Adventures in an all electric vehicle.

[GRW]

Definitely not, there are just some people who are anti electric car and some people who are offrering their opinion of what they are like to use as an owner of an electric car. By the way I am neither.

With respect, that's far too simplistic. I for one don't "hate" the EV. Yes I think it's far too expensive and has too limitations & compromises - but the issue isn't the car (if people want them, then that's their business).
It's a gross misrepresentation & false justification for the EV being promoted as the green transport saviour - given that it patently is not.
It's just another car.

 

[GRW]

At first my kids were reticent, but after reading the thread they agreed to kill me if I wrote similar drivel!

A lot of opinion with a small pinch of facts crafted to suit people's preference then tag team accelerated.

I'm quite enjoying it, I always knew there was parallel universes/realities.

But that is my opinion so crack on and have fun, life is too short for regrets

Well.... you and your kids clearly have a great deal more faith than I do.
(But then you'd have to have - you've invested in an EV. I'm happy that you like it).

 

[premmington]

Its 1.1% and doesn't take into account indirect action such as buying all the almost straight to landfill carp from elsewhere. So other countries look worse because of our greed and irresponsible attitude.

Very valid point - not one I had thougth of.

"our emissions are displaced" by buying stuff in from other countries.

 

[premmington]

You're talking here about global business. If there is a subcontractor in (say) India doing work for a (say) UK market (though it could just as easily be for any wealthy nation's market..... then ou cannot ascribe the emissions or consumption of energy in India - to the UK total - that would be mental.
If we are consuming (& we all are), and we are buying goods manufactured abroad (& we all are) - then for sure we are impacting the environment there as well as here - but what do you suggest?
Only buy British?
For a start - you won't be driving any car, let alone your EV.

Anyway, as I said before - while the narrative is "we must save the planet, so we are banning all ICE's & going all EV by 2030 to help achieve this" - but the reality shows every indication of the change resulting in a significant upturn in consumption of resources in perpetuity.
Capitalism & the consumer society & reducing your consumption and recycling, re-using, refurbishing existing equipment etc.... are wholly incompatible cultures!
What an EV does best - is make the consumer spend and consume, & feed the machine.... but gives the user a (false) feel-good factor, as they are sold on the idea that their consumption actually helps the planet instead of harms it.

"Only buy British?"

Good idea - but too late your boat has sailed

 

[premmington]

With respect, that's far too simplistic. I for one don't "hate" the EV. Yes I think it's far too expensive and has too limitations & compromises - but the issue isn't the car (if people want them, then that's their business).
It's a gross misrepresentation & false justification for the EV being promoted as the green transport saviour - given that it patently is not.
It's just another car.

I too don't hate EV's - I just see them as low mileage town cars.

All new cars are too expensive now - they just are!

---------

Running a car on a budget involves making some mathmatical choices it does and I am afraid at this point - I can't get the numbers to add up for an EV (I may into the future - I would not be dumb enuf to say "never")

 

[addjunkie]

Very valid point - not one I had thougth of.

"our emissions are displaced" by buying stuff in from other countries.

If you think of manufacturing countries in relative time….we are no different to China and India with respect to pollution we just did it a 100years or so before them, and have evolved as they are. Though from what Im hearing from a neighbour who visits China 6 or 7times a year, their electric car infastructure is going in much faster than ours.

If no one tries to clean up the environment it will never clean up, some one has to make the effort and demonstrate it is possible. Not sure electric cars are the saviour but its a start, especially if your an-asthmatic city dweller.

As for their price of EVs they are no better or worse than many other shiny brand new gas guzzlers. The Dacia at 13 grand new ticks a lot of boxes really. Cheap and goes A to B, but its petrol.

 

[minimutly]

Well I’m 60, and so far have never bought anything other than a British built car (had a dalliance with a 205cti once but found it extremely dreadful). I’m hopeful that I will continue to be able to do so, be it petrol or leccy. It has never, nor will be, diesel.

 

[premmington]

If you think of manufacturing countries in relative time….we are no different to China and India with respect to pollution we just did it a 100years or so before them, and have evolved as they are. Though from what Im hearing from a neighbour who visits China 6 or 7times a year, their electric car infastructure is going in much faster than ours.

If no one tries to clean up the environment it will never clean up, some one has to make the effort and demonstrate it is possible. Not sure electric cars are the saviour but its a start, especially if your an-asthmatic city dweller.

As for their price of EVs they are no better or worse than many other shiny brand new gas guzzlers. The Dacia at 13 grand new ticks a lot of boxes really. Cheap and goes A to B, but its petrol.

I agree with that point as well... "rome was not built in a day"

 

[Agrismith]

As for their price of EVs they are no better or worse than many other shiny brand new gas guzzlers. The Dacia at 13 grand new ticks a lot of boxes really. Cheap and goes A to B, but its petrol.

But EVs haven't got the choice yet. They are still only premium motors apart from maybe the Renault twizzy but even then it's not great value for money.

I couldn't afford an ev. Couldn't even afford a new car. But even if I could everything on the market is far to excessive for what I need. And to be honest what anyone needs.
It would be nice to see car manufacturers reverse the current trend and start making smaller vehicles more appealing. Or in some cases just start making cars smaller.
I have an old pickup for work. Anything to replace it now considerably bigger. I use mine for work and the size of them is actually a drawback

 

[willie.macleod]

With respect, that's far too simplistic. I for one don't "hate" the EV. Yes I think it's far too expensive and has too limitations & compromises - but the issue isn't the car (if people want them, then that's their business).
It's a gross misrepresentation & false justification for the EV being promoted as the green transport saviour - given that it patently is not.
It's just another car.

You can buy a usable EV for £4k. Mine is worth about £8k and it runs on electricity produced by wind locally (within a mile) because it is windy here most of the year and when it isn't we're on hydro. At the moment charging at home costs me c.20p/kWh so that's 6p a mile fuel cost. Let's not perpetuate the myth that ALL EVs are expensive, when I look around the car park at work most vehicles are more expensive than mine and certainly cost more per mile fuelling. And all that fuel has had a huge round trip from the hole in the ground, processing and transporting many miles to be burnt in an engine which might be approaching 25% efficiency propelling the vehicle.

Do it right and some people can buy a EV for sensible money and save money as well as improving green credentials. I have no interest in greenwashing, bare figures are good enough for me and you can't argue with efficiency of the EV and fewer tailpipe emissions are a good thing as most folk with asthma would agree. The disgraceful lack of planning nationally for rapid charging is a real issue, as is rapid charging cost rises, especially when energy cost per joule is compared with other forms of energy. Our electricity network is still not smart enough but it is getting smarter every day. Not knocking ICE vehicles (I run diesel 4x4s, petrol car and motorbike as well), but those with EVs on here seem to like them? We've not all been brainwashed, reckon most of us have ran the numbers and worked out our costs rather than simply had a company car given to us on some lease deal.

 

[toddy]

i have been watching this and waiting.
i have an EV it is the MG5 (estate) for cost of it.... i am paying the same for this new as i was for a second hand small van. running it is very cheep i do about 5p per mile, and servicing is cheep as well, minor service was £36.
i agree there needs to be more and better chargers around to aid in getting more people to change to one.
i decided to get this in 2021 as i go into london and other citys and most of them charge non ev's now. there is even a 100% discount for the congestion charge in london, meaning i save £27 per day i go into london.

and yes i have done long trips as well, at the start of feb i went to Glasgow, this was a round trip of over 1000 miles, this cost me about £100 with a car full of stuff.

 

[dobbslc]

there is even a 100% discount for the congestion charge in london,

But but but but I was stuck behind an MG5 last week in London, is that not congestion?
Joking aside it seems you can do whatever you want in London if you have enough money, weather that's buying a new petrol car, EV or just paying to polute or cause congestion
I see plenty of these new MG's around town and they look pretty good, maybe they're taking over from the Toyota Prius?

 

[toddy]

But but but but I was stuck behind an MG5 last week in London, is that not congestion?
Joking aside it seems you can do whatever you want in London if you have enough money, weather that's buying a new petrol car, EV or just paying to polute or cause congestion
I see plenty of these new MG's around town and they look pretty good, maybe they're taking over from the Toyota Prius?

yes they are taking over...
there is alot of taxi firms now using them, as they really are cheep and a good car.

before i got mine i was looking at a few and for the 10k difference between the mg5 and the others i was looking at it was a no brainier. i was very surprised by them tbh.

 

[dobbslc]

It's a shame we let BMW strip the Rover group down take the Mini and flog the rest off!
Instead the Chinese are now selling card back to us

 

[MetalMonkey]

It's a shame we let BMW strip the Rover group down take the Mini and flog the rest off!
Instead the Chinese are now selling card back to us

It was absolutely scandalous.
I honestly believe they only bought it to "asset strip" and kill off the competition because they were starting to really turn things around with the Honda partnership.

BMW got thier X5 knowhow out of Landrover, a nice new plant which they channelled all the cash into and then kept, and of course the insanely popular MINI.
They castrated sales of the 75 so it wouldn't compete.

I can only imagine if a foreign company tried doing that to one of the German manufacturers, I feel there would be political intervention for certain!

Interesting sidenote that SAIC were still cranking out Rover 25's for the chinese market right up until 2008, not bad for a platform launched in '95 on a shoestring budget and a handful of spare bits from the parts bin.
The whole sorry tale of Rover is just another case of the UK snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Seemed like such a waste of potential.

 

[brewdexta]

I had a chat about Land Rover EV conversion costs today. I had to take a lie down for a while, it is not cheap!
The basic Agricultural LV kit is about £24K + VAT, but that is before fitting costs, which can be the same again, so approaching 50k+VAT. The all singing and dancing CCS charging extended range kit is circa 75K +VAT fitted

They only provide the kits to authorised agents who fit them after training. The exception seems to be Worthy farm where a University was involved in the study, so go fitting as part of the deal.

So, although I may still get a Defender after the Ranger, it will stay with it's diesel engine for quite a while!

 

[My Old Landy]

I had a chat about Land Rover EV conversion costs today. I had to take a lie down for a while, it is not cheap!
The basic Agricultural LV kit is about £24K + VAT, but that is before fitting costs, which can be the same again, so approaching 50k+VAT. The all singing and dancing CCS charging extended range kit is circa 75K +VAT fitted

They only provide the kits to authorised agents who fit them after training. The exception seems to be Worthy farm where a University was involved in the study, so go fitting as part of the deal.

So, although I may still get a Defender after the Ranger, it will stay with it's diesel engine for quite a while!

That is a shame, I would like to convert mine. If you do it yourself from parts, do you have to IVA it?

 

[brewdexta]

That is a shame, I would like to convert mine. If you do it yourself from parts, do you have to IVA it?

Adrian Flux says no to an IVA as the "Typically the conversion company does not interfere with the chassis or structural integrity of the car either so there's no need for an IVA test, just a registration with DVLA of the change to an electric drive unit"

However this guys says you do plus a CEC 100.1 electrical test that can cost 2K+ https://mclear.co.uk/2021/07/30/electric-car-conversions-iva-and-cec-requirements-for-non-classics/

As you need to swap out stuff like hydraulic power steering and possibly beef up the brakes, I would probably believe the latter but I've never gone beyond swapping a 1000c mini engine for an 1100cc one so no expert on the matter.

 

[minimutly]

You can buy a usable EV for £4k. Mine is worth about £8k and it runs on electricity produced by wind locally (within a mile) because it is windy here most of the year and when it isn't we're on hydro. At the moment charging at home costs me c.20p/kWh so that's 6p a mile fuel cost. Let's not perpetuate the myth that ALL EVs are expensive, when I look around the car park at work most vehicles are more expensive than mine and certainly cost more per mile fuelling. And all that fuel has had a huge round trip from the hole in the ground, processing and transporting many miles to be burnt in an engine which might be approaching 25% efficiency propelling the vehicle.

Do it right and some people can buy a EV for sensible money and save money as well as improving green credentials. I have no interest in greenwashing, bare figures are good enough for me and you can't argue with efficiency of the EV and fewer tailpipe emissions are a good thing as most folk with asthma would agree. The disgraceful lack of planning nationally for rapid charging is a real issue, as is rapid charging cost rises, especially when energy cost per joule is compared with other forms of energy. Our electricity network is still not smart enough but it is getting smarter every day. Not knocking ICE vehicles (I run diesel 4x4s, petrol car and motorbike as well), but those with EVs on here seem to like them? We've not all been brainwashed, reckon most of us have ran the numbers and worked out our costs rather than simply had a company car given to us on some lease deal.

What you got that was sub £4K then? Genuinely interested since now we’re talking my numbers, and with solar at home I could charge it cheaply most of the time.

 

[GRW]

What you got that was sub £4K then? Genuinely interested since now we’re talking my numbers, and with solar at home I could charge it cheaply most of the time.

I'd like to know that too, given the average price of a (new) EV looks to be around 10x that.