[Technology] Electric Car advice

southstandandy · Apr 29, 2023

My daughter is interested in getting a new (ish) car and wants to consider an EV but has little knowledge of longevity, insurance costs, and mileage range.

Has anyone had an EV for a number of years, and if so how does the battery life hold up on repeated charges. A former colleague of mine had a Kia EV and after 6 years the battery was essentially knackered and every time he recharged it, it would barely do another 20 miles (formerly the range from new was given as 230 miles). I have heard of a few issues of this nature, similar to mobile phones, but is anyone still using an EV they've had for 8 or 9 years on the original battery?

Before she takes the plunge I just wanted any advice from someone who has had one for a reasonable period of time. The battery life is one key thing that worries her as she doesn't want to have to buy another new one in just a few years time.

Fungus · Apr 29, 2023

Only had my EV one year, but I imagine any 8-9 year old EV would be using rather outdated technology. Current cars are intelligent enough to protect the battery, and I’ve not heard of anyone losing so much power. I think 2% per year would be more normal. By the way, the price of second hand EVs seems to have plummeted since I bought mine new.

jonny.rainbow · Apr 29, 2023

Electric Car advice

Don’t put petrol in them.

chickens · Apr 29, 2023

The latest lot will claim to do over 300 miles in range and will actually do 260-280 miles. (Driving style and temperature make a difference, higher speeds suck the battery, and more energy is used via the heating systems in cold weather)

They make perfect sense if your daughter has got a drive or garage to park on, and so can charge at home. They need a bit more thinking about if she’s relying on public charging facilities.

As someone else mentioned, I’d expect battery degradation of about 2% annually. The charge lasts longer in town where there’s lots of stop/start which provides regenerative braking, than on a long clear run where there’s not much braking. Less of an issue with the longer ranges of modern EVs.

Depending on budget, I’d look at:

Porsche Taycan/Audi etron GT - sports

BMW i4/Polestar 2 - saloon

Budget options - city/small car Renault Zoe (latest model) or Peugeot e208 gt

Mid size hatch - mg4 or Cupra Born
Small suv - mg zs

Large SUV/Executive Saloons -
Mercedes release their electric cars under the EQ brand, they’re not the prettiest, but they offer a large SUV and the EQE which has a really long range and is meant to be a nice place to be.

nwgull · Apr 29, 2023

I have had one for coming up to 3 years and it’s great. It’s easily the most powerful car I’ve driven and I still get same mileage (240-250) from a full charge. However, I’m much more comfortable with leasing it rather than owning. Has she considered this option?

carlzeiss · Apr 29, 2023

Buy your daughter one of these , she will love it .

southstandandy · Apr 30, 2023

nwgull said:
I have had one for coming up to 3 years and it’s great. It’s easily the most powerful car I’ve driven and I still get same mileage (240-250) from a full charge. However, I’m much more comfortable with leasing it rather than owning. Has she considered this option?

Hi. Thanks for the response. Yeah, that seems like a decent option. Will discuss this with her.

Fungus · Apr 30, 2023

FYI, the technology of home charging devices is also a moving target. When we got our Rolec charger last year, it was the latest “smart” model that allowed it to check grid demand levels. But we can’t use it for the cheap OVO overnight rates, because that brand doesn’t allow the correct communication with the grid (closed API, apparently). Whatever, she’ll find charging at home (or work) much cheaper than public chargers, so in the long-term she’ll want a suitable charger.

Papa Lazarou · Apr 30, 2023

I have a Tesla model Y on a 3 year lease through my work. Costs about 650 a month with the tax savings for EV leasing.

This covers insurance, breakdown cover, servicing, basically everything.

We got an Ohme charger installed, which integrates with our existing Octopus Energy system, so we can ensure we only charge at the cheapest rate electric.

The Intelligent Octopus tariff gives cheap rate electricity between 11.30pm and 5.30am; and when switched in March this was at 10p/Kwh, but last week they cut the price to 7.5p.

This means we can charge the car's 75kwh battery for £5.63 which gives something like 300 miles of range.

On the experience of owning it, we've done a trip at Easter from Worthing to Barnstaple and we arrived with 100 miles range left, so range anxiety isn't an issue so far.

I've done a few charges away from home just to try it out. The rates for public charging are pretty high currently, ranging from 40p to up to 79p per KWH, so not much cheaper than a diesel vehicle at those prices.

There is no way I could afford this car new as a purchase (our model and options would be about 54k), but if you have a salary sacrifice lease deal available through work I'd explore it.

We test drive many EVs before getting the Tesla. One of the key elements that made us chose it was availability. Our Tesla Model Y Long Range took about 4 weeks between order and delivery, whereas many other manufacturers have lead time of up to a year!

If I was buying a 1st EV and didn't need to fit a dog in the boot and a family of 4, I'd explore the MG vehicles. The MG5 is a relatively affordable car with decent range, whereas the 4 is a pretty basically equipped estate if that's your thing.

We will see a lot of even cheaper EVs hitting the UK market soon, primarily from China, who are going to come to dominate the market in coming years, along with Tesla of course.

maresfield seagull · Apr 30, 2023

southstandandy said:
My daughter is interested in getting a new (ish) car and wants to consider an EV but has little knowledge of longevity, insurance costs, and mileage range.

Has anyone had an EV for a number of years, and if so how does the battery life hold up on repeated charges. A former colleague of mine had a Kia EV and after 6 years the battery was essentially knackered and every time he recharged it, it would barely do another 20 miles (formerly the range from new was given as 230 miles). I have heard of a few issues of this nature, similar to mobile phones, but is anyone still using an EV they've had for 8 or 9 years on the original battery?

Before she takes the plunge I just wanted any advice from someone who has had one for a reasonable period of time. The battery life is one key thing that worries her as she doesn't want to have to buy another new one in just a few years time.

Don’t

nicko31 · May 2, 2023

Anyone had any experience of public charging networks (non Tesla)?

I plan to charge at home, but need something in place just incase I do a longer trip

Commander · May 2, 2023

nicko31 said:
Anyone had any experience of public charging networks (non Tesla)?

I plan to charge at home, but need something in place just incase I do a longer trip

I've got an Audi E-tron and have taken it to Cornwall and back. It's pretty easy, you've just got to plan your route around the charging stations. Of which there are absolutely loads. It depends on how quick the car charges though, you don't want to be waiting hours at a service station. Mine will get about 100 miles in 30 mins on the motorway fast chargers. By the time you've gone in and used the toilet and bought a coffee etc., 30 mins go very quickly.

Billy the Fish · May 2, 2023

Commander said:
I've got an Audi E-tron and have taken it to Cornwall and back. It's pretty easy, you've just got to plan your route around the charging stations. Of which there are absolutely loads. It depends on how quick the car charges though, you don't want to be waiting hours at a service station. Mine will get about 100 miles in 30 mins on the motorway fast chargers. By the time you've gone in and used the toilet and bought a coffee etc., 30 mins go very quickly.

Although it does get pricey doing that at £0.65/kwh

thedonkeycentrehalf · May 2, 2023

Does she want a pure EV or would a hybrid be an option? Many of the hybrids are much cheaper to buy second hand, less reliant on the battery condition and don't need dedicated charging points..

My elderly parents recently bought a second hand Kia hybrid and where it is often used for short runs to the nearest town etc they rarely use any petrol.

HeaviestTed · May 2, 2023

Has anyone got any thoughts about leaving the regenerative breaks on all the time so when you take your foot off the accelerator it charges?

I read something that says this was the thing to do but I’m not convinced!

Greg Bobkin · May 2, 2023

nicko31 said:
Anyone had any experience of public charging networks (non Tesla)?

I plan to charge at home, but need something in place just incase I do a longer trip

Plan your trip with charging stations in mind. And have a Plan B. And a plan C. And a plan D. The infrastructure is not populous or reliable enough to cope at the moment – I've encountered either chargers not working, not connecting or full up with other vehicles on arrival. And don't bother waiting to charge to 100% because it'll take an age between 80 and 100%. Gridserve are always pretty good in my experience; BP likewise. Shell Recharge, don't bother – the ones I've seen are nearly always out of service.

The Zap-Map app is your friend!

Rugrat · May 2, 2023

Greg Bobkin said:
Plan your trip with charging stations in mind. And have a Plan B. And a plan C. And a plan D. The infrastructure is not populous or reliable enough to cope at the moment – I've encountered either chargers not working, not connecting or full up with other vehicles on arrival. And don't bother waiting to charge to 100% because it'll take an age between 80 and 100%. Gridserve are always pretty good in my experience; BP likewise. Shell Recharge, don't bother – the ones I've seen are nearly always out of service.

The Zap-Map app is your friend!

Take a look at ABRP (A Better Route Planner) it's brilliant for planning a journey giving you best places to 'fill up', how long you need to stay there etc

Papa Lazarou · May 2, 2023

thedonkeycentrehalf said:
Does she want a pure EV or would a hybrid be an option? Many of the hybrids are much cheaper to buy second hand, less reliant on the battery condition and don't need dedicated charging points..

My elderly parents recently bought a second hand Kia hybrid and where it is often used for short runs to the nearest town etc they rarely use any petrol.

Hybrids are cheaper, as they've been around for much longer overall.

You can view a plug in hybrid (such as a Mitsubishi Outland PHEV) as the best of both worlds, as it provides a limited all electric range (up to 30) and a small petrol engine for longer journeys and faster acceleration.

I personally see them as outdated tech, and pretty much the worst of both worlds; limited electric range, and you're dragging petrol and an engine around when you are running fully electric, and the opposite when running on petrol - carrying batteries and an electric motor around.

I'd definitely steer clear on any 'mild' or 'self charging' hybrids, as they are (IMHO) a con. Self charging from a petrol or diesel engine is still an ICE vehicle.

If you have limited budget, the only value EVs are the 1st gen Nissan Leaf (can get them 2nd hand for 6k) or the Zoe, a little more expensive but better range.

There are more plug in hybrids available, the Outlander PHEV is one of the most popular, plus there are many variants on popular vehicles on Autotrader, such as the VW e-golf.

nicko31 · May 2, 2023

Greg Bobkin said:
Plan your trip with charging stations in mind. And have a Plan B. And a plan C. And a plan D. The infrastructure is not populous or reliable enough to cope at the moment – I've encountered either chargers not working, not connecting or full up with other vehicles on arrival. And don't bother waiting to charge to 100% because it'll take an age between 80 and 100%. Gridserve are always pretty good in my experience; BP likewise. Shell Recharge, don't bother – the ones I've seen are nearly always out of service.

The Zap-Map app is your friend!

Thanks for the heads up. I'd already signed up with Shell but Gridserve looks solid...

A mex eyecan · Nov 14, 2024

My ICE car goes back a year today so it’s time to start thinking type of car to get. Normal car usage EV seems to be okay, however we spend quite a bit of time taking breaks in UK staying in cottage rentals. So far to date not one we have stayed in has had any form of charging facility. Given my stress levels (read short patience levels) I couldn’t cope with bu88ering around planning charging point routes or such like. So from that I’m really unlikely to go EV. Anyone else have experience of rentals/chargers. To add to the complications any cottage we rent has to be dog free as my other half has a serious allergy to dogs. Many cottages now allow dogs so quantity of properties to select are already greatly reduced.

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