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Nice write up about EV experience in an E Golf


stanski

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30 minutes ago, RobPhoboS said:

I can't read it aside from the first paragraph and that was enough.

:lol:

Ooh? Is it not letting you get past the first page? Odd? Maybe asking for cookies acceptance?

 

Its actually a good write up of a real life situation with an electric car today. We are a good 5 years off a decent infrastructure before this becomes easier to live with I recon?

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Im sure an EV if you have a driveway to charge up on each evening and do little around town stuff is perfect. People that say they tour the country in it and use it all the time and there is no difference to petrol cars in terms of convenience are just making stuff up to justify the car in my humble opinion. I am not going to waste money now on an EV which I cant charge at home and have insufficient infrastructure for to charge it anyway so will stick to the ICE until they become practical. 

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Interesting little read.

A friend of mine ran a Nissan Leaf for a year as his commuting car to and from work Warrington to Manchester, then an R35 on weekends.

Cost him peanuts to run and coped well with that commute of 100 miles a day.

 

He missed the noise of a combustion engine though.

So, being a true petrolhead he's replaced the Leaf with a Mustang Convertible! :lol:

 

I think you'd approve of him Stan as he's also kept a little MG for the past 30yrs.

Recently acquired a 4 door Aston too!

Keeps an estate Passat for camping duties though.

 

 

Edited by HEADPHONES
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28 minutes ago, HEADPHONES said:

Interesting little read.

A friend of mine ran a Nissan Leaf for a year as his commuting car to and from work Warrington to Manchester, then an R35 on weekends.

Cost him peanuts to run and coped well with that commute of 100 miles a day.

 

He missed the noise of a combustion engine though.

So, being a true petrolhead he's replaced the Leaf with a Mustang Convertible! :lol:

 

I think you'd approve of him Stan as he's also kept a little MG for the past 30yrs.

Recently acquired a 4 door Aston too!

Keeps an estate Passat for camping duties though.

 

 

Haha classic! 

 

When I worked in North Wales I used to pass a Leaf every morning bobbing along on the M56 at 60mph exactly in the inside lane, whilst I tore past him in my '73 aircooled camper (well 65mph anyway!) 

 

I expect he used to watch his charge level like a hawk! :lol:

 

I still have that camper and my old Beetle (since 1986!) So yes I appreciate your mates MG. 

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On 21/08/2019 at 16:35, coldel said:

 People that say they tour the country in it and use it all the time and there is no difference to petrol cars in terms of convenience are just making stuff up to justify the car in my humble opinion.

 

And thats why Tesla out sells everyone else combined when it comes to EVs.

 

We are doing 250 miles on Saturday, in 2 legs - 2hrs driving for a kids party, but that's a different matter all together....

 

Anyways we will one charging stop, on the M4 where there is 16 Tesla Superchargers, I anticipate 0 issues with the trip. Infact with a toddler we will probably be stopping about twice anyways, and given we have 'free for life' Supercharging on our car we will be stopping at M way services with Superchargers and topping up the car for free :).

 

Taking the extended family out to Breacon Becons on Sunday, no charging needed as it'll charge overnight.

 

Bank Holiday Monday we will be coming back to Leicester from Cardiff, will stop again mainly for our toddler.

 

I recon we'll be doing 500 miles this bank holiday weekend in the EV, total fuel costs will be about £5, as at least 50% of the 'fuel' will be provided for 'free' by Tesla Superchargers.

 

Our EV is now coming up to 28k in under 2 years, I think we'll just be shy of 29k at exactly 2 years ownership, thats not bad mileage for any car, certainly a 'town' car ;).

 

48586892282_b518c58bb3_z_d.jpg

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2 hours ago, gangzoom said:

 

And thats why Tesla out sells everyone else combined when it comes to EVs.

 

We are doing 250 miles on Saturday, in 2 legs - 2hrs driving for a kids party, but that's a different matter all together....

 

Anyways we will one charging stop, on the M4 where there is 16 Tesla Superchargers, I anticipate 0 issues with the trip. Infact with a toddler we will probably be stopping about twice anyways, and given we have 'free for life' Supercharging on our car we will be stopping at M way services with Superchargers and topping up the car for free :).

 

Taking the extended family out to Breacon Becons on Sunday, no charging needed as it'll charge overnight.

 

Bank Holiday Monday we will be coming back to Leicester from Cardiff, will stop again mainly for our toddler.

 

I recon we'll be doing 500 miles this bank holiday weekend in the EV, total fuel costs will be about £5, as at least 50% of the 'fuel' will be provided for 'free' by Tesla Superchargers.

 

Our EV is now coming up to 28k in under 2 years, I think we'll just be shy of 29k at exactly 2 years ownership, thats not bad mileage for any car, certainly a 'town' car ;).

 

48586892282_b518c58bb3_z_d.jpg

Cool thanks for that info. What car do you have? I think the key is planning you have it sorted and as someone who is familiar with young family life, you tend to stop more and we have a built in radar to sniff out a suitable cafe for feeding time. :lol:

 

I think for me even though I have a gas guzzler I wouldn't need the same level of planning doing that same trip because of the large number of petrol stations and I know I can stop 5 mins fill up and I am off. 

 

What do you do when the car is charging, nip into a cafe? 

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12 minutes ago, ilogikal1 said:

And everyone knows the best part of any road trip is the hour spent at a motorway services waiting for the car the car to charge. Fun times!

LOL youll have to stop at some point for longer than 5 minutes. The time it takes to get from the car at the back of the busy motorway services to the toilet. Possibly pick up a coffee or magazine to read at the next stop when the little one really needs to go because they thought they didnt need to go during the petrol stop. Okay it might not be as long as 30 minute break to charge though. But offset that with putting another 40 pounds in for fuel. A trade off maybe lol

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2 hours ago, stanski said:

 What do you do when the car is charging, nip into a cafe? 

 

We got a Model X, and will get a Model 3 for my wife at some point.

 

Our daughter is now potty trained by still at the moment its stops every 60-90 minutes to avoid any potential accidents especially if she hasn't done her poo poo that day yet.....we have white leather seats :).

 

Otherwise the X is massive enough we just let her run around in the back as a break. The last few times we stopped was because my wife demanded a coffee, infact we seem to arrive, plugin and charge, than leave before most of the combustion cars around us.

 

When Tesla introduce 250KW chargers here in the UK and along with the rate at which the Model 3 can charge its going to almost too quick for a loo/coffee break.

 

A LR Model 3 can add 120 miles of range in about 10 minutes on a 250KW charger. If you start the day with 300 miles of range, and than stop for 10 minutes to ads another 120 miles of range, that equates to 420 miles of range for the sake of a 10 minute stop.

 

Am sure some people will claim to be able to drive from London to Glasgow non stop, but am not one of them. 

 

https://cleantechnica.com/2019/06/24/tesla-model-3-on-supercharger-v3-adds-50-range-in-under-12-minutes-charts/

 

Whilst as the article the OP shows if you try do it in an eGolf your be taking a very long time!!

 

If your going down the EV route Tesla is by far still the only real choice for long distance trips.

Edited by gangzoom
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2 hours ago, ilogikal1 said:

And everyone knows the best part of any road trip is the hour spent at a motorway services waiting for the car the car to charge. Fun times!

I don't think I've ever stopped for an hour on any road trip in our EV due to charging. Not even close, we barely spend 20 minutes max per stop, depending on what our daughter is up to.

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2 hours ago, gangzoom said:

 

We got a Model X, and will get a Model 3 for my wife at some point.

 

Our daughter is now potty trained by still at the moment its stops every 60-90 minutes to avoid any potential accidents especially if she hasn't done her poo poo that day yet.....we have white leather seats :).

 

Otherwise the X is massive enough we just let her run around in the back as a break. The last few times we stopped was because my wife demanded a coffee, infact we seem to arrive, plugin and charge, than leave before most of the combustion cars around us.

 

When Tesla introduce 250KW chargers here in the UK and along with the rate at which the Model 3 can charge its going to almost too quick for a loo/coffee break.

 

A LR Model 3 can add 120 miles of range in about 10 minutes on a 250KW charger. If you start the day with 300 miles of range, and than stop for 10 minutes to ads another 120 miles of range, that equates to 420 miles of range for the sake of a 10 minute stop.

 

Am sure some people will claim to be able to drive from London to Glasgow non stop, but am not one of them. 

 

https://cleantechnica.com/2019/06/24/tesla-model-3-on-supercharger-v3-adds-50-range-in-under-12-minutes-charts/

 

Whilst as the article the OP shows if you try do it in an eGolf your be taking a very long time!!

 

If your going down the EV route Tesla is by far still the only real choice for long distance trips.

Thanks for the info. Like I said you have planned your journey well , the reporter in the article didn't, just decided to drive bit like a petrol owner, relying on apps etc.

 

I agree Tesla are still in front with infrastructure and technology but I am still not ready to take the leap myself. If I do I will probably convert my old Beetle first for my work commute and stick with the Stang for now. 

 

Haha I do appreciate your dilemmas with your little one. My biggest joy was the moment when I didn't have to lug around the bleeding travel cot! Hated that thing! :bangin:

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2 hours ago, GranTurismoEra said:

Interesting. I suppose they are the new white goods or laptops? 

This is the problem with our throwaway society. Electric/electronic items are being updated, improved or just restyled so quickly they become obsolete within 6 months o purchase?

Electric cars today expensive because they are new, will be tomorrow's Iphone 1, Motorola flips!     

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There will always be new tech especially with the quicker charging vehicles. But its the fear of the battery needing replacing. Guess im no different with the CRZ lol. The IMA battery light flashed up on the dash back in January I was literally ready to get rid. Thats nothing in comparison to having to replace a Tesla battery im sure. Either way they should last 150,000 miles??

 

But also if you live in London. From 2025 it wont matter whether you have a car the runs on Electricity or Hydrogen. Youll be hit with the congestion charge. We come a long way from people driving petrol hybrids exempt from congestion charge back in 2011. From 2025 all cars will be charged.

 

I wont be surprised if they start adding an alternative version of VED to electric vehicles even if its £20, £30 pounds a year. Those government discounts may not be so discounted if EVs become more common

Edited by GranTurismoEra
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Wonderful if you can charge the cars on your driveway but what if they are parked down the road because you dont have the luxury. Remove the home charging element and they are not as convenient - so stand by my previous comment, to say that they are just as convenient is simply not true and exactly what the guy in the video pointed out that not having done the home charge first found himself making extra stops. How would the motorway hike have been if started with 30 miles in the batteries. Driveway charging is essential otherwise it adds potentially hours to a trip depending on its length - what if you drive 500 miles a week on a commute, you will also need to go off and stop at a charge point for an hour and just sit around.

 

I guess it depends what your personal circumstances are - if you have a big driveway fine, if you dont, its inconvenient, by quite some margin.

Edited by coldel
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22 minutes ago, coldel said:

Wonderful if you can charge the cars on your driveway but what if they are parked down the road because you dont have the luxury. Remove the home charging element and they are not as convenient - so stand by my previous comment, to say that they are just as convenient is simply not true and exactly what the guy in the video pointed out that not having done the home charge first found himself making extra stops. How would the motorway hike have been if started with 30 miles in the batteries. Driveway charging is essential otherwise it adds potentially hours to a trip depending on its length - what if you drive 500 miles a week on a commute, you will also need to go off and stop at a charge point for an hour and just sit around.

 

I guess it depends what your personal circumstances are - if you have a big driveway fine, if you dont, its inconvenient, by quite some margin.

Mate I just charge it on my block and hope the asbos find something better to do than set the cable alight. I was driving the other day and saw charging points on an estate near the main road. Anything is possible. Just need the kids to get on board and there'll be no vandalism.

 

Also nipping to cafe for 30 minutes before setting off on the 500 mile trip is possible. But youll have to stop for 30 minutes somewhere to charge up again. Until the 500 mile range battery is made widely available

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31 minutes ago, coldel said:

Wonderful if you can charge the cars on your driveway but what if they are parked down the road because you dont have the luxury. Remove the home charging element and they are not as convenient - so stand by my previous comment, to say that they are just as convenient is simply not true and exactly what the guy in the video pointed out that not having done the home charge first found himself making extra stops. How would the motorway hike have been if started with 30 miles in the batteries. Driveway charging is essential otherwise it adds potentially hours to a trip depending on its length - what if you drive 500 miles a week on a commute, you will also need to go off and stop at a charge point for an hour and just sit around.

 

I guess it depends what your personal circumstances are - if you have a big driveway fine, if you dont, its inconvenient, by quite some margin.

 

On 08/08/2019 at 10:16, coldel said:

Maybe move to a nicer area ;)

Edited by davey_83
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I would love to have a driveway, but then would be living miles out of London which makes commuting much worse - my time is more important than a driveway, and to be honest where I live is absolutely perfect with a great network and wouldn't want to swap that for the sake of a driveway!

Edited by coldel
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