Electric cars

[Old Darwen Blue]

My Audi A5 Quattro is getting in a bit now so I’ve started to research my next car in advance. I’m seriously considering getting a full electric car and was wondering if any on here own one or have any thoughts on them?

(Ps, I’m not in any rush to get rid of my Audi, it’s the best car I’ve ever owned by far. )

 

[Drog]

I've never really studied them but my biggest queries re:electric cars are;
1. They must be massively expensive when the batteries go done? Replacing a lithium battery for a drill negates doing so. So many now just bin the appliance and buy new. How 'green' is that?
2. Improvements in the technology of electric cars has moved on so quickly that the earlier electric cars (even Tesla's) are worth very little now.
3. Driving distance. If I can't get to London / Glasgow and back in one day it's an inconvenience. Also what's the difference in quoted mileage for a car with one occupant v a car with a family and luggage?
4. 1 and 2 suggest to me that depreciation will be massive.

btw I'm thinking of going the other way. I don't fancy flying so I'm thinking of buying a 4/5 years old 730 /740 BMW for holidays.

 

[Wilpshire Blue]

I have a Passat GTE, which is a plug-in hybrid.
Once charged it will do between 25 and 30 miles on electricity.
So any shortish trips like Blackburn and back, Clitheroe, Preston etc I use no petrol.
On longer journeys, once the battery runs out, it swaps over to petrol.
I love it. The electric engine has a real punch and when I get rid of this one I will definitely go for a full electric IF they have sorted the range distance out.
A full charge takes 2 hours on a proper charging point and 4 hours if you just use a normal power socket and an extension lead.
I saw a news article last week that Hyundai have bought a company that has managed to get charging down to five minutes but it isn't ready for mainstream release yet.

 

[Old Darwen Blue]

I’ve looked at quite a few and seem to be heading towards the Kia e Niro. WhatCar car of the year in 2019 when first launched and again this year for the second edition. It will achieve 250 miles realistically on a full charge using varied driving conditions and over 300 Miles urban. It also comes with every toy and driving aid imaginable! It would be nice to smile at every petrol station when driving past.

 

[Barmitzvah Boy]

I’ve looked at quite a few and seem to be heading towards the Kia e Niro. WhatCar car of the year in 2019 when first launched and again this year for the second edition. It will achieve 250 miles realistically on a full charge using varied driving conditions and over 300 Miles urban. It also comes with every toy and driving aid imaginable! It would be nice to smile at every petrol station when driving past.

All electric or hybrid? I am now looking at these but cannot make my mind up

 

[Old Darwen Blue]

All electric for me pal although you have to look at the kind of driving you do to decide which. Saying that have a look at the new Tesla, it’s the one to go for if you can afford it. The new three with extended range is the one to go for:

Model 3 | Tesla United Kingdom

Model 3 is designed for electric-powered performance, with quick acceleration, long range and fast charging.

www.tesla.com

£49,000 gets you all wheel drive, 363 miles on a charge but only 3.1 secs to 60 mph.

 

[Barmitzvah Boy]

All electric for me pal although you have to look at the kind of driving you do to decide which. Saying that have a look at the new Tesla, it’s the one to go for if you can afford it. The new three with extended range is the one to go for:

Model 3 | Tesla United Kingdom

Model 3 is designed for electric-powered performance, with quick acceleration, long range and fast charging.

www.tesla.com

£49,000 gets you all wheel drive, 363 miles on a charge but only 3.1 secs to 60 mph.

I rather like the Tesla 3. A guy I know has two Tesla’s and swears by them. He also bought Tesla shares at $200 before the share ‘split’ took place, they are worth an equivalent $2000 each now. I bought into Tesla a couple of weeks ago, I see in the news today Tesla are having a difficult time with the Chinese authorities over quality issues in their manufacturing plant in that country, I would put some of that down to the growth in the home grown Chinese electric car industy.

I was also thinking all electric. Possibly the new Land Rover Defender for longer trips and an all electric for everything up to 250 miles round journeys.

 

[Wilpshire Blue]

One thing I've noticed with mine when it's on electric-only (and it's an obvious point but worth mentioning) is that if I'm driving round at 20-30 mph the battery charge will last a lot longer and will get me my stated 25-30 miles.
If, however, I'm doing 60 on a dual carriageway or more than that on the motorway the range is drastically reduced.

I have the option of making mine switch to petrol mode to preserve the battery for slower areas but if you're buying an all-electric car it would be worth looking at the statistics for the range to see if it specifies "whilst travelling under 30mph" or some such hidden criteria.
Last thing you want is to be zooming down the motorway on a long journey with your battery charge indicator going down like the scoreboard does on Pointless.

 

[Drog]

My average mileage has reduced from something in the region of 15-18000 miles to about 5000 now. My current car does over 40mpg so even at that for easy reckoning that is between 10-15 quid a week for fuel with road tax of about 3quid pw too. So all in all I see no point in pratting about yet with something that's dearer, doesn't take you where you want to go and is likely to leave you stranded, with depreciation which must be horrific given the price of replacing batteries AND is still in it's development.
Plus for all the conscientious souls Cobalt is based on child Labour and I think there is an environmental cost in poisoned water and air created by lithium production.

 

[Old Darwen Blue]

One thing I've noticed with mine when it's on electric-only (and it's an obvious point but worth mentioning) is that if I'm driving round at 20-30 mph the battery charge will last a lot longer and will get me my stated 25-30 miles.
If, however, I'm doing 60 on a dual carriageway or more than that on the motorway the range is drastically reduced.

I have the option of making mine switch to petrol mode to preserve the battery for slower areas but if you're buying an all-electric car it would be worth looking at the statistics for the range to see if it specifies "whilst travelling under 30mph" or some such hidden criteria.
Last thing you want is to be zooming down the motorway on a long journey with your battery charge indicator going down like the scoreboard does on Pointless.

The higher the speed the more power used pal.

 

[Old Darwen Blue]

My average mileage has reduced from something in the region of 15-18000 miles to about 5000 now. My current car does over 40mpg so even at that for easy reckoning that is between 10-15 quid a week for fuel with road tax of about 3quid pw too. So all in all I see no point in pratting about yet with something that's dearer, doesn't take you where you want to go and is likely to leave you stranded, with depreciation which must be horrific given the price of replacing batteries AND is still in it's development.
Plus for all the conscientious souls Cobalt is based on child Labour and I think there is an environmental cost in poisoned water and air created by lithium production.

Personally the green issues aren’t as important to me as paying all that money for diesel.

 

[Old Darwen Blue]

I rather like the Tesla 3. A guy I know has two Tesla’s and swears by them. He also bought Tesla shares at $200 before the share ‘split’ took place, they are worth an equivalent $2000 each now. I bought into Tesla a couple of weeks ago, I see in the news today Tesla are having a difficult time with the Chinese authorities over quality issues in their manufacturing plant in that country, I would put some of that down to the growth in the home grown Chinese electric car industy.

I was also thinking all electric. Possibly the new Land Rover Defender for longer trips and an all electric for everything up to 250 miles round journeys.

A Defender for long trips? I hope its fuel economy is better than the thirty mpg when I used to drive one then!

Apparently the coverage of Tesla high speed chargers is excellent. There’s also an app called Zap Map which shows where all the chargers in this country are and also in Scotland the government are pushing electric cars so much that they are creating a vast network of FREE chargers.

 

[Drog]

A Defender for long trips? I hope its fuel economy is better than the thirty mpg when I used to drive one then!

Apparently the coverage of Tesla high speed chargers is excellent. There’s also an app called Zap Map which shows where all the chargers in this country are and also in Scotland the government are pushing electric cars so much that they are creating a vast network of FREE chargers.

Should they ever get their independence that will last about as long as a snowflake in hell.... unless of course Road Tax is raised up there to about a grand a year,

 

[Old Darwen Blue]

They won’t get independence, thankfully there are still intelligent people north of the border who when push comes to shove know which side their bread is buttered.

 

[Barmitzvah Boy]

I am looking again at the Tesla Model 3 long range AWD. Any comments or knowledge would be appreciated please.

 

[Drog]

Nice car with impressive performance figures but imo too dear. Very expensive to buy and what will the residual value be when those batteries deteriorate?

 

[Old Darwen Blue]

Check out the new Kia EV6 pal and if you can afford it get the GT model.

EV6 Electric Car | Kia UK

The new Kia EV6 electric vehicle can be charged from 10% to 80% in 18 minutes using an ultra-fast charger (150 kW).

www.kia.com

 

[Alan]

Electric cars are far too expensive and a petrol car will certainly outlast my driving days.

 

[Barmitzvah Boy]

Check out the new Kia EV6 pal and if you can afford it get the GT model.

EV6 Electric Car | Kia UK

The new Kia EV6 electric vehicle can be charged from 10% to 80% in 18 minutes using an ultra-fast charger (150 kW).

www.kia.com

I have had a good look ODB and I am very interested. I rather like the AWD GT although that is not available until 2022. What worries me are the lack of fast chargers although BwD services have 4 and the next nearest appear to be in Leeds where I often visit relatives. I hope more compatible charges are available soon.

 

[Old Darwen Blue]

If you had a 7kw charger on your drive would you need one?

The number of public chargers is increasing exponentially every year now, oh and the charging is free at Tesco!