The all things EV chat thread

[Smiffy]

It would need to be at least 300 motorway miles. I'm down south and I have family in Scotland plus I do long trips to play in competitions. I know lots of cars have quoted ranges of 250-300 miles but that plummets once you are out of town and driving at speed.

Yep. I used my e2008 to get to a golf course in Surrey a couple of weeks ago. Fully charged when I left, I had over 210 miles showing. Got to the club (which was 78 miles away) with only 92 miles or thereabouts showing as range left.
I had travelled to the course using the dual carriageways A27 and A23 so had been tramping along at "motorway speeds".
Got to be honest, I was a bit concerned. I had used a theoretical 118 miles of range to travel 78 miles..... was I going to get home okay with 78 miles left to run with only 92 miles showing as available.
I made the decision to drive the slower route home, and keep my speeds down to around 50mph, no unnecessary overtaking or acceleration etc. Got home with 30 miles still showing!!
Work that one out

 

[bobmac]

Yep. I used my e2008 to get to a golf course in Surrey a couple of weeks ago. Fully charged when I left, I had over 210 miles showing. Got to the club (which was 78 miles away) with only 92 miles or thereabouts showing as range left.
I had travelled to the course using the dual carriageways A27 and A23 so had been tramping along at "motorway speeds".
Got to be honest, I was a bit concerned. I had used a theoretical 118 miles of range to travel 78 miles..... was I going to get home okay with 78 miles left to run with only 92 miles showing as available.
I made the decision to drive the slower route home, and keep my speeds down to around 50mph, no unnecessary overtaking or acceleration etc. Got home with 30 miles still showing!!
Work that one out

Which club were you playing at? It sounds as if it was uphill from your house

 

[Smiffy]

Which club were you playing at? It sounds as if it was uphill from your house

It was perfectly level Bob, both there and back

 

[Oddsocks]

Yep. I used my e2008 to get to a golf course in Surrey a couple of weeks ago. Fully charged when I left, I had over 210 miles showing. Got to the club (which was 78 miles away) with only 92 miles or thereabouts showing as range left.
I had travelled to the course using the dual carriageways A27 and A23 so had been tramping along at "motorway speeds".
Got to be honest, I was a bit concerned. I had used a theoretical 118 miles of range to travel 78 miles..... was I going to get home okay with 78 miles left to run with only 92 miles showing as available.
I made the decision to drive the slower route home, and keep my speeds down to around 50mph, no unnecessary overtaking or acceleration etc. Got home with 30 miles still showing!!
Work that one out

Less fags and less balls to haul home, lighter payload equals better range. Simples.

But on topic it would definitely make me twitch

 

[clubchamp98]

It was perfectly level Bob, both there and back

Sounds like a bit of guesswork that could easy go the other way and leave you stranded.
Are these mileages as accurate as they say they are.?

 

[bobmac]

Sounds like a bit of guesswork that could easy go the other way and leave you stranded.
Are these mileages as accurate as they say they are.?

I guess it depends on your driving style.

 

[clubchamp98]

I guess it depends on your driving style.

I would expect most people who buy EVs are not boy racers.

 

[Deleted member 29109]

Sounds like a bit of guesswork that could easy go the other way and leave you stranded.
Are these mileages as accurate as they say they are.?

Probably as accurate as a fuel gauge on an ICE car. Ever time I fill up the range says 650. In the 3.5 years I’ve had the car I’ve never got anywhere near that.

 

[Smiffy]

My post was just to reinforce the effect that motorway speeds have on range. No boy racer about it, it's doing 70mph that kills 'em.

 

[clubchamp98]

Probably as accurate as a fuel gauge on an ICE car. Ever time I fill up the range says 650. In the 3.5 years I’ve had the car I’ve never got anywhere near that.

Mines pretty accurate tbh.
Says 450 miles and gets very close.
Anyone who regularly uses the motorways will need to know what the car can or can’t do.
Unless they spend hours in charging bays.
I think EV is good for town/ city travel but needs more work for longer journeys.

 

[Oddsocks]

My post was just to reinforce the effect that motorway speeds have on range. No boy racer about it, it's doing 70mph that kills 'em.

100% on this. We had a little electric van for local deliveries at my last job, we used to try and keep it in town and surrounding villages/towns. The minute it had to hit the m23 despite the speed being constant, the range got hammered.

 

[bobmac]

My post was just to reinforce the effect that motorway speeds have on range. No boy racer about it, it's doing 70mph that kills 'em.

Yep, they are the opposite of IC cars, good ''mpg'' around town thanks partly to regen but not so good at 70.
You've just got to buy a car that suits your lifestyle. If you do 1000's of motorway miles a year, don't buy an EV yet.

 

[road2ruin]

Probably as accurate as a fuel gauge on an ICE car. Ever time I fill up the range says 650. In the 3.5 years I’ve had the car I’ve never got anywhere near that.

Mine used to be the same, a full tank would apparently give 300 miles. 230 miles later I was at BP again! Obviously it's based on the most efficient driving possible, probably sat on a motorway at 70mph with no braking etc as that's the only time I've ever managed to get close to the estimated range.

 

[Deleted member 29109]

Mine used to be the same, a full tank would apparently give 300 miles. 230 miles later I was at BP again! Obviously it's based on the most efficient driving possible, probably sat on a motorway at 70mph with no braking etc as that's the only time I've ever managed to get close to the estimated range.

My old M3s were like that. I always chuckled when I saw it read over 300 range. Occasionally it would do 280 if cruising on a motorway run. Mostly it was between 200 and 220.

I’m glad I’m not running one of those at the minute.

 

[larmen]

Without getting political. This is the problem we have with our gov. With one hand they ban ice from 2030 and give us warning etc

With the other they hold back ev .. no grant? Shocking. Couple months ago the all car parks charger law became all new or refurb car parks

We should be doubling down on EVs and making a green economy boom n

Aren't the grants to get enough people into an economy (EV, solar) to make it viable? Once you have a critical mass there is no need to pay others to join in anymore, they will/hate to/want to anyway.
Unfortunately I don't have the means to just buy one early and have to bite the bullet at some point. But a thousand pounds off on cars that will cost about 30k upwards, there isn't much in it.

Same for feed in tariff on solar.

 

[pool888]

There are so many variables with costs it's down to your own circumstances, where you can charge and the type of driving you do, the answer will be different for different people. Petrol and diesel is a fairly similar price regardless of where you purchase it, electric can be anywhere between free and 70p/kwh.

My last car was a BMW 335d, I averaged 38mpg, not much more than 30mpg around town and on short trips, but it would easily do around 50mpg on a long cruise, so again it depends on your driving habits, long motorway runs are going to work out much cheaper per mile if that's what you regularly do. You also had £145 road tax to pay although that would be £520 for a new one now, plus servicing expenses.

Tesla is charged at home at 5p/kwh as I'm lucky to still be on a good tariff until January, quite a lot of public chargers in Scotland are still free, our local council is 21p/kwh, Supercharger prices have risen to around 45p/kwh, and Ionity is as much as 69p/kwn for non members, so the price of "fuelling up" can vary hugely depending where you do it. But you have no road tax or servicing to pay, although you should get the brake fluid done every few years but that should be a pretty minor cost. Surprisingly the Tesla was also slightly cheaper to insure.

Rough yearly costs for me for a new equivalent BMW vs Tesla 3 Performance @ 8000 miles based on charging 95% of the time at home and diesel at £1.95 per gallon.

BMW
Road Tax £520
Servicing & tyres, etc £500
Insurance £450 (this will obviously vary per person)
Fuel £1865
Total £3335 or roughly £64 per week.

Tesla
Road Tax £0
Servicing & tyres, etc £280
Insurance £400 (this will obviously vary per person)
Fuel £150
Total £830 or roughly £16 per week

Depreciation is also a factor, often the largest factor of running a new car. It's something you cant really put a price on until you sell your car, with BMW again it can vary depending on how good you are at haggling a discount at purchase. At the moment the Tesla is by far the least depreciating car I've ever had, but it's strange times for used cars and many cars are keeping their value well due to the lack of supply of new ones.

 

[bobmac]

Not forgetting the amount of renewable energy is still increasing and as it is the cheapest form of energy available, the costs are bound to come down with more chargers meaning more competition.
And they have no CO2 emissions.
And they are quiet
And they are fun to drive especially the 0-60 3.2 secs which is Lamborghini territory without the Lamborghini price tag.

 

[Ethan]

Test driving a Genesis GV60 next Saturday. If I like it, have one reserved for delivery within 4 weeks. If I don't, might wait for the Polestar 3, due late 22/early 23. Considered Audi (current car), but their upgraded E-tron and the new Q6 are now delayed due to manufacturing/parts issues. BMW waiting lists too long.

 

[RichA]

My old M3s were like that. I always chuckled when I saw it read over 300 range. Occasionally it would do 280 if cruising on a motorway run. Mostly it was between 200 and 220.

I’m glad I’m not running one of those at the minute.

When I fill up my 520d the range goes up to 650. I reset the trip counter every time and normally get about 800 miles out of each tank. It's almost all motorway miles, cruise control set at 70.

I'm open minded about EVs, but even with the current fuel prices I can't make the refuelling savings justify the initial extra outlay. An EV equivalent to a 5-series is just too expensive.

 

[Oddsocks]

Has anyone looked at the cost of solar with storage to run their car? Arguably the best way to run an EV is harvest during the day and charge (Tesla power wall etc ) during the evening as a primary charge source. I have friends in PV but haven’t spoken to them in around 18months so I’m slightly out of touch on install costs and grants