Anyone on here have an Electric car?

If I bought an electric car I would buy a hybrid, so for long journeys over 200 miles without stopping I could use unleaded.

I favour hydrogen fuel cells in the future as you can fill them like petrol, they are emission free and can use green hydrogen, so don't need as many nuclear/fossil power stations that will be required to some extent for electric cars. Hydrogen does not require home chargers or super chargers on the road. I don't think Fuel Cell engines need rare Earth Metals that are used in Electric Cars and the same for Lithium.

I suspect the free electricity will not be free once electric cars are common and the same for other subsidies they currently receive. The UK Government collect a lot of tax from vehicle fuel where is that going to come from in 10 years time?

I am not totally against electric as overall they will be better for the environment and they are quieter. Telsa seems popular for their extra technology and some call it gimmicks. I don't hear motorists get as excited about other electric brands. Generally electric cars have depreciated more than petrol, because they don't last as long.
 
Laughing said:
ST I do a lot of motorway driving and tesla charging points are at every service station. From London to Boro you would have to charge once on the way, but you would stop on the way anyway.

Also, and I am making up science here, surely the carbon footprint on a tesla is miles smaller than a family sedan running on Petrol. Think about what it takes to get oil from under the ground, to a refinery, turned into petrol and shipped to the garage. Even without burning the fuel, I suspect it's carbon footprint is massive.

Yes the batteries do use scarce earth elements but that will change fairly soon. Hydrogen fuel cells are all well and good, but I wouldn't want to be driving at 70 MPH sitting on top of one of the most explosive elements on earth.

In Amsterdam, all the taxi drivers have tesla S' They do complain a bit about having to charge during the day and stick with them due to tax breaks.
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Where does the electricity come from to charge the car, oh yeah, burning fossill fuels
 
Redwurzel said:
If I bought an electric car I would buy a hybrid, so for long journeys over 200 miles without stopping I could use unleaded.

I favour hydrogen fuel cells in the future as you can fill them like petrol, they are emission free and can use green hydrogen, so don't need as many nuclear/fossil power stations that will be required to some extent for electric cars. Hydrogen does not require home chargers or super chargers on the road. I don't think Fuel Cell engines need rare Earth Metals that are used in Electric Cars and the same for Lithium.

I suspect the free electricity will not be free once electric cars are common and the same for other subsidies they currently receive. The UK Government collect a lot of tax from vehicle fuel where is that going to come from in 10 years time?

I am not totally against electric as overall they will be better for the environment and they are quieter. Telsa seems popular for their extra technology and some call it gimmicks. I don't hear motorists get as excited about other electric brands. Generally electric cars have depreciated more than petrol, because they don't last as long.
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Tesla do have a brand image that other cars can't match. No one is queueing up to pre order the new Vauxhall insignia as they are doing with the car I've just got!

I think, as far as EV go, there is an "us and them" between Tesla and the rest. Tesla have the tech advantage and they DEFINITELY have the supercharger advantage. Other EVs have the advantage of better build quality and an established supply chain network.
 
I'm now looking at the BMW X1 hybrid. Need to check the boot is big enough for what we need. Decent price though through work. Should just be a bigger version of the Golf GTE I've just got rid of. Still enough electric for my commute and no range issues for the long trips. Danger is I don't need a car right now while working from home so I'm saving the money for now and I'll have to see what's available when the time comes.
 
I don't know how true this is but my brother in law told me yesterday that the batteries in a fully electric vehicle are owned by the battery manufacturer and not the car maker or whoever buys said car. Think the only exception to the rule is Tesla?
Batteries need replacing after so many miles or years whichever comes sooner to keep the vehicle in full working order.
 
RandySavage said:
I don't know how true this is but my brother in law told me yesterday that the batteries in a fully electric vehicle are owned by the battery manufacturer and not the car maker or whoever buys said car. Think the only exception to the rule is Tesla?
Batteries need replacing after so many miles or years whichever comes sooner to keep the vehicle in full working order.
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I don't think this is true anymore. It certainly used to be the case that you loaned the batteries for some cars but not anymore.
 
According to websites

BMW X1 Hybrid

Its electric range is 31 miles and it takes 5.5 hours to charge up.

Its definitely for limited short commutes only on electric.

Prices start at £38,250 for no frills version.
 
Redwurzel said:
According to websites

BMW X1 Hybrid

Its electric range is 31 miles and it takes 5.5 hours to charge up.

Its definitely for limited short commutes only on electric.

Prices start at £38,250 for no frills version.
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Yeah. I ruled out hybrids on the grounds the are rubbish on motorways. Mind you EV stuggle with range the quicker they go.
 
Becksy said:
Where does the electricity come from to charge the car, oh yeah, burning fossill fuels
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Becksy, and I may be wholly wrong here, but an electric car burns less fossil fuel per mile than a petrol car, even the little ones. I read that once, but don't know how accurate it was.
 
By the time I would have even got to a motorway, running on electric hybrid, I would have come to halt. I did not realise their range was so small.

I guess in a hybrid you need two engines which adds to cost and reduces space?
 
Redwurzel said:
By the time I would have even got to a motorway, running on electric hybrid, I would have come to halt. I did not realise their range was so small.

I guess in a hybrid you need two engines which adds to cost and reduces space?
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Absolutely that. And they tend to have weak elctiric motors and small ICE for packaging. Too much of a compromise for me
 
The average commute is 10 miles so 31 miles means most people can travel to and from work using electric only.

Hybrids aren't bad on motorways at all, nor are they underpowered. They can use both engines together to increase performance. There isn't much in the performance of the Golf GTE and the GTI or GTD. The only noticeable difference is its heavier and the boot is smaller because there is a petrol tank and a battery. The two engines don't take up more space, they both sit underneath the same bonnet space as the ICE version.

My record was 1200 miles on a single tank of petrol with a commute just over the limit of the battery. On long journeys they perform like a self charging hybrid. Regenerating power during braking. Driving sensibly was 55mpg, typical was 45mpg which isn't as good as a big diesel but that is massively offset by your short trip savings. A hybrid would be no good for someone doing lots of motorway miles each day. I had 25m each way with a charger at work which is probably the limit of their usefulness.
 
boromike85 said:
The average commute is 10 miles so 31 miles means most people can travel to and from work using electric only.

Hybrids aren't bad on motorways at all, nor are they underpowered. They can use both engines together to increase performance. There isn't much in the performance of the Golf GTE and the GTI or GTD. The only noticeable difference is its heavier and the boot is smaller because there is a petrol tank and a battery. The two engines don't take up more space, they both sit underneath the same bonnet space as the ICE version.

My record was 1200 miles on a single tank of petrol with a commute just over the limit of the battery. On long journeys they perform like a self charging hybrid. Regenerating power during braking. Driving sensibly was 55mpg, typical was 45mpg which isn't as good as a big diesel but that is massively offset by your short trip savings. A hybrid would be no good for someone doing lots of motorway miles each day. I had 25m each way with a charger at work which is probably the limit of their usefulness.
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I actually looked at the golf GTE before I got my Merc. I know the batteries have to go somewhere but the lack of boot space shocked me. Even the Merc c class estate hybrid has a tiny boot. What's the point of buying an estate car with a small boot!
I get that hybrids are good for city driving but then agains so are fully electric cars.
 
r00fie1 said:
........and renewables.....think "supply chain"
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It should be pointed out we now get more energy from renewables than fossil fuels in the UK. That figure can only go up too.

If I lived in Norway or Costa Rica, I could then claim the "environment" moral high ground. If I ignored all the heavy metals in the batteries.
 
SmallTown said:
It should be pointed out we now get more energy from renewables than fossil fuels in the UK. That figure can only go up too.

If I lived in Norway or Costa Rica, I could then claim the "environment" moral high ground. If I ignored all the heavy metals in the batteries.
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I was responding to Becksy.
Thanks for the comment(y)
 
Becksy said:
Where does the electricity come from to charge the car, oh yeah, burning fossill fuels
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About half of electricity generation in UK is from renewable sources at the moment. That proportion will increase year by year.
I'd love to get an electric car (already have a hybrid), but I've no way of charging it at home.
 
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