Electric cars - where is the current position ?

[LTD]

Technology and legislation is pushing us all towards this type of vehicle.

Now, like the rest of us, I love the sound and performance that a huge multi-cylinder engine brings and have previously enjoyed the V8 world

However, my daily commute and parking consideration is pointing towards a smaller vehicle and battery power / hybrid is looking like an idea worth considering.

So, taking all of that on board - where are we ?

BMW i3
VW iD.3

Or what ?

 

[thebiglad]

Hyundai/Kia products the best in the middle market, Tesla Model 3 in the upper middle market and Tesla Model S in the up market.

Jaguar/Merc/BMW:Audi products all beaten by the above, imo. Better performance, longer range and superior battery tech.

 

[HB]

Technology and legislation is pushing us all towards this type of vehicle.

Now, like the rest of us, I love the sound and performance that a huge multi-cylinder engine brings and have previously enjoyed the V8 world

However, my daily commute and parking consideration is pointing towards a smaller vehicle and battery power / hybrid is looking like an idea worth considering.

So, taking all of that on board - where are we ?

BMW i3
VW iD.3

Or what ?

Still quite pish overall if you ask me unless it’s a Porsche 918.
Buy another V8 and enjoy yourself. The tree huggers can get tae....

 

[Crazyfool]

I’m in no rush for electric yet. I’m making the most of petrol/diesel until such time as electric is more appealing/beneficial.

 

[grober]

Electric vehicle market statistics 2019 - How many electric cars in UK &#63
You may find your choice is dictated somewhat by availablity/delivery??

 

[219]

Technology and legislation is pushing us all towards this type of vehicle.

Now, like the rest of us, I love the sound and performance that a huge multi-cylinder engine brings and have previously enjoyed the V8 world

However, my daily commute and parking consideration is pointing towards a smaller vehicle and battery power / hybrid is looking like an idea worth considering.

So, taking all of that on board - where are we ?

BMW i3
VW iD.3

Or what ?

One of my pals has a Tesla model S , and loves it . They gave him a cracking deal , taking his Jaag as a trade in , whopping discount on an ‘inventory’ model and got the 6 year interest free loan from Scottish Government to finance the balance .

Interior is a bit bland though .

He does a lot of business miles and still gets his 45p/mile , and charges it for nothing either in the office car park or in the public car park at Stewartfield Loch across the road from his house .

 

[grober]

 

[rockits]

I have bought a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV for work. It is a commercial 2 seater but you can buy a conventional 5 seater.

I go into London sometimes to customer sites and it is CC also ULEZ compliant. We claimed 100% of the VAT back and 100% tax relief/capital allowance day one.

It is well equipped, looks decent, drives well and real world efficient if you do enough journeys on battery. I have average 122mpg so far.

We bought it new as a pre-reg for £23500 + VAT so I think it was a good option for what we need it for and very cost effective.

It has a long warranty so should work out well. It does drive a little harder than a conventional car but does handle well as the batteries weight lower means it stays flatter.

I'm happy with the purchase and would do the same again with no issues or regrets. Never driven any others to make any comparisons though.

Would certainly suit a school run type of use and lots of shorter journeys. Wouldn't suit or make sense if someone was doing mainly longer journeys. Will do about 30 miles real world max more like 25 most of the.time. Good if the commute is fairly short especially if you can charge at the other end.

Would be zero car tax of a car but as a commercial it is a fixed £250 per year.

 

[Darrell]

I have bought a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV for work. It is a commercial 2 seater but you can buy a conventional 5 seater.

I go into London sometimes to customer sites and it is CC also ULEZ compliant. We claimed 100% of the VAT back and 100% tax relief/capital allowance day one.

It is well equipped, looks decent, drives well and real world efficient if you do enough journeys on battery. I have average 122mpg so far.

We bought it new as a pre-reg for £23500 + VAT so I think it was a good option for what we need it for and very cost effective.

It has a long warranty so should work out well. It does drive a little harder than a conventional car but does handle well as the batteries weight lower means it stays flatter.

I'm happy with the purchase and would do the same again with no issues or regrets. Never driven any others to make any comparisons though.

Would certainly suit a school run type of use and lots of shorter journeys. Wouldn't suit or make sense if someone was doing mainly longer journeys. Will do about 30 miles real world max more like 25 most of the.time. Good if the commute is fairly short especially if you can charge at the other end.

Would be zero car tax of a car but as a commercial it is a fixed £250 per year.

One of my mates has one of these but he’s got the 5 seater SUV version. He loves it to bits and he is now on his second model.

 

[Smart320]

Also have a good friend who has had one for 6 months, he loves it , keeps saying I should swap my V8 for one . No chance!

 

[E55BOF]

25-30 mile range? No use to me. When I can buy for a sensible price an electric car that I can (with the wipers on, the aircon on full, and the COMAND operating) drive 300 miles, be sure of being able to fully recharge in any refuelling station in five miinutes, then drive another 300 miles, I'll consider one. I suspect I'll be long gone before that happens...

 

[markjay]

25-30 mile range? No use to me. When I can buy for a sensible price an electric car that I can (with the wipers on, the aircon on full, and the COMAND operating) drive 300 miles, be sure of being able to fully recharge in any refuelling station in five miinutes, then drive another 300 miles, I'll consider one. I suspect I'll be long gone before that happens...

This may be the case while is still up to you.... but very likely future legislation will simply force you to accept whatever electric vehicles can offer in terms of range and charging time.

Hopefully the technology would have improved by that time, but the point is that regardless of your own personal preference it is likely that you'll just have to choose from the available list of options and the internal combustion engine will not be on that list.

 

[219]

I suspect that , rather than outright prohibition , we will see fuel duty keep increasing so as to price ICE vehicles off the road .

 

[Crazyfool]

One of my pals has a Tesla model S , and loves it .

Interior is a bit bland though .

.

It’s interesting you say that. For those who remember the 80’s early 90’s, future cars were all going to be very futuristic, with lots of flashy interiors.

Last month I took my son to a tennis tournament in my wife’s convertible. While we were there a guy kept admiring it. We got talking and to cut a long story short he had a fantastic bonus with work so bought a BMW I8.

He’s owned it for just under a year and said he was looking to cut his losses on the finance deal and get rid of it. The main problem was it’s a fantastic car to drive, but he said the interior was soulless and boring.

He let my son sit in it after to tournament and he wasn’t wrong. Apart from a general digital display and lovely cream leather seats, there was nothing to it.

 

[219]

I think the two most horrible interiors I’ve been in of late were said Tesla , and Chrysler 300 - acres of bland plastic, but they kind of come from the same place .

Have to say I’m not a fan of a lot of MB offerings which are also lacking in nice furnishings

 

[esscee]

If every car driver is "forced/coerced" from petrol/diesel to electric vehicles over a short period of time, may I ask who will be manufacturing the required number of vehicles and very importantly where will the required amount of electricity be generated for the charging/recharging?

 

[thebiglad]

On the subject of a countrywide fleet of for example 1 million EV's all be charged, the CEGB (or whatever it's name is today) have researched this and declared it to be a complete non problem for the following reasons :

1. the average daily commute in the UK is 30 mls round trip;

2. Average priced EV's today for example Hyundai/Kia EV's have a realistic range of 275 mls

3. So the majority of EV drivers will be charging at home, overnight, once a week.

4. The advantage to the CEGB of all these EV's charging up over is that they will have access to a massive amount of stored energy to deal with peaks. They are VERY enthusiastic about this as they will no longer need to have 'peaker' coal fired generation plants on standby, which is costly and very inefficient.

 

[Tonygw]

Battery cars are in the infancy with regard to their techology, we are decades off them being a viable alternative. The natinal grid isnt able to cope with an influx of charge requirements from the general public, even with smart charging. The grid runs close to capacity as it is. Some new models take 13 hours to charge from a 7KW domestic charger. Fast cahrgers can do it in under an hour but the cars are limited to one charge per day as it destroys the batteries. Battery life is a major issue, most electric cars are scrap after 8 - 10 years. making residual values plumit and increases automotive waste. The range is improving but with that comes longer charging times and higher power comsumption. Lithium batteries are also hardly a "green" solution either and how on earth do you recycle them at the end of their life?
And.... have you ever seen them catch fire in a crash for example?? You have to be properly trained to tackle a battery fires due to the high DC voltage (700-800Vdc). Normal extinguishing agents are not suitable to put lithium battery fires out and they can burn for days.
They are a stop gap solution. Hydrogen fuel cells make much more sense although hydrogen production is quit epower hungry at this moment in time. However if thye can sort a few issues out, hydrogen cars can be refueld in 5 minutes and have a 300 mile range with no gas emissions only small amounts of water. They still do need a small battery to operate but as a general package they make much more sense than battery cars. The hydrogen tanks on board are extremely safe even in a major crash. Given they hold hydrogen at 700psi or more, they have to be. It would be nice to see manufacturers exploring this technology over batteries.

 

[thebiglad]

Battery cars are in the infancy with regard to their techology, we are decades off them being a viable alternative. The natinal grid isnt able to cope with an influx of charge requirements from the general public, even with smart charging. The grid runs close to capacity as it is. Some new models take 13 hours to charge from a 7KW domestic charger. Fast cahrgers can do it in under an hour but the cars are limited to one charge per day as it destroys the batteries. Battery life is a major issue, most electric cars are scrap after 8 - 10 years. making residual values plumit and increases automotive waste. The range is improving but with that comes longer charging times and higher power comsumption. Lithium batteries are also hardly a "green" solution either and how on earth do you recycle them at the end of their life?
And.... have you ever seen them catch fire in a crash for example?? You have to be properly trained to tackle a battery fires due to the high DC voltage (700-800Vdc). Normal extinguishing agents are not suitable to put lithium battery fires out and they can burn for days.
They are a stop gap solution. Hydrogen fuel cells make much more sense although hydrogen production is quit epower hungry at this moment in time. However if thye can sort a few issues out, hydrogen cars can be refueld in 5 minutes and have a 300 mile range with no gas emissions only small amounts of water. They still do need a small battery to operate but as a general package they make much more sense than battery cars. The hydrogen tanks on board are extremely safe even in a major crash. Given they hold hydrogen at 700psi or more, they have to be. It would be nice to see manufacturers exploring this technology over batteries.

Tell the people who are taking delivery of their Model 3's month by month.

Fires in Tesla - this is just hilarious. Yes there have been several fires with Tesla's and one or two are crashed; however during the same period of time there are, around the world hundreds of thousands of ICE that have burst into flames.

I get that you don't want to think about a radical change in the way we transport ourselves, but seriously your comments are just completely ill-informed.

 

[LTD]

Bugger it, I’m going to by a horse ....