Why I won’t be buying an EV anytime soon...

[PaulJ]

This thread seems to have struck a bum note!

[Barry]

Maybe the question is better-asked in this thread.

What's the expected battery life on these things now? We all know battery capacity degrades over time, so at what point in an EV car's life do we expect to have to budget for a replacement set - whether its dealers or private buyers - and what sort of money are you looking at?

From what I’ve read the early Leafs were terrible as they had no battery thermal management.

Most others at worst are at 5% apart from early Tesla’s who only supercharged, I believe Tesla did some over the air fudging to help this but many were affected.

Sensibly run Model S Tesla’s are in the very low 1 digit percentage loss range over hundreds of thousands of miles.

Compared to life expectancy of cars in general I don’t think battery degradation is really much of an issue.

Dave!

That's interesting info, thanks for sharing. I'm just going by my experience with technology batteries where you typically hit a point at 3-5 years where you will need to replace them or suffer performance loss.

Worth remembering that most modern tech doesn't have the same level of battery management that EV have these days, pre-warming, active cooling, having a % of capacity ring fenced so you never actually charge to 100% (it'll say 100% on the dash, but that's not 100% battery capacity). Degradation is pretty minor on current gen machines, in the UK the vehicle itself will be near end of its lifespan before it's a massive issue IMO.

And again, this is purely capacity that reduces, the cars performance shouldn't be affected (you just don't get as far).

[Beany]

What Barry said. A fully managed, heated and cooled EV battery pack ain't the same as a laptop/mobile/torch/e-cig/etc battery - or much else out there honestly.

EV battery packs are quite unique in their management - in fact, I'm struggling to think of anything comparable even the the industrial IT space (datacentre battery backups typically still use lead acid, because known quantity, to my knowledge).

[mr_jon]

Yeah I think nose-mounted chargers may become the norm? It's convenient for our driveway setup; I'd probably have to buy a small extension cable for a rear charge flap. Wing-mounted would be OK.

I'd much prefer the charger at the rear. I always reverse into spaces/my driveway (as should all of you )

Busy road means reversing into the driveway is not an option, and if I did then the cable wouldn't reach the charge port...so, no.

[jamcg]

Wonder how far away wireless ev charging is, would remove all issues of cable location if you just had to park in the right place on your drive

[scotta]

Wonder how far away wireless ev charging is, would remove all issues of cable location if you just had to park in the right place on your drive

With a massive magsafe connector that clunks reassuringly in to place.

[unzippy]

That Continental is crying out for some tippex....

[ZedLeg]

Needs this to show how electric it is

[GG.]

This thread seems to have struck a bum note!

All rather appropriate... You do know what etron means in French...

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GC ... ent=psy-ab

Just watched Harry's latest missive on Youtube last night.

Does really bring home (what we all knew already) that with each EV producing 1.5x the CO2 of a normal car to produce and 100ish g/km of CO2 to run on the basis of current electricity generation, the key benefits are really no local particulate pollution, refinement and cheap running costs... none of which make a jot of difference to global warming...

[mik]

Yes it’s MR2 all over again.

Except that Toyota had the realisation in advance and launched it as the MR for France.

Unlike Audi....

And to your other point on emissions - Harry is spot on. It’s all about how the electricity is produced - and today we are still heavily dependent on gas (very little coal now mind). But this is a focus area, so an EV that exists today will become more environmentally friendly over time.....

I have followed this account for some time.... you see how likely renewables currently bring to the party.

[V8Granite]

About 2 weeks ago I had some really nice running temps on my engine at work, incredibly stable for about 3 days as there was no wind. No extra cooking through the radiators.

It’s how the charging of electric cars is dealt with in those times that is important. Throttling back chargers so you wake up with half the range you want will not be popular at all.

I’m going to install a nice old Gardner in my Gardner and make a fortune between 4:30 and 8:30 each night producing electricity

Dave!

[mr_jon]

Although that balances out with the numerous 100% carbon-free grid days we regularly enjoy during the summer.

Need to up our nuclear game to get through the next 30 years or so, alongside storage (which is likely to include v2g).

[Mito Man]

342g per kWh
Actually it’s still pretty good for an EV, the Tesla will go 3 miles on that in winter which would only be 114 grams per mile. Not sure any ICE car with a 500 bhp would even come close to that.

[simon_g]

Just watched Harry's latest missive on Youtube last night.

Does really bring home (what we all knew already) that with each EV producing 1.5x the CO2 of a normal car to produce and 100ish g/km of CO2 to run on the basis of current electricity generation, the key benefits are really no local particulate pollution, refinement and cheap running costs... none of which make a jot of difference to global warming...

The old apples to oranges comparison of official CO2 (tailpipe) figures for ICE cars vs total process for EVs.

Well-to-tank for liquid fuels can be calculated in various ways but is usually around 500-650g CO2 per litre by the time you put it in your car.

[scotta]

Wheres the map that Harry was talking about that shows your supply information?

[DeskJockey]

Speaking of EVs, from March my wife changes job location which will involve a 34 miles roundtrip commute sideways through London. Public transport is difficult (walk, train, walk/bus, train, bus). At the best of times it is in the 1.5-2 hours range each way (she's worked there before), and missing the staff bus or a train will easily add 30-45 mins to that.

So, we've decided to get another car and an looking at an EV, probably leasing a Zoe. Anyone have experience with the Zoe? Any good places for silly offers? So far it looks like £200ish/month is the standard.

Also, any recommendations for what kind of charger to get fitted to the house? Have room on the drive for it, so can charge at home.

[mr_jon]

Any type2 7kW charger will be fine unless you have solar, storage etc. You'll be eligible for the OLEV grant so, realistically, will only have a choice of a few unless you want to pay more out of your own pocket for a fancy one. Ensure they fit it as a separate board coming off your meter. The Zoe uses the motor for DC conversion so can cause a lot of electrical noise if the charger comes off your consumer unit.

Get the Zoe with the 50kW CCS charge port, it will be more money but worthwhile in and around London. They are French so not the last word in quality but you get what you pay for.

[Rich B]

Get the Zoe with the 50kW CCS charge port, it will be more money but worthwhile in and around London. They are French so not the last word in quality but you get what you pay for.

For £27k I'd be wanting a lot!

[Mito Man]

Once upon a time that got you a Renault Clio V6 in urine yellow. Now a washing machine.

[ZedLeg]

If they did a V6 Clio today it’d be £50k