Please Post Real World EV Experiences.
Discussion
ive had a couple of EVs/hybrid
reliability of all has been exceptional, literally nothing to see here, complete tumbleweed, perfect...
BMW i3, both BEV and Rex - early range not really acceptable, in the depths of winter they only did 60 miles range, and zero meant zero, once stopped on the side of the road less than half a mile after '--' showed on the display. Rex eradicated range anxiety. i loved them, for bobbing around town and shopping, it was great, nippy and small while being big inside. suicide doors are great for loading children on the drive, but in parking spaces, they were more trouble than they were worth because you essentially got trapped by the front doors.
BMW i8 - a different proposition, was an exceptional looking (IMO) daily driveable semi-exotic, just not quite quick enough. in every other way, a brilliant car.
Tesla M3P - BEV comes of age!!! superb in pretty well every regard, real world 280 mile range is ample for just about every requirement. backed up admirably by the supercharger network. it conducts daily driver duties superbly, is quick, quiet, economical, reliable (so far) - what more do you want?
charged on cheap rate electricity it works out at more than 300mpg equivalent and does 0-60 in 3. to quote chris harris, "it's a whole new thing..."
reliability of all has been exceptional, literally nothing to see here, complete tumbleweed, perfect...
BMW i3, both BEV and Rex - early range not really acceptable, in the depths of winter they only did 60 miles range, and zero meant zero, once stopped on the side of the road less than half a mile after '--' showed on the display. Rex eradicated range anxiety. i loved them, for bobbing around town and shopping, it was great, nippy and small while being big inside. suicide doors are great for loading children on the drive, but in parking spaces, they were more trouble than they were worth because you essentially got trapped by the front doors.
BMW i8 - a different proposition, was an exceptional looking (IMO) daily driveable semi-exotic, just not quite quick enough. in every other way, a brilliant car.
Tesla M3P - BEV comes of age!!! superb in pretty well every regard, real world 280 mile range is ample for just about every requirement. backed up admirably by the supercharger network. it conducts daily driver duties superbly, is quick, quiet, economical, reliable (so far) - what more do you want?
charged on cheap rate electricity it works out at more than 300mpg equivalent and does 0-60 in 3. to quote chris harris, "it's a whole new thing..."
I've got a 65 plate 60Ah i3.
It's a school run/local shops car so the sort of trips that are really not good for ICE. Shool run is 1.6 miles each way so my old ICE car never warmed up.
It does for 95+% of my driving. longer trips to parents or holidays etc I use something else.
It gets charged once or twice a week. As mentioned above the rear suicide doors are great for access when there is space to the side of the car but a PITA between cars in a carpark.
It's a school run/local shops car so the sort of trips that are really not good for ICE. Shool run is 1.6 miles each way so my old ICE car never warmed up.
It does for 95+% of my driving. longer trips to parents or holidays etc I use something else.
It gets charged once or twice a week. As mentioned above the rear suicide doors are great for access when there is space to the side of the car but a PITA between cars in a carpark.
I've had my Tesla Model 3 Performance for a year today (it replaced a Leon Cupra 300) and have done 11k miles in it, mainly around Cornwall. I have off street parking and so have an Andersen A2 home charger, which is a really nice bit of kit and we are on the Octopus Go tariff, so 4 hours of 5p/Kwh per night.
Over 11k miles it has averaged 3.2 miles/Kwh. As I only charge it at home overnight, or at free (mainly Tesla destination) chargers, at 5p/kwh that works out at £168. The car has been excellent and hasn't cost me anything bar electricity. With a usable 75kwh battery that makes the realistic range of 245 miles averaged over a full year - probably ranging from 210 in Winter to 270 in Summer (based on +/-15%, the mild Cornish weather and it having no heat pump).
In late August we replaced my wife's diesel Zafira with a Hyundai Kona 64Kw Premium SE electric. Again, it is a really nice car and over 3k miles it has averaged 4.2miles/kwh, so again charging at home at 5p/kwh, it has cost us £36. With a usable 64kwh battery that makes the realistic range 268 miles since August, so probably 240 in Winter to 295 in Summer, based on +/-10% (based on mild Cornish weather and it having a heat pump).
Both are leased through my business.
For context, we have a dog and two teenagers. I am a petrolhead (I have a supercharged Ariel Atom) but we will not go back to ICE cars for everyday use.
Over 11k miles it has averaged 3.2 miles/Kwh. As I only charge it at home overnight, or at free (mainly Tesla destination) chargers, at 5p/kwh that works out at £168. The car has been excellent and hasn't cost me anything bar electricity. With a usable 75kwh battery that makes the realistic range of 245 miles averaged over a full year - probably ranging from 210 in Winter to 270 in Summer (based on +/-15%, the mild Cornish weather and it having no heat pump).
In late August we replaced my wife's diesel Zafira with a Hyundai Kona 64Kw Premium SE electric. Again, it is a really nice car and over 3k miles it has averaged 4.2miles/kwh, so again charging at home at 5p/kwh, it has cost us £36. With a usable 64kwh battery that makes the realistic range 268 miles since August, so probably 240 in Winter to 295 in Summer, based on +/-10% (based on mild Cornish weather and it having a heat pump).
Both are leased through my business.
For context, we have a dog and two teenagers. I am a petrolhead (I have a supercharged Ariel Atom) but we will not go back to ICE cars for everyday use.
Edited by Fastlane on Thursday 3rd December 16:24
I replaced my daily-driver Lotus Evora with a cheap (<£6k) 2014 22kwh Renault Zoe and an Elise, and have access to my wifes Fiat 500.
I've been running the Zoe for 12 months now and as posted above it easily does 95% of journeys we do, despite it's 60-80 mile range.
It's a surprising amount of fun for a tinny hatchback, and has been the family car of choice whenever we can use it. Quiet, nippy, good turning circle, completely reliable so far.
I do 20 miles a day commuting and it's perfect - I've once manged 230 miles in a single day but it's not ideal for that!
The range on an early EV does become restrictive when you want to do longer day trips. I regularly go to the Lakes for walks and that's up to 120 miles each way. At the moment the Zoe isn't practical for that and we've used the Fiat for longer trips on holiday etc.
I'm finding it hard to know what to replace it with next. Even expensive new EV's will struggle to do 240 fast miles in a day without fighting for a charger somewhere and I don't like Teslas (obvs subjective).
I'll probably get a £10k ZE40 Zoe and live with the compromises as I just can't get excited about mainstream ICE cars for daily use now. The new Zoe with 200+ mile range and DC charging options ticks all my boxes but I can't get my head around spending £30k on such a cheaply built car.
One thing to note - up until the current model, Zoes could only charge using AC, and only Q90 models could charge faster than 22kw/hour. You really do need the fast charging option if you do a longer trip. Also the Zoe was the ONLY car which could properly fast charge on AC, so it's likely that these charge points will fade away over the next few years due to lack of demand as the industry standardises on DC CCS charging.
I've been running the Zoe for 12 months now and as posted above it easily does 95% of journeys we do, despite it's 60-80 mile range.
It's a surprising amount of fun for a tinny hatchback, and has been the family car of choice whenever we can use it. Quiet, nippy, good turning circle, completely reliable so far.
I do 20 miles a day commuting and it's perfect - I've once manged 230 miles in a single day but it's not ideal for that!
The range on an early EV does become restrictive when you want to do longer day trips. I regularly go to the Lakes for walks and that's up to 120 miles each way. At the moment the Zoe isn't practical for that and we've used the Fiat for longer trips on holiday etc.
I'm finding it hard to know what to replace it with next. Even expensive new EV's will struggle to do 240 fast miles in a day without fighting for a charger somewhere and I don't like Teslas (obvs subjective).
I'll probably get a £10k ZE40 Zoe and live with the compromises as I just can't get excited about mainstream ICE cars for daily use now. The new Zoe with 200+ mile range and DC charging options ticks all my boxes but I can't get my head around spending £30k on such a cheaply built car.
One thing to note - up until the current model, Zoes could only charge using AC, and only Q90 models could charge faster than 22kw/hour. You really do need the fast charging option if you do a longer trip. Also the Zoe was the ONLY car which could properly fast charge on AC, so it's likely that these charge points will fade away over the next few years due to lack of demand as the industry standardises on DC CCS charging.
Edited by giveitfish on Wednesday 2nd December 13:57
We've got a later (35kWh) eGolf that does more than 95% of our mileage.
I figure on 100 real-world miles without worrying about planning charging, it'll do more when it's warmer or if it's in slower traffic, less with bikes on the roof.
Picked it up in January from dealer in Bradford and drove back to SE London (230ish miles), no issues charging on the way home. Have done a few other longer trips (300 miles or so in a weekend, or 150 mile day trips), again not had a problem on Instavolt, Polar, Geniepoint, even Ecotricity. You'd probably choose something else if you were doing long trips a lot but they're fine in the eGolf if you allow a bit more time. It's so relaxing on the motorway (quiet, adaptive cruise, good stereo) I tend to choose it over our ICE car unless I need to carry big things.
It's a Golf, just one that's incredibly pleasant to drive in traffic, costs 1-2p a mile to fuel, and that defrosts itself and heats the interior on a cold morning. I really like it.
I figure on 100 real-world miles without worrying about planning charging, it'll do more when it's warmer or if it's in slower traffic, less with bikes on the roof.
Picked it up in January from dealer in Bradford and drove back to SE London (230ish miles), no issues charging on the way home. Have done a few other longer trips (300 miles or so in a weekend, or 150 mile day trips), again not had a problem on Instavolt, Polar, Geniepoint, even Ecotricity. You'd probably choose something else if you were doing long trips a lot but they're fine in the eGolf if you allow a bit more time. It's so relaxing on the motorway (quiet, adaptive cruise, good stereo) I tend to choose it over our ICE car unless I need to carry big things.
It's a Golf, just one that's incredibly pleasant to drive in traffic, costs 1-2p a mile to fuel, and that defrosts itself and heats the interior on a cold morning. I really like it.
Model 3 here. 15 months 10k miles. No issues at all. Service fixed a couple of cosmetic snags.
Thought maybe my window had become sentient, but not sure - the dog is under investigation.
Range drop in Scotland winter is about 20%
Road noise is an issue, as is stiff suspension, and not being able to regularly make use of top and bottom 5% of the battery.
Never experienced a hiccup from super chargers but charge mostly at home. 3rd party less good and shouldn’t be relied upon.
Had a no fault accident repair. Parts took a month after which it was quick. No price change on renewal. 650.
I have friends with a Zoe and they are very pleased with it. It again they charge at home.
Thought maybe my window had become sentient, but not sure - the dog is under investigation.
Range drop in Scotland winter is about 20%
Road noise is an issue, as is stiff suspension, and not being able to regularly make use of top and bottom 5% of the battery.
Never experienced a hiccup from super chargers but charge mostly at home. 3rd party less good and shouldn’t be relied upon.
Had a no fault accident repair. Parts took a month after which it was quick. No price change on renewal. 650.
I have friends with a Zoe and they are very pleased with it. It again they charge at home.
Edited by LimJim on Wednesday 2nd December 19:34
My experience with public charging is that it's still poor. Not enough points, too many are broken and too many different apps.
It hasn't dented the appeal of the car as you use them so rarely, even on my short range car. Normally you charge overnight at home and it takes no time out of your day.
If I had a Tesla Model 3 instead we'd have used it for the longer trips as well, but I bet even then we would have needed public chargers less than 10 times in a year.
It hasn't dented the appeal of the car as you use them so rarely, even on my short range car. Normally you charge overnight at home and it takes no time out of your day.
If I had a Tesla Model 3 instead we'd have used it for the longer trips as well, but I bet even then we would have needed public chargers less than 10 times in a year.
Edited by giveitfish on Wednesday 2nd December 14:04
2017 Zoe R90 (41kWh).
Bought new for £17k, done about 32,000 miles, mostly charging at home and doing 30 mile round trips to work plus family stuff. It's been our only car for almost 3 years now, and aside from my inability to fit a bike rack (you can fit road/cx bikes inside but run the risk of getting mud everywhere) it's done everything asked of it.
The longest journey we've done in it is 250 miles (each way) to Cornwall. In the summer it's not bad and I've had 190 miles before charging on one occasion, but if it's cold and windy that can go down to 140 ish, and with only 22kW charging it probably adds 2 hours to the journey. It means we relax a little more and take our time on the journey, but it's not idea. I don't do it often enough for it to be more than a minor annoyance though.
Upsides: Pre-heat
, cheap to run, quiet and nice to be in, big enough, family approves, reliable, residuals.
Downsides: Slow charging (I was a cheapskate and didn't get the Q, so it charges at 22kW) means that long journeys are made longer. Charging network is a bit hit and miss, and Rapid AC seems to be stalled. Renault dealers losing their EV techs mean I'm going to have to travel 30 miles for the next service.
I'd upgrade to a car with longer range and faster charging if the cost to change was reasonable. Despite the residuals (mine's probably worth £14k?), the list of everything else has gone up so much the cost to change is massive (and the only deals on offer are PCP, so you can't get the finance company to absorb some of it). I don't want to move away from EV, but I feel kinda stuck in this Zoe for the moment.
Bought new for £17k, done about 32,000 miles, mostly charging at home and doing 30 mile round trips to work plus family stuff. It's been our only car for almost 3 years now, and aside from my inability to fit a bike rack (you can fit road/cx bikes inside but run the risk of getting mud everywhere) it's done everything asked of it.
The longest journey we've done in it is 250 miles (each way) to Cornwall. In the summer it's not bad and I've had 190 miles before charging on one occasion, but if it's cold and windy that can go down to 140 ish, and with only 22kW charging it probably adds 2 hours to the journey. It means we relax a little more and take our time on the journey, but it's not idea. I don't do it often enough for it to be more than a minor annoyance though.
Upsides: Pre-heat
, cheap to run, quiet and nice to be in, big enough, family approves, reliable, residuals.Downsides: Slow charging (I was a cheapskate and didn't get the Q, so it charges at 22kW) means that long journeys are made longer. Charging network is a bit hit and miss, and Rapid AC seems to be stalled. Renault dealers losing their EV techs mean I'm going to have to travel 30 miles for the next service.
I'd upgrade to a car with longer range and faster charging if the cost to change was reasonable. Despite the residuals (mine's probably worth £14k?), the list of everything else has gone up so much the cost to change is massive (and the only deals on offer are PCP, so you can't get the finance company to absorb some of it). I don't want to move away from EV, but I feel kinda stuck in this Zoe for the moment.
Edited by DuncanM23 on Wednesday 2nd December 14:12
Really interested in this, and noted what Ntiz said in another forum.
We have just opened a salary sacrifice scheme at work. I asked for a price on a Polestar and M3 Performance.
No go on the Polestar for some arcane supply can't do it mate not on your company tariff reason. (i.e. b
ks). M3 was net salary cost of £560 including maintenance and insurance. The insurance is £140 a month! I was only paying £380 a year for business use on my Audi S7.
If they sort out the Polestar supply I might join the scheme. That said, I can do 500 miles a day so the Supercharger network and recharge times of the M3 are more practical. The last thing I need, on some development site in the arse end of nowhere is finding I am down to a few miles of charge because of a lack of working chargers en route.
It does seem that the whole charging logistics is part of the nerdy fun of these things, for some owners though.
Our EV journey started back in April 2019 when I moved jobs and rather than taking another diesel company car decided to get an i3 120ah via EVezy.
Great little car with annoying doors. Covered 15k miles in 12 months with most charging done at home via a 3-pin granny charger overnight and the odd top up whilst shopping. Did a number of longer trips and found public charging to be decidedly hit and miss due to lack of availability, faulty chargers etc.
Back in December 2019 we swapped our remaining ICE car for a Model 3 Performance, again from EVezy. Been hugely impressed with it despite a couple of minor quality niggles and at no point do you get used to the amount of performance it offers and how it delivers it. Again, most charging done at home via 3-pin granny charger but have found the supercharger network to be brilliant whenever we have used it with the combination of battery preparation en-route and charger availability being integrated into the sat-nav. The central screen and lack of buttons becomes second nature very quickly and every other car I get in now just feels cluttered and old hat.
We did off hire the i3 back in March at the start of the Covid lockdown as realised 2 cars were not going to be needed but would happily get another should this change at any point and as above would never go back to ICE for daily duties now.
Great little car with annoying doors. Covered 15k miles in 12 months with most charging done at home via a 3-pin granny charger overnight and the odd top up whilst shopping. Did a number of longer trips and found public charging to be decidedly hit and miss due to lack of availability, faulty chargers etc.
Back in December 2019 we swapped our remaining ICE car for a Model 3 Performance, again from EVezy. Been hugely impressed with it despite a couple of minor quality niggles and at no point do you get used to the amount of performance it offers and how it delivers it. Again, most charging done at home via 3-pin granny charger but have found the supercharger network to be brilliant whenever we have used it with the combination of battery preparation en-route and charger availability being integrated into the sat-nav. The central screen and lack of buttons becomes second nature very quickly and every other car I get in now just feels cluttered and old hat.
We did off hire the i3 back in March at the start of the Covid lockdown as realised 2 cars were not going to be needed but would happily get another should this change at any point and as above would never go back to ICE for daily duties now.
Castrol for a knave said:
It does seem that the whole charging logistics is part of the nerdy fun of these things, for some owners though.
True enough, epsecially for us with older cars! Long journeys mean knowing the location of all chargers enroute and also where the diversion chargers are for when the primary is broken!Not such an issue with 200+ miles range.
Couple of years ago I had a diesel Honda Accord as I was doing the sort of mileage that justified the diesel (and it was convenient when the previous Volvo S70 shed that I had had for 15 years got to the point of unreliability.
Anyway I quit working, retired early and realized that the accord (and its DPF) would not suit my less than interstellar distances any longer and dipped my toes in the water with a Vauxhall Ampera (2012). 30-40 miles on electricity and the rest on petrol. The car was definitely quirky but I kept it for a couple of years and (barring one trailer incident when it needed to be given a lift to the dealer - the steering lock failed) worked flawlessly.
I really enjoyed the BEV experience, and disliked it when I had to use petrol. Basically the range was too short on batteries. As a proof of concept for my driving it basically said yes BEV is the way to go but get a better range car.
So I bought a Kia eNiro 64kWh with 200+ mile range.
Love it. Never used a public charge point, always charge at home - so really cheap to run.
Anyway I quit working, retired early and realized that the accord (and its DPF) would not suit my less than interstellar distances any longer and dipped my toes in the water with a Vauxhall Ampera (2012). 30-40 miles on electricity and the rest on petrol. The car was definitely quirky but I kept it for a couple of years and (barring one trailer incident when it needed to be given a lift to the dealer - the steering lock failed) worked flawlessly.
I really enjoyed the BEV experience, and disliked it when I had to use petrol. Basically the range was too short on batteries. As a proof of concept for my driving it basically said yes BEV is the way to go but get a better range car.
So I bought a Kia eNiro 64kWh with 200+ mile range.
Love it. Never used a public charge point, always charge at home - so really cheap to run.
About Me: 30 something petrol head. Always tried to make slightly left-field car choices. Always tried to own a fast car. I buy what I like, not what is popular or trendy or even sensible. I do between 8-10k miles a year. I own a TVR for high days and holidays. My wife usually drives whatever daily we have, more than me. I have a bag for life and I recycle my pizza boxes but I am not an activist and despite owning an EV, I probably have a very large carbon footprint, all things considered.
My EV: Tesla Model 3 Performance.
I had an Alfa Romeo Guilia Veloce(Petrol, 280bhp), which was great however it was a lease car, my first and probably last lease! The lease was ending and I started thinking about my next daily, I was fairly set on an RS4 or C43 AMG and the missus was in agreement. We test drove both, RS4 was ahead, then I went down a Tesla rabbit hole online one night. A new Model S or X was beyond my budget, or at least what I was prepared to spend on an EV at that stage. So we test drove a Model 3 Performance, I was excited but was pretty sure it wouldn’t be for us.
Despite it not being as practice as the Audi or Merc, the missus and I came away from the test drive absolutely blown away by the car
- smooth, silent, comfortable, rapid..., cheap to run, new and exciting. We overlooked the reduced luggage space and spec’d and bought one on my phone in the car park before we even got home.
Since then; 0 regrets. I’ve never managed the 315mile range that Tesla claim for the 2019 M3P but I haven’t needed to, as the Tesla Supercharger network and a home charger make long journeys and daily nipping around easy. I estimate the real world range more like 260-270, less if you spend much time on a motorway at >70mph and I’ve noticed it even less now, in single figure temperatures.
The performance is immense, I think this alone is enough to convert the most ardent petrolhead.
Charging - Home charger (7kW, +30 miles added per hour) and the Tesla Supercharger Network are all I've ever needed. I’ve never used any other public charger. My only experience of public charging outwith the Tesla SC network was when I relied on a Polar charger in Gloucester, which was not working when I arrived. I promptly sh!t myself, done some thinking and opted to set off at 50mph to the Superchargers at Michaelwood Services on the M5. I arrived with 0% battery and 0 miles remaining. Probably done 5 miles with the battery showing 0%, for reference.
I would actually argue that home fuelling (charging) makes life easier than having to use fuel stations, it’s weirdly satisfying plugging your car in, scheduling the charge and knowing you’ll be toppers in the morning, ready for whatever you need to do that day. I concede, if you’re off to the Alps you will need to do some extra thinking but even my princess of a wife who has never really ‘got’ cars and would often run around with just fumes in the tank, is now totally savvy with EV charging and range and apps and networks, and loves how it has seamlessly fitted into our lifestyle.
Costs; Tiny! Ok. A Tesla isn’t the cheapest EV and this wasn’t bought as a money saving exercise however I now spend about £40/mo on fuel(electricity). In the Alfa Romeo, that my EV replaced, I was spending about £160/mo for comparison (fag packet maths based on 1000miles/mo @ 30mpg). I also consider myself to be making further savings on servicing, because the Tesla has no service schedule to speak of. Tyre cost remains similar, brakes too although it’ll be interesting to see how long pads last, as regen braking does most of the work on most of my journeys. I plan on our next house to add solar and battery storage, which would bring costs down even further over time and be a bit more green.
Bad bits; ... hard to think of any really. Although I say the range is fine, it is something I am acutely aware of at all times, so you could argue this is a hassle or at least a thought that the majority of vehicle owners don’t need? I’m a car guy, I value reliability and ease of use as much as anyone but I do probably tolerate more ‘issues’ than the average driver would?
My EV: Tesla Model 3 Performance.
I had an Alfa Romeo Guilia Veloce(Petrol, 280bhp), which was great however it was a lease car, my first and probably last lease! The lease was ending and I started thinking about my next daily, I was fairly set on an RS4 or C43 AMG and the missus was in agreement. We test drove both, RS4 was ahead, then I went down a Tesla rabbit hole online one night. A new Model S or X was beyond my budget, or at least what I was prepared to spend on an EV at that stage. So we test drove a Model 3 Performance, I was excited but was pretty sure it wouldn’t be for us.
Despite it not being as practice as the Audi or Merc, the missus and I came away from the test drive absolutely blown away by the car
- smooth, silent, comfortable, rapid..., cheap to run, new and exciting. We overlooked the reduced luggage space and spec’d and bought one on my phone in the car park before we even got home.Since then; 0 regrets. I’ve never managed the 315mile range that Tesla claim for the 2019 M3P but I haven’t needed to, as the Tesla Supercharger network and a home charger make long journeys and daily nipping around easy. I estimate the real world range more like 260-270, less if you spend much time on a motorway at >70mph and I’ve noticed it even less now, in single figure temperatures.
The performance is immense, I think this alone is enough to convert the most ardent petrolhead.
Charging - Home charger (7kW, +30 miles added per hour) and the Tesla Supercharger Network are all I've ever needed. I’ve never used any other public charger. My only experience of public charging outwith the Tesla SC network was when I relied on a Polar charger in Gloucester, which was not working when I arrived. I promptly sh!t myself, done some thinking and opted to set off at 50mph to the Superchargers at Michaelwood Services on the M5. I arrived with 0% battery and 0 miles remaining. Probably done 5 miles with the battery showing 0%, for reference.
I would actually argue that home fuelling (charging) makes life easier than having to use fuel stations, it’s weirdly satisfying plugging your car in, scheduling the charge and knowing you’ll be toppers in the morning, ready for whatever you need to do that day. I concede, if you’re off to the Alps you will need to do some extra thinking but even my princess of a wife who has never really ‘got’ cars and would often run around with just fumes in the tank, is now totally savvy with EV charging and range and apps and networks, and loves how it has seamlessly fitted into our lifestyle.
Costs; Tiny! Ok. A Tesla isn’t the cheapest EV and this wasn’t bought as a money saving exercise however I now spend about £40/mo on fuel(electricity). In the Alfa Romeo, that my EV replaced, I was spending about £160/mo for comparison (fag packet maths based on 1000miles/mo @ 30mpg). I also consider myself to be making further savings on servicing, because the Tesla has no service schedule to speak of. Tyre cost remains similar, brakes too although it’ll be interesting to see how long pads last, as regen braking does most of the work on most of my journeys. I plan on our next house to add solar and battery storage, which would bring costs down even further over time and be a bit more green.
Bad bits; ... hard to think of any really. Although I say the range is fine, it is something I am acutely aware of at all times, so you could argue this is a hassle or at least a thought that the majority of vehicle owners don’t need? I’m a car guy, I value reliability and ease of use as much as anyone but I do probably tolerate more ‘issues’ than the average driver would?
Not the UK, but some comments:
i3 93aH Rex - works well for our requirements and we get a consistent 80-100 mile range depending on weather - hot weather kills the battery due to aircon. GOM is pretty unpredictable if you keep looking at it, but if you teach yourself to not keep looking, it seems to work out over time. Only used a limited amount of petrol too, but its nice to have it for longer trips that we need to take.
Charging - I live in the country and charging points are limited here. That said, where we have used public charging its cheap, simple and easy. Never had an issue and can always find a point when needed. A little planning is required, but my wife hates filling up cars, so this is a small restriction for a big advantage.
Home charging - 120v home charging on the 3 pin plug sucks. Charges at 3 miles per hour and its just not good enough. Potentially moving so not getting a 240v L2 charger fitted yet, but 120v L1 charging is best for just topping up. From 5% to 90% takes 8+ hours, so if you have trips that are on following days, its sucks.
Zoe - in the UK, and sister has had 2 now. Cheap interior, small rear and not that comfortable. But she copes well and has been able to get around and do journeys over 140 miles one way several times (picking me up from the airport etc). Short stops at service stations for a coffee and break shows that the charging network works, but clearly wont work everywhere.
i3 93aH Rex - works well for our requirements and we get a consistent 80-100 mile range depending on weather - hot weather kills the battery due to aircon. GOM is pretty unpredictable if you keep looking at it, but if you teach yourself to not keep looking, it seems to work out over time. Only used a limited amount of petrol too, but its nice to have it for longer trips that we need to take.
Charging - I live in the country and charging points are limited here. That said, where we have used public charging its cheap, simple and easy. Never had an issue and can always find a point when needed. A little planning is required, but my wife hates filling up cars, so this is a small restriction for a big advantage.
Home charging - 120v home charging on the 3 pin plug sucks. Charges at 3 miles per hour and its just not good enough. Potentially moving so not getting a 240v L2 charger fitted yet, but 120v L1 charging is best for just topping up. From 5% to 90% takes 8+ hours, so if you have trips that are on following days, its sucks.
Zoe - in the UK, and sister has had 2 now. Cheap interior, small rear and not that comfortable. But she copes well and has been able to get around and do journeys over 140 miles one way several times (picking me up from the airport etc). Short stops at service stations for a coffee and break shows that the charging network works, but clearly wont work everywhere.
Soul EV 2020 (70 plate)
230 miles off a full charge. Motorway miles apart from the last 15 on DC & A road. Sport mode driving at 70-75mph and hoofing it a little to overtake a few times. Tried the heated seats & steering wheel out & the heater too for a bit.
Full charge was showing as 278 miles at 100%. This was last week, did the same journey twice, two days running.
It has looks only its mother would adore, but it has good range, loads of toys and crucially Zero BIK this year and the next two years is buttons too. I will be saving over £400/month in BIK and the bit of my car allowance I didn't use. All I have had to pony up for is the £650 for an EO Mini Pro2 charger. My employer pays for the electricity.
230 miles off a full charge. Motorway miles apart from the last 15 on DC & A road. Sport mode driving at 70-75mph and hoofing it a little to overtake a few times. Tried the heated seats & steering wheel out & the heater too for a bit.
Full charge was showing as 278 miles at 100%. This was last week, did the same journey twice, two days running.
It has looks only its mother would adore, but it has good range, loads of toys and crucially Zero BIK this year and the next two years is buttons too. I will be saving over £400/month in BIK and the bit of my car allowance I didn't use. All I have had to pony up for is the £650 for an EO Mini Pro2 charger. My employer pays for the electricity.
Edited by shep1001 on Wednesday 2nd December 17:21
I’ve got a later egolf, predominately down to cost savings vs my old diesel company car.
It will happily do 100 miles at motorway speed, and have eked it out to 160 on a summer day.
Done 4K miles in it since I had it in March, only charged publicly twice, the rest of the time I charge at home.
My normal commute would 45 miles that’s fine, plus trips to Heathrow, but it’s charged there in valet parking ready for the return journey,
Not ready to go electric with the other family car yet due to long distant family commitments, but we’re finding that the golf is picking up most of our normal domestic driving.
It will happily do 100 miles at motorway speed, and have eked it out to 160 on a summer day.
Done 4K miles in it since I had it in March, only charged publicly twice, the rest of the time I charge at home.
My normal commute would 45 miles that’s fine, plus trips to Heathrow, but it’s charged there in valet parking ready for the return journey,
Not ready to go electric with the other family car yet due to long distant family commitments, but we’re finding that the golf is picking up most of our normal domestic driving.
NZ perspective.
Bought an eNV200 a few years ago - done over 40,000 miles. Have to use a diesel ute for long journeys (underfloor heating)
Initially Mrs Caziques wasn't keen on 24kW Leaf, nowadays she appreciates the running costs (business pays the tiny power bill) - and we are thinking of getting rid of a 150,000 mile Logo.
Would then borrow son's Golf if we needed to do a long journey.
I will never buy another ICE vehicle.
Aim to buy some sort of EV with 50 kW + battery when funds allow.
shep1001 said:
Soul EV 2020 (70 plate)
230 miles off a full charge. Motorway miles apart from the last 15 on DC & A road. Sport mode driving at 70-75mph and hoofing it a little to overtake a few times. Tried the heated seats & steering wheel out & the heater too for a bit.
Full charge was showing as 278 miles at 100%. This was last week, did the same journey twice, two days It has looks only its mother would adore, but it has good range, loads of toys and crucially Zero BIK this year and the next two years is buttons too. I will be saving over £400/month in BIK and the bit of my car allowance I didn't use. All I have had to pony up for is the £650 for an EO Mini Pro2 charger. My employer pays for the electricity.
Ahhh thanks for sharing!. My company has a e Niro 4+ 64kwh as an option for my next car. I’ve spent the past few days number crunching. I don’t think I’ll be able to have a home charger as living in a flat will prove difficult due to managing agents etc. 120 mile trip to Canary Wharf using m1,m25,m11,406 and A13. 230 miles off a full charge. Motorway miles apart from the last 15 on DC & A road. Sport mode driving at 70-75mph and hoofing it a little to overtake a few times. Tried the heated seats & steering wheel out & the heater too for a bit.
Full charge was showing as 278 miles at 100%. This was last week, did the same journey twice, two days It has looks only its mother would adore, but it has good range, loads of toys and crucially Zero BIK this year and the next two years is buttons too. I will be saving over £400/month in BIK and the bit of my car allowance I didn't use. All I have had to pony up for is the £650 for an EO Mini Pro2 charger. My employer pays for the electricity.
Edited by shep1001 on Wednesday 2nd December 17:21
The It’s going to great to finally be out of a derv and on very minimal BIK. Personally for me I think I can make it work but I’ll throw the numbers up on here for a separate thread.
Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff