Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

[Count Steer]

Woah!

GM have done an all electric Hummer

Battery weight...3000lb Total weight...4.5 tons
Price...$110k (I'd have guessed more).

When you put it in all-terrain mode the graphic display is of the surface of Mars.

[MrLongbeard]

I'd sooner the Rivian or F150

[Mr. Dazzle]

Apparently electric 4x4s are great for proper bobble hat weekends away. High speed driving is what kills range, it takes power to go fast. Crawling up a hill at 6mph takes buggery all electricity and you can regen a lot of back again on the steep descents. I've heard from a few people that you can do an entire weekend away on a single charge in some custom EV defenders.

[demographic]

Apparently electric 4x4s are great for proper bobble hat weekends away. High speed driving is what kills range, it takes power to go fast. Crawling up a hill at 6mph takes buggery all electricity and you can regen a lot of back again on the steep descents. I've heard from a few people that you can do an entire weekend away on a single charge in some custom EV defenders.

I've seen a few lecky conversions for Defenders on Youtube, quite like the idea despite not really being a fan of modern ICE landrovers.

Realistically though, just a decent lecky van is the best for me. Absolutely not interested in all the extras type stuff and just want range and reliability over gizmos.

[Docca]

Still have my Ev volvo. Raced a chap in an R32 from the lights a couple of weeks back and flattened him. He caught me up when I pulled up to a shop and told me he was getting rid of his car

Range suffers from being a hooligan but I see as saving money by not having to buy a Porsche in my mid life crisis

[Mr. Dazzle]

What about the Honda E?

Or the new Renault 5? Both of those cars are built on bespoke EV platforms rather than being conversions of ICe cars.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I've just been looking into that Renault 5 myself.

I saw the concept version in the press last year (I think) and thought "wow that looks cool!". I'm of the age where phat maxxed Renault 5s were the thing when I was growing up, so of course I loved it.

That one ^^^ is apparently the production model which goes on sale in 2024. I suspect you're quite right and that particular one is the top spec version. They're supposedly targeting a price <£20k for the entry level though. It uses an alternative battery technology which is not lithium ion AIUI. Although, I'm not 100% if that one in the pic is still the concept car or a production representative one. Those sticky out front lights don't look very pedestrian friendly so I'd doubt it's a "real" car.

[JamJar]

I'm giving more consideration to this now, for practical reasons really, I might keep my Landrover, at least for a few more years, but if things go to plan then early in the new year Mrs Potter will want a small car to get about in. We'll be retired and it will be trips to the supermarket and short trips to visit family, etc.

Current favourites are a Fiat 500 or the E-Mini.
Both about £30k I think - but she's also eying up the new Civic Type-R which looks like being about the same price and seems like a lot more car for the money - and on that note, £30k-ish seems to buy a decent used petrol car, compared to a fairly basic electric one.

I've had a look at installing a car charger, it looks like nothing more complicated than a 32A supply to a charger and either a plug-in lead or a fixed one.
BS7671 compliant and signed off by me, a registered electrician. I have considered that to offset the running costs of such a vehicle whilst retired I could always put an advert in the paper as an installer of these things, then pick and choose if I can be bothered to do any work or not, I might even do the NICEIC one day course and register as a local installer, it looks like the easiest job on the planet, working from home with zero overheads - although surely there are loads of people doing the same thing? (If they're already registered electricians)

I've been looking at EV's a lot and it does feel like all the EV's including the "cheap" ones are about 10- 20% more expensive than the equivalent ICE.

My friend has just had a charge point installed and it wasn't difficult to find an independent sparky to do the work so I suspect you are right about loads of people doing it.

[Mr. Dazzle]

That's pretty much all down to the battery AIUI. It's as you'd expect, there's basically a linear relationship between range and cost.

ICE engines have had more than a century of cost optimisation now, battery tech has of course existed for a long time but the really high volume stuff is still only 10-15 years into it's development.

[Hairybiker84]

Still have my Ev volvo. Raced a chap in an R32 from the lights a couple of weeks back and flattened him. He caught me up when I pulled up to a shop and told me he was getting rid of his car

Range suffers from being a hooligan but I see as saving money by not having to buy a Porsche in my mid life crisis

You very probably wouldn't have lost money on the Porsche though!

[Taipan]

I like those funky little BMW i3s. Can't see me chopping my car in for one though...

[Mr. Dazzle]

I nearly bought one before I bought my 320d. At the time I was doing a lot of commuter miles and the i3 was a bit cheaper overall including fuel, that was when fuel cost £1.10/litre too (but leccy was also cheaper then too TBF). I didn't get one in the end 'cause the range would have been a bit squeaky bumhole for my commute, although it's increased quite a lot now without the car getting any bigger. It would also have been a faff to get Baby D's pram in, whereas I could just chuck it in the back of the 3 series.

I took one for an extended test drive though and really liked it. Deffo more of a city car than a back lane or motorway cruiser, but it's really light and airy and, of course, quiet.

[Count Steer]

Still have my Ev volvo. Raced a chap in an R32 from the lights a couple of weeks back and flattened him. He caught me up when I pulled up to a shop and told me he was getting rid of his car

Range suffers from being a hooligan but I see as saving money by not having to buy a Porsche in my mid life crisis

You very probably wouldn't have lost money on the Porsche though!

I suspect Docca won't lose 1p on the Volvo.

[Couchy]

I'm giving more consideration to this now, for practical reasons really, I might keep my Landrover, at least for a few more years, but if things go to plan then early in the new year Mrs Potter will want a small car to get about in. We'll be retired and it will be trips to the supermarket and short trips to visit family, etc.

Current favourites are a Fiat 500 or the E-Mini.
Both about £30k I think - but she's also eying up the new Civic Type-R which looks like being about the same price and seems like a lot more car for the money - and on that note, £30k-ish seems to buy a decent used petrol car, compared to a fairly basic electric one.

I've had a look at installing a car charger, it looks like nothing more complicated than a 32A supply to a charger and either a plug-in lead or a fixed one.
BS7671 compliant and signed off by me, a registered electrician. I have considered that to offset the running costs of such a vehicle whilst retired I could always put an advert in the paper as an installer of these things, then pick and choose if I can be bothered to do any work or not, I might even do the NICEIC one day course and register as a local installer, it looks like the easiest job on the planet, working from home with zero overheads - although surely there are loads of people doing the same thing? (If they're already registered electricians)

You can’t connect a car charger direct to a PME system in the UK. Also the RCD used needs to be DC sensitive as normal ones get blinded by the on board chargers in cars.
Easy work around though as a lot of charge points have them built in and you use an open neutral device to get around connecting to a PME system.
It’s an easy job which is why every monkey is doing it and the money is rubbish. There are lots of incorrect installs too, we don’t touch the domestic market tbh.
We’ve put in over 500 commercial charge points in the last year and that is where the money is as most sparks won’t touch them as it’s more involved with load share, load balancing etc and earthing issues along with a lot of Groundworks

[Couchy]

Costs are getting close between an EV and ICE. Our electric is now 40p/kWh and electric cars do around 3.5miles per kWh so around 11-12p a mile. With fuel at £8 a gallon even a 50mpg car is 16p/mile.
If you can charge at home it works, if you have to charge on the road we’ve seen upto 90p/kwh.

But the lease costs are more for an EV, as potter above we run several cars and can’t replace my work car with one so I am looking to get a smaller EV for local running around. 50-100 Mike range will do tbh.

[lostboy]

I know a bloke that has a Tesla and he says there is no way he'd go back to an ICE car now, but he's not a petrol head in any way.

That's an interesting observation. Most of the people I know with Teslas have ICE cars for "real journeys" with the family or for fun. But most of them are petrolheads!

Why won't they use the Teslas for their family trips and longer journeys? The age old "infrastructure issues". The most frequent comment being "it's all very well having the best network and superchargers but if they're always blocked by other cars then what's the point?" Obviously this should be resolved as all these wonderful all electric service stations are developed!*

*ask your local electricity supplier whether they can supply them........

[Mr. Dazzle]

Costs are getting close between an EV and ICE. Our electric is now 40p/kWh and electric cars do around 3.5miles per kWh so around 11-12p a mile. With fuel at £8 a gallon even a 50mpg car is 16p/mile.
If you can charge at home it works, if you have to charge on the road we’ve seen upto 90p/kwh.

But the lease costs are more for an EV, as potter above we run several cars and can’t replace my work car with one so I am looking to get a smaller EV for local running around. 50-100 Mike range will do tbh.

The real trick is to get a job with free charging in the work car park

40p/kWh though? That sounds like a lot. Ours (I've just had to look 'cause it's gone up again of course) is 27p/kWh. Or do you pay more if you're running a charger on a fatter supply?

[Couchy]

Costs are getting close between an EV and ICE. Our electric is now 40p/kWh and electric cars do around 3.5miles per kWh so around 11-12p a mile. With fuel at £8 a gallon even a 50mpg car is 16p/mile.
If you can charge at home it works, if you have to charge on the road we’ve seen upto 90p/kwh.

But the lease costs are more for an EV, as potter above we run several cars and can’t replace my work car with one so I am looking to get a smaller EV for local running around. 50-100 Mike range will do tbh.

The real trick is to get a job with free charging in the work car park

40p/kWh though? That sounds like a lot. Ours (I've just had to look 'cause it's gone up again of course) is 27p/kWh. Or do you pay more if you're running a charger on a fatter supply?

You’re right home is 28p and work is 40p I got them mixed up . Work charging is ok but your colleagues with ice cars will eventually get fed up you are getting free fuel. A lot of systems we put in now are linked to the accounts dept and the electric is charged to employees. HMRC will soon see it as BIK too and want their cut.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Those things are all true.

My case is somewhat special though, I work for the EV division of an OEM so the usual attitudes towards EV's at the office don't apply The irony is though, we don't actually have charging at work right now Not enough power coming into the building....

Our new purpose built place will though.

[Couchy]

Those things are all true.

My case is somewhat special though, I work for the EV division of an OEM so the usual attitudes towards EV's at the office don't apply The irony is though, we don't actually have charging at work right now Not enough power coming into the building....

Our new purpose built place will though.

Some form of dynamic load management would release some capacity to charge cars in your building But with a new one coming prob not worth the expense