The all things EV chat thread

[Deleted member 15344]

Apologies, I fibbed.
Here's the original picture....

View attachment 41856

Does look a stunning car - there will be some me thing missing for me that is always there for a sports car - you go through the tunnel , wind your window down , put on the throttle and then hear it roar , it’s spine tingling . That’s one of the thrills of a sports car like that - it looks stunning though

My wife’s car is due to be replaced this year - and we will be looking at Hybrid/Electric as she is just a small commuter

But for the cost I want to get a bigger one that I can then use for golf trips etc- but we just need to get better infrastructure for charging etc

Hydrogen ain’t dead yet, not by a long way.
Fully expect to see lorries, busses etc going down this route, but the current infrastructure is rubbish.

It’s the future but I believe it needs a lot of work

 

[road2ruin]

I completely get the argument about infrastructure, with more EV's on the road we need more public charging points especially given there are a large number of people who cannot have a home charger installed.

For me though the range argument isn't a factor for the vast majority of people who presently have a car. Obviously there are people that drive for work so they're not going to look at EV's, it's just not practical and I don't think anyone is trying to suggest that they are a target market for EV's with the range they presently have.

However, figures show that in 2019 (pre-pandemic) the average number of miles driven per day was 20, per week 142 and per month 617. If you look at the majority of EV's available today you're easily able to get 200 odd miles from a 'tank' which means for the 'average' driver having an EV would not cause any issues whatsoever. It may mean that for a family holiday to Cornwall one a year that more planning has to go into it however for the other 99% of journeys it's just not a consideration. Again, this is for the average driver so for those of you who travel 250 miles a day, yes, it's not going to work but with the present ranges on EV's it would work.

The main barrier to entry at the moment is cost especially for those who tend to pay cash, you cannot compare most EV's to their ICE equivalents as the former is, at present, far more expensive for the same(ish) level ICE.

In other news my EV is now not likely to arrive much before 2023 as some wiring that is usually put together in Ukraine is not, for obvious reasons! Good news is that my present car is still rising in value given the scarcity of cars in the 2nd hand market!

 

[Deleted member 1418]

But for the cost I want to get a bigger one that I can then use for golf trips etc- but we just need to get better infrastructure for charging etc

Yep, remember big enough for two sets of club, two electric trollies and two overnight bags!!

 

[bobmac]

Yep, remember big enough for two sets of club, two electric trollies and two overnight bags!!

And the pies?....... they can go in the froot.... which makes a change

 

[Bdill93]

I will 100% be buying an EV as my next car - although I do still have 2 years left on my current finance agreement.

I think I could spend up to £500 a month on one, factoring in the cost of fuel against charges.

Current car is a Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake (estate) - they dont do an EV of it yet!

What are my options if im after a saloon/ estate in the current market?

 

[cliveb]

Apologies, I fibbed.
Here's the original picture....

View attachment 41856

I did consider querying the styling, as it looks nothing like an Aston Martin.
It seemed very obviously American in looks, and I wondered why Aston had gone to the dark side.
At least you've now cleared up my confusion.
Looks like a Tesla Corvette to me.

 

[road2ruin]

What are my options if im after a saloon/ estate in the current market?

I've presently got an Audi S4 Avant so was looking for something with comparable boot size and my budget was around the £500 mark.

My list was...

Hyundai Ioniq 5 (the one that is on order)
Ford Mustang Mach E (boot was too small)
Skoda Enyaq (bit boring)
Kia EV6 (rear seats were a little snug)
Audi eTron (once you get away from the base model the costs go up v. quickly)
VW ID4

I reckon in 2 years you'll have a load more choice and hopefully won't have to wait over 12 months to get one delivered!

 

[cliveb]

A bit like the VHS v BETAMAX and DVD-HD v BLU-RAY arguments.
Sadly, hydrogen cars will go the same way as BETAMAX and DVD-HD.
Electric cars are the future.

Hydrogen is a very inefficient way to use electricity.
The losses incurred during electrolysis, transport and fuel cell conversion are quite large.

It does however have two massive advantages over pure EV:
1. Much quicker refueling.
2. No need for huge banks of environmentally unfriendly batteries.

Battery technology is bound to change away from lithium, so maybe #2 isn't such a big deal in the long term.
I remain skeptical that charging infrastructure can ever get to the point where you can top up an EV with 500 miles of range in 5 mins, though.

 

[Bdill93]

I've presently got an Audi S4 Avant so was looking for something with comparable boot size and my budget was around the £500 mark.

My list was...

Hyundai Ioniq 5 (the one that is on order)
Ford Mustang Mach E (boot was too small)
Skoda Enyaq (bit boring)
Kia EV6 (rear seats were a little snug)
Audi eTron (once you get away from the base model the costs go up v. quickly)
VW ID4

I reckon in 2 years you'll have a load more choice and hopefully won't have to wait over 12 months to get one delivered!

Very futuristic looking! Its like something out of the film TRON!

I will keep looking, and I hope you're right about shorter waiting times!

 

[bobmac]

Hydrogen is a very inefficient way to use electricity.
The losses incurred during electrolysis, transport and fuel cell conversion are quite large.

It does however have two massive advantages over pure EV:
1. Much quicker refueling.
2. No need for huge banks of environmentally unfriendly batteries.

As long as you live near one of the 14 garages in the UK that sell hydrogen.

I remain skeptical that charging infrastructure can ever get to the point where you can top up an EV with 500 miles of range in 5 mins, though.

How often do you need to drive 500 miles without stopping?

 

[Smiffy]

If petrol/diesel was suddenly rationed to 20 litres each visit, most of us would still manage our lives. That's about 200 miles that is.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

If petrol/diesel was suddenly rationed to 20 litres each visit, most of us would still manage our lives. That's about 200 miles that is.

Thats effectively 1 days useage in my van.....

 

[road2ruin]

Thats effectively 1 days useage in my van.....

To be fair, you're not 'most' people. As I said above, EV's would be of no interest to people like you as the range and charging capabilities just aren't there. For the 'normal' driver though, they'd not notice any difference especially if they're able to have a charging point installed at home.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

To be fair, you're not 'most' people. As I said above, EV's would be of no interest to people like you as the range and charging capabilities just aren't there. For the 'normal' driver though, they'd not notice any difference especially if they're able to have a charging point installed at home.

Perhaps not, but I did look at E vans a while back, and TBH the real world range is just pitiful once you switch on the heating/air con, heated seats, lights and load the thing up.

 

[bobmac]

Perhaps not, but I did look at E vans a while back, and TBH the real world range is just pitiful once you switch on the heating/air con, heated seats, lights and load the thing up.

Yes, we know

 

[road2ruin]

Perhaps not, but I did look at E vans a while back, and TBH the real world range is just pitiful once you switch on the heating/air con, heated seats, lights and load the thing up.

Again, depends on mileage. The motor I have on order will happily do 240 odd miles during the winter months with heating, lights and everything else switched on. My present (ICE) car does 230 odd so for me it's only the occasional, very long, journey that I will have to change the way I plan.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Yes, we know

What do you know?

 

[Smiffy]

Again, depends on mileage. The motor I have on order will happily do 240 odd miles during the winter months with heating, lights and everything else switched on. My present (ICE) car does 230 odd so for me it's only the occasional, very long, journey that I will have to change the way I plan.

There is a big, big difference between the range of an electric car and van. Some of the vans are absolutely dire.

 

[cliveb]

As long as you live near one of the 14 garages in the UK that sell hydrogen.

Come on, Bob. You must know I was talking about principles, not the current situation.
And I'm really not proposing that hydrogen is better than EV. For general day-to-day use, an EV makes a lot of sense. The main thing that remains a problem for me is when you need to do a long journey.

How often do you need to drive 500 miles without stopping?

Not often. But as an example, when we drive to the Alps for skiing. We swap over driving every 2 hours and every 300/400 miles we fill up, which takes about 5/10 mins. Total journey generally about 700 miles and takes about 12 hours including tunnel crossing. I'd really rather not add several more hours waiting for EV charging.

 

[bobmac]

What do you know?

We know everything you wrote. Although why you would have the heating on, the heating seats on AND the air con on at the same time is puzzling.