EV's and battery damage & other woes means I wont buy one

[markjay]

The main issue, as I pointed out earlier, is that both energy prices and average consumption figures for EVs vary across a very wide range. This makes calculating "typical EV cost per mile" very difficult.

I can, however, look at my particular circumstances. The cost of energy is dictated by the lamppost charger rates. This is de-facto - yes I could charge for free at Aldi around the corner, or pay a premium at the £150kWh public charger nearby, etc etc - but the reality is that I don't. I charge almost exclusively at the lamppost.

The consumption figures for my calculations is what the computer says it is, and yes, who knows if the computer is accurate. It is currently showing an average consumption of 2.66 mi/kWh for the month of December. Of course, I could drive in Eco mode instead of Standard mode, set recuperation to max or one-pedal, turn off the cabin heating, including the heated seats and the heated steering wheel, but in reality I don't do any of those. And I could also stop pre-heating the cabin but I won't - I like it when the car is nice and warm in the morning and the windows are already fully demisted.

The average cost is 17.39p per mile over the last month (my app doesn't show any further back than that). My last trip - to Heathrow T2 and back on Friday at 5am - averaged 3.87 mi/kWh, which works out as 11.88p per mile.

I think it's safe to say that the figures for the month of December are as bad as the consumption will get, and I don't expect to see better figured before March-April when the temperature rises and also the need for cabin heating subsides.

My other car is the Suzuki. It has a 1.6L petrol engine. It is driven mostly for short journeys (the kids drive it around locally), with the occasional trip to Cardif a few times a year (SIL is from there). According to the onboard computer, it does 400 miles on a full tank, which holds 47L. I put She'll V-Power in it, which currently costs £1.67 per litre, and so a mile costs me 19.62p.

But this is just my scenario. Regarding the Suzuki, I could use 95 Octane petrol which is £1.44 locally, and if I drove it on longer journeys it would presumably make the official figure which is 548 miles for a full tank - and the cost per mile would be reduced to 12.35p. But I don't do any of that.

And, I could equally start driving the EV more economically, and charge it on a granny charger using an extension cord through the front window......... or just for free at a local retail park.

How long is a piece of string...

OK, I have just brimmed the Suzuki.....:

Given the 47L tank, this means that the cost is a staggering 30p per mile.

This is mainly because it had little use recently and was driven mostly on short journeys during very cold weather.

Of course, I could use 95 fuel (instead of V-Power), and I could take it on longer runs - but I don't.

And while you could argue that 30p per mile is a very extreme case for a small car with a 1.6L engine, and this is not how most people use their petrol and Diesel cars, the flip side is that driving 600 miles at an average speed of 85mph is also not how most people use their EVs.

The bottom line is that the running costs really depend on the use profile, and pointing out the extremes is irrelevant and often disingenuous.

 

[BTB 500]

OK, I have just brimmed the Suzuki.....:

And while you could argue that 30p per mile is a very extreme case for a small car with a 1.6L engine

You really need to use the actual range you get rather than the OBD prediction, which may be unduly conservative/pessimistic. The book 'city' consumption for your car seems to be 42-43 mpg ... 249 miles from a full tank would be 24.0 mpg. If that's really what you are getting (on a high-priced premium unleaded as well) maybe consider switching to a G-Wagen for lower fuel bills

 

[markjay]

You really need to use the actual range you get rather than the OBD prediction, which may be unduly conservative/pessimistic. The book 'city' consumption for your car seems to be 42-43 mpg ... 249 miles from a full tank would be 24.0 mpg. If that's really what you are getting (on a high-priced premium unleaded as well) maybe consider switching to a G-Wagen for lower fuel bills

Absolutely, and I did mention this in the original post, my calculations are based on the computer in both cars, no real-life brim-to-brim tests etc. It's knows as a 'desktop exercise'...

Having said that, 24mpg on short journeys with a cold engine during winter isn't unrealistic.

 

[markjay]

BTW, I found an old photo showing the fuel consumption on my (now long sold) W203 C180K:

I used the car for my daily commute to the office, a 5 mile drive each way, in London traffic.... so 24mpg is actually not bad in comparison.

Slow city traffic is where ICE cars perform poorly, and EVs thrive.