USA/Canada is far too big and fuel over there is so much cheaper. EVs definitely wouldn't be the best tool for long distance there. I don't know how Tesla sell anything, in some places I think the cost of the electricity is more than petrol!
Not really, vehicles just need a bit more range than most are now for where I live and what I do. People that live on the east and west coast don't need much more range than most Europeans. It's the people that live in the middle that really need more range, they travel further and it's less populated so there's a lot less charging infrastructure available (and that will probably stay relatively similar in future).
EV still makes economic sense in most locations too. I've calculated I could save myself around $1000 a year by going EV, which is why I'd be willing to pay more for an EV up front.
Obviously servicing your car yourself is going to be far cheaper and nothing is going to compete with that. But for people who buy new/nearly new anyway there are significant savings. I tend to buy new as my mileage is quite high and I like the peace of mind. If we're talking older cars then they're always going to be cheaper as the EV tech hasn't been here for very long. So yes, a second hand car you service yourself will wipe the floor costs wise
Interestingly on the Tesla service schedule - if you don't follow it they still honour the warranty. It's completely optional. It could never see a service in its life and they wouldn't care if it's within warranty. I think that's pretty impressive and there's no petrol/diesel manufacturer who would do the same. Although if it's on finance they do require it to be serviced then to keep residuals up, and yes it's very expensive. But then we're talking about a car which in its slowest form does 0-60 in 4.2s, they're not designed to be cheap. I'm interested to see what the Model 3 cost in the UK will actually be and what servicing that will be like.
I wasn't specifically talking about older/used cars. My car for example is less than a year old. The point I'm making is outside the oil change the actual service requirements for it are no different to that of an EV up until a relatively major service at 100,000 miles (for which a Tesla will have had two battery coolant flushes to the one engine coolant flush). It still needs to go in once or twice a year, at about the same intervals as the Model S (which incidentally you won't be able to get extended warranty on if you don't get it serviced at the 12,500 mile intervals). The difference is you can get your ICE serviced by any mechanic, which isn't the case at the moment with an EV.
The point was that a blanket statement for all EV's about maintenance costs being low is incorrect. They vary significantly. As the Tesla example shows some may well cost more than the equivalent ICE vehicle (especially if you argue that the Model 3 is supposed to compete with mainstream saloons, as well as those from premium marques). It all very much depends on the specific vehicles being compared, the specific deals available on those vehicles and the way you plan on maintaining them.
I wasn't aware, no. I know some vehicles like Range Rovers have an option of an auxiliary heater to heat the cabin in winter (which is horrendously fuel inefficient). But why would any manufacturer let you remote start a car when it could be in an enclosed space?! That sounds like a huge potential liability. People manage to kill themselves by leaving a car "running" in the garage with stop/start, it would be a nightmare if you could start it remotely as well. I've never heard of that being possible without unofficial modifications. Happy to be proven wrong, though.
EVs won't pre heat/cool if the battery is low. The heater doesn't use much power really - not compared to the traction motor. As with all things it won't suit every situation. I'm waiting for the first Tesla to get a smashed window to release a dog with the owner leaving the climate on and other people not realising
It's pretty common in North America and there are numerous vehicles in the UK as well (just not as common because it's not usually cold or hot enough to really need it). It used to be just a button on the key fob, but now most companies have apps available as well, for example Jaguar
In Control,
Ford Pass and numerous others.
EDIT: Here's Jaguars implementation of the App, which is almost identical to Ford and presumably BMW, Audi and the others.
2.51s
Presumably they hope someone sensible enough to have a driving licence is going to be sensible enough not to gas themselves!
Anyway I'm just having some fun arguing the other side. I'm a petrolhead deep down (or I wouldn't be here!) and enjoy time on track (where EVs are useless). I'm also tempted by an i30 N for that and some variety so I'm never going to sit here and say "burning fuel is bad mmmmkay". But so far day to day considering my i3s was originally more of a cost saving exercise I'm enjoying it WAY more than I expected and think the way it drives suits the road really well. If we all had the same opinion life would be boring, just adding some balance to the arguments
I might bring it to the motors meet next month to try and dispel a few myths!
I'm not the other side. I'm a real proponent of EV's, but I also think there are a lot of myths and misconceptions spread about them (from both "sides" - things like batteries dying at low mileage, but also the apparent low maintenance costs). If there was an EV that fitted my criteria I would have bought one by now. It's just everything is taking so long!
EV's aren't a revolution as such, they're just another form of transportation that (like Petrol, Diesel, propane, Hydrogen etc) will influence the transportation sector, but won't necessarily be the best solution for everyone at any particular time. The future, just like the past and the present, is going to be a mix of different types depending on specific requirements.
