Ampera, talk to me.

[Evanivitch]

audi321 said:

Only that it was probably sat in a compound for getting on for 2 years not moving. And that's hardly anything to worry about.

Wouldn't that cause the Li batteries to brick if they weren't atleast trickle charged?

[Bonefish Blues]

AmitG said:

Out of interest how did the test drive go?

I looked into the Ampera a while ago. I liked it a lot, and IMHO it's the best looking Vauxhall in years. Looked really good in white. But for me the deal breakers were:

• I wanted to run it as a hybrid without plugging it in, but it isn't really designed for that use case.
• MPG in petrol mode wasn't very good. I seem to recall I got about 40mpg, which for a 4 seat car wasn't very good IMHO.
• Didn't like the centre console trim and the membrane buttons.

If the next gen version came to the UK I would definitely look again.

Exactly my experience, which is why overall the PiP was a better choice for my journey profile, which meant too much use of petrol.

[audi321]

AmitG said:

Out of interest how did the test drive go?

They'd sold it Getting another one in next week so I'll report back then.

[Trabi601]

audi321 said:

They'd sold it Getting another one in next week so I'll report back then.

Don't forget that the Chevrolet Volt is the same car, so add those to your search.

I'd prefer to tell people I drove a Chevy Volt than a Vauxhall Ampera

[audi321]

Trabi601 said:

audi321 said:

They'd sold it Getting another one in next week so I'll report back then.

Don't forget that the Chevrolet Volt is the same car, so add those to your search.

I'd prefer to tell people I drove a Chevy Volt than a Vauxhall Ampera

Good call....there's a few more available. So are they exactly the same car? I notice there's a few styling differences?

[Trabi601]

audi321 said:

Good call....there's a few more available. So are they exactly the same car? I notice there's a few styling differences?

They are exactly the same, bar some styling tweaks.

I recall most Volts came with a higher specification, too.

[audi321]

Going to see this one then http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191890205350?_trksid=p20...

[deanobeano]

Ampera owner for the last two years or so.

Overall its a great car. Mines in white, which IMHO is the best colour.

The car is engineered to a high level.

MPG on petrol should be around 50 as long as you are fairly moderate on the throttle. (charge sustain mode)

This is less than a Prius etc but the car is much more refined / quicker.

Battery only driving is fun and it is quick off the line (charge depletion mode).

When driving beyond the battery range, changing your setup / driving habits will help:

Short trips - 10-15 miles - put it in sport mode and give it some beans!
Trips up to 45-50 miles - you want the battery to last so use preheating whilst still plugged in and try to not overheat the cabin (you don't have waste heat from the engine). Running the electric heater if the ICE isn't running can draw up to 7kW. Your usable battery capacity is only 10.4kWh
Trips over this - Use the ICE first (if required) to give you free heat to warm the cabin. If you don't need heat, then use the ICE for speeds over 60 mph and use the battery for lower speeds.
You should also use the battery for high load climbs up hills etc. This prevents the ICE from running into lower efficiency rev areas as it attempts to make up the energy requirements of 'booting it up a hill'.

Control of the ICE / Battery van be made by use of the Mode button (Normal / Sport / Hold / Mountain)

[audi321]

Cheers. I'm off to buy/look at this one at the weekend. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/282059304484

I've provisionally agreed £10,250 over the phone with the guy.

One question I have though is about charging. I see it comes with a 6 hour plug in charger. I presume this is to a normal plug? Will it still work with these free chargers at some locations? Are they standard plugs too? Can I get a faster charger for home use or will these faster chargers at these free locations work?

[deanobeano]

The 'granny' charger that comes with the car will charge at 6 or 10 amps (switchable from the centre screen in the car for newer models / or on the charger itself (orange cable one) with older cars.)

As a side note, this charger falls under the Voltec long term warranty, so if it packs up take it back to Vauxhall.

The charger has a std 3 pin 13amp plug. This can get warm when charging at 10amps. This was one of the reasons the 6amp option is there.

The fastest charging the Ampera can manage is 16amp. To achieve this you will need a type 2 to type 1 connection cable.

http://www.4ev.co.uk/3-metre-16-amp-type-1-to-type...

At £114 it will take some time to recover the costs. Especially now that charge points are starting to charge per connection and possibly per kWh drawn.

Getting a home charging point fitted would make sense. This will allow you to charge at 16amp (which is slightly more efficient) and will prevent any issues with melting plug sockets etc (drawing 10 maps for 6 hours from a plug socket can be problematic unless the wiring connections are good).

I think grants are still available to subsidise the cost of a home install.

[deanobeano]

Oh, forgot to say that some of the charging posts you will encounter will have a 13amp plug socket. This will allow you to use the granny charger to charge whilst out and about. As it is limited to 10amps though it will take some time to charge up the battery.

[topvaux]

Trabi601 said:

audi321 said:

Good call....there's a few more available. So are they exactly the same car? I notice there's a few styling differences?

They are exactly the same, bar some styling tweaks.

I recall most Volts came with a higher specification, too.

Hmmmm.... I know the Ampera's residual values are low but I'd be very wary of anything with a Chevrolet badge in the UK. Real American Chevys fetch beans over here and the badge is more associated with rebadged Daewoos....! Vauxhall's may not be the classiest logo but it's better than Chevrolet! Anyway the Ampera has the most dramatic styling whereas the Volt is ditchwater-dull! (The Volt has the better name - Vauxhall Volt would have been much more marketable IMHO)

Edited by topvaux on Saturday 18th June 12:28

[E31Shrew]

Bit the bullet and bought one yesterday. Chopped in a Jag XFS for a 2012 model with 28k miles.
So far so good. Charging is painfully slow. 6 hours for 40-50 miles but all in all not a bad drive.
Dashboard controls are dire but Iguess I'll be able to get the hang of it eventually.
As soon as I work out how to reset the trip computer thingy I'll let you know if Iget over 40 mpg!

[AmitG]

Does anyone know if the next generation of Ampera is coming to the UK? I hear conflicting stories.

[Mezzanine]

Given how poorly the first generation sold, I doubt it.

[Andy Allenton]

From what I read a couple of months ago, no more RHD Volt derivatives will be built, so a left-hooker would be your only option.

Good luck,

Andy

[Trabi601]

topvaux said:

Hmmmm.... I know the Ampera's residual values are low but I'd be very wary of anything with a Chevrolet badge in the UK. Real American Chevys fetch beans over here and the badge is more associated with rebadged Daewoos....! Vauxhall's may not be the classiest logo but it's better than Chevrolet! Anyway the Ampera has the most dramatic styling whereas the Volt is ditchwater-dull! (The Volt has the better name - Vauxhall Volt would have been much more marketable IMHO)

Edited by topvaux on Saturday 18th June 12:28

As far as I can see - the styling is nothing other than a front bumper restyle, with the black slashes on the Vauxhall.

Residuals are little different - and any difference will shrink as they get older anyway.

[E31Shrew]

Well...2 weeks in and so far so good. Spent 7 hours last weekend giving it a thorough clean as previous owner seemed partial to a few Woodbines.
After watching various You Tube videos have worked out how to get the best out of the car. Can set the power delivery on long runs to be via the engine to the electric power unit. When in town flick over to electric only as pointless using the 45-50 miles on a run. MPG reading is totally irrelevant as its amortised as a mix between petrol and electric power. If you recharge every night then the average goes through the roof as no petrol being used. The lifetime MPG shows 250+ so I guess the previous owner used the electric power most of the time.
It's the Positive version so no sat nav which I understand is only 4 digit postcode so no loss there. Seats are leather.
Front visibility not the best due to very wide A pillars but again no huge issue.
Runs really quietly even with the massive 1.4 litre engine providing power to the electric drive unit.
All in all not bad value so far. £11500 with a reasonable trade in against an XF.
If your daily commute, there and back is 40 miles or less , or if you have a charge point at work, well worth considering. BIK about £50 per month apparently

[sneijder]

AmitG said:

Does anyone know if the next generation of Ampera is coming to the UK? I hear conflicting stories.

The Ampera E is officially launched end of September in Paris.

I don't think it'll see the UK market by the sounds of it.

I live in Norway, which will get 60% off all the European cars.

I want to the dealer today. There's no release date (likely end of Feb '17), no price...and I'm number 70 on the waiting list.

Considering the B250e and the eGolf which are the same price as a demo vs new Opel roughly, but I don't want to get lumped with the last generations tech.

Range (It's fully electric at 200bhp) should be good for 200 miles easily.

[Mezzanine]

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