The all things EV chat thread

[PJ87]

Well I think I've made the decision, I've provisionally booked "leshuttle" for Disneyland Paris.

Discussed with the wife. We both leaned towards the Eurostar for the fact it has toilets on board...however since their decision to end direct trains to Disneyland coupled with closing Ashford and ebbsfleet means we have to take 2 trains and a bus to kings cross before 2 trains to Disney. Not too much faff but it's more luggage and small kids. Also being 5 of us their tables are for 4.. so one will be shunted on their own.

So with toilets being the only downside of driving we provisionally booked it.. @adasko taken what you said on board and gone for the flexibility of the flexible short stay. Costs more but least we aren't governed by timings.

@Lord Tyrion when we found the cruise from Southampton we said to my parents we should do that as my dad's knees aren't great . They were up for it but my sister vetoed it as her and her husband want to do Paris (easy with a 2 year old who will be left with me mum lol) so to keep the peace I agreed to stick to the original plan. Driving seems to be one less stress of them walking around like you say lol

Ordered a tag thing for the tolls last night. Free with the tunnel.. apparently great for right hand drive cars not having to stop for the toll roads and then just billed

 

[Lord Tyrion]

@PJ87 I love Euro Disney, Disney in Orlando is another level again but definitely wait for double digits on that one. My bit of advice for the parks, don't try to cram everything in, don't over do it. If the kids are tired, take them away. It's a great place though, even the shops make you smile, but boy will they cost you

Have you driven in Europe before?

 

[PJ87]

@PJ87 I love Euro Disney, Disney in Orlando is another level again but definitely wait for double digits on that one. My bit of advice for the parks, don't try to cram everything in, don't over do it. If the kids are tired, take them away. It's a great place though, even the shops make you smile, but boy will they cost you

Have you driven in Europe before?

Driven in space a few times however was a rental car so was on the opposite side. Seemed very much straightforward, apart from when in Spain someone missed the turning on the roundabout and just reversed back lol

Yeah we there for 3 nights. My sister is up for cramming it all in but my wife takes no nonsense... She puts her foot down

 

[LCW]

So I have posted in here previously a few years ago about the ludicrous costs of EV's and how i'd probably never end up in one, well.......

My 12 plate high miler (150k) 3 series is about close to its end of life. Its not worth very much in car terms (about £1200) and it has served me well, only really wear and tear things that I have had to replace. Seeing as a do circa 20k miles a year its been a great investment. I get the nagging feeling that the future bills big are coming & it will just not make sense to plow the money into it plus that its probably going to let me down reliability wise at some point when i need it most. Given that I have been researching and the used car market and its just mental at the moment for all cars.

I have been doing the sums of purchase price, insurance, fuel, tax, servicing etc and importantly rough guides over depreciation on a range of cars age and cost wise. I don't really have a brand or model that I was particularly interested in so i was looking from things like a diesel ford focus a newer 3 series to an Audi Q3 or Volvo XC40; things with a bit of tech that had a decent MPG from the oil burner. I hadn't event bothered looking at EV's with my perceived cost of insurance plus insane purchase costs. Out of curiosity at the end of all my research I did the same on a EV & have come to the conclusion that a 3 year old tesla model 3 LR with the heat pump seems a pretty decent purchase at the moment. I have seen 71 plates with well under 40k miles going for about 21-23k and the insurance for me and the wife given my miles is only £120 more than what I pay for the BMW. Seeing as the tesla was nearly 50k 3 years ago its a major drop for the level of tech you get and the cost of fueling/charging. I would have to factor in things like getting a charger at home and switching to octopus as well as I believe but correct me if wrong going through tires a little quicker.

What are peoples thoughts currently on a purchase like this. Is there anything I should be worried about or looking for? A quick google & people really enjoy the SR+ with the LPF battery but that range just does not suit me id be nervous it wouldn't get me over 220 miles on a poor weather day, a round trip which I do quite regularly which i don't want to stop and charge on.

Thanks in advance

 

[adasko]

I did the same on a EV & have come to the conclusion that a 3 year old tesla model 3 LR with the heat pump seems a pretty decent purchase at the moment. I have seen 71 plates with well under 40k miles going for about 21-23k and the insurance for me and the wife given my miles is only £120 more than what I pay for the BMW. Seeing as the tesla was nearly 50k 3 years ago its a major drop for the level of tech you get and the cost of fueling/charging. I would have to factor in things like getting a charger at home and switching to octopus as well as I believe but correct me if wrong going through tires a little quicker.

What are peoples thoughts currently on a purchase like this. Is there anything I should be worried about or looking for? A quick google & people really enjoy the SR+ with the LPF battery but that range just does not suit me id be nervous it wouldn't get me over 220 miles on a poor weather day, a round trip which I do quite regularly which i don't want to stop and charge on.

Thanks in advance

I have model 3 RWD 2023 model. Regarding tyres I've changed rear ones after 40k front ones should last me till 70/80k.
I can only answer about LFP batteries, there was a change over on those. I think beginning of 2022 Tesla introduce RWD model replacing SR+ with a slightly bigger batteries.
My daily drive is 70 to 90 miles and normally getting home with 65/70% left. Most I did on single charge was 260 miles.
220 miles is easy achievable even in winter but it all depends from your style of driving and what roads you using.
If you precondition car before the journey outside temp doesn't matter. Bigger impact makes surface and tyres rolling .
I wrote few posts back about my 3k miles journey to Poland, I am/was one of those people that drove for as long as possible without the any stop.
Was pleasantly surprised that after 4 days in the car and break every couple of hours I didn't felt as tired when got home.
If anyone is interested I can get exact times how long it took to drive and charge through the whole journey but when I compered with my mate who is doing similar journey annually in ICE it was almost same time.
Only difference was he does less brakes but longer.

 

[adasko]

So with toilets being the only downside of driving we provisionally booked it..

There are toilets on the train as well

 

[PJ87]

There are toilets on the train as well

Yeah that will sort us until France, will need a charge the other side for sure so tie in with a toilet / lunch break and we are golden

 

[PJ87]

So I have posted in here previously a few years ago about the ludicrous costs of EV's and how i'd probably never end up in one, well.......

My 12 plate high miler (150k) 3 series is about close to its end of life. Its not worth very much in car terms (about £1200) and it has served me well, only really wear and tear things that I have had to replace. Seeing as a do circa 20k miles a year its been a great investment. I get the nagging feeling that the future bills big are coming & it will just not make sense to plow the money into it plus that its probably going to let me down reliability wise at some point when i need it most. Given that I have been researching and the used car market and its just mental at the moment for all cars.

I have been doing the sums of purchase price, insurance, fuel, tax, servicing etc and importantly rough guides over depreciation on a range of cars age and cost wise. I don't really have a brand or model that I was particularly interested in so i was looking from things like a diesel ford focus a newer 3 series to an Audi Q3 or Volvo XC40; things with a bit of tech that had a decent MPG from the oil burner. I hadn't event bothered looking at EV's with my perceived cost of insurance plus insane purchase costs. Out of curiosity at the end of all my research I did the same on a EV & have come to the conclusion that a 3 year old tesla model 3 LR with the heat pump seems a pretty decent purchase at the moment. I have seen 71 plates with well under 40k miles going for about 21-23k and the insurance for me and the wife given my miles is only £120 more than what I pay for the BMW. Seeing as the tesla was nearly 50k 3 years ago its a major drop for the level of tech you get and the cost of fueling/charging. I would have to factor in things like getting a charger at home and switching to octopus as well as I believe but correct me if wrong going through tires a little quicker.

What are peoples thoughts currently on a purchase like this. Is there anything I should be worried about or looking for? A quick google & people really enjoy the SR+ with the LPF battery but that range just does not suit me id be nervous it wouldn't get me over 220 miles on a poor weather day, a round trip which I do quite regularly which i don't want to stop and charge on.

Thanks in advance

If you are more comfortable with the longer range of the model 3 long range it's worth getting because then it will put those fears to the back of your mind rather than play on.

Octopus and home charging worth it for sure.

Tyres are much of a much , depends how you drive your car. With a Tesla the servicing costs are mainly the tyres and wipers as it doesn't need regular serving.

3 year old seems to be the way to go with them as a wash of lease cars have hit the market and the prices are favourable for buyers

Charger wise octopus can set you up for around £1000 if no upgrade work needed to the consumer united. An ohme pro will work with all smart tariffs

How do you feel about touch screens as Tesla is all from the touch screen

 

[larmen]

The last time I drive to France was about 15 years ago but toilets were interesting’. More hole in the ground than we are used to.

 

[PJ87]

The last time I drive to France was about 15 years ago but toilets were interesting’. More hole in the ground than we are used to.

We will take the potty and a picnic rug to go round the kids lol

 

[PJ87]

Wow I can safely say I never thought I'd see anti ev GB news come out with a positive EV article

Electric car batteries last 20 years or more and can 'comfortably outlast the usable life of the vehicle'

Switching to an electric car could save businesses £13,279 per vehicle over seven years

www.gbnews.com

New research has found that electric vehicle batteries can last for 20 years or more and can outlast the usable life of a vehicle, quashing fears of battery issues.

Following battery health analysis of around 5,000 electric vehicles, it was found that batteries have a degradation rate of just 1.8 per cent per year.

Representing 1.5 million days worth of data, the average battery health has improved by 22 per cent over the past five years when degradation was at 2.3 per cent in 2019.

The analysis, from transport solutions company Geotab, said the degradation was generally slower than internal combustion engine (ICE) drivetrain components.

Degradation is natural in batteries, with the Geotab analysis showing that some of the best-performing electric vehicle models have a degradation rate of just one per cent.

This could be down to superior battery chemistry, the thermal management of the battery pack and how much stress the battery is under based on usage.

One insight from the research is that high-use electric vehicles did not show significantly higher battery degradation than others, boosting EV confidence with fleets.

David Savage, Vice President for the UK and Ireland at Geotab, said: "With these higher levels of sustained health, batteries in the latest EV models will comfortably outlast the usable life of the vehicle and will likely not need to be replaced.

"However, we still see battery reliability being used as a stick to beat EVs with. Hopefully, data like ours can finally put these myths to bed.

"The fact is that a 1.8 per cent decline in battery health is unlikely to have a significant impact on most driver’s daily vehicle needs, and this number will only come down further with new EV models and improved battery technology."

He added that people "should feel confident" that many current electric vehicles are suitable and cost-effective to replace their existing petrol and diesel vehicles.

Experts predict that degradation rates will continue to fall in the coming years as battery technology improves, which will be welcomed by drivers.

Data from earlier this year found that two-thirds of cars and vans operated by private and public sector organisations in the UK are ready to go electric

 

[LCW]

If you are more comfortable with the longer range of the model 3 long range it's worth getting because then it will put those fears to the back of your mind rather than play on.

Octopus and home charging worth it for sure.

Tyres are much of a much , depends how you drive your car. With a Tesla the servicing costs are mainly the tyres and wipers as it doesn't need regular serving.

3 year old seems to be the way to go with them as a wash of lease cars have hit the market and the prices are favourable for buyers

Charger wise octopus can set you up for around £1000 if no upgrade work needed to the consumer united. An ohme pro will work with all smart tariffs

How do you feel about touch screens as Tesla is all from the touch screen

Yeah pretty much where I am at with it really, think I will go for a test drive in a LR version. My only issue is a basically want a Red one which look to be the rarest as I think unless I am mistaken this was the most expensive color option at the time. I do not want a white car which culls a chunk of the market to me so I will have to be diligent.

The touch screen is part of the appeal for me, I am a software developer so its completely my bag albeit I do systems for aircrafts and submarines these days. So it will be interesting to see how this all works and how tesla keep the continuous updates coming and tweaking the UX.

 

[PJ87]

Yeah pretty much where I am at with it really, think I will go for a test drive in a LR version. My only issue is a basically want a Red one which look to be the rarest as I think unless I am mistaken this was the most expensive color option at the time. I do not want a white car which culls a chunk of the market to me so I will have to be diligent.

The touch screen is part of the appeal for me, I am a software developer so its completely my bag albeit I do systems for aircrafts and submarines these days. So it will be interesting to see how this all works and how tesla keep the continuous updates coming and tweaking the UX.

Ah you seem to be the perfect aim for the cars today then ! Lots of people are put off by them. No worries there

White you are correct because was the standard option the majority of leases will have been white so you get massive amounts of stock of them

Might see one come up on auto trader, I saw 37 on there in 2021 but not all long range

Always worth a look I find

I bought the wife's Kona off auto trader, lovely little dealer who delivered it on a flatbed to my work and I drove it home from there

 

[harpo_72]

The last time I drive to France was about 15 years ago but toilets were interesting’. More hole in the ground than we are used to.

We called them Dick Turpins … because you had to stand and deliver

 

[PJ87]

Call from Hyundai upminster comes in about the wife's Kona

Mot passed with 2 advisories (both just tyres down to 4mm) he said depends on your milage (she does 3000 a year if that so he said don't worry then)

Coolant changed on the car (early EVs had this expensive coolant that was proven to not be needed. Managed to get that changed at half the price by a bit of luck)

Only extra I ended up paying was to service the air conditioning, clean and regas .. whilst it's there just get it done

Wife's cars very simple. Mot and service every year

Doesn't help having a lovely pub right next door as next year I just know I'll be going there for lunch whilst they mot and service it!

Her car is very rigid 10,000 miles or 1 year service

Mine less so. (Because they have proven not to need doing)

20,000 miles or 2 years so I'll have the free inspection at 10,000 that came with the car and then the free first service and I'll be done with Kia as found a guy that will service at work or home for me and keeps the Kia warranty valid

 

[harpo_72]

I have totally relaxed my range chasing and I am now pre conditioning before the school run plus using the heated seats to loosen those glutes before golf.
I am also using a hard acceleration to target speed and then hold to limit tactic .. so I am wondering if this is draining faster? Who knows it is fun though.

 

[Mudball]

this is @PJ87 level rant.. (but fair)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1838190357659496869

 

[Arthur Wedge]

this is @PJ87 level rant.. (but fair)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1838190357659496869

For some reason he appears to be the stereotypical EV user


Why do they need a canopy plug in , sit in car whilst it charges or sit and have a coffee

 

[cliveb]

Why do they need a canopy plug in , sit in car whilst it charges or sit and have a coffee

I'm guessing that handling stuff carrying high voltage electricity in the wet might be considered a little bit of a H&S issue?

 

[Arthur Wedge]

I'm guessing that handling stuff carrying high voltage electricity in the wet might be considered a little bit of a H&S issue?

I would hope it wouldn’t be with the way chargers are and being in the open and also with the cars - if you can’t in the rain it’s going to be a bit useless and I guess most people home chargers are out in the open