The all things EV chat thread

[Fade and Die]

Right... we are headed to North Devon. Family has booked a cottage in the middle of nowhere. Obviously has no EV charging on site nor in the village or the next village. My BIL drives a Tesla and looks like there is a Tesla 'destination charger' at a wedding manor about 20 mins drive. Assuming there is no wedding guest using it, he can use it. I will need to either download the Tesla app or drive 40 mins to Barnstaple to find something. First real test of my BMW EV.

Its also not going to get there in one charge, so need to plan a break according to charger rather than comfort.

Having been holidaying in East Devon for the last week I would advise you leave the leccy car at home and buy something like a 2007 diesel Nissan x-trail with scuffed up paint… perfect for barrelling along tiny narrow overgrown lanes. You will fit in like a native.

 

[Beezerk]

Anyone got a plug in hybrid car, if so what real life mileage range do you get from either a full battery and a tank of fuel or just a tank of fuel?
I've been offered a VW Tiguan hybrid as my next company car, nice vehicle but I have concerns that one tank of fuel won't get me the 300+ miles I may need for one trip.

 

[PJ87]

Anyone got a plug in hybrid car, if so what real life mileage range do you get from either a full battery and a tank of fuel or just a tank of fuel?
I've been offered a VW Tiguan hybrid as my next company car, nice vehicle but I have concerns that one tank of fuel won't get me the 300+ miles I may need for one trip.

Surely you just stop that 5 mins everyone says to just top up with petrol?

With a plug in hybrid you need the keep the battery topped up to get the most out of the car. Otherwise you get poor mpg when it's depleted

However you can just run as a petrol car on the roads

Just a quick Google says the tank size is 45 litres so if you average 35mpg you will get 350 miles so in theory you should be fine

Set off with a full battery to long out that range

 

[Beezerk]

Surely you just stop that 5 mins everyone says to just top up with petrol?

With a plug in hybrid you need the keep the battery topped up to get the most out of the car. Otherwise you get poor mpg when it's depleted

However you can just run as a petrol car on the roads

Just a quick Google says the tank size is 45 litres so if you average 35mpg you will get 350 miles so in theory you should be fine

Set off with a full battery to long out that range

Thanks mate
I don't really plan on charging the battery too much, as it's a company vehicle we've already had the argument about who pays for charging and it got nowehere.
Re topping up with fuel, sometimes our fuel card provider can be funny if we use it twice in one day, not really sure why but I've heard some of the other lads have to take a call from them in the petrol station

 

[PJ87]

Thanks mate
I don't really plan on charging the battery too much, as it's a company vehicle we've already had the argument about who pays for charging and it got nowehere.
Re topping up with fuel, sometimes our fuel card provider can be funny if we use it twice in one day, not really sure why but I've heard some of the other lads have to take a call from them in the petrol station

That is utterly ridiculous isn't it lol the fuel card bit

And the paying for charging to be fair. It should be the company. If they provide a fuel card it's the same

However how much money will it save you going for this option? IE tax because it will be incredibly ineffective with the battery not charged it would actually be better to run a normal car. Then again if it's all by fuel card it won't affect you. Just very silly way of going about things (not you just life lol)

Is there an option of just a hybrid rather than plug in? Or does that just cost money tax wise?

You know my view I'm a full EV fan and loving life with mine ATM, not for everyone tho. Would they cover charging if it was an EV? Because a Tesla if so is a very good option with their supercharger network . But again not for everyone

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Thanks mate
I don't really plan on charging the battery too much, as it's a company vehicle we've already had the argument about who pays for charging and it got nowehere.
Re topping up with fuel, sometimes our fuel card provider can be funny if we use it twice in one day, not really sure why but I've heard some of the other lads have to take a call from them in the petrol station

Allstar can have limitations on refueling. They are starting to do EV things now, but as I dont have or need them I haven't paid any attention to it.
Personally I find Allstar a pain in that it doesn't operate as a credit card type thing like the Shell card does. Allstar needs you to have a bond you must pay up (to whatever limit you want) and that is your credit limit. My Shell card allows me to refill as many times as I like then I get a monthly or weekly invoice depending on amount of refills.

 

[Beezerk]

Allstar can have limitations on refueling. They are starting to do EV things now, but as I dont have or need them I haven't paid any attention to it.
Personally I find Allstar a pain in that it doesn't operate as a credit card type thing like the Shell card does. Allstar needs you to have a bond you must pay up (to whatever limit you want) and that is your credit limit. My Shell card allows me to refill as many times as I like then I get a monthly or weekly invoice depending on amount of refills.

Aaah now I come to think of it when I use the Allstar card (good guess btw lol) the pump says something like "fill up to £100" or something similar.

 

[Beezerk]

That is utterly ridiculous isn't it lol the fuel card bit

And the paying for charging to be fair. It should be the company. If they provide a fuel card it's the same

However how much money will it save you going for this option? IE tax because it will be incredibly ineffective with the battery not charged it would actually be better to run a normal car. Then again if it's all by fuel card it won't affect you. Just very silly way of going about things (not you just life lol)

Is there an option of just a hybrid rather than plug in? Or does that just cost money tax wise?

You know my view I'm a full EV fan and loving life with mine ATM, not for everyone tho. Would they cover charging if it was an EV? Because a Tesla if so is a very good option with their supercharger network . But again not for everyone

I'll be saving a load in tax, maybe up to £100 a month so that's a nice bonus. Still don't want to pay for charging it though
Only that option of vehicle sadly, my initial choice was a Golf estate but that seems to have been forgotten about, weird as the Tiguan is around £90 a month more expensive to lease.

 

[PJ87]

I'll be saving a load in tax, maybe up to £100 a month so that's a nice bonus. Still don't want to pay for charging it though
Only that option of vehicle sadly, my initial choice was a Golf estate but that seems to have been forgotten about, weird as the Tiguan is around £90 a month more expensive to lease.

By the sounds of it even tho it is ridiculous just don't bother charging unless you can do for free or they cover it. Because if they are covering your fuel card and you are saving tax regardless why on earth would you pay yourself to charge? It's out of pocket for no reason. Yes that goes against my personal view point but end of day what's best for you and until your company pay for charging got to do what's best for you and your family

 

[PNWokingham]

the 2030 ban is apparently coming back under new bosses yet many manufacturers are backtracking on their move to electric - Ford the latest

Time to get rid of the stupid forced dates and let the market do what it does best. We all know that electric will end up cheaper anyway in a few years but don't nanny-state force people into things they don't want.

Ford: going all-electric in Europe by 2030 was "too ambitious" | Autocar

Ford developing new hybrids after EV-only strategy deemed "not a good choice for our business or our customers"

www.autocar.co.uk

 

[stevied]

Right... we are headed to North Devon. Family has booked a cottage in the middle of nowhere. Obviously has no EV charging on site nor in the village or the next village. My BIL drives a Tesla and looks like there is a Tesla 'destination charger' at a wedding manor about 20 mins drive. Assuming there is no wedding guest using it, he can use it. I will need to either download the Tesla app or drive 40 mins to Barnstaple to find something. First real test of my BMW EV.

Its also not going to get there in one charge, so need to plan a break according to charger rather than comfort.

Where are you coming from? I just did cambridge to Cornwall in the Jaaag and used the Tesla chargers at cribbs causeway just past Bristol. Then granny charged at the holiday home . Stopped at cribbs on the way back. No issues at all and no longer journey than had i driven my old ice car.

 

[Mandofred]

Moving to a new house in the next couple of weeks. Been killing myself trying to decide between a new battery lawn mower or a new petrol. Had a few beers a couple of days ago during Prime day....bought a butt kicking petrol. Overkill. Yep. But a couple of years ago I bought a top of the line battery brushcutter from Dewalt....broke it twice and then sold it and bought a Stihl fs 131...magic.

 

[Mudball]

Moving to a new house in the next couple of weeks. Been killing myself trying to decide between a new battery lawn mower or a new petrol. Had a few beers a couple of days ago during Prime day....bought a butt kicking petrol. Overkill. Yep. But a couple of years ago I bought a top of the line battery brushcutter from Dewalt....broke it twice and then sold it and bought a Stihl fs 131...magic.

To be on this thread, I think you probably need a lawn mower with a longer range than that

 

[Mudball]

Where are you coming from? I just did cambridge to Cornwall in the Jaaag and used the Tesla chargers at cribbs causeway just past Bristol. Then granny charged at the holiday home . Stopped at cribbs on the way back. No issues at all and no longer journey than had i driven my old ice car.

coming from Londn/Surrey way... Will be on the 303 and i guess that i will lose a lot of time and charge due to the rubber necks at Stonehenge. Absolutely hate that road..

 

[PJ87]

coming from Londn/Surrey way... Will be on the 303 and i guess that i will lose a lot of time and charge due to the rubber necks at Stonehenge. Absolutely hate that road..

You will lose less charge as you will be traveling at a lower speed. When the a406 is at a standstill and the car crawls home I average 6 miles per kw instead of 4.5

 

[cliveb]

coming from Londn/Surrey way... Will be on the 303 and i guess that i will lose a lot of time and charge due to the rubber necks at Stonehenge. Absolutely hate that road..

Drove from Devon to Herts today, and the chaos leading to Stonehenge was the worst I've ever known.

I found myself thinking (admittedly for the first time) "forget building a tunnel, just knock down Stonehenge".

 

[Mudball]

Drove from Devon to Herts today, and the chaos leading to Stonehenge was the worst I've ever known.

I found myself thinking (admittedly for the first time) "forget building a tunnel, just knock down Stonehenge".

A friend is a local and a tree hugger.. and in her view, they should just build the tunnel. Even she does not see the point in the objection any more ..

If this was in China, it would probably have a 3 six lane highways under and on the sides and an airport

 

[Fade and Die]

A friend is a local and a tree hugger.. and in her view, they should just build the tunnel. Even she does not see the point in the objection any more ..

If this was in China, it would probably have a 3 six lane highways under and on the sides and an airport

I don’t understand why anyone is so precious about it, over the years there have been various rebuilding projects on it, the uprights were footed in concrete, the fallen lintels put back up…

Excavation and Restoration: Stonehenge in the 1950s and 60s

The years between 1950 and 1964 saw an explosion of research and conservation activity at Stonehenge, and restoration made the world's most famous prehistoric monument much easier to understand.

www.english-heritage.org.uk

Anyway I drove past it two weeks ago and it was a doddle…



The benefits of having grown up kids

 

[jim8flog]

coming from Londn/Surrey way... Will be on the 303 and i guess that i will lose a lot of time and charge due to the rubber necks at Stonehenge. Absolutely hate that road..

I reckon I have spent weeks if not months in the slow traffic on that road.

I used to know a way round it but sadly since GPS even that way is now crowded, particularly most noticeable is the lorries using it and it has several sections of single track road.

When I first moved here the local section was still single carriageway and getting from one side to the other on Friday nights and Saturday mornings was hell. My neighbour got a life time ban for the accident he caused trying to get across.

They are only now changing one section near me from single carriageway to dual and it will not be completed until 2025.

 

[cliveb]

I reckon I have spent weeks if not months in the slow traffic on that road.

I used to know a way round it but sadly since GPS even that way is now crowded, particularly most noticeable is the lorries using it and it has several sections of single track road.

When I first moved here the local section was still single carriageway and getting from one side to the other on Friday nights and Saturday mornings was hell. My neighbour got a life time ban for the accident he caused trying to get across.

They are only now changing one section near me from single carriageway to dual and it will not be completed until 2025.

The only bit of the 303 I'm aware of that's being dualled is a 3 mile stretch near Sparkford. That's miles from Stonehenge. Every little helps, of course, but doing something at Stonehenge is the most urgent thing needed on the 303.