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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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 Taipan »

v8-powered wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 2:44 pm
Taipan wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 2:39 pm I’ve had the Tesla for about 14 months now, and I’ve grown to like it and deffo appreciate the ridiculous cheapness of running one, but I’ve not grown to love it. So I think I’m going to go back to an ICE…
Traitor! I have little desire for an ICE unless something like Iccy's GT3RS but hard to justify that for 2 or 3 runs to the railway station each week :lol:

I think my wife is even getting to like the idea of an EV too, but I knew she would anyway. That would be an SUV of some kind though.....
They’re hard to argue against, that’s for sure. Just fancy a change really?
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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 Saga Lout »

Taipan wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 2:39 pm I’ve had the Tesla for about 14 months now, and I’ve grown to like it and deffo appreciate the ridiculous cheapness of running one, but I’ve not grown to love it. So I think I’m going to go back to an ICE…
Good man. Welcome back to the light side. :thumbup:
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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 Horse »

Taipan wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 3:22 pm Just fancy a change really?
:lol: Not like you ... :lol:

PS before you go spending dosh, have you checked in the loft for a spare ICE?
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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 Soupdragon »

Buy an EV.......? I'd rather have a night in with Ebola.

Sure, very quick off the line but a one-trick pony doesn't interest me at all. I'm still hoping someone's going to perfect the Hydrogen engine but even if they do, it seems the Government are going to stampede us towards electric everything. Reminds me a bit of VHS vs Betamax. Also, given their ridiculous weight, EVs should be paying just as much road tax as ICE cars.

It all seems so ironic when it comes at a time when both diesel and petrol engines (especially diesels) have become so incredibly efficient.
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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 »

Soupdragon wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 6:45 pm Buy an EV.......? I'd rather have a night in with Ebola.

Sure, very quick off the line but a one-trick pony doesn't interest me at all. I'm still hoping someone's going to perfect the Hydrogen engine but even if they do, it seems the Government are going to stampede us towards electric everything. Reminds me a bit of VHS vs Betamax. Also, given their ridiculous weight, EVs should be paying just as much road tax as ICE cars.

It all seems so ironic when it comes at a time when both diesel and petrol engines (especially diesels) have become so incredibly efficient.
My EV VED is 7x the diesel car it replaced. Both what I'd class as mid-sized saloons..
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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 KungFooBob »

Soupdragon wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 6:45 pm Buy an EV.......? I'd rather have a night in with Ebola.

Sure, very quick off the line but a one-trick pony doesn't interest me at all. I'm still hoping someone's going to perfect the Hydrogen engine but even if they do, it seems the Government are going to stampede us towards electric everything. Reminds me a bit of VHS vs Betamax. Also, given their ridiculous weight, EVs should be paying just as much road tax as ICE cars.

It all seems so ironic when it comes at a time when both diesel and petrol engines (especially diesels) have become so incredibly efficient.
My EV is a two trick pony. It does 0-60 in 3.5 seconds AND it costs about £1.70 to 100 miles.
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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 »

Soupdragon wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 6:45 pm Buy an EV.......? I'd rather have a night in with Ebola.

Sure, very quick off the line but a one-trick pony doesn't interest me at all. I'm still hoping someone's going to perfect the Hydrogen engine but even if they do, it seems the Government are going to stampede us towards electric everything. Reminds me a bit of VHS vs Betamax. Also, given their ridiculous weight, EVs should be paying just as much road tax as ICE cars.

It all seems so ironic when it comes at a time when both diesel and petrol engines (especially diesels) have become so incredibly efficient.
What do you mean they should be paying the same VED? I pay exactly the same VED for my EV as I do my ICE car? £195.

And Hydrogen for cars, not really much of a chance of that, the storage is an issue, you'd be driving around with a tank like the old LPG, taking up most of the boot. I think Hydrogen is a possibility for larger vehicles though.

I was always one that thought I should have 1 Ev and 1 ICE vehicle in the household, but the EV has proven so convenient and so cheap to run that next month, once my Tesla arrives, we'll no longer have an ICE in the family.

I have a 306bhp JCW, and unless I took it on a track, then the Tesla will do 99% of what the JCW will do, at a fraction of the cost, probably between 10-20% of the cost. It's a no brainer.
Most of the people who criticise EV's have only driven one for a short while or never driven one before. Having driven EV's for many years, and owning one, there's very few arguments against them for a day to day vehicle for me, they're far more than a 'one trick pony'.
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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 Soupdragon »

KungFooBob wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 6:54 pm
Soupdragon wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 6:45 pm
My EV is a two trick pony. It does 0-60 in 3.5 seconds AND it costs about £1.70 to 100 miles.
Impressive figures without a doubt, but that £1.70 is going to skyrocket in a year or so, the damned Government will make sure of 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 KungFooBob »

Soupdragon wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 7:35 pm
KungFooBob wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 6:54 pm
Soupdragon wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 6:45 pm
My EV is a two trick pony. It does 0-60 in 3.5 seconds AND it costs about £1.70 to 100 miles.
Impressive figures without a doubt, but that £1.70 is going to skyrocket in a year or so, the damned Government will make sure of it!
Cos they aint gonna fuck with the price of petrol or diesel?
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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 Soupdragon »

KungFooBob wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 7:47 pm
Soupdragon wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 7:35 pm
KungFooBob wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 6:54 pm

My EV is a two trick pony. It does 0-60 in 3.5 seconds AND it costs about £1.70 to 100 miles.
Impressive figures without a doubt, but that £1.70 is going to skyrocket in a year or so, the damned Government will make sure of it!
Cos they aint gonna fuck with the price of petrol or diesel?
Of course; they're doing it now. The Government love it every time the cost of oil goes up, but they'll turn their greedy eyes towards EVs as soon as there are enough of them to make it worth their while. It's got bugger-all to do with the environment, it never did have.
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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 Horse »

Soupdragon wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 7:51 pm ... they'll turn their greedy eyes towards EVs as soon as there are enough of them to make it worth their while.
Hardly stop press news or a revelation. If the government is losing tax from petrol and diesel, they'll need to replace it.

That's why there's been talk, for years, about road charging.

Another option (via smart meters) is different rates for EV charging .

Re weight, battery technology is improving rapidly.

Edit: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-Gene ... nance.html

Chinese researchers developed an all-iron flow battery capable of more than 6,000 charge-discharge cycles without measurable capacity loss.

Sodium-ion batteries are gaining traction in China due to lower material costs and reduced dependence on lithium and cobalt.

Alternative battery technologies could improve the sustainability and affordability of renewable energy storage systems.
Last edited by Horse on Tue May 19, 2026 9:06 pm, edited 1 time 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 Taff »

Soupdragon wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 7:51 pm
KungFooBob wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 7:47 pm
Soupdragon wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 7:35 pm

Impressive figures without a doubt, but that £1.70 is going to skyrocket in a year or so, the damned Government will make sure of it!
Cos they aint gonna fuck with the price of petrol or diesel?
Of course; they're doing it now. The Government love it every time the cost of oil goes up, but they'll turn their greedy eyes towards EVs as soon as there are enough of them to make it worth their while. It's got bugger-all to do with the environment, it never did have.
for an ICE car that does 45mpg fuel currently costs about 17p per mile.
My i4 costs about 2p per mile, adding 3p per mile is a bit of cash grab but it's still WAY cheaper than petrol or diesel.

lets also consider a 2 year service interval to check the brakes & brake fluid change. Loads cheaper than servicing an ICE.
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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 MyLittleStudPony »

KungFooBob wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 6:54 pm
Soupdragon wrote: Tue May 19, 2026 6:45 pm Buy an EV.......? I'd rather have a night in with Ebola.

Sure, very quick off the line but a one-trick pony doesn't interest me at all. I'm still hoping someone's going to perfect the Hydrogen engine but even if they do, it seems the Government are going to stampede us towards electric everything. Reminds me a bit of VHS vs Betamax. Also, given their ridiculous weight, EVs should be paying just as much road tax as ICE cars.

It all seems so ironic when it comes at a time when both diesel and petrol engines (especially diesels) have become so incredibly efficient.
My EV is a two trick pony. It does 0-60 in 3.5 seconds AND it costs about £1.70 to 100 miles.
It's almost certainly better for the environment 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 MyLittleStudPony »

As for costs, I modelled out (roughly!) EV vs hybrid. EVs are cheaper to 'fuel' but seem to depreciate more and cost more to insure. They came out pretty similar cost overall from my basic analysis. Maybe things have changed since then.
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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 ZRX61 »

Q1 2026 EV sales in California are down 40% from Q1 2025..
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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 demographic »

ZRX61 wrote: Fri May 22, 2026 5:50 pm Q1 2026 EV sales in California are down 40% from Q1 2025..

As always, its a bit more nuanced.
Car sales in general in California are subdued, the tax credit for EVs has been dropped and various factors covered here...

https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news ... t-2026/
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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 IccyV2 »

We have three Teslas now and we wouldn’t be without them, they’re so convenient, before we set off anywhere we put the AC on for 10 minutes and if the car is parked more than a few meters away then I have it remotely drive over to us.

I’ve still got all the ICE cars and last night we went out in our classic Ferrari for ice-cream, so they’re all owned for a purpose and we use them depending on what we want to do.

I don’t find ownership polarising, I’m happy owning both EV and ICE.
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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 Horse »

ZRX61 wrote: Fri May 22, 2026 5:50 pm Q1 2026 EV sales in California are down 40% from Q1 2025..
Don't think that US figures represent worldwide acceptance.

No link / correlation that the US has an oil industry to maintain?

Have a look at what's happening in other countries, eg:

In 2025, Norway’s electric vehicle market share of new car sales reached 95.9% (primarily battery electric vehicles)

In the UK

UK electric vehicle (EV) sales are on track to reach approximately 580,000 registrations in 2026, capturing around 29% of the total new car market. Momentum has been strong, with Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) accounting for 40% of all new plug-in car registrations in April and the UK officially passing the 2 million milestone for electric cars on the road.

March 2026 marked a new UK record for EV registrations with over 86,000 electric cars sold.

BEVs registered 39,084 units in April, reflecting a 59.1% year-on-year increase.Market Share: Year-to-date, BEVs command a strong double-digit market share, hovering between 22% and 26% depending on the month.
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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 Count Steer »

95% of the time I couldn't care less whether a car is running on hydrocarbons, electrons or fairy dust. :lol:

As long as it's reliable, gets from A to B and back again, in comfort and has the space to carry what needs to be carried, it'll do.

For the other 5% I'm happy that I'll be able to have and drive whatever I want to for the rest of my life...ICE cars aren't being banned - but might have to be s/h if I want a particular one.

Things change.

*shrug*
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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 Bobzilla »

Just ordered my second Taycan - 4S black edition with a few bits. Company car. Can't wait for it to land as I'm already missing my Taycan buzz after only 6 weeks out of it.
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