The all things EV chat thread

[road2ruin]

We have a Golf and Polo Ludicrous sized saloons/coupes/estates/SUVs in the road. And of course the obligatory Land and Range Rovers.

It's not just the 'ludicrous sized saloons.....' etc etc. Just look at the size of the original Golf, Polo etc and the present size. I'd imagine both are considerably bigger.

 

[Imurg]

It's not just the 'ludicrous sized saloons.....' etc etc. Just look at the size of the original Golf, Polo etc and the present size. I'd imagine both are considerably bigger.

The Polo has been bigger than the original golf for about 10 years.....

 

[KenL]

The Polo has been bigger than the original golf for about 10 years.....

Another thing that highlights how stupidly over-sized cars like large Range Rovers are.

 

[clubchamp98]

It's not just the 'ludicrous sized saloons.....' etc etc. Just look at the size of the original Golf, Polo etc and the present size. I'd imagine both are considerably bigger.

It’s all the safety equipment apparently.
All the electronics and hardware has made cars bigger.
Whether that’s true I don’t know but it’s logical.

 

[BubbaP]

It’s all the safety equipment apparently.
All the electronics and hardware has made cars bigger.
Whether that’s true I don’t know but it’s logical.

Maybe partly, but felt a lot was the marketing side - the new model needed to be x% more spacious , y% more boot space, etc.
Bit like golf clubs!

 

[WorldHandicapSystem]

Nail on head. Modern cars are far too big. We manage fine with a Fiesta and a Citigo.

How much stuff and tall people do you need to move around?

Try getting a driver plus two or three 6ft passengers and associated golf/cricket/ski/football gear in one of your cars and be comfortable for a journey of more than 5 minutes. Or suitcases for a family of 4.

My estate is the same footprint as the previous generation Range Rover and it’s just about big enough with careful packing. The bigger cars also tend to be more suited to and more comfortable on longer journeys. Anything over 10 miles in either of your cars on a regular basis would become irritating.

 

[KenL]

How much stuff and tall people do you need to move around?

Try getting a driver plus two or three 6ft passengers and associated golf/cricket/ski/football gear in one of your cars and be comfortable for a journey of more than 5 minutes. Or suitcases for a family of 4.

My estate is the same footprint as the previous generation Range Rover and it’s just about big enough with careful packing. The bigger cars also tend to be more suited to and more comfortable on longer journeys. Anything over 10 miles in either of your cars on a regular basis would become irritating.

Sounds like you actually have a need and have chosen wisely. Estate cars have massive boots compared SUVs.

My main gripe is that the majority of 3 tonne monsters are only used for 1 person to take up 2 parking spaces or perhaps to drop little Barnaby or Penelope at primary.

 

[WorldHandicapSystem]

Sounds like you actually have a need and have chosen wisely. Estate cars have massive boots compared SUVs.

My main gripe is that the majority of 3 tonne monsters are only used for 1 person to take up 2 parking spaces or perhaps to drop little Barnaby or Penelope at primary.

You don’t know what the majority of those cars are being used for. Most of the journeys I take are on my own. It doesn’t mean I don’t need the space.
I know a few people with larger SUVs and they all have them for similar reasons to me. None are just because they are big and expensive. Some will be of course, but it’s wrong to assume.

It depends on the SUV. The smaller ones have boots comparable to mine, between 450 and 500 litres. The large ones are massive, often well over 700litres. Modern hybrids suffer from the battery being under the boot taking up a lot of the depth.

I’m still toying with the idea of an ID7. I should have ordered one in January really. Now I’m waiting for the new reg models to be released on my company car scheme. If they don’t work out cost wise. Then a disgusting large 4x4 is on the cards next year when the wife’s car needs replacing.

 

[KenL]

Mate has an id7, he’s very happy with it.

 

[WorldHandicapSystem]

Mate has an id7, he’s very happy with it.

A couple have arrived with lads at work and they look great. Both love them. I regret not ordering one back in January.

 

[KenL]

A couple have arrived with lads at work and they look great. Both love them. I regret not ordering one back in January.

My mate got one pretty quick through a leasing company, says it is amazing value.

 

[cliveb]

It’s all the safety equipment apparently.
All the electronics and hardware has made cars bigger.
Whether that’s true I don’t know but it’s logical.

The safety aspect affecting size is to do with crash-worthiness. Modern cars have bigger crumple zones. So although the outside of the car is bigger, the inside isn't.
I once had a V-reg Fiesta and could fit my trolley and cart bag in the boot no problem. You can't do that in a newer Fiesta, even though it's a bigger car.

Sounds like you actually have a need and have chosen wisely. Estate cars have massive boots compared SUVs.

The boots in estate cars aren't really bigger in litres, but they have a more practical layout. An estate's boot has a large footprint and limited height; SUVs are the other way round. It's a crying shame that manufacturers seem to have abandoned small estates.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

The safety aspect affecting size is to do with crash-worthiness. Modern cars have bigger crumple zones. So although the outside of the car is bigger, the inside isn't.
I once had a V-reg Fiesta and could fit my trolley and cart bag in the boot no problem. You can't do that in a newer Fiesta, even though it's a bigger car.

The boots in estate cars aren't really bigger in litres, but they have a more practical layout. An estate's boot has a large footprint and limited height; SUVs are the other way round. It's a crying shame that manufacturers seem to have abandoned small estates.

Some companies still do them, but not many. It all comes down to poor volume of sales forcing model removal.
My CX5 is about 6 cm wider and 10cm longer than my Mazda 3 I had before. I only changed it because I was struggling ot get out the 3 especially after golf, and thankfully I did change because I would have to change it now after my fall anyway.
The boot on the CX5 is also quite a bit bigger, and definately more verstatile.

 

[PJ87]

Some companies still do them, but not many. It all comes down to poor volume of sales forcing model removal.
My CX5 is about 6 cm wider and 10cm longer than my Mazda 3 I had before. I only changed it because I was struggling ot get out the 3 especially after golf, and thankfully I did change because I would have to change it now after my fall anyway.
The boot on the CX5 is also quite a bit bigger, and definately more verstatile.

A much overlooked point about the size of Cars these days is people are taller than previous generations, climbing into a car after golf rather than stepping down into one (unless it's a sports car and it's a choice) is much preferred and people just want what they want.

Car seats for kids take up masses of room aswell

 

[larmen]

The safety aspect affecting size is to do with crash-worthiness. Modern cars have bigger crumple zones. So although the outside of the car is bigger, the inside isn't.
I once had a V-reg Fiesta and could fit my trolley and cart bag in the boot no problem. You can't do that in a newer Fiesta, even though it's a bigger car.

The boots in estate cars aren't really bigger in litres, but they have a more practical layout. An estate's boot has a large footprint and limited height; SUVs are the other way round. It's a crying shame that manufacturers seem to have abandoned small estates.

Estates are not bigger, but more practical. Except if all the luggage is square. Maybe a dog cage goes into a Land Rover that wouldn’t go into an Octavia.

Same as underfloor storage for cables. Who really uses that when the boot is full or you have 3 crates of shopping on top of that?

It’s like the useless space under the eves the estate agent wants to talk up to raise the price.

 

[PJ87]

Parents are back from a week away in dorset. (They have a niro aswell, as the family trend setter they had to copy me) I've run their numbers

581 miles over a week

2 public paid charges (one down one back).

That cost £36.95

Then got home and paid £3.11 to fill back up

That's 7p per mile.

Massively helped as they 3 pin charged at my dad's cousins down there overnight twice and visited a local donkey sanctuary that had a free to use charger which was a nice touch

Not bad considering they had never public charged either. I talked them through it before they went and got updates throughout the week

No range anxiety and even ran it down until it told them to stop coming home when they topped up at reading

Very impressive

 

[Slime]

Just been to Wales and back, 395 miles @ 69.3mpg.
5.7 gallons = 25.9 litres @ £1.379ppl = £35.73 for 395 miles.
I make that 9p per mile .......................... and I've still got almost half a tank of fuel left.
It never even crossed my mind that I'd need to fill up, even when stuck in horribly long traffic jams.
Just saying.

 

[PJ87]

Just been to Wales and back, 395 miles @ 69.3mpg.
5.7 gallons = 25.9 litres @ £1.379ppl = £35.73 for 395 miles.
I make that 9p per mile .......................... and I've still got almost half a tank of fuel left.
It never even crossed my mind that I'd need to fill up, even when stuck in horribly long traffic jams.
Just saying.

Just a point when stuck in traffic jams EVs use next to bugger all electrics ... An ice car will burn fuel (unless engine off) but an EV will just tick over and the miles per kWh jump up ..when I get slow moving traffic home from work in a normal car the miles per gallon dropped dramatically but the miles per kWh jump from 4 to 6

 

[clubchamp98]

Been doing a lot of cycling lately and have noticed how noisy EVs are at speed.

I go down a cycle lane on a duel carriageway and the noise from EVs is worse than other cars at 60mph.
Is it the weight or harder tyres ?

There very quiet at low speed though and creep up on you.

I can tell it’s EV by the green on the plate.

 

[PJ87]

Been doing a lot of cycling lately and have noticed how noisy EVs are at speed.

I go down a cycle lane on a duel carriageway and the noise from EVs is worse than other cars at 60mph.
Is it the weight or harder tyres ?

There very quiet at low speed though and creep up on you.

I can tell it’s EV by the green on the plate.

Can you these days tho? Get a lot of people who think it's smart to put the green sticker on to park in charge bays lol but the exhaust and the fact their not charging gives them away