I am considering buying an EV next year after selling our motorhome. The major problem with EV cost is the depreciation in the first 1-2 years so I am considering going for a second-hand one as there are many with less than 20,000 miles on the clock which have lost almost half of their original cost. Also I am in the retired category with an expectation of doing around 5,000 miles per year with mostly short journeys but longer journeys (up to 200 miles) to visit married children or go on holiday trips. I am interested in the BMW i3 with the range extender option to get around the "range anxiety" problem. Also, as I live in North Yorkshire, there is a shortage of charging points although I realise that it is journeys over 80/100 miles where charging is an issue. I was interested to read the opinions of others who have bought/leased BMW i3's as I would expect more pleasure/satisfaction than buying a Nissan Leaf.
Ed
The first all electric car to be built in the UK was back in 2013, but recently, Electric Vehicles (EV’s) have been a hot topic.
In the Queen's Speech yesterday, her Majesty announced that mandatory charging points will be at motorway services and full stations to encourage the use of electric vehicles, but do you think this is a good idea?
Do you have an EV? If you do, comment below to tell us about it, why did you buy it? How do you find it day to day, any issues you've come up against? If you don't have one, what would prompt you to purchase an EV? What do you see the benefits are?
Get posting your thoughts and if you have an EV why not share a picture as part of your comment!
We have an I3 BEV and mostly charge at home. We are high mileage 18,000 pa and find we public charge about every 1500 miles. This is why the Polar subscription is so valuable as months can go by without using it
Funnily enough I worked for a company that made Electric vehicles from 1996-99. It was based near Royston, Herts, and I remembering us testing an electric-bus chassis and an electric LDV van conversion. So 2013 is a bit late! Even then I do not think we were the first!
Personally I would love to have an EV, but I live in a mid-terrace house with only on-street parking. There are no lamp-posts as the pavement Is too narrow for them. I could not run a lead across the pavement as it would be a trip-hazard for the passing public.
Until someone comes up with a charging solution that gets round this sort of problem I don't think EVs are ever going to really take off!
I suppose I could go the hybrid route, but what is the point? The fundamental rules of physics mean that you cannot get more energy out of a gallon of petrol by converting it into electricity before using it to power your vehicle, so you are still going to be producing as much pollution, if not more due to the inbuilt inefficiencies of the conversion and storage system. At least power stations can have proper pollution-capturing built into them!
At the moment the only enviroment-friendly vehicle solution I have is a bicycle, which as a country-dweller is a non-starter. So I'll just have to stick with my diesel-car which I bought when the government were saying that diesel cars were better for the environment than petrol ones.
Welcome to the forum @Jeremy_T! Don't forget to add a profile pic and update your profile. It helps us get to know you! Hopefully you will enjoy being part of our forum. :)
Thanks for your comments, its a really interesting subject and you raise a good point around homes where you don't have your own parking, as I agree this would make charging it at home pretty tricky.
Any of our users that have an EV have this issue? If so how do you get around it? Also on the subject of hybrids, I believe our very own @Fred Rick has one of these, so he might have some more useful insight on owning one of these and if there are savings to be made.
Darran
Hi Darren,
Financial saving is not the real point of an EV - if you are still burning a fossil fuel you are both burning a valuable finite resource and polluting the planet.
There are many Green ways of making electricity, so far no Green ways of making petrol/diesel!
@Jeremy_T you make a good point, it's an interesting one as I have definitely seen more electric vehicles and also hybrids popping up.
It would be interesting to hear from more of you as to why you choose hybrid versus fully electric? Was it range? Difficulty finding charging points? Or perhaps that your home is not set up to accommodate being able to charge one, like Jeremy_T.
We'd love to hear your views.
Darran
We have a great electric car. We love it. We charge at home over night and it gets us around no problem.
On a long journey it's really comfortable and you just don't get the vibration like you would in a petrol or diesel car
The only downside is that the charging points at the service stations need to get their act together. Often the charging points don't
Work. You can be charged and no electricity given. We notice that Tesla are going big time and there will be lots available for that make of car. We don't have one we have a different make and I would be unhappy if this is not sorted soon. It is important that the rapid chargers are available working fully and more of them. We have been to a charge point and it has been full as demand is outstripping supply. So please more working charging points needed.
Hey @Smeemorgan
Thanks for joining our forum!! Don't forget to add a picture and update your profile. :)
I have moved your comment here so that its easier for others to find and there are a lot of other EV owners here that I'm sure will be interested in your views!!
It's good feedback, interesting to hear of your experiences so far. Anyone else had issues with charging points? Be good to hear from you.
Darran
Hi there,
I do agree. There are too many charging companies offering too many poor charging systems and too few points, south of Bath and Bristol there very few.
Hopefully there will be rapid mergers and standardisation of offerings by the best. For me Pod Point offer just what I need and I hope and expect they will still be standing after the possible coming shake out. I agree with everything you say about the pleasure EVs are to drive. Having had one for a year I will never go back.
I have had a Renault ZOE for almost 4 years. There were a few niggly problems early on, but I'm happy with it now. It ticks all the boxes for local journeys (we have a petrol car for longer ones). I intend to keep it for a few more years, or least until there's an EV that provides a significant improvement at a price that I can afford.
I have solar PV and hot water. At some point I should upgrade the solar panels and inverter as new versions produce about twice the power for the same roof space.
I'm in the process of switching to OVO and I've only just heard about EV Everywhere, so I'd like to be on that tariff, but it seems it's not easy to change during the switching process, which means I'll have to wait until existing customers are allowed to join.
I have had a Renault ZOE for almost 4 years. There were a few niggly problems early on, but I'm happy with it now. It ticks all the boxes for local journeys (we have a petrol car for longer ones). I intend to keep it for a few more years, or least until there's an EV that provides a significant improvement at a price that I can afford.
I have solar PV and hot water. At some point I should upgrade the solar panels and inverter as new versions produce about twice the power for the same roof space.
I'm in the process of switching to OVO and I've only just heard about EV Everywhere, so I'd like to be on that tariff, but it seems it's not easy to change during the switching process, which means I'll have to wait until existing customers are allowed to join.
Hey Andy,
We'll be rolling this offer out to existing customers soon - but we're still making the final tweaks to our systems before we can make this possible.
Thanks,
Emily
It's probably best for me to wait then, rather than disrupt the switching process.
Hi there,
I do agree. There are too many charging companies offering too many poor charging systems and too few points, south of Bath and Bristol there very few.
Hopefully there will be rapid mergers and standardisation of offerings by the best. For me Pod Point offer just what I need and I hope and expect they will still be standing after the possible coming shake out. I agree with everything you say about the pleasure EVs are to drive. Having had one for a year I will never go back.
Hi all,
Same here. Very happy with the Leaf. It's so quick yet relaxing to drive. But charging away from home is pathetic. The best of the high speed bunch so far is Genie. You just wave the keyfob at the "pump" and plug in like the slower Polar ones. But even these have no cover for shelter from rain, etc. and bright sun which makes it very difficult to read their screens.
Signage is just as bad. Pumps are often tucked away in a far corner of a car park with small signs easily obscured by parked cars.
I hear that some petrol stations are going to install chargers but will they be under the same roof as the petrol pumps?
Until EV users can enjoy the relative comfort and ubiquity of petrol stations, take-up of EVs will continue to be slow.
By-the-way, what are the rates for the proposed EV Everywhere deal?
I have been a driver of a Plug in Hybrid (The Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV) for nearly 3 years. It has an electric only range of around 30 miles but that does most of my day-to-day needs. For my longer journeys no electric only has the range so I would need petrol or a hybrid anyway.
my savings have been enormous.
Owner of a hybridV60 diesel phev and a Nissan leaf.
used to be against the idea of a phev, but after having the leaf over a year and being jealous of the other half having a toasty warm car every morning in the winter and not having to clear the ice I tried the phev, loved it, saved some pennies and found a used one that I somehow used man maths to justify.
don't see how anyone could go back to a normal engine after trying one! the savings in running costs are slowly making up for the purchase price, but £0 tax, cheap servicing on the leaf, and the Volvo costs the same as a regular Volvo for servicing since its the same engine, there is a noticeable difference on running costs, we used to spend almost £400 a month on diesel, that's gone to around £100 a month in electric instead, I wouldn't say they are for everyone, but if you can live with limitations of a full electric i'd test drive one, a lot of higher mileage people could effectively have a brand new car for free based on the fuel savings alone.
just to throw in the v60 has an official range of 31 miles, in reality in pure mode you can do between 20 and 28 depending on how hilly the terrain is, I tend to average around 25-26, always keep climate control on auto which uses a little more, probably can get 30 if your into eek'ing every last drop out, but that's not for me. Dont' see the point of having these extra's if you turn everything off to save a couple of quid over the year in running costs.
We've had a Leaf for about three years, and love it. Having said that, didn't love it so much last week when we had to get it towed because the brake was stuck on, or the day after we got it back when the brake wouldn't engage at all - apparently brake calipers rarely ever need replacing, but a few hundred pounds later we found out ours definitely did. Ouch.
Biggest issue we have is available chargers - we have a 3 pin lead, and while that used to be the only charging point available, as and when they break down they seem to all be being replaced with the newer ones, which we then can't use 😠
We're okay at home - have off road parking so got a charger on the front of the house, and solar panels so when it's a bright sunshiny day we make a point of plugging in the car.
Does anyone else driving an EV get tempted to frighten the life out of oblivious shoppers in supermarket car parks who assume they don't need to look over their shoulder before crossing the road (or just pushing their trolley in the road) because of course they would hear if there was a car coming...?:D
We are now on our 3rd Leaf. With 16kw of solar power on our land it is a 'no brainer' to store the renewable energy generated in our car or on site in LION batteries. Using home produced fuel rather than fossil fuel at whatever the oil companies want to charge us has led to considerable savings over the years. Charging points are generally much more available now than they were 6 years ago. However the majority of our journeys are local and well within the 125 mile range of our 30kw Leaf. The biggest issue for us has been the different cost of a charge between charging point suppliers and the requirement for rapid charging on the motorways. The increase in Hybrid and pure EV drivers has led to market forces prevailing and costs are decreasing and chargers increasing. This is good news for the later adopter of the technology and a relief for us early adopters.
Hi Everyone... I have owned a 3 year old Nissan Leaf with 32k miles for 6 months now and love it. All my experiences are based on Leaf ownership. It replaces a 10 year old 2 litre diesel Peugeot. Only reason I changed was cost, I do around 18000 miles the Peugeot costs 14p a mile, the leaf between 2p to 3p per mile, these costs are just for the diesel/electric. Only negative cost was the insurance being 25% more expensive. The plus points far outweigh negative, Zero car tax, unexpected plus was how great the Leaf is to drive, its faster, so smooth and quiet, just a very nice place to be. I have the Tekna that comes with all the bells and whistles, which I highly recommend. I have now done 9k miles and no problems with the Leaf whatsoever. The vast majority of my miles are journeys of up to 40 miles. I live near Milton Keynes which has lots of EV points. When going further afield routes need planning using the Apps or the web. The polar plus and Zap map apps in my view are essential for using the charging network. Going further afield does take planning, and do not allow the car to get low on charge. They cannot be towed so breakdown cover is essential ( I have mine with my bank account) only used it once, and now do not allow car to get too low on charge. Other variable is the charge is used more quickly in cold conditions, this is what caught me out. I now know where all the chargers are on all my regular journeys, so range problems have all but disappeared. I do not anticipate getting anything other than an EV for our every day transport. Of course the new vehicles being launched make EV's practical for long journeys but the cost for me outweighs this as an option.
I also have an executive diesel which is used for long journeys, however it is used so infrequently last time I used it, battery was flat.
The bottom line is that I was spending about £400 on diesel a month I now spend £50 on diesel and about £50 on electricity and charging. Incidentally most Polar charge points are either free (rare in my area) or cost about 9p + VAT a kilowatt, one kilowatt gives about 4 miles range. However, some points on the Polar network charge very much more, for example our local council (Aylesbury) have a number of fast chargers outside their centrally located building, which are available via the Polar network, but cost a staggering £8 + vat every time you use them (or did when I last used them... never again). The Polar plus App tells you how much a charge will cost. The Zap Map App, doesn't but does give all charging networks locations. This also is more comprehensive than the Polar App. e.g. When you access it, automatically zooms in to where you are, also it is integrated with Google maps, so you just click on the location to get directions to the charge point.
Other facts you should be aware of is that there are basically 3 grades of charging point. 3Kw, 7Kw and Fast 32kw. As I said earlier, 1 Kw gives 4 miles, my car has a 24kw battery, as it is 3 years old, battery has degraded and gives a range now of a maximum 80 miles. I now frequently use the fast charging points for 10 minute charges which give me around 6 Kw just to extend my range, particularly in our cold weather. I have a 7Kw charger installed at my home and my office, so can recharge from flat in about 3 hours. I also have economy 7 electricity meter at home, so overnight charges only cost around 7p a Kw.
I welcome any questions.
At least make it a proper fun car Morgan EV3
Getting on for 200 mile range and goes like weasel poo off a shiny stick:
The 2018 Nissan Leaf will do 200@ miles. They quote 235 but in real terms ...next year theres a bigger battery option i reckon will add a 100 miles to that.
Just handed back a 2014 BMW i3 Range Extender, after a week or so running around while my own car was poorly.
i have to say it was excellent. Feindishly quick off the lights and nippy around town. Steering was not really properly balanced, feeling very dead with next to no self-centering.
Range is a bit limited (about 70 on the battery and about 65 on a full tank of 4 star) but simply pulling up at the garage and plugging in the mains charger overnight means the car is perfect for the commute.
I started with a measure of Range Anxiety but realised the computed miles left in the battery are almost bang on while I had it (after resisting the urge to try a bit of lead foot to enjoy the acceleration). Did a 64 mile round trip all on battery with the range extender almost at kick-in when I got home. A quick check of Google Maps confirmed the distance. Charger input is 10A @ 240V, so 2.4kVA consumption. The car told me charge time would be 10 hours so that 64 miles "cost" 24kWh.
Its be interesting to see what the next generation is like. ONe would hope for a better battery, no petrol engine and a range of ~200 miles. I could even be tempted by one. Mind you, its a BMW so working indicators are probably an optional extra :-)
I'd still like a Morgan EV3 to play in though. Anyone from Morgan reading this?
I have a twin engine Volvo XC90 which gets me to office/airport and return on single charge as well as most weekend trips - given the increase in EV is there’s not even more of an owner proposition that OVO could offer to stand out from competition?
EVs have been around since a fair bit before 2013. We have family living in Hong Kong and in 2009 one of them was living on Park Island, that only allowed EV's on the island. There were no cars we think, but there was/is an excellent bus service, all electrics. Electric buses have been in use a long time now.
