Anyone giving up EV?
Discussion
TheDeuce said:
Shaoxter said:
vikingaero said:
I have a VW Passat diesel reserved solely as the car for University runs and holidays. So for example in one day before Easter I collected both Vikingettes. It did Kent to Manchester at 4am in 3.5 hours without needing a toilet break, Manchester to Birmingham, Birmingham to Kent (Around 9 hours and 550 miles) We ate around loading up and only stopped for 3 minute toilet stops.
Why don't they take the train? On a recent block of work in Edinburgh I had an excuse to drive as I had a load of kit to take up. But I palletised it sent it that way, it was about £60. I then grabbed cheap last minute first class tickets on the train - two glasses of wine, a beef stew and a snooze later... I'm there. I made the trip without needing to obsess over ICE cost Vs EV en route charging
I'm baffled by people that claim they 'frequently' need to drive several hundred miles so an EV is 'impossible'. Whatever, if it's that frequent find a better way to travel than driving..
Fox- said:
An ideal two car driveway would be a diesel with range like that and a small fully electric city car. I think a lot of the issues with electric cars are a result of trying to make them the answer to every question - they are not, but neither was a diesel car or a petrol car.
Why would a diesel be anywhere near a 2 car driveway? Grim.Cobnapint said:
Another thing that would stress the b'jesus out of me on a long journey would be the lack of a collapsible spare wheel. I don't know of an EV that lets you spec one.
This is normal across most cars these days, has been for more than a decade.Cobnapint said:
So I guess breakdown recovery is a necessity. And while we're on the subject, do breakdown services get you out the doggy do-dos if you misjudge things and run out of charge in the middle of nowhere? Is that part of the package or can you get separate cover?
Yes, it's typically part of the policy.Cobnapint said:
Another thing that would stress the b'jesus out of me on a long journey would be the lack of a collapsible spare wheel. I don't know of an EV that lets you spec one.
And before someone asks how many times have I had a total deflation - I have, once. A chunk of metal ripped a whopping great unsealable gash in one of my Audi TT's tyres.
So I guess breakdown recovery is a necessity. And while we're on the subject, do breakdown services get you out the doggy do-dos if you misjudge things and run out of charge in the middle of nowhere? Is that part of the package or can you get separate cover?
Yes they do, the breakdown services have vans with special booster batteries, just as they can provide fuel for people who run out. Which according to them happens more frequently (normalised for numbers of cars) than electric cars running out of fuel. And before someone asks how many times have I had a total deflation - I have, once. A chunk of metal ripped a whopping great unsealable gash in one of my Audi TT's tyres.
So I guess breakdown recovery is a necessity. And while we're on the subject, do breakdown services get you out the doggy do-dos if you misjudge things and run out of charge in the middle of nowhere? Is that part of the package or can you get separate cover?
The commonest reasons for EV breakdowns are tyres and the 12v battery, just like an ICE car.
Running out of fuel is highly likely to bork your fuel pump, while running an electric car dry and then recharging it fairly soon after is not going to cause any damage.
Evanivitch said:
Fox- said:
An ideal two car driveway would be a diesel with range like that and a small fully electric city car. I think a lot of the issues with electric cars are a result of trying to make them the answer to every question - they are not, but neither was a diesel car or a petrol car.
Why would a diesel be anywhere near a 2 car driveway? Grim.Edited by cerb4.5lee on Wednesday 17th April 07:50
cerb4.5lee said:
Evanivitch said:
Fox- said:
An ideal two car driveway would be a diesel with range like that and a small fully electric city car. I think a lot of the issues with electric cars are a result of trying to make them the answer to every question - they are not, but neither was a diesel car or a petrol car.
Why would a diesel be anywhere near a 2 car driveway? Grim.https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/call-for-early-ba...
plfrench said:
I think he's referring to the emissions coming out of a Diesel exhaust as opposed to how it drives. There is an ever increasing push to get rid of Diesels from UK roads ASAP. I saw this yesterday which shows an incredible drop off in Diesel fuel sales both nationally and even more so in London, so it would appear the push is working:
https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/call-for-early-ba...
Don't get me wrong, from an emissions perspective I can understand why you'd want diesel(and petrol) banning if you live in a city centre. We don't all live in city centres though do we? https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/call-for-early-ba...
DodgyGeezer said:
and EV's don't really like fast long journeys - all horses for courses...
Depends what you call long and fast. A 400 mile trip would require one stop. In my ICE at the time from the Channel to Costa Blanca required at least 3 usually 4 stops and it would be the same in an EV now. We have a 70mph National speed limit and where I am located in the South that is rarely achievable consistently during all normal hours. I haven't been able to manage an average 60mph on a journey for a very long time here and that's sticking to whatever limit whenever possible. The big plus with an EV is every time deceleration is required a good chunk of energy is recuperated.
740EVTORQUES said:
Ken_Code said:
Although very long journeys tend to involve very little braking, so it’s not going to be a significant contribution there.
And equally if they don’t involve much braking they don’t involve much acceleration either so the weight is not as important.The rolling resistance component is almost independent of speed and is about 50 Wh/mile per ton.
100 miles at 70mph in a 2 ton EV uses up 10 kWh for the mass of the car and about 20 kWh for drag.
Brick shaped cars need not apply for that drag value...
cerb4.5lee said:
Since when have trains been cheap to use? Not to mention how bloody unreliable/unpredictable they are. Sod that, I'd rather drive instead...and I love wine, so that tells you how much I dislike using trains for sure!
I commuted (season ticket|) into central London on a train since 1986 and my experience is it was incredibly reliable in comparison with having to do the same journey in car. It was also a good time to catch up on emails, meeting prep etc. Now i use the train from the South coast into London. It is inexpensive and convenient even First Class. I often use it to get to Gatwick as well. it is much more convenient than driving myself and cheaper than using my taxi guy. I always book in advance. cerb4.5lee said:
Isn't a small full electric city car grim as well though? I certainly didn't reckon much to the smart full electric city car that I had as a loan car once.
Try an i3s but not Rex. I reckon being a carbon tub it will start to appreciate in a few years. They are not cheap though if you want one under 4 years old. The damping needs sorting though but there's some after market stuff available now. Edited by cerb4.5lee on Wednesday 17th April 07:50
GT9 said:
For an EV with good aero, the contribution of kerb mass to motorway cruise consumption is about a third.
The rolling resistance component is almost independent of speed and is about 50 Wh/mile per ton.
100 miles at 70mph in a 2 ton EV uses up 10 kWh for the mass of the car and about 20 kWh for drag.
Brick shaped cars need not apply for that drag value...
I've got a brick shaped EV - a Polestar 2.The rolling resistance component is almost independent of speed and is about 50 Wh/mile per ton.
100 miles at 70mph in a 2 ton EV uses up 10 kWh for the mass of the car and about 20 kWh for drag.
Brick shaped cars need not apply for that drag value...
Interestingly I've been commuting Birmingham to Manchester for the last few weeks, which is near-as-dammit 100 miles. And it consumes, on average 38% battery each way, which is 31ish kWh - as you say. Aren't physics and sums great? And that includes a 120kg driver, luggage, M6 Toll Drag Race and running the heating/aircon/seats as I want.
It also costs about 7 quid for the return trip.
cerb4.5lee said:
Since when have trains been cheap to use? Not to mention how bloody unreliable/unpredictable they are. Sod that, I'd rather drive instead...and I love wine, so that tells you how much I dislike using trains for sure!
We're not talking about rush hour trains though, off peak they're pretty cheap. When I was a student I used to get the £1 megabuses 
9 hours is a huge amount of someone's time to waste on the road when other/better options are available imo.
CheesecakeRunner said:
mikeiow said:
Bet you win that drag race though 
Nearly always. Even though I have the slowest Polestar 2 at a mere 6 seconds.It got boring in my Model 3 Performance though as it was always an easy win.
The thing is as Telsa have confirm you can't make a cost effective small electric or a per Ford a small ICE car i.e. no small cars at all will exist as things are. So we are pushed in to bigger EV which mean for me moving from a Mini to Tesla Y sized car. E2E pollution about the same and me hugely out of pocket. Is that what Net Zero means?
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