The all things EV chat thread

[bobmac]

The Kia EV6 isn't too bad, especially with the phone charger, start button and gear selector being so close together. Get in, put down your phone, start the car and select gear AND less obtrusive air vents (hate those things)

 

[PJ87]

New sport centres car park has finally opened

10 new charging spaces with 5 units (1 unit each side) podpoint ... Free of charge

However they painted 11 bays lol only 10 points double checked on app

Defo the way forward

 

[road2ruin]

I was planning on changing my car next year however with the wait list for new cars being so long (Mar/Apr 2022 being amongst the earliest) I have decided to start the process now.

I am likely to go all electric as we do fairly low mileage with the 'big car' and it's really only the annual trip to Cornwall that would take any sort of planning, the rest of the drives would easily be covered by a full charge.

This weekend we are off to test drive;

Hyundai Ioniq 5
Skoda Enyaq
VW ID.4
Audi Q4 e-tron

The Hyundai is my favourite at the moment although haven't sat in any of them yet, will see what the weekend brings.

First test drive done today, Hyundai Ioniq 5 Ultimate AWD. Really liked it, was like driving a spaceship. Also like the slightly retro look. Was surprising as well, all the pics make it look like a hatchback but it’s got a far bigger boot than our S4 Avant. Will go for the 305bhp version if I press the button.

Bar has been set high for the others!!

 

[PJ87]

First test drive done today, Hyundai Ioniq 5 Ultimate AWD. Really liked it, was like driving a spaceship. Also like the slightly retro look. Was surprising as well, all the pics make it look like a hatchback but it’s got a far bigger boot than our S4 Avant. Will go for the 305bhp version if I press the button.

Bar has been set high for the others!!

Keep us posted, very interested in all the models of ev.

Love driving mine just would like a little bigger

 

[Hobbit]

3 weeks into the Toyota Yaris hybrid. Fab on local runs at just under 80mpg but only marginally better on a couple of motorway runs over the weekend.

1.5 3 cylinder petrol engine with electric ‘on top.’ Most local journeys are 100% electric bar a couple of steep hills. It manages the hills fine but needs the petrol engine to kick in.

 

[PJ87]

3 weeks into the Toyota Yaris hybrid. Fab on local runs at just under 80mpg but only marginally better on a couple of motorway runs over the weekend.

1.5 3 cylinder petrol engine with electric ‘on top.’ Most local journeys are 100% electric bar a couple of steep hills. It manages the hills fine but needs the petrol engine to kick in.

We are way behind . All this banning after 2030 and 2035 we should have banned non hybrids years before and had more of a period with hybrid's as the option

I had my auris from 2012-2018 it never skipped a beat and was so efficient

 

[DavidOstrech]

''You’ll find electric charging bays at Tesco Extra and Tesco Superstore sites throughout the UK, the majority of which are free-to-use 7kW fast chargers. Other 22kW and 50kW rapid chargers are ‘priced in line with market rates’'

https://www.motoringelectric.com/charging/how-find-nearest-tesco-electric-charging-point/

Ecotricity, which provides charging points at all motorway services in the UK, charges about £6 for a 45-minute recharge with a rapid charger. In a Nissan Leaf, this should fill up the battery to 80% of its full range.

https://www.whatcar.com/advice/owning/electric-car-charging-guide/n18056

What if you want a charging device for your home with more than 11kW? It seems that, in my country (UK), you have to upgrade to three phase first, which is very very costly to do this.

"For charging speeds of 11kW or more, a household must have a three-phase electricity supply [...], costing between £3,000 and £15,000. "

Source

 

[PhilTheFragger]

What if you want a charging device for your home with more than 11kW? It seems that, in my country (UK), you have to upgrade to three phase first, which is very very costly to do this.

"For charging speeds of 11kW or more, a household must have a three-phase electricity supply [...], costing between £3,000 and £15,000. "

Source

This is incorrect, we are having a charger installed at our Office, which is currently 2 phase, they can do something with the consumer unit which makes it 3 phase and they are charging £68 plus VAT for it

 

[GreiginFife]

This is incorrect, we are having a charger installed at our Office, which is currently 2 phase, they can do something with the consumer unit which makes it 3 phase and they are charging £68 plus VAT for it

3 Phase to a commercial property is a different proposition to 3P to a domestic property.

I wanted to install a commercial cabinet saw in my workshop and was quoted £2500 for the work to give me a 3P capabiility.

 

[IanM]

No idea what any of the above means and everyone in our rural part of Monmouthshire will be sticking to diesel 4x4s for when it snows and we we need to do long journeys.

One hippy in our road installed a charger and it took half his street down. Western Power had to come out and upgrade a thingie so folk could eat!

 

[PhilTheFragger]

3 Phase to a commercial property is a different proposition to 3P to a domestic property.

I wanted to install a commercial cabinet saw in my workshop and was quoted £2500 for the work to give me a 3P capabiility.

Our office premises were originally domestic, until about 3 years ago when change of use was granted, so it figures that the leccy supply was also domestic and therefore easier to upgrade

 

[GreiginFife]

Our office premises were originally domestic, until about 3 years ago when change of use was granted, so it figures that the leccy supply was also domestic and therefore easier to upgrade

It's possible that, as part of the change of use, an upgraded supply to building was installed to enable each office to have it's own supply and therefore yes it would be easier and cheaper to upgrade as the infrastructure is there.
Upgrading to 3P isn't just a case of plugging a box in and away you go. If you are being charged £68 + vat for the infrastructure work that's involved then more power to your elbow but I'd be seriously questioning it.

My statement of work from when I enquired required a trench being dug from my home to the supply line, a 3P distribution box being installed on the outside of the building and a new CU for the workshop. £2100 + VAT was the total quote. Guy was saying that a property nearby in the village (an old rectory house) had an upgrade last year and it was £10k due to the length of the garden and the trenching required.

Good luck with the £80 odd quid box though.

 

[Fade and Die]

Our office premises were originally domestic, until about 3 years ago when change of use was granted, so it figures that the leccy supply was also domestic and therefore easier to upgrade

Only way to convert single phase to 3 phase is with a machine called a Rotary Converter. They are about £1000+
https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/p...257361_0,prmr:1,pid:15463986749900257361,cs:1

I suspect your premises already had 3 phase at the service head and you have just payed for a meter change. Although as Greig says you would need a 3 phase consumer unit which would be circa £1200.
Maybe your premises was a large house or a small block of flats?

 

[road2ruin]

Sorry about the length of this, thought it might be interesting to those who end up looking at some point!

So we’ve done it, we’ve pressed the button on a new EV although with the combination of demand and chip shortages it’s anyone’s guess as to when it will arrive. We have gone for a prebuilt version though rather than a factory build so that should cut down the waiting time. Officially it’s due in February 2022 however by the comments on FB there are a few who have ordered previous to us and are still waiting. That said we’re in no rush so if it comes a few months later than so be it.

The cars we ended up testing were….

Ford Mach E – really nice and probably would have been our favourite however having a 7 year old and a dog it just wasn’t really big enough where it mattered so wasn’t any good this time round.

Kia EV6 – again, nice looking car and probably one of the nicest I felt in terms of the front console however with the quite sloping roof the back felt a bit dark and domestic management wasn’t a fan despite it still being very roomy and personally I didn’t actually think it was that dark in the back.

VW ID4 – My least favourite, nothing particularly wrong with it but also nothing to get excited about. The one thing I have liked about the cars I’ve been testing is that being electric the dashboards all seem very futuristic and the VW felt too much like a ‘normal’ car. For some this might actually be preferential but just not for me. Also, no physical buttons, everything is touch sensitive or touch sliders so when you’re driving and being told to switch a mode from X to Y it was very difficult without looking down to see what you were doing!!

Skoda Enyaq – I have had a Skoda before, our previous car was an Octavia VRS and the things I didn’t really like about that car, unfortunately, were still present in this. It just felt a bit plasticky inside! Probably a pretty minor complaint but it’s something that I didn’t particularly like on the last car. It also suffered from a similar issue to the VW in that the front console was a little bland. That said it was probably my 2nd choice, cannot complain about anything in terms of space as it was absolutey huge inside and easily the biggest of those that I tested.

I didn’t end up testing the Audi eTron or the Tesla Model Y as whilst our budget could stretch it was only realistically to their entry level models.

So, the winner was the one that I hoped it would be, the Hyundai Ioniq 5. From the outside it looks like a pretty small crossover type thing, I was immediately concerned as I had hoped that when we saw it in the flesh it would bigger in real life however it really didn’t. Those fears were allayed as soon as you get in and sit inside, it’s really very large (although not Skoda large). The boot is about 10% bigger than our Audi’s and it doesn’t have a massively sloping roof which ours does which means there is more useable space. The back seats can slide forward which can increase the boot space and they also fold absolutely flat if needed, Hyundai actually sell an Ioniq 5 mattress if you fancy going camping in it!!

I’ve gone for the Ultimate Tech edition with the larger batter and AWD which gives about 302bhp so it feels quick. It’s got all the bells and whistles and whilst the range does suffer slightly it will be plenty for 95% of our journeys. The suggested range is 280 odd miles, I think in reality it’ll be closer to 240 but again, my longest (regular) journey is down to the folks on the south coast which is a 110 mile round trip so won’t have much in the way of range anxiety. The only journey that’ll take a bit of planning is our trip to Cornwall that we tend to do once a year, I’ll just have to find a nice eatery with local charging, apparently the 20-80% charging is around 45 minutes so a single stop will get us there.

So the one issue I do have is the home charging point, I was hoping to avoid having to do much in the way of prep work however that doesn’t appear to be the case. The jobs that I have to do are not expensive however they’re annoying as they require different agencies to do their bit and depending on what part you are doing you’ll find you are way down on the priority list!!

First job is that we have to upgrade the master fuse in the house as we presently have a 60A fuse, it is recommended to get 100A to ensure that you don’t shut off your electrics every time you plug your car in!! The issue with this is that we have to upgrade some bits in the meter box and this is the remit of your electricity company. When I spoke to them they were happy to do it however it’s not something that ranks highly on their ‘to do’ list so the earliest I can get booked in is towards the end of January. I then spoke to UK Power Networks who’ll do the fuse and they are quoting 6-8 weeks at present. I am trying to get a confirmed date from the electricity company and can then hopefully get UKPN booked in as their lead time is likely to fit in well with the meter work. Finally I can then get a charger put in, those lead times are 2-4 weeks! Like I said, nothing expensive but just annoying bits that take some chasing and organising.

 

[Ethan]

Sorry about the length of this, thought it might be interesting to those who end up looking at some point!

So we’ve done it, we’ve pressed the button on a new EV although with the combination of demand and chip shortages it’s anyone’s guess as to when it will arrive. We have gone for a prebuilt version though rather than a factory build so that should cut down the waiting time. Officially it’s due in February 2022 however by the comments on FB there are a few who have ordered previous to us and are still waiting. That said we’re in no rush so if it comes a few months later than so be it.

The cars we ended up testing were….

Ford Mach E – really nice and probably would have been our favourite however having a 7 year old and a dog it just wasn’t really big enough where it mattered so wasn’t any good this time round.

Kia EV6 – again, nice looking car and probably one of the nicest I felt in terms of the front console however with the quite sloping roof the back felt a bit dark and domestic management wasn’t a fan despite it still being very roomy and personally I didn’t actually think it was that dark in the back.

VW ID4 – My least favourite, nothing particularly wrong with it but also nothing to get excited about. The one thing I have liked about the cars I’ve been testing is that being electric the dashboards all seem very futuristic and the VW felt too much like a ‘normal’ car. For some this might actually be preferential but just not for me. Also, no physical buttons, everything is touch sensitive or touch sliders so when you’re driving and being told to switch a mode from X to Y it was very difficult without looking down to see what you were doing!!

Skoda Enyaq – I have had a Skoda before, our previous car was an Octavia VRS and the things I didn’t really like about that car, unfortunately, were still present in this. It just felt a bit plasticky inside! Probably a pretty minor complaint but it’s something that I didn’t particularly like on the last car. It also suffered from a similar issue to the VW in that the front console was a little bland. That said it was probably my 2nd choice, cannot complain about anything in terms of space as it was absolutey huge inside and easily the biggest of those that I tested.

I didn’t end up testing the Audi eTron or the Tesla Model Y as whilst our budget could stretch it was only realistically to their entry level models.

So, the winner was the one that I hoped it would be, the Hyundai Ioniq 5. From the outside it looks like a pretty small crossover type thing, I was immediately concerned as I had hoped that when we saw it in the flesh it would bigger in real life however it really didn’t. Those fears were allayed as soon as you get in and sit inside, it’s really very large (although not Skoda large). The boot is about 10% bigger than our Audi’s and it doesn’t have a massively sloping roof which ours does which means there is more useable space. The back seats can slide forward which can increase the boot space and they also fold absolutely flat if needed, Hyundai actually sell an Ioniq 5 mattress if you fancy going camping in it!!

I’ve gone for the Ultimate Tech edition with the larger batter and AWD which gives about 302bhp so it feels quick. It’s got all the bells and whistles and whilst the range does suffer slightly it will be plenty for 95% of our journeys. The suggested range is 280 odd miles, I think in reality it’ll be closer to 240 but again, my longest (regular) journey is down to the folks on the south coast which is a 110 mile round trip so won’t have much in the way of range anxiety. The only journey that’ll take a bit of planning is our trip to Cornwall that we tend to do once a year, I’ll just have to find a nice eatery with local charging, apparently the 20-80% charging is around 45 minutes so a single stop will get us there.

So the one issue I do have is the home charging point, I was hoping to avoid having to do much in the way of prep work however that doesn’t appear to be the case. The jobs that I have to do are not expensive however they’re annoying as they require different agencies to do their bit and depending on what part you are doing you’ll find you are way down on the priority list!!

First job is that we have to upgrade the master fuse in the house as we presently have a 60A fuse, it is recommended to get 100A to ensure that you don’t shut off your electrics every time you plug your car in!! The issue with this is that we have to upgrade some bits in the meter box and this is the remit of your electricity company. When I spoke to them they were happy to do it however it’s not something that ranks highly on their ‘to do’ list so the earliest I can get booked in is towards the end of January. I then spoke to UK Power Networks who’ll do the fuse and they are quoting 6-8 weeks at present. I am trying to get a confirmed date from the electricity company and can then hopefully get UKPN booked in as their lead time is likely to fit in well with the meter work. Finally I can then get a charger put in, those lead times are 2-4 weeks! Like I said, nothing expensive but just annoying bits that take some chasing and organising.

I am in a similar place, have looked at a few of those. The Ioniq Ultimate looks well kitted out with modern tech. What sort of delivery slot have you been offered?

I want something with decent range, decent turn of speed and a boot that will take folded up trolley and golf clubs without taking driver out. Will be buying via a limited company, so have a bit more money to play with.

Looked at a Polestar 2, lovely car, very classy, no boot.

Audi Q-tron, basically a Q3+, not that spacious for teenagers inside, not great boot.

Audi E-tron, big boot, very spacious, but expensive.

BMW iX3, doesn't look that special, not big boot.

BMW iX, marmite looks, big boot, expensive

Ioniq 5, surprisingly nice, good boot, good kit, good value (compared to the others) - haven't seen EV6 yet.

Considering the BMW i4, and planning to look at an ID4 GTX. I see there is a new Skoda Enyaq 80 just out and a vRS to follow.

 

[road2ruin]

I am in a similar place, have looked at a few of those. The Ioniq Ultimate looks well kitted out with modern tech. What sort of delivery slot have you been offered?

Delivery slot is w/c 7th February however I have joined a UK Ioniq group on FB and there seem to have been a lot of people who were in November delivery slots who are now seeing end of December etc. That said it does seem to be slightly luck of the draw as some models/specs are being delivered quicker whilst others are suffering more from delays.

 

[PJ87]

Sorry about the length of this, thought it might be interesting to those who end up looking at some point!

So we’ve done it, we’ve pressed the button on a new EV although with the combination of demand and chip shortages it’s anyone’s guess as to when it will arrive. We have gone for a prebuilt version though rather than a factory build so that should cut down the waiting time. Officially it’s due in February 2022 however by the comments on FB there are a few who have ordered previous to us and are still waiting. That said we’re in no rush so if it comes a few months later than so be it.

The cars we ended up testing were….

Ford Mach E – really nice and probably would have been our favourite however having a 7 year old and a dog it just wasn’t really big enough where it mattered so wasn’t any good this time round.

Kia EV6 – again, nice looking car and probably one of the nicest I felt in terms of the front console however with the quite sloping roof the back felt a bit dark and domestic management wasn’t a fan despite it still being very roomy and personally I didn’t actually think it was that dark in the back.

VW ID4 – My least favourite, nothing particularly wrong with it but also nothing to get excited about. The one thing I have liked about the cars I’ve been testing is that being electric the dashboards all seem very futuristic and the VW felt too much like a ‘normal’ car. For some this might actually be preferential but just not for me. Also, no physical buttons, everything is touch sensitive or touch sliders so when you’re driving and being told to switch a mode from X to Y it was very difficult without looking down to see what you were doing!!

Skoda Enyaq – I have had a Skoda before, our previous car was an Octavia VRS and the things I didn’t really like about that car, unfortunately, were still present in this. It just felt a bit plasticky inside! Probably a pretty minor complaint but it’s something that I didn’t particularly like on the last car. It also suffered from a similar issue to the VW in that the front console was a little bland. That said it was probably my 2nd choice, cannot complain about anything in terms of space as it was absolutey huge inside and easily the biggest of those that I tested.

I didn’t end up testing the Audi eTron or the Tesla Model Y as whilst our budget could stretch it was only realistically to their entry level models.

So, the winner was the one that I hoped it would be, the Hyundai Ioniq 5. From the outside it looks like a pretty small crossover type thing, I was immediately concerned as I had hoped that when we saw it in the flesh it would bigger in real life however it really didn’t. Those fears were allayed as soon as you get in and sit inside, it’s really very large (although not Skoda large). The boot is about 10% bigger than our Audi’s and it doesn’t have a massively sloping roof which ours does which means there is more useable space. The back seats can slide forward which can increase the boot space and they also fold absolutely flat if needed, Hyundai actually sell an Ioniq 5 mattress if you fancy going camping in it!!

I’ve gone for the Ultimate Tech edition with the larger batter and AWD which gives about 302bhp so it feels quick. It’s got all the bells and whistles and whilst the range does suffer slightly it will be plenty for 95% of our journeys. The suggested range is 280 odd miles, I think in reality it’ll be closer to 240 but again, my longest (regular) journey is down to the folks on the south coast which is a 110 mile round trip so won’t have much in the way of range anxiety. The only journey that’ll take a bit of planning is our trip to Cornwall that we tend to do once a year, I’ll just have to find a nice eatery with local charging, apparently the 20-80% charging is around 45 minutes so a single stop will get us there.

So the one issue I do have is the home charging point, I was hoping to avoid having to do much in the way of prep work however that doesn’t appear to be the case. The jobs that I have to do are not expensive however they’re annoying as they require different agencies to do their bit and depending on what part you are doing you’ll find you are way down on the priority list!!

First job is that we have to upgrade the master fuse in the house as we presently have a 60A fuse, it is recommended to get 100A to ensure that you don’t shut off your electrics every time you plug your car in!! The issue with this is that we have to upgrade some bits in the meter box and this is the remit of your electricity company. When I spoke to them they were happy to do it however it’s not something that ranks highly on their ‘to do’ list so the earliest I can get booked in is towards the end of January. I then spoke to UK Power Networks who’ll do the fuse and they are quoting 6-8 weeks at present. I am trying to get a confirmed date from the electricity company and can then hopefully get UKPN booked in as their lead time is likely to fit in well with the meter work. Finally I can then get a charger put in, those lead times are 2-4 weeks! Like I said, nothing expensive but just annoying bits that take some chasing and organising.

Thanks for the info, really interesting to read through the reviews

I'm 9 months into ownership of the Corsa (well leasing)

Love everything about the electric side

Car itself ain't great as it's still a Corsa but it does what I need and I make it work

Next time I'll go bigger

 

[road2ruin]

I want something with decent range, decent turn of speed and a boot that will take folded up trolley and golf clubs without taking driver out. Will be buying via a limited company, so have a bit more money to play with.

When I went for the test drive I took my golf clubs and there is a space across the front of the boot in the Ioniq that I could put my clubs in that fit without taking the driver out. The trolley and all other bits and bobs would then fit in the rest of the boot. This link might help with dimensions, have a look at post #24.

Ioniq 5 boot dimensions | Page 2 | Hyundai IONIQ Forum

I am also buying through my company, got a half decent lease deal and can reclaim 50% of the VAT so becomes pretty affordable.

 

[PJ87]

When I went for the test drive I took my golf clubs and there is a space across the front of the boot in the Ioniq that I could put my clubs in that fit without taking the driver out. The trolley and all other bits and bobs would then fit in the rest of the boot. This link might help with dimensions, have a look at post #24.

Ioniq 5 boot dimensions | Page 2 | Hyundai IONIQ Forum

I am also buying through my company, got a half decent lease deal and can reclaim 50% of the VAT so becomes pretty affordable.

That's a real nice one that one. The lease on mine ends Jan 24 I think it was. But defo good to see more options coming out

Should be wicked by then

 

[bobmac]

So you all want a big boot, 500 mile range and 0-60 in 5 secs.
It's here....