EV general discussion

I’ve rolled into my drive on 0-2% a few times but never to a public charger.

5-6% is my limit to a public charger these days, 10+% if I am in the sticks or on a motorway - mainly because it can be a long way to the next junction if your charging is at an ‘on motorway’ services where you can’t get off onto local roads.

My limit used to be higher but that was when where wasn’t multiple rapid chargers in every town like there is these days.
 
Journey said:
You have to been very confident in your range to the charger, first time to 0% was in 2020 when the charging network was sub optimal, and we were traveling somewhere near Carlisle in middle of the night.
I know how much range can be added/kept by slowing from 70, to 65 or 60, and truck speed if needs be. Interestingly slowing down nearly always works out faster in the slow charging car vs. diversions at a higher speed.

Can you remember your range at 8% or was the car having a panic attack and not telling you? :p
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25 miles or so. The GOM has been fairly accurate so far, well that’s if I compare the remaining percentage to the current consumption anyway.

I need to start doing some eco runs to see what the car is capable of, I have heating on too high aswell.
 
chanjy said:
Depends on your budget tbh

Compared to a Nissan Pulsar the car I'd recommend you look at is a Kia e-Niro which is reasonably cheap but has great range to help you with those longer trips

If you aren't paying cash then compared to a PCP a new lease deal might well end up cheaper so I'd definitely keep an eye on the deals and hop on one if you fnd one that meets your budget and needs
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Yeah forgot to say, the 2nd hand market seems to have been a bit all over the place the past couple of years, ended up getting this car for 6-7k which was the same amount we spent on the one it replaced (basically same model, age etc) which had a bump and was apparently a write off multiple years earlier!

Apparently now it'd only be worth ~£3k which feels a bit rubbish but I've kind of just accepted as just want rid.
In terms of replacement we'd want similarish size probably (think golf) as it's nice to have a bit of room when travelling further afield, budget wise we haven't really committed as unsure whether we want to add some cash and buy outright again or look at finance options (have only ever bought a car outright, but have also never spent more than £6-7k)

Haggisman said:
I'd second the e-Niro (although maybe biased since I have one!).

Good range, reasonable charge speed, plenty of space inside for family stuff, decent performance, and plenty of toys as long as you don't go for the "2" trim level
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Had a quick look at the e-niro, bit suvesque to me but I'd probably get over it, would have to finance it though I think from a quick look.

b0rn2sk8 said:
The Tesla Model 3 standard range fits that bill really well if the saloon form factor works for you and the Tesla is a very easy car to own. It’s main negative is the ride is quite firm.

There are absolutely loads of them around so you should be able to get a decent example for a reasonable price.

I’d recommend a facelift with the heat pump (has the black trim around the windows) and if your budget goes far enough, the 60kwh version which came in from December 2021. If you do go down this route, just bear in mind the 71 plate cars have a mix of 55kwh and 60kwh models so make sure you get the 60.

The 60kwh is good for 200 real world range in winter with a buffer.

As already mentioned thr e-Niro is a good shout also. Kona is also good but it’s pretty small in its original version.
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No interest in Tesla thanks (also have never understood the attraction of a saloon over a hatchback)

In the past when I had a bit of a look the leaf came up as a choice for the cheaper end of things, obviously more companies have improved/expanded their ev ranges since then so more choice which is good. One thing I'm also unsure of is charger install, is there a lot of variance between companies/options etc? We are considering moving later this year, how viable is not having an at home charger for a couple of months of use?
 
A lot of people on here just use a 3 pin plug. You’ll recover about 7-9 miles per hour it’s plugged in so 3 hours covers most people’s daily milage.

Bin the Leaf idea as a main car, you’d need the 60 kWh version to do 80 miles each way and even then it may be cutting it very fine. The leaf uses an obsolete charging standard (chademo) and not all public chargers have them. It’s fine as a second car mind and otherwise can offer good value.

As a general rule, whatever the WLTP range is, knock off 1/3 and that’s the real range in winter.
 
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Journey said:
There are many people who only use a 3-pin charger (Granny) - it totally depends on the mileage you do and if you have easy access to a normal household socket.
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Ok that's great to hear, I think it would be fairlyeasy to do either via a living room window or garage door
b0rn2sk8 said:
A lot of people on here just use a 3 pin plug. You’ll recover about 7-9 miles per hour it’s plugged in so 3 hours covers most people’s daily milage.

Bin the Leaf idea as a main car, you’d need the 60 kWh version to do 80 miles each way and even then it may be cutting it very fine. The leaf uses an obsolete charging standard (chademo) and not all public chargers have them. It’s fine as a second car mind and otherwise can offer good value.

As a general rule, whatever the WLTP range is, knock off 1/3 and that’s the real range in winter.
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Ah that rings a bell about the different charging type, yeah ok will ignore them then! Also great to hear about the charging, day to day usage is either nothing or <10 miles probably so doesn't sound like it'd be too much of an issue.
 
GeorgeStorm said:
Also great to hear about the charging, day to day usage is either nothing or <10 miles probably so doesn't sound like it'd be too much of an issue.
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Well if you are doing 10 miles per day that's an about hour charging at 10 amps, if you want to be extra careful drop it to 6 amps if using a standard sockrt with unknown wiring quality.
 
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I've rented a few EV's from Hertz recently. I had 3 Polestars and an Enyaq. Here are my random observations:
The Polestars attracted attention whereas the Enyaq was almost anonymous.
I was shocked at how much energy was used in heating the cabin. I rented in January and up to 23% was going on keeping me warm.
The heated steering wheel in the Enyaq made a big difference to me. I was getting cold hands in the Polestars
My local Aldi has a 11kw Shell recharging point. It was very quick to plug in and I just tapped the keyfob and it started charging right away. No messing with apps. I paid the 39p per kwh charge when I returned the car.
I paid £7 for a 1 month Ionity 'Passport' to use their 350kwh chargers at 43p per kwh. They worked great giving 156kwh in the Polestar.
I got a 2024 Enyaq 85 and it was a lot quicker than the Polestars. I think being RWD helped a lot on the slippy January roads.
 
Jiffy said:
I've rented a few EV's from Hertz recently. I had 3 Polestars and an Enyaq. Here are my random observations:
The Polestars attracted attention whereas the Enyaq was almost anonymous.
I was shocked at how much energy was used in heating the cabin. I rented in January and up to 23% was going on keeping me warm.
The heated steering wheel in the Enyaq made a big difference to me. I was getting cold hands in the Polestars
My local Aldi has a 11kw Shell recharging point. It was very quick to plug in and I just tapped the keyfob and it started charging right away. No messing with apps. I paid the 39p per kwh charge when I returned the car.
I paid £7 for a 1 month Ionity 'Passport' to use their 350kwh chargers at 43p per kwh. They worked great giving 156kwh in the Polestar.
I got a 2024 Enyaq 85 and it was a lot quicker than the Polestars. I think being RWD helped a lot on the slippy January roads.
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Winter is a killer for electrics - it’s essentially an immersion heater and is especially bed if it’s having to warm up the battery too.if I can precondition both from the wall box before I leave I do, just so I’m not effecting the range as best I can.
 
Simon said:
He will keep an ICE yes, missing the Goldilocks time of EV ownership.
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Genuinely don't know so curious why this is considered the goldilocks period? Is that because of expected tax on miles driven to claw back lost petrol tax? I was expecting the goldilocks period to be when the tech levelled off a bit.
 
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