First time considering an EV
Discussion
I was in the same place a coupe of years ago. The old 330d was up at 120k miles and I was considering a replacement.
Having my own business I looked seriously at an EV but the nagging doubts about range anxiety were there. So, I leased one for 24 months - not a hybrid, but full EV - and figured that over that time I'd either get comfortable that range really isn't an issue or it is.
Chatting to the dealer and spending time on the forums led me to consider what my actual use is. I live in Scotland with family in the southeast. We can all find a reason why we would make a 400-mile trip - I do it relatively often - but the reality is for 90% of the time I go to the shops, commute to work, spend weekends not going far. All well within the publicized range.
The dealer even said if I wanted to borrow a petrol car for the odd longer journeys, just give him a call and he'd arrange for one to be available from time to time.
So, I leased a 1st version i3 - the 60kwh version, so range varied from 70-100 miles depending on the weather. I chose to keep the old 330d as it really owed me not a lot. That got used for the long journeys (for which it is brilliant anyway).
24 months on I can honestly say there was only one instance where I thought I might get stuck, but managed to get home with a few miles of range left. The 330d sat on the drive for months on end without moving.
I had a charger installed at home, so every morning the car was fully charged. Free electricity when you are out is nice to have, but quite often it was just for the free top up, not because I needed it.
24 months passed and the i3 went back with 14,000 miles. No regrets at all. A brilliant car and I don't understand why it gets labeled as a city car at all. I'm very rural and it spent hardly any time in the city and mostly covered in a lot of rural grime. It's quite a large car and made for a usefully larger hack for rubbish bags for the tip than the 330d does any day. Add in the pre-heating in winter and totally silent drive, genuine off the line poke and stonking H-K stereo it's great.
I really appreciated the high tech nature of it - the exposed carbon body and blatent futuristic interior and styling. It all works really well.
If I had a complaint, it was that it's quite tall and on skinny tyres didn't always feel that stable in cross winds on the motorway, but for a point and squirt laugh, it was great.
What now? An i3s 120kwh arrives next week. 3 year lease but with the intention of keeping it. Any range issues totally out of my mind now and the wider track of the s is apparently much better for stability. Plus the BIK tax changes are very very attractive, particulary so from 2020.
My view on the range issue us that 120kwh will give me an easy 120+miles in all conditions, probably a lot more in summer. I still have my home charger and the charger network is growing fast so its pretty rare not to find one. If you drive and EV you soon get to know where they are on your 'usual' trips.
Worth thinking about is the charging time on some of these very long range cars. Yes, 300+ miles is great, but it needs an enormous battery to hold the charge, a lot of size and weight you'll rarely actually need. It's just deadweight for most of the time.
On a 7kw home charger it won't fill any quicker than any other battery. Something that size might take 12 hours, even on a dedicated 32 amp home charger like mine. My old i3 took 2.5 hours, the new one probably 4.5hours, i.e., plug it in when you get home and forget it, it's full in the morning or even later in the day when you might want to go out.
There aren't that many Tesla superchargers around and the rapid charging network at 22kw won't fill the battery any quicker than any other car. Think of it as just a very very large tank you just have to stand there longer at to fill.
95% of the time, 120 miles is more than enough. In my experience anyway.
I do still have the 330d though. Great engine.... this is PH after all!
Having my own business I looked seriously at an EV but the nagging doubts about range anxiety were there. So, I leased one for 24 months - not a hybrid, but full EV - and figured that over that time I'd either get comfortable that range really isn't an issue or it is.
Chatting to the dealer and spending time on the forums led me to consider what my actual use is. I live in Scotland with family in the southeast. We can all find a reason why we would make a 400-mile trip - I do it relatively often - but the reality is for 90% of the time I go to the shops, commute to work, spend weekends not going far. All well within the publicized range.
The dealer even said if I wanted to borrow a petrol car for the odd longer journeys, just give him a call and he'd arrange for one to be available from time to time.
So, I leased a 1st version i3 - the 60kwh version, so range varied from 70-100 miles depending on the weather. I chose to keep the old 330d as it really owed me not a lot. That got used for the long journeys (for which it is brilliant anyway).
24 months on I can honestly say there was only one instance where I thought I might get stuck, but managed to get home with a few miles of range left. The 330d sat on the drive for months on end without moving.
I had a charger installed at home, so every morning the car was fully charged. Free electricity when you are out is nice to have, but quite often it was just for the free top up, not because I needed it.
24 months passed and the i3 went back with 14,000 miles. No regrets at all. A brilliant car and I don't understand why it gets labeled as a city car at all. I'm very rural and it spent hardly any time in the city and mostly covered in a lot of rural grime. It's quite a large car and made for a usefully larger hack for rubbish bags for the tip than the 330d does any day. Add in the pre-heating in winter and totally silent drive, genuine off the line poke and stonking H-K stereo it's great.
I really appreciated the high tech nature of it - the exposed carbon body and blatent futuristic interior and styling. It all works really well.
If I had a complaint, it was that it's quite tall and on skinny tyres didn't always feel that stable in cross winds on the motorway, but for a point and squirt laugh, it was great.
What now? An i3s 120kwh arrives next week. 3 year lease but with the intention of keeping it. Any range issues totally out of my mind now and the wider track of the s is apparently much better for stability. Plus the BIK tax changes are very very attractive, particulary so from 2020.
My view on the range issue us that 120kwh will give me an easy 120+miles in all conditions, probably a lot more in summer. I still have my home charger and the charger network is growing fast so its pretty rare not to find one. If you drive and EV you soon get to know where they are on your 'usual' trips.
Worth thinking about is the charging time on some of these very long range cars. Yes, 300+ miles is great, but it needs an enormous battery to hold the charge, a lot of size and weight you'll rarely actually need. It's just deadweight for most of the time.
On a 7kw home charger it won't fill any quicker than any other battery. Something that size might take 12 hours, even on a dedicated 32 amp home charger like mine. My old i3 took 2.5 hours, the new one probably 4.5hours, i.e., plug it in when you get home and forget it, it's full in the morning or even later in the day when you might want to go out.
There aren't that many Tesla superchargers around and the rapid charging network at 22kw won't fill the battery any quicker than any other car. Think of it as just a very very large tank you just have to stand there longer at to fill.
95% of the time, 120 miles is more than enough. In my experience anyway.
I do still have the 330d though. Great engine.... this is PH after all!
I think for those of us with the luxury of a second car plus off-road parking & somewhere to pop a charger, makes sense.
Of course, this is PH, so that is all of us, right
We have ordered a Kona 64kW, & that will be our first EV.
I am hopeful that with the “well over 200, often over 250” range (they and Kia Just lowered the WLTP range from 301 to 279, but by all accounts it can easily do close to that)
Horrible lead time: due to arrive Aug, but a kind SpeakEV forum member dropped by and gave us a 20 mile ‘test demo’ drive. He has owned 2x i3s and 2x Zoes, so a bit of an EV fanista, but LOVES the Kona: he’s done over 10k miles in it since Sep with zero problems (& mostly free charging) - first EV he has had with zero issues.
We were very pleasantly surprised by the quality of it - comfy heated seats (& my last 4 cars have been Saab & Volvo, so I know what I’m talking about!!), some funky tech. Annoyingly it (& it’s twin, the just-announced Kia eNiro) does not have an app, but I figure it will be fine for us, we will almost solely be charging at home (& you can preschedule warming if you have a regular early start).
I’m looking forward to silent runnings, some free fuel (we have solar PV - will be getting a Zappi charger) & occasionally daft acceleration
. I strongly suspect it will be the vehicle we mostly drive in 12 months time!
Of course, this is PH, so that is all of us, right
We have ordered a Kona 64kW, & that will be our first EV.
I am hopeful that with the “well over 200, often over 250” range (they and Kia Just lowered the WLTP range from 301 to 279, but by all accounts it can easily do close to that)
Horrible lead time: due to arrive Aug, but a kind SpeakEV forum member dropped by and gave us a 20 mile ‘test demo’ drive. He has owned 2x i3s and 2x Zoes, so a bit of an EV fanista, but LOVES the Kona: he’s done over 10k miles in it since Sep with zero problems (& mostly free charging) - first EV he has had with zero issues.
We were very pleasantly surprised by the quality of it - comfy heated seats (& my last 4 cars have been Saab & Volvo, so I know what I’m talking about!!), some funky tech. Annoyingly it (& it’s twin, the just-announced Kia eNiro) does not have an app, but I figure it will be fine for us, we will almost solely be charging at home (& you can preschedule warming if you have a regular early start).
I’m looking forward to silent runnings, some free fuel (we have solar PV - will be getting a Zappi charger) & occasionally daft acceleration
. I strongly suspect it will be the vehicle we mostly drive in 12 months time!Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff