15,000 Eletric Car Miles

[c2mike]

RyanB88 said:

Nice review and interesting read, thanks.

Sounds like it will be good as a town car.

I really do hope they continue to produce nice 6 and 8 cylinder petrol cars in 20 years time.

I can see the use of an electric car but hopefully I will always have a nice screaming petrol in my garage for weekends at least.

What worries me though is if these cars are using just electric, the government are receiving less tax and duty and VAT in fuel, does this mean fuel will keep going up in the UK with the introduction of more electric cars and even more efficient cars using less fuel?

Who knows? In 10 years, my guess is that fuel (including electricity) will be taxed according to environmental impact and the remaining revenue gap will be made up by road pricing on a per mile driven basis, regardless of fuel type. "Dirty" cars may get banned from city centers.

[.blue]

c2mike said:

Very true! I can't describe the feeling of being in an electric car at high speed for the first time. A totally new experience - think Futurama. It is far more significant than all the new cars (across all price levels) that are just a few % better than their predecessors. It is a gadget, but a pretty good one and very thoroughly engineered for a "version 1.0". Some people spend more on their Home HiFi/AV systems

I thought that might be the case! But the novely will eventually wear off I suppose and unlike a gadget, the cost of this novely is in the thousands.

As much as I'd appreciate the quietness/new experience, I think I would HAVE to have a petrol car too.

[philmots]

I enjoyed reading that, thanks.

I could only have one if i also had an M3, though! Nice position to be in.

[Scuffers]

nice writeup...

good to read this from somebody that actually owns and uses one.

Any idea how much this has added to your home electric bills?

[mig25_foxbat2003]

Very interesting writeup. I think I'd still have a Gen1 Insight for now, but as you say, the next generation of EVs will really get the ball rolling.

[Podie]

Great read. Interesting to see someone with a decent mileage, having owned it for a year, rather than the magazine tests that do one or two charging cycles.

[The Don of Croy]

Good review - I've met one other EV user in Wadhurst who runs a Mitsubishi (I'm near TW as well).

As I understand it from the gent in Wadhurst, one of the major advantages if you run your own business is the BIK angle - no charge for private or company use, you just need to be able to finance it (and it is / or was fully deductible as an expense in year 1).

Ref your comment on the SatNav - made me laugh (the joys of a good satnav when you're limited to a 25 mile radius) !!

I'd like one of these for wifey to do the school run, but at present we're happier with <4k super mini and 44mpg, than £20k EV. Those economics will change in time...

Oh, did I mention I have an EV? Mine will lift 1 tonne more than 12ft up, but it's range is less than 1 mile. At least I have a charger ready for the passenger car...

[roadend1981]

The new Vauxhall/opel amperas actually look really nice and with 350 mpg!! Was an article in the last edition of top gear magazine,first time electric cars really made sense to me.

[Pints]

roadend1981 said:

The new Vauxhall/opel amperas actually look really nice and with 350 mpg!! Was an article in the last edition of top gear magazine,first time electric cars really made sense to me.

Although I think the mpg quoted is closer to 230-250, with a range of 360 miles.

If it's available as a company car, it's most certainly going to be a serious consideration for me.

[anonymous-user]

Pints said:

roadend1981 said:

The new Vauxhall/opel amperas actually look really nice and with 350 mpg!! Was an article in the last edition of top gear magazine,first time electric cars really made sense to me.

Although I think the mpg quoted is closer to 230-250, with a range of 360 miles.

If it's available as a company car, it's most certainly going to be a serious consideration for me.

The Ampera only makes sense if your daily commute between charges is less than the electric only range (about 35miles on average). It is really not an efficient car when running on gasoline, so if you do journeys of over 35miles on a regular basis you will be much better off with a diesel.

In electric only mode the car is also a lot quieter and much more refined to drive!

[JonnyVTEC]

The Don of Croy said:

Ref your comment on the SatNav - made me laugh (the joys of a good satnav when you're limited to a 25 mile radius) !!

You can also set the driver alert to suggest having a break after a period of driving, that period can be set in 30min increments up to 5.5 hours!

[c2mike]

Podie said:

Great read. Interesting to see someone with a decent mileage, having owned it for a year, rather than the magazine tests that do one or two charging cycles.

Thanks. You really do need to drive one for a few months to fully appreciate the benefits - it becomes more logical the longer you use it.

Edited by c2mike on Saturday 9th June 20:37

[c2mike]

Scuffers said:

nice writeup...

good to read this from somebody that actually owns and uses one.

Any idea how much this has added to your home electric bills?

I haven't bothered doing the exact maths, but to charge up from 25% to full (our typical overnight charge) is around 15kWHr. I think that is around £2 per day...depends on your tariff

[c2mike]

A lex said:

Nice write up OP.

I live in a sleepy village in rural NL. I can count at least 4 Opel Amperas plugged in on peoples driveways around the village and 2 fast charging points have just gone up in the village square. Its a similar story most places I go around here.

The EVs are coming, slowly but surely. The tax benefits on EVs in NL are HUGE, hence the massive market for hybrid and pure electric cars here.

I expect the more progressive (and frugal - sorry!) parts of Europe will be the most enthusiastic early adopters, although I did see an Ampera charging up in Brighton recently and a Renault Twizy driving on the A272 near Newick today!
The Leaf is apparently a big sales hit in Norway due to tax breaks (http://evworld.com/news.cfm?rssid=27839). Hope they have the cold weather upgrades installed. Ironic given their main export is oil...

[c2mike]

.blue said:

c2mike said:

Very true! I can't describe the feeling of being in an electric car at high speed for the first time. A totally new experience - think Futurama. It is far more significant than all the new cars (across all price levels) that are just a few % better than their predecessors. It is a gadget, but a pretty good one and very thoroughly engineered for a "version 1.0". Some people spend more on their Home HiFi/AV systems

I thought that might be the case! But the novely will eventually wear off I suppose and unlike a gadget, the cost of this novely is in the thousands.

As much as I'd appreciate the quietness/new experience, I think I would HAVE to have a petrol car too.

The novelty has not worn off..and I still enjoy decent ICE cars

[anonymous-user]

Good review

If I didnt cycle I would buy an EV for my 10 mile commute. As battery performance increases I can see these cars taking over for the mundane stuff.

[Amateurish]

We've got a Leaf at work and I'm impressed with the drive, especially compared to the other EVs on the market. Personally, I found the interior pretty low rent.

My biggest concern with the Leaf is RV: over 6 months the Leaf has lost something like half its value. The market for these cars is tiny.

[Morningside]

Interesting read. Its over a year now, so any more updates?

[threespires]

Agreed - update please OP
I saw this Police Leaf a couple of weeks ago & they echoed the range as being 50 to 70 miles dependent upon the driver.

Nissan Leaf Police Car

[epom]

Excellent write up and thanks for sharing. Not in the market for one but still really interesting to see how people get on with them. Ps you should get it chipped, would up power and reduce consumption even more