Luckypants

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.

But this change is retrospective. My VED on the ID.4 was set at £0 when registered and has been for the past three years, from April 2025 I'll now be charged £195. Our little Citigo VED was £20 from the get go and has not been changed when new VED rates come in. Which makes this VED change retrospective in that it affects vehicles built before the change was introduced. As to @lol-lol's question, I believe it will be from the renewal date, as we purchase 6 or 12 months VED in advance. I'll let you know when I renew at the end of the month!

Nope. I can chose them to come on at whatever temp VW set or not at all, so in summer that option is off. The behaviour has changed with the latest software update (V3.7 for my car) but I haven't worked it out yet. The seats seem to come on automatically less than before. (much to SWMBO's disgust) EDIT: This is how it works on V3.x software cars which I believe Stonekeeper's is. The 2024-on cars running V4.x or V5.x software may operate differently.

Its actually quite intelligent and will heat the cabin based on outside temperature. The other day it was 8C and the car pre-warmed for 17 minutes to have the cabin at 21C. If the temp is below 11C then heated seats and wheel are turned on if set to come on during pre-heating.

PoGo Charge I don't hear much about, but here are 4 recently opened hubs 2x150kW Raynor Parade, Wolverhampton 8x200kW Mid-Kent Shopping Centre 12x200kW Lichfield 4x150kW Victoria Shopping Park, Cannock and coming 'soon' 20x200kW Holiday Inn, Rochester

Eon plan 6 new hubs in Scotland https://www.eonhttps://www.eon-uk.news/news/eon-accelerates-scotlands-ev-future-with-ultra-rapid-charging-expansion

Just a note that there are now 98 (out of 175) Tesla hubs open to all EVs. Also there are now over 800 charging HUBS in the UK, in addition to all the 1/2/3 rapid charger sites around the country.

I doubt we will see such a long range car. Most people don't need that kind of range so there is no market, unless he manufacturers get into a range war. Such a car will need 120-150kWh batteries that will be too large, too heavy and too expensive. The challenge now is to improve efficiency to real world 4+ miles/kWh which would give a 60kWh battery 250 mile range - plenty for most at 4-5 hours of driving. Improved efficiency allows for smaller (easier to package), lighter (more efficient) and cheaper batteries to make EV more accessible. One thing having an EV has shown me, I don't need more than 250-ish mile range.

I watched some of that, gave up as I was shouting at the screen what a doylum he was being. 🙄

Top tip then, ID cars allow it. Probably means skoda and Audi Q4 also allow it.

Don't CCS plugs disconnect when charging completes? You could just remove the cable and plug in?

New Instavolt hub in Winchester

Here's one I missed, new Gridserve hub in Inverness

Gridserve continue to expand their sites, Reading services

Gridserve new 12-bay hub at Wolstanton Retail Park

Its a bit of a known issue on all VAG cars. Use silicone spray lube to lubricate the base of the pin, then press the pin in/out a few times with your thumb to work the lube in. The problem seems to be moisture getting in to the solenoid gubbins down the pin. Silicone lube helps keep it at bay. It may fail (as said its a common issue) which is a PITA if it fails closed. It will be covered under warranty if you have one. DO NOT force open yourself unless its an emergency, call Skoda Assist to come sort it. If assist or the fixing dealer break the flap forcing it open, they / warranty cover the repair but will not if you've broken it. Google will throw up plenty of threads on the subject. FWIW I've been regularly silicone lubing my VW ID.4 flap locking pin for the past 4 years and it still operates smoothly.

@Ootohere Thanks for the videos. The feedback for the ID.7 Tourer seems very positive everywhere I see it.

Zapmap year end analysis for 2024 showing excellent growth in charging infrastructure. Link to full article https://www.zap-map.com/news/2024-ev-charging-statistics-reveal-record-rate-charge-point-installations?utm_source=Zapmap+Registered+Users&utm_campaign=5efa9d9a55-ZM_NL_9th_JAN_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_abd3a980ed-5efa9d9a55-120624525

Depends on the EV. For MEB cars from VAG the default is to coast when lifting off. Intelligent Drive (VW name but Skoda has equivalent) will regen brake for corners / approaching vehicles / etc unless the driver intervenes. B-mode gives up to full regen braking when lifting off and this can be modulated using the accelerator. Some models have paddles to vary the regen level. VW models do not have regen paddles. AFAIK Tesla are the opposite and regen brake as you lift off. I cannot speak for others.