Fully Electric Cars

[Bosscat]

Only joking Buddy im bored watching the golf and it ain't very interesting yet.
Bet you glide serenely through Long Preston going for your papers..looking motionless.... I don't get electric pushbikes

Actually you have to pedal just like any bike ... but when you come to a hill it sort of helps with pedalling

When yer an old git you don't have to get off and push any more

[No Ney Never]

At risk of being political, the problem as I see it is that people who live on terraced streets (or in flats without parking) will have to take a severe hit in lifestyle..people in those circumstances, as an average, tend to be on the poorer end of society...'

Indeed, such individuals ought to be flogged on a regular basis. They should also be made to walk so as not to get in the way of more meaningful members of society going about their business.

[Croydon Claret]

Internal combustion engined cars are cheaper???

Should have said "than" rather than "when". Didn't make myself clear

[Croydon Claret]

The above article assumes home charging is at 34p/kWH, which you’d be silly to pay when you can get access to off-peak tariffs at 10p/kWh. This would take the cost per mile on the example given to just 2p.

I did think the price comparison was unusually low

[Steve1956]

Actually you have to pedal just like any bike ... but when you come to a hill it sort of helps with pedalling

When yer an old git you don't have to get off and push any more

Pedal??? WTF..aren't these bikes like thousands of pounds I thought you just sat there like a bellend and the bike did everything for you.

[SocialistClaret]

At risk of being political, the problem as I see it is that people who live on terraced streets (or in flats without parking) will have to take a severe hit in lifestyle if they have to run an electric car with current technology as opposed to a petrol car. And people in those circumstances, as an average, tend to be on the poorer end of society which makes affording an electric car a bit of a problem.

A little bit of imagination is really all that's needed to overcome your worries. Chargers can go on the side of streets, but they can also go in parking spaces at super markets, or retail units, or at work places, or anywhere cars can park really. They don't only have to be at home, and they don't always have to be fast chargers. Fast chargers, given their cost, could be reserved for places like petrol stations (as they get converted) and service stations while every day charging can occur any time a car is parked up somewhere.

There is only 6+ more years to the purported ban on sale of petrol cars. Can the government really assure us that within that time, the infrastructure will have improved to provide plentiful charging points in all streets, or alternatively charging times will have improved to similar figures to petrol tank refills; and the cost of electric vehicles will have reduced to the extent that decent second hand ones are available for just a few thousand?

ICE cars will still exist. We don't need an abundance of affordable 2nd hand EVs in 6 years. There'll still be affordable 2nd hand ICE cars for many years beyond the phasing out of new ICE cars.

This is quite apart from the other political problem, and again it seems to apply to both sides' politicians. Political will appears to be that the electricity generation capacity should be cut while demand for electricity should be increased. How is that going to work?

Most people, having written something this patently absurd would have realised that it is so ridiculous that it can't possibly be true, and would have deleted this paragraph prior to publishing their comment, but not you. You steadfastly stuck to your guns by posting it anyway and I really respect that.

[dsr]

A little bit of imagination is really all that's needed to overcome your worries. Chargers can go on the side of streets, but they can also go in parking spaces at super markets, or retail units, or at work places, or anywhere cars can park really. They don't only have to be at home, and they don't always have to be fast chargers. Fast chargers, given their cost, could be reserved for places like petrol stations (as they get converted) and service stations while every day charging can occur any time a car is parked up somewhere.

ICE cars will still exist. We don't need an abundance of affordable 2nd hand EVs in 6 years. There'll still be affordable 2nd hand ICE cars for many years beyond the phasing out of new ICE cars.

Most people, having written something this patently absurd would have realised that it is so ridiculous that it can't possibly be true, and would have deleted this paragraph prior to publishing their comment, but not you. You steadfastly stuck to your guns by posting it anyway and I really respect that.

Maybe I could park at a supermarket, but why would I want to? I'd rather park at home. It's not a solution to say I can use a slow charger for half an hour at a supermarket.

As for the electricity generation, which bit do you object to? The suggestion that the government is closing power stations without replacing them, or the suggestion that demand for electricity will increase? Instead of snide comments, be clear and lucid.

Word to the wise - you're new here, and might not realise that politics is banned because of snotty and personal comments like yours. You did a lot of that on the closed gender thread and that was a large part of the reason it was closed. We had a poster on here once over called imploding turtle, whose internet personality was frankly that of a total [I won't say in the interest of board rules and the anti-swearing policy]. He was one of the main reasons for all the restrictions. You can check his posts with the search engine, if they're still there. Don't be like him.

[Whitgord]

Have you tried Intelligent Octopus? I switched to them about 3 weeks ago.

Thanks for that. Unfortunately not available for my car/charger combination yet.

[No Ney Never]

Last time I looked, companies could access a government grant up to £250,000 to install electric vehicle charging.
How many people have cars that spend 8 hours a day parked up at work?
Doesn't work for everyone I know, but certainly does for many.

[Jellybean]

.

Word to the wise - you're new here, and might not realise that politics is banned because of snotty and personal comments like yours. You did a lot of that on the closed gender thread and that was a large part of the reason it was closed. We had a poster on here once over called imploding turtle, whose internet personality was frankly that of a total [I won't say in the interest of board rules and the anti-swearing policy]. He was one of the main reasons for all the restrictions. You can check his posts with the search engine, if they're still there. Don't be like him.

Ha ha, love this

[SocialistClaret]

Maybe I could park at a supermarket, but why would I want to? I'd rather park at home. It's not a solution to say I can use a slow charger for half an hour at a supermarket.

Like i said. Just a little bit of imagination. Almost any time you use your car to travel away from home you have to park it somewhere. A supermarket isn't an exhaustive list of places where you might park your car while out and about.

Please, just use some of that imagination I know you have before you complain about things to which we both know there are obvious solutions and/or workarounds.

[SocialistClaret]

Last time I looked, companies could access a government grant up to £250,000 to install electric vehicle charging.
How many people have cars that spend 8 hours a day parked up at work?
Doesn't work for everyone I know, but certainly does for many.

Indeed. And it doesn't have to work for everyone, it just needs to work for enough people that it takes a load of other solutions, like converted petrol stations, retail car parks, etc.

With this load-spreading (i'm sure there's a better term for that but I can't think of it rn) you don't need to make fast charging times equal to the amount of time it takes to fill a petrol tank. You just need to reduce the demand for fast charging enough that a extra few minutes it takes doesn't matter.

Imagine how insane it would've sounded when the car was invented if someone had said that one day there'd be over 30,000,000 ICE vehicles in the UK and to fuel them all you'd have to drive them to a special refueling place every few days. You'd be laughed at. How could that ever be made to work? Yet some people today seem to think that EV chargers can't ever be accessible enough to work even though they can be installed practically anywhere.

[SocialistClaret]

As for the electricity generation, which bit do you object to? The suggestion that the government is closing power stations without replacing them, or the suggestion that demand for electricity will increase? Instead of snide comments, be clear and lucid.

I suppose my objection comes in the form of just how ridiculous your logic was. You claim without evidence that the political will was to reduce electricity generation capacity while increasing electricity demand. Anyone who paused for a moment would realise that that just doesn't make any sense, so the smart thing to do would have been for you to question it. But you didn't.

If you had questioned your own thinking you'd have learned that in 2021 our electricity capacity was 112 Gigawatts and is projected to rise to 124 GW in 2025, 147 GW in 2030, 159 GW by 2035 and 185 GW by 2040. (Source: Statista 2023)


Regarding your word to the wise, i will treat that advice with the respect i believe it deserves.

[SocialistClaret]

I regret that last sentence. It was unnecessarily dickish and i can't edit it for some reason.

[Bosscat]

Have been running our EC4 for a few months now ... very impressed with it as our everyday runabout ... getting around 3.5 miles per kwh (will probably improve now not using the heater) being able to charge at home means its very very cheap to run.

[BennyD]

I’ll reduce the effect on the planet and use my Jag F Type R instead of an EV.

[Bosscat]

I’ll reduce the effect on the planet and use my Jag F Type R instead of an EV.

Still use our Jag E-Pace for longer journeys BennyD not succumbed completely to the dark side just yet

[Casper2]

https://dailysceptic.org/2023/05/08/car ... ar-fiasco/

[dougcollins]

When I set off from here to S Cornwall I want to actually get there, not sit for two hours (that’s if I can even get near a charger) in a bloody service station.

[Stayingup]

I read recently that the year 2030 for the ceasing of sakes of cars with cimbustion engines was a fugure just plucked out if the air at one of these COP jamborees to make himself sound good and virtuous. What a pr!ck.

On another not I am delighted with my Hybrid. Low cost motoring, its great.

[aggi]

I have a Carrera Crossfuse (21" frame) got it from Halfords ... have had it nearly a year and its been great ... the Bosch motor eats up the hills.

Fitted a carrier and mudguards

Interestingly I read a few articles recently on the future of transport and the consensus seems to be that electric bikes will be the real game changer, not electric cars.

Makes sense really. Far cheaper, far more efficient (both in terms of energy use and road space), can do the vast majority of journeys that cars do, much easier to charge, etc.

[Rileybobs]

https://dailysceptic.org/2023/05/08/car ... ar-fiasco/

What’s your motive for posting this trash?

[BennyD]

Still use our Jag E-Pace for longer journeys BennyD not succumbed completely to the dark side just yet

Good man. Keep resisting, you know it makes sense.

[dsr]

Interestingly I read a few articles recently on the future of transport and the consensus seems to be that electric bikes will be the real game changer, not electric cars.

Makes sense really. Far cheaper, far more efficient (both in terms of energy use and road space), can do the vast majority of journeys that cars do, much easier to charge, etc.

And you can get rained on, don't have a usable radio/music player, far less luggage space, and of course can't take the kids anywhere. And unless they're going to be electric motor bikes, far slower than cars. Not to mention the vastly increased risk of injury in a collision.

They could and probably did use exactly the same argument in every decade of the twentieth century to say that motor bikes would replace petrol cars, and it hasn't happened yet. Electric bikes will (except for a few) be the preserve either of people who like riding bikes, or of people who can't afford cars. Just like motor bikes are now.

[tarkys_ears]

Gotta say, never seen no Tesla on the road that doesn't look like it couldn't benefit from the autopilot being switched on.

Is it Tesla drivers? Does it do something to you? Why DON'T they switch it on when on a 60mph A or B road whilst doing 42mph and slowing down to 35 for 1 degree bends that could be taken at 130mph in any car ever built since the 1970s?

Who could say?

[Taffy on the wing]

Gotta say, never seen no Tesla on the road that doesn't look like it couldn't benefit from the autopilot being switched on.

Is it Tesla drivers? Does it do something to you? Why DON'T they switch it on when on a 60mph A or B road whilst doing 42mph and slowing down to 35 for 1 degree bends that could be taken at 130mph in any car ever built since the 1970s?

Who could say?

Strange post.......they go like a bat out of hell & stick to the road like **** to a blanket.
People are usually complaining about the opposite here.

I've had mine 5 yrs come September.......still not had to service it. No complaints at all.
Would never even think about another petrol car.

[aggi]

And you can get rained on, don't have a usable radio/music player, far less luggage space, and of course can't take the kids anywhere. And unless they're going to be electric motor bikes, far slower than cars. Not to mention the vastly increased risk of injury in a collision.

They could and probably did use exactly the same argument in every decade of the twentieth century to say that motor bikes would replace petrol cars, and it hasn't happened yet. Electric bikes will (except for a few) be the preserve either of people who like riding bikes, or of people who can't afford cars. Just like motor bikes are now.

It's probably more applicable to cities where bikes are already a far faster option than cars and most journeys are easily in range of an electric bike (although given that the average car journey is about 5 miles then most of those could also be by electric bike with a negligible difference in journey time).

They're clearly not going to replace all cars but you just have to look at how popular they are in London (and not just among people who like riding bikes or people who can't afford cars) to see what may be.

Cost of insurance, licensing, etc makes a motorbike a very different proposition.

[dsr]

It's probably more applicable to cities where bikes are already a far faster option than cars and most journeys are easily in range of an electric bike (although given that the average car journey is about 5 miles then most of those could also be by electric bike with a negligible difference in journey time).

They're clearly not going to replace all cars but you just have to look at how popular they are in London (and not just among people who like riding bikes or people who can't afford cars) to see what may be.

Cost of insurance, licensing, etc makes a motorbike a very different proposition.

Time will tell, I suppose.

Even when you add London drivers to the equation, you're only adding those where it's faster to ride a bike than to drive! London driving is appalling. My brother lived in Watford but he would only drive north, never into London.

Aren't these electric bikes limited to 15 mph, or at least if you want to go faster it has to be pedal power only with no electric assistance?

[Rileybobs]

Strange post.......they go like a bat out of hell & stick to the road like **** to a blanket.
People are usually complaining about the opposite here.

I've had mine 5 yrs come September.......still not had to service it. No complaints at all.
Would never even think about another petrol car.

I’ll take your 5 years of personal experience with a pinch of salt if you don’t mind because I’ve just read a piece posted by Casper2 which was written by Toby Young for his Daily Sceptic blog, renowned for publishing misinformation about climate change. Apparently Electric cars are proving to be an unmitigated disaster so I’m not sure your opinion can be trusted.

[Taffy on the wing]

Smart move!

[1fatclaret]

Thanks for that. Unfortunately not available for my car/charger combination yet.

Best thing to do here is lie. I did, twice. All you actually want is cheap electricity between 11 and 5. Your car will most likely be able to set the charging schedule and octopus don’t check you car / charger combo.

[Casper2]

https://www.ft.com/content/61adc32b-6ce ... 05a0e5db44

How are all the brainwashed Betamax drivers getting on this winter ?

[Rileybobs]

https://www.ft.com/content/61adc32b-6ce ... 05a0e5db44

How are all the brainwashed Betamax drivers getting on this winter ?

The article is behind a paywall, care to copy and paste?

I’ve had my EV for nearly a year now and love it;

- Very quick
- Very quiet
- Very spacious
- Very comfy
- No road tax
- Saving a small fortune in fuel costs
- Never had any issues

Not sure why you’re specifically interested in how owners are getting on in winter, the same as any other car would be my honest answer. With the added benefit that I haven’t had to scrape ice off my car once as I can remotely pre-heat the car 10 minutes before I’m due to travel. Some non EV’s can also do this of course, although I can do it with the car plugged into my mains electricity without an engine pumping fumes into the air. And the pre-heated seats and steering wheel are really making this a winter to remember, thanks for asking!

[Casper2]

The article is behind a paywall, care to copy and paste?

I’ve had my EV for nearly a year now and love it;

- Very quick
- Very quiet
- Very spacious
- Very comfy
- No road tax
- Saving a small fortune in fuel costs
- Never had any issues

Not sure why you’re specifically interested in how owners are getting on in winter, the same as any other car would be my honest answer. With the added benefit that I haven’t had to scrape ice off my car once as I can remotely pre-heat the car 10 minutes before I’m due to travel. Some non EV’s can also do this of course, although I can do it with the car plugged into my mains electricity without an engine pumping fumes into the air. And the pre-heated seats and steering wheel are really making this a winter to remember, thanks for asking!

Try this one
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/tips-advi ... ther-range

[Casper2]

The article is behind a paywall, care to copy and paste?

I’ve had my EV for nearly a year now and love it;

- Very quick
- Very quiet
- Very spacious
- Very comfy
- No road tax
- Saving a small fortune in fuel costs
- Never had any issues

Not sure why you’re specifically interested in how owners are getting on in winter, the same as any other car would be my honest answer. With the added benefit that I haven’t had to scrape ice off my car once as I can remotely pre-heat the car 10 minutes before I’m due to travel. Some non EV’s can also do this of course, although I can do it with the car plugged into my mains electricity without an engine pumping fumes into the air. And the pre-heated seats and steering wheel are really making this a winter to remember, thanks for asking!

Think of a city you know, and try to picture it five years from now. Will its streets be full of electric cars, some of them self-driving? If so, then the current travails of electric vehicles (EVs) will have been a mere speed bump. US sales have slowed well below the government’s target, EVs’ share of the British market has stopped growing and only 1.2 per cent of European passenger cars in 2022 were battery-powered.

We know that some vehicle is going to replace the combustion-engine car. The EU, UK, California and several other US states will ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2035, with the phasing out starting much earlier. So what will most drivers shift to? Will they take up electric cars — in effect, just a cleaner version of what they already had — or switch modes of transport altogether? My bet is that, in cities at least, the e-car won’t be the vehicle of the future. I suspect it will keep falling further behind e-bikes, e-mopeds and e-scooters.


Electric cars’ biggest downside is the upfront price — currently 30 or 40 per cent higher than for combustion vehicles. EVs may simply be too expensive to expose to the daily vicissitudes of city streets. (The car rental agency Hertz is selling a third of its electric fleet partly because of high damage costs.)

EVs also emit more carbon over their life cycle than any form of urban transport except petrol cars. They are still worthwhile for people in sprawling suburbs, who drive long distances every day and who will earn back the emissions and the financial outlay by never buying gas again. Heavily used communal vehicles, such as buses and taxis, should go electric, too.

But an electric car doesn’t make sense for individual urbanites. Few of them drive enough. European car mileage has been falling since 2000. In Britain, 57 per cent of cars are driven less than 100 miles a week, calculates the consultancy Field Dynamics. Even in the US, about half of car journeys in the busiest cities are less than three miles. Many urbanites now probably drive a car because they have a car. But if they can find a way not to pay $50,000 for an EV (or in some places, to buy just one rather than two) they will slash their cost of livin

[Rileybobs]

Try this one
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/tips-advi ... ther-range

Cheers. What is it in that article that’s of particular interest? It seems to be a fairly positive write-up of EV’s in line with quite a few of the points I made from my experience.

[Rileybobs]

Presumably this is the FT article? Again, I’m not sure what you’re asking, or why EV-driver’s experiences in winter are relevant to this article?

[BurnleyFC]

We’re on our second EV now and I’m still not convinced.

First was a Jaguar I-Pace which was a very good car to be honest, decent range, excellent handling and good looking, but lost half its value at 6 months old (luckily it was a company car)

We now have a Mercedes EQB which is decent enough, but comparatively worse than its diesel equivalent (again, a company car)

[dsr]

Cheers. What is it in that article that’s of particular interest? It seems to be a fairly positive write-up of EV’s in line with quite a few of the points I made from my experience.

Some of the points are pretty desperate. The one about not having to spend 5 minutes in the sleeting rain filling up your petrol/diesel car - presumably the writer hasn't noticed that petrol stations tend to have roofs! (And I notice Casper's article, referring to increased use of e-bikes and e-scooters, doesn't have the same advantage of pre-heated seats and cabin that you find justifiably attractive! )

The problem with EVs at present is the same as it was 5 and 10 years ago. They aren't as versatile as petrol cars. IMO the current generation of electric cars will become obsolete before petrol cars, because a better form of electric car will be invented.

[Rileybobs]

Some of the points are pretty desperate. The one about not having to spend 5 minutes in the sleeting rain filling up your petrol/diesel car - presumably the writer hasn't noticed that petrol stations tend to have roofs! (And I notice Casper's article, referring to increased use of e-bikes and e-scooters, doesn't have the same advantage of pre-heated seats and cabin that you find justifiably attractive! )

The problem with EVs at present is the same as it was 5 and 10 years ago. They aren't as versatile as petrol cars. IMO the current generation of electric cars will become obsolete before petrol cars, because a better form of electric car will be invented.

I’m not sure Casper had actually read the articles he posted to be honest.

There are plenty of problems with EV’s just like there are plenty of problem with petrol/diesel engine cars. But Casper appears to be baiting EV drivers, so I thought it would be worthwhile giving an honest appraisal of my experience of owning one for the past year to add some balance, as I would wager a decent amount that he’s never driven one.

[Rick_Muller]

The article is behind a paywall, care to copy and paste?

I’ve had my EV for nearly a year now and love it;

- Very quick
- Very quiet
- Very spacious
- Very comfy
- No road tax
- Saving a small fortune in fuel costs
- Never had any issues

Not sure why you’re specifically interested in how owners are getting on in winter, the same as any other car would be my honest answer. With the added benefit that I haven’t had to scrape ice off my car once as I can remotely pre-heat the car 10 minutes before I’m due to travel. Some non EV’s can also do this of course, although I can do it with the car plugged into my mains electricity without an engine pumping fumes into the air. And the pre-heated seats and steering wheel are really making this a winter to remember, thanks for asking!

all positive to hear, but do you own the car? or lease it? or HP? or PCP? that's where the cost is for most drivers considering getting one. I've looked at the possibility of it, and I think my comments are on this thread (or another similar one), but I don't honestly think that pure EV's (i.e. just battery) are the future. I think a stepping stone in the right direction, but most EVs on the road are a large proving ground, almost a concept trial, for the future which will likely be a hybrid car - with electrically driven wheels from a relatively small capacity battery (to reduce weight) which is charged by a fuel cell range extender. I also believe that Toyota (may be wrong on the brand) are close to a solid state battery which will also massively increase range.

EVs are a good concept, but I dont think we're there yet, so in the meantime I'll keep getting 600 miles range on a tank with all the benefits you list in a car I actually own and dont lease for £1000/month.

[aggi]

Some of the points are pretty desperate. The one about not having to spend 5 minutes in the sleeting rain filling up your petrol/diesel car - presumably the writer hasn't noticed that petrol stations tend to have roofs! (And I notice Casper's article, referring to increased use of e-bikes and e-scooters, doesn't have the same advantage of pre-heated seats and cabin that you find justifiably attractive! )

The problem with EVs at present is the same as it was 5 and 10 years ago. They aren't as versatile as petrol cars. IMO the current generation of electric cars will become obsolete before petrol cars, because a better form of electric car will be invented.

The increase in ebikes and escooters is absolutely huge in some areas. I saw a graph recently of what modes of transport were replacing miles travelled by ICE cars and ebikes and escooters were replacing far more miles travelled than electric cars were.

Ultimately I think the whole electric car thing is just a sop to those who want to pretend they're doing something. They still have virtually all of the negatives of ICE cars and many are following the same trend of getting bigger and more powerful.

[Rileybobs]

all positive to hear, but do you own the car? or lease it? or HP? or PCP? that's where the cost is for most drivers considering getting one. I've looked at the possibility of it, and I think my comments are on this thread (or another similar one), but I don't honestly think that pure EV's (i.e. just battery) are the future. I think a stepping stone in the right direction, but most EVs on the road are a large proving ground, almost a concept trial, for the future which will likely be a hybrid car - with electrically driven wheels from a relatively small capacity battery (to reduce weight) which is charged by a fuel cell range extender. I also believe that Toyota (may be wrong on the brand) are close to a solid state battery which will also massively increase range.

EVs are a good concept, but I dont think we're there yet, so in the meantime I'll keep getting 600 miles range on a tank with all the benefits you list in a car I actually own and dont lease for £1000/month.

I lease the car and use a salary sacrifice scheme through my company which is the game-changer and makes an EV a no-brainer for me. I wouldn't dream of buying any car outright, let alone an EV. I'd also have reservations about buying an EV on a PCP deal due to the potential drop in value when coming to the end of the term of the deal - I'm not sure if there are some schemes to protect the value of the car to prevent you being left out of pocket as I haven't looked into it?

Your predictions for the future of the motor industry are interesting, and I'm not qualified in anyway to disagree - but to be honest it's not the slightest concern to me for the reasons outlined above. If electric cars aren't the future it doesn't bother me, I'll just get a different type of car in the future.

Sounds like you're happy with your car, and your range is fantastic so if it works for you that's great, but I'm not calling you and other people 'brainwashed Betamax drivers' because you've made a different choice. For me, running cost is more important than having a range that I would never travel in a single day. Also, your £1000/month lease is rather disingenous.

I think a thread like this should be about giving credible information so that people are free to make their own choices, some of the disinformation (and your £1000/month lease falls into this category) just isn't helpful.

Some verifiable figures in the 11 months that I've been using my EV;

Total distance; 7700 miles
Total energy cost; £255

This equates to 30 miles to the £1, or 3.3p per mile.

My net monthly lease cost is £50 more than my previous petrol car which I would put in the same category, so I have spent £550 more by leasing the car during this period. But my previous car cost me 36p per mile to run which would have cost me £2,772 over the same period in fuel. I have also saved on road tax of £570 (this benefit will end in 2025).

So a net gain during this period of £2770, equating to a £2970 saving over a year.

Obviously these cars are not for everyone, I just think some actual facts and real-life experience may help people to make more informed choices.

[dsr]

I’m not sure Casper had actually read the articles he posted to be honest.

There are plenty of problems with EV’s just like there are plenty of problem with petrol/diesel engine cars. But Casper appears to be baiting EV drivers, so I thought it would be worthwhile giving an honest appraisal of my experience of owning one for the past year to add some balance, as I would wager a decent amount that he’s never driven one.

The difficulty at present with electric cars is twofold. 1, price. They're fine for people who want a new £30k car, petrol or otherwise, but not yet fine for those who would buy second hand for £5k or a bit over. 2, facilities. They're not good for people who don't have their own driveway.

Electric cars are fine for those that can afford them. The practical and financial difficulties for those who drive smaller, second hand cars, are yet to be solved.

[Rileybobs]

The difficulty at present with electric cars is twofold. 1, price. They're fine for people who want a new £30k car, petrol or otherwise, but not yet fine for those who would buy second hand for £5k or a bit over. 2, facilities. They're not good for people who don't have their own driveway.

Electric cars are fine for those that can afford them. The practical and financial difficulties for those who drive smaller, second hand cars, are yet to be solved.

Agreed.

[Plissken]

But an electric car doesn’t make sense for individual urbanites. Few of them drive enough. European car mileage has been falling since 2000. In Britain, 57 per cent of cars are driven less than 100 miles a week, calculates the consultancy Field Dynamics. Even in the US, about half of car journeys in the busiest cities are less than three miles. Many urbanites now probably drive a car because they have a car. But if they can find a way not to pay $50,000 for an EV (or in some places, to buy just one rather than two) they will slash their cost of livin

That's not an argument against EVs. That's an argument against cars.

[Ziggy Stardust]

https://electrek.co/2024/01/11/toyota-s ... -mi-range/

Perhaps Solid State batteries can be the game changer. As always depends on the price but the distance and charge times look good.

[South West Claret.]

Is that right that the insurance charge on EC’s is relatively high?

[bobinho]

Pedal??? WTF..aren't these bikes like thousands of pounds I thought you just sat there like a bellend and the bike did everything for you.

Only half right Steve….

[Leyland Claret]

I’ve had a fully electric car for nearly 2 years and am fully smitten with it. I have the car on a 3 year lease deal and will look, if possible, to buy the car at the end. In actual fact the drop in value of these cars is a bonus for me because it means I will have had a brand new car and if I can buy pay a substantial amount less than if I had bought it outright. I understand EV cars aren’t the future but they are now and I love it.