gangzoom

Yes I am, but have never had an accountant, never put a single £ on the stock market, have never claimed or tried to calim any tax relief of any kind, and have never voted for a party that see tax avoidance as a valid career. If you work hard your sold be rewarded and pay your due to society through taxation, but the entire banking system is setup to help those who can avoid paying tax. I keep on getting told we should get an accountant to reduce some of our tax bill, but if you can afford to pay tax than why should you try to get out of it?? Even MPs have admitted pretty much the entire accountancy industry is built around the principle of tax avoidance. Surely its perverse those who have the most in society can also access services to enable them contribute the least (in relative terms)? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-31147276

Over 70% of the forum going for Tory!! Gosh this place must be full of well heeled people. I cannot think of a worse person to be in charge than a former accountant with a spouse who is a city banker....

We just completed Lovely kitchen, massive garden etc etc, bit I love most tough... Garage with powered doors big enough to swallow the family wagon with no issues!!

Or a X5M, I use a used one is just over £40k. Humm but I suspect it'll make the Z feel like a Prius when you arrive at the pumps!!

I never quite got why SUVs are so popular, but after owing one for 3 weeks I wouldn't go back to a 'normal' car, especially if you have kids. Having extra space for kids rubbish makea life so easy when it comes to packing. We went to see the grandparents this weekend, previously packing was like a jigsaw puzzel, but this time literally just threw everything in and went. Didn't even have to dismantle the feeding chair or trike. Just make sure the car you get actually has space inside. Alot of the more 'stylish' SUVs aren't that big inside which kinda of defeats the point. You might also want to think about 6/7 seater options if you really are planning kids and this will be the family wagon. Been able to transport extra adults/kids in comfort is another thing I'm really loving....and trust me your own parents will suddenly want to see you so much more once sprogs arrive!! Also don't be worried about size. I taken mine every where, even on unclassified roads in the Brecon Beacons with bankholiday traffic it was fine, and parking hasn't been an issue either .

Ended up doing over 100 miles in the hills with family on board. The car was flawless, lovely roads, nice scenery

Hydrogen fuel cell cars HAVE to use hydrogen liquid form, but pure hydrogen molecules want to chemically react with everything hence doesn't exist in nature apart from in the middle of stars where the gravitational mass keeps it in place. To get pure hydrogen to liquid form you have to compress it to 700bar or 10,000 PSI. That's not a typo, 10,000 PSI is equivalent to a force of 700tons/sq foot, that's roughly the same as two fully loaded 747s compressed into the size of 2-3 cerale boxes!!! Frankly you need your head checking if you think these attributes make liquid hydrogen the 'ideal' fuel to replace petrol.... Oh and all this is bound by the laws of physics, no clever boffin is going to find a way to suddenly over come the inherent instability of hydrogen. The thought existing petrol stations can be simply 'converted' to manage hydrogen instead of liquid petroleum is the biggest fake news and lie spun by oil companies regarding hydrogen fuel cell cars. Currently hydrogen fuel stations costs between £2-4 million each to build, and thats without on going maintenance or hydrogen distribution costs. That compares to about £10k for an EV rapid charger install which has zero ongoing costs aside from electricity. The reason oil companies love spreading love for hydrogen is because it keeps them relevant. If everyone fueled their cars from home why on earth would anyone go to a Shell/BP forecourt?? But even big oil isn't stupid enough to waste their actual money on hydrogen, Shell has been talking up hydrogen for decades but yet to act by installing hydrogen stations, but guess what Shell is doing https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/31/shell-ev-chargers/

^Charging cable locks automatically, if anyone tries to pull it alarm goes and I get an txt message on the phone. For ultimate laziness even the charge port is motorised, it opens and closes automatically .

Taking it up into the Brecon Beacons tomorrow, off to Manchester next week, than got a road trip up to Scotland planned before summer.....At this rate I'll be hitting the 50K mile new car warranty limit pretty soon!! But who cares, cars are made to be driven and our is X most certainly been put to good use, no AutoPilot rubbish for me .

Rear doors work as advertised in tight spaces

Did our longest M-way run in the X lastnight, curise control was set at 67 pretty much the whole way, climate control set to 21 degrees, when we arrived at Cardiff outside temp was 6 degrees. Did a quick 10 minute 'splash and dash' at Hoopwood services which has 6 Tesla superchargers as it was our first long trip in the X and I didn't want to get stranded in the hills around Cardiff. As it turned out we arrived with 30% left in the battery so the supercharger stop really wasn't needed and I could have driven faster. Looking at the numbers 100%-0% in the X world yield a range of 180miles when driven at legal M way speeds over some reasonable rolling hills when coming down the M50/A40. In summer I suspect 200miles easily doable. Also realised I've now done 1400 miles in less than 3 weeks, must be a sign I like driving the thing .

I think the Russians have more than enough nuclear war heads to point several at every single city in Europe and have plenty left for spare!! Nuclear weapons are the only reason we haven't had WWWIII, total utter annihilation is a great deterrent. If it does happen, who cares, what you do at that point will mean bugger all. Personally I rather get engulfed in a massive fire ball than limp around with third degree burns waiting to die from radiation poisoning/starvation/infection. oh wait, I forgot my car comes with a feature just for this kind of situation, so maybe I'll just go and drive to the nearest solar farm, plug in, stick on some music like The Ink Spots - Fallout style and watch the impending end of the world through the massive front windscreen......It'll be great till Spotify goes down, the nuclear winter starts and than the car runs of charge .

Just don't go buying a BMW!! Apparently this is a 'club meet' and not just a photo of the local car park

I was saving up for a F10 M5 or XJ supersport to replace my 335i, even had the Quattroporte on the list. My wife than went and bought a Lexus IS300H hybrid after nearly going for a petrol superchargered XF. I wasn't sure about the IS initially, it seemed like a Prius in drag, but after a quick test drive the 'EV' mode really intrigued me, moving around with no noise just seemed so bizzar. As Mitz will tell you at the time I was throwing money onto the 335i, and nearly pressed the button on some hybrid turbos aiming to hit 450bhp without going meth/upping boost too much. Than out of the blue I noticed a thread on Pistonheads called 'Nissan Leaf deals' https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=247&t=1490643 I took a quick look and it turned out for less money than a pair of turbos I could try one of these EV thingys for 2 years....I also started to look at Tesla, but there was no way I was about to drop £50k+ on an electric car built by some Americans with little track record. I than booked a 48hr test drive in a Leaf and the rest as they say is history I always believe action speaks louder than words, life is for living and trying different things. I've been really lucky to have owned some amazing petrol cars, and will remember fondly all the experiences. But am now also more excited about the future of the car as I have ever been.... I can see why people get worried, skeptical, even angry about EVs, but trust me, as a formal petrol addict all I can say is there is life beyond the forecourt and it really isn't all that bad . Oh and owners are just as keen to gather in random car parks on a sunny weekend to look at different coloured versions of their own car as some of you guys!! Hydrogen fuel cell cars like the MIRAI though, sorry but I rather take the bus than be associated with that monstrosity. My feelings towards fuel cell cars are probably as strong as some people on here towards EVs, I've simply yet to hear a single fact about fuel cell cars that make scientific sense rather than marketing BS, and this thread hasn't changed that.

^Nice advert, expect hydrogen isn't a fuel, it's an element, like carbon. What's the difference between graphite and diamond? Both are made from carbon. Saying hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe therefore makes a good fuel is like saying turning graphite into diamond is easy because both are made up of carbon. The distinction between fuel and energy is simple physics, if you cannot understand the difference between the two than maybe that explains why you think Toyota has some how made a magical car that generates energy from thin air using the magic of a fuel stack- which by the way is essentially a catalyst.

Where/how do you get the pure hydrogen that is needed for the fuel stack??? The only place in the natural world where pure hydrogen exist is rather difficult to access....Icarus apparently tried to get to that place but that didn't work out too well for him https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion Where as electricity, you can literally get that from a sack of spuds...But I admit your need a lot of sacks to power a car . Actually just thinking it through if you really follow through the path of energy transfer, a battery powered EV that charges up using electricity generated from a solar panel is by definition a hydrogen fuelled car. Since hydrogen is what fuels the sun, so in a round about way I agree, hydrogen as a fuel is the future, but given the sun was also responsible for most of the life on this planet before it died off and became fossilised into a liquid fuel as is every single car that is currently on the road .

How does a hydrogen fuel cell 'produce power' without fuel?? Does it not follow the laws of thermodynamics?? Where does the hydrogen come from?? I did get a free home charger installed courtesy of the UK government, and have access to 'free fuel for life' via Tesla superchargers. Current cost of installing hydrogen fuel stations are between $2.5-4 MILLION EACH, excluding on going running costs. My £250 'free' home charger that ive used to drive 15k with my last two EVs seem somehow that bit for realistic interms of mass public deployment:). The only interesting thing about the MIRAI is how slow, impractical, and irrelevant it is compared to a similar priced EV. As I've said car companies need to see a future in the products they are developing, hydrogen will have a place in niche areas but not for personal transportation. Toyota is struggling sell those things, they have shifted about 800 of cars over the last 12 month globally... Tesla sold nearly that many cars in just the UK last month, and set to hit 100K/year for this financial year. Price clearly isn't the issue holding back sales as the cheapest Tesla starts at £60k. Ultimately if you really believe in hydrogen fuel cell cars do what I did, put your money where your mouth is and buy one and let us know how you get on with it .

^^ For me the Model X has allowed me to pursue the fun of a Sunday morning drive, whilst carrying out the duties of a family load mover and experience something new/exciting all at the same time. If nothing else let me reassure you the good old British B road will be just as much to drive along in future as it is now, the way the X carves through the twisty bits is rather alarming given it's size/weight.....But I very much doubt your be doing it in a hydrogen fuel cell car .

Absolutely agree £60K+ is horrific amount of money to waste on a car, but I've always loved wasting money on cars. Most of our peers waste their money on posh food/cloth/holidays, we choose to waste it on cars instead . I cannot remember ever been as excited about the future of cars as I'm now, I understand some of you guys disagree but its my money to waste/spend..... The MIRAI though I just don’t get, I've looked into all the sale promotions but once you cut through the marketing BS you realise your looking at a technological Dodo.

And here is why hydrogen cars(for personal use anyways) is dead already. Our Model X had a starting price of £64k so pretty similar to the MIRAI, but just significant quicker, can seat 6 instead of just 4. Whilst the MIRAI really is only viable for people who happen to live next to the half a dozen hydrogen fuel stations in the UK, and will never travel more than 150 miles away from a hydrogen fuel station, in under 3 weeks I've covered 1000 miles in the Model X and yet to run the battery down to below 20% charge or even bother to charge it beyond 90%. Our Model X is also the slowest/shortest range car Tesla does, the top spec 100D will do well over 300 miles on a charge and can regain nearly 100miles of range in 10 minutes on a Tesla supercharger. So battery EVs already have more range than hydrogen cars, and speed of recharging on EVs is quickly closing the gap as well. Add in the fact the only local infrastructure needed to run EVs is 1hr of a local electricians time to add a 32amp socket to a house versus about £2 million for a new hydrogen fuel station+running costs, I honestly cannot think why Toyota is still wasting time on the MIRAI, its already dead end tech!! Finally and most importantly whilst alot you guys like to express your opinions on alternative fuel cars I'm actually spending my hard earned cash on these things.... So its people like me Toyota have to persuade to buy the MIRAI. My wifes car will be replaced by an alternative fuel car in the next few years, the budget will be a healthy one - enough for a decent spec iPace if Jag delivers the goods. But we aren't even going to bother looking at hydrogen fuel cell cars for all the reasons stated. Ultimately companies that build these cars still need to make money and as they say 'the customer is always right' sooner or later Toyota will have to acknowledge the simple fact whilst plenty of people (like my self) are spending £60k+ on alternative fuel cars, most aren't even giving the MIRAI a second glance. So even if the engineers at Toyota keep on pushing the tech the guys who hold the purse strings will soon put an end to the whole thing.

Just seen this article it appears the problem face by California and Germany interms of having TOO MUCH cheap electricty is happening here too!! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/04/06/national-grid-pay-power-plants-shut-summer/ So bizarraly the predictions of the UK running out of electricity generation capacity is the complete opposite from the truth, where year on year demand is falling!! Yet our energy bills are going up and the UK government still pushing ahead with building a foreign owned nuclear powered kettle, those guys in Downing street really need to start looking after the national interest first instead of their our share portfolios!!

We are much closer to this than many people realise, California (home to more Tesla's in the world than anywhere else) has just breached the 50% mark interms of solar power generation!! This achievement causes havoc for energy pricing because you cannot simply shut down a traditional power station for a few hours to accommodate the extra solar energy been generated, but at the same time solar/wind energy is FREE power, your not burning natural gas/paying to keep a nuclear power station going. So as a business (which utility companies are) they have the dilemma of trying to work out what to do with all that extra electricity!! The UK may not have much sun, but anyone whos been anywhere near north Scotland will know just how much wind resources the UK has, both on shore and off shore. Combine renewable electricity generation with battery grid storage to smooth out the peaks/trough and we are virtually there interms of free unlimited electricity!! The revolution that is coming to the energy market is going to overshadow even the transition to EVs, which ever way you look at it the oil age is coming to an end, and companies like BP know it which is why they are desperate for hydrogen fuel cell cars to succeed, because at least that way they can claim they are still needed to supply fule for transportation. https://electrek.co/2017/04/07/solar-power-breaks-50-of-california-demand-for-first-time-driving-negative-wholesale-electricity-rates/

Hydrogen fuel cell cars don't solve the problem of energy generation. Hydrogen is an incredibly unstable molecule, it wants to react with everything all the time. Isolating it, storing it, transporting it, compressing it is hugely more complicated than petroleum. It took an electrician 30 minutes to install a 32amp car charger at my house 2 years ago, and that charge rate is enough to fill even the Tesla using nothing but really cheap off-peak night electricity. I plug the car in when I get home and wake up every morning with a fully charged car... Far more convenient than having to find even a petrol station to fill up every week. Hydrogen fuel cell cars are like mini discs, trying to be the future but not able to look beyond the way things were done in the past. Electricity is so easy to generate compared to messing around with hydrogen, and if you have a way store it in a battery why would you want the hassle of putting in extra steps?? The public has already pretty much spoken on hydrogen fuel cell cars versus EVs. Whilst Tesla, GM, Nissan, are shifting 100ks of EVs and soon to shift significantly more as battery prices fall, Toyota is stuck trying to flog their Dodo and with not much success..... The MIRAI maybe expensive but a Tesla P100D is more than double the price, yet still no one is buying the MIRAI whilst Tesla current has a 2 month back order on the P100D even in the US market!!

Whats your financial plan in 2-3 years time?? Buying a car is never a good way to save money if you have a specific financial goal in mind. Even if a R8 doesn't loss money your still spend money keeping the thing on the road. If your waiting for the current RR sport to depreciate than why not just keep your current car for 2 years?? But if you just want a new car don't over think things and just buy what you want, man maths and cars hardly ever make financial sense

And where does the energy needed to extract, transport, store, compress hydrogen come from?? The UK is quite behind the likes of Germany for renewable electricity generation but still, last month at times the day time demand on the grid was LESS than at the middle of the night due to a sunny day and so many people now having solar PV systems. The problem facing the UK grid will soon be the same as Germany, how to manage increasing amounts of renewable energy generation whilst keeping old fashioned powerstations going.... And your not going to like the answer, lets just say batteries are involved . http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/08/26/eight-uk-battery-projects-win-funding-from-national-grid/ http://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/solar_surges_sending_energy_prices_tumbling_in_march_says_platts