Graham Butcher

@wyx087 I still keep getting emails saying that I may be entitled to assistance in getting solar panels so maybe there is some assistance given towards having panels installed?

The real test would have been, take away the cheapness of being able to charge at home, overnight at great savings, and tax incentives for companies etc, would there be anywhere near as many EV's on the road today? Strange, but you ask about heat pumps, I watched a video last night about that very topic, and an expert about heat pumps said that they were going so good, even with the massive grant, the cost of purchase and installation was still a considerable factor against them and I recall he was saying that the running cost was not that much cheaper, so there were little incentives for their uptake.

Wasn't the VAT one of the great big lies that we were all sold back in 2016?

Well in 20 days time, we will all know the truth, but we already know in our hearts that the lost income would have to be made up in some form or other as the generated income from fuel duty was essential to keep the government services running and that the cracks were already beginning to show. Remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch, it has to be paid for eventually.

@Evolution13 and @wyx087 there are basically three things in common with the reports I linked to, EVs only, 3p per mile and 2028 when it is supposed to be in effect. I suspect that the thinking behind it is based on the premise that most people would be home charging for the lions share of their energy and thus enjoying much cheapness over an ICE, all the while not paying any fuel duty. The 20% VAT on public charging is still not paying fuel duty, as ICE drivers actual pay fuel duty and 20% VAT on the duty as well. Correct, the devil is in the detail, and with the level of discussion surrounding this PPM, I suspect that it is based around a leaked document, and this was first talked about a few years ago by certain YouTubers and motoring journalists, but so far precise details are missing as to exactly how this will be implemented. When it is finally brought in for all cars, I seriously doubt fuel duty will be reduced, but kept there as an extra lever to try to encourage ICE drivers over to electric, but hopefully there will be more clarification on 26th November.

Exactly, but since when has any form of tax been fair?

Could it be? There say no fire without smoke and there does seem to be a hell of a lot of smoke, so it is a leak or what? One thing is for sure, whatever it is going to be, it will be loaded towards the average person who can't avoid it. Reeves expected to introduce pay-per-mile charge for electric cars | Regit Pay-per-mile tax explained: How does road pricing work, is it a 'fair' system and what could it do to EV demand? | This is Money Pay-per-mile road tax coming to the UK with EVs to foot the bill | Auto Express Pay-Per-Mile Road Tax UK 2025: What EV Drivers Need to Know | The Electric Car Scheme Reeves poised to unveil Budget plan for EV drivers to pay per mile charges

We will find out for sure real soon.

It seems to be highly likely that the much talked about PPM scheme is going to be introduced after all in 2028, so that should no longer be the realms of tin foil hat wearers because like many of the other "conspiracy" theories is almost certainly going to become a reality for the EV owner/drivers first, but it will trickle down to all cars ice or EV in time I expect. EV drivers could face new pay per mile tax in Budget - BBC News

Interesting car, but it does highlight the issues that I have, its not a small car when it comes to its footprint, but there is no way that the car would be suitable for the taller driver with equally taller passengers, i.e., me and my family who are all 6ft 4" tall, apart from SWMBO. The charging capability is going to demand a very strong grid supply and of course a charger capable of delivering 320KW, not exactly that common, currently.

If the green is damaged, then surely they should give you the yellow FOC, it was under Renault stewardship that it was damaged, are they charging you the extra? Have you got the two-tone interior and is it right that you only get that in the front? I have that in my last 3 cars, I think it makes the interior more of a welcoming place to be and gives the car a light airy feel, and I also have had the same exterior colour, although, the last 2 cars was more by luck being secondhand, the first was new (company car) and I was able to spec it right up, even had TV built in as well. Does it have sat nav, or is that also via android auto?

Not intentionally, just making the point that the new Capri is not the only time they partnered with other carmakers.

I edited my original post, the KA and 500 share parts and platforms, Ford have been sharing parts for years, even once with Mazda.

Yep, just as the Ford KA and Fiat 500 are basically the same, there is so much cooperation these days.

That Ford Capri, which is lovely to drive, is actually not a real Ford, it is based on the VW MEB platform and is basically a rebadged VW ID5 and much of the car is made up from parts of the ID4 and ID5, in much the same way as the old Ford Galaxy and the VW Sharan and the Seat Alhambra of the day.

Yes, I think the pop yellow appears to be the best colour for the Renault 5, which also has some very good throwbacks to the original 5, which is good, not like the dreadful Capri.

Good job then that the Frontera is cramped in the rear, as it has a very similar frontal impact area of a Kodiaq, bad for pedestrians, but I'm not seeing the electric acceleration that could leave ICE cars behind at the traffic lights, 60kw Scenic, 12.8sec 0-62mph, Kodiaq diesel 148bhp diesel 9.8secs and your Zoe is 9.5secs. That makes both the Scenic and Zoe respond in a similar vein to the average ICE car. Just hope that this new Frontera is better built than its predecessor was.

But who is a reliable source then? It seems to me that there is some truth in all the sources so far put forward, including the ice cubes in a glass, and clearly the one that you suggested is going to make some level difference as it is land based ice, so it will flow into the sea, but that much to cause widespread flooding worldwide and put human existence at risk? I doubt that a lot. The earths surface is 29% land and 71% is ocean, so how high are these glaciers and with all that much ocean it might make a couple of mm increase in level surely it can't realistically be more?

@mac11irl I just simply ask you to do the little experiment with ice cubes floating in a glass of water, mark the level of the water with the ice cubes floating and then wait till the cubes melt and check the water level again, is it the same or lower? It could well be lower as some water may have evaporated, it certainly won't be higher. So how will the ice caps cause sea/ocean levels to rise?

I would not go as far as that at this stage, but I hope that the official documents that are mentioned in the first video do in fact materialise, it has been requested many times for the links to those documents are published. What I was trying to draw attention to is that it could all be a huge scam if these documents exist. The scaremongering about rising sea levels most certainly is a scam and forms a part of the whole Net-Zero theory and policy, and as I said, this is something that each one of us can prove is a scam by placing ice cubes in a glass of water, marking the water level on the glass and when the ice has melted, the water level will be exactly the same. So why are the authorities lying to us? It should at least make us all think about it.

Ditto here as well, but we still know nothing, apparently 😉 You must it seems have had or driven an EV before you can comment, an engineering background and majority of ones working life don't hack it.

Why would it horrify petrol heads?? I honestly don't know anyone who objects to anyone getting and running an EV, if that floats your boat and suits your requirements then I, for one, am really pleased for you. It's still a free country, I hope, and as such you should be free to buy whatever your heart desires, is anyone going to deny that has always been my stance? Now imagine if the shoe was on the other foot and there was a thread called "The truth about ICE cars" and the people with ICE cars were constantly posting things about how good their cars were and at the same rubbishing anyone with an EV, and it was deemed that EVs were from a political point of view, to be the enemy and sales of new EVs were being banned? How would you all react if the positions were to be reversed, that's the acid question here, I think. There is also nothing wrong or weird about what you call petrol heads taking more than a passing interest in the new technology, is there? This is what I and a lot of others who, while not having an EV, are doing.

Dave does make some good points, and also there are some logical reasons for the decline in diesel sales that he does not appear to take into account, such as a lot of new car sales are PHEV, with petrol engines. I saw sales figures the other day that debunked one person's claim that diesel sales were in decline, so who do we believe? My Sister in Law, recently tried to buy a new Toyota ICE car and the only way that she could do that was to buy a hybrid, self charging one. However, with that enclosed charging station, he does exaggerate, a carbon monoxide death trap, really! I used to work as an electrical engineer for the National Bus company and have spent many hours inside a huge bus garage on cold, frosty mornings with up to 100 diesel buses ticking over to get them up to temperature before they went into service with the public. It was an enclosed space, and it was impossible to see the length of 2 buses, 60ft as the air was thick grey exhaust gasses everywhere and your eyes would stream and sting from the fumes. I'm still here to tell the tale and so are the others who, like me, would go and them started before the crews arrive to take them out on service. The people in that shopping / charging centre had better hope that no car, electric or ICE catches fire while in there as the fumes as the smoke will completely fill that in minutes and most car fires, both electric and ICE are far more likely to be the interior on fire in which lots of Cyanide gas will be the end result, deadly poison, just the same as both types of interiors share common materials. To show how much smoke and gas is released, watch this short video carried of a test carried out in fire research establishment where they also burn new ICE and BEV cars and conduct tests on them to find out what are the hazards etc. There used to be a large British fire test lab in Borehamwood, Herts, I used to go a lot in my working years, it backed onto one of the film studios where some James Bond films were shot.

Very good, my elephant repellant is also working 😂😂

I wonder if the use of a gearbox would be a way of extending the range as the electric motor would be spinning slower?