Has anyone gone back from EV ownership?

[MaxSo]

REALIST123 said:

The masses can’t afford to ‘go Tesla’.

Aren’t there apps that will work out a route if you do make a long trip? That will be displayed through Apple Play etc and should do the job if it’s really necessary.

Yeah - A Better Route Planner (not yet on car play or android auto though) and other route planners on websites that ostensibly have live charger availability info - but it’s all in its infancy and no where near as polished as Tesla’s Supercharger in car routing.

If Harry had wanted to give himself the best chance of a trouble free experience with his I-Pace the reality is that he would have needed to use A Better Route Planner to get a realistic impression of how the range would drop, then PlugShare and ZapMap to find out the Hammersmith charger was going to be hectic with taxis, to find out the Ecotricity site only had one CCS plug which was in use, and the find out the Polar site was off-line or otherwise faulty.

All far from ideal, but it is doable if you don’t mind, or even weirdly quite enjoy, the planning aspect of it.

Edited by MaxSo on Monday 20th January 10:46

[MaxSo]

manracer said:

very timely thread this for me - i have a model 3, albeit through evezy and not tesla direct (so no tesla app access).

I have an issue today which is yet again down to the evezy app thats probably going to result in me returning it and going back to ICE - i want to like this car but im really struggling. I know some of the issues are with evezy and not tesla, but the car isnt perfect either.

Someone else who is on the lengthy waiting list for one will be very pleased to hear this!

[anonymous-user]

NDA said:

Have you noticed any deterioration in battery performance (holding it's charge/range) given the length of time you've owned an EV?

No.

The difference I noticed when going from the Zoe to the i3 was that cold weather had a much more significant impact on the range of the Zoe than of the i3.

Both lose a lot of range in the cold, but the % lost by the Zoe was at least 10% higher than the i3

[NDA]

JPJPJP said:

NDA said:

Have you noticed any deterioration in battery performance (holding it's charge/range) given the length of time you've owned an EV?

No.

The difference I noticed when going from the Zoe to the i3 was that cold weather had a much more significant impact on the range of the Zoe than of the i3.

Both lose a lot of range in the cold, but the % lost by the Zoe was at least 10% higher than the i3

Interesting... thanks.

Like a lot of people, EV's are on the menu for the next choice of car. Because my longest (weekly) single trip is around 90 miles (most are 15 or so a day) an EV makes sense. I also have a weekend V8 car, which I intend to keep forever.

Overnight charging would become an easy routine - the only thing that would require proper management is any trip over 200 miles. I certainly wouldn't take one to the continent to drive.

[MaxSo]

NDA said:

Interesting... thanks.

Like a lot of people, EV's are on the menu for the next choice of car. Because my longest (weekly) single trip is around 90 miles (most are 15 or so a day) an EV makes sense. I also have a weekend V8 car, which I intend to keep forever.

Overnight charging would become an easy routine - the only thing that would require proper management is any trip over 200 miles. I certainly wouldn't take one to the continent to drive.

Driving an EV in parts of Europe is almost certainly more straightforward than in the UK - particularly in an EV that can make the most of networks like Fastned and Ionity.

The Uk has been left behind.

[DMZ]

I'm amazed there's still interest in videos about charging eg Harry's video. Surely that has been done to death by now? I'm more interested in what cars are like to drive, not what it's like to refuel them. I think I can figure that part out myself without too much difficulty.

What surprised me about the i3 is that I'm using it way more than I ever thought I would. I can probably do something like 99% of my driving in it if I wanted to. That said, I'm sure they're not for everyone.

[CABC]

MaxSo said:

Driving an EV in parts of Europe is almost certainly more straightforward than in the UK - particularly in an EV that can make the most of networks like Fastned and Ionity.

The Uk has been left behind.

the charging network is certainly the bottleneck, and may even get worse if EV take up accelerates faster than than network expands.

The parts of europe you're referring i presume are northern countries? i live and drive around southern europe and would suggest it's anything other than straightforward.

[rjg48]

Surprised to see nobody was using the numerous Tesla Superchargers at Oxford Services.

Not!

[NDA]

DMZ said:

I'm amazed there's still interest in videos about charging

It's the single issue that concerns potential buyers. So I am not surprised.

In terms of driving, I expect most are fairly anodyne.

[MaxSo]

This is well-rounded piece about (non-Tesla) charging as it currently stands:

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/advice/800-mile...

[SWoll]

JPJPJP said:

NDA said:

Have you noticed any deterioration in battery performance (holding it's charge/range) given the length of time you've owned an EV?

No.

The difference I noticed when going from the Zoe to the i3 was that cold weather had a much more significant impact on the range of the Zoe than of the i3.

Both lose a lot of range in the cold, but the % lost by the Zoe was at least 10% higher than the i3

Blimey, just how bad is the Zoe? At -2 this morning our i3 120ah was showing 120 miles at 100% charge, in the summer it was 180 so a 33% drop.

[MaxSo]

SWoll said:

Blimey, just how bad is the Zoe? At -2 this morning our i3 120ah was showing 120 miles at 100% charge, in the summer it was 180 so a 33% drop.

I’m pretty sure you can’t really do comparisons like this unless you are 100% confident the car was driven exactly the same in the run up to each viewing of the range display?

I just rely on A Better Route Planner for any and all journeys in the i3 where I even suspect the current % I have in the battery will be tested.

It says that on a regular 170 mile journey I do with a quick charge top up on route, the total difference in journey time between a 0°C day and 20°C day is 4 minutes. (All else being the same, 105% speed limit).

Edited by MaxSo on Monday 20th January 11:58

Edited by MaxSo on Monday 20th January 12:06

[Otispunkmeyer]

covmutley said:

Went from an i3 to jag XE s.

I3 was bought for 90 mile round commute (which made the numbers work) Change of job saw that drop by 60 odd miles so went for a v6 petrol before it's to late.

I really liked the electric drive train, tech, overall ease of driving and pre heating. , but whilst the i3 is fine around town, I found it seriously compromised on country lanes. Skittish and forever losing traction. My Kids used to feel sick in the back often too.

The one I got a lot of use of in my old job used to make me feel a bit nauseous at times. I think its to do with the wheelbase and the wheels being right at the corners? I dunno, it used to pitch, roll and bob about like a dinghy on the ocean. It gave you that slightly floaty feeling that messed with my inner balance.

[stargazer30]

I had a Zoe a few years back when they were giving them away on pcp. Got it to save money as we were doing a new house up. It did exactly that. House sorted, Zoe back and bought a type r (again).

The only bad thing about the Zoe was Renault finance.

[SWoll]

MaxSo said:

SWoll said:

Blimey, just how bad is the Zoe? At -2 this morning our i3 120ah was showing 120 miles at 100% charge, in the summer it was 180 so a 33% drop.

I’m pretty sure you can’t really do comparisons like this unless you are 100% confident the car was driven exactly the same in the run up to each viewing of the range display?

I just rely on A Better Route Planner for any and all journeys in the i3 where I even suspect the current % I have in the battery will be tested.

It says that on a regular 170 mile journey I do with a quick charge top up on route, the total difference in journey time between a 0°C day and 20°C day is 4 minutes. (All else being the same, 105% speed limit).

Our usage rarely changes as it's essentially the round town runabout so used to drop the kids at school, pop to the supermarket etc. Stayed consistent during the warmer months but has dropped since November time with the current range being the lowest so far in line with temperatures.

[Job38]

Enjoyed my i3 for local motoring. Hated the looks and the nasty handling. Never used public charging (Harry's video - case in point)

But:

1. BIK went up to 19% last year!
2. Can't get insurance for teenage daughters
3. No EV at present can seem to accommodate two German Pointers

[SWoll]

Job38 said:

Enjoyed my i3 for local motoring. Hated the looks and the nasty handling. Never used public charging (Harry's video - case in point)

But:

1. BIK went up to 19% last year!
2. Can't get insurance for teenage daughters
3. No EV at present can seem to accommodate two German Pointers

Big fan of the I3's looks here, have grown on me massively since we've had the car, and find the handling great fun around town though not so good at high speed.

Surely an E-Niro, E-Tron, EQC, Model X would be able to cope with 2 medium sized dogs in the boot?

[Heres Johnny]

I used to do 30k in a Tesla until about 3 years ago, when I changed jobs the car went back as it was a company car and I switrched to an Audi S4. Just getting in, lower seating position, better steering (and thats saying something given it was an Audi), felt better, but it struggled to do 25mpg which was fine when low mileage driving, I was now down to 9k a year.

It lasted a year and I went back to a Tesla, this time a MS P90DL which I still have, but I had to do an old style work day, be 150 miles away for 9AM for an all day event, it was winter, so I had to top up on the way down to make sure I had enough after my meeting to get to a supercharger, I then had to go out out of my way to a supercharger, friday madness down south, wait till one became free, managed about 70kw to put in 190 miles to get me home - horrendous to be honest. We still have the Tesla, the wife uses it as her daily, but if I'm going anywhere long distance in a day I take the i8 - 90% of the benefits of an EV but none of the downsides

[MaxSo]

SWoll said:

Our usage rarely changes as it's essentially the round town runabout so used to drop the kids at school, pop to the supermarket etc. Stayed consistent during the warmer months but has dropped since November time with the current range being the lowest so far in line with temperatures.

Ah that’s possibly what’s behind the apparent big reduction in range then - lots of short little trips where the cabin has to be heated each time. Would mainly be an issue for people without home charging I guess as could mean going from 1 public charge a week to 2 or more during winter.

On a single longer trip, especially where the cabin is pre-heated whilst plugged in, the hit on the battery from heater usage is probably much more limited. I think it uses waste heat from the battery / motors (obviously much more of that at motorway speeds) and recycles it into cabin heat. I’ve definitely noticed the cabin get noticeably warmer on its own accord after a couple of spirited roundabout exits!

[MaxSo]

SWoll said:

Big fan of the I3's looks here, have grown on me massively since we've had the car, and find the handling great fun around town though not so good at high speed.

Surely an E-Niro, E-Tron, EQC, Model X would be able to cope with 2 medium sized dogs in the boot?

Likewise, though I would prefer an S version in a dark colour rather than Evezy white. Also find the handling quite entertaining, though quite tiring on motorways above about 65. Active lane assist would transform it, I reckon, and make it much better for motorway use.