs will have almost no impact on our own car industry (as the number built and sold here is so small) so we have no reason to enact protectionist policies. I think we’ll remain as we are now, with the advantage (as consumers) being cheaper EVs available to us

@razorrazoo

I’m thinking the RWD will have a different battery. So you might need to look at the pros and cons of LFP Vs Li-on, it’s certainly the case with the model3. The RWD LFP can be regularly charged to 100%, the Li-on LR should be generally kept at 80%. So on a day to day basis you have a  closing of the range gap just in that.

I’m thinking the RWD will have a different battery. So you might need to look at the pros and cons of LFP Vs Li-on, it’s certainly the case with the model3. The RWD LFP can be regularly charged to 100%, the Li-on LR should be generally kept at 80%. So on a day to day basis you have a  closing of the range gap just in that.

Funnily enough I’ve just been on the phone to the Tesla rep and she indicated that this is as you have suggested (rather than trying to sell me the more expensive LR she even recommended the RWD as what she had chosen).  Given the RWD will mean a lower initial payment an lower monthly payments I’m definitely swayed in that direction.

The only occasions I’ve thought it would be nice to have more range than a RWD model3 or VW ID3 (both around 200miles) is when I’ve been staying on camp sites in a charging wilderness ie Lakes, Yorkshire Dales etc. and I want to be out walking/climbing/biking or socialising with friends, not searching around for hook ups. Things can only get better tho, more charging in remote places and more camp sites/B&Bs/hotels etc with facilities.

So has mine, after working almost flawlessly certainly since November last year, it suddenly became patchy in June with about 7 days missing over the 30days. In this first 2 weeks in July I’m missing 9 days. It hasn’t communicated since the 10 July. I sent an email about a week ago asking them to look into June data, to which they’ve only just replied today. However I phoned them yesterday and the guy said the data would be stored in the smart meter and they could retrieve it. However I’m quite worried, last time a day was missing they charged me the full rate for electric. The guy I spoke to said there wasn’t any system wide comms problem, however the metering team were very busy. I don’t understand why it’s suddenly become very flakey.

I sent another email to octopus midweek and their reply was that it should auto reboot the Comms after 3 weeks and if it doesn’t to contact them again at the end of the month.

I arrive home from work today and the connection has been restored but there is a usage data gap on the app for the last 7 days.

Happy it is communicating and hopefully it’ll be stable for the windy months ahead.

On a ioniq car update I did exactly that and updated the infotainment system. Took around 90 minutes to download to an SD card and around an hour to install. Much better with full screen android auto and other improvements.

I still need to sort the 3 pin charging….

I wouldn’t bother with mega range generally.  I have a range of 180 miles which means in practice 2hrs between top ups, which is really fine – might take a bit longer on long trips. If I had a 300 mile range I would probably be stopping every three hours, which I would absolutely do anyway in an ICE.

The only reason I am interested in lots of range is that I want to tow.  A three-hour schedule becomes a 1.5 hour schedule and at lower speeds that adds up to a lot of stoppages.

I’m currently weighing up whether or not there is any value on going for the LR over the RWD

I know AWD vs RWD is better traction which is nice but not a deal breaker. The RWD has no fog lights, and a slower max charge rate, is there anything else I’m missing here?? I test drove the LR last week, not driven the RWD.

RWD Model Y driver here. The RWD has an LFP battery which means Tesla recommend it should be routinely charged to 100% unlike the NMC battery in the other Model Ys which they recommend charging to 80% normally. This means I set off with just as much charge as LR drivers. Highest charge power I’ve seen is 175kW which for all practical purposes is the same as the 250kW max of the LR especially given the excellence of the Supercharger network. Yes the LR will be a bit faster but the RWD gets to 60 mph in 6.5 sec and tops out at 135mph which as fast enough I’d say.

On road trips I normally stop for a charge at 150-200 miles which in the UK is about 3 hrs motoring which is also about the max range of my bladder and stomach.

Thanks, that’s really helpful.  RWD looks like it will be the one.

This means I set off with just as much charge as LR drivers.

You won’t when it actually matters ie a long journey, because the LR driver will have charged to 100% before setting off. There is an advantage to having LR if you’re regularly doing long journeys, most people aren’t. The advice is that the Li-on battery shouldn’t be left sat at 100% for periods of time, not that it shouldn’t be charged to 100%.

Long range capability is helpful for adding flexibility and meaning you’re less reliant on the public charge network (convenience / cost benefits), but it’s not really related to how long you can drive in one go once you get beyond a fairly modest range due to human limitations (safety / concentration and bladder capacity !)

This week I took an overnight trip and the car did 340 miles before I charged it – 8h15m driving according to the trip computer and even then there was 7% battery left which would be an extra 25 miles. There is NO way anyone would ever do an 8+ hr drive without stopping.

All of the above made for a very easy trip – charging etc is as and when it’s convenient so you can pick and choose charge locations and timing to co-ordinate with your trip.

But charging isn’t bad either – I had an unexpected extra 60-70 miles or so to do right at the end of the the trip so rather than rocking up at home with ~10% battery left I had to do a top-up charger – 8% to 25% charge which took 5 minutes (!) at an IONITY station. Really not a problem.

Business neighbour has just had his Buzz delivered so I had a nosey. Its boggo spec but will be stickered for his printing business (and bike hauling). Nice van – I’m looking forward to when I pick one up for £500!

My absolute dinosaur of a previous era Cayenne (20mpg urban) is in the back ground as a reminder of where EV technology is now at.

This means I set off with just as much charge as LR drivers.

I dunno – we will all leave home with 100%, but the reason for stopping rapid charging at 80% is that charging slows down a lot above that number – not that NMC can’t take 100%.

Unless LFP doesn’t drop off as much?

I know NMC can take 100% but its recommended not to charge it to this level on a regular basis even on a home fast charger and yes no one in their right mind charges to 100% on a rapid unless they’re having a long lunch. Sure prior to a road trip we all charge to 100% but for regular day to day motoring my MY RWD has effectively the same battery capacity as the NMC equipped Teslas.

unlike the NMC battery in the other Model Ys which they recommend charging to 80% normally

I popped in to challenge this, but see @b.a.nana already raised the point..

Polestar also suggest only charging to 90% to ‘maintain battery life’, which I do for the day to day, but for a long journey I’ll jsut change the limit to 100%.

They’ve recently updated the app so you can change the charge limit remotely now.. which is, erm, cool i guess!

DrP

(oh, boring update.. after lowering the P2 i had a soft ‘clunk’ from teh NS front wheel at full lock (3 point turnes etc).. I ignored it, but this week I got myself a Bosch torque wrench (previously borrowed one) so jacked up teh car, whipped the wheel and tie rod end off, and fannied about with teh hub etc. Nothing loose, so jsut turned it left and right a few times… put it back together..and it’s fixed!! Sometimes I think just dissasembling and reassembling complicated machines kinda fixes some random issues..)

I know NMC can take 100% but its recommended not to charge it to this level on a regular basis even on a home fast charger

Not exactly – the issue is leaving it at 100% for a long time, not charging to it. So it’s perfectly fine to charge to 100% every day if you are e.g. a taxi or have a really long commute.

fannied about with the hub etc

Do you mean the wheel bearings themselves?  Is it a stub axle with a roller bearing, or a sealed cartridge unit?

@Drp

With ICE Volvo’s the front CV stub axle retaining bolts are stretch bolts and are supposed to be renewed every time. The clunking is probably the CV stub axle splines fretting slightly on full lock due to not being tight enough. I usually slather the stub axle splines in anti seize and wang the (re used) bolt up a bit more.

the issue is leaving it at 100% for a long time

any suggestions for a long time, I can see 2 weeks is long, how about a day, or 2 days ?  I asked this question on the BMW i4 FB forum earlier and very mixed answers..

Sorry… When I say ‘fannied about with the hub’ I basically just turned the strut/hub assembly to full left/right lock a few times (prob further than the steering rack would, as I’d removed the tie rod end).. whatever this did, it possibly ‘seated’ or ‘adjusted’ something, as the clunk is gone!

@rustynissanprairie

The bolt you mention only needs torquing to 35Nm, and I don’t think on the P2 needs replacing… Certainly not suggested in many of the how-to’s I looked at.

DrP