EVs... no one wants them!

Yup, it's horse for course in some use cases and some people can't get their head around other metrics being placed higher up a list.

I've an old 120D sitting outside. It never does more than 100 miles in a day. It possibly never does more than 50. It certainly doesn't benefit from being a diesel, if anything the engine is the worst possible choice for what the car is used for. An EV is manifestly superior in every conceivable metric bar one which is that the car owes me nothing and is currently working fine so to replace it would be a wholly unnecessary act of fiscal vandalism. When it gets dumped in a skip it will 100% be replaced by an EV as it would be simply moronic to opt for any other alternative given what it is used for. And the depreciation curve for this type of use isn't relevant as it is of no importance given that it will be kept until it too gets slung in a skip.

£15k on a freshly released from finance EV. 240 months of use to zero equates to £60/month depreciation equivalent. Fuel over that 10 years will cost a fraction of either diesel or petrol due to how the car is used. And while the maintenance and insurance annual cost of the 120D has been very low an EV isn't going to be manifestly different.

If anything, due to the comedy lump of Victorian bricks that EVs currently are blighted with the terminal value of the EV may even be higher but we don't really know yet so best to assume still zero.

For the other driving uses which tend to be mainly 200 mile round trips in a day, week long trips through Europe and seasonal 500 mile in a day runs to the highlands the silly petrol cars remain far superior but even now we are getting close to an EV getting added to the mix to do all the 200 miles in a day, zero fannying about with refuelling or special parking or destination choices and without having to change one's driving style becoming viable which then means less compromising needs to be made re the silly petrol cars. So in a few years there is likely to be an EV that will allow for even more silly petrol car choices.

These things should be seen as transport tools that make life easier as well as allowing for less practical ICE choices. They're a net benefit to those of us who love our petrol cars but don't see the need to also have to use them for the chore driving.

They key at the moment is just having the space at home. The more space the easier the options for splitting out car usage and using the best tool for the job more of the time. If there isn't enough space and you like burning petrol then don't even waste a moment looking at EVs.

I had one for three months (2022 car bought new) - yes they really do have issues with the s/w. And mine was the latest 'fix all' s/w at the time. You would set up the car with say the colour ambient lighting and intensity etc adjusted to your liking and the next day switch it on again and everything has turned itself back to the factory setting!

They have an LED lighting strip below the windscreen, the so called 'ID Light'. Mine never worked and nobody knew how to fix it.

Range on mine was supposed to be around 235 miles but never showed more than 200 (late summer use). Looking at an old photo of the dash - shows 186 miles range at 83% charge.

This kind of sums up how different people are. Let the car decide? Utterly mystifying to me. Not knowing where we're going other than a few milestone destinations is one of the major attractions.

My Chevy engined Overfinch would happily bang in a solid 16mpg at 90 but only achieve about 4.5MPG in Town. That's definitive evidence of better efficiency at speed and no EV could deliver a near four fold increase in efficiency like that. Then when you consider it's boot space, roof and towing capabilities you realise that you could easily convert it to run on hydrogen, which as you know, is the fuel of the future.

I think that is what a lot of us "ICE dinosaurs" are waiting for and when that time comes then it will be fantastic but that is a good ten years away.

The new BMW I5 touring has around 285 real world range so hopefully in 7 years time when the next I5 touring comes out that will be the sweet spot and then 3 year used model is when I come in.

They still define what route you take on a long journey and how you drive the car. Plus, you're still confined to singular locations where there may be queues or too much demand to get a fast enough delivery etc. Then one has the current kerfuffle of fannying about with apps and plugs opposed to just picking up the correct coloured nozzle.

There is barely a location in the U.K. that is not supplied with electricity nor for there to not be electricity in abundance between these locations. It's a pretty unique situation we have when compared to other developed nations which have significant distances between conurbations and where the electricity supply isn't necessarily continuous between them or even following the road routes. For us in the U.K. it is merely a function of time before the third party charging network surpasses the convenience of the petrol station network which has had over 100 years to optimise itself and have car usage fold efficiently around it. While the petrol network is currently more efficient than the recharging one it is by no means an efficient network in itself. It is actually pretty bad given that the fuel has to be transported to it, the business that's selling it typically can't survive commercially without a significant number of potatoes to flog sugar, lard and narcotics to at comedically inflated prices.

What you can see is that everything already exists in the U.K. to deliver a charging network that is far more efficient and flexible than petrol vending and that this network will break people away from the restrictions of the inefficiencies of using petrol. It just might take 10-20 years but you can see the very clear advantages.

And that's before one even considers the absolutely massive gain everyone gets from the U.K. transport network ceasing to be economically tied to US foreign policy, US and OPEC market manipulation and needing to peg the GBP to a foreign currency, the USD.

More than most other developed nations the U.K. has this massive advantage from being geographically small, economically hugely developed out to the most remote corners and the genuine ability to be core self sufficient in energy generation. EVs will genuinely play a pivotal role in giving our children a superior economic future over those in other developed nations but there is no rush to switch to an EV until the product works well enough for one's particular use case.

Firstly apologies for the selective quote.

That's just hilariously so far off the mark with so many who have zero knowledge of UK geography, which motorway goes roughly where, road numbering system and general basics outside their own little insular neighbourhood that one sometimes wonder what they use to keep their ears apart.

The PH demographic is very different from many of the ignorant amongst us.

Indeed, the selling point (or obsession) of cost savings (whether fuel or servicing) is quite baffling given: a) People are not selecting expensive vehicles with running costs as a priority criteria, b) The savings often don't take into account high depreciation, and c) If there are any current cost savings it's via very contrived (some would say unfair) government policy.

Is it. Going from a car that costs £100 a tank to one that costs a fiver to charge is a saving anyone can appreciate and money that can be spent elsewhere.

I know.