You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
revs1972 I have the Kia Soul which is the same drivetrain & battery as the eNiro and Kona. I did have the choice of either of the above plus several others from Peugeot, DS, Mini, MG, and a couple of others.
I'm really happy with it, my work colleague has got the eNiro and he really likes that. The eNiro has a bigger boot than the soul but with the seats down the Soul has more capacity. As for the Soul I would say have a look at one in the flesh, they don't look as boxy as they do from the internet pictures but must admit it is slightly smaller than I thought it was going to be. The Soul does come with all the toys and I think the updated new eNiro does as well as mine is very slightly different from colleague's old eNiro.
I charge mine about every two to three days at work and make sure it's fully charged for the weekend or going on a long journey. I do have a home charger but only get 4kw due to the old electrics, but use the works charger 99% of the time.
WBO is correct on the battery, watch some of the reviews such as the ones on fully charged and they explain this.
If I was spending my own money and had 80k to spend on an EV I would personally go for the Jaguar I-Pace. I know Tesla has the range but i'd still go for the Jag.
I have been looking into an EV as one might be in reach as a company car - nice. However I really do need a home charger as I will be on standby for a week a month (ish). This might mean after a days drive I could have to go out in the night at a moments notice. I can’t risk having no way of charging the car quickly but a home charger should work ok. However the company will give me £300 towards having a charger fitted on top of the £350 grant. However the only place I can order one from still will charge me £850 to fit a unit after those discounts - grrrrrr! I just can’t afford that.
On top of all that the cars I have available to order are the slightly less range types - 200 miles etc but without properly fast charging. As it will be my only car and we like to go to a Scotland/wales/France for hols this could prove very frustrating for those journeys.
But the real swinger is that none of the cars I can choose can be ordered with a towbar for my bike rack (can’t fit one separately). The only one close is a VW ID3 and that only has a “hitch” which you can fit their special (Thule made I think) bike rack but that package is £1500!!!! And none of the ones I can order are big enough inside to fit 2 touring bikes with mudguards on.
I feel that in 2 or 3 years time there will be many more EVs available at more reasonable prices and the charging infrastructure will be miles better. I think manufacturers are selling EVs to a lot of people without explaining how to use them and the charging pitfalls and how to overcome them.
@kerley
It is not about saving money, that is not the point.
Absolutely was for us!
I mean the emissions/green-cred thing is a nice bonus, but mostly it was the combination of a very favourable corporate lease scheme with salary sacrifice, with the added advantage that EVs don't attract Benefit In Kind tax.
That combination meant we could lease a new high-spec Leaf, with service and insurance, for the equivalent of just £130 a month. 😲 And then charge it from the aforementioned free charger.
Going back to the original post, Harry Meaden did a good real world evaluation of the Taycan and charging one in his latest YouTube video.
(He is quite critical of the range.)
He’s changed his attitude on EV cars and charging. The last video I seen of his he made it very awkward for himself to charge the car.
Not much sympathy for the couple in the article.
What I don't understand is how are governments going to recuperate the lost revenue of VED if it's currently based on emissions.
On top of that many places are offering free charging. Who pays for this?
What I don’t understand is how are governments going to recuperate the lost revenue of VED if it’s currently based on emissions.
Possibly on the value of the car even now emission free cars face VED award a certain value.
On top of that many places are offering free charging. Who pays for this?
Not sure. The local business or authority on public chargers. The idea is the people visit or spend money whilst charging.
Not sure. The local business or authority on public chargers. The idea is the people visit or spend money whilst charging.
There are a few around near me. Essentially a residential area. You get fined for parking in the bay, so not only do the EV owner get free charging they also get what amounts to a private parking space in an area where parking is at a premium.
What I don’t understand is how are governments going to recuperate the lost revenue of VED if it’s currently based on emissions.
All sorts of ways. Taxing other polluting activities for example.
In our case the free charger is provided by Northumberland Council, along with two charging bays. The rest of the car park is also free.
Only downsides are that the CHAdeMO seems a little flaky so we often end up using the Type 2 AC charger instead. And the spaces do get ICEd sometimes.
.
Saw this on ZapMap for those saying there are not enough chargers yet:
More here: https://www.zap-map.com/statistics/#points
So today I popped down to Newcastle for some supplies. It’s roughly a 70 mile return journey, I set off with 82 mile range so knew I’d be fine. Arrived at Newcastle with 56 mile range, got to love the regen on the E-Tron. On my way back I blasted the heater out as it was freezing and I had spare. Got back with with 18 miles to spare.
As an experiment I brought up the list of chargers, bizarrely it doesn’t show those on Charge Your car or at least not for me. I may need to check the settings on the car but it does explain why they may have had some issues with the Porsche too.
Still stuck it on the charger, eventually as someone left their MG on it for hours hopefully the note that someone else had left calling them piss taking greedy buggers get the message through. All ready for another 160 miles of motoring. 1,000 miles so far and it’s cost me zero in charging.
80+ Free until Oct 2021 rapid chargers installed over last 12 months in West Yorkshire by Engie on local council plots (public car parks, leisure centres, hospitals, civic centres). I suspect they are heavily subsidised from central Gov funds, unlocked by local council applications and using local council land. Engie benefit from those central Gov funds which pays for the install and uses council land, so in return they offer free charging for a period to get the contract and encourage adoption (attracting taxi companies seem to probably figure in unlocking central Gov funding). Once the free honeymoon period is over, Engie Benefit (their national pay to use network is GeniePoint so the 80+ sites will probably be absorbed into that after Oct 2021).
Still stuck it on the charger, eventually as someone left their MG on it for hours hopefully the note that someone else had left calling them piss taking greedy buggers get the message through.
Last year when we flew out of Newcastle airport both the chargers in short-term had cars in them, and when we got back they were both occupied too. How do you stop someone leaving their car on for a week or so while they're away, or just for the free parking etc?
Or if we'd got an eCar, then it'd need the range for a return journey, as the last thing you need on a late night arrival is to then have to find somewhere to charge it.
Do the batteries loses (some) charge if, say, parked up for a week?
I've been watching a few YouTube eCar reviews (Carwow) and currently a Model 3 looks like one of the few I could live with for miles/size etc, but, I do detest touch screen controls with a passion (and having long legs, always too far away 🙂 ).
How do you stop someone leaving their car on for a week
Fairly easily, either someone patrols the car park occasionally or you stick an ANPR camera up, same as a supermarket car park. Just make the fine bug enough to be a proper deterrent and a lot more than the parking charge.
What I don’t understand is how are governments going to recuperate the lost revenue of VED if it’s currently based on emissions.
VED is a comparatively minor revenue stream. I think the loss of hydrocarbon oil duty and VAT on the petrol/diesel would be a much bigger worry.
What I don’t understand is how are governments going to recuperate the lost revenue of VED if it’s currently based on emissions.
What he said above, but also VED rules seem get changed fairly often anyhow so I definitely wouldn't worry about that. The Gov could probably start addressing the balance by reducing fossil fuel subsidies of £10bn a year.
How do you stop someone leaving their car on for a week
Tow them away. Well a lift as some don’t like being towed or a whopping fine.
I’ve been watching a few YouTube eCar reviews (Carwow) and currently a Model 3 looks like one of the few I could live with for miles/size etc,
I’d have another look there’s a growing number of selection with ample range.
Tow them away. Well a lift as some don’t like being towed or a whopping fine.
Most cars lock the charging cable in so it can't be removed by anyone else; towing the car away would require breaking the lock, which I presume you wouldn't be allowed to do.
Some rapids do charge overstay fees if you stay plugged in too long; Polar (or whatever they are called now) charge £10 per hour if you stay over 90 minutes; Tesla do the same in some cases. That could be a very expensive recharge if you stayed connected for days.
Most cars lock the charging cable in so it can’t be removed by anyone else; towing the car away would require breaking the lock, which I presume you wouldn’t be allowed to do.
Lots have an emergency release or unlock when charged.
I’m really happy with it, my work colleague has got the eNiro and he really likes that. The eNiro has a bigger boot than the soul but with the seats down the Soul has more capacity. As for the Soul I would say have a look at one in the flesh, they don’t look as boxy as they do from the internet pictures but must admit it is slightly smaller than I thought it was going to be. The Soul does come with all the toys and I think the updated new eNiro does as well as mine is very slightly different from colleague’s old eNiro.
I took an eNiro out for a half hour test drive yesterday. It was an enjoyable ride, very comfortable with everything where you want it to be ( heated steering wheel is nice touch). Usual transport is either Transit custom or Wildtrak, so used to being a lot higher up and having a bit more "road presence". All in all was quite impressed. Boot was pretty small, but then I tend to just fill it with shit anyway so could probably live with it. Got a longer test drive booked for the weekend to see if it suits the family
I took an eNiro out for a half hour test drive yesterday......... Boot was pretty small, but then I tend to just fill it with shit anyway so could probably live with it.
How small is small? would it fit a couple of bikes or a washing machine etc?
It's on my list for the new year as I'm very much missing a hatchback at the mo (Tesla M3)
I think you could probably get a single full size suitcase in there, with the cover in place
With the seats down it i would imagine you could get a couple of bikes in.
Its been so long since I had a car ( Ford Cmax) . That had a boot that was just about big enough for us, and although similar volume , seemed bigger. There is not a lot of depth to it in the Eniro.
Worth having a look if you have dealer near you
Some rapids do charge overstay fees if you stay plugged in too long;
Personally I'd set it up so if you hog a space it starts discharging your car again.
I'm not sure if the eNiro is like the soul in that you can lower the boot floor a few inches to give a little bit more space
What he said above, but also VED rules seem get changed fairly often anyhow so I definitely wouldn’t worry about that. The Gov could probably start addressing the balance by reducing fossil fuel subsidies of £10bn a year.
I hate to agree with the government, but they're right, the majority of that isn't a subsidy, and isn't even aimed at fossil fuels.
e.g. the biggest part of that figure is the fact domestic energy is charged 15% less VAT than standard. But that applies whether you heat your house with renewable electricity or gas.
What would you rather, that, or put everyone's domestic heating bill up 15% (even those that can't afford to heat their homes currently).
Same with the North Sea, it's not subsidized, we just adjust the tax rate to keep it going. When the oil price is high and production costs were low the taxes went up. As production costs have risen and prices have fallen the tax reduces. It's not subsidizing, just minimizing the boom and bust nature of the industry. Doesn't entirely work out, I'm still out of work mind you.
Back on topic-ish, I think congestion charging will ramp up. Look at the London scheme, every time traffic starts to return to previous levels they ramp up the charge and/or tighten the exemptions. And it's probably more palatable to people who are averse to any sort of 'big brother' black boxes in cars. That and expanding it to motorways and A-roads.
Tow them away. Well a lift as some don’t like being towed or a whopping fine.
And what actually happens, now? Or is it as simple as, the car moves when it moves?
And what actually happens, now? Or is it as simple as, the car moves when it moves?
Entirely depends where they are parked. Some charge a overlay rate, some fine and others do nothing.