Luckypants

True and it seems worse on EVs. The theory goes that EV charge flaps are open longer while charging, getting wet and covered in snow so fail more frequently than on their ICE siblings. I keep my charge flap latch actuator regularly lubed to try to avoid this.

For maintenance it probably has a 'service position' just like most cars do for front wipers that are tucked under the bonnet. As for frost, heated screens....... EVs are capable of running electrical items without being switched on. My ID.4 automatically defrosts front and REAR screens below a certain temperature if pre-heating is activated (which can be automatic itself).

I saw the launch photos and got all huffy about no rear wiper and muddy Welsh roads.... but watched this video and Ginny showed it tucked up in the rear spoiler. I like this car.

Ideal for a lunch stop then. (or a supermarket shop! )

FWIW Sainsburys have their own charging arm that is rolling out rapid charging to it's stores. See https://smartcharge.co.uk/ They are aiming for 100 hubs this year IIRC. That might see something come to your town. As for other supermarkets, AC charging is the wrong model. People don't spend long enough at a supermarket to get a worthwhile charge. At short dwell locations, rapid chargers like Sainsbury are doing is the way forward. It does look like Perth will have an embarrassment of riches in the charging department. Shame that for me it does not fall as a natural stop if heading north of there.

The economics still only work if you can charge at home. For me, the cut-off point is a lot higher as a similar diesel car would do about 45mpg driving around here (this is what my previous Karoq 2.0TDi did), so my cutoff to be better than diesel is 50p/kWh at 3.5 mile/kWh or 15p per mile. I often do better than 3.5 in decent weather but its easy to forget my winter average was 3.4 for October through to end of March. It's very hard to find public charging below 40p/kWh unless you live next door to a Tesla charger so public charging is something I manage to avoid most of the time.

I've never got close to WLTP (or other methodology) MPG figures in my ICE vehicles, so why would I as a rational person, expect to achieve them in BEV? The nonsense is the people who overlook this when assessing BEVs and concluding they are rubbish as they don't meet WLTP 'in the real world' but conveniently forget their diesel does not do 70mpg 'in the real world'. Like Stonekeeper, I use them as a comparison tool.

I think the final count is now 69 sites open to all.

Having a lot of difficulty working out a 2.5p per mile petrol figure. You either get VERY cheap petrol or your car does over 200 mpg? Petrol is £1.50 a litre here.

Well mine is not. Long story mentioned many times before, my smart meter does not work (and DCC / Government stink.) I'm on the daily rate Tracker tariff as a courtesy from Octopus until smart meter coverage is fixed enabled in my area. Tracker has been averaging just below 20p/kWh If I ever get to the nirvana of a working smart meter the economics change in my favour. Until then the discussion is moot for me. I was giving my two penn'orth on the discussion as it stood.

I think the cost of charging from solar is a point of view type of argument. On the one hand if I put a solar kWh in my car I don't get paid 15p export, but on the other hand I save around 20p by not paying for it from the grid. Which view is right, am I saving 20p or losing 15p? I like to think I save 15p off the 20p (5p net cost) for every kWh that my car gets from solar. This is how I account for that solar energy on my car cost spreadsheet. I've kept track of every kWh I've put in the car, so I don't delude myself over what going EV has cost me. Its working out about even costs with previous diesel car including monthly finance payments - EV lower running costs offset by higher finance payments. Finally, just want to say that getting solar PV was not based on having an EV but on a desire to reduce my emissions and reduce my bills in retirement (a few years off yet). We have a plan to make our house as cheap to run as possible to help eek out the retirement funds.

Use wiperblades.co.uk.... They show this as front wipers for Enyaq https://www.wiperblades.co.uk/suv-15-years-2020-to-2024-wiper-blades/aerotwin-plus-ap28u-flat-windscreen-wiper-blade-and-aerotwin-plus-ap18u-flat-windscreen-wiper-blade-twin-pack-wiper-blades - the same as my ID.4 They also show Bosch rear wiper for Enyaq here.. https://www.wiperblades.co.uk/suv-15-years-2020-to-2024-wiper-blades/bosch-a284h-wiper-blade

Did mine yesterday. 🤓

Another 'partnership' starting to bear fruit. A new Osprey hub at a Tesco Extra in Leicester as a result of the site owner (REIT) and Osprey striking a deal for Osprey to provide charging at REIT's retail parks. https://www.ospreycharging.co.uk/post/new-hub-tesco-extra-leicester

Services at last seem to be getting their act together with regards charging. I suspect this is the pay-off to the government Rapid Charging Fund helping pay to upgrade power supplies to MSAs starting to come through.

Shell are putting their charging prices UP when electricity prices are going DOWN. Go figure.... https://www.shell.co.uk/electric-vehicle-charging/public-charging-with-shell-recharge/shell-recharge-pricing.html

.... and causing much excitement amongst the Twitteratti (X-eratti really does not have the same ring to it!) is EV Point installing the first non-Tesla badged V4 superchargers at Uttoxeter. They are operational by all accounts but not yet on Zapmap, Electroverse et al. A new hub using Tesla tech without the need for contact with Tesla. https://electrek.co/2024/03/21/first-non-tesla-branded-v4-superchargers-are-being-deployed/

With new hubs in England opening all the time, useful to post a link to Snax's map of UK hubs to show just how many charging hubs there are now. This does not include the chargers installed in ones and twos about the place which account for a lot of the infrastructure. Much of Osprey and Instavolt chargers are in pairs.... https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1DOswN-GODssM2XmKV4oQ9r-mkGcbGno&ll=54.83169908129373%2C-4.228457999999976&z=6

Tesla have opened yet another hub to all cars, in Bristol this time. Thats 38 open to all, 39 when Thetford reopens after being upgraded. They are now a serious player in the open to all EV charging business.

Tesla is 44p off peak. Significant saving, around 20%.

Tesla have opened yet another hub to all cars, in Bristol this time. Thats 38 open to all, 39 when Thetford reopens after being upgraded. They are now a serious player in the open to all EV charging business.

It's just occurred to me that this has been happening for quite a while at Banbury. There is an Osprey hub (12 Kempower 150kW) right next to the Tesla (12 V3 250kW) chargers open to all - literally 10 feet apart. This has been the case for at least a year, but perhaps ever since the Osprey hub opened? I used the Tesla chargers there twice in September and both times the Ospreys were not in use and Tesla chargers has non-Teslas charging. I just checked and Osprey are still charging 79p while Tesla are 44p off peak, 55p peak. Are the other CPOs willing to tough it out to maintain their high prices?

He seems convinced and has been banging that drum for the past couple of months, but the only price changes I see are upwards (Tesla excepted). It will be interesting to see if anything changes where there is direct competition like shown in the video.

Another SUV style car, stupid for the city. Whoever starts making normal looking small EVs will make a killing. This could have been an electric Fabia with much wider appeal IMHO. The e-UP had long waits for new cars when VW closed the order book (has long waits as still being made to fulfil the order book AFAIK) so the demand is there. Cities are imposing ULEZ / ZEZ across europe so a small EV city car will be in big demand and skoda come up with this. The Dacia Spring will kick this one's butt on price alone.

We found the Kelpies fascinating and spent over an hour looking at them - with the walk to them and coffee we charged for 2 hours there on 3-phase AC.