Maybe an electric car would suit us

[Ricochet J]

My wife is the ideal electric car customer:
- 4 mile drive to work (plus a few miles extra to go to the shops etc)
- Her workplace is installing electric charge points in the car park
- She doesn't use the car other than this
- She's a bit of an eco hippy (she likes to save the planet despite driving her internal combustion engined car a total of 10 miles a day )

In total that's about 50 miles a week. Let's round it up and call it 100 miles a week as a worst case scenario.

100 miles is still the optimistic range of a typical electric car on one charge (without even factoring in the car will be charged when parked at home and when parked at work).

There isn't much point to this thread really. I'm not asking for recommendations or anything. I'm just airing my thoughts

 

[james.miller]

If she like to play fuel tank chicken like my wife does then she's not the perfect customer

 

[Ricochet J]

The car will be charging at work and at home. With this in mind, fuel tank chicken quickly becomes irrelevant at 10 miles a day.

 

[Freefaller]

I would buy electric if it suited my lifestyle. I think they're great. If I was in your wife's position and couldn't take public transport or cycle, then an electric car seems like a no brainer.

 

[Maccapacca]

It'll all be your fault when it hasn't got any charge on a wet November evening because you didn't load the dishwasher three Saturdays ago.

 

[MooMoo444]

Sounds like it'll really benefit you. Go for it

 

[iaind]

I'd love to live so close to work, not so I could get an electric car, but so I could cycle!

 

[Schnippzle]

I've been very tempted with a Model S for a while, would suit me quite nicely.

Your wifes circumstance does seem to suit the electric car lifestyle.

 

[Skeeter]

What does your wife drive now, and would you get rid of it and replace it with an EV?

 

[Nasher]

With such low milage it should be ok. I wouldn't buy one with my kind of mileage though.

If I was only 4 miles from work, I'd probably just bike it tbh. Costs nothing then

 

[radderfire]

Electric cars are pretty cool, there are lots of benefits, and ideal if you have only a short journey.

 

[tom_e]

It'll all be your fault when it hasn't got any charge on a wet November evening because you didn't load the dishwasher three Saturdays ago.

It would be funny if it wasn't painfully true

 

[MassiveJim]

I think an EV would suit me as well if charging points were installed in my work car park.
I travel ~50 miles to work, so I could charge it every day at each end.

 

[acemastr]

I'm curious how they work range wise in traffic with the AC, radio, lights on etc

 

[Squink]

Surely an ideal electric car customer is one who does lots of miles* and can therefore maximise savings on fuel. Someone who does hardly any miles doesn't really need to stick 18 grand down on a Leaf.

* unfortunate that electric cars don't have a big enough range for their ideal customer

 

[Skeeter]

I think an EV would suit me as well if charging points were installed in my work car park.
I travel ~50 miles to work, so I could charge it every day at each end.

You'd need to be able to guarantee a charging spot at work, otherwise you may get stuck there

Surely an ideal electric car customer is one who does lots of miles* and can therefore maximise savings on fuel. Someone who does hardly any miles doesn't really need to stick 18 grand down on a Leaf.

* unfortunate that electric cars don't have a big enough range for their ideal customer

If your in the market to drop 18 grand on a new Fiesta or Jazz for minimal miles, dropping 18 grand on a Leaf is a sensible option to consider. Thats why I asked what the OPs wife currently drives, as that has a major impact on if this is a good idea or a bad one.

 

[Ricochet J]

Missus currently drives a mk3 2L Megane Coupe.

 

[UTmaniac]

Has the kitty of UK government subsidising electric car purchases been used up yet? Last year I vaguely recall reports saying they estimated the kitty would be empty around early 2016.

 

[p1RATE]

Surely an ideal electric car customer is one who does lots of miles* and can therefore maximise savings on fuel. Someone who does hardly any miles doesn't really need to stick 18 grand down on a Leaf.

* unfortunate that electric cars don't have a big enough range for their ideal customer

That is the problem, electric cars only fit a very small niche. You need to do all of your driving within a small range and also do enough mileage to offset the cost, otherwise its just a fashion statement.

I looked into a lexus hybrid a few years ago as i was doing a 35 mile commute each way to work and i would save about 3k a year on fuel but i didn't go for it.

Now i live in the city center its also an ok proposition as there is a lot of free parking for electric cars and that could save hundreds and the availability of public charge points is good. If i had to go to an office here daily it would make great financial sense.

Has the kitty of UK government subsidising electric car purchases been used up yet? Last year I vaguely recall reports saying they estimated the kitty would be empty around early 2016.

I suspect with the environmental targets the government have now they will continue to support electric vehicles for quite some time.

 

[s452]

depending on cost, maybe consider a hybrid car that can use both electricity and petrol/diesel/gas. while it seems unlikely your wife will really need the fuel part of the car, it does make sense to have it, as my current understanding of electric cars is that, they can take a long time to charge, and charging stations are not widely available, so on the off chance that she needs to make a long journey, she can have the reasurance of knowing that she wont end up stuck somewhere waiting for her car to charge/ to be towed to the nearest charging station.