Been a busy but very good boy

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by Brettus

LP: there are brakes but you seldom have to use them (especially with the forward observation that comes with biking) the regenerative braking as you ease off the throttle is akin to V-Twin engine braking with a little finesse its very easy to keep a smooth drive without needing to use the brakes that don't give you any power back (but do definitely stop you quickly!)

Cool!

[mister c]

Nice one Brett, didn't even know BMW made a small electric car, shows how much notice I take of cars these days. Does look very nice though, have to admit. Hope you enjoy it

[Brettus]

Originally Posted by 454697819

genuine question -



Did you do the maths over say 3 years re the cost / benefit -



Given the 35k price tag I just cant make it stack up re a entry level 5 series not over 3 years anyway?



Interested in your reasoning for this over a standard motor



(doesn't help I live in the sticks and do 20k a year)

Yeah, I could never make an electric car stack up as either the high initial price (and steep depreciation) or the battery rental being almost as much as a petrol bill each month would make it ineffective for saving in the short term.

I got lucky to a degree though as I got it as a company car, the high purchase price is paid for, the servicing is gone for me, the running costs (pence per mile) are mine so I'm effectively starting at a better point. The benefit in kind is lower than most other alternatives too, I might've been able to save money overall by getting an efficient diesel or something but only really if I did a lot of miles.

I'd offset the desire for an electric car against some of the cost too so that helped sway it. Most of my miles are local trips so it fits for a lot. I didn't crunch the numbers exactly but I got close enough for me to decide that I'd accept it. Might not be the same for everyone though and I might have missed a trick somewhere but I seem to be alright with it, and projections on car tax etc looks like it'll always be way behind while I own it.

Mister_C good to see you back around, nice new wheels BTW! I only discovered it late, been looking at others and found this, the entry cost of the technology means most are similar price, Vauxhall/BMW at the same price, which way would you go?
Marmite looks but I love it, I like the upright driving position, the simplicity and definitely the acceleration, put quite a few things to shame

Just put an order in for a Renault Zoe, get it in September. I can't wait

[Brettus]

Originally Posted by svrich_02

Just put an order in for a Renault Zoe, get it in September. I can't wait

Cool! Saw one of those waiting to charge today. Very nice looking! Sporty hatch sort of style.

Did a 217 mile round trip today, stopped three times to charge. Final one was a 15 min splash and dash at ikea as I wanted to be safe (OK fine, I wanted cinnamon buns!)
Total cost of journey.... £2 half for the home charge last night and half for tonight's charge he to bring it back to 100%

It's unsustainable like this I know (especially as motoring feels like cheating, free miles, best spots for parking etc) but I intend to make the most of it.

Think I need the 7kW charger at home now to improve repeat trips in a day.

[Brettus]

OK time for a little ramble, I'll post it here to avoid clogging anything else up or creating a new thread but I was asked in the photo thread how I'm getting on and it's been eventful. I'm *checks app* 3626 miles into my ownership and I'm on my second tank of fuel...
Oh yes, the fuel tank is 9 litres!


Alright those are big headlines without much context so permit me to elucidate.
I've avoided using fuel whenever possible, I've charged at free fast chargers whenever convenient and I've charged it at home every night for what I'd say would be an average cost of £1.20 (+/-20p I'd say is my margin for accuracy in my estimations)
I've been away from home for 12-14 days of that time so didn't pay for charge then. I've only paid for a public charge once and that was £2.55 to fill the battery (saved the £12 it would've cost to park in York city centre though!)

Most of my journeys fell well within the normal battery range, going out in the evening sometimes resulted in popping in to one of the nearby fast chargers en route. I've done two major journeys in it, the first was to our Devon office (near Barnstaple)

I'd set off from Nantwich before lunch, stopped at Ikea Wednesbury then Gloucester Services and finally Sedgemoor Services (unfortunately the southbound charger was inoperative so had to do a slingshot manoeuvre round the junctions to charge on the northbound and then head back south)
The end result in this patience of charging and pace (56mph on the motorway (See note 1) and getting around 85% charge at each stop (see note 2))
was that I got within 12 miles of the mill then HAD to engage the range extender.
The take-away from this though is that because the top up charges en route were free, it cost me almost as much to petrol power myself at 40mpg for those 12 miles, than it did to get me TO those last 12 miles, the charge at home.
Unfortunately it also took me 7.5 hours due to around 2 being lost in charging and slower pace will have taken another hour or so off me.
Google reckons 4 hours 19 for the 234 mile journey.

On the way back I adopted a different tact let's try the 1 stop strategy, full battery and full tank of fuel, l aimed for Gloucester services to fill both battery and tank and do it again. and driving at normal speeds (70, Mr Officer Sir) This reduced the journey time to around 5 hrs (I was also delayed 10-15 mins while the charger was in use) but used the remainder of my "free" tank of fuel that came with the car and then the refill to get me home. (I'm still on the fuel that I put in after that journey)
Interestingly as I was walking IN to Gloucester services my colleague who left at the same time as me but in a 420d, was just walking OUT so I wasn't too far off pace.

Note 1: not nearly as dangerous as it sounds as this is the cruising speed of trucks so I'm keeping pace with them and just being overtaken by other cars. it is surprisingly relaxing at this pace I found.

Note 2: due to charging physics you can't charge a battery at full rate all the way to the top, it tapers off as it closes in on 100% so you find a decent trade off between time and charge level.

Since then we've been to Whitby for a week on holiday, Charged at Birch services, then Leeds Ikea for a top up as we were heading to Harrogate for the cake and bake show. Arrived there at Whitby with 31 miles charge left but didn't go anywhere during the week, we enjoyed pottering around the town. Coming home the 31 miles got us a good way towards York but we had to use REX to get there and recharge the battery.
One more stop on the way back (Birch services on the M62) saw us home with minimal fuss.

OK so that is the economy covered, it's outstanding (assuming you're driving needs fall within most of it's range)

Driving it:
I still love the simplicity of driving that this brings. Single pedal control is ace, keeps things simple and fluid. On warm days I tend to have both windows down and enjoy the sound of silence (well the small whine as the motor winds up/down and then the noises from people/surroundings, its still neat) soon as you get up to anything over 40 though it is like a normal car, too much wind noise to appreciate anything. I think it handles really well, it isn't a sports car but it IS sporty, the acceleration is still grin-worthy and spoils a lot of peoples day (I'm looking at you Golf GTI in the wrong lane)

The regenerative braking is natural with riding the SV and makes so much sense to return the energy rather than waste it by friction braking. I had an issue with the disengaging of the cruise control as when you turn it off it swaps to instant full on regen braking. With a day or two of trying though I was sorted with matching the throttle so it is seamless. (the other option which I DO employ when I've got the road to myself is to know your braking distances and effectively drop anchor and regain as much as possible )

The car lights up the brake lights when it starts to decelerate beyond a certain threshold. From what I've had chance to observe in reflections it is pretty well adjusted, not on too much but also not absent when needed.

The turning circle is great, with the skinny wheels it has more lock so can get in and out of places a lot easier. Parking is a doddle despite not having the rear camera that I'd become so reliant on with the Juke.

The car doesn't roll backwards either, so hill starts are a thing of the past. The hand brake disengages automatically if you engage it too (normal for some but first electronic hand brake I've had)

The rear doors and seats might be an issue for some, in parking spaces they can be a little tricky to use but are perfectly serviceable and the seats (2 only in the back) aren't cramped. No rear window ventilation might seem odd but I've no qualm with them.

The cabin is spacious despite being a "small" car, it behaves as if it is much smaller than it is, it never feels unstable or skittish, it's responsive and provides decent feedback IMHO.

Charging:
I'm still using the 3 pin charger at home, I've got a weatherproof box that houses it so the cable just hangs ready to plug in each night. I am going to get a 32a charger installed sometime which will mean 3-4 hour charge at home, currently it can be over 8 hours if particularly depleted. (only had to leave for work once with it not fully charged and it was at 95% so it hasn't been an issue)

My local town are installing DC fast chargers (20 minute - 80% type ones) so if they aren't costly then my lunch times should be more productive too

My typical daily driving is:
Home-Work (15 miles)
Work-Lunch-Work (15 miles)
Work-Home (15 miles)
Home-Shops-Home (40 miles) often cheshire oaks or Broughton retail park etc.

Some days I'm not out for lunch so if I go shopping in the evening I don't need to charge, obviously I don't go shopping every day but more often than not we DO go out in the evening some place.

Fast chargers are great for longer distances and while 20-30 minutes at the services might seem like hell, I actually rather enjoy it. I often have my coolbag in the car with some food and drink which saves cost but even if I pay services prices for a coffee and/or food, I'm still putting that money into myself, not my fuel tank so I don't mind that.

Bad points:
I've had a very frustrating day with it while owning it, I'd driven to Manchester for a training course, tried to charge at a GMEV charging point in an NCP car park and it wouldn't accept my RFID card (first time I'd used one of those points so guessed it wouldn't work) parked in a normal spot and figured I'd fast charge on the way home, no drama. By the time I left it was throwing it down, got to Lymm services and there was an i3 already charging but parked in such a way that I couldn't get in either space for that post to queue up. I parked behind and checked the display, they'd been charging on a fast charger for an hour! I waited around in the services area keeping an eye on the space, 10 minutes, still no return, one quick lap of WH Smith and when I next looked the space was clear of an i3 but a Leaf was now charging! doh!
I gave in and hopped back in the car, burnt some more fuel and drove to Chester services to fast charge there.

Turns out my card SHOULD have worked, there must have been a fault with the post in manchester, for the other 3 days of the course I used one of the other 5 bays in that car park. And obviously I know if I'd waited in my car I could have pounced on the charger when it was free but I wanted to stretch my legs and NOT end up intimidating the inconsiderate charger before me.

Oh, one last point, when I got to the Mill in Devon, I charged at our site and got a lift from my boss to the hotel as I couldn't find a decent option for charging there or nearby.

Summary:
Overall it's a viable main car (with some not insignificant caveats) for a second car it's ideal. Long journeys ARE possible but aren't as simple as conventional cars just yet. (I'm often thinking of when the first cars came about, people saying "why would I want one of those, I can ride for a whole day on my horse and just stop to water it every now and again" Every advancement in transport requires infrastructure and a mindset change, it takes time for that to happen but the EV movement has gained momentum and is continuing to do so.

The running cost savings should ultimately mitigate the initial purchase cost but that does take a while obviously. Leasing would be a different option but I've not checked costs. I'm fortunate enough that being a company car, I get the running cost savings without the outlay hanging over me to earn my way out of.

I'm reasonably fortunate that despite my rural location I'm bounded on two sides by motorways (M56 and M6) with fast chargers on them and at their intersection so I've got a reasonable bubble of easy range when those are taken into account. My driving style has certainly changed, I'm smoother and not as fast, I'll happily sit in eco pro + mode which soft limits you to 56mph, if you push the throttle it'll go beyond but it encourages good behaviour.

[admin]

Nice write up. I'd certainly consider buying one of these.