I have been a Diesel die hard for forty years. So this is to help those on the fence.

 

Thinking there are possibly others  I will post my experience here on an ongoing ownership basis.

 

I have a Caravan but it is now stored at the site we always go to anyway (Devon) so towing will not be an issue.

 

Once that decision was made the next step was easy for me.

 

It is based on personal use of the vehicle and what fits my needs best. So what is perfect for me may not apply to many others.

 

The majority of my trips are local so with the diesel i was focusing on towing a caravan a dozen times a year at the best MPG and getting a half decent return of 35mpg round town.

 

Now with the ev i will have a better £pm locally but potentially costing more on the 12 trips to Devon. (I actually think in practice it will still be cheaper because it may work out possible to only use a rapid charger once per trip for about 20 mins  each way.)

 

Camp sites are starting to have ev charging on site at reasonable rates?

 

Still trying to find the exact spec of my car.

 

Today i found out acc is an option in the myskoda shop i can buy for £269. So my car must have it but needs a software update to activate it ?

 

I was able to activate a few "free" options that last to the end of the Skoda warranty period.and couple that last 10 years. I assume they become Subscription later. Looks like they are taking tips from Elon.

 

Watch this space.

 

 

 

 

Caravan Sites in Scotland have EV charging at ridiculously high prices according to people i meet getting cheaper charging on Council Chargers away from where they are staying.

(Maybe not all though.)

Edited 26 September, 20241 yr by Ootohere

Back of the cigarette packet maths for my first 72 miles.

 

8ppm

 

2.5 hours x 4hr x 2.3kw x 25p = £5.75 / 72 = 0.07986111p

Edited 27 September, 20241 yr by Stonekeeper

You will, in reality, have to use rapid chargers going to Devon from Lancashire, and back. They are expensive but it won’t cost you more than it did in a 35mpg diesel.
In my brief 18 month ev experience (2021-2022) I found campsites in the uk generally don’t cater for EVs, maybe they are better now. When we went to the south west a good charge up on a rapid at Exeter was necessary as beyond that it was very limited. Good luck on the ev journey.

 

 

Edited 28 September, 20241 yr by classic

Get yourself a  one month sub for either Tesla or Ionity when you're doign a big trip (whichever one has sites along your route). You can cancel after the trip and one charge will save you enough to more than pay for the sub. 

First month stats from the car

 

358mile @ 3.1m/kwh = 115 kw? x 24p = £27.60

 

although my meter readings suggest we have only used 72kw more than this period last year = £17.28

 

My Mondeo averaged 35 mpg = 10.22gallon or 45.99litres @ £1.327 = £61.02

 

Long term guessometer now reset.

Second month stats from the car

 

224mile @ 2.7m/kwh = 82.96 kw? x 25.01p = £20.74

 

although my meter readings suggest we have  used 73kw more than this period last year = £18.26

 

My Mondeo averaged 35 mpg = 6.4gallon or 28.8litres @ £1.327 = £38.22

 

Long term guessometer now reset.

 

 Stat from the GOM the car has been on for 20.46 hours and averaged 11mph.

 

This last week has seen daily use of pre-heating the cabin to avoid scraping ice off which the figures confirm the  affect on range, on the short trip to work the trip  indicator is only just reaching 2m/kw by the time i get home. But it is rising up from 1.5m/kw so if the journey was longer it would rise more?

23 hours ago, Stonekeeper said:

This last week has seen daily use of pre-heating the cabin to avoid scraping ice off which the figures confirm the  affect on range, on the short trip to work the trip  indicator is only just reaching 2m/kw by the time i get home. But it is rising up from 1.5m/kw so if the journey was longer it would rise more?

It would definitely continue to rise before tailing off. Heating such a large volume of air in the car takes a lot of power, my ID.4 often uses 5kW at the start before dropping to about 1.5kW for heat on very cold days. Pre-heating the cabin with the car plugged in (and charger live if using a schedule / Octopus IO or similar) means all that extra power is drawn from the mains, making your GOM range much higher.... Short journeys that have to re-heat the cabin are real power consumers.

Edited 23 November, 20241 yr by Luckypants

Third month stats from the car

 

332mile @ 2.9m/kwh = 114.48 kw? x 25.01p = £28.63

 

although my meter readings suggest we have  used 208kw more than this period last year = £52.02

 

(caveat to the meter readings this years covers an additional 6 days )

 

 

My Mondeo averaged 35 mpg = 9.48 gallon or 42.68l@£1.387 = £59.19

 

Long term guessometer now reset.

 

 Stat from the GOM the car has been on for 27.20 hours and averaged 12mph.

3 hours ago, Stonekeeper said:

Third month stats from the car

 

332mile @ 2.9m/kwh = 114.48 kw? x 25.01p = £28.63

 

although my meter readings suggest we have  used 208kw more than this period last year = £52.02

 

(caveat to the meter readings this years covers an additional 6 days )

 

 

My Mondeo averaged 35 mpg = 9.48 gallon or 42.68l@£1.387 = £59.19

 

Long term guessometer now reset.

 

 Stat from the GOM the car has been on for 27.20 hours and averaged 12mph.

 

why would you pay more than 7p per kWh at home? I have had off peak power for the whole house since noon today until 11am tomorrow thanks to plugging in an empty enyaq

 

21 minutes ago, domhnall said:

 

why would you pay more than 7p per kWh at home? I have had off peak power for the whole house since noon today until 11am tomorrow thanks to plugging in an empty enyaq

 

 

If you describe the way that is achieved and the costs involved in setting it up i may be able to explain the barriers to it being available to others.

 

But my first one is that I cannot park the car at least 7.5 metres away from combustible materials of my house to charge it overnight.

 

https://electrical.theiet.org/wiring-matters/years/2023/98-november-2023/electric-vehicle-charging-point-fire-safety-considerations/

On 21/12/2024 at 20:38, Stonekeeper said:

 

If you describe the way that is achieved and the costs involved in setting it up i may be able to explain the barriers to it being available to others.

 

But my first one is that I cannot park the car at least 7.5 metres away from combustible materials of my house to charge it overnight.

 

https://electrical.theiet.org/wiring-matters/years/2023/98-november-2023/electric-vehicle-charging-point-fire-safety-considerations/

I would suggest if you are worried about that (Evs do catch fire and it is therefore prudent to manage that risk) but the same should be true of petrol and diesel cars which are 20 times more likely to catch fire and would have just as dramatic an effect on your house.  I would suggest a lot of people park their fossil fuelled cars close to their houses which the IET would presumably also caution against.

I was badly delayed yesterday by a fire which closed the Edinburgh bypass, accordign to a police friend it was a petrol car involved. 

Edited 10 January, 20251 yr by domhnall

On 21/12/2024 at 20:38, Stonekeeper said:

 

If you describe the way that is achieved and the costs involved in setting it up i may be able to explain the barriers to it being available to others.

 

But my first one is that I cannot park the car at least 7.5 metres away from combustible materials of my house to charge it overnight.

 

https://electrical.theiet.org/wiring-matters/years/2023/98-november-2023/electric-vehicle-charging-point-fire-safety-considerations/

just realised I didn't describe how to get 7p per kWh off peak. That's easy, use Intelligent Octopus go and then plug in. If there's a surplus of green energy they will give you an off peak session. 

Struggled to open the charging flap this morning. Thought maybe frozen so used a hair dryer at 1/2 hourly intervals and after two hours it opened.

 

Could feel and hear the solenoids firing.

 

Does the black post spin to lock into the flap?

 

Should i grease the base of it or end or grease the slot in the flap?

 

Or is it a sign it's going to let me down?

Edited 11 January, 20251 yr by Stonekeeper

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.

Fourth month stats from the car

 

180mile @ 2.3m/kwh = 78.26 kw? x 25.36p = £19.85

 

 

 

 

My Mondeo averaged 35 mpg = 5.14 gallon or 23.14l@£1.397 = £32.33

 

Long term guessometer now reset.

 

 Stat from the GOM the car has been on for 19.33 hours and averaged 9mph.

 

Also had 1st service @£360 to include MOT next year

 

First destination charge today.

 

Not hat it was needed but had gone out for lunch and 7kw charger on the car park of the  Master Potter Cheadle ST10 1LW

 

RRW charging using electroverse rfid card

 

Connection cost £1

7.57kwh  in 1hr 3min  £4.18 + cc

 

55.22p (68.43p with cc) per kwh

Fifth month stats from the car Jan-Feb

 

368mile @ 2.9m/kwh = 129.89 kw. [email protected] + 7kw for £5.18 = £35.58

 

My Mondeo would have  averaged 50 mpg for 135m and 35 mpg for 233m @£1.417 litre = £17.21 + £42.45 = £59.66

 

 

 

Long term guessometer now reset.

 

 Stat from the GOM the car has been on for 25.08 hours and averaged 15mph.

My car received the 3.7 update overnight luckily i noticed how long it was going to take to install before i agreed to the install. The Dog would not have been impressed if i had pressed yes before going out to the park this morning. It's doing it now nearly four hours.

Edited 22 February, 20251 yr by Stonekeeper

On 22/02/2025 at 17:14, Stonekeeper said:

My car received the 3.7 update overnight luckily i noticed how long it was going to take to install before i agreed to the install. The Dog would not have been impressed if i had pressed yes before going out to the park this morning. It's doing it now nearly four hours.

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

Strange thing i have noticed. Now have an option to get "powerpass map" in the shop.

 

I am pretty sure i had that before but it has disappeared

 

So what is the difference if i install it again , does it change the mapping on the satnav or is it a choice to make when route planning?

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.

Sixth month stats from the car Feb-Mar

 

286mile @ 3.5m/kwh = 81.71 kw. [email protected] = £20.72

 

My Mondeo would have  averaged 35 mpg for 286m @£1.367 litre = £50.26

 

 

 

Long term guessometer now reset.

 

 Stat from the GOM the car has been on for 23.37 hours and averaged 12mph.

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.