The nightmare of charging in the UK

[KillerHERTZ]

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[Gazwould]

The Nightmare of Shmee....

 

[Petrol Pete]

What a kerfuffle Does Shmee ever swear ?

 

[jimbg]

Taking a Taycan with a charging issue to an Ionity charging station that is only partially commissioned was never going to end well!

 

[ChipChop]

Kryten the EV evangelist will not be happy with Mr Burton.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Even if the first charger had of worked perfectly he still felt the need (as he explained) to drive 10 -15 miles in the wrong direction to charge up , so all told if successful it would still have ben 2 hours out of his day and an overpriced drink/snack that he really didn't need to consume.

I am sure the infrastructure will be sorted at some point , just not yet. As people on here have commented , in the early days of ICE you had to find a chemist open that sold fuel.

 

[Tramper]

Haha what an advert for buying an EV.
It’s a no from me mate

 

[Deleted member 126251]

We always hear the negative experiences.

 

[raspy]

It's not a nightmare for everyone in the UK though.

Recent example of a Tesla doing a 615 mile day trip in the UK in under 12 hours (with 1 hr 10 mins total time for charging along the way, 45 min stop, 25 min stop) using the Tesla supercharger network

With respect to uncovered charging, Gridserve in Braintree are showing what's coming. It's not all doom and gloom.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

We always hear the negative experiences.

Shmee, (a full on Petrolhead) has said he bought the car to experience what its like as he, like the rest of us are being forced into getting an EV. He also said he would document the entire experience good and bad.

I dont in anyway think he was making it appear worse than it was for the sake of a video. its not in his interest.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

It's not a nightmare for everyone in the UK though.

Recent example of a Tesla doing a 615 mile day trip in the UK in under 12 hours (with 1 hr 10 mins total time for charging along the way, 45 min stop, 25 min stop) using the Tesla supercharger network

With respect to uncovered charging, Gridserve in Braintree are showing what's coming. It's not all doom and gloom.

Teslas have the power infrustructure however, - this is how they are ahead of the pack and when everyone else fully catches up, I still belive they will become a charging company only in years to come.

Other EVs dont have access to these.

 

[alexanderfoti]

The only way an EV currently works, is if you can charge at home/work.

When you do finally find an available charge point, that is in service and fits in with your route, they charge 30+ P per KWH and a "standing charge" often making it far more expensive than even an old 6 pot diesel.

 

[raspy]

Teslas have the power infrustructure however, - this is how they are ahead of the pack and when everyone else fully catches up, I still belive they will become a charging company only in years to come.

Other EVs dont have access to these.

@KillerHERTZ Fair enough. I've used Ionity chargers 7 times now since they first launched in this country (once for a Tesla, 5 times for a Jaguar iPace and twice for an Audi E-Tron) and the chargers always worked fine for me.

Shmee's experience doesn't necessarily represent everyone's experience.

 

[raspy]

Shmee, (a full on Petrolhead) has said he bought the car to experience what its like as he, like the rest of us are being forced into getting an EV. He also said he would document the entire experience good and bad.

I dont in anyway think he was making it appear worse than it was for the sake of a video. its not in his interest.

@KillerHERTZ Was Shmee forced to buy the Taycan? Surely he was free to buy a petrol powered 911?

 

[KillerHERTZ]

@KillerHERTZ

Shmee's experience doesn't necessarily represent everyone's experience.

No of course, but he makes some valid points about the number of EV charging points is not being kept ahead of the number being sold.

Years from now (maybe even decades) this will be sorted out, however at the moment, unless you have a garage or a driveway the current solution of charging points doesnt work.

@KillerHERTZ Was Shmee forced to buy the Taycan? Surely he was free to buy a petrol powered 911?

Not at all, but surely given the choice out there, isnt the Taycan the best of the bunch when it comes to the current EVs (for a Petrolhead?)

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Shmee, (a full on Petrolhead) has said he bought the car to experience what its like as he, like the rest of us are being forced into getting an EV. He also said he would document the entire experience good and bad.

I dont in anyway think he was making it appear worse than it was for the sake of a video. its not in his interest.

I’ve been watching his videos for several years.

Interesting to me as I believe that my son is going to order one (Taycan) to replace his E53 early next year.

I’m of the opinion that electric is the way to go but the infrastructure is not ready.

 

[Tramper]

We always hear the negative experiences.

Well in that particular video it showed no positive ones!

 

[raspy]

No of course, but he makes some valid points about the number of EV charging points is not being kept ahead of the number being sold.

Years from now (maybe even decades) this will be sorted out, however at the moment, unless you have a garage or a driveway the current solution of charging points doesnt work.




Not at all, but surely given the choice out there, isnt the Taycan the best of the bunch when it comes to the current EVs (for a Petrolhead?)

@KillerHERTZ It all depends upon where you live and what type of journeys you do! Yes, if you look at the UK overall and you do long distance journeys (rather than a few miles here and there), the infrastructure to charge for non Tesla drivers is not that good.

So no wonder it makes people wary of getting an EV as their main vehicle. That's why so many EV owners are often retired or with a certain type of work/leisure lifestyle where they have the time to plan stuff like charging stops into their day, when it would be a plain hassle for someone else who is under time constraints or just doesn't like waiting around vs 5 mins to fill up their ICE.

However, the roll out of charging points seems to be focused on certain parts of the country first, e.g. London, where air quality is pretty awful and London/SE is where lots of EVs are sold (if you're looking at pure numbers) - I live in a suburb of London and I have access to;
2 rapid chargers at end of my street (mostly used by Uber drivers, DPD vans, black cabs)
Slow chargers at 2 different supermarkets within 1 mile
Rapid chargers at 3 other retail places within 2 miles
Slow charger at library within 1 mile
Slow chargers at various car parks/locations in London that I use for shopping, dining and business meetings

When I switch to an EV, I don't even need to get a home charger, I can just charge for free at a local Polar charger once a week (£7.85 a month charge for the subscription to access) and it would cost me just £94.20 a year to drive 12,000 miles! There is a bloke down my road with a Tesla Model 3 and he didn't even bother getting a home charger installed. He just uses public charging points.

Regarding EVs and Petrolheads, the Taycan (Once you add desirable options) is rather expensive, so out of the reach of many petrolheads. I know a lot of people with ICE performance cars who swapped to a Tesla Model 3 Performance, which for them was more affordable than the Taycan.

 

[optimusprime]

May be some one could put a link on here, of the Tesler EV that cought fire in the USA that took over 4 hours to put out and that was through the battery going up in flames like a Roman candle ..

 

[jimbg]

May be some one could put a link on here, of the Tesler EV that cought fire in the USA that took over 4 hours to put out and that was through the battery going up in flames like a Roman candle ..

Why? Also it was a TESLA!