16 months living with an EV - my honest experience

[blun]

If you look at the lease cost of a similar car:

BMW 330i M Sport Auto - cheapest lease I can find over 4 years is about £400/month including deposit. Add a bit on for insurance / maintenance / tyres etc. that's probably £450/mo.

So this is about the same cost really - it's just the cost of leasing a new car.

If I'd known the pandemic was coming I might have waited but I already had it at that point!

 

[booyaka]

I keep hearing about free 50kw charging in Scotland.

Is that a Government initiative?

no idea, interested though ?

How does the tesla do for example, 40 miles into and 40 miles out of the city on the M8 every day average 60mph, usually cruising at 80+ mph ? On one hand, as I could charge everyday, I shouldn't really give a hoot about economy?, so thats fine.. and I also read that they aren't great for that sort of sustained speeds on m-ways ? I had a test drive of the X and it was fairly beastly on the few motorway miles I did (and actually very surprising on the back roads too) so it seems like it will be fine, but would like to hear your experience of the model3? thanks

Traveling around Glasgow etc - No bother - It's honestly so simple for me - Charge when I need to, don't when I don't.

People massively overthink the whole battery must be X level etc - Just drive the car and charge when you need to. I've never subscribed to the battery must be kept at 80% all the time/it must be plugged in etc. I drive the car when I need/want too, charge when I need to. It's really that simple.

There are some ridiculous geeks out there who monitor every single kw/h, mile, charge pattern, temp, distance, battery temp, etc etc - They must charge during the cheaper electric times etc etc - It's madness. It's a car - treat it like any other, Use it when you need to, "fill it up" when you have too. Simple.

Public charging in Scotland is generally free - some local authorities have moved to a payment system however, and I think over time most will. I've no issue with this so long as they put the funds back into more chargers.

However, in Ayrshire, all public charging points are free still - Just sign up with Chargeplacescotland, and off you go. (you can start the chargers with your phone, but most people pay £20 for the card)

Tons of 7/22kw chargers around the place, but I have 4 separate 50kw chargers within 10 miles of myself, one within about 600 yards if needed. All free. It's been weeks since I used my home charger as I tend to play golf once a week and there are free chargers at the golf. Stick it on charge whilst playing and come back to it full charged (80/90%) etc.

Not travelling around much due to Covid but prior to that I would do 100/150 miles a day in my SR+ / Fine on a single charge and if I needed a quick top up, find a public charger using the multitude of apps and top it up whilst waiting to visit my next client etc. It's literally no hassle at all.

I'll also add into this the fact that I got 100% FYA via my own business on the costs of the car, interest free Government Loan to buy the car and a massively discounted home charger due to the various grants. It was as much a financial decision as it was a car choice.

 

[VincentHanna]

If I'd known the pandemic was coming I might have waited but I already had it at that point!

Yeah that's **** timing, but anyone with a lease probably hasn't been doing anywhere near the mileage they projected, regardless of where they were in their contract.

My EV will be delivered less than a week before lockdown is supposed to end on March 29th, so I guess that's good timing?

 

[The Running Man]

If you look at the lease cost of a similar car:

BMW 330i M Sport Auto - cheapest lease I can find over 4 years is about £400/month including deposit. Add a bit on for insurance / maintenance / tyres etc. that's probably £450/mo.

So this is about the same cost really - it's just the cost of leasing a new car.

If I'd known the pandemic was coming I might have waited but I already had it at that point!

I dont doubt it! Part of the new car fallacy trap i guess.

 

[blun]

Traveling around Glasgow etc - No bother - It's honestly so simple for me

England / Wales / NI have quite a different experience from Scotland - quite a few free chargers about, lots of pay-per-use public chargers from different providers, but the experience in Scotland is a lot smoother by the sound of things.

 

[blun]

I dont doubt it! Part of the new car fallacy trap i guess.

Someone has to buy them / lease them (whether electric or not) and they'll become the 2/3/4 year old used buys of the future

 

[The Running Man]

England / Wales / NI have quite a different experience from Scotland - quite a few free chargers about, lots of pay-per-use public chargers from different providers, but the experience in Scotland is a lot smoother by the sound of things.

Who pays for the free chargers? I dont get where the magical free power is coming from?

 

[jpaul]

If you look at the lease cost of a similar car:

BMW 330i M Sport Auto - cheapest lease I can find over 4 years is about £400/month including deposit. Add a bit on for insurance / maintenance / tyres etc. that's probably £450/mo.

So this is about the same cost really - it's just the cost of leasing a new car.

It wasn't a company car then ?

[

So whilst aerodynamics does play a large part of it, in an EV you're also contending with the reduced efficiency of the motor at higher speeds.

yes - maybe more taycan type gearboxes, or greater front/rear motor final drive ratio differences will proliferate to address this
]

 

[booyaka]

Who pays for the free chargers? I dont get where the magical free power is coming from?

At the moment -

ChargePlace Scotland is Scotland’s national Electric Vehicle (EV) charging network. Owned and developed by the Scottish Government, and funded in partnership through a public grant from Local Authorities and other organisations. Aiming to install charge points across Scotland from Shetland to the Scottish borders, making owning an Electric Vehicle accessible for all Scottish drivers.

The ChargePlace Scotland network has grown from 55 public charge points in 2013 to over 1,500 in 2020. All publicly available charge points are displayed on our live map , which provides details about the location, type, status and availability of each unit.

New charge points are installed regularly on the network, with the ongoing support of Transport Scotland. In addition, our network offers members significant money-saving and EV charging benefits.

So ultimately they are trying to grow the network but as I say - Local Authories pay for the "power" currently - however some Local Authorities have started charging (Aberdeen/Dundee i think) - I'm totally fine with this as you can't expect free charging to last forever.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

yes - maybe more taycan type gearboxes, or greater front/rear motor final drive ratio differences will proliferate to address this

Most AWD cars already do the latter, certainly Tesla does. Front motor set up for cruise and rear set up for power.

I doubt we will see loss of tycan style gearboxes because of the complexity and losses they introduce. The Tycan spends most of its life in 2nd gear, it only engages 1st when you hammer it.

It’s gets to a point where efficiency is mostly all about air resistance as it cubes with speed. The faster you go the harder it gets and is a problem big SUVs will never get over.

The efficiency kings will always be cars with a low coefficient of friction and a small frontal area.

 

[The Running Man]

At the moment -



So ultimately they are trying to grow the network but as I say - Local Authories pay for the "power" currently - however some Local Authorities have started charging (Aberdeen/Dundee i think) - I'm totally fine with this as you can't expect free charging to last forever.

So the local authorities get the money from taxes, so the tax payer is paying for people to drive vehicles that would cost 2p per mile for free?

 

[Jono8]

I've been considering a new car sometime soon and im definitely considering going electric.

There have been some tasty deals on the 62kwh leaf recently, making it a very attractive proposition when taking into account the fuel savings.

Won't bother until after covid though as my car use has been and will be for a good few more months almost non exsistant.

My only concern is semi regular long trips to Cornwall to see family. It would definitely mean stopping at least once I imagine. I guess just stopping for 45 mins for a coffee each way is a potential small price to pay compared to potential fuel savings though.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

So the local authorities get the money from taxes, so the tax payer is paying for people to drive vehicles that would cost 2p per mile for free?

It’s to encourage EV adoption and people to use and rely on the network. Once they get to critical mass, they’ll jack up the prices. It’s normal for the government to nudge people in this way. Scotland also has some of the best public charging in the country and not because it’s free, there everywhere.

It’s no different to when the U.K. government was giving people £5k and a free charger for cars costing £120k. That’s a far bigger wedge of cash than any benefit from free charging is going to get you.

 

[blun]

The various subsidies (grants, free charging etc..) will be because the government(s) want to get people into EV's to help meet their climate targets.

 

[blun]

I've been considering a new car sometime soon and im definitely considering going electric.

There have been some tasty deals on the 62kwh leaf recently, making it a very attractive proposition when taking into account the fuel savings.

Won't bother until after covid though as my car use has been and will be for a good few more months almost non exsistant.

My only concern is semi regular long trips to Cornwall to see family. It would definitely mean stopping at least once I imagine. I guess just stopping for 45 mins for a coffee each way is a potential small price to pay compared to potential fuel savings though.

This is a tricky one as the Leaf doesn't support ultra-fast charging AFAIK, so you would be looking at a 45min charging stop rather than 10-15 mins.

It'd probably depend on how often you'd want to do that long trip. If it's once or twice a year and you don't mind a bit of stop-time, the benefits for all your local driving will probably more than make up for it.

If you were doing that long trip every week it'd become a pain and you'd probably be better looking at a car that supports ultra-fast charging.

 

[chaparral]

Home Charging - I have a PodPoint tethered 7kW charger (so has a cable permanently attached), and I park/charge on my driveway. I’m very glad I went for the tethered cable as it means plugging in takes a few seconds (don’t need to get cables out of the boot).

In summer last year I switched to Octopus Go. This means I can charge between 00:30-04:30 for 5p / kWh. This results in running costs of roughly 2p per mile (bit less in summer, bit more in winter).

I’ve also charged whilst away from home at my parents house. They don’t have a charger but do have off road parking, so I was charging using the granny charger. This worked quite well, meaning I was able to keep topped up to 80% whilst staying and left with 100% battery for the journey home.

Would you of still gone for an EV if you didn't have any home charging ?

 

[jpaul]

I doubt we will see loss of tycan style gearboxes because of the complexity and losses they introduce.

does look like hybrids push the electric drive through the gearbox ... their all electric acceleration would be interesting to experience , albeit lower hp electric motor.

 

[Jono8]

This is a tricky one as the Leaf doesn't support ultra-fast charging AFAIK, so you would be looking at a 45min charging stop rather than 10-15 mins.

It'd probably depend on how often you'd want to do that long trip. If it's once or twice a year and you don't mind a bit of stop-time, the benefits for all your local driving will probably more than make up for it.

If you were doing that long trip every week it'd become a pain and you'd probably be better looking at a car that supports ultra-fast charging.

Yeh its not every week. Just most holiday periods so maybe 5 or 6 times a year at the most.

Normally I just do it all in one trip without stopping but I probably wouldn't mind a 45 minute stop to get a coffee or something.

I truly hope there is a breakthrough that makes over 300 miles a charge (even in the winter) realistic for the average EV car. Would be amazing.

I have a private drive running right next to the wall of my house so charging and getting an ev point installed would be no issue. Its literally only the range that I'm worried about, and I think that would only ever bother me infrequently .

 

[blun]

Would you of still gone for an EV if you didn't have any home charging ?

This is a really difficult question. I'd really like to say yes -- I could charge locally as there's chargers in supermarkets, on street parking spots etc..
In reality - that would take away one of the best features which is always leaving home every day with a full (or 80%) battery, as well as the ultra-low running costs.

I think I'd have probably waited a bit to let things develop a bit further if I couldn't charge at home.

 

[blun]

Yeh its not every week. Just most holiday periods so maybe 5 or 6 times a year at the most.

Normally I just do it all in one trip without stopping but I probably wouldn't mind a 45 minute stop to get a coffee or something.

I truly hope there is a breakthrough that makes over 300 miles a charge (even in the winter) realistic for the average EV car. Would be amazing.

Another way to think of this is that rather than paying lots of money for a bigger battery, if there was a wealth of ultra-rapid chargers at every motorway stop, and fast charging continues to be developed, you don't need as much range. You just stop wherever you want for 10 mins and add 100+ miles of range.

One of the problems I find now, even with Superchargers, is that they are not everywhere. Ultra-rapid chargers are now being rolled out at every motorway service area (and lots of major A-road areas) so this situation should improve. If we reach a point where everywhere that currently has petrol pumps also has ultra-rapid chargers, I think all range-related worries will disappear.