Luckypants

As I recently found out, you cannot get a Tracker tariff now without a smart meter. Octopus might have class leading tariffs but smart meters are de rigeur to get on any of them. My MP has been working for two years (and me 18 months before that) to try to get smart meter coverage to our rural area. You might want to persue that.

Thanks for the details, you must drive a crazy amount for work. However, you mean getting your TAXABLE income below the 40% threshold, your actual earnings are way in excess if you can 'dump' £30K into a pension. No problem with you doing that, crack on with keeping your money out of the taxman's hands!

How do you manage to get an extra £8k of tax free allowance over the rest of us mere mortals?

@toot Completely agree. In North Wales we have one of the highest standing charges, yet we have one of the largest off-shore windfarms in the UK off the coast. We have two large windfarms just up the road from our village. Like you, I have no objection but why do I pay more for my leccy than other parts of the UK that generate nowt? Even my suggestion that the windfarm community benefit fund money (bribe to objectors) should be used to subsidise the leccy bill of those affected was scoffed at by the powers that be, but was popular with bill payers. Instead, the money is used for grants for 'community projects' that should be funded by the council.

Unable to get a smart meter is one very common reason.

14 in the central island plus two towing charging spots, one below the island and one to the left looking at the photo. The Osprey press release has better shots of the towing bays or go to zap-map and see a photo of one in action (model X towing a caravan)

Fair enough Colin. My experience of a long range EV (77kWh ID.4) in Scotland has been positive. Last summer holiday was around 900 miles in the North around Sutherland and Skye. We frequently travel to the Borders. The situation in North Wales is improving quickly now, especially destination charging - I live in the area so this is first hand.

If you charge at 20% battery you are missing out on a significant portion of your range AND the fastest part of the charge curve.. Much better to get down to 5% or thereabouts for your intermediate charges for a faster journey. I get having a good buffer in the highlands where you might be scuppered if a charger isn't working, but on the major road network it isn't needed.

Exactly that. Software 0561 is version 3.1 according to Google. There were noticeable efficiency improvements with V3 of MEB software, so your 5.1 average is achievable fairly regularly I'd have thought. In reply to your original question, 5.1 is a good average.

I'm not familiar with the Enyaq interface, I have an ID.4 which is very similar. I'd go into settings on the infotainment system then look for a 'system information' item and click on that. On my VW this gives software version and various hardware versions and the sat-nav database version. It was your excellent efficiency figure that prompted me to ask.

Out of interest, what version of software do you have?

I'm speaking from real world experience of a sibling car, not as a dealership employee who has probably not lived with an EV. I've never had projected range of less than 200 miles to a full battery except driving home from Scotland in Storm Dudley with a slow puncture - an extreme case which I would have avoided if at all possible. Winter range (for me) would be 220-250 on the motorway. Therefore I think an Enyaq will do the OP's round trip without a problem, but a 5 hour granny charge would soothe any range anxiety they may feel. However, if the Enyaq really does only 190 miles to a full charge, adding your 30 mile figure by granny charger makes the trip doable without on route charging. I again express the hope an actual Enyaq driver can give us their real world insight on this thread

5 hours on a 3-pin granny charger would add about 12kWh, worth 35-45 extra miles so helpful for peace of mind getting back in one hop.

I would be happy to do that trip in my ID.4 with 77kWh battery without a charge in all but the very worst weather (cold and windy and raining/snowing). ID.4 official range not quite as good as Enyaq since the Skoda has better drag coefficient. I average over 3 miles per kWh even in winter time (last winter average was 3.4 miles/kWh). I would advise making sure you have at least ME3.0 software on the vehicle if buying second hand, there is a noticeable improvement in efficiency with the equivalent to this version of the software on my ID.4 and I now regularly get in excess of 4.2 miles/kWh which was unheard of on earlier version of the software. (e.g last summer average was 3.8, since V3.0 software installed in April - 4.1!) As Toot says, hopefully an actual Enyaq owner will give you their real life experiences of range for better background. Finally, I'm curious as to why you do not want to charge on a long journey? If visiting parents the car is doing nothing while you visit and could be charged then?

Another big-ass car.......

Looks like Skoda are putting the new drive train and bigger battery into the Enyaq, announcing an L&K Enyaq 85 with more powerful motor and bigger battery. https://www.skoda-storyboard.com/en/emobility/enyaq-lk-technical-upgrades-and-extra-elegance/ I'll expect to see it in a facelifted ID.4 soon.

Good to see the evolution. Dread to think what the cost will be..... I think the uprated power will come from the new motor/transmission package developed for, and launched with the ID.7. The figures are very similar. VW are claiming a 50% efficiency improvement in the drivetrain. Additionally, I think they have installed the bigger battery announced for the ID.7 that gives 85kWh useable (92kWh gross) energy, hence the Enyaq 85 moniker. The claimed faster charging backs that up. The ME4.0 software also looks like the same software as ID.7 given they are trumpeting battery pre-conditioning, VW were making a big deal of that too. It will be very useful too, as MEB cars are notoriously slow charging in sub-zero temps. I was expecting these tech upgrades to hit VW ID cars first, but looks like Skoda have stolen a march on VW.

Of interest to most of us, Tebay services has started work on upgrading/ adding to the chargers on site. Northbound will get 3 new chargers and southbound 2 new chargers, all dual head so 6 and 4 bays. 300kW chargers or split to 150kW/head if both sides in use. I believe these are being assisted by a battery in a container to supply peak power as the grid connection is not up to this yet (https://nationalhighways.co.uk/about-us/new-charging-systems-to-help-electric-vehicle-drivers-on-our-motorways/). Westmoreland are also installing more chargers at their other sites, details here https://westmorlandfamily.com/charging/ Gridserve have started work on 12 new 350kW chargers at Chester services, scheduled to be live this summer. Hopefully in time for school holidays as the M56 is a major tourist route. MFG opened their latest charging hub at a completely new service station near Thirsk known as Sowerby services. 8x150kW chargers.

How is this a competitor to a Tesla model S? One is a large luxury saloon the other is a 2-seater "sports" car.

Converse to what we think we know from ICE cars, city traffic tends to give better efficiency in an EV, especially if you can be smooth. See the EV database entry for Enyaq 80. I get broadly similar results from my VW ID.4 with the 77kWh battery. (ID.4 is a sibling to the Enyaq) Real Range Estimation between 185 - 380 mi City - Cold Weather * 255 mi Highway - Cold Weather * 185 mi Combined - Cold Weather * 220 mi City - Mild Weather * 380 mi Highway - Mild Weather * 240 mi Combined - Mild Weather * 300 mi Indication of real-world range in several situations. Cold weather: 'worst-case' based on -10°C and use of heating. Mild weather: 'best-case' based on 23°C and no use of A/C. For 'Highway' figures a constant speed of 70 mph is assumed. The actual range will depend on speed, style of driving, weather and route conditions. https://ev-database.org/uk/car/1280/Skoda-Enyaq-iV-80

The 150kW is the power rating of the motor. 150kW=201PS=204HP. It is not related to charging speed.

Trying to keep up with the open hubs is difficult and I've taken to just assuming there is plenty of charging available now. For instance Gridserve now have 18(+) 350kW hubs at motorways. Applegreen are live at Gretna (12 plugs) and Hartshead moor (6 plugs on each carriageway). MFG power are ripping ahead with over 40 100kW+ stations with 6 plugs or more. Osprey have 6 hubs now and a big one about to open in Devon (Salmon Leap at Buckfastleigh). Just thought I'd give the topic a boost as a lot is happening.

Tesla hubs open to all are now up to 24. Aviemore Dundee Adderstone Harrogate Manchester Trafford Centre Flint Mountain Aberystwyth Birmingham Merry Hill Birmingham St Andrews Thetford Cambridge Trumpington Banbury Carmarthen Cardiff Newport Uxbridge Heathrow T1 & T2 Romford Wokingham Grays Sidcup Dorking Guildford Folkestone Eurotunnel Terminal

Dundee opened a new 'charging oasis' hub last week. https://chargeplacescotland.org/network-news/ev-charging-oasis-opens-in-dundee/

Deleted - was talking drivel there.