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

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

Post by Le_Fromage_Grande »

As the title really, would you have an electric car, what conditions would need to be met for you to own one if you wouldn't have one now.
This is prompted by the electric bikes thread and had me thinking about why I haven't got one, as far as I can see the only cons with one is range and price.

So would I own a electric car, currently the answer is no, but Mitsubishi have said if they build another Evo it will be electric, that could convince me to buy one if I had the money. Which leads to my the following conclusions about what conditions I need to be met before I'd buy an electric car

1. Image - the current lot are dull looking and do nothing for me (yes, I'm shallow)
2. Range - while 300 miles a day is mostly fine, I have an occasional need for 500 miles in a day, but if it could charge enough for 200 miles in an hour this would get round this minor problem.
3. I also need to tow a trailer and need a range of 250 miles towing a trailer with a motorcycle on the trailer - yes I could hire a van for trackdays, but this is a pain in the arse and I like the convenience of using my trailer.

So my reasons for not buying an electric car are image and battery life
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by cheb »

Car? No. Van, yes. Based on it being able to do similar to my current van. Range is always going to be a problem until they're up to a 300 mile range in the worst case, winter, lights, wipers, heating etc. I'd want the infrastructure to be improved too, fine in more populous areas but lacking in the sticks where I live.
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by v8-powered »

Yes.

I don't really use the car that much and my wife only does about 9000 milkes a year but mostly short journeys, her commute is only 7 miles each way.
Would like our next car to be a Tesla however we do need to have house first too, out garage is detached from the house with no power and can't get car near enough to charge. I did have a hybrid Merc as a company car however that was regenerative charging, not plug in.
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by Mr. Dazzle »

I'm virtually certain my next car will be electric. Probably Tesla Model 3 or something like it, there are loads about to come on the market.

At the moment it doesn't make sense for me to buy a new car....any new car....so the only reason to do so would be because I just fancy a new car. Which I don't :D

I'm also waiting to see how the whole WFH and commuting thing pans out long term in 2021/22. Up until this year I drove 90 miles a day and a leccy car would have paid for itself quite quickly, right now I drive about 0 miles a day.

Edit: I'm also an Engineer for an EV motor company, so you know, somewhat biased. :D I'm also holding out for a generous discount scheme with one of the OEMs we're currently developing tech for.
Last edited by Mr. Dazzle on Fri Dec 18, 2020 4:04 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by moth »

Nope.

Not until I can use the climate control/heated seats/heated windscreen/heated mirrors/wipers/headlights without having to break my journey to look for somewhere to plug the fucker in.

That 'occasional' more than 300 mile journey is a deal breaker too.
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by cheb »

I've just bought a '17 plate diesel. It's likely that'll be the last ICE vehicle I buy, motorcycles not included.

More worrying is my wife has mooted her buying an electric car. That'll mean buying a generator too then, and it'll need to fit into the electric car's boot. Also I'll need to make sure my ebook is charged up for my inevitable wait while said electric car charges at the roadside.
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by weeksy »

The range is OK with me, as long as trail centers put in charging points. I never do more than 200 mile, but sometimes do 150+ and then 150+ home, but there's a 3-6 hour window where i could charge if the facility was there.
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by Mr. Dazzle »

500 mile range electric cars aren't far off i don't think. Cheap(er) 300 mile too.
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by Le_Fromage_Grande »

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

Post by Rockburner »

I probably would, however, my new location doesn't have anything more than street parking, so (despite there being a public charge point 100 yards away), charging would be an issue.
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by Mr. Dazzle »

Our factory doesn't have charging points. The factory which only makes electric motors, 95% of which go into cars. The fatory of the company which was specifically set up to make electric motors for cars and bring down the cost of electric transport. :D
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by Le_Fromage_Grande »

Mr. Dazzle wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 4:17 pm Our factory doesn't have charging points. The factory which only makes electric motors, 95% of which go into cars. The fatory of the company which was specifically set up to make electric motors for cars and bring down the cost of electric transport. :D
We've got charging points at work, they see very little use.
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by Wreckless Rat »

Nope. Not until they sort a number of issues. Like charge time and range....

2nd hand leccy motors will plummet in value too. Imagine a 5yr old battery pack, in the middle of a cold winter.....
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by Mr. Dazzle »

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 4:20 pm
Mr. Dazzle wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 4:17 pm Our factory doesn't have charging points. The factory which only makes electric motors, 95% of which go into cars. The fatory of the company which was specifically set up to make electric motors for cars and bring down the cost of electric transport. :D
We've got charging points at work, they see very little use.
Other way around for us...being an EV company naturally there are early adopters working for us. The car park has everything from old Nissan Leafs to brand new electric Jags. None of which are plugged in.
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by Nordboy »

I think and maybe secretly hoping that my new (march 2020) 540i will be my last ICE car and the next one will be an EV.

For 99% of the time 250-300 miles is fine for me, rarely do longer trips these days and could probably do them with an EV if I planned it properly.

I'm quite interested to see if the newly announced BMW iX will up the game a bit, the stats it claims are quite impressive, the main issue for me may be that the price tag might also be quite impressive also?
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by moth »

Someone has got to pay for upgrading the electricity distribution network infrastructure to cope with the increased demand created by vehicle charging points.

The DNO's won't, not their problem unless OFGEM or the government make it their problem..

Before the 'renewables will cover it' brigade get going, it's much more basic than generation capacity.
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by Mr. Dazzle »

There's electricity to be sold and people who wanna buy it. The government has pretty much mandated you have to buy an electric car sooner or later.

Let the market deal with it!
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by Mr. Dazzle »

Seriously though, OFGEM are already thinking about it...because of course they are.

Implications of transition to electric vehciles

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... XV2ybmHS5z
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by Noggin »

I'd love one, but mostly for work!

One of the companies here runs a few Tesla's and the airports have places they can be plugged in and 'boosted' quite fast - without that their range isn't quite enough for a return journey, where a good part is in minus temps

I think the Jaguar has better mileage but seats fewer people

The parking up here that I use does have a couple of charging points, but they do need to instal more pretty soon as I've seen the spaces used by tourists each winter, so if any of the taxi companies go electric, then more charging points needed urgently!

I've been looking at hybrid for a while and Ford do a decent hybrid minibus, so that's the way I'm leaning at the mo

BUT - I think another company is using Mercedes electric minibuses so might wait to see how they get on before I make a big decision. I'm guessing i'll probably go hybrid initially but as I'm looking to go for a minibus and car before a fleet of minibuses, I will be looking at Ford electric cars due out and possibly Tesla - maybe!!

Driving for fun, short journeys out on the mountain roads - I'd prefer something with noise and a soft top!! REALLY want an MX5!! LOL
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Re: Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

Post by moth »

Mr. Dazzle wrote: Fri Dec 18, 2020 4:37 pm Seriously though, OFGEM are already thinking about it...because of course they are.

Implications of transition to electric vehciles

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... XV2ybmHS5z
I know OFGEM are...because of course I would

Have you actually read that document?
')
Last edited by moth on Fri Dec 18, 2020 4:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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