Adventures in an all electric vehicle.

[rtcosic]

At this point I've only read up to page 4, #80... (getting bored of the arguments, civil-enough as they are).

Retired, my longest normal round-trip in one day is 40 miles, once a week.
Maybe every 3 months, I "might" do a 120 mile day.
Other more normal days its 15 mile round trips, couple of times a week.
None of the destinations are public transport friendly.

Not short of a bob or two but at 67, I just can't bring myself to be overly spendy on cars - my diesel 4x4 (love it) cost £2k in 2018 and maintenance over 5 years has been less than £3k, so that's where I'm in my ££££budget comfort zone.

I think an EV would suit most of my trips; would just come down to finding an EV for about £2k.
I like the look of the Renault Zoe but the cheapest one on autotrader is £3k , 300 miles away, and doesn't work
and not too keen on "renting" the battery, either.

Might have to wait 10 or 15 years before availability is so widespread that the prices come down to my level.
But by that time I will be over 80, so seems less likely for me.

So I may as well enjoy my 4x4 mud-plugging go-anywhere gas-guzzler and forget EVs

Snap! Almost identical circumstances. In addition on the longer trips I know I can recharge at the destination, even if it's only at 3kW.

I'm running a 5 year petrol with 35k so my BEV will probably be one of these:

I expect I'll be asking offspring to defeat the 8mph limiter.

 

[Erie Fred]

Brushed stainless bonded to a fibreglass shell if I remember.

It's the stainless part that kicked up the OCD in Shock.

 

[Smallfry]

At this point I've only read up to page 4, #80... (getting bored of the arguments, civil-enough as they are).

Retired, my longest normal round-trip in one day is 40 miles, once a week.
Maybe every 3 months, I "might" do a 120 mile day.
Other more normal days its 15 mile round trips, couple of times a week.
None of the destinations are public transport friendly.

Not short of a bob or two but at 67, I just can't bring myself to be overly spendy on cars - my diesel 4x4 (love it) cost £2k in 2018 and maintenance over 5 years has been less than £3k, so that's where I'm in my ££££budget comfort zone.

I think an EV would suit most of my trips; would just come down to finding an EV for about £2k.
I like the look of the Renault Zoe but the cheapest one on autotrader is £3k , 300 miles away, and doesn't work
and not too keen on "renting" the battery, either.

Might have to wait 10 or 15 years before availability is so widespread that the prices come down to my level.
But by that time I will be over 80, so seems less likely for me.

So I may as well enjoy my 4x4 mud-plugging go-anywhere gas-guzzler and forget EVs

This is it in a nutshell for me.

I don't have anything against EVs per se (apart from the unfair road tax bias) and I don't think they are the answer environmentally, but I only have vans, as they are more use to me, and until they get the range issue sorted, I would not even consider it. I am used to driving up to 400 miles in one hit, and I DON'T want to hang around service stations for hours, and buying unnecessary expensive meals and drinks, and I DON'T want the worry or what repairs or another battery might cost.

More importantly, I make no secret of the fact that I cannot afford the money they cost, and at the moment, a used one is very likely to be a can of worms. I have not spent any more than £1500 on buying a vehicle for years, as I view it as a waste of money, but of course, thats my choice. I don't do the politics of envy, or begrudge those who can afford it either.

Until they come down to my price bracket, I will stick to my diesels, as I like them, but the worry with a cheap EV will be how reliable will it be, and what sort of range will it have when the battery is old.

 

[daleyd]

I think it’s fair to say if you need a van to go from one end of the country to the other without stopping - and for £1500 - then an electric car that’s going to be at most a couple of years old probably isn’t for you.

I don’t think anyone would try and argue otherwise.

 

[Morrisman]

Maybe a decade ago, but ten years is a long time. BEVs have only been around that long. Few BEVs and likely even fewer charging stations. It is somewhat different now! The most recent problem in the UK was that of charging points being blocked by inconsiderate ICE drivers. Thankfully, that practice has disappeared.

There are four in Tesco, 2 in Wilko, Asda has none, and I don't think I've seen any anywhere else in our town.

 

[GRW]

Hard to believe that anyone would look at data from road deaths/injuries over the years and suggest that older cars were, size for size, safer than newer ones. Not all the reductions are down to simply better car design of course but I’d wager that a good proportion of that reduction is down to better design, and the addition of modern safety features.

The downside though - is that newer cars are getting written off after pretty minor fender-benders.
(My car is worth so little that given the choice I'd not claim on insurance, but either fix it myself or scrap it - by far the cheaper options.... but to have a tiny bump & have many £k's written off, probably not get what it's worth or what a replacement would cost, get clobbered for sn excess & get a premium hike - would nark me no end).

 

[malcolm]

I quite like electric cars. I used to play with them at work and they tend to be quite funky. Can't afford one. My one gripe is if you were to have one that is 5 or 10 years old the cost of replacing the battery would be more than the car is worth so I'll not be able to afford a used one either.

Range is another issue. I can get to Glasgow and back on a tank of diesel. Driving back from Scotland when it was busy after Christmas I wanted to stop for a pee on the A1 and all the services were backed up onto the slip roads. I couldn't be bothered as it would be half an hour just to get into the services so ended up driving home without stopping. Then rushing to the loo. Imagine if everyone was queuing for a charging point as well as the loo.

There will never be enough services to support that level of traffic if everyone was electric. Long trips at busy times will need to be done by alternative means, and I'm not sure everyone would have fitted on the train either. I think the idea is for us to stay at home and save lives.

Not sure if the Glasgow low emission zone has a classic car exemption. I'm thinking a Renault 4 with a few jerry cans in the back could be a money saver.

 

[premmington]

There’s something like a 75% reduction in fatalities over the last 30 years despite there being more cars on the road (can’t recall the exact figures but something like that…).

But yeah, modern cars are rubbish

YOU are right - the problem with new high value cars is - they are expensive to repair. They just are...

They are not easy to bodge and keep going on the cheap.

 

[roofman]

I quite like electric cars. I used to play with them at work and they tend to be quite funky. Can't afford one. My one gripe is if you were to have one that is 5 or 10 years old the cost of replacing the battery would be more than the car is worth so I'll not be able to afford a used one either.

Range is another issue. I can get to Glasgow and back on a tank of diesel. Driving back from Scotland when it was busy after Christmas I wanted to stop for a pee on the A1 and all the services were backed up onto the slip roads. I couldn't be bothered as it would be half an hour just to get into the services so ended up driving home without stopping. Then rushing to the loo. Imagine if everyone was queuing for a charging point as well as the loo.

There will never be enough services to support that level of traffic if everyone was electric. Long trips at busy times will need to be done by alternative means, and I'm not sure everyone would have fitted on the train either. I think the idea is for us to stay at home and save lives.

Not sure if the Glasgow low emission zone has a classic car exemption. I'm thinking a Renault 4 with a few jerry cans in the back could be a money saver.

Plastic bottle under the driver's seat Malcolm

 

[daleyd]

The downside though - is that newer cars are getting written off after pretty minor fender-benders.
(My car is worth so little that given the choice I'd not claim on insurance, but either fix it myself or scrap it - by far the cheaper options.... but to have a tiny bump & have many £k's written off, probably not get what it's worth or what a replacement would cost, get clobbered for sn excess & get a premium hike - would nark me no end).

Depends what your priority is I guess - if you’ve had you or your loved ones life saved then I guess you might think it a price worth paying, alternatively if your perpetually looking for a negative aspect then your probably never going to be happy.

Edit - I’m not even sure the write off thing is even directly related to safety, I always thought it’s just the general price of extraneous plastic bits and the cost of parts in general from manufacturers.

 

[OJCar]

Not sure if the Glasgow low emission zone has a classic car exemption. I'm thinking a Renault 4 with a few jerry cans in the back could be a money saver.

The Scottish LEZ all are getting the same "classics" exemption of Over 30 years old and unmodified.
https://www.lowemissionzones.scot/

Running my 1990 Land Rover Discovery 200TDi against the Vehicle checker gets:-

 

[Agrismith]

Depends what your priority is I guess - if you’ve had you or your loved ones life saved then I guess you might think it a price worth paying, alternatively if your perpetually looking for a negative aspect then your probably never going to be happy.

I think you would struggle to find the exact place to draw the line between written off from good crumple zones and written off due to cost cutting engineering

 

[daleyd]

I think you would struggle to find the exact place to draw the line between written off from good crumple zones and written off due to cost cutting engineering

I guess if you find out where it is then it’s probably too late and you wouldn’t care any more

 

[OJCar]

@malcolm
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/renault/354670/new-2025-renault-4-get-pure-electric-power

Electric New Renault 4.

 

[bricol]

Until the government forced all suppliers of new cars to fit locking wheel studs to at least one on each wheel , wheel thefts were the in thing as a set of mag alloy rims could set you back £ 1500 plus the cost of the tyres .

They did?
When?
Only time I've had locking wheel bolts/nuts was when I bought and fitted them.

 

[malcolm]

@malcolm
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/renault/354670/new-2025-renault-4-get-pure-electric-power

Electric New Renault 4.

It's better than that:

Renault AIR4 revealed as Renault 4-inspired flying car | Autocar

Real-world trials of the AIR4 "could begin", says the French maker

www.autocar.co.uk

 

[bricol]

Yep, you just have to watch a few of the “just rolled in” youtube videos to understand the state of some vehicles running on US roads. Thankfully, a lot of the vehicles shown in those clips would never see the light of day on a UK road.

You only have to sit for a moment in traffic in a lot of the USA to be gob-smacked at what seems to be allowed on the roads!

I've probably spent half this year so far in the US - some cars I don't understand how the doors still shut after they've been opened, there appears to be so little structure left under them - and they weren't cars with chassis either!

The big problem of course, if the car structure is that bad, one can only guess at the state of say the braking system . . .

I insist on a decent size SUV as a rental these days, in an attempt to be as little damaged as possible if and when one of them uses me as the brake!

I have noticed electric cars are dropped down into enthusiasts who are modifying them as they might have a ICE vehicle. Not seen a low-rider Tesla yet though

 

[keithski122]

Then theres the fact that some people just don't like modern stuff or progress.

 

[Bornfree]

You've got to feel sorry for the kids who will be passing their driving tests in the next few years and getting an electric car. Can you imagine rocking up to the pub in a silent Renault Zoe, probably have to play exhaust noise on the stereo with the windows open.

 

[keithski122]

You've got to feel sorry for the kids who will be passing their driving tests in the next few years and getting an electric car. Can you imagine rocking up to the pub in a silent Renault Zoe, probably have to play exhaust noise on the stereo with the windows open.

See there are other benefits as well.