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GOM

living vicariously
Aug 8, 2005
3,259
Leeds - but not the dirty bit
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As a petrol head I am really kicking against an EV, although I do accept it’s the future. I won’t be giving up at least one ICE car when it becomes inevitable that I need to buy an EV
Why are you really kicking against an EV, are you an anti-EVer thinking they are the spawn of the devil ?

It is quite possible to be a petrol head and love EVs all at the same time. Many people with an EV still have ICE powered vehicles as well.
 




Superphil

Dismember
Jul 7, 2003
25,679
In a pile of football shirts
I paid £799 for my point (no grant available, too late), and that included a 20m run from the fuse box and trenching with armoured cable for about a metre. Very neat and tidily done. I tend to plug it in when I get home and let it charge, I don't believe it's any cheaper to do it at night. Might have to look into Octopus Energy.

Edit, spoke to Octopus, turns out there is no point switching as the combined daytime and nighttime rates work out no cheaper to charge my hybrid than the rate I currently have.
 
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Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
Why are you really kicking against an EV, are you an anti-EVer thinking they are the spawn of the devil ?

It is quite possible to be a petrol head and love EVs all at the same time. Many people with an EV still have ICE powered vehicles as well.
Nope I just find them dull and uninspiring, don’t fancy range anxiety either. Nothing against them, I just don’t intend to spend a small fortune on something that does nothing for me….until I have to,
 


GOM

living vicariously
Aug 8, 2005
3,259
Leeds - but not the dirty bit
Nope I just find them dull and uninspiring, don’t fancy range anxiety either. Nothing against them, I just don’t intend to spend a small fortune on something that does nothing for me….until I have to,
Fair enough, but dull and uninspiring ? All of them ? a bit of a generalisation somewhat.

Out of curiosity what is it about them that does nothing for you ? Genuine question not trolling. They are faster and handle just as well, bearing in mind be it ICE powered or battery powered all cars differ in those respects. Admittedly you don't have to change gear and they don't make such a noise.
 
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Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
3,263
Uckfield
I paid £799 for my point (no grant available, too late), and that included a 20m run from the fuse box and trenching with armoured cable for about a metre. Very neat and tidily done. I tend to plug it in when I get home and let it charge, I don't believe it's any cheaper to do it at night. Might have to look into Octopus Energy.

Edit, spoke to Octopus, turns out there is no point switching as the combined daytime and nighttime rates work out no cheaper to charge my hybrid than the rate I currently have.
For a hybrid, they're likely right as the battery capacity is low. Full EV that's used regularly and thus needs regular top ups it becomes a different story.

I'm on Octopus Go tariff (between 12:30 and 4:30 the rate is reduced to 7.5p) and it's massively reduced our electric bill compared to last year when it comes to keeping my Zoe topped up (makes no difference in summer as vast majority of my charging is via solar).
 




Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
Fair enough, but dull and uninspiring ? All of them ? a bit of a generalisation somewhat.

Out of curiosity what is it about them that does nothing for you ? Genuine question not trolling. They are faster and handle just as well, bearing in mind be it ICE powered or battery powered all cars differ in those respects. Admittedly you don't have to change gear and they don't make such a noise.
I drive Alfas and have done for decades, so unless you’ve owned an Alfa you almost certainly won’t get it!

I have a mate with an ID3, he loves it, leaves me cold. I have also had an hours drive in a Big eff off Tesla with gull wing back doors. My wife loved it, again it left me cold.

All a bit sterile for me and I don’t like an Ipad on the dashboard either, in fact I hate it! I am an analogue man with cars.

EVs may be quicker but handle as well as a Giulia, not convinced on that but I’ve never taken one out and ragged it.

As you can gather it’s hard to explain :shrug:
 
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GOM

living vicariously
Aug 8, 2005
3,259
Leeds - but not the dirty bit
I drive Alfas and have done for decades, so unless you’ve owned an Alfa you almost certainly won’t get it!

I have a mate with an ID3, he loves it, leaves me cold. I have also had an hours drive in a Big eff off Tesla with gull wing back doors. My wife loved it, again it left me cold.

All a bit sterile for me and I don’t like an Ipad on the dashboard either, in fact I hate it! I am an analogue man with cars.

EVs may be quicker but handle as well as a Giulia, not convinced on that but I’ve never taken one out and ragged it.

As you can gather it’s hard to explain :shrug:
Yes I have had an Alfa, and I agree an iPad on the dashboard is weird and wrong. I also drive an EV (not a Tesla) and that has caused me to love driving again after it had just became a means of getting somewhere. Perhaps it's an age thing, not a boy racer anymore, just enjoy a smooth easy ride. :)
 






dolphins

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2012
5,653
BN1, in GOSBTS
Well after 12 months of owning a Hybrid and only using Petrol Mrs Jakarta has put her foot down (no pun intended) and we have installed a Home EV Charging Point.

Seeing as I had a Back Procedure today and am taking the rest of the week off I suppose I should give in and read the Manual as how to use it.

Looks pretty simple but any advice as to when to use it from Home EV Users would be appreciated e.g. typical charging times to capacity.

It is a Mercedes A250 so not a large car!

I'm presuming overnight which would make sense even though I seem to be WFH about 75% these days.

I suppose if nothing else it will help to sell Jakarta Towers in the future as more and more people move to EV's

Cheers
Not sure this has been directly answered - my Tesla Model 3 LR charges at around 31 miles per hour at home. So would expect yours to be the same - it's a standard home charger I've got - so work out how much range you are missing to "full" or the desired capacity, divide by 30 or so, and that's how long.

Obviously (for those who are EV sceptics or unsure) public charging points are FAR faster, so if you need to "fill up" while on the road, you won't have to sit around for hours in a service station!
 


wellquickwoody

Many More Voting Years
NSC Patron
Aug 10, 2007
13,911
Melbourne
What make and model of charger? A new one will probably be "smart", and know about loading levels on the grid. And what app do you use?

Even if you don't have cheap overnight electricity, it's greener to tell the app to "charge the car by 6am" (or whenever), so the grid can supply when it's best.

Also, I find it easier to keep it topped up, rather than doing long charges.

Yes, I'm hoping to get some payback on the house value at a later stage!
I do not have experience of EV but I do have a fair bit to do with auto batteries, be it traditional lead acid, AGM or lithium ion. I am wondering about the advice given to you about charging your car/batteries. In my world we determine the expected lifespan of a battery not by time (although this does have some relevance) but by cycles, more accurately, recycles. What we mean by this is the number of times a battery is charged/returned to full charged. Same in the tech/electronics industry I believe. We would recommend that a battery is discharged by 70-80% before it is recharged in a perfect world, not always possible I know. We then offer an expected life period measured in cycles. Old fashioned lead acid might be expected to complete say 100 cycles before curling up its toes, a lithium ion unit might do 1000 cycle.

What I am getting at is that you may be shortening the life of your batteries quite considerably by charging frequently rather than when the units actually needs charging, which given the cost of EV could be a very expensive error. Or maybe you have been advised differently by the cat/battery manufacturer? I would be very interested to know.
 


Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
Yes I have had an Alfa, and I agree an iPad on the dashboard is weird and wrong. I also drive an EV (not a Tesla) and that has caused me to love driving again after it had just became a means of getting somewhere. Perhaps it's an age thing, not a boy racer anymore, just enjoy a smooth easy ride. :)
I know I am out of step on EVs and I am certainly no longer a boy racer either! I do find that my driving style adapts to what I am driving. I had a Lexus and it was a very well built and reliable car. A great daily driver but more than 20 mins and I was bored. I drove it like a proper old man because it IS an old man’s car :smile: My GTV however demands to be driven hard, traffic and roads permitting.

I was intending to move on to an Alfa Tonale PHEV but having seen one in the flesh I changed my mind without even driving one, although the PHEV is not out yet, the car is going to be the same as the hybrid inside and to look at.

I will inevitably end up with an EV but I cannot imagine not having an ICE car too
 
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GOM

living vicariously
Aug 8, 2005
3,259
Leeds - but not the dirty bit
I know I am out of step on EVs and I am certainly no longer a boy racer either! I do find that my driving style adapts to what I am driving. I had a Lexus and it was a very well built and reliable car. A great daily driver but more than 20 mins and I was bored. I drove it like a proper old man because it IS an old man’s car :smile: My GTV however demands to be driven hard, traffic and roads permitting.

I was intending to move on to an Alfa Tonale PHEV but having seen one in the flesh I changed my mind without even driving one, although the PHEV is not out yet, the car is going to be the same as the hybrid inside and to look at.

I will inevitably end up with an EV but I cannot imagine not having an ICE car too
Just avoid a PHEV, worst of both worlds weight of and the maintenance for both ICE and battery.
 


Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
Just avoid a PHEV, worst of both worlds weight of and the maintenance for both ICE and battery.
Quite a few people have said that to me but I do mostly local driving, probably no more than 10 miles a day. A car that can do 30 to 50 miles electric and then use mostly petrol on occasional long distance driving, seems to me, to make sense and be the best of both worlds? No range anxiety on long trips and with a home charger cheaper local mileage.

What maintenance, other than wear and tear, do EVs have?
 


GOM

living vicariously
Aug 8, 2005
3,259
Leeds - but not the dirty bit
Quite a few people have said that to me but I do mostly local driving, probably no more than 10 miles a day. A car that can do 30 to 50 miles electric and then use mostly petrol on occasional long distance driving, seems to me, to make sense and be the best of both worlds? No range anxiety on long trips and with a home charger cheaper local mileage.

What maintenance, other than wear and tear, do EVs have?
Not much at all, check brake fluid and bits, in fact I think Tesla'a don't have a service schedule at all.

It's been shown that a great many of people that drive PHEVS never bother charging them so run on fossil fuel all the time. If you are only doing 30-50 miles a day buy a cheap old second hand Leaf or Zoe or other for day to day use and keep the ICE.
Why bother lugging around a big lump of iron up front, gearboxes, exhaust systems etc. all added weight if you are going to just use the small battery 95% of the time. A PHEV might sound like it makes sense, but it really doesn't. In some PHEVs I've heard you can't even use the heater when in battery mode so not much use at the moment. :)
 




GOM

living vicariously
Aug 8, 2005
3,259
Leeds - but not the dirty bit
I do not have experience of EV but I do have a fair bit to do with auto batteries, be it traditional lead acid, AGM or lithium ion. I am wondering about the advice given to you about charging your car/batteries. In my world we determine the expected lifespan of a battery not by time (although this does have some relevance) but by cycles, more accurately, recycles. What we mean by this is the number of times a battery is charged/returned to full charged. Same in the tech/electronics industry I believe. We would recommend that a battery is discharged by 70-80% before it is recharged in a perfect world, not always possible I know. We then offer an expected life period measured in cycles. Old fashioned lead acid might be expected to complete say 100 cycles before curling up its toes, a lithium ion unit might do 1000 cycle.

What I am getting at is that you may be shortening the life of your batteries quite considerably by charging frequently rather than when the units actually needs charging, which given the cost of EV could be a very expensive error. Or maybe you have been advised differently by the cat/battery manufacturer? I would be very interested to know.
Difficult to generalise as it depends on the battery chemistry, but generally thought to be about 3000 cycles I believe for most EV batteries, so based on charging up twice a week, about 30 years life.
LFP batteries are recommended to be charged to 100% each time, NMC not, unless for balancing or range needed of course. Solid state and other types are coming on stream too.
 


227 BHA

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
3,319
Findon Valley, Worthing
Yes I have had an Alfa, and I agree an iPad on the dashboard is weird and wrong. I also drive an EV (not a Tesla) and that has caused me to love driving again after it had just became a means of getting somewhere. Perhaps it's an age thing, not a boy racer anymore, just enjoy a smooth easy ride. :)
Same here! Never thought I’d like an EV but after we installed a big solar array it was a no-brainer financially.
My previous drive was an AMG (insane performance and handling- a real drivers car) but our EV offers similar performance when I want it but absolute calmness and serenity around town. As you say there’s a lot to be said for a smooth, easy ride.
I’ve always been a bit of a petrol head but the tech of a good EV has blown me away, it really is like they’ve reinvented the wheel.
And I’ve gone from paying near £2 a litre on super-unleaded for a car that returned 20mg to either free Solar, or cheap overnight charging (under £5 for a charge that gives us over 200 miles) saving us £200 a month
 


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