EVs anyone?

[OX mkII]

Picked it up today and immediately drove from the dealership to the curry house in Newcastle Emlyn, then back here, then down the pub (including an extra few miles taking interested parties on a little joy ride to show it off), probably done 40-ish miles and it's still showing 30-something left - now it's on charge with just the 3 pin plug and will be full again in the morning. Still waiting for a quote on how much it'll cost to put in a more powerful dedicated charging post, will definitely get that done just for the added convenience if making it super easy to just plug in when I get home each night.

*Lovely* to drive, just so smooth and silent, and the off-the-mark acceleration is quite something . The display gently chides you by changing colour when you're being a bit aggressive with it, but then you get the satisfaction of seeing the KERS dump power and range back into the system whenever you come off the throttle. Mates down the pub quite impressed after a little joyride .

Tomorrow I'll have a bit of a sit inside and figure out all the tech goodies and how they work, get my phone paired and such. Still having to get used to not needing to use a key to get in, and how to lock it you just walk away .

If it proves reliable I think I shall enjoy this.

Yak, have you looked into this - https://www.gov.uk/government/collectio ... n-vehicles
Not sure about eligibility but if you are eligible and they are still running the incentive scheme then it might be worth looking into.

[Yak]

I've already had a subsidy towards installing a chargepoint at home (I had to pay a bit extra myself since the installation was pretty non standard at my place just due to the geography and the state of my wiring, but I did get some off). Nice having a dedicated chargepoint though, makes it the work of a few seconds to plug in at night.

A month and a half in and I haven't even needed to use a public charger yet, as I expected given my usage profile journeys necessitating that are few and far between, and I've been enjoying just being able to use my car and not be concerned with the ever increasing numbers at petrol stations. The car remains an absolute joy to zip around in and I still haven't got over just how nice it is to swoosh around everywhere in smooth silence .

Things will only get better infrastructure-wise as the rest of the world catches up to the EV way of doing things. Jolly happy with it so far.

[Rhythm]

Was working with a hydrogen cell company last week who are mightily peeved that battery-powered cars are getting the focus right now. They reckon cell tech has gotten to a point where refills are quicker than topping up petrol and the cost is on par with and getting lower than petrol.

Fair to say there was a bit of bitterness in their office :-)

[matt303]

Well just over a week ago the Zoe's replacement was delivered, a 30kWh Soul EV, loving it so far

smurf1 by matt303uk, on Flickr

For the last 2 years I've been driving a Renault Zoe (22kW charging model) and in that time I racked up 20,000 miles and two long 900+ mile trips that took in the west coast of Ireland and most of Northern Ireland

rainbow by matt303uk, on Flickr

[(o)(o)]

Loving the new Honda EV Sport..



No longer a concept it's confirmed for production

[matt303]

That and the urban concept are lovely, complete opposite in styling from the current Airfix kit of plastic that is the current Civic.

[Cloudane]

I’ve been drooling over Zoes for months now and watching quite a few YouTube videos. Downside is I’ve left it a bit too long - now everyone else has the same idea and where second hand Zoes were sat there for months on end at 5-6k they’re now disappearing at a fair old pace and prices are upwards of 7k.

Definitely think it’s the future - it’s just that if I don’t dive in pretty soon then most likely I’ll be joining yas in 5 years or so when used ones are back down to my price range!

[Loada]

Keep an eye on the 30kwh Nissan Leaf prices - the new Leaf (2.0) is out now so that should send the "outgoing" Leaf prices down a bit. If you're just driving locally, a 24Kwh Tekna spec would be one to look for.

[Cloudane]

TBH it's the Zoe I'm in love with. It just seems very modern and 'gadgety'. Superficial I know...

[Loada]

The Leaf is modern and gadgetty too, at least the Tekna spec ones are - the two cars share tech (Nissan and Renault are in partnership for EV stuff). Bit more room in a Leaf, if that matters to you. There's always the KIA Soul as well, if quirky/modern is your thing!

[matt303]

All Zoe allocation for the UK is gone with orders for the R110 (22kW charging only) version opening later this month, then I think that'll be it until the next version of the Zoe is released in 2019.

[Cloudane]

Well. I’ve done it
Just put a deposit down on a late 2015 Zoe. I’m not sure if it’s called a Dynamique Intens or Dynamique Nav as different bits of paper say different things and their naming confuses the hell out of me, but basically it’s the one with all the bells and whistles and the R motor.

They’re selling like hot cakes now with EVs being in the news a lot so decided to dive in when I watched the local dealer’s used stock dive from 4 to 1 in the space of a week. Perhaps a Q motor would’ve been ideal but to be honest I very rarely go far enough that I’d need to charge. And an hour vs 30 minutes isn’t going to kill me.

Picking it up next Friday... exciting!

Obviously, I just hope there are no complications with installation of the home charger. Don’t really know until a man turns up and sucks air through his teeth ha ha.

[wanye]

I’ve been drooling over Zoes for months now and watching quite a few YouTube videos. Downside is I’ve left it a bit too long - now everyone else has the same idea and where second hand Zoes were sat there for months on end at 5-6k they’re now disappearing at a fair old pace and prices are upwards of 7k.

i didnt think they would be that cheap! at that sort of price, i might have to look at getting one for commuting next year when i've paid off my current (diesel estate) mazda 6 which i plan on using for longer trips or trips where i need more boot space

when are the risks/issues with EVs that are a few years old? whats the score with battery life on them? is there a rental fee on top of the purchase price? mazda are rumoured to be doing something with toyota in the next year, so would love some sort of reasonably priced mx5 type midlifecrisismobile (or even an electric mazda 2, which i also loved driving when i had a loaner for a week) - we have charging points at work, do all EVs have a standard charging port, or it it like some sort of high power usb deal... standard socket, just plug your own cable into the end

definitely need to start doing some research over the next few months

[(o)(o)]

when are the risks/issues with EVs that are a few years old? whats the score with battery life on them?

I'm wondering these things too...

Like.. an iphone battery can do a lot of damage. Do electric cars explode often?

[Cloudane]

Picked her up today!

Not heard of them exploding often.

Bloody love it so far generally, such a nice drive, smooth has hell. Can really shift off the mark and such (especially with eco mode off). Bells and whistles that put the bridge of the Starship Enterprise to shame. I feel all rich having reversing cameras and proximity locking etc yet haven't actually spent that much!

Range, I will admit, first impression is less than I was hoping for (like 60 miles or so rather than the 90 or so I was hoping) and on even a fairly short journey it seemed like the battery went down faster than an iPhone 5 playing Pokemon Go. To some extent it may be that it needs a battery management system update (state of health is showing 70% on my ODB2 thing right now which it apparently fixes somehow). Still, it won't be a problem often as I mostly just do local tootling - just means anything out of town most likely involves at least one charge stop

Next few days/weeks I think will largely involve just enjoying it for what it is, get it used to my driving style etc. I think you can go nuts looking for problems. Battery is leased though and car still in warranty so all should be fine if there are any real problems, subject to dealing with Renault.