EV general discussion

MOOGLEYS · 19 Jun 2026 at 10:14

Dup said:
I had never been in an electric car before this morning when another parent at school drop off offered me a ride in an Ioniq 5 N. Lordy!

My brain is still a little scrambled. Makes my Cupra feel pretty pedestrian in comparison.

You can’t beat the insta torque feeling. lol

tamzzy · 19 Jun 2026 at 10:38

Dup said:
My brain is still a little scrambled. Makes my Cupra feel pretty pedestrian in comparison.

that's how i felt when i chopped in my 440i with the m-performance upgrade (360hp) for the model 3 awd :cry:

had to take it "slow" for a couple of weeks to get used to the insta-torque

Haggisman · 19 Jun 2026 at 11:40

My mum's husband took me out in his Model S when he first got it - back when EVs were something of a rarity - and floored it down a motorway slip-road. Such a strange experience, felt like the car went from 20 to 70 (

) with nothing in between!

kefkef · 19 Jun 2026 at 12:26

Dup said:
I had never been in an electric car before this morning when another parent at school drop off offered me a ride in an Ioniq 5 N. Lordy!

My brain is still a little scrambled. Makes my Cupra feel pretty pedestrian in comparison.

To be fair, that's one of the quicker ones!..

Ahleckz · 19 Jun 2026 at 18:14

Ahleckz said:
Got an option to change from a 26 plate Tesla Model 3 to a 64 plate i4 eDrive40 Sport.

I don't have a home charger, and have been using the Tesla superchargers which I have liked but understand I can use them with the BMW?
I like the Tesla, my first EV, but the seats aren't that comfy. I do a fair bit of motorway cruising.
I used to have a 22 plate 320i Tourer Msport before the Tesla and loved it.

What would people do? It's a company car, so costs are pretty immaterial. In my head, the BMW is a better car but I've never driven one and won't be able to drive it unless I take it. Any wise words?

So swapped yesterday (it's a 73 plate i4). Drove it back from London to Glasgow and the BMW is so much nicer to drive. It's more comfortable, feels better put together and just a nice easy drive.
I do miss the tech from the Tesla, no adaptive cruise and no wireless phone charging is annoying but not the end of the world. I do miss the pan roof but the BMW does feel cosy.

I also found a three pin plug charger in the boot! Which, I think I'll use a lot. Any pitfalls here? I'm not getting a home charger, but have an Arnold Clark nearby where I was planning on doing most my charging. But if I can just plug it in for a day or two every now and then at home why not?

With the Tesla I just used Tesla charging points and they were great but the electroverse Arnold Clark subscription worked well for me today.

tamzzy · 19 Jun 2026 at 18:18

Ahleckz said:
I also found a three pin plug charger in the boot! Which, I think I'll use a lot. Any pitfalls here?

are you on an EV tariff?
if you aren't, then off-peak supercharging is cheaper
not sure what rates you get with electroverse, so you need to check

Ahleckz · 19 Jun 2026 at 18:20

tamzzy said:
are you on an EV tariff?
if you aren't, then off-peak supercharging is cheaper
not sure what rates you get with electroverse, so you need to check

Na, I'll be paying 21.5p for home charging on my current standard tarrif. Paying 39p at Arnold Clark.

TheVoice · 19 Jun 2026 at 18:21

55p/kWh with Arnold Clark, about as cheap as it gets around here unless you're close to the First Bus depot opposite Crown St Retail Park which is 49p/kWh.

EDIT: Interesting, didn't realise AC Charge now did an Electroverse subscription, is that new? Will have to work out if that's worth getting.

tamzzy · 19 Jun 2026 at 18:25

Ahleckz said:
Na, I'll be paying 21.5p for home charging on my current standard tarrif. Paying 39p at Arnold Clark.

granny charging speeds are about 2.3kw/h...dependent on your daily mileage you may get away without needing to use 3rd party fast chargers
at average efficiency of 3miles/kwh in winter and 4miles/kwh in summer that's 7.5-10 miles of range per hour of charge
(or plan for a more conservative scenario of 6-9 miles per hour of charge if you want to use a 9A current to avoid burning out your socket)

Ahleckz · 19 Jun 2026 at 18:28

TheVoice said:
55p/kWh with Arnold Clark, about as cheap as it gets around here unless you're close to the First Bus depot opposite Crown St Retail Park which is 49p/kWh.

EDIT: Interesting, didn't realise AC Charge now did an Electroverse subscription, is that new? Will have to work out if that's worth getting.

£8.99 for 29% off, it'll pay for itself after one charge according to my cigarette box maths. Plus, free coffee in Arnold Clark (it's terrible, but it's free!) is a boost.

Ahleckz · 19 Jun 2026 at 18:31

tamzzy said:
granny charging speeds are about 2.3kw/h...dependent on your daily mileage you may get away without needing to use 3rd party fast chargers
at average efficiency of 3miles/kwh in winter and 4miles/kwh in summer that's 7.5-10 miles of range per hour of charge
(or plan for a more conservative scenario of 6-9 miles per hour of charge if you want to use a 9A current to avoid burning out your socket)

I've got pretty old electrics so wise advice. I'll hook it up this weekend and have a go! Bar big days out and a work trip every month, I think I'll be able to charge at home all the time which will be handy.

tamzzy · 19 Jun 2026 at 18:31

Ahleckz said:
£8.99 for 29% off, it'll pay for itself after one charge according to my cigarette box maths. Plus, free coffee in Arnold Clark (it's terrible, but it's free!) is a boost.

if you have a supercharger nearby a tesla sub will be cheaper (£10/mth and you get tesla rates, so 45p-ish peak and 23p-ish off-peak)

tamzzy · 19 Jun 2026 at 18:33

Ahleckz said:
I've got pretty old electrics so wise advice.

if you have old electrics then i'd use 8A tbh. i had my home rewired recently and used 9A. didn't bother with 10A as i didn't want to risk anything :cry:

8A current = 1.8kw charging speed (5-7.5 miles per hour of charge)

tamzzy · 19 Jun 2026 at 18:38

oh and one more thing, don't use an extension cable.
if you really must use an extension cable, then don't coil the cable

MOOGLEYS · 19 Jun 2026 at 18:55

I used the granny charger for a while when we got the Corsa it was slow and the plug did get nice and warm. No fires but I would not want to use one long term especially if you have old electrics.

casper_uk · 19 Jun 2026 at 19:50

MOOGLEYS said:
Kind of it’s had software updates that help but the best thing to do is turn off proximity auto unlocking and then after locking hold both unlock and lock until the lights flash 4 times and then shove the key in a faraday box. It’s the proximity auto unlocking that made it vulnerable.

Later cars 2023 on have the updated software and keys to make it harder. Early cars can have a paid update same as Ioniq 5 to update the security system and 2 new keys.

Very interesting as I do like the EV6 and ionic 5! I may have to take a trip to the KIA dealer and see what 2023+ cars they have

ICDP · 19 Jun 2026 at 20:53

tamzzy said:
oh and one more thing, don't use an extension cable.
if you really must use an extension cable, then don't coil the cable

I got a tuff leads extension that is specifically for granny charging. It did cost me £50 and I used it for a while to charge off the solar.

Just make sure not to exceed 10 Amps (or 8 to be safe)

Simon · 19 Jun 2026 at 20:56

Extension lead (2.5mm) no different to a socket on a spur. Most outdoor sockets tend to be spurred anyway

MOOGLEYS · 19 Jun 2026 at 20:58

casper_uk said:
Very interesting as I do like the EV6 and ionic 5! I may have to take a trip to the KIA dealer and see what 2023+ cars they have

Get a GT

bingham67 · 19 Jun 2026 at 22:13

Sensible option GT Line S with better range