Electric cars.

[Jordang]

I love my new EV

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I love my new EV

Can you give us a list of plus and minus we don't seem to have many EV owners.

 

[Old Fart At Play]

Can you give us a list of plus and minus we don't seem to have many EV owners.

Plus:
* Not mentioned often on here, but terrific fun to drive. Most fun since I used to ride a motorbike.
* Very cheap to run with home charging. Mine is 1.7p per mile (over 7500 miles) compared with 14p per mile for my last car (which was 55 mpg)
* Very quiet in the cabin. This is one of the factors that makes our EV much more relaxing to drive. I find I can do long distances (eg 400 miles) without getting nearly as exhausted as I used to.
Minus:
* For me so far nothing. I have had no issues public charging here or in France, Spain, Netherlands apart from a couple of early issues when I didnt know how to use public charging. Have only had to queue once (for 3 minutes), and since I never like to drive for more than 2 hours without a break, stopping to top up isnt an issue. But others may have different experiences.
* The one thing I dont like is how tricky it can be when not on the motorway, to find a charge point with toilets and cafe nearby. The charge map apps dont allow you to filter by this requirement, so I usually have to do a separate google.

If I had to get another car tomorrow, it would most definitely be an EV.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Thanks.

 

[Brew_DD2]

Plus:
* Not mentioned often on here, but terrific fun to drive. Most fun since I used to ride a motorbike.
* Very cheap to run with home charging. Mine is 1.7p per mile (over 7500 miles) compared with 14p per mile for my last car (which was 55 mpg)
* Very quiet in the cabin. This is one of the factors that makes our EV much more relaxing to drive. I find I can do long distances (eg 400 miles) without getting nearly as exhausted as I used to.
Minus:
* For me so far nothing. I have had no issues public charging here or in France, Spain, Netherlands apart from a couple of early issues when I didnt know how to use public charging. Have only had to queue once (for 3 minutes), and since I never like to drive for more than 2 hours without a break, stopping to top up isnt an issue. But others may have different experiences.
* The one thing I dont like is how tricky it can be when not on the motorway, to find a charge point with toilets and cafe nearby. The charge map apps dont allow you to filter by this requirement, so I usually have to do a separate google.

If I had to get another car tomorrow, it would most definitely be an EV.

Similar experience to you. I'm in the car most of the day with my job and it's must more comfortable for me now. Went to move my own car a few months back (for it being collected) and it felt so clunky and old. Don't get me wrong, I'd happily have the right petrol car again, but the sums just don't add up for me any more. I don't do big enough miles in a day (usually about 100) for the range to be an issue. The cost to run is is a major factor, as is the instant torque.

 

[dad_of_jon]

My experience has shown a big difference between makes of bulb.

I bought a dozen generic dimmable bulbs back in 2015 from LED Hut, and they nearly all died within 2 years. As you say it looked like the electronics died rather than the LEDs themselves.

I replaced them with Philips branded LED bulbs, shortly followed by every other bulb in the house in the next couple of years and not a single one out of now 30+ bulbs has failed in over 6 years.

Cheers I'll have a look out for them, I only use daylight bulbs (colour temperature 6500K) and they are not so popular as the warm white bulbs.

 

[MashBag]

6500k bulbs are hard to find. But I prefer them and they do help with the seasonal effects of less daylight.

 

[hoppyscotty]

Can you give us a list of plus and minus we don't seem to have many EV owners.

I’ve got a Tesla Model Y

Pluses
Amazing interior space due to lack of drivetrain- same footprint as the previous x3, but significantly more space inside

Lovely cruise machine….wouldn't say it’s fun to drive in terms of dynamics, but the smooth, silent electric power delivery is great for long distances, so for a large family car it’s great. Handling is a bit odd. Despite CofG being low down it’s still a heavy lump and you can feel that. More of a ‘point and squirt’ machine than ‘flowy’ through the bends. Not my idea of fun, but whatever floats your boat. But it’s a family car so fun is not the primary purpose I have it for.

Tesla charging network. No idea how non teslas get on. Whenever I’m away from the Tesla network relying on non Tesla network gets very hit and miss and complicated….forget carefree motoring. The best reason to buy a Tesla is the charging network

One pedal driving and the off throttle braking is a brilliant way to drive and very intuitive

Brilliant for short journeys. Warms up quickly and no engine oil to worry about.

Cons
Not anywhere near as cheap as some would have you make out and it’s going to get more expensive

Tesla specific: really on all the traditional car elements it’s pretty crap….crap turning circle, touch screen is a disaster (give me some buttons for f’s sake!!), software is a bit flakey, quality of interior is way below par, build quality is a joke. Just nowhere near as refined a car from an established brand. Needs to be a good 20k cheaper to reflect the true quality of the product.

Residuals (though I’m leasing)…I’d never buy one with my own money. Cars are a waste of money at the best of times, but you’d have to be bonkers or insanely rich to buy one

Insurance is insane

Silly tyres with foam panels glued to the inside and expensive

And charging is a PITA no matter what others say. It is simply not as convenient as filling up at a petrol station. You do have to think ahead and if you have to go on a spontaneous journey when you find yourself at a low state of charge then it can become quite stressful, especially if you’re time limited - usually take the wife’s ICE car in these circumstances. Obviously with a far better charging network this can be mitigated to some extent, but people value their time and convenience, and minimising stress in their lives above all else, so this is the achilles heal of BEV’s and probably always will be. Less of an issue with the half decent range of the Tesla, but it’s not the 95% of trouble free journeys a that matter, it’s the 5% of PITA journeys that you remember.

On balance I like it, mainly for the first couple of points in the pluses section. Still got 2 years on my lease then it will be decision time. Not sure I’ll stick with BEV for the sake of BEV. Depends on costs and deals at the time.

 

[Brew_DD2]

Not anywhere near as cheap as some would have you make out and it’s going to get more expensive

Mine costs on average 2p per mile. That's not me making out it's that cheap. That's based on 14000 of miles since Feb. Would be substantially more if I was using public chargers, but on an EV tariff, it costs next to nothing to run.

Agree on the driving dynamics. I've driven a few, and unfortunately they all feel very very similar. In an ICE car, you could get into a slightly different marque of the same model and it could feel like a different car. I think those of us who enjoy driving and the feel of the car, will miss that aspect.

 

[MashBag]

I’ve got a Tesla Model Y

Pluses
Amazing interior space due to lack of drivetrain- same footprint as the previous x3, but significantly more space inside

Lovely cruise machine….wouldn't say it’s fun to drive in terms of dynamics, but the smooth, silent electric power delivery is great for long distances, so for a large family car it’s great. Handling is a bit odd. Despite CofG being low down it’s still a heavy lump and you can feel that. More of a ‘point and squirt’ machine than ‘flowy’ through the bends. Not my idea of fun, but whatever floats your boat. But it’s a family car so fun is not the primary purpose I have it for.

Tesla charging network. No idea how non teslas get on. Whenever I’m away from the Tesla network relying on non Tesla network gets very hit and miss and complicated….forget carefree motoring. The best reason to buy a Tesla is the charging network

One pedal driving and the off throttle braking is a brilliant way to drive and very intuitive

Brilliant for short journeys. Warms up quickly and no engine oil to worry about.

Cons
Not anywhere near as cheap as some would have you make out and it’s going to get more expensive

Tesla specific: really on all the traditional car elements it’s pretty ****….**** turning circle, touch screen is a disaster (give me some buttons for f’s sake!!), software is a bit flakey, quality of interior is way below par, build quality is a joke. Just nowhere near as refined a car from an established brand. Needs to be a good 20k cheaper to reflect the true quality of the product.

Residuals (though I’m leasing)…I’d never buy one with my own money. Cars are a waste of money at the best of times, but you’d have to be bonkers or insanely rich to buy one

Insurance is insane

Silly tyres with foam panels glued to the inside and expensive

And charging is a PITA no matter what others say. It is simply not as convenient as filling up at a petrol station. You do have to think ahead and if you have to go on a spontaneous journey when you find yourself at a low state of charge then it can become quite stressful, especially if you’re time limited - usually take the wife’s ICE car in these circumstances. Obviously with a far better charging network this can be mitigated to some extent, but people value their time and convenience, and minimising stress in their lives above all else, so this is the achilles heal of BEV’s and probably always will be. Less of an issue with the half decent range of the Tesla, but it’s not the 95% of trouble free journeys a that matter, it’s the 5% of PITA journeys that you remember.

On balance I like it, mainly for the first couple of points in the pluses section. Still got 2 years on my lease then it will be decision time. Not sure I’ll stick with BEV for the sake of BEV. Depends on costs and deals at the time.

That sounds very similar to the land rover's I have had. Build is a f**king joke and far too expensive. "95% trouble-free" is enviable - well done tesla

 

[Chippy_Tea]

"95% trouble-free" is enviable - well done tesla

I haven't checked but imagine reliability stats for all EV's is high as they have so few things to go wrong.

 

[Rodcx500z]

And very expensive when it goes **** up

 

[Chippy_Tea]

And very expensive when it goes **** up

What goes wrong with them i read figures as high as 94% reliability.

 

[Rodcx500z]

What goes wrong with them i read figures as high as 94% reliability.

I don't know but i imagine leccy motors are not cheap nor are batterys and computers

 

[jof]

95% reliable doesn't sound that good to me.
What is it measuring, because to me that's 1/20 times you go to use it & it fails.
But if it's 1/20 cars need to go to the garage with a fault in a ewhole year, that's more comparable with 'ole smokers'

 

[Chippy_Tea]

95% reliable doesn't sound that good to me.
What is it measuring, because to me that's 1/20 times you go to use it & it fails.
But if it's 1/20 cars need to go to the garage with a fault in a ewhole year, that's more comparable with 'ole smokers'

EV reliability – pros​

Electric vehicles should in theory be more reliable than a petrol or a diesel car. While combustion engines have dozens of moving parts that all need to work in perfect harmony, electric motors have barely any. In fact, motors are so simple that it would be difficult for them not to be reliable.

Electric vehicles are also less sensitive to maintenance. There are no fluids to replace (other than screenwash…) and there are fewer consumable items like belts, chains, or clutches.

This is a boon when buying a secondhand EV, as it’s nowhere near as likely to have been spoiled by years of poor maintenance as a neglected petrol or diesel car.

Early concerns that electric cars would require a full battery replacement after just a few years have so far been unfounded. Though a few fringe cases will have experienced failure, in most cases batteries are holding up better than anybody could have expected, retaining almost all of their charge even after a hard life.

Most manufacturers provide a separate battery warranty against loss of capacity, anyway, the most generous being Toyota’s which covers the battery for a million kilometres (621,000 miles).

Other points to note? Well, the presence of regenerative braking means that EVs aren’t as hard on their brakes or tyres as combustion-engined cars – though a lot of this is cancelled out by their additional weight.

EV reliability – cons​

So far, at least, electric vehicles have proven to need more visits to the dealer in order to fix problems. A survey by Which? found that 31% of EV owners had had a fault with their car, versus 29% of diesel owners and just 19% of petrol owners.

Those findings should be taken with a pinch of salt, though. In the vast majority of cases, the problems with these high-tech machines were software-related. Software glitches aren’t uncommon in cars of any kind, but we’ve personally seen a lot of them in EVs. It’s not entirely surprising, as they’re often presented as the flagships of a manufacturer’s range and given access to the latest technology – not all of which will be appropriately bedded in.

Most software problems can be fixed with an ‘over-the-air’ update, or even a system reset (the IT managers among you will already have been screaming ‘turn it off and on again!’). That’s not to say they’re less valid than mechanical failure, though – and in many cases, they still require a trip to the dealer and a proprietary repair.

Which brings us to repairability. While a regular, cheap garage can perform work on almost any car, very few of them are certified to repair EVs – which means that even when you’re out of warranty you might struggle to get your car fixed unless you return to the manufacturer you bought it from.

This is changing, with more garages getting training in repairing electric cars. But change takes time.

So are EVs more reliable?​

Mechanically, yes. Overall, no. But as technology improves they’re likely to become more and more dependable.

The crucial takeaway here is that an electric vehicle won’t be constantly breaking down and leaving you stranded, so you should feel confident in your purchase and take advantage of the numerous other benefits of electric motoring.

https://www.parkers.co.uk/electric-cars/reliability/

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I don't know but i imagine leccy motors are not cheap nor are batterys and computers

This is from a Nissan EV forum -

Since the only moving parts on the motor are the bearings, I would say that it will outlast your grandchildren. Nissan uses a three-phase AC synchronous motor instead of a typical DC motor that has brushes that wear out

 

[MashBag]

95% reliable doesn't sound that good to me.

You should get a land rover

 

[MashBag]

So are EVs more reliable?​

Mechanically, yes. Overall, no. But as technology improves they’re likely to become more and more dependable.

The crucial takeaway here is that an electric vehicle won’t be constantly breaking down and leaving you stranded, so you should feel confident in your purchase and take advantage of the numerous other benefits of electric motoring.

numerous?

 

[gavp1979]

I don't know but i imagine leccy motors are not cheap nor are batterys and computers

I don't know ... but I am against them so clutching at straws