The all things EV chat thread

pauljames87

Journeyman Pro
Joined
Apr 1, 2016
Messages
19,217
Location
Havering
Visit site
My wife was forced to swap her company car from an audi diesel to a tesla. We save an absolute fortune on fuel. I mainly drive this car and I'm at least £200 a month better off on my own. My colleague has leased a Citroën electric car with a range of 160miles. He's worked out it will pretty much paid for itself in fuel.
Also, electric cars drive better. They're alot smoother, quieter and more responsive

Also less moving parts so less serviceable parts.. meaning cheaper to service

Instant power aswell so you can see leafs giving a lot of cars a run for their money if the drivers wanted

I'm getting electric for 2 reasons

1 I save on fuel .. brings my commute cost down

2 the talk of congestion charge to the north circular.. electric cars would be free until December 2025 so would really kick the can down the road
 

Neilds

Assistant Pro
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
3,544
Location
Wiltshire
Visit site
If you charged every night on the cheap 5p tariff where you get 4 hours cheap

You could constantly top up your battery to keep it at max level..

Charging 4 hours at 7kw on the charge points at 5p would cost £1.40

Now I don't think your commute would even need the full 4 hour charge personally ... So maybe even £1

£7 a week for fully 4 hour charging a night

£28 a month

That's cheap
All good in theory but I was hoping someone would come and quote real life figures. Just as the range is nowhere near what manufacturers claim (same as mpg) is the cost really as cheap as what is quoted. And not for 3-4 mile commutes that maybe should be done on foot or cycle (different subject) but daily drives of between 50 and 100 miles which would be more representative of what I would need
 

hovis

Tour Winner
Joined
Aug 13, 2010
Messages
6,256
Visit site
All good in theory but I was hoping someone would come and quote real life figures. Just as the range is nowhere near what manufacturers claim (same as mpg) is the cost really as cheap as what is quoted. And not for 3-4 mile commutes that maybe should be done on foot or cycle (different subject) but daily drives of between 50 and 100 miles which would be more representative of what I would need
I've done the maths and it works out that the cost of the electric is around 1/3. So if you get through £300 of diesel your looking at £100 of electricity instead. But I charge up at work and at the belfry. All free

You can get an app for your charge point and it gives you a real breakdown of costs
 
Last edited:

Neilds

Assistant Pro
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
3,544
Location
Wiltshire
Visit site
I've done the maths and it works out that the cost of the electric is around 1/3. So if you get through £300 of diesel your looking at £100 of electricity instead. But I charge up at work and at the belfry. All free
Where I work there aren’t chargers and they don’t have plans to fit them so unfortunately it looks like it is still a no from me☹️
 

pauljames87

Journeyman Pro
Joined
Apr 1, 2016
Messages
19,217
Location
Havering
Visit site
All good in theory but I was hoping someone would come and quote real life figures. Just as the range is nowhere near what manufacturers claim (same as mpg) is the cost really as cheap as what is quoted. And not for 3-4 mile commutes that maybe should be done on foot or cycle (different subject) but daily drives of between 50 and 100 miles which would be more representative of what I would need

I drive 50 miles a day

You can set the charge to charge only at cheap times

Plug in every night like I said .. £1.40 for the full 4 hours

That will easily do the milage needed

If you charged at full rate of 15p the 64kw battery that does 250-301 miles is £9.60

But it's completely different from normal car ownership .. you do fill up nightly

You programe it to charge when it's cheap

On some chargers you can say right my tarif is this .. I want 100 mile charge at 4am Monday and it's Wednesday .. plug it in...then it will only charge at the cheap times and get to that figure

When do you do this with a normal car?

Full charge at the cheap rate £3.20.. at full rate 9.60

For a full charge of the 64kw battery I'm looking at is 9 hours .... Say you plug in 9pm and charge straight away 4 of those 9 hours will be £1.4 the other 5 will be £5.25 so that's £6.65 for 250 mile charge ........

But again when will you do this every night .. maybe once a week if I did a full week at work then charged

But I'll do my 50 miles .. plug in.. say only charge at cheap times and it will replace those 50 miles .

That's the difference and cost.

For reference my hrv gets 350-400 to a tank .. £50 ISH to fill up

My seat gets 600 odd miles to a tank £70 ISH

So even if I charge at full whack, and only got 200 miles it would slash my petrol and diesel costs dramatically
 
Last edited:

Neilds

Assistant Pro
Joined
Feb 25, 2014
Messages
3,544
Location
Wiltshire
Visit site
Can't you charge at home?
Yes I could but that would cost me. A lot of examples you read, including on this thread say that they save loads of money but mainly this is charging for free at work so for me this would be a false economy. Unless I could charge free at work it wouldn’t be cost effective for the extra outlay of purchase. And that is before factoring on the monthly 200 mile each way trip to visit family (post lockdown - obviously ?)
 

bobmac

Major Champion
Joined
Feb 2, 2009
Messages
27,475
Location
Lincolnshire
Visit site
If you currently drive an ICE car that does 50mpg, 10,000 miles will cost you roughly £1,150 in fuel.

The equivalent electric car when charged at home will cost you £250
 

Hobbit

Mordorator
Moderator
Joined
Sep 11, 2011
Messages
18,613
Location
Espana
Visit site
If you currently drive an ICE car that does 50mpg, 10,000 miles will cost you roughly £1,150 in fuel.

The equivalent electric car when charged at home will cost you £250

For the sake of easy numbers, lets just say there's £1k difference. 10 years = £10k. But if the purchase price differential is £10k, or more for the Peugeot, where is the saving?
 

need_my_wedge

Has Now Found His Wedgie
Joined
Sep 3, 2007
Messages
6,645
Location
Kingdom of Fife
Visit site
For the sake of easy numbers, lets just say there's £1k difference. 10 years = £10k. But if the purchase price differential is £10k, or more for the Peugeot, where is the saving?

The Peugeot is a lease, and will cost me £17 a month more than the car it's replacing. If comparing car for car, we lose a little space, and the price per month is slightly higher, although replacing like for like will cost me a couple of quid extra as well, so maybe £10 a difference per month, which equates to £120 per year. Based on the 10K figures above, stand to save £700+ per year over a replacement diesel.
 

pauljames87

Journeyman Pro
Joined
Apr 1, 2016
Messages
19,217
Location
Havering
Visit site
Yes I could but that would cost me. A lot of examples you read, including on this thread say that they save loads of money but mainly this is charging for free at work so for me this would be a false economy. Unless I could charge free at work it wouldn’t be cost effective for the extra outlay of purchase. And that is before factoring on the monthly 200 mile each way trip to visit family (post lockdown - obviously ?)

Wouldn't cost you much to charge at home tho. As my costed example showed.
 

bobmac

Major Champion
Joined
Feb 2, 2009
Messages
27,475
Location
Lincolnshire
Visit site
EVs are not for everyone yet.
Some can't afford a new one, some need more range, some can't charge at home, some just like the noise of a V8.
But things are changing, you only have to look at the car adverts on TV..... they are mostly hybrid or fully electric.

Oil and gas prices will continue to rise as they run out (don't even mention fracking) and renewable energy costs will continue to fall as more solar farms and wind turbines come on line. So cleaner, cheaper, renewable energy and fun cars to drive.

The next 5 years are going to be very interesting, I can't wait.
 

pauljames87

Journeyman Pro
Joined
Apr 1, 2016
Messages
19,217
Location
Havering
Visit site
For the sake of easy numbers, lets just say there's £1k difference. 10 years = £10k. But if the purchase price differential is £10k, or more for the Peugeot, where is the saving?

Lot of people lease now where the cost is a lot less, also you get benefits on company car for going electric etc

Deal I found was £450 pm on a Peugeot 208 which includes

Insurance
Car
Service and maintenance
Tyres
1000 miles of charging at polar charge points

£5,400 a year for everything

That isn't terrible
 

bobmac

Major Champion
Joined
Feb 2, 2009
Messages
27,475
Location
Lincolnshire
Visit site

jim8flog

Journeyman Pro
Joined
May 20, 2017
Messages
14,688
Location
Yeovil
Visit site
Only reason I want the Kona is the 301 mile (250) range

It looks amazing aswell

Kia niro aswell another that looks good and has high range

I want the range so it can become my proper car whilst we keep the 7 seater for the family

make sue you give the Kona a good test drive. I had one as a loan car for a day and by the time I returned it my back was killing me.
 

jim8flog

Journeyman Pro
Joined
May 20, 2017
Messages
14,688
Location
Yeovil
Visit site
''SVOLT, based in Changzhou, China, has announced that it has manufactured cobalt-free batteries designed for the EV market. Aside from reducing the rare earth metals, the company is claiming that they have a higher energy density, which could result in ranges of up to 800km (500 miles) for electric cars.''

https://www.pocket-lint.com/gadgets...in-seconds-last-months-and-power-over-the-air

The cobalt free bit will please those that are ECO friendly. Look up how cobalt is sourced if you do not know.
 

jim8flog

Journeyman Pro
Joined
May 20, 2017
Messages
14,688
Location
Yeovil
Visit site
One thing I have seen little of in this thread is a reference to service costs

Electric car check the tyres and check the brakes. No oil, filters etc.
 

need_my_wedge

Has Now Found His Wedgie
Joined
Sep 3, 2007
Messages
6,645
Location
Kingdom of Fife
Visit site
One thing I have seen little of in this thread is a reference to service costs

Electric car check the tyres and check the brakes. No oil, filters etc.

I questioned this when I was meeting initially, whilst no engine oil there are additional checks such as battery cooling fluid and systems. The service interval is 16000 miles or two years, cost included in the lease plan.
 

Whereditgo

Journeyman Pro
Joined
Mar 24, 2009
Messages
2,177
Location
East Yorkshire, UK
Visit site
The Mrs runs a hybrid and charges at home overnight which is enough charge to get her to work and back each day, around 25 miles each way. We've done the costing comparison and putting aside the higher purchase price of the car and looking at purely fuel costs there is a huge saving over the petrol costs, but in terms of energy usage there is very little difference, the savings are really only there owing to the differing taxation on the fuels.

Putting aside the environmental debate as this discussion is purely about the costs.

As more and more vehicles are able to use electricity, either partly or wholly, there will be a huge reduction in funds going into the treasury. I can foresee the electricity being used for electric vehicle charging being sub-metered and charged at a different rate to recoup some or all of the shortfall.
 

pauljames87

Journeyman Pro
Joined
Apr 1, 2016
Messages
19,217
Location
Havering
Visit site
make sue you give the Kona a good test drive. I had one as a loan car for a day and by the time I returned it my back was killing me.

If you had for a day did you play around with the lumbar support much? The Kona electric is suppose to have the most range of driving positions on the electric range ATM
 
Top