The all things EV chat thread

[road2ruin]

At the moment @Mudball has found issues on that front. Maybe a switch needs flicking, a button in set up needs sliding to one side? Your experience is what we want to see though, ie virtually no loss.

Ah okay, I had missed that but certainly sounds like there is something wrong here as I am a member of a load of EV FB pages etc and I haven't seen anyone having issues with losing battery whilst the car is parked up. Unfortunately I have no idea why this would be the case but it doesn't sound right.

 

[Mudball]

The last number of pages imo highlight the obstacles still in the way when it comes owning an full electric car - been some very unbiased and balance real world reviews that clearly show it’s nowhere near practical for many to own a EV as well as cost affect

It’s clear for most than you bog standard ICE ticks every box

There is obviously the hybrid choice which is best of both worlds but I suspect the cost is prob to own and run is a bit more than standard ICE

I dont fully agree to that view... i think a hybrid is probably the worst of both worlds. You are lugging around 2 cars - though some cars are better than others. I drove the BMW 5 series Hybrid as a loan car for a couple of weeks - bit of a pointless car. it is a plug in hybrid (but i did not have a charger), so have to have the same challenges as a traditional EV. The petrol tank was tiny, so i was fueling it up very frequently

One of my neigbour has a small regen hybrid (rather than plug in)... she loves it. Says she needs about £30 of petrol every few months. At over 70, i am not sure she drives it around much though.

IMO, EVs are a definite shortlist if you have a driveway where you can charge it. if you live in a block of flats or london, then you might as well an Uber or car share.
Also, i think in about 10 years or so, we will move a subscription based model where you only pay for the car when you need it. Rest of the time it will drive itself to different places and people who need it

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Also, i think in about 10 years or so, we will move a subscription based model where you only pay for the car when you need it. Rest of the time it will drive itself to different places and people who need it

People have been talking about this for years but I don't think there is an appetite for it. People like having their own car, they don't want to share. They want the convenience, they want want they have chosen. I've seen this type of thing in London, don't know how good the uptake is, but I don't see it elsewhere. For me, it is one of those things, like 3D tv and cinema, where just because something is available it doesn't mean that the public want it.

 

[Mudball]

At the moment @Mudball has found issues on that front. Maybe a switch needs flicking, a button in set up needs sliding to one side? Your experience is what we want to see though, ie virtually no loss.

I am also told that they dont lose (much) charge.

I havent lost charge on most days. but i do experiment with various setting like pre-conditioning, schedule departure or pre-con battery etc. (things i dont do in an ICE car). my biggest losses have been when i tried a few things and realised that i lost power overnight because the car is too clever/dumb. For me currently, the car is a bit of a toy and we seem to be playing a game of chess against each other

 

[road2ruin]

I dont fully agree to that view... i think a hybrid is probably the worst of both worlds. You are lugging around 2 cars - though some cars are better than others. I drove the BMW 5 series Hybrid as a loan car for a couple of weeks - bit of a pointless car. it is a plug in hybrid (but i did not have a charger), so have to have the same challenges as a traditional EV. The petrol tank was tiny, so i was fueling it up very frequently

Agree with this, a friend of mine lives in Surrey but does a fair bit of driving including regular trips to East Anglia where his family run a few petrol stations. He decided that a Range Rover Evoque Hybrid would be his next motor although did very little research. He just assumed that he could pootle around locally and use the electric and then the petrol side would sort out the longer journeys. In reality he has found that the first bit was true i.e. his 30 odd mile range on battery does cover a lot of the school runs etc the economy of the car is an absolute disaster on the regular long runs, he just doesn't get the range out of the petrol engine and he is now trying to sort something out with the dealership to enable him to swap back to an ICE car. He's keen to have an EV but for his driving it's not realistic at the moment.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I am also told that they dont lose (much) charge.

I havent lost charge on most days. but i do experiment with various setting like pre-conditioning, schedule departure or pre-con battery etc. (things i dont do in an ICE car). my biggest losses have been when i tried a few things and realised that i lost power overnight because the car is too clever/dumb. For me currently, the car is a bit of a toy and we seem to be playing a game of chess against each other

My money is on the car .

That makes sense. Test out all the different options, see which new bits of tech you will use over time and what is there to be forgotten.

 

[Mudball]

People have been talking about this for years but I don't think there is an appetite for it. People like having their own car, they don't want to share. They want the convenience, they want want they have chosen. I've seen this type of thing in London, don't know how good the uptake is, but I don't see it elsewhere. For me, it is one of those things, like 3D tv and cinema, where just because something is available it doesn't mean that the public want it.

Without wanting to sound ageist.. i agree with you. However, the younger gen (esp in big cities) dont see the need to learn driving. Even if they do, many/most dont know how to use a manual car. It has taken Auto 20 years or so to make manual reduandant. i will take a shorter timespan for self driving to make Automatic reduandant. It will take a generation. As they say, the single biggest threat to a self driving car is a human driven car rather than another self driivng car.

 

[road2ruin]

I am also told that they dont lose (much) charge.

I havent lost charge on most days. but i do experiment with various setting like pre-conditioning, schedule departure or pre-con battery etc. (things i dont do in an ICE car). my biggest losses have been when i tried a few things and realised that i lost power overnight because the car is too clever/dumb. For me currently, the car is a bit of a toy and we seem to be playing a game of chess against each other

One thing I found very quickly is that my car is too clever by half but that can lead to problems with charges not happening (user error) etc. I now don't use the car for any charging related tasks, I have my charger set up so it will always charge between 12:30 - 7:30am when plugged in. Outside of these hours it won't do anything unless I override that using the app if I need to do daytime charging. The only thing I use the car app for is for mornings like today that I'll set the climate control going 10 minutes before I leave so the car is de-iced and toasty warm!

 

[Billysboots]

(Unrelated) My BIL also has a Tesla Y. It has cracked its windscreen. Cant be fixed simply by an Autofix call out. 2k to replace it since it has sensors et al. EVs are phones not cars, so higher cost of ownership. You just cant take a hammer to carburetor or fix it with some duct tape

To be fair it’s the same for a lot of cars these days. I cracked a windscreen on a very expensive Range Rover a year or so back and that was over a grand to replace for the same reason.

Ironically, I type this as I sit twiddling my thumbs for an hour and a quarter whilst the Audi E Tron I have just collected charges. And, yes, I am using a rapid charging point.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

I dont fully agree to that view... i think a hybrid is probably the worst of both worlds. You are lugging around 2 cars - though some cars are better than others. I drove the BMW 5 series Hybrid as a loan car for a couple of weeks - bit of a pointless car. it is a plug in hybrid (but i did not have a charger), so have to have the same challenges as a traditional EV. The petrol tank was tiny, so i was fueling it up very frequently

One of my neigbour has a small regen hybrid (rather than plug in)... she loves it. Says she needs about £30 of petrol every few months. At over 70, i am not sure she drives it around much though.

IMO, EVs are a definite shortlist if you have a driveway where you can charge it. if you live in a block of flats or london, then you might as well an Uber or car share.
Also, i think in about 10 years or so, we will move a subscription based model where you only pay for the car when you need it. Rest of the time it will drive itself to different places and people who need it

Fair shout on the hybrid - you have a engine there being used more to drag around batteries

 

[Jimaroid]

I don’t think we’ll see general purpose self driving cars in our lifetimes. We will see them on motorways and similar ”railroaded” constrained environments but they will always be subservient to human control. We won’t see go anywhere AI capable of dealing with complex traffic scenarios.

General purpose AI is an arms race right now and the reality of what it can and can’t do is being massively exaggerated to make money.

 

[Mudball]

My money is on the car .

That makes sense. Test out all the different options, see which new bits of tech you will use over time and what is there to be forgotten.

Artificial intelligence cant match my natural stupidity

 

[Mudball]

Let's be fair, that's a bit of rubbish isn't it? I need 500 miles where I can stop for a quick natural break without having to had an extra half hour + to my journey to charge my car, providing I can find one and don't have to take a massive detour to do so.

i realise that comedy has been cancelled... so yes you are right..

 

[clubchamp98]

Ah okay, I had missed that but certainly sounds like there is something wrong here as I am a member of a load of EV FB pages etc and I haven't seen anyone having issues with losing battery whilst the car is parked up. Unfortunately I have no idea why this would be the case but it doesn't sound right.

Parasitic drain.
All battery powered things are susceptible to this if there is a slight fault.

 

[PJ87]

Did you bother to read and understand what I said?

Let me repeat: in winter my petrol car's mpg is no worse than 95% of its summer mpg.

You need to accept that ICE cars actually do some things better than EVs. Denying it makes people less likely to believe the genuinely true things you say about them.

Clive I'm not denying that ice do things better than ev , there is no question for miles. Recharge and simplicity they are better.

 

[bobmac]

Let's be fair, that's a bit of rubbish isn't it? I need 500 miles where I can stop for a quick natural break without having to had an extra half hour + to my journey to charge my car, providing I can find one and don't have to take a massive detour to do so.

If I'm driving for 10 hours, I'm going to more than one quick stop

 

[SteveW86]

If I'm driving for 10 hours, I'm going to more than one quick stop

And thats fine for you, but in other peoples situations they can drive for a few hundred miles without the need for a stop.

 

[PJ87]

EVs are phones not cars, so higher cost of ownership. You just cant take a hammer to carburetor or fix it with some duct tape

Fully agree. Depends on your nature. I've managed to fix most teething issues with my car because I'm good with computers but given the same issue with my ice car I'd be calling a mechanic. However many people could repair ice cars themselves.

Going back to range anxiety you will learn to trust it. When your charger arrives. However you have proven without a driveway and a charger it's blooming difficult and ATM expensive with the cost of energy.

I've had the Corsa 3 years now. I've had many issues related to the built quality of the car from the car side. IE window regulator failing, seat coming apart, abs wiring loom failing. And just one issue with the onboard charger which was replaced. Even with all the negatives it's proven to be ,for me, the way forward. I leased the last as the test this time I've put my money into it.

I mean a few weeks ago when it was -1 out and I needed to do 135 miles motorway round trip I didn't even question going in it which I think speaks volumes as 3 years ago I'd of gone oooo I dunno I'll take the big car to save the worry.

I'd be interested to hear your views when you have had your home charger for a week or so compared to now

 

[Lord Tyrion]

If I'm driving for 10 hours, I'm going to more than one quick stop

And thats fine for you, but in other peoples situations they can drive for a few hundred miles without the need for a stop.

The point for me is that I will stop but I want to stop when I want, where I want and forever how long I want. It isn't about non stop driving, it's about me being in charge, not the car or the charging points.

The idea that ICE drivers just want to drive all day isn't right, they just like the current system of flexibility and no worries on a long journey. At some point that freedom may have to go but until then it's a major barrier for those who do longer journeys.

 

[PJ87]

The point for me is that I will stop but I want to stop when I want, where I want and forever how long I want. It isn't about non stop driving, it's about me being in charge, not the car or the charging points.

The idea that ICE drivers just want to drive all day isn't right, they just like the current system of flexibility and no worries on a long journey. At some point that freedom may have to go but until then it's a major barrier for those who do longer journeys.

Which is where (I will keep this as non political as possible) enforcing a ban on Ice cars (which has been moved back) in one hand whilst turning off funding for EV suppliments like money off the cars and chargers.. then changing the requirements for all car parks to have chargers to only new car parks to have them. Was a very stupid idea

Like in your where to stop situation. If every service station, garage, or restaurant had at least half the car park set up for charging , where you could park as normal rather than park in a charge bay and simply connect to the charger (all contactless rather than app) I would say a lot of the range issues would subside .

And let's not get started on the state of the national grid and the lack of public transport outside of London

To get this to seriously take off you need investment in the green revolution rather than tax breaks to get people to switch and hope they are like me and love the situation.