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EV general discussion

ChrisD. said:
Same as cookies, off by default, you have to opt in.
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Oh god no! I was happy in my blissful ignorance of cookies, now every web page is a cookie prompt before I can do anything :p

Having a play with Claude this morning making a work trip cost comparison tool. What that does highlight is the economic benefit of a better range in an EV when you are doing hundreds of miles and having to charge on the road. I was always of the opinion that worrying about EV efficiency was a bit daft when the fuel is so cheap (when you can charge at home) but seeing the numbers laid out for my Glasgow trip I did last week... I'm starting to get it!

Not that I'm anywhere near a company car change, probably even further away after I managed to swipe a low concrete wall that leapt out at me during my last work visit :o
 
Took delivery of my lease Vauxhall Frontera (Extended Range) a few weeks ago and must admit I'm impressed given it's only costing £170 a month (£1000 down).

I also have an 2023 ID.4 which I adore and whilst the Frontera is not as premium and lacks certain smart features (no API to talk to home charger, can't set battery charge level, no adaptive cruise control etc.), it's a great car for the school runs, popping into town etc. I have to go up to MK every now and again for work so I'm looking forward to seeing how it copes with a 130 mile motorway journey.

I had a 1.0 Polo before this so we're now fully EV; just in time for the fuel price increases!
 
Casdawer said:
Took delivery of my lease Vauxhall Frontera (Extended Range) a few weeks ago and must admit I'm impressed given it's only costing £170 a month (£1000 down).

I also have an 2023 ID.4 which I adore and whilst the Frontera is not as premium and lacks certain smart features (no API to talk to home charger, can't set battery charge level, no adaptive cruise control etc.), it's a great car for the school runs, popping into town etc. I have to go up to MK every now and again for work so I'm looking forward to seeing how it copes with a 130 mile motorway journey.

I had a 1.0 Polo before this so we're now fully EV; just in time for the fuel price increases!
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Good luck. My sister has a Frontera and it has been absolutely terrible. Been back the dealer more times than she’s had it!
 
Our PHEV has covered about 4K miles since we owned it (picked it up July 10th) and we’re on 3 tanks of fuel.

Over the past week, we’ve done a few hundred miles and not used the petrol range, all EV (with home charging) - petrol range is 600 miles. It’s nice not seeing it go down.
 
A bloody stone managed to slice a hole in one of my Goodyears. Luckily I kept one of my good PS4s and have temporarily fitted it until a new tyre can be fitted tomorrow.

It’s lethal though at anything more than gentle it veirs hard to the left. Giving it a bit of umph and it feels like the car is twisting. It’s on the rear too so not great.

Slow driving only until new tyre fitted tomorrow. Hopefully having a few mm more tread won’t affect it too much.
 
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MrKnifey said:
Good luck. My sister has a Frontera and it has been absolutely terrible. Been back the dealer more times than she’s had it!
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Got one for a family member at start of the year, utterly faultless. We were expecting a nightmare from some of the negative comments online. It was £165 per month with nowt upfront for the Ultimate spec, can't complain so far. So much so the lease will likely be extended at the end of the 24 months if it continues like this.
 
HoneyBadger said:
Our PHEV has covered about 4K miles since we owned it (picked it up July 10th) and we’re on 3 tanks of fuel.

Over the past week, we’ve done a few hundred miles and not used the petrol range, all EV (with home charging) - petrol range is 600 miles. It’s nice not seeing it go down.
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I know this sounds great to you but let’s look at this objectively. 3x tanks of petrol (40 - 45 litres) and the PHEV home charging at current prices is about 8,000 - 10,000 miles in a pure EV (assuming cheap EV tariff).

Not using the petrol engine at all (or even rarely) in a PHEV isn’t a sign of how great an option a PHEV is, but how poor a decision it was not going full BEV.

Rant follows and I accept this is just one opinion ;)

The reality is PHEVs are the worst of both worlds IMHO. For me owning a PHEV instead of a petrol, is like saying a punch in the face is better than a kick in the balls. Technically that’s a true statement, but both are bad options.
 
ICDP said:
I know this sounds great to you but let’s look at this objectively. 3x tanks of petrol (40 - 45 litres) and the PHEV home charging at current prices is about 8,000 - 10,000 miles in a pure EV (assuming cheap EV tariff).

Not using the petrol engine at all (or even rarely) in a PHEV isn’t a sign of how great an option a PHEV is, but how poor a decision it was not going full BEV.

Rant follows and I accept this is just one opinion ;)

The reality is PHEVs are the worst of both worlds IMHO. For me owning a PHEV instead of a petrol, is like saying a punch in the face is better than a kick in the balls. Technically that’s a true statement, but both are bad options.
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Whilst I ‘hear’ you, you should know a couple of key points.

1) Compared to what it replaced, a 405BHP car that need super unleaded and cost £700 a year to tax, cost about £70 to fill up (not from empty) and did about 380 miles to a full tank and was approaching 3 years old.

2) Moving to a 3 month old car, with 3 year service pack and £200 a year to tax for about a £2k delta.

3) And this is the critical point, my wife wanted it, so chose it.

We will ultimately end up in a full EV, but never owning anything remotely like an EV and always owning petrol or Diesel, this car will ease her into the full EV experience which we will change in 2-3 years.

This particular PHEV is fully electric in terms of drive train and it uses the petrol engine to charge the battery should we not be in a position to plug it in.

So whilst everything you say is no doubt true, you forgot the human element, I.e my wife.

QED buddy.
 
MOOGLEYS said:
Goodyears. Luckily I kept one of my good PS4s and have temporarily fitted it until a new tyre can be fitted tomorrow.
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How much tread does the goodyear and the PS4 have left? You're not mixing good and bad tyres together, if they don't have a lot of tread left then maybe just run mismatched tyres until both the goodyear and PS4 wear out and swap both tyres together?
 
ICDP said:
Not using the petrol engine at all (or even rarely) in a PHEV isn’t a sign of how great an option a PHEV is, but how poor a decision it was not going full BEV.
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That may be true for a larger amount of people but there are still a lot of people who despite the bulk of their driving being within the electric capabilities of a PHEV have occasional needs which an EV absolutely doesn't cater for - that might only be like 0.1% of trips but it can still be a show stopper if you absolutely have to do that.

Unfortunately I can't find a plug in hybrid which ticks all the boxes for me or I'd buy one today as in current times not having to rely on fuel for the day to day stuff would be great while still able to accommodate contingencies where I have no option but to do longer distances on a tight timetable on short notices.
 
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tamzzy said:
How much tread does the goodyear and the PS4 have left? You're not mixing good and bad tyres together, if they don't have a lot of tread left then maybe just run mismatched tyres until both the goodyear and PS4 wear out and swap both tyres together?
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Both have about the same tread about a quarter worn. It is horrible to drive though any power and it lurches sideways. They might be better mismatched on the front but my OCD won’t let me leave it like that.
 
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MOOGLEYS said:
It is horrible to drive though any power and it lurches sideways. They might be better mismatched on the front but my OCD won’t let me leave it like that.
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Ah fair enough, both are good enough reasons to swap out lol
But will your OCD cope with tyres with different tread wear on the same axle? :cry:
 
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HoneyBadger said:
Whilst I ‘hear’ you, you should know a couple of key points.

1) Compared to what it replaced, a 405BHP car that need super unleaded and cost £700 a year to tax, cost about £70 to fill up (not from empty) and did about 380 miles to a full tank and was approaching 3 years old.

2) Moving to a 3 month old car, with 3 year service pack and £200 a year to tax for about a £2k delta.

3) And this is the critical point, my wife wanted it, so chose it.

We will ultimately end up in a full EV, but never owning anything remotely like an EV and always owning petrol or Diesel, this car will ease her into the full EV experience which we will change in 2-3 years.

This particular PHEV is fully electric in terms of drive train and it uses the petrol engine to charge the battery should we not be in a position to plug it in.

So whilst everything you say is no doubt true, you forgot the human element, I.e my wife.

QED buddy.
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I hear ya :)

I went through a list of BEVs we could lease with my wife and she picked an iX2 xDrive30. We test drove one and it’s genuinely a very nice car, very good to drive and even quite efficient. Though it would not have been my personal choice and I am happy with my 3 and a bit year old Cupra Born.

We got the iX2 in April and my wife now thinks it’s too big and is happy with my 3 and a bit year old Cupra Born. :D

To be fair the iX2 IS a far nicer built and premium car than a Born, it also drives as well or better than one and at 5 seconds 0-60 it’s certainly fun… it’s just not the car I saw myself driving.

Life choices… more like wife choices. ;)
 
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ICDP said:
Life choices… more like wife choices. ;)
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Ask your GP for these:
25810.webp

:)
 
Rroff said:
That may be true for a larger amount of people but there are still a lot of people who despite the bulk of their driving being within the electric capabilities of a PHEV have occasional needs which an EV absolutely doesn't cater for - that might only be like 0.1% of trips but it can still be a show stopper if you absolutely have to do that.

Unfortunately I can't find a plug in hybrid which ticks all the boxes for me or I'd buy one today as in current times not having to rely on fuel for the day to day stuff would be great while still able to accommodate contingencies where I have no option but to do longer distances on a tight timetable on short notices.
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For me a PHEV is still working out well as a company car. Looking at my last three work trips alone I'm up £41 on my expenses in my PHEV vs an estimated £88 out of pocket compared to the EV I put forward at the time I got my last company car. That was an Enyaq 80 which was the best blend of space, cost and range at the time. (This is assuming HMRC reimbursement rates and setting off with a full charge from home)

Taking work out of the equation even with a small 10kWh battery I can do 100% of my commute for about 9 months of the year and offset well over half of my private miles purely on electric.

The economics are shifting though and longer range EVs increase the proportion of work trips done on cheap home electricity. Plus faster charging means that my wee and takeaway coffee stop adds more miles back than it would have in the past.

Probably a couple of years until the next company car swap by which time eVED will be either established or scrapped, BIK rates confirmed well into the 2030's and I can have a proper conversation about public charging expenses then do the sums again.

and PHEV is a positive step
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This is the key thing to remember. I do thousands of miles a year using zero fuel.

When I do go on a longer trip I can let the car decide how to deploy that 10kWh which can result in 100+ miles at 100 mpg or more. It's a sliding scale and depends on the type of driving (sometimes the battery runs out sooner but the MPG is higher or vice versa) but that is still a decent fuel (and therefore emissions) offset versus running a pure ICE vehicle.
 
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