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Cont: Electric Vehicles II

I saw that Renault 5 EV at the Goodwood Festival of Speed at the weekend and unlike other manufacturers <cough, Ford> they were happy to put their new EV side by side with its petrol namesake.
 
Just took delivery last week of a used 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV for my wife, after she had an accident in her previous car. She was not really keen on getting an EV, but she test drove one and liked it well enough. Took it on a longer drive this weekend so she could get a better feel for it, and she loves it now.
 
The UK government will soon be offering a cash incentive to buy a relatively inexpensive EV

The cost of some new electric cars will soon be reduced by up to £3,750 under grants being introduced by the government to encourage drivers to move away from petrol and diesel vehicles.

The discounts will apply to eligible vehicles costing up to £37,000, with the most environmentally friendly vehicles seeing the biggest reductions, the Department for Transport (DfT) said.
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www.bbc.co.uk

Electric cars: Drivers offered up to £3,750 discount

Government will subsidise prices cuts to encourage a shift away from petrol and diesel.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
 
Going to the "Launch" of the EV4 in Grantham today. This one has, apparently, V2G, V2L and, what I'm especially interested in, V2H*. Domestic battery storage is an aspiration (but so is retirement), having an extra 60 or 70 kwh's on the drive would be nice.

And it' has > 350 miles of range without being an SUV. Sedan has a big arse, but 10%(ish) more range than the hatchback.



*Vehicle to Grid, Load, and Home
 
Well, it was very nice. The "fastback" (not sedan) is £1500 dearer, so I don't think it will be very popular. The dealer had GBNews playing, so we definitely won't be buying from there. Lincolnshire!
 
Jack by the hedge said:
It's odd now to find yourself following an old pre-catalytic converter car and remember driving in traffic always used to smell like this, and the fumes had lead in them.
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I'm at the point where if the car in front of me is giving out visible exhaust gases, I sort of recoil as if they'd blown cigarette smoke in my face. I'm now the permanent driver of our social group's car-sharing activities. I say because I really like driving my car so why don't I just do it, I say because it's costing me a fraction of what it costs the others to run their ICE cars, and I say that it's better for the environment if we use the EV.

I really mean, although I don't tell them, that I hate being in an ICE car now.
 
Rolfe said:
I'm at the point where if the car in front of me is giving out visible exhaust gases, I sort of recoil as if they'd blown cigarette smoke in my face. I'm now the permanent driver of our social group's car-sharing activities. I say because I really like driving my car so why don't I just do it, I say because it's costing me a fraction of what it costs the others to run their ICE cars, and I say that it's better for the environment if we use the EV.

I really mean, although I don't tell them, that I hate being in an ICE car now.
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Could not agree more.

And this is the reason why I call them: "stink-boxes".

The funniest comparison I see is when I pull away from the lights, silently, smoothly, not a care in the world...

... and see the stink-boxes in my mirrors, as they lurch back and forth, throwing occupants and contents around, belching smoke (and failure) as they desperately try to catch up.

They're starting to look steam punk to me.

:)

There's already enough electric vehicles on the road near me, that my neighbours have commented on the reduced 'road noise' in our suburb.
 
I keep reminding myself that I was driving a petrol car until a couple of years ago, and not everyone is ready to change cars right now. So not to judge.

My GTi handled the pull away from the lights very well, but I had to work at it. My bog-standard base spec MG4 just does it without either of us having to think about it.
 
novaphile said:
Could not agree more.

And this is the reason why I call them: "stink-boxes".

The funniest comparison I see is when I pull away from the lights, silently, smoothly, not a care in the world...

.
.. and see the stink-boxes in my mirrors, as they lurch back and forth, throwing occupants and contents around, belching smoke (and failure) as they desperately try to catch up.
They're starting to look steam punk to me.

:)

There's already enough electric vehicles on the road near me, that my neighbours have commented on the reduced 'road noise' in our suburb.
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Ah, the joys of a vivid imagination.
 
novaphile said:
Tell me you've never driven an electric car without telling me that you've never driven an electric car.
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Agree...
I got to drive a Atto3 in town- and I was seriously impressed- from a standing start, it was easily equal to the old XR8 Falcon in acceleration, overtaking roadtrains was effortless (especially in comparison to the old Hilux lol- on a good day, that old diesel is a slug...) and driving a 200km plus round trip to pick up a $7 cupboard hinge was a real eyeopener in just how limiting fuel costs are these days- I remember when I was growing up, we used to just go out on 'Sunday drives' as a family- something literally NOONE does any more- its just too bloody expensive....

If I had taken my Hilux, that $7 hinge would have been over $20 in diesel to go and pick it up- in the Atto- literally ZERO- as the owner is offgrid and charges from his 10kw solar array that runs his house....

Thats one hell of an eyeopener- when he offered me a 'test drive' at the supermarket (I had parked next to him and was asking questions about how he found it, especially in a very rural setting like my town, where the next town over is literally a hundred kilometres of bush) I had expected a quick 'spin around the block'- not a 2 hour long drive at 110kph, just to pick up a seven buck hinge....

'Range anxiety' only seems to be a thing with ICERs, EV owners soon lose their fear of it- you'd think such a rural setting with literally hundred kilometre long 'hops' between towns would make EVs scarce- yet here its the opposite- in a town of 1500 people we are now up to SEVEN EVs, and not a single new car bought in the last two years has been an ICE- all EV's.... (and not one Tesla lol) All charging is done at home (even the offgrid one LOL) and there is an EV charger in town, plus chargers at every town in every direction- even should you need a 'topup' charge (and the Atto3 can do 400km in 'real life' conditions) its literally a less than half hour charge to take you from 20% to 80% full again... basically give it a 10 minute charge and it could have driven from the hardware shop back home again....(less than a 10 min charge gives a 100km range 'topup' if you are in a rush...
 
My Golf GTi was written off rather suddenly and I had to do a crash course in EVs. On YouTube. I was very impressed by what people were saying about them, and arranged a test drive. I was a bit worried the performance wouldn't live up to the GTi. (The boy racer X-Power version of the MG4 wasn't yet available at the time.)

My God! I came back with a stupid grin on my face babbling "take my money!" and drove off in my new car less than two weeks later. I love it to bits. The performance, the convenience, the economy and all the little extra facilities you don't realise till you have one . I'd never go back.
 
What gets me is that the Atto 3 I drove was the LR (heavier) version of the beast, its a design that dates back almost half a decade, and is right at the 'cheap' end of the market- and yet its acceleration is quite impressive just the same- sure it not in the 'Plaid' tesla range- but then nothing is- thats up in the Bugatti supercar range- and really- who needs that (especially in a 'shopping trolley' mid sized SUV like the Atto lol)

Mind you its still in the eight second mark (about the same as an XR8 Falcon ute I used to drive lol) and put up against the old Hilux I got here- well, the Atto could go from a standing start to 100kmh, brake and stop, and then do it all again, before the Hilux got to 100.... as in literally- the Atto3 is 7.3 seconds, against the Hilux's over 15 seconds...

And this is in one of the cheapest EVs on the market with a 400km range...
 
novaphile said:
Tell me you've never driven an electric car without telling me that you've never driven an electric car.
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I have never driven an electric car.

My automatic transmission changes gears very smoothly, and does not throw occupants and contents around. Gear changes are only detectable if I boot it to pass a vehicle on the highway.

My ICE engine is properly maintained and does not belch smoke. This is also the case for the vast majority of ICE engines I encounter every day. I do concede that it discharges products of combustion into the air.

Drivers around where you live constantly try to race you every time a light turns green? A thing that is vanishingly rare where I live and drive. You should probably move to a safer area with less rednecks, punks, and mouth breathers. My car accelerates adequately and enables me to drive at the posted speed and hit most speed coordinated green lights. Faster acceleration would not get me to my destination any sooner.

But I am sure it is good for your fragile ego to have the fastest accelerating car on the block! Good onya, lad.

ETA I have no issue with electric cars. I think they are a great idea and improvements in range, charging etc are happening at an astonishing rate. But I will never own one. Given my age and limited income I have no choice but to coddle my old Toyota until the time comes that I become too decrepit to be allowed to drive.

And actually I have driven electric rentals. They worked fine but I guess my longtime driving habits remained in place and it never occurred to me to see how fast I could accelerate so I could leave other poor suckers in my dust.
 
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Rolfe said:
My Golf GTi was written off rather suddenly and I had to do a crash course in EVs. On YouTube. I was very impressed by what people were saying about them, and arranged a test drive. I was a bit worried the performance wouldn't live up to the GTi. (The boy racer X-Power version of the MG4 wasn't yet available at the time.)

My God! I came back with a stupid grin on my face babbling "take my money!" and drove off in my new car less than two weeks later. I love it to bits. The performance, the convenience, the economy and all the little extra facilities you don't realise till you have one . I'd never go back.
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:yikes: :crowded::eek::jaw-dropp
 
Steve said:
I have never driven an electric car.

My automatic transmission changes gears very smoothly, and does not throw occupants and contents around. Gear changes are only detectable if I boot it to pass a vehicle on the highway.

My ICE engine is properly maintained and does not belch smoke. This is also the case for the vast majority of ICE engines I encounter every day. I do concede that it discharges products of combustion into the air.

Drivers around where you live constantly try to race you every time a light turns green? A thing that is vanishingly rare where I live and drive. You should probably move to a safer area with less rednecks, punks, and mouth breathers. My car accelerates adequately and enables me to drive at the posted speed and hit most speed coordinated green lights. Faster acceleration would not get me to my destination any sooner.

But I am sure it is good for your fragile ego to have the fastest accelerating car on the block! Good onya, lad.

ETA I have no issue with electric cars. I think they are a great idea and improvements in range, charging etc are happening at an astonishing rate. But I will never own one. Given my age and limited income I have no choice but to coddle my old Toyota until the time comes that I become too decrepit to be allowed to drive.

And actually I have driven electric rentals. They worked fine but I guess my longtime driving habits remained in place and it never occurred to me to see how fast I could accelerate so I could leave other poor suckers in my dust.
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Not the only time acceleration can be important...
Indeed it is MUCH more important at highway speeds- for overtaking...

My old Hilux requires a good couple of kilometres of 'clear sight' to safety overtake- its a bloody slug overtaking even on a semi... and around here, double road trains are more common- that is closer to 3-4km to overtake one.... I have had to stamp the brakes and 'drop back in behind' quite a few times simply because oncoming traffic appeared before the old 'Lux' managed to get past a double road train....

Where the Atto with its MUCH better acceleration rate is actually a MUCH safer vehicle to highway drive- simply because it goes like a scalded cat when you plant it....

So your characterisation of acceleration only being important for 'rednecks, punks, and mouth breathers' as you put it only shows yourself up.......

And EV's are quite cheap- hell I looked at a replacement diesel for the Lux- over $6k for a reco diesel fitted, the Atto I am looking at (the most expensive one mind you as its the 400km plus LR version) is $44k literally only six times the price of repowering my 20 year old Hilux....- if I didn't live in a remote rural area and went the shorter range standard version, that is only $32k...

Mind you I can't even buy a base model new Hilux for anywhere near that- the 2 door single cab like mine in the 'Workmate' trim level (rubber mats, vinyl seats basic tradies pack in other works) is $51k!!! the usual 'family' crewcab ute is closer to $70k....
 
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