Bloody expensive Too long to recharge not enough range need to replace the batteries at cost of thousands after 5 or so years.
1. Will get cheaper as more people will develop them creating competitive pricing. 2. Charging times will improve, probably not by masses but they will get to around 30mins a charge I think. 3. Range will improve over time as batteries get better and smaller. 4. That cost will come down too.
Fact is very little can improve until all companies are focusing on research to improve the current EV solutions.
Bloody expensive - Yep, but not all of them. Look into a 2nd hand Nissan Leaf. Also, other brands will come down in price over the next few years. Too long to recharge - Charge overnight. It takes me 8 hours to get a full battery on a slow charge. A fast charge in the city takes around 30 mins. not enough range - Will only increase. Still early days. Agree that you'll need a petrol car too for longer distance driving, if you've got a Leaf like me, which only has a range of 110km (which is adequate for me for work and client visits). need to replace the batteries at cost of thousands after 5 or so years. Where did you read that? Mine is nearly 8 years old and battery still around 75%.
Are the servicing costs lower ? One would presume less obvious parts, oil and stuff it would be alot simpler to service?
I just got rid of my Merc C class hybrid. It used to go like stink, which was nice, but the hybrid only covered a couple of miles as it wasn't a plug in. And the hybrid stopped working. I handed it back. Currently in a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV which has around 20 mile range on battery. Not bad drive but when something goes wrong it costs a lot to fix My old man had a Ranger Rover Sport Hybrid and that costs £1500 to service because it needs specialists and witchcraft
Waiting for my new car next week - petrol. Old school but I know what I am getting Electric cars ARE the future but not just yet. Next year the company car tax is MASSIVELY reduced so that will set the wheels in motion...so to speak
Bloody expensive - Yep, but not all of them. Look into a 2nd hand Nissan Leaf. Also, other brands will come down in price over the next few years. Too long to recharge - Charge overnight. It takes me 8 hours to get a full battery on a slow charge. A fast charge in the city takes around 30 mins. not enough range - Will only increase. Still early days. Agree that you'll need a petrol car too for longer distance driving, if you've got a Leaf like me, which only has a range of 110km (which is adequate for me for work and client visits). need to replace the batteries at cost of thousands after 5 or so years. Where did you read that? Mine is nearly 8 years old and battery still around 75%.
Are the servicing costs lower ? One would presume less obvious parts, oil and stuff it would be alot simpler to service?
As an example a Tesla S costs around £900 for the annual service but a pack can be bought for three years costing around £1800.
That's top end - the Nissan Leaf would be around £150-200 for an annual service.
Sorry keep your electric I like grunt revs noise roar and loads of mph and torque and BHP and that's coming from a Volvo driver!
I thought I did as well, but coming round to electric. I do a lot of driving and spend about £75 a week on diesel. £300+ a month!
I could lease an electric car and basically get the car for free. Tempting me a bit.
That's a similar mileage to what I'm back to doing. You will spend far longer in time and your electricity bill recharging the thing assuming it has the range you need
The cost of recharging is way cheaper than buying diesel or petrol.
I believe you, what I stand by is the practicality of the small ranges on them and the time needed to fully charge them
I think that’ll improve exponentially. Range of 250 miles is fine (it’ll get you to Sunderland, and they’re developing fast chargers, so you could have lunch at the services while your battery tops up. Hybrids are an alternative, of course.
I've been a car nut all my life, have owned more than I care to remember and still own four now, all petrol some not great on MPG!
If and when they sort out the range of the electrics to a sensible number I'll switch at least two of mine.
I had a loan of a Tesla S, really liked that, but despite it being the long range model it only managed 200 miles. The Model X is something else, but again range is poor.
Wonder how long before we get a range of 4-500 miles between charges, that's what needed.
Sorry keep your electric I like grunt revs noise roar and loads of mph and torque and BHP and that's coming from a Volvo driver!
I thought I did as well, but coming round to electric. I do a lot of driving and spend about £75 a week on diesel. £300+ a month!
I could lease an electric car and basically get the car for free. Tempting me a bit.
That's a similar mileage to what I'm back to doing. You will spend far longer in time and your electricity bill recharging the thing assuming it has the range you need
The cost of recharging is way cheaper than buying diesel or petrol.
I believe you, what I stand by is the practicality of the small ranges on them and the time needed to fully charge them
I think that’ll improve exponentially. Range of 250 miles is fine (it’ll get you to Sunderland, and they’re developing fast chargers, so you could have lunch at the services while your battery tops up. Hybrids are an alternative, of course.
Bloody expensive - Yep, but not all of them. Look into a 2nd hand Nissan Leaf. Also, other brands will come down in price over the next few years. Too long to recharge - Charge overnight. It takes me 8 hours to get a full battery on a slow charge. A fast charge in the city takes around 30 mins. not enough range - Will only increase. Still early days. Agree that you'll need a petrol car too for longer distance driving, if you've got a Leaf like me, which only has a range of 110km (which is adequate for me for work and client visits). need to replace the batteries at cost of thousands after 5 or so years. Where did you read that? Mine is nearly 8 years old and battery still around 75%.
Are the servicing costs lower ? One would presume less obvious parts, oil and stuff it would be alot simpler to service?
I'm no car geek/expert, but read this on AA NZ. 'One of the bonuses of an electric engine is having only about 20 moving parts, as opposed to the 2000 of a petrol or diesel engine'.
I haven't had mine serviced yet. Just looked into what a full service would cost and include from a dealer here. NZ199 = 100 quid.
But look at the cost of a Nissan leaf, best part of 30k for the bottom of the range, what's the equivalent non electric car cost? Sub 20k?
They also lose money pretty quick, over 50% in less than 2 years, I get the environmental side to it all, but it's currently a very expensive way to drive.
It is all about lifestyle. A retired person driving maybe 50 miles a week - electric. Someone working with a short commute - electric. Someone travelling a lot on business and/or regular long journeys - plug-in hybrid.
The technology and infrastructure needs to develop further to allow for mass migration to pure electric - and it will. Battery technology allowing for faster charging and significantly increased range will be the game-changer.
What's for sure - the pure internal combustion engine (petrol or diesel) has a finite future.
Agree with this. Had a hybrid electric on test drive for a few days. Not for me yet. When charge runs out consumption reverts to diesel type levels. Got average of 70 mpg doing trips all under 20 miles which didn't impress me. Faffing about with leads and sockets at midnight in the pouring rain no fun. Parked outside my office and had to contend with open window in freezing February to get a charge. My total fuel spend is around £3,500 a year and if i never used any fuel it would take three years to recoup the extra cost of the electric version. Passing time in a motorway service stations waiting for car to charge up not an attractive prospect.
Will come eventually but not yet practical enough for the average Joe and anyone without a driveway. What about if you have a residents parking permit and your car is parked up around the corner.
And why isn't it a building regulation that every new house has an electric charging unit? It will come eventually why not plan for it.
I was thinking of buying a second hand BMWi3, my main worry is how much I could lose in say two years time. Will there be any market for a 5 yr old electric car? The battery will be on its way out and the cost of a new one would put off buyers.
And why isn't it a building regulation that every new house has an electric charging unit? It will come eventually why not plan for it.
You can plug a Nissan Leaf into any normal plug. No need for a special electric charging unit.
The made for purpose units are faster charging, have built in safety features and are located outside the house so you don't have to worry about leads trailing through the house and over flower beds. Not an electrician, but I understand that a 3 pin socket is not as safe as it takes a higher load than it's designed for and potentially a hazard.
I work in planning, and increasing numbers of councils are insisting on a provision of electric chargers, or at the minimum, the infrastructure in place so they can be installed at a later date.
I drive less than 4000 miles a year in my Hyundai i30. I live in a flat so have to park in residential facilities. I'm not passionate about motoring and generally prefer public transport where possible.
The way things are going, I think it's highly likely this Hyundai will be the last ever car I own. The future is in public transport and using car hire/sharing services only when necessary.
If a significant number of people can accept that model going forward, that could play a major role in reducing emissions and slowing climate change.
I drive less than 4000 miles a year in my Hyundai i30. I live in a flat so have to park in residential facilities. I'm not passionate about motoring and generally prefer public transport where possible.
The way things are going, I think it's highly likely this Hyundai will be the last ever car I own. The future is in public transport and using car hire/sharing services only when necessary.
If a significant number of people can accept that model going forward, that could play a major role in reducing emissions and slowing climate change.
I agree that the Boris bikes for cars model is something that's going to grow massively. Especially when autonomous technology becomes mainstream.
Comments
2. Charging times will improve, probably not by masses but they will get to around 30mins a charge I think.
3. Range will improve over time as batteries get better and smaller.
4. That cost will come down too.
Fact is very little can improve until all companies are focusing on research to improve the current EV solutions.
I just got rid of my Merc C class hybrid. It used to go like stink, which was nice, but the hybrid only covered a couple of miles as it wasn't a plug in. And the hybrid stopped working. I handed it back.
Currently in a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV which has around 20 mile range on battery. Not bad drive but when something goes wrong it costs a lot to fix
My old man had a Ranger Rover Sport Hybrid and that costs £1500 to service because it needs specialists and witchcraft
Waiting for my new car next week - petrol. Old school but I know what I am getting
Electric cars ARE the future but not just yet. Next year the company car tax is MASSIVELY reduced so that will set the wheels in motion...so to speak
I used to be a milkman too
As an example a Tesla S costs around £900 for the annual service but a pack can be bought for three years costing around £1800.
That's top end - the Nissan Leaf would be around £150-200 for an annual service.
Hybrids are an alternative, of course.
I've been a car nut all my life, have owned more than I care to remember and still own four now, all petrol some not great on MPG!
If and when they sort out the range of the electrics to a sensible number I'll switch at least two of mine.
I had a loan of a Tesla S, really liked that, but despite it being the long range model it only managed 200 miles. The Model X is something else, but again range is poor.
Wonder how long before we get a range of 4-500 miles between charges, that's what needed.
'One of the bonuses of an electric engine is having only about 20 moving parts, as opposed to the 2000 of a petrol or diesel engine'.
I haven't had mine serviced yet.
Just looked into what a full service would cost and include from a dealer here.
NZ199 = 100 quid.
They also lose money pretty quick, over 50% in less than 2 years, I get the environmental side to it all, but it's currently a very expensive way to drive.
Had a hybrid electric on test drive for a few days. Not for me yet. When charge runs out consumption reverts to diesel type levels. Got average of 70 mpg doing trips all under 20 miles which didn't impress me. Faffing about with leads and sockets at midnight in the pouring rain no fun. Parked outside my office and had to contend with open window in freezing February to get a charge. My total fuel spend is around £3,500 a year and if i never used any fuel it would take three years to recoup the extra cost of the electric version. Passing time in a motorway service stations waiting for car to charge up not an attractive prospect.
Will come eventually but not yet practical enough for the average Joe and anyone without a driveway. What about if you have a residents parking permit and your car is parked up around the corner.
And why isn't it a building regulation that every new house has an electric charging unit? It will come eventually why not plan for it.
The way things are going, I think it's highly likely this Hyundai will be the last ever car I own. The future is in public transport and using car hire/sharing services only when necessary.
If a significant number of people can accept that model going forward, that could play a major role in reducing emissions and slowing climate change.
I agree that the Boris bikes for cars model is something that's going to grow massively. Especially when autonomous technology becomes mainstream.