EV general discussion

[Journey]

does anyone have any experience of the Mercedes EQV? (the large 7 seater people carrier). I am losing my job at the end of the year and strongly considering getting a private hire licence and setting up an airport and long distance taxi hire company (

Local guy to me offers two of these all done up inside (Luxury Airport Transfers he calls it) and offers these on top of his normal service. Known him for years and used his services many times, he said the best thing he ever did was get his wife to drive for him and offering female friendly transfers for hen parties etc.
One of his EQV's is wrapped with a deep green metallic foil looks amazing, has a fridge in the back, charging points for all passengers, free Wi-Fi and tablet holders on the back of all the seats and setup the sound system so the passengers can use it.
He charges a big premium for the transfers, but he has a good reputation from years of trading so don't think he is doing badly out of it, given all of his directly family are employed by the business.

If just starting up I'd think breaking even will be hard for the first year or more, need to get your marketing right, there is no real USP left with transfers either just good old fashioned politeness, timing and consistency. You will be the bottle neck eventually if you do well. GL

 

[lordrobs]

does anyone have any experience of the Mercedes EQV? (the large 7 seater people carrier). I am losing my job at the end of the year and strongly considering getting a private hire licence and setting up an airport and long distance taxi hire company (or trying to work for one)
initially I will use my ipace if I do it but am thinking something a bit larger will likely generate a lot more work. I was surprised at how cheap they are (considering their size and finish ) for one 3 years old with fairly low miles on.

For airport transfers is a 220 mile WLTP range enough?

I get airport transfers fairly regularly and door to terminal is 149 miles, 179 miles if I fly another guy out with me. Plus getting to my house plus getting back out of the airport.

Obviously you can drive how you like but every driver I've had has set the cruise at mid 70's as a minimum, normally low 80's which is appreciated when I've been awake for over 24 hours and just want to get home

I guess you could pick your work pattern to fit around the range and charging needs but it seems like a way of making a difficult way to make a living a bit more difficult.

 

[the wopster]

Correct. Annoyingly, as it’s just cobbled together from the XC40 parts bin, all models use the same steering wheel which has the ‘distance the car in front’ selector buttons, but if you don’t have adaptive cruise they don’t do anything…

The only way of telling it has the pilot pack are the front fog lights.

So front fog lights = pilot pack

 

[spile]

Might be a daft (read=obvious) question but on tethered home chargers, how are you guys coiling the cable around the charger? On my Zappi 2.1 (which I think has a 7.5m cable) if I wrap it around the unit itself, it seems to pull on the bottom cable connection to the charger quite a bit and then when I get to the last coil, there's very little cable left to allow me to clip the charging head into the holder at the front of the Zappi - seems to again put a bit of strain on the cable.

If I try the 'over and under loop' method then just sit the cable over the Zappi, it looks pretty untidy!

I know...........third world problems!!!

No issue with our Podpoint. I sometimes leave it one wrap less but a tight warp isn’t to taught either. The holder is just the right distance from the charger.

 

[Penfold101]

So front fog lights = pilot pack

Yup. I’ve been looking for EQC’s recently, and the only way of knowing that the Driving Assistance Package was ticked at ordering (it’s not standard on any trim level ) is to look at the buttons on the steering wheel to see if it’s the distance controlling buttons or standard cruise/limiter.

Spent a whole evening looking through all 200 cars on autotrader and flicking through the photos of steering wheels…

 

[Logsi]

I’ve got a 2022 single motor long range model that I bought in August 2023 with 19k miles on it for 32K. The market was only just starting to recover and prices were still silly, so now it’s got 50k miles on it and I’ve got a garage paying 16k for it through Carwow…

Can’t predict the market, but the depreciation has massively outweighed the fuel savings compared to what an ICE from Mercedes would have done

I was also,forced to do it because I wrote off the previous car…

I'm fully aware of the mass of depreciation that I'll be hit with by getting something newer but it was getting obsessive finding the right 2 year old EV with low miles and no damage. I ended up with a 25 plate March Registered performance, plus, pilot, climate with Nappa leather with 150 miles on the clock for £20k off list. Just hoping to keep the car for a long time and make use of the solar on the house to offset some loss.

Obviously one glaring omission on the Polestar 2 is the lack of wireless CarPlay which I wasn't too fussed about as I was intending to just use the inbuilt Android Automotive. I grabbed a Ottocast Mini Cube 3.0 and it fits really well. I pulled out the rubber flaps that cover the ports so it fits better. Ordered an entire wireless charger/usb part that comes with the rubber flaps so I can cut and cover the other port not used to make it look better. Thought for £15 it was worth a punt!

 

[Kamakazie!]

Sadly build quality seems to be declining on almost everything

Was reading a post online recently, after looking into the poor quality lifespan of stuff like the finish on grills we've seen at work on some recent vehicles, from someone who claims to have worked for Volkswagen group saying they've watched the design changes coming in where it seems intentional they've removed protections preventing water ingress into areas which will results in corrosion so things like wiring harnesses will rot out earlier, sensitive electronics placed near heat sources, fastenings replaced with cheap plastic clips which they know full well will break quite quickly, etc. dunno how much there is to that and/or how much is intentional vs the increasing incompetence which seems to becoming the norm in so many industries but does match up with my experience lately.

I think this is driven by the market. Most new cars are bought on short term leases, and buyers want something that looks like it's quality, it doesn't have to last! When meeting a price point, manufacturers cut the quality to up the marketing, style, technology, power etc.
Same in most product markets unfortunately, and there seems to be less & less options for 'quality basics'.

 

[the wopster]

Yup. I’ve been looking for EQC’s recently, and the only way of knowing that the Driving Assistance Package was ticked at ordering (it’s not standard on any trim level ) is to look at the buttons on the steering wheel to see if it’s the distance controlling buttons or standard cruise/limiter.

Spent a whole evening looking through all 200 cars on autotrader and flicking through the photos of steering wheels…

Is that the same case for Volvo as well

 

[Penfold101]

I'm fully aware of the mass of depreciation that I'll be hit with by getting something newer but it was getting obsessive finding the right 2 year old EV with low miles and no damage. I ended up with a 25 plate March Registered performance, plus, pilot, climate with Nappa leather with 150 miles on the clock for £20k off list. Just hoping to keep the car for a long time and make use of the solar on the house to offset some loss.

Obviously one glaring omission on the Polestar 2 is the lack of wireless CarPlay which I wasn't too fussed about as I was intending to just use the inbuilt Android Automotive. I grabbed a Ottocast Mini Cube 3.0 and it fits really well. I pulled out the rubber flaps that cover the ports so it fits better. Ordered an entire wireless charger/usb part that comes with the rubber flaps so I can cut and cover the other port not used to make it look better. Thought for £15 it was worth a punt!

Nice! I like the fact they now offer different centre console trims as well - I have to remove mine to wrap it as piano black is just awful in big chunks

 

[Penfold101]

Is that the same case for Volvo as well

Luckily adaptive cruise comes with the pilot pack so it’s easy to see from the outside if it has it. Front fogs = adaptive cruise

 

[Logsi]

Nice! I like the fact they now offer different centre console trims as well - I have to remove mine to wrap it as piano black is just awful in big chunks

Oh they seem to chop and change all the time. Originally piano black which marked up terribly but at least they gave you a polestar cloth!

Then you have black wood effect on the standard interior then it seems like you get white wood effect on nappa leather interior. Annoyingly I have black leather with a white wood...think I'd rather black!

 

[Diddums]

Saw a petrol tanker this morning. It then dawned on my how many less of these I see on the roads lately. Noticeable decline since EVs started gaining a foothold. Random musing. /jpaul

 

[GhostWKD]

I'm fully aware of the mass of depreciation that I'll be hit with by getting something newer but it was getting obsessive finding the right 2 year old EV with low miles and no damage. I ended up with a 25 plate March Registered performance, plus, pilot, climate with Nappa leather with 150 miles on the clock for £20k off list. Just hoping to keep the car for a long time and make use of the solar on the house to offset some loss.

Obviously one glaring omission on the Polestar 2 is the lack of wireless CarPlay which I wasn't too fussed about as I was intending to just use the inbuilt Android Automotive. I grabbed a Ottocast Mini Cube 3.0 and it fits really well. I pulled out the rubber flaps that cover the ports so it fits better. Ordered an entire wireless charger/usb part that comes with the rubber flaps so I can cut and cover the other port not used to make it look better. Thought for £15 it was worth a punt!

How are you finding the Ottocast? One of the biggest bugbears of my P*2 (MY25 Performance here too) is the lack of apple carplay integration wirelessly. But everytime I've looked into solutions they have such mixed reviews its hard to decide to take the punt on it.

 

[sovietspybob]

Sadly build quality seems to be declining on almost everything

Was reading a post online recently, after looking into the poor quality lifespan of stuff like the finish on grills we've seen at work on some recent vehicles, from someone who claims to have worked for Volkswagen group saying they've watched the design changes coming in where it seems intentional they've removed protections preventing water ingress into areas which will results in corrosion so things like wiring harnesses will rot out earlier, sensitive electronics placed near heat sources, fastenings replaced with cheap plastic clips which they know full well will break quite quickly, etc. dunno how much there is to that and/or how much is intentional vs the increasing incompetence which seems to becoming the norm in so many industries but does match up with my experience lately.

Yeah everything is just rubbish quality nowadays i work in IT and as an example just things like the quality of laser printers has declined so much in the last 20 years its unreal.

 

[Logsi]

How are you finding the Ottocast? One of the biggest bugbears of my P*2 (MY25 Performance here too) is the lack of apple carplay integration wirelessly. But everytime I've looked into solutions they have such mixed reviews its hard to decide to take the punt on it.

Admittedly only had one 12 mile commute with it so far and it's been fine. Latency is alright. Connectivity probably takes 5-10 seconds. I just wanted a svelte elegant USB-C dongle that hid well in the car. I have heard of them overheating on longer journeys but we'll see. Seems like a good solution.

Out of interest, what is your range on a full charge assuming you're in a 82/350?

 

[pastymuncher]

Might be a daft (read=obvious) question but on tethered home chargers, how are you guys coiling the cable around the charger? On my Zappi 2.1 (which I think has a 7.5m cable) if I wrap it around the unit itself, it seems to pull on the bottom cable connection to the charger quite a bit and then when I get to the last coil, there's very little cable left to allow me to clip the charging head into the holder at the front of the Zappi - seems to again put a bit of strain on the cable.

If I try the 'over and under loop' method then just sit the cable over the Zappi, it looks pretty untidy!

I know...........third world problems!!!

I have a Ohme Home Pro tethered charger which came with a awful flimsy plastic bracket for looping the cable around it but ended up buying one of these. The plug goes in at a angle as well so it gets some protection from driving rain and snow.

 

[utajoker]

looking at leasing a renault 5, look to be around £230 on 1+48 for a base or £260 for the techno, only problem is, all the deals are for green and i just cant decide if i like it. its an extra 13-16pm for a different colour which i dont want to really pay.

i think i want the techno spec and not fussed over the bigger or more powerful batter, the base range will be fine and i can charge at work.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

I’m not sure I agree quality in cars is declining.

I think people need to go and sit in a car from 30 years ago, drive it around for a week and remind themselves how bad they are in every measurable way compared to their modern equivalents.

 

[Simon]

looking at leasing a renault 5, look to be around £230 on 1+48 for a base or £260 for the techno, only problem is, all the deals are for green and i just cant decide if i like it. its an extra 13-16pm for a different colour which i dont want to really pay.

i think i want the techno spec and not fussed over the bigger or more powerful batter, the base range will be fine and i can charge at work.

Yeah I found that. Really odd you can’t get that colour on the spec.

 

[GhostWKD]

Admittedly only had one 12 mile commute with it so far and it's been fine. Latency is alright. Connectivity probably takes 5-10 seconds. I just wanted a svelte elegant USB-C dongle that hid well in the car. I have heard of them overheating on longer journeys but we'll see. Seems like a good solution.

Out of interest, what is your range on a full charge assuming you're in a 82/350?

Appreciate it, I'll check it out - definitely sits better than some of the USB dongles standing upright etc.

I am indeed, 8k miles & a year in now as I had one of the first MY25s. I mostly do motorway miles in mine so perhaps not a fair yardstick but doing about 240miles on a full charge, albeit it does increase noticeably if I sit in the slow lane vs normal commuting speed