Going Electric... Richard's EV thread.

[gadgetman]

Saw an outlander EV today. I didn't know Mitsubishi made an ev

[Dr Zoidberg]

It's a plug in hybrid with about 20 miles range on electric only.

[BossFox]

Saw an outlander EV today. I didn't know Mitsubishi made an ev

Yes, they often park in charging spaces (10 minutes to charge when they have a petrol engine too) which seems to get right up some LEAF driver's noses as they can't plug in...

[RobClubley]

Did the UK get the Mitsubishi i-MiEV?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_i-MiEV

[Chris]

Did the UK get the Mitsubishi i-MiEV?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_i-MiEV

Yes we did, and the Peugeot/Citroen counterparts.

[greenstripe]

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEVs are selling like hotcakes round here, I'd love to think that it wasn't purely due to company car tax benefits, but I'm sure that it is.

[Dr Zoidberg]

Yep, it will be. Real life economy won't be great but that's irrelevant with a fuel card.

[greenstripe]

I see a lot of them in very rural Lincolnshire where the batteries are not going to get you very far and petrol stations are few and far between.

[Wet Kipper]

Is there anything about the power delivery in an electric car which makes them any worse/better in snow?

can you pull away in "2nd" ?

 

I saw a Tesla S really struggling in snow this morning

 

 

(edited for bad seplling)

Edited 29 January, 2015 by Wet Kipper

[BossFox]

Is there anything about the power delivery in an electric car which makes them any worse/better in snow?

can you pull away in "2nd" ?

 

I saw a Tesla S really struggling in snow this morning

 

 

(edited for bad seplling)

 

With all the torque available from 0rpm it is possible to lose traction early if you drive it too hard.

You just need to be gentle.  But there are no gear changes to compromise traction once you are moving.

 

Telsa S is rear wheel drive, has big wide tyres and weighs over 2,000kg.

Not the perfect blend for grip on snow.

[900000]

Slightly on and slightly off topic but here goes: I LOVE this video of the new Tesla P85Diesel - yes the poor sods in the States don't realise that adding a D to a car name means diesel. Bless. They added it for Double, or twin engine and four wheel drive.  Which of course means it should have been called the P85T - for twin. But there you go, not the sharpest tools in the box them lot. And by the way for those that don't know, the P85D gets to 60 in 3,2 seconds. As fast as a Maclaren F1.

 

 

From: http://jalopnik.com/this-dude-scares-the-crap-out-of-everyone-in-his-tesla-1681792338

 

Being 4wd I suspect this beast will have NO problem in the snow.

Edited 29 January, 2015 by 900000

[gadgetman]

I've seen 2 Tesla's today around Leicester. They look quite smart.

[BossFox]

I've seen 2 Tesla's today around Leicester. They look quite smart.

 

Unfortuantely they are quite large though.

Wider than an Audi A8.

Which means for a family car, they are fine as long as you never have to get into a parking space or down a narrow country lane.

[KenONeill]

Slightly on and slightly off topic but here goes: I LOVE this video of the new Tesla P85Diesel - yes the poor sods in the States don't realise that adding a D to a car name means diesel. Bless. They added it for Double, or twin engine and four wheel drive.  Which of course means it should have been called the P85T - for twin. But there you go, not the sharpest tools in the box them lot. And by the way for those that don't know, the P85D gets to 60 in 3,2 seconds. As fast as a Maclaren F1.

 

 

From: http://jalopnik.com/this-dude-scares-the-crap-out-of-everyone-in-his-tesla-1681792338

 

Being 4wd I suspect this beast will have NO problem in the snow.

First rule of 4WD physics - 2*0 = 4*0 = 0.

[vRS Joe]

I took delivery of a leaf yesterday. What's your thoughts on the build quality Richard?

My first impressions are its not as well put together as my Fabia!

[BossFox]

I took delivery of a leaf yesterday. What's your thoughts on the build quality Richard?

My first impressions are its not as well put together as my Fabia!

The body is, but the interior seems a little worse as the dash is pretty much all hard plastic IMO.

[BossFox]

So after the test drive in January... I am back in an EV.

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, the size is not that different to the Yeti.

 

I am liking it a lot.

Great for 80 miles per day to and from work.

 

In the shot above you can see that after driving home with a slight shortcut (38.5 miles) I still had 65% of the battery left.

The extra 10 miles or so range it has over the LEAF does give you a safe margin, so no problems at all just charging at work.

[Skoda_Saint]

Do you a charger at home Richard? Just wondering how effective these would be as a work car....... As long as people aren't driving too far I suppose. Is there an app, that you know of, that shows national charger locations?

[BossFox]

Do you a charger at home Richard? Just wondering how effective these would be as a work car....... As long as people aren't driving too far I suppose. Is there an app, that you know of, that shows national charger locations?

 

www.zap-map.com  

 

Yes, I have an outdoor 32A power feed (the charger is actually in the car) so I can plug in and get about 20-25 miles of range per hour.

But I hardly use it with the KIA where as I had to top the LEAF up from time to time.

 

Regarding distance, this will do 100 miles driven sensibly, but you'd figure 90 tops to be safe and allowing for winter and etc...

As I always say, if you don't do a fair amount of miles you'll never save enough on fuel to make an EV worthwhile.

[Dedders]

I'm really interested in getting an electric vehicle mainly inspired by your updates on this thread. I've been and test driven the Leaf and I'm trying to find a Kia dealer that can help with the Soul.

I hope you don't mind me asking but roughly how much does it cost to charge at home overnight?

Thanks.

[BossFox]

I'm really interested in getting an electric vehicle mainly inspired by your updates on this thread. I've been and test driven the Leaf and I'm trying to find a Kia dealer that can help with the Soul.

I hope you don't mind me asking but roughly how much does it cost to charge at home overnight?

Thanks.

 

It depends what energy tariff you are on.

I pay £15p per kW.  And factor in 10% losses in transferring from electrical to chemical energy.

 

So on a LEAF a full charge (20kW out of total battery size of 24kW, as 4kW is protected to save battery life) is 20x15p+10%.  Or £3.30p.

 

Which should give a range of 80 miles in the summer and 70 in the winter.  Or less in the winter on the early LEAF with the naff heating system.

 

But I do most of my charging at work, for free.

[Dedders]

It depends what energy tariff you are on.

I pay £15p per kW.  And factor in 10% losses in transferring from electrical to chemical energy.

 

So on a LEAF a full charge (20kW out of total battery size of 24kW, as 4kW is protected to save battery life) is 20x15p+10%.  Or £3.30p.

 

Which should give a range of 80 miles in the summer and 70 in the winter.  Or less in the winter on the early LEAF with the naff heating system.

 

But I do most of my charging at work, for free.

Thank you for that I really appreciate it.

[BossFox]

Thank you for that I really appreciate it.

When working out the real costs don't forget to allow for depreciation which can be harsh on an EV.

Some discounted PCPs do make sense, even though I'm not usually a PCP fan as you know the costs ahead.

Or getting a year old for half the cost of a new one.

[Dr Zoidberg]

Looks like the £5k grants may not be around for much longer.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/consumer-news/91339/uk-5000-electric-car-grant-to-run-out-in-months

[gadgetman]

I thought they were ending 1st June?