The all things EV chat thread

[Oddsocks]

But isn't that a good reason to buy an EV.
For your A4, your choice is probably £1.50-£1.55 for diesel, there is no 50p per litre option.
An EV owner can pay 50p per Kw but can also pay 9p per kw at home.
It also depends how fast you want to charge giving you even more choice.
And you're only paying 5% VAT on your home electricity whereas you're paying over 50% tax per litre at the pumps

It’s working out the practicality bob.

I get to claim 20ppm on my derv so vary rarely out of pocket. Jump to the EV and I can only claim 8ppm (new rate from June) and if forced to use the public chargers in case of emergency I’d be massively out of pocket

I really like the post from @adasko as it really does highlight how critical the charging rate is depended on your trips etc as this will determine the viability of the change.

 

[jim8flog]

It then just comes down to personal preferences. Me, I don’t fancy two lengthy, by comparison, stops on long journeys.

Agreed.

My long journeys have the 3 longish stops 20 - 30 mins regardless of what type of vehicle I am in. I always take a break from driving after driving for about an hour to take a pee, stretch my legs and back.
I do partial charges in the EV not full ones.

 

[Hobbit]

Agreed.

My long journeys have the 3 longish stops 20 - 30 mins regardless of what type of vehicle I am in. I always take a break from driving after driving for about an hour to take a pee, stretch my legs and back.
I do partial charges in the EV not full ones.

Good point.

If it’s 2-3 stops, it doesn’t have to be full charges…

 

[adasko]

Good point.

If it’s 2-3 stops, it doesn’t have to be full charges…

Not sure about other manufacturers but tesla does all the calculation for charging for you, that's the benefit of having their own charing network. You know in advance how many chargers available at your destination and how long you need to charge to continue your trip.
You never charge to 100% when on the long drive it just make no sense, from 80% to 100% charging is slow. I was getting from 15% to 80 in 20 minutes. 80% give me over 200 miles of range.
Biggest point everyone is missing on owning EV is how fun they are to drive.
4 seconds 0 to 60mph its great fun plus they handling really well on the bendy roads.

 

[ColchesterFC]

Not sure about other manufacturers but tesla does all the calculation for charging for you, that's the benefit of having their own charing network. You know in advance how many chargers available at your destination and how long you need to charge to continue your trip.
You never charge to 100% when on the long drive it just make no sense, from 80% to 100% charging is slow. I was getting from 15% to 80 in 20 minutes. 80% give me over 200 miles of range.
Biggest point everyone is missing on owning EV is how fun they are to drive.
4 seconds 0 to 60mph its great fun plus they handling really well on the bendy roads.

Is the number of "available" chargers the total number installed at that location or the number currently not in use? If it's the latter, how accurate is it? I'm not trying to be negative, just genuinely interested whether if it says there are 4 chargers available (as in not being used) is that normally correct? Obviously with the caveat that between the time you check and arrive chargers could become taken or freed up. Have you ever been at a charging location and compared the figured stated as being available to the number actually available?

 

[larmen]

Good point.

If it’s 2-3 stops, it doesn’t have to be full charges…

The latest What Car magazine has an article where they ran to Mercs against each other on a long trip. The one that always ‘filled up’ overall was less efficient and was filling up longer than the ‘top up’ one.

 

[adasko]

Is the number of "available" chargers the total number installed at that location or the number currently not in use? If it's the latter, how accurate is it? I'm not trying to be negative, just genuinely interested whether if it says there are 4 chargers available (as in not being used) is that normally correct? Obviously with the caveat that between the time you check and arrive chargers could become taken or freed up. Have you ever been at a charging location and compared the figured stated as being available to the number actually available

I can only speak for the superchargers. They are all connected to the same network as cars. Info you have while driving is how many is in total how many is busy/available and it tells you how many car will be leaving soon. It knows from the state of charge you setup in your car how long you will be charging there.

 

[cliveb]

Funny enough she has VW t6 Caravelle 2l 205bhp mapped to 260bhp

Ok, I know nothing about this particular car (van?)
But £90 of diesel giving 300 miles is about 25mpg, even if you're paying through the nose for the diesel. How can anyone think 25mpg is acceptable from a diesel (unless it's a lorry)?

 

[Slime]

Not sure about other manufacturers but tesla does all the calculation for charging for you, that's the benefit of having their own charing network. You know in advance how many chargers available at your destination and how long you need to charge to continue your trip.
You never charge to 100% when on the long drive it just make no sense, from 80% to 100% charging is slow. I was getting from 15% to 80 in 20 minutes. 80% give me over 200 miles of range.
Biggest point everyone is missing on owning EV is how fun they are to drive.
4 seconds 0 to 60mph its great fun plus they handling really well on the bendy roads.

Wel, if you're having fun, you ain't getting over 200 miles of range!

 

[PJ87]

E

I can only speak for the superchargers. They are all connected to the same network as cars. Info you have while driving is how many is in total how many is busy/available and it tells you how many car will be leaving soon. It knows from the state of charge you setup in your car how long you will be charging there.

Zap map is pretty good about availability of chargers at a given time, however only good as long as someone isn't just parked there blocking it

On the general EV stuff. We still love both ours. It's been 4 months now since we went to 2 EVs and no regrets. I've been topping up the wife's car to 90% once a month as it goes out infrequently. Mine is the family car and my commuting car.

Just as some people choose to not buy EVs as a choice I would not buy another ICE car. I'm in year 4 of EV driving now. Fully confident and convinced.

I recently bought a service plan for the wife's car which will take her to 2026 sept with mots etc (Kia would then be purchased fully jan 27) then my work are bringing out a salary sacrifice scheme so I'd prob lease a bigger EV if needed to be tax efficient or keep what we got.

I'd say the only annoying thing about them both is the steering wheel controls. They are basically the same but the Kona has the volume on the left and Kia on the right. Whenever I change which one I'm driving I forget!

 

[bobmac]

Brand new I pace is £69k

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From
£46k

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I know EVs are expensive but so are all cars.
The point I'm making is EVs are coming down in price faster than some people think.
A few years ago, you couldn't get an EV for under £30k, now you can get one under £20k

It’s working out the practicality bob.

I know EVs are not for everyone but the point is choice.
You can charge at home for pennies or pay loads at motorway chargers.
ICE drivers don't have that choice.

And for general information 1,304 new chargers were installed last month, bringing the total up to 94312 connectors

At £50k for a £70k Jag, I’d be biting someone’s hand off.

FiL is looking at the i-Pace but best deal he can find is £63k with a hefty dealer contribution.

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[jim8flog]

Ok, I know nothing about this particular car (van?)
But £90 of diesel giving 300 miles is about 25mpg, even if you're paying through the nose for the diesel. How can anyone think 25mpg is acceptable from a diesel (unless it's a lorry)?

I know it is quite a few years ago but I ran a Transit 2.5 diesel for many years 30 mpg was a miracle generally around 25
the current version is quoted as 24-29mpg actual

 

[adasko]

Ok, I know nothing about this particular car (van?)
But £90 of diesel giving 300 miles is about 25mpg, even if you're paying through the nose for the diesel. How can anyone think 25mpg is acceptable from a diesel (unless it's a lorry)?

Not everything we do have to be sensible or make sense to others. If that would be the case we all be using busses or driving smart cars

 

[GreiginFife]

Not everything we do have to be sensible or make sense to others. If that would be the case we all be using busses or driving smart cars

I'm intrigued by those numbers from a diesel as I am getting better mpg from a 400hp 3L petrol. (ok, marginally at 28.8mpg but still better).

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I'm intrigued by those numbers from a diesel as I am getting better mpg from a 400hp 3L petrol. (ok, marginally at 28.8mpg but still better).

Look at post 6,262. I think that combined with 4k miles in 12 months, short journeys? answers the question really. It isn't a regular car churning out those figures.

 

[GreiginFife]

Look at post 6,262. I think that combined with 4k miles in 12 months, short journeys? answers the question really. It isn't a regular car churning out those figures.

5300 miles in 14 months. Max journey 15 miles.

Hence my intrigue.

 

[adasko]

I'm intrigued by those numbers from a diesel as I am getting better mpg from a 400hp 3L petrol. (ok, marginally at 28.8mpg but still better).

We are living in the middle of nowhere. Soon as you leave a driveway you doing 60mph.

 

[GreiginFife]

We are living in the middle of nowhere. Soon as you leave a driveway you doing 60mph.

View attachment 53659

Ah, I didn't know what a Carvelle (sp) was.

 

[Mudball]

An non-EV post... Since we got the EV, it is now our primary car. Gets plugged in at home every night.
My hatch back is not getting any love at the moment. It does the odd run to the station drop off etc. This morning the Mrs decided to use it... and lo and behold, it was nearly empty. Neither of us were able to figure out when we last went to the pump.
Once you have figured it out, charging at home is a no-brainer. When you couple it with Solar, it is next level. (as posted on the Solar thread), this month, I used £61 worth of leccy, but exported £67 - DESPITE charging the car every night. So £150 worth of diesel for the SUV is now powering the national grid..

Why does the Govt not provide subsidy for home owners to micro-generate and switch to EVs

 

[Bunkermagnet]

An non-EV post... Since we got the EV, it is now our primary car. Gets plugged in at home every night.
My hatch back is not getting any love at the moment. It does the odd run to the station drop off etc. This morning the Mrs decided to use it... and lo and behold, it was nearly empty. Neither of us were able to figure out when we last went to the pump.
Once you have figured it out, charging at home is a no-brainer. When you couple it with Solar, it is next level. (as posted on the Solar thread), this month, I used £61 worth of leccy, but exported £67 - DESPITE charging the car every night. So £150 worth of diesel for the SUV is now powering the national grid..

Why does the Govt not provide subsidy for home owners to micro-generate and switch to EVs

Or looking at it another way, why should VAT on your leccy only be 5% when its being used as a fuel for your motoring? We all know the majority of the fuel cost is tax for the Govt so why shouldnt the EV motorist pay the full VAT on that leccy?