8 hours ago, wyx087 said:

Not regulatory related, but I'll be ditching combustion engine for EV when my current Octavia dies / cost too much to maintain.

 

EV are just so much better in every single way. By that time in 3-5 years, I honestly don't see any reason to buy oil burners, and fuel cell doesn't really make any sense for family car.

 

Every single way? I'd like to hear how the refuelling time is better? 

22 minutes ago, juan27 said:

 

Every single way? I'd like to hear how the refuelling time is better? 

 Its better as in you have more time to buy overpriced goods at the petrol station 

You want to have a look at the environmental impact of making batteries and shipping them around the world by IC engined boats 

TESLA are going to have Electric Trains loading Electric Barges / Ships loading Electric HGV's to move batteries to power Electric Cars.

 

Once the get enough minerals out the ground and from under the sea with Electric Diggers made from metal mined by electric diggers and from outer space to produce all the batteries, and these can be bought with Bitcoins.

First they need to just start building enough Electric cars and have enough electric battery factories built using diesel engine plant.

2 hours ago, AwaoffSki said:

TESLA are going to have Electric Trains loading Electric Barges / Ships loading Electric HGV's to move batteries to power Electric Cars.

 

Once the get enough minerals out the ground and from under the sea with Electric Diggers made from metal mined by electric diggers and from outer space to produce all the batteries, and these can be bought with Bitcoins.

First they need to just start building enough Electric cars and have enough electric battery factories built using diesel engine plant.

Will he have electric space rockets to launch his electric diggers that will mine the ore in the asteroid belt to produce more batteries? 

Why all this talk of batteries? Think of the employment opportunities with vast armies of people needed to put 50p coins in thousands of meters all over the country.

20 minutes ago, YMe said:

Why all this talk of batteries? Think of the employment opportunities with vast armies of people needed to put 50p coins in thousands of meters all over the country.

OMG you have just reminded me of the gas meter under the stairs (when I was a kid) which accepted various pre-decimalisation coins. 

14 hours ago, BlueclouduK said:

My current is a diesel.  The three previous were diesel.  Before that, two petrols and another diesel.

I am a diesel lover, especially modern variants.  Quieter, more powerful, more efficient and now arguably as clean as a petrol of the same capacity - don't forget that petrol emissions are bloody awful until the catalytic converter is up to temperature.

I admit that I drive around 20,000 miles a year and pull a 1300kg caravan for 3-4,000 of those miles.

Diesel may be a couple of pennies more expensive but I've just driven back from Cornwall and averaged 59.7mpg at an average speed of 60mph.  I don't know of a single 2.0 petrol that even comes close to that.  My current, real-word figure (according to Fuelly) is an average of 44.8mpg covering 6,000 miles.

I will keep buying diesels until they are either banned or the motor industry and Government sort out fuel cell technology.

^^^^^ This.

I have owned 6 Octavia Diesel estates and I cover around 30 - 33k miles a year and when I change the current Mk3 this year it will be for another Diesel Octavia. If I went to petrol what would the mpg  and service intervals be? If I went to an electric vehicle I probably wouldn't get to my customers in the same day.

3 hours ago, moley said:

^^^^^ This.

I have owned 6 Octavia Diesel estates and I cover around 30 - 33k miles a year and when I change the current Mk3 this year it will be for another Diesel Octavia. If I went to petrol what would the mpg  and service intervals be? If I went to an electric vehicle I probably wouldn't get to my customers in the same day.

You would be the best judge of that as you have a Fabia Combi 1.2tsi which would do similar mpg to my Octavia Combi 1.4tsi. On your sort of mileage with a fair amount of open road I'd expect around 50mpg average.

Here in Australia, Skoda insist on 15k km/1 year servicing intervals, they just don't offer variable at all, then again we now get 5 year/unlimited mileage warranties.

BMW/Mini/Mercedes do extended servicing intervals and the stories of their poor state of oil at change are legion as is the inferred long term engine damage.  Not that many BMW owners keep theirs long term so not much care is shown.

10 hours ago, SuperbTWM said:

 Its better as in you have more time to buy overpriced goods at the petrol station 

 

Ha ha. Once the majority are on EVs you won't have any enough cash for that as RFL will be £££ to recoup all the lost fuel duty...

5 hours ago, moley said:

^^^^^ This.

I have owned 6 Octavia Diesel estates and I cover around 30 - 33k miles a year and when I change the current Mk3 this year it will be for another Diesel Octavia. If I went to petrol what would the mpg  and service intervals be? If I went to an electric vehicle I probably wouldn't get to my customers in the same day.

 

Service intervals? Aren't they the same for diesel and petrol? 

49 minutes ago, juan27 said:

 

Service intervals? Aren't they the same for diesel and petrol? 

Variable servicing on my diesel 1.6 tdi is 18750 miles,  Fixed servicing on the Wife's petrol 1.2 TSI is 10000 miles

24 minutes ago, moley said:

Variable servicing on my diesel 1.6 tdi is 18750 miles,  Fixed servicing on the Wife's petrol 1.2 TSI is 10000 miles

 

Yes but you can have variable servicing on a petrol Octavia (probably Fabia too). I ran my last petrol VRS on variable for seven years with intervals like you quote. 

 

On 29/01/2018 at 16:11, mk4gtiturbo said:

I have to admit as a result of doing less miles and the new diesel hype I am now considering swapping for a petrol, thing is I can't find anything that I'd like to swap for.  I don't really want to put any cash in and there is nothing really out their I'd swap mine for as it's a really decent spec vRS. 

 

Has anyone actually got rid of their diesel because of the government tightening up and what did you get instead?

 

I've been thinking the same recently. Not because of less miles, but diesel prices going up and the whole anti-diesel government stance I presume the situation will only escalate over the next few years. 

 

I currently have 15mths left, in that time I'm saving to purchase the vehicle, however I may at the point of payment decide to walk away and spend my £11k on something petrol/hybrid like a RAV4 hybrid as the missus wants a jeep or Subaru's new Impreza which I'm lead to believe will be a hybrid too.

 

The current car is meant to be a keeper, I'm not bother about emissions etc I just don't want to get raped when I fill up at the pumps! 

13 hours ago, juan27 said:

 

Every single way? I'd like to hear how the refuelling time is better? 

Refuelling time is irrelevant 95% of the time because it is recharged at home. Never have to visit a petrol station. I haven't needed to think about range or when to refuel for a month, thanks to driving my Nissan Leaf and not having to scrap ice in the morning. As I said, it's better in every way!

 

The other 5% of the time just top up while you take a break. Rapid chargers get you back to 80% charge within 40min. It's good to take a breather rather than rushing to quickly get back in the car and drive off.

 

I've driven my 80 miles range Leaf 300 miles trip one weekend. It's more relaxing and I arrive without my ear ringing from the engine drone. Admittedly current infrastructure is not ready, with queues and out-of-order charger. But this is no different to when there was a fuel crisis.

 

13 hours ago, KevC_Derby said:

You want to have a look at the environmental impact of making batteries and shipping them around the world by IC engined boats 

 

Over lifetime of the vehicle,  environmental impact is already less than ICE cars right now. With more and more renewable electricity sources, the impact will be less and less. 

 

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/101642/us-report-finds-tesla-model-s-can-emit-more-lifetime-co2-than-a-petrol-supermini

Tesla luxury car is found to emit more or less CO2 than a cheap supermini depend on which US states it charges at. Even in most polluting state it still emits less than comparable BMW.

 

10 hours ago, logiclee said:

Will he have electric space rockets to launch his electric diggers that will mine the ore in the asteroid belt to produce more batteries? 

 

You are right, the BFR space rocket vision he showed is indeed powered by electricity. The fuel is generated by a process that takes electricity as input.

 

9 hours ago, YMe said:

Why all this talk of batteries? Think of the employment opportunities with vast armies of people needed to put 50p coins in thousands of meters all over the country.

 

Contactless payment, mobile app based or monthly membership on all EV rapid chargers. None are coin based, what's a coin? Who uses that these days?

Edited 1 February, 20188 yr by wyx087
added source

^^^ When life is easy ozzy and relaxed and no need to get a move on then that is lovely, 

if you want to get 300 miles in 6 hours with nothing more than stopping for a pee not tea, then do something for a while then hit it back home 

then sadly even a Tesla is not the answer to your transport needs.

Currently you can go and spend £1,000 and get a road legal car that will take you 600 miles for £60 or so and do it day after day.

Wasting 2 hours waiting about for charging on a 600 mile travelling day will cost many that are working more than £60.

 

More Estates / Light Commercials EV's with a decent range at affordable prices are needed.

No idea why NISSAN are so slow getting out a New Leaf Estate / Commercial type model. 

Edited 1 February, 20188 yr by AwaoffSki

19 minutes ago, AwaoffSki said:

^^^ When life is easy ozzy and relaxed and no need to get a move on then that is lovely, 

if you want to get 300 miles in 6 hours with nothing more than stopping for a pee not tea, then do something for a while then hit it back home 

then sadly even a Tesla is not the answer to your transport needs.

Currently you can go and spend £1,000 and get a road legal car that will take you 600 miles for £60 or so and do it day after day.

Wasting 2 hours waiting about for charging on a 600 mile travelling day will cost many that are working more than £60.

 

More Estates / Light Commercials EV's with a decent range at affordable prices are needed.

No idea why NISSAN are so slow getting out a New Leaf Estate / Commercial type model. 

How many times do you need to drive 300 miles in 1 day?  How often do you need to do it? Can you rent an ICE car for those few timing critical occasions?

 

Reality is that vast majority of people don't, I definitely don't need it. So I will not be buying another ICE powered car. But yes, going full EV is not for everyone, especially those without driveways. I'm only pointing out my preferences (and reasons), as is everyone else in this thread.

 

 

The Nissan e-NV200 is their small commercial van/MPV version of the Leaf. It is also getting 40kWh battery upgrade  this year to allow 150-200 miles. That's a lot of driving in the city, perfect for delivery drivers.

The mass majority of business users driving (hard working people or just hard playing) are driving for business, not off for a Fish Supper Tea.

As to driving in 'A city', many people need to go from cities to cities, or maybe never ever near a City,  London is London not Britain.

Many do 300 plus miles a day lots, daily even.    Many do not need a diesel, and should not have got one after the last scrappage scheme.

The population funded others getting money to fund the car industry flogging them Derv burners with DPF's and Defeat Devices, 

and false emission testing.

 

The Nissan e-NV200 is so so, i tried one for a week.   It is not a version of a Leaf, it is a version of a van & van with seats.

A Transporter / Caravelle is not a version of a Golf / Passat.

An estate car / van is all many need, Astra Van sized maybe, like the size many people drive, not Bipper shaped stuff or bigger / taller,

aerodynamic, something like a New Leaf, but an estate, like a Honda Estate.

I even looked at a camper version, there are a few about, no use for the Scottish Highlands. (unless you have a petrol generator with you.)

Dundee has a big fleet of NISSAN Leaf Electric Taxis / People Carrier Taxi, and it works for Taxi use in a city, not Air Port Transport where there are 100 mile plus trips.

 

 

Edited 1 February, 20188 yr by AwaoffSki

On 30/01/2018 at 10:47, Scot5 said:

This is typical of the hype surrounding emissions - read the FULL story.

 

The problem is people have been tampering with or even removing altogether their DPF's which under the old system wasn't an MOT failure. This is to change under the new system (and quite right too!). The easiest way to suspect foul play is visible smoke coming from a car with a DPF fitted.

 

So unless the owner has removed / tampered with their DPF, or their DPF is broken, (no different to any other car failing an MOT because of a broken component) why would these changes prompt anyone to change from diesel to petrol?

But why have they removed the DPF? because they hurt performance AND economy (not to mention how ridiculously expensive they are to replace). DPFs, just like catalytic converters are a quick fix to block the engines emissions getting out. what needs to be addressed is how to make the engines cleaner in the first place, like lean burn or cylinder deactivation & stop start.

 

Just the same as downsizing and using FI. why not downsize and make the car lighter so it just gets better handling and economy? then FI if you want to do that too. If we concentrated on making the engines more efficient in terms of using the energy in every drop of fuel instead of wasting it we would have much better economy AND performance and emissions...

 

I didn't ever remove my dpf from my old car because i was too concerned abotu failing, but the fact the old style engine with out it got and extra 10-15 mpg was always at the back of my mind!

 

 

Sorry, I may have had a bit of a rant there.....