EV general discussion

steve5424 said:
On the subject of stopping to recharge and get food or a coffee etc.

Aren't you supposed to take a break every 4 hours or so anyway to keep yourself fresh and awake? A 20 break after a couple of hundred miles can't really be all that inconvenient.
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The recommended stop is at every two hours. That gets you pretty much at least 100 miles on UK A and roads and motorways. Obviously there are the 'drive until I drop' drivers who can drive from Edinburgh to London only chowing down on McNuggets while doing 95 in the 'fast lane' but then there are those who fall asleep and crash and die.

Charging an EV will become less relevant and annoying as ranges increase and for the vast majority of drivers the stop will be a welcome break on a monotonous and tiring drive.
 
forensic evidence off of the steering wheel, after the crash, showed dna that could only have come from a KFC zinger chicken


lordrobs said:
I'm quite looking forward to being that old fart in his stupid old sports car. Even if it does cost me £3/L (+ inflation) to fuel it.
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corollary - petrol stations could become as crowded/rare as chargers, exponential decline - or, what legal provisions do you need to store petrol at home in quantities.
even now the game of synchronising refill with passing by a station with an acceptable price per litre is challenging.
 
jpaul said:
corollary - petrol stations could become as crowded/rare as chargers, exponential decline - or, what legal provisions do you need to store petrol at home in quantities.
even now the game of synchronising refill with passing by a station with an acceptable price per litre is challenging.
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My comment was a bit tongue in cheek. I'm in a good place at the moment with my 'toy' car;
  • It isn't worth enough to worry about whether I can justify keeping it
  • It isn't depreciating
  • Maintenance costs are next to nothing as I do the basics myself
  • I have no sentimental attachment to it so am willing to offload it whenever the mood takes me
I'm sure there will be a point where the novelty of driving an ICE wears off because it becomes too difficult and/or expensive to do so but realistically I can't really see me keeping it long enough for that to be a consideration. It is in extremely good shape mechanically for a 25 year old car but I don't really have any desire to be trying to keep a 50 (or even 40) year old car on the roads.

If / when I do get rid I'm just hopeful there will be a car out there that ticks the boxes I have for a "fun" car. I couldn't give a monkeys about 0-62 times but I do appreciate nimble handling and low weight. Mazda stuck their toe in the water with an EV with modest battery pack size and got it well and truly bitten off by the motoring press because the 124 mile range wasn't deemed enough (to be fair though it wasn't like that small battery really kept the mass down at a fairly hefty 1600kg) so I don't hold out too much hope of an EV mk1 / mk4 MX5 equivalent.
 
The CX5 was just poor though, a car that size shouldn’t be hamstringed by such a poultry range, particularly when all their competitors are delivering cars that aren’t.

The days of being about to throw together a 100 mile compliance car ended years ago, that’s why they got a battering for it. Even the little e-Up gets more range and that thing is tiny.

I’d love a little MX5 EV, it would be a day 1 purchase for us. 50kwh battery and 200-250hp would probably be plenty for a car that size. It will be heavier sure, but not by that much.
 
No. IMO. Most are big family SUVs as they are more profitable.

Model 3 is about as close as it gets IMO and it’s not really comparable.

There are no drop tops either which is part of what makes the MX5 what it is.
 
Closest at the moment would probably be the Model 3 performance trim. That gives you Track Mode for when you want to get a bit race-y :)

In the small roadster shape like the MX5 though... I don't think there are any EVs in that category yet. The only one that's known to be on its way is the Tesla Roadster but that's ££££.
 
There is the Rimac or what ever it’s called if you have a spare few million knocking around.

The new Tesla roaster is vapourware currently. The old one is a stripped out lotus if your into that sort of thing but as the above person said, they cost £lol and you can’t really rapid charge them anywhere.
 
Ah yeh the Tycan and the GT etron, although I would put them more as cruisers/GT cars as they are very refined.

Very fast sure, perhaps too refined to have the fun factor of an MX-5.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
I’d love a little MX5 EV, it would be a day 1 purchase for us. 50kwh battery and 200-250hp would probably be plenty for a car that size. It will be heavier sure, but not by that much.
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The appeal for me though is being able to wring every last bit of my 130hp out of my NA while buzzing it through the gears and having a big grin on my face while still being within the speed limit. An EV version will either be - plant right foot, count to 5 and... you are already over the speed limit. Or if they try and match the power to weight ratio of the original - plant right foot... is anything actually happening?

While totally pointless I quite like the idea of the EV conversions that are currently available for the MX5 that keep the clutch and gearbox in place. I'll have to do my own engine sounds though :D
 
Puzzled said:
Are there any electric "drivers" cars at the moment? Anything that has the fun factor of say the mx5?
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I can't say I'm a "driver" as much as some people but the Model 3 really is a fun drive. The steering wheel is tiny, it wants to be driven with a bit of gusto (I find). I had a Model S on loan for the last 4 weeks and although it was faster on paper (almost 1.5s quicker 0-60) it just wanted to be driven like I was a chauffer.

Have you test driven any (any EVs that is)?
 
My model 3 performance back end will step out if I get on the accelerator too early, but generally it doesn't feel like it's on the edge. Acceleration is fairly linear and there is a complete lack of gear change.

I have track mode, but not messed with it on public roads.

So the only real thrill is the acceleration and throttle responsiveness, the later is in a different league to ICE. Otherwise it's just far too capable for public roads, instantly taking you above the speed limit.
 
yes - the BMW I3 looks a fun (several on Cambridge roads I see people nipping around in) rwd helped by carbon elements in chassis - pity the mini e didn't inherit that,
maybe upcoming R id3(with DCC/variable shocks too) will like the mx30(lordrobs said) sacrifice some battery range to lower the weight, to the benefit of handling.
Even for a sub 200bhp rwd bmw ice, once you load it up with 4 uk adults ( the weight premium you'd pay for batteries on an ev ) the fun of going round corners is blunted.

It must be time to discuss hydrogen again - but once they improve fuel cell power output - mirai tank 90kg, fuel cell 60kg
( https://www.toyota-europe.com/download/cms/euen/Toyota Mirai FCV_Posters_LR_tcm-11-564265.pdf interesting that they discuss cold start/-30C power availible)
maybe that tech can see weight improvements for sports car applications, as well as long range.
 
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