Are EVs the way forward?

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I’m now idly browsing VW eUp! after all this talk of depreciation, particularly as the ID1 isn’t here till 2027, and I’m not sure the SantaFe will make it that long. Half the price of new, easily fits in the yard, has a VW badge, and it’s called eh up!
So this happened to the Santa Fe. I fixed it, but before anything else lets go in a big way I’ve swapped it for an eUp!

First impressions of the eUp! - I like it, fun to drive, does the job. Range not an issue.

Cheap to run - the electricity is pence. Not sure I will do dealer serving - the only things it needs on the next two are pollen filter and brake fluid, none of this messy engine stuff.

The VW Bluetooth app is showing its age - setting max charge% for the granny charger required a complex config procedure, the new Volkswagen app is better but requires the subscription.

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It depends on what you need it to do. We had an ID5 , now Have An ID 6 and ID7 Estate. Both are ok. Not bothered with them either way. But whilst I was travelling from cowfold , West Sussex to Harry Potter studios the other day an electric car had broken down in the middle lane at Heathrow area. With nowhere for the car to go or the poor people in the car . A large coach had to swerve to avoid it. I found that a brown trouser moment personally. My daughter laughed there’s another electric car broken down. Both our vw cars are going back and there getting swapped with 2 combi vans ( Diesel ).
 
Does anyone really believe that electric vehicles are the way forward?
As it stands you couldn’t give me one for free. Let alone fork out £40k+ for one.
Apparently there’s only a handful of companies in the UK will insure them.
They are also the reason everyone’s insurance has gone through the roof.
They like to go on fire and the slightest bump they are written off as they can’t guarantee the battery is safe after.
Thats all on top of the infrastructure simply not being in place to make them viable.
The fact the mining for the rare materials used in their construction makes their carbon footprints larger than our dirty diesel vans just seems to be lost on the woke brigade buying them.
Personally I wish the would reset or drop things until they have improved dramatically, on range and time taken to refill Oh I meant recharge. Book ones self into a Hotel while its doing it. "I might be a little while":rolleyes: Eventually they might be the best thing since sliced bread but not at the moment or any time soon. No infrastructure. Resources????
 
Personally I wish the would reset or drop things until they have improved dramatically, on range and time taken to refill Oh I meant recharge. Book ones self into a Hotel while its doing it. "I might be a little while":rolleyes: Eventually they might be the best thing since sliced bread but not at the moment or any time soon. No infrastructure. Resources????
In the three years we’ve had our iD3 we have never had to wait for a free charger or struggled to find one. Generally it takes about half the time to recharge compared to getting our children fed and watered on a trip… Usually around 20 minutes.

I’d be interested to know where you have struggled to charge yours.
 
In the three years we’ve had our iD3 we have never had to wait for a free charger or struggled to find one. Generally it takes about half the time to recharge compared to getting our children fed and watered on a trip… Usually around 20 minutes.

I’d be interested to know where you have struggled to charge yours.
So If I am doing a 500 + mile trip and more I will only need to top up once and 20 minuets latter could set off again fully charged. I could travel up or across the width of GB and it would only need 20 mins at a top up and then just return?? To the same convenience at a petrol or diesel vehicle? Someone travelling long distances can just top up with diesel anywhere at any garage without a special app or navigator. Even when fully drained the battery only takes 20 mins to replenish?? If I am travelling anywhere long distance, I do not like stopping unless it is too top up with fuel which only takes a few moments OK I am an old git now so I need a slash. I can stop anywhere for that but even at the pumps it aint going to get in the way.

The other thing, the availability of plug-ins for e vehicles is pathetic I think the nearest is 20 miles away from me. When one arrives at the one plug-in at a supermarket one finds it is taken for x amount of time, no idea where the driver is do I hang around because he has pissed off off to god knows where or do I drive around to some other town to find another plug-in. There may be plenty in Swansea or Cardiff, Wrexham or what ever but few any where else until one finds a supermarket. On the road there may be plenty of Diesel pumps along the way at plethora of places. Finding Diesel or petrol is simple just drive anywhere in any direction do not need a map or an app but for e it is another matter. Unless living in a well populated area in Wales they are just not many e charge points and when found often only a single or twin.

What is the longevity of any battery, how many full recharges do they take until efficiency drops. How long until the battery might need replacing and how much for a new battery £. Driving a normal fuel vehicle is easy even travelling very long range without very much planning no real fuel anxiety. Another thing. I live in a remote holding, I am fortunate in having electricity but it is off a spur even the when they repaired the line from the transformer which is on my land the guys from the electricity supply side repairing it where amazed at how low rated the cable was on the HT side of things, I did not ask about an e vehicle but they told me that that line and equipment would need changing if I had bigger demands on it. Probably OK for a single dwelling but run machinery needing a lot of power you might need it all changing. I need 4wheel drive vehicles here, including the tractor it is not a luxury it is a necessity No road comes to the property it is off road I have my own post code no one shares that with this property. When the line came down last time in the storm it was for over a month and that is not unusual it can and has happened most winters so what then!
 
So If I am doing a 500 + mile trip and more I will only need to top up once and 20 minuets latter could set off again fully charged. I could travel up or across the width of GB and it would only need 20 mins at a top up and then just return?? To the same convenience at a petrol or diesel vehicle? Someone travelling long distances can just top up with diesel anywhere at any garage without a special app or navigator. Even when fully drained the battery only takes 20 mins to replenish?? If I am travelling anywhere long distance, I do not like stopping unless it is too top up with fuel which only takes a few moments OK I am an old git now so I need a slash. I can stop anywhere for that but even at the pumps it aint going to get in the way.

The other thing, the availability of plug-ins for e vehicles is pathetic I think the nearest is 20 miles away from me. When one arrives at the one plug-in at a supermarket one finds it is taken for x amount of time, no idea where the driver is do I hang around because he has pissed off off to god knows where or do I drive around to some other town to find another plug-in. There may be plenty in Swansea or Cardiff, Wrexham or what ever but few any where else until one finds a supermarket. On the road there may be plenty of Diesel pumps along the way at plethora of places. Finding Diesel or petrol is simple just drive anywhere in any direction do not need a map or an app but for e it is another matter. Unless living in a well populated area in Wales they are just not many e charge points and when found often only a single or twin.

What is the longevity of any battery, how many full recharges do they take until efficiency drops. How long until the battery might need replacing and how much for a new battery £. Driving a normal fuel vehicle is easy even travelling very long range without very much planning no real fuel anxiety. Another thing. I live in a remote holding, I am fortunate in having electricity but it is off a spur even the when they repaired the line from the transformer which is on my land the guys from the electricity supply side repairing it where amazed at how low rated the cable was on the HT side of things, I did not ask about an e vehicle but they told me that that line and equipment would need changing if I had bigger demands on it. Probably OK for a single dwelling but run machinery needing a lot of power you might need it all changing. I need 4wheel drive vehicles here, including the tractor it is not a luxury it is a necessity No road comes to the property it is off road I have my own post code no one shares that with this property. When the line came down last time in the storm it was for over a month and that is not unusual it can and has happened most winters so what then!

How often you need to recharge is dependent on the capacity of the battery in the same way that physical fuel tank size determines range. For example our 58kWh battery is good for around 220 real life range with the air con running and approx 10% less in the winter. My colleague’s Mercedes EQS 118kWh will do over 450 real life range but is mega expensive.

On a DC fast charger our iD3 it will charge 5% to 80% in around 23 minutes. Not quite enough time to grab a coffee and get our children to the toilet. However on the road it can be very expensive to charge compared to home. Overnight charging costs around £4.60 to do 200 miles in the iD3. For us it is so convenient charging at home knowing it’s ready for a couple of hundred miles in the morning. Its takes about 30 seconds of our time to plug it in, in fact quicker than driving the van to the fuel station and filling it up!

In the three years we’ve owned our EV the infrastructure has increased massively, although clearly they appear to be sparse in your area. In comparison, where I live in rural South Leicestershire, there are public fast chargers under 5 minutes away and there are a total of 37 chargers within a 10 minute drive of various speeds.

In terms of longevity, most EV batteries have a warranty of 8 to 10 years but are expected to last 15 to 20 years - time will tell. I can’t say that I’ve noticed a noticeable change in range on ours due to battery degradation and the vehicle is now 5 years old. We won’t keep the vehicle for another 5 years so I’m not fussed about the battery warranty on it.

EV’s are not for everyone and reading your post it seems like they won’t work for your lifestyle or location and that a fossil fuelled vehicle is going to be the choice for you for many years to come. For us, I can’t see us buying another ICE vehicle unless it was a classic (I’d love a 60’s Fiat 500!). HTH. Nick
 
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I think EVs will simply take the place of ICE vehicles in the same way as other technology has evolved to replace it's clockwork predecessor, I'm thinking phone boxes to phones in private houses to mobile phones to smart phones, where nobody would lament the demise of the phone box/urinal, the phone in the hallway or a mobile phone that has no internet access or camera.
Now if clinging to a mode of transport because it's easier to use with no regard to what comes out of the exhaust is pretty selfish, case in point was me following a modded Polo the other day which must have been giving barely double figures mpg as the exhaust was rich enough to make me feel a bit pukey after a couple of miles.
The driver was probably happy that he could fill his tank quickly and conveniently but no doubt didn't give a fig what happened to the petrol or where it ended up as it powered him along the road.
 
I think EVs will simply take the place of ICE vehicles in the same way as other technology has evolved to replace it's clockwork predecessor, I'm thinking phone boxes to phones in private houses to mobile phones to smart phones, where nobody would lament the demise of the phone box/urinal, the phone in the hallway or a mobile phone that has no internet access or camera.
Now if clinging to a mode of transport because it's easier to use with no regard to what comes out of the exhaust is pretty selfish, case in point was me following a modded Polo the other day which must have been giving barely double figures mpg as the exhaust was rich enough to make me feel a bit pukey after a couple of miles.
The driver was probably happy that he could fill his tank quickly and conveniently but no doubt didn't give a fig what happened to the petrol or where it ended up as it powered him along the road.
I don’t recall any government having to introduce legislation to force us to use mobile phones, over nipping out to the phone box on the corner in the pi55ing rain to shovel 10p pieces into it. Mobile phones took over because they were more convenient, and ultimately cheaper than the alternative. The product was a much better alternative to the one it replaced. Just sayin’
 
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