Car (or bike) Chat!

[struth]

was reading that Ford are bringing back the Capri marque as a EV. that might be popular. i had one once

[Macca]

They were bringing it back about 5 years ago as an ICE but it never happened in the end.

Hopefully it will be a better effort than the EV Mustang which is pig-ugly.

We have one of these on demo at work at the moment:

https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/en/elec...s/id-buzz.html

Looks quite funky, like a vehicle from the not too distant future.

[CageyH]

258 mile range.

I could not do a day trip to the beach with the family in that.
Surely there is space for a bigger battery in it than what they have fitted.

[AJSki2fly]

258 mile range.

I could not do a day trip to the beach with the family in that.
Surely there is space for a bigger battery in it than what they have fitted.

I think you have forgotten when lots of cars had a range of around 250 miles with a 8-10 gallon tank and only did 25-30 mpg. Did we worry about it, no we drove till it was on the red line or near, and if we knew a petrol station was further the 30-40 miles we filled up sooner.

Even in the 90’s I had several cars that struggled to reach 300 miles on a full tank.

We have just been spoilt with 400 mile pulse range in recent years, especially in emitting diesels.

[CageyH]

I think you have forgotten that you can fill a tank with petrol/diesel in about 5 minutes.

On a run my BMW 320D would do over 600 miles (I would get over 45mpg).
My Skoda Superb IV will do over 500 miles (only a 50 litre tank).

The problem is that I don’t want to arrive at a destination, and then look for a recharge point, which may already be taken.
This is why I drive a PHEV and not an EV, as it suits my usage case better.

[AJSki2fly]

Have to disagree, I have done quite a few long trips.

For example, 200 miles to Aberystwyth, done twice and the pretty route through the Elan valley. First time we left with 320 miles of charge, we charged up on arrival for 25 minutes, and had coffee and rest before going to relatives. We took them out and used 30 miles range up, and drove home the next day. The second time on the way home we just popped into the chargers at Bristol, put 50% on the battery which was a 15 minute break, and went home, we recharge the car to full from Solar over the next 2 days.

I regularly go up to Dorking, 170 miles and I know of 4 charging sites on the route with 120kwh chargers, as long as the car has around 50% battery before I go I just leave home, and stop of at a charge site when I get to it, and have a coffee and break, no worries, no big deal.

I have driven up to Derby and back in one day, 210 each way, with outside temp around 0c, had heating on 20c so range reduced by about 8%. I stopped the other side of Birmingham on the way up for 10 mins to top up to 80%, on the way back I did the same at Bristol and had a coffee/pee break.

The only time charging was interesting was when we went via Stevenage to North of Milton Keynes to friends, 240 mile route. We found the charge site on the last leg which we went to on a B road was on the South side of the M1 with restricted access. The one on the North side was 10 miles away. We managed to get in through the service gate when a friendly delivery man turned up. If fact it did not matter we had enough charge anyway to get to our friends and then when we went home drive to another charge site. It was our early days of EV ownership and was being unnecessarily cautious.

I would point out all the charge sites, except Aberystwyth, are one Motorways and we just drove up and plugged up and other charging bays were still available.

I hear your arguments all the time from friends, relatives, other car owners and I’m pleased to say it is unfounded. When I ask them if any have at least tried an EV, with +250 miles range, for 2 or 3 days and done a mix of short medium and long range trips, it’s always return with embarrassed silence.

I just point out I am talking from personal hands on EV experience and ownership, no more no less. Nearly all cars do no more than 50 miles in one trip for 95% of their life. The exceptions are the long distance commuters, but most are sub 100miles to work, the others are reps and managers that spend 50% of their days sat driving in a car.

So a 250 mile range car is more than adequate for most.

Talking of heavy EV users I had a conversation with a suited and booted Tesla M3 driver at one charge site last year. He averaged +35k miles a year in it, it was his second Tesla, the first being moved on at 2 years old. The cost of lease purchase for his company was no different to a similar size ICE BMW or Benz, but the company saved 60% in fuel costs, he said about £8k in 2 years, and about £1500 in servicing costs. He said made economic and Eco sense, I asked how he found the recharging stops, his answer was “No problem, in fact I look forward to a break and a coffee, I often check up on messages/emails or make notes of actions from the last meeting, I am more relaxed driving it and get less stressed, I did not expect that when I first got one. All my colleagues generally feel the same.”

So there you have, an honest and true account of EV ownership, try one and find out.

[struth]

distance is the main issue most have with ev's. in good warmish weather i get over 300 to a tank.. but yes its a lot less than a ice. mine isnt a super rapid charger, only taking a max of about 70 i think, and not for long. so if doing a lot of miles a day a tesla is the best choice. but as said most folk do about 30 odd miles a day tops... if you have a driveway then its a doddle to charge overnight. in fact ive only ever charged at home.

[CageyH]

Have to disagree, I have done quite a few long trips.

For example, 200 miles to Aberystwyth, done twice and the pretty route through the Elan valley. First time we left with 320 miles of charge, we charged up on arrival for 25 minutes, and had coffee and rest before going to relatives. We took them out and used 30 miles range up, and drove home the next day. The second time on the way home we just popped into the chargers at Bristol, put 50% on the battery which was a 15 minute break, and went home, we recharge the car to full from Solar over the next 2 days.

I regularly go up to Dorking, 170 miles and I know of 4 charging sites on the route with 120kwh chargers, as long as the car has around 50% battery before I go I just leave home, and stop of at a charge site when I get to it, and have a coffee and break, no worries, no big deal.

I have driven up to Derby and back in one day, 210 each way, with outside temp around 0c, had heating on 20c so range reduced by about 8%. I stopped the other side of Birmingham on the way up for 10 mins to top up to 80%, on the way back I did the same at Bristol and had a coffee/pee break.

The only time charging was interesting was when we went via Stevenage to North of Milton Keynes to friends, 240 mile route. We found the charge site on the last leg which we went to on a B road was on the South side of the M1 with restricted access. The one on the North side was 10 miles away. We managed to get in through the service gate when a friendly delivery man turned up. If fact it did not matter we had enough charge anyway to get to our friends and then when we went home drive to another charge site. It was our early days of EV ownership and was being unnecessarily cautious.

I would point out all the charge sites, except Aberystwyth, are one Motorways and we just drove up and plugged up and other charging bays were still available.

I hear your arguments all the time from friends, relatives, other car owners and I’m pleased to say it is unfounded. When I ask them if any have at least tried an EV, with +250 miles range, for 2 or 3 days and done a mix of short medium and long range trips, it’s always return with embarrassed silence.

I just point out I am talking from personal hands on EV experience and ownership, no more no less. Nearly all cars do no more than 50 miles in one trip for 95% of their life. The exceptions are the long distance commuters, but most are sub 100miles to work, the others are reps and managers that spend 50% of their days sat driving in a car.

So a 250 mile range car is more than adequate for most.

Talking of heavy EV users I had a conversation with a suited and booted Tesla M3 driver at one charge site last year. He averaged +35k miles a year in it, it was his second Tesla, the first being moved on at 2 years old. The cost of lease purchase for his company was no different to a similar size ICE BMW or Benz, but the company saved 60% in fuel costs, he said about £8k in 2 years, and about £1500 in servicing costs. He said made economic and Eco sense, I asked how he found the recharging stops, his answer was “No problem, in fact I look forward to a break and a coffee, I often check up on messages/emails or make notes of actions from the last meeting, I am more relaxed driving it and get less stressed, I did not expect that when I first got one. All my colleagues generally feel the same.”

So there you have, an honest and true account of EV ownership, try one and find out.

I am glad it is good for you. As I said, it does not fit my usage case.

How long does a Tesla take to charge from a standard 13A plug?

200 miles is not a long trip. I often travel from Toulouse to Brittany. I stop for lunch, but not always at an area dictated by a charging point.

[dave2010]

I am glad it is good for you. As I said, it does not fit my usage case.

How long does a Tesla take to charge from a standard 13A plug?

200 miles is not a long trip. I often travel from Toulouse to Brittany. I stop for lunch, but not always at an area dictated by a charging point.

Re how long does a Tesla take to charge from a standard 13A plug - too long! It's occasionally useful to do this for an overnight top up if that's all that's available at a hotel. As I recall from a recent experience, 5 minutes equates to about 1 mile of journey, so a 200 mile journey might take 1000 minutes to charge up - over 15 hours. Tesla destination chargers are much better and could probably do a fairly full charge overnight at a hotel. Tesla fast chargers are really good, and don't really hold up journeys too much. They are not all so conveniently located though. Ideally one wants to be able to have enough time for a coffee, maybe a sandwich or a loo trip. Often the charging time is either too long or too short. Too short is a problem, as in theory one can be charged more for longer stays even if not charging.

Your Toulouse to Brittany trip is around 500 miles. You can use tools such as ABRP (a better route planner) to check on timings. For a journey like that, the charging time is likely to add in something significant. Very probably your choice of a plugin hybrid makes a lot of sense for your usage.

Around the UK most people won't have a problem, though it can be a pain in Scotland as there aren't always a lot of chargers en route, some don't work, and getting to the furthest point from home and discovering that chargers don't work - for whatever reason - is not fun. Adrian's estimates are correct - for most people - but not all. It depends on usage patterns.

I did meet one couple who had experienced a problem as their cable didn't release from the charger, and they had to spend a night in a hotel as a result since they were unable to move their car. All part of life's rich tapestry!

[CageyH]

Until the infrastructure improves, I will stick with my PHEV.
100% electric for commuting and petrol for the longer runs.

The problem is that I often go to rural parts of France, where it is difficult to find a reasonable charger.
I looked in to this, as I was tempted by a Tesla. There were good government grants available when I was car shopping, but based on places I visit often, it was just not practical. I would happily live with a 15 minute stop to top up to 80%, but not when it means a big diversion to visit a Supercharger.

My next car is likely to be 100% electric. I don’t think we will have the choice for much longer.