Luckypants

Thanks! I've checked out ZoomEV and it might be worth the subscription if I used public chargers more. My Google shows that Eon give a year's free sub to ZoomEV, so one to remember if I change suppliers.

Can you share or give a clue on how to find these promotions? I've never heard of Osprey giving 25kWh free!

Agree 👍

No ones buying one at that price.

I think that might be hokum. I'll be surprised if the Elroq is the same price as an Enyaq....

The brake thing is quite common on MEB platform cars. I've had it on my ID.4. Its caused by the partial seizing of the front brake calipers, due to their lack of use in an EV which is the result of most braking being done by regen. It only happens in the last 5 meters or so of braking as regen is doing it's thing until then but the car has to brake quite hard to blend the friction brakes in when coming to rest to overcome the partial seizing. When the brake calipers suddenly move as the brakes 'give' it is felt as 'grabbiness' on the last few meters. The actual solution is a caliper clean / lube to free the brakes and ensure it doesn't' happen again. I had my brakes lubed/cleaned by my trusted mechanic prior to MOT and this will be an annual thing going forward. All decent EV mechanics will suggest a brake service / lube as part of normal servicing. The problem can be mitigated for a while by 'brake clear' procedure. DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK AND WITH DUE CARE FOR OTHER ROAD USERS. Find a good quiet straight bit of road, slightly downhill if possible Get up to 40 mph or so Ensure no traffic behind ENSURE NO TRAFFIC BEHIND Put car in neutral Brake really hard, activating the ABS system (brake pedal will pulse) repeat The ABS activation will rattle the calipers loose and will resolve the grabbiness for a while.

My home temp is 20C, like the car. There is no doubt that different people feel the cold or heat more than others so accounts for variability. My wife would like it marginally warmer and I'd prefer it marginally cooler, so we compromise. Generally I'm in a t-shirt and she's in a jumper. Same in the car.

I have always set my climate control to 21C. Its a comfortable temperature for us nearly all the time. Occasionally the wife 'feels cold' and her side is put up to 22/23 but I've trained her to use the heated seat now, so it happens less often

I would say no, given it only makes a difference on longer journeys. The cabin heating circuit uses a PDC heater (basically an immersion heater) to get initial heat into the system and give instant heat just like the non-heat pump model. The magic happens when there is heat in the system to be 'pumped' after the PDC has done it's thing - so on a longer journey the benefits are felt. If you pre-heat the cabin before setting off, then your miles / kWh figures are definitely better than a non-heat pump model, but the initial heating still has to be powered either from the battery or mains, just those kWhs are not reflected in the miles / kWh figure.

As long as they have a working smart meter.

Agreed with respect to EVs. My point is that the argument over EV haves and have nots is moot until everyone has access to to 'cheap' electricity tariffs through working smart meters. Smart meters are the key to cheaper unit rate electricity and should be available to all so everyone can benefit. this is not an issue exclusive to EV drivers. The reason I put 'cheap' in quotes is that the standing charges for time of use tariffs are far from cheap.

The argument about haves and have-nots with regard to utilising cheap electricity are moot until everyone can have a working smart meter. There are large parts of the country that cannot have smart meters due to connectivity issues. The main reason for this is there is a private monopoly company set up by the Conservatives to control the smart meter network, known as Data Communications Company (DCC). DCC has a target of 98% coverage of population, whereas it should be 100% of the country for it to be an equal opportunity to all. DCC use O2 3G cellular in the south (south of Wigan-ish) and an O2 subsidiary running a long range radio system based on old TV masts for the North. We all know that old UHF TV didn't cover everywhere and if you have an O2 mobile you'll know there are plenty of places with no coverage. In addition, many smart meters already fitted have gone dumb with the 3G switch off or due to malfunction. Suppliers do not prioritise repairs as they are incentivised to replace old meters with smart meters. This 'post code lottery' makes any time of use tariffs only open to the smart meter 'haves', making cheap electricity unavailable to many. I'm hoping Ed Milliband will give DCC and suppliers a metaphorical kick in the gonads to rectify this and come up with a system for universal coverage. I'm sure you've worked out I am without a working smart meter

Thanks to George for reminding me of this thread though! Seems the ID.7 is a good big(ish) Estate with the ID.7's good efficiency. Shame about the price, but there have been some great lease deals....

What have BMW got to do with ID.7? Apart from some see the i5 Touring as a competitor.

They were just the same with the Enyaq, but ended up delaying the launch so as not to steal the ID.4's thunder. I couldn't wait any longer and got an ID.4....

Not a pop at you, but the inequity of those prices compared to mine - when i live just down the road from a bloody big windfarm and you live miles from any renewable cheap generation. You should pay more for your lecy than me, just down to 'transport costs'. I know Scotland feels aggrieved by this too. Your standing charge is 25% cheaper than mine! Night rate (23:30 - 05:30): 7p / kWh Day rate (05:30 - 23:30): 24.54p / kWh Standing charge: 64.97p / day

Kia EV3 road tests coming through...

The exact point I made at the start of the thread (albeit related to ID cars). In this case AC refers to AC current (on-board charger) rather than air conditioning which is the normal use of "AC" with respect to cars. I hope this fixes things permanently for you both.

When comparing I spotted ID.7 is 400mm longer than ID.4 and 10mm wider. Not much in the width but length difference is considerable. Given the ID.4 is already 300mm longer than my previous Karoq, you can see why I'd run out of space. Enyaq is slightly longer than the ID.4. Maybe the upcoming Elroq will be similar dimensions to a Karoq and be a more compact alternative.

Same here, but ID.7 is too big. Its longer and wider than my ID.4 so will struggle to fit on the drive and be more awkward on the lanes around here. After my car was hit by the bin lorry while on my drive, I like my cars to be tucked well onto the drive. However, when I played with the numbers, an ID.4 of similar spec to the ID.7 tourer was similar money on the lease and cheaper than my PCP from 2021. An Octavia/Golf sort of EV estate is really what I want. I tried the Astra and it was a bit pants inside but maybe that's because my ID.4 is nice....

Not a bad price if ready to move on a new car. My sister paid a grand more for a 6 month old one last year, so she's not going to be best pleased. Leasing prices are coming down, probably due to volume discounts by the manufacturers. Lease prices are looking more attractive than PCP presently. I could get an ID.7 tourer for £90 less than I was paying for the ID.4 PCP in 2021.

The great thing about Bjorn's tests are they are consistent. Always the same GPS speed over known routes. makes for easy comparison between cars. 1000km challenge is at 130kph for all cars, so favours cars with good aerodynamics and efficient motors. This is probably why Tesla always do well but the new ID.7 saloon also did well in the test for the same reasons.

Seen this?

Had to google Cairnryan ferry - its always been Stranraer to me.....