The future......now

[Phil.]

Not a compelling outlook.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7755753/C...

[Phil.]

Sambucket said:

Torys have pledged an extra fresh 500m investment in ev infrastructure. But I expect more will quickly follow. Rollout in Scotland seems to be picking up after a lull.

Politician’s promises Dream on.

[Phil.]

Then according to this thread, EV range is dramatically reduced by a normal reduction in UK temperature:

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Phil.]

RobDickinson said:

Luckily petrol and diesel powered cars are perfect then.

Luckily it’s a good job most EV drivers like driving at 65 mph on a motorway on a winters day whilst stopping often for a coffee, according to the above thread.

[Phil.]

I would love to buy an EV but as far as I can tell they are just an expensive (to buy) runabout at the moment. With the thread this week reporting the iPace range to be less than 160 miles in winter and the need to drive slowly when on ‘long’ runs, plus the lack of availability of charging points, the whole driving experience must be stressful. Unless that is it’s a quick trip to the shops, but you don’t need to spend the best part of £50k (or a lot more) to do this and achieve minimal running costs.

[Phil.]

Fastlane said:

EVs are still really targeting the middle class, many of whom already drive expensive runabouts, especially SUVs, to do lots of local journeys and occasional longer trips. SUVs and luxury cars are expensive to buy and run, depreciate heavily and are not in any way environmentally friendly. For those with off street parking, an EV (especially a Tesla with its superchargers and destination chargers) isn't that much of a stretch/compromise in comparison. More people are considering EVs, but unless you are prepared to do your homework to work out if it will work for you, the majority of people will stick to what they know, an ICE vehicle.

As has been said on this forum many times, driving a car isn't environmentally friendly in the first place, so an EV is still a compromise...

I fit the target market for an EV but having done my research I still find them too much of a compromise in terms of cost to buy when comparing their overall capability with the competitors. Range is the main issue. If I could reliably have 350 miles in any weather driving at normal motorway speeds without having to worry about having the aircon or heater on etc. I’d buy one tomorrow. Does such an EV exist yet?

[Phil.]

MOBB said:

Phil. said:

Fastlane said:

EVs are still really targeting the middle class, many of whom already drive expensive runabouts, especially SUVs, to do lots of local journeys and occasional longer trips. SUVs and luxury cars are expensive to buy and run, depreciate heavily and are not in any way environmentally friendly. For those with off street parking, an EV (especially a Tesla with its superchargers and destination chargers) isn't that much of a stretch/compromise in comparison. More people are considering EVs, but unless you are prepared to do your homework to work out if it will work for you, the majority of people will stick to what they know, an ICE vehicle.

As has been said on this forum many times, driving a car isn't environmentally friendly in the first place, so an EV is still a compromise...

I fit the target market for an EV but having done my research I still find them too much of a compromise in terms of cost to buy when comparing their overall capability with the competitors. Range is the main issue. If I could reliably have 350 miles in any weather driving at normal motorway speeds without having to worry about having the aircon or heater on etc. I’d buy one tomorrow. Does such an EV exist yet?

Nope, I'd say we were realistically at 200 miles max for such criteria at the moment.

Which suits me fine personally, but if I did longer trips I wouldn't have made the switch yet

That’s what I believe presently and comes back to what I said above ‘EV’s are just an expensive (to buy) runabout at the moment.‘ It also means that most people will need a decent ICE car to run alongside side their EV for longer journeys, especially in winter. I’m fine with this and look forward to future EV or alternative (hydrogen) developments.

I happened to drive 430 ish miles yesterday in 10 hours with 3 short stops and one longer stop. All of the stops were nowhere near an EV charger. This is something I need to do several times a year and have a comfortable vehicle to do so. Locally I drive a 1.0 litre 3 cylinder eco boost Fiesta with 100 BHP and it does 50+ mpg. It cost less than £10k to buy 4 years ago second hand, the tax is zero and it costs £200 per year to service. I can’t find an economic case to swap it for an EV to do the same.

[Phil.]

Shelsleyf2 said:

Hi, I own a Nissan Leaf. I bought it used , it is a 24kw battety and had done 21000 miles . I paid £10500 at a Nissan dealer. 0% interest 2 free services and an extra 12 months warranty. It now has 48000 miles on the clock and still shows a full battery on the dash display. I travel.50 miles most days. I have other cars at my disposal should I need to travel further. I love driving it in town (Birmingham) no turbo lag no hole in power delivery, no lag or clutch take up. It is not the only car you will ever need, it is however in a multi car household a car that can fulfill a role. The running costs are miniscule, however I can say that were the costs similar to ice I would still own one as for inner city driving it is unbeatable. I await contradiction by those with no first hand experience.

Fair point from those recommending a second hand Leaf as a runabout. There are a lot of sub-20k Leaf’s at £10k ish available on AT. This could tempt me towards my first EV ownership

[Phil.]

Merry said:

Look carefully. I had a mk1 leaf 24kw. Excellent car, but the batteries aren't thermally managed and start to degrade like no one's business. Ours had lost one when we got it then lost a further two during the 18 months we had it.

Sold it for just under what we paid in the end

Thanks. My next step was some research. Looks I’ll probably be keeping the Fiesta for a while longer.