Luckypants

I have found over the past 3 summers that air-con cooling uses far less power than heating the cabin. It is rare to see power use for aircon above 0.7kW for sustained periods and normally less than 0.5kW. Air-con power consumption does go higher when cooling a hot cabin, but that can be mitigated by opening the windows until the cabin cools. Whereas heating the cabin can start at a power draw in excess of 5kW on very cold days and often remains in 2-2.5kW region maintaining temperature. Heating an uninsulated metal box is really a fool's game and the heat just leaks out.

Dave takes on Arnold Clark....

I've not posted here for a while as its hard to keep up with all the new hubs opening. However, here is one of note - the largest single operator hub in the UK. The new Instavolt hub at Winchester. Still at those prices, I doubt they'll be busy.

I had my smart meter activated before Christmas (long story) and I'm now on Octopus Intelligent Go tariff which means the car is charged with electricity priced @7p/kWh. That gives me 2.25p / mile currently and that will improve as the weather does, On the SVR price before that it was around 6.5p / mile. both are significantly less than my previous Skoda Karoq which would be 14.7p / mile on current local prices.

200k mile Tesla still good...

Did you have to use their app? Did you need to pre-book?

More vapourware. Not even a complete interior. VAG and their trailing of models not even off the drawing board is annoying,

Saw my first 25-plate car yesterday, it was an EV. A Peugeot E-3008 charging at Aldi (probably first ever charge)

Indeed and as an owner of a 66 plate (MY2016) Monte Carlo (the same car as the OP) I can confirm there is no clutch interlock switch on this model of Citigo.

Nope! Our 66 plate Citigo Monte Carlo is exactly the same, it starts without the clutch down and in gear. Always has done.

I'm assuming here this is similar to the WeCharge app on my VW ID.4 - it allows you to search for chargers via Google software? What I found is after software update to V3.7 a newer version of the app was required and upgrades to apps are done via the shop. When an update is required, the existing installed version is lost.

All done? Similar update on my ID.4 was without problem.

I do / have done additional items. Pollen filter changed annually instead of bi-annually (DIY £25) Front brake calipers cleaned/lubed annually - not specified in VW service checklist. MEB platform car's brakes get a bit sticky/grabby over time, I suspect liable to seize after a few years. Done as part of MOT visit to local garage.

Here's a link to a post on LinkedIn from Be.EV which has a video showing how their new 'Charging Oasis' in Manchester will look. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/be-ev_frompetroltopower-manchester-activity-7298023451150200833-jiGQ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAA0PdpEB9IFf1D4eVfpZ4HpASKA2Dhai22Q

My Citigo needed new front discs and pads earlier this year due to rust. The car is 8 years old with 21K miles, so often parked up for days. The discs were delaminating on the inside face so not picked up be me, but my mechanic had been warning they were getting poor until he called time on them this year. He said the OEM VAG discs were prone to rusting and the lack of use made it worse. He expects the new discs to last better as they are not VW. In fairness though, this is the first expense for mechanical issues in 8 years. The tyres were also replaced last year at around 18-19K miles due to age cracking at 7 years old.

I've just had my VW ID.4 in for some warranty work (the ubiquitous VAG electronic door handles failing) and got sent the visual health check video. The brake pads are still at 80% after 50K miles. This is slightly higher than the mileage I would be expecting to replace pads on my ICE cars. The second service is next week which is the usual visual checks, suspension checks, new pollen filter and replace brake fluid. It will be done at my local (EV qualified) independant garage for a lot less than VW want (£360) with an MOT. Servicing is every two years with no mileage limit. Proof that in my experience EVs are cheaper to service.

Be. EV are still going great guns, announcing a new partnership and a new hub yesterday. 8 x 150kW bays at North Valley Retail Park, Colne (top of M65). Be.EV opened a similar hub last week at Hulme Retail Park, Manchester.

A new Tesla Supercharger site open to all has opened in York with 16 stalls. That makes 100 Supercharger sites open to all on UK mainland and one in NI (Dungannon)

We found the Megane to be claustrophobic when we tried one, due to the high waistline, stupidly small rear window and acres of black plastic. I think the dark seats and roof lining didn't help. The interior felt cheap for such an expensive car. The boot was not a very good shape for a dog, getting a lot of its volume from height rather than length. I can imagine lifting heavy stuff out of the boot could be a challenge.

I'm rather disappointed by the look of it. It looks like any other Audi estate, whereas the prototype looked amazing. The front and rear are much less swoopy. I've never been a fan of the current Audi grille, so it looks old fashioned and fugly to me. Not that it matters at that price, I won't be able to afford one! 🤣

Gridserve have added 3 new chargers at Killington Lake services. 6x290kW plugs. The old units are retained to cater for Chademo charging. Good place to stop to walk the dog and a lot less busy than Tebay.

Found a useful list of Gridserve charger installs & upgrades last year (link below) Here is the list for the last quarter Moto Stafford North (M6) – 6 High Power charging bays Moto Wetherby (A1(M)) – 12 new High Power charging bays added to existing site Moto Rugby (M6) – 24 new High Power charging bays added to existing site Moto Lancaster North (M6) – 6 new High Power charging bays added to existing site Moto Burton-in-Kendal (M6) – 6 new High Power charging bays added to existing site Roadchef Rownhams West (M27) – 6 High Power charging bays Moto Donington Park (M1) – 4 new High Power charging bays added to existing site Moto Lancaster South (M6) – 6 new High Power charging bays added to existing site Moto Cherwell Valley (M40) – 6 new High Power charging bays added to existing site Moto Blyth (A1(M)) – 8 new High Power charging bays added to existing site Moto Exeter (M5) – 12 new High Power charging bays added to existing site Moto Reading West (M4) – 6 new High Power charging bays added to existing site Moto Reading East (M4) – 6 new High Power charging bays added to existing site Moto Knutsford South (M6) – 12 High Power charging bays https://www.gridserve.com/new-electric-vehicle-charging-sites-open-on-the-gridserve-electric-highway/

Beta products seem common in the electricity supply industry. Hope it gets sorted for you.

The V11ZW VED reminder turned up in the post this morning. Its £0 until next renewal.

I am relaxed, my car gets taxed at the end of February for 12 months. I expect it will £0 and I'll pay the new rate in Feb 2026. But I'll let you know if it is pro-rata. The timing is purely based on when the car was registered.