Are EVs the way forward?

I believe Scotland has cheaper charging too. Last time I was at Eyemouth it was 30p /kwh, whereas at North Tyneside hospital, it weighed in at 70p
 
Dundee_Kev said:
So, are EVs the way forward? This thread is making my head hurt
Click to expand...
The answer in reality is yes.
Because in 10 years we won’t be able to buy anything else.
The real question is are EVs at the moment ready to replace ICE powered cars.
The answer is nothing like it.
Yet.
Especially for the likes of haulage companies.
I can see lower income families who have no off road parking being forced off the road.
It wouldn’t be so bad if our public transport was like say Japans.
 
Sackmycook said:
I believe Scotland has cheaper charging too. Last time I was at Eyemouth it was 30p /kwh, whereas at North Tyneside hospital, it weighed in at 70p
Click to expand...
Not sure it's that cheap here. The Tesla supercharger is about 41 pence, but thats for fast charging. The slow chargers you see everywhere are about the same as Tesla.

I looked at the SSE chargers beside Starbucks here and it was 70 something pence a kw!
 
Sasquatch said:
The problem is people aren't using them properly. Regular hybrids have little pure electric range, and mild hyprids (or more accurately IMA's) have none.

Plug ins have some potential, but it's quite a regular thing for them to go back at the end of a lease or on a trade-in and still have the electric charging lead sealed in its original packaging besause people aren't plugging them in. When I took my XC90 T8 back to trade it in it was the first the dealer had ever seen with the lead taken out of its packet.
Click to expand...
Seems quite a sweeping statement which I find hard to believe. At a minimum it doesn’t account for those with chargers at home with their own cable. Nevertheless I sure there are some who never charge but it defies logic to pay the hybrid uplift on purchase (or lease) to then lug around all that additional weight for no upside.

I’ll speak for myself. I’m on my second hybrid, the current car has 60+ mile range which is enough to take me to work and back a couple days a week. I charge at home or work depending on my needs. Last tank of diesel I filled up, I had also cover over 700 miles of electric only between fill ups with diesel. When i need to do a long journey I can revert to ICE as needed. The combo works for me/us.

Full disclosure we have another full EV (wife’s) which will be being changed to another hydrid mid October and a diesel bus (used for lugging my trials bikes and weekends away) in the household.

I also don’t believe that the options we have available today are the end game, more a stepping stone. The market is voting with its feet and when subsidies and incentives are removed, most markets are seeing stagnation in EV uptake. In many markets it’s being driven by company car lease and private lease as opposed to private households investing in pure EVs. Battery technology/lifespan doesn’t support the long term ownership that many private buyers are used to and the used market is too shakey for many to put their hard earned into something that will see such stark depreciation.

Different folks, different strokes but it’s a sure fire topic to stimulate strong opinions.
 
xnNntMw7n said:
I’ll speak for myself. I’m on my second hybrid, the current car has 60+ mile range which is enough to take me to work and back a couple days a week. I charge at home or work depending on my needs. Last tank of diesel I filled up, I had also cover over 700 miles of electric only between fill ups with diesel. When i need to do a long journey I can revert to ICE as needed. The combo works for me/us.
Click to expand...
Thank you for sharing your knowledge, based on experience. It's exactly the point I was making earlier, which was influenced by Builder Jay's comment as a hybrid owner.
When people are so dismissive about hybrids, I wonder if it's an ideology, i.e. all fossil fuels must be eliminated at any cost, rather than a rational argument based on evidence.
 
xnNntMw7n said:
Seems quite a sweeping statement which I find hard to believe. At a minimum it doesn’t account for those with chargers at home with their own cable. Nevertheless I sure there are some who never charge but it defies logic to pay the hybrid uplift on purchase (or lease) to then lug around all that additional weight for no upside.
Click to expand...
It’s not measurable other than through surveys and people being honest when answering and I’m not sure if that’s been done. Anecdotally I’ve heard it a lot though - that users don’t plug them in, and also that’s it is one reason people are put off hybrids, with those against them arguing they’re rubbish for mpg when using the ICE. This is to be expected as generally the engine is small yet has to lug around extra weight.

While some people that buy them will always top them up there were many that got them as company cars as the benefit in kind was so small. I know several colleagues that did this and never plugged them in at home as they didn’t want to bother! They moaned they were a bit sluggish and cost too much in petrol. They did charge them at work as it was free, but they only visited the office a couple of times a month and this would have been the only times these vehicles were ever plugged in.

I do notice Prius taxis using electric power (very quietly) when dropping off in the street etc so clearly some use the battery element.

I think early PHEVs actually caused a fair bit of damage to the reputation of EVs.How early tech works will affect the speed it’s taken up at so getting it right is important.
 
Somehow, between you all, you have convinced me we are a 'good use case' candidate for an EV. We could change Wifeys Evoque (which she loves, very reliable etc) for potentially an ID3. Having seen a few over the weekend she (who will be paying) has decided she prefers the look of an ID4.
I've seen a few positive mentions of ID3 on here but nothing about ID4. Is it just one better? Is it a dog? Thoughts please gentlefolk!
£20k seems to get a relatively low mileage motor with the 77kv drivetrain... it would be a 'to work and back' car with an occasional 100 mile round trip, charging on the drive, I thought she would be dead against it, but surprisingly positive in actuality! The only downside is I get to pay the electricity bill!
 
If you're wary of buying a pup a good rule of thumb would be to ignore the motor size as that's nearly always the bigger eye-catching number, look for how many kWh just as you would with a leisure battery.
The Id3 Pro S has the biggest 77kwh battery and circa 300 mile range, that's the same capacity as the Id Buzz but in a lot lighter car.
If your missus likes the slightly larger Id4 I was bargain hunting online the other day and a garage at Bedford had a Hyundai Ioniq 5 at £22k, they're price/battery size related and this was a longer range model but looks like an 80s Audi coupe that's been pumped up to over 100psi. :thumbsup:
 
Drive Wayne said:
I've seen a few positive mentions of ID3 on here but nothing about ID4. Is it just one better? Is it a dog? Thoughts please gentlefolk!
Click to expand...
I haven’t seen that many and don’t know anyone with one.
I know three people with ID3s and as you say they seem well liked and no major issues. One needed a new windscreen which apparently was a 3 month wait for the part but then that’s when they were fresh, maybe parts have caught up a bit now?

Presumably the 4 is the same underpinnings and just a bigger shell?
 
Stay Frosty said:
If you're wary of buying a pup a good rule of thumb would be to ignore the motor size as that's nearly always the bigger eye-catching number, look for how many kWh just as you would with a leisure battery.
The Id3 Pro S has the biggest 77kwh battery and circa 300 mile range, that's the same capacity as the Id Buzz but in a lot lighter car.
If your missus likes the slightly larger Id4 I was bargain hunting online the other day and a garage at Bedford had a Hyundai Ioniq 5 at £22k, they're price/battery size related and this was a longer range model but looks like an 80s Audi coupe that's been pumped up to over 100psi. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
She is a real badge snob! Always had Beemers and Landrovers, I'm pleased she has now welcomed VW into her preferred manufacturers! Plus the 'sort of' son in law has a Hyundai and its fair to say he's not in our good books at the moment! I do like the look of those Ioniq's, but she is the guvnor!
 
Drive Wayne said:
Serviced regularly, 8k miles a year, new disks and pads recently, it could do with a new drivers door actuator probably, but amazingly no major issues!
Click to expand...
Brother had 1 from new couple of years back on a 3 year pcp deal was back in the dealers every 5 mins only upside was the courtesy vehicles went right thru the range at landrover
 
a few of our friends and family have EVs but they do have the luxury of driveways too so can easily charge them at home which is often a big barier. when we lived in a terrace it was bad enough trying to find somewhere to park let alone somwhere to charge too.
I think they really come into thier own if you also have solar panels and or renewables at home, my friend charges his EV from the solar and home battery storage combined with a flexible octopus tarrif so he can pick and choose when to charge the car when the tariff is cheap and the home battery also gets charged from solar when he is out at work so he can then charge the car from it later. Granted the setup wasnt cheap but with a payback of only 8 years its a no brainer capital aside.
I think this combination approach is probably the way forward, range is getting better and better and so is the battery tech.
Comercial vehicle wise im still hopefuly for hydrogen, preferably from green energy such as tidal. The UK has some of the largest tidal ranges in the world and we have a huge untapped potential. would be great to see us being world leaders in the technology but the synic in me thinks politics wont bother because its too long term and we will miss the opportunity and end up buying the tech from other contries in the future. ill stop now I promise :think smile bounce:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

superchargedpolo
  • Locked
Sold 2012 T30 102PS Kombi Camper. £29,500
Replies
3
Views
3K
Wills
Wills
Back
Top