Norman Potting
Well-known member
Interesting thread and one that I suspect will be popping up regularly over the next few years.
I’ve just ordered the new BMW 330e plug in hybrid, mainly to save a load of tax rather than save the planet.
It will cost me £165pm due to a 16% BIK rate. I could have a gone with a 520d and ended up paying £475 pm month in tax.
Absolute no brainer.
what infrastructure is this though? its not just power points needed but power too, sufficent uprating of domestic supply to support fast charging. its not really feasible and doesnt solve these core problems, which hybrids do.
I hope that was a joke, you'll miss the pop pop pop, sacrilege! ps how many do you have?
Definitely worth bearing in mind - Our house, being very remote, has an individual electric supply, TBH I'm not ensure if that's the best way to describe it but in short it means we have x amount of supply available to us, the power will dip when the oven and washing machine are on, for instance. In a town, where I believe the supply is shared, there isn't a problem with the current low number of ownership but as more and more come online, and given they can take hours to charge, that's going to be a problem right?
Edit - I love the answer from EON to this question, right ho!! "When everyone has an electric car, where will all that electricity come from?
It will come from you. People are already moving away from the grid and generating their own energy in their homes and businesses. From solar to wind energy, self-generation systems will put the power in your hands. You can use it to heat your home and hot water, and of course, to charge your electric car"
How did you manage the Warrington trip? What's the range of the car you took, and is it a Tesla with the fast charging battery?
I don't the ranges are going to improve massively in the near- or mid-term. For that to happen you'd need a load more batteries onboard, which leads to packaging issues, or huge advances in battery technology or different composites or materials used. Both of these measures will be costly and those costs will likely be passed onto the consumer.
What I think is more likely is more charging stations (part of the infrastructure is there with fuel stations), mobile charging units (where people come along and charge (and, in some cases, clean) your car (or swap the battery over), in-road charging and more fast chargers. Although some people will still want 500+ miles from a battery, the vast majority of people don't do over 100 miles in a day, so with these measures in place, range becomes less of an issue.
Has anyone got any experience on the depreciation on electric cars
Surely it would be more high risk buying a secondhand car of say 5-7 years in case the batteries packed up.
With battery technology moving so quick how many will dealers stock if, at all, costs of these fast-changing batteries will surely rocket.
Is anyone giving a 10-year warranty In battery life?
we have a Mercedes 330e hybrid gets about 12miles on full electric but on long journey to Scotland may get 60 miles electric. What I love about it is that instance power you get when pulling away. Did contemplate getting I-pace this year but was advised by jaguar salesman to wait for next version as battery technology was going to make a step change next year. At a bbq a couple of months ago I got chatting on electric cars and what was interesting is that 4-5+yr old Teslas - the biggest buyer of them is webuyanycar.com as dealers don’t want them as battery life is questionable. This ties into the lease rather than purchase model for electric cars
9 months into my Tesla Model 3 MR. 265 miles on full charge. No range anxiety as superchargers everywhere and 450 mph charge rate. Can't say enough about all of the technology/safety features and the bangingest stereo I have ever experienced. Used to drive the X5 when we had lots of stuff to be moved but find that M3 has a ton of space upfront and in the back. $7,500 government tax rebate softened the cost for me and avoided filling up for 12,500 miles now - saving around 1,200 quid in fuel. No oil changes, no maintenance of any kind for another 3 years. Never going back to ICE.
This was in post #18
Not sure about other makes but every Toyota Hybrid vehicle comes with a 5-year 100,000 mile Toyota warranty, which – with an annual hybrid service extends the cover on your battery for up to 15 years.
The cost of replacing the battery pack costs between £1000 and £1200 depending on model (apart from the Prius plug in which is over £6000 !)
Have since discovered that Toyota and Nissan are now finding that batteries are lasting well over 10 years and replacing battery packs is unusual even for the earliest of Prius in this country
Not a joke, And I won't miss the pop pop, or ring ding (depending on tune) Current fleet is 5, and a half!
Went to Wales last weekend, which was nearly 600 miles. Definitely a tuned engine journey, but popping to Brighton, out on errands or to the supermarket etc is rarely more than a 10-15 mile journey. A 10kW motor would be similar performance to the average scooter, if not better, and sufficient battery could easily be stored within the standard panel work for a range of up to 100 miles. It's only an idea and a few sketches, but the plan would be a bolt in job so as not to ruin a classic
I had an SX 150 many years ago but only for two years till I was knocked off and it was written off, fortunately I wasn't. Old beetle from then on......Wales trip was a good way, slightly jealous