Soldato
Indeed. 100 18650's cost me £400 !!
I'd imagine a hatchback style vehicle would need a couple of thousand of those
I'd imagine a hatchback style vehicle would need a couple of thousand of those
When are you going fully electric?
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Sounds useful in a world of increasingly low speed limits and citizens obsessed with recording everyone else's driving.
Soldato
Yep. I bought mine while everyone was all doom and gloom that the batteries would only last a few years and they'd all be worthless.
Now, 2 years later I haven't lost a penny on it. If not, it's increased in value.
Always ahead of the curve.
I was also aware of the increasing interest and was keeping an eye on Drive Green stock and when they knocked £1K off the sticker price of an i3 in my price range I immediately phoned them and said I come down and have a look. Took it for a test drive and because it came with a warranty I paid for it and drove it away. Since then I haven't seen anything at a similar price to what I paid and they have been stocking Tesla's too and selling them so they appear to be doing great business.
I am kinda regretting not going for a 94ah (33kw) model but I didn't want to commit too much at the time and 80 miles is twice what I need on a daily basis. This morning just for the experience of relying on public charging I drove down past Swindon into Bristol and charged at the Shell Recharge garage. Couldn't have been easier just present your contactless payment card, select the connector and plug in to charge. The only "drama" was the torrential rain up and down the motorway!
Big engine automatics largely you can just mash the peddle and go though it isn't quite like the surge from an EV. 0-20 on mine can vary a bit depending on how cooperative the turbo feels like being if you just mash the accelerator - "launching" on mine is literally hold it on the brake to 1500rpm (it idles at around 750) and let go.
Soldato
They can record what they want. There's a difference between reaching the speed limit quickly and speeding.
I've never been ticketed for speeding in my life, but I still like going quickly. Short bursts of excitement, not talking about going 100mph here or driving recklessly. Not that I'm saying things wouldn't be more fun with higher speed limits...
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Soldato
Honda E test drive
Just ordered min countryman S E (PHEV). Next car will be fully electric but felt the charger network wasn't quite there yet and only thing that really appealed was the I-pace and something held me back. New battery from July builds gives 30% more range and brings under the 50 g so can do first year write down
Soldato
Very tempted to put my name down for one but know I'm a bit late so will probably have to wait until late next year so may just upgrade to a bigger battery i3 early next year.
Unfortunately to temper the joy I get from the Fully Charged channel it's also sobering to see talks like the one below from the Fully Charged show. The video will follow later on the main channel.
The talk details how type particulates are entering the eco system and how damaging they can be. EVs use tyres faster on average and the tyre industry has done nothing to help the situation by not developing longer lasting and less harmful tyre compounds. Sound familiar.
Having listened to the talk I'm a bit less smug about having switched. I've also recently realised how fast my i3 is using up the rear tyres from the instant torque and I suspect constant regen braking too and they are not cheap to replace. I've modified my driving as a result and have recently achieved my best overall efficiency when commuting to work.
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I listened to it as a podcast, interesting stuff and makes a lot of sense. Once they have finished their measurement studies it will be interesting to see what differences there are between urban and rural sites. I would have thought breaks would be the biggest culprit of particulates in cities due to the start stop nature at low speeds but it looks like I will be very wrong on that front.
Generally speaking a more durable tyre offers less grip. I’m not sure customers of high end/output cars will be onboard with that. But the general move to better labelling for durable tyres will be welcomed by most consumers as that tends to be the main motivator. That said most people just turn up at a tyre place and say ‘4 of the cheapest round black things please’ and pay little attention to anything else.
Proof will be in the pudding if they can develop the tyre they said they can. Not sure about the by mile model is something that will be receptive to the general public and the car market in general (another subscription, pain if your trading in/selling). If you are paying by mile what’s stopping you from just ‘burning rubber’ everywhere?
EVs can be ‘tamed’ to save the tyres but we know people generally don’t want that. You can drive an EV in away that doesn’t nuke the tyres already but that’s down to individuals right foot.
It may be something we see through future regulation but again it’s something that could be remapped back out again. Education is likely a better first step.
Generally speaking a more durable tyre offers less grip. I’m not sure customers of high end/output cars will be onboard with that. But the general move to better labelling for durable tyres will be welcomed by most consumers as that tends to be the main motivator. That said most people just turn up at a tyre place and say ‘4 of the cheapest round black things please’ and pay little attention to anything else.
Proof will be in the pudding if they can develop the tyre they said they can. Not sure about the by mile model is something that will be receptive to the general public and the car market in general (another subscription, pain if your trading in/selling). If you are paying by mile what’s stopping you from just ‘burning rubber’ everywhere?
EVs can be ‘tamed’ to save the tyres but we know people generally don’t want that. You can drive an EV in away that doesn’t nuke the tyres already but that’s down to individuals right foot.
It may be something we see through future regulation but again it’s something that could be remapped back out again. Education is likely a better first step.
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I bought my Leaf November 2017 with a reasonable amount of tread on the tyres. April 2018, I replaced the lot as they were near minimum. And I've just bought another new set as again, they're near the minimum. I've done about 22k miles since purchase.
Not no-name budget tyres either. Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance (admittedly not the best out there, but they've been very well priced both times I've purchased).
The Leaf is particularly bad though. It has (unacknowledged) issues with the rear suspension which result in uneven tyre wear. One side of each rear tyre has a few months of wear left in it. I'll get the new ones rotated after 6 months I think.
I've also started to tame my driving a bit. In part, that's due to having a baby. But also due to the tyre wear, and the realisation that the car still has plenty of power in Eco mode. I don't really need to hoon it off the line every time I come to a stop. And the power is still there in Eco mode, as the car has a two stage pedal; push it past the first stop point and you get full power regardless).
Not no-name budget tyres either. Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance (admittedly not the best out there, but they've been very well priced both times I've purchased).
The Leaf is particularly bad though. It has (unacknowledged) issues with the rear suspension which result in uneven tyre wear. One side of each rear tyre has a few months of wear left in it. I'll get the new ones rotated after 6 months I think.
I've also started to tame my driving a bit. In part, that's due to having a baby. But also due to the tyre wear, and the realisation that the car still has plenty of power in Eco mode. I don't really need to hoon it off the line every time I come to a stop. And the power is still there in Eco mode, as the car has a two stage pedal; push it past the first stop point and you get full power regardless).
Soldato
That's strange - my tyres have lasted really well. I'm not surprised the Goodyear's haven't lasted though. Grip and Performance is almost directly opposite to longevity. I've used the same tyres on every car I've had, and they've worn no different on the Leaf than any of the other cars.
Soldato
It may come down to driver style and circumstance. I have a couple of routes to work and the one that is mostly dual carriageway has one section with 7 consecutive sets of lights so lots of regen braking and accelerating. I was definitely playing a bit to ease the boredom and would rarely let anything lead me away from the lights. As a result the rears were not going to make 10K miles so I've just consciously altered my driving to either match normal traffic or follow cars on left lane.
The i3 only has a choice of two tyre makes being so tall and skinny so I'll switch from Nangkang to Bridgestone to see if that makes any difference.
Soldato
Ah, I thought you meant on the leaf. I can imagine the i3 going through tyres quick. Lighter, more torque, and really skinny tyres.
Soldato
Yeah previously I kept tripping the traction control light and not just pulling away from stop. So I've modified my driving style and have gone from 4.5 mi/kwh to 5.1 mi/kwh on my commute. Mostly dual but no faster than 60 mph which is fine for a fairly short 18 mile commute route each way.
One common gripe on the i3 is the over sensitive pedal when in comfort (call it normal) which is the default mode when pressing Start. The ECO PRO mode is just a more pleasant way to drive overall so it's second nature now for me to press Start and then the mode button.
Soldato
I'm borrowing a Zoe at the moment, done 150 miles in it since Tuesday. I love the effortless driving of it and definitely want an electric car, just don't think I'll end up in a Zoe.
On our work car scheme the Zoe and i3 are within a few quid a month of each other so I've asked BMW to borrow a i3 for a few days. I think the i3 is the more interesting car.
On our work car scheme the Zoe and i3 are within a few quid a month of each other so I've asked BMW to borrow a i3 for a few days. I think the i3 is the more interesting car.
I just watched the video on this, am I the only one that isn't impressed?
The car its self looks great but to me it feels completely form over function. It feels very much a compliance car to meet the new EU emissions regulations coming down the pipe rather than a serious vehicle programme.
I mean its 2019 and to be releasing a car with a battery this small is just...
I get that its a 'city car' (hate that term) but even I wouldn't recommend anyone actually buy one at this price. If it was well under £20k (e.g. £16k-£18k) then it might make a good buy as a second car but they have loaded it full of tech so that's never going to happen. It has the same range as a Gen 1 Leaf (30kwh) that was released in 2015, come on Honda you can do better....
TL DR a Zoe ZE50 is a far better buy for less money.
Just picked up a Kona EV Premium SE. The Mrs absolutely loves it, no company car tax next year, it's rapid and it does 300 miles on a charge which will mean a charge once a week ish for her. She even likes maximum regen setting much to my surprise.
Charger network seems okish but can't see us ever having to use it with that range as I've got a dirty diesel Navara for the long trips and a 7kw charger on the house.
Charger network seems okish but can't see us ever having to use it with that range as I've got a dirty diesel Navara for the long trips and a 7kw charger on the house.
Soldato
Zoe gets picked up today. I've done 255 miles in 4 days. Charged it twice for free on public chargers. Averaged 3.6 miles per kwh total.
Loved driving it, it's just so easy.
Loved driving it, it's just so easy.
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Considering changing my car to a renault zoe, as my vw up is getting on a bit and only use to go to town an back a couple of times a week. So you can either lease the battery or pay about £6k to own it outright i assume unless you plan to keep the car based on my mileage for about 6-7 years its not worth to pay to own the battery and just lease it?
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I absolutely love this car, would have had my name down but for the really really short range.
Hopefully in the next year or two they bring out an extended version.