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Topic Originator: brian
Date: Wed 29 Apr 10:45
Thinking of an electric such as a Mokka
Any recommendations for a house charger?
Any feedback on electric cars, only going to Aberdeen now and again and driving locally.
Got a diesel at moment
I see the rising fuel prices post below
Thanks
Post Edited (Wed 29 Apr 10:47)
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Topic Originator: DBP
Date: Wed 29 Apr 12:48
On the electric car - love it
On the home charger, We got ours fitted through octopus energy, it’s an ohme one (or something like that)
We also went into their cheap overnight tariff so it will only charge up overnight on a much cheaper rate
Ours has a really small range (about 120 miles) and never had any issue with going to Glasgow and stopping off in Stirling and Livingston en route)
We have done a few long distance journeys (above our range) but 15 mins in any Starbucks charger and we’re back to full capacity
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Topic Originator: brian
Date: Wed 29 Apr 15:38
Sounds good, am with Octopus so will check that
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contact: email me
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Topic Originator: Westies squint kicks
Date: Wed 29 Apr 17:18
Have had a Pod Point charger for 3 years and had no issues.
On a car Brian unfortunately the range advertised won`t be anything close to it in the Scottish climate, I accept this though and it shouldn`t put you off.
Compared to the diesel I had before, I cover the same miles and it costs me about one third of the price and I don`t use any special rates (i.e overnight charging at 7p with some providers) otherwise I`d be less than half that again. I wouldn`t go back to a combustion engine.
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Topic Originator: DBP
Date: Wed 29 Apr 18:00
You can schedule the car to prepare itself, eg warm up the battery ahead of a planned journey in the cold weather which will increase the range.
Ours claims 120 miles and will still deliver 100 in Scottish winter
Post Edited (Wed 29 Apr 18:00)
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Topic Originator: Tad Allagash
Date: Wed 29 Apr 20:05
The decision is tethered or not tethered, and where to put it.
I’ve got an untethered Ohme epod through Octopus (about £900). They added a separate fuse box next to the meter and ran a cable to the front of my terraced house driveway.
Untethered looks neater if it’s on the front of your house, and you could get a longer or shorter cable if you want. The cable that comes with the car will be about 5m long.
The disadvantage of untethered is if it’s raining, I have to store a wet cable in my boot or dry it off with a towel.
The Ohme app is easy enough to use - set it to charge to x% by a certain time and Octopus will schedule it at the cheap rate. It doesn’t know my battery state of charge, so I’ve got to tell it. I’ve got a Peugeot e2008. Some EVs might be able to tell the charger their state of charge.
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Topic Originator: DBP
Date: Thu 30 Apr 07:27
If you get untethered, does that make it easier to switch between European car makers, Asian car makers and Tesla? - given they all use different connections
We got a tethered one (European makers - cat2 i think) and now guess I’m kinda locked in to that specific charger type?
Post Edited (Thu 30 Apr 07:27)
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Topic Originator: brian
Date: Fri 1 May 11:19
thanks ofr advice, went for the Mokka, nice and easy to drive, now need to work out the charging. have one of these granny 3kw chargers to get started
are you using the Zapmap App to find cost of charging ?
in Dunfermline I see cost 0.19, 0.40, 0.65
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contact: email me
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Topic Originator: DBP
Date: Fri 1 May 15:12
We got it initially before we had the charger installed… but if you’re topping up from home and not doing long journeys where you need to recharge en route then not really needed TBH.
Also we know to just head for a Starbucks as they have chargers that work for us so they’re easy enough to find
Edited to say that the cars app may also be able to locate chargers. The difference in price might be down to the rate of charge?
Post Edited (Fri 01 May 15:14)
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Topic Originator: brian
Date: Fri 1 May 15:39
thanks, DBP
I think will try the smaller charger to see how it goes, it may do my needs
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Topic Originator: jake89
Date: Fri 1 May 17:51
If you`re not travelling far then the granny charger will work fine for top ups. I think the preferable rates are only available if you have a home charger installed though.
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Topic Originator: DBP
Date: Fri 1 May 18:35
Think you’re right Jake, we switched tariff with octopus as part of getting the charger installed.
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Topic Originator: brian
Date: Wed 6 May 09:16
Quote:
Octopus Go and Intelligent Octopus Go feature significantly higher daytime rates (peak hours) compared to their discounted overnight rates. Daytime rates are often higher than the standard price cap (around 29–31p/kWh) to subsidize the cheap 11:30 pm–5:30 am rate. However, the tariff is designed to be cheaper overall if you shift high-energy consumption to the night
I`ve noticed the day rate goes up from 20p to 32p while you get the 5 hours down to 9p
however, if you live and breathe during the day, then it looks like a 50% increase
so is it really worth it. I`m not doing a lot of miles so it might be more expensive for me to go onto the Octopus Go plan ?
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contact: email me
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Topic Originator: DBP
Date: Wed 6 May 11:15
Yeah, you’ll need to work out what you use and when and then decide…
However the more you investigate, I found the more likely you’ll be to end up with house batteries and solar, because then you top up the battery to run the house on the cheaper rate (is the solar doesn’t fill it up first)
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Topic Originator: brian
Date: Wed 6 May 11:50
cheers, yea that sounds a good option too
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contact: email me
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Topic Originator: jake89
Date: Tue 7 Jul 16:20
How is the car going, Brian?
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Topic Originator: Thaipar
Date: Wed 8 Jul 13:11
I just done a 1200 km round trip here in Thailand, the total costs to charge my car was 1240 thai baht, roughly that will work out at 30.00 gbp.
The infrastructure for charging was amazing, most of the large filling stations had chargers.
One of my ev cars is now 4 years old and holds the same charge and mileage as when bought new.
If the UK could lower the power bills EV is definitely the way to go.
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Topic Originator: hurricane_jimmy
Date: Wed 8 Jul 13:17
Just don`t buy BYD or any other Chinese brand - awful QC because of the companies milking the Government subsidy which is based on production numbers. As a result you never know how many corners they`ve cut during the production of the individual car you have as the company knows many of them will never go on the road. Many incidents on Chinese Social media of battery fires and various other issues!
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Topic Originator: twin par
Date: Thu 9 Jul 01:30
Friend of mine bought a byd.I warned him about the insurance cost.His policy went up 2 hundred quid,he was warned!😀You can’t get spare parts,even then,they cost a fortune.Would not go near them.
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Topic Originator: KirklistonPar
Date: Thu 9 Jul 15:52
I’ve been driving all electric since the original type Nissan Leaf first came out. Over the past 2 years I’d say it’s been getting to be more of a pain in the backside. I’m now 80% certain my next car won’t be electric. Charging is such a massive inconvenience and stressful part of owning electric cars. Especially now as a m driving longer distances and into more rural locations. At first it didn’t bother me so much but when your heading up north or in rural locations it’s sometimes turns in to me crossing my fingers and hoping I can get to a charger and that it actually works. Theres still lots of machines that don’t take a bank or credit card for payment and data connections for apps can be poor. Long distance is fine if your on a motorway but waiting times to charge can very long. I’ve sat for over two hours a few times. Also had the situation of being in a town with 7 chargers and only one was working and it was a 7kw charger. Thankfully it was at our final destination for the day so I was able to charge overnight. The price for a service is 3 times what it used to be, need to pay road tax now, pay per mile coming in, charging is no longer free, electricity prices are higher. So I fail to see what the benefits of owning one now.
Post Edited (Thu 09 Jul 15:55)
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Topic Originator: DBP
Date: Thu 9 Jul 17:50
I charge at home, or if further than range then use a Starbucks as I know their chargers work and take cards , but charging away from home is expensive, although still way cheaper than petrol - I have another diesel vehicle and that’s eye wateringly expensive compared to the electric car. We had to pay vehicle excise duty last year which was disappointing and pay per mile is also off putting, but compared to how much cheaper we pay to charge the battery compared to full a tank. it’s still worth it for now
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Topic Originator: twin par
Date: Thu 9 Jul 23:22
To be honest, If I am forced,I will get a hybrid.As long as I can get petrol models,I will always go with them. I refuse to pay the price for an electric car.
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Topic Originator: P
Date: Fri 10 Jul 06:44
Get mine half price through tax incentives, charge for free from solar or for an immaterial amount through off peak charging, range is greater than I would drive in a single hop and only done 2 trips in 3 years where I needed to charge on the road and it was sufficiently charged before I had even made my costa coffee order on the fast chargers (which are expensive but cheaper than fuel).
Significantly faster than my last car (which was a 6L V12) and a smoother more comfortable less stressful drive than any ICE.
Can’t see me going back to ICE as my daily runner but can see me getting an evora/vantage/911 as a garage princess weekend car for the aesthetics as EV’s haven’t quite cracked the wow factor with most still being SUV which is where the demand is.
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Topic Originator: LochgellyAlbert
Date: Fri 10 Jul 11:47
Been running a hybrid for the last 3 years, 1.6 petrol engine, really nippy. Currently, in the hot weather, I am achieving over 50mpg, that`s with AC on, radio etc.
My daughter just got a new VW ID4 which is full electric and it really looks the business!
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Topic Originator: brian
Date: Fri 10 Jul 13:38
Electric car bargains are to be had. 18 months old for example.
I`d thoroughly recommend total electric. I guess as a newish car it goes very well, but I like the way it drives. probably a third of the cost to run than a diesel - even half the cost is a good target.
charging is fine for me on a granny charger, it`s all I need, even with occassional drives to Aberdeen.
Post Edited (Sat 11 Jul 08:38)
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Topic Originator: DBP
Date: Sat 11 Jul 11:32
Yeah agree on second hand ones… our electric was just under 3 years old when we got it (didn’t want to over commit on a brand new one and then not like it)
We’ve had her for two years on finance that runs out in a few months and right now, at 5 years old already we’re looking at extending to keep her a bit longer.
There’s been essentially zero battery degradation and the car still looks and feels mint
for what we’re paying for her monthly because she wasn’t new, there isn’t really anything out there new that compared for that price
Post Edited (Sat 11 Jul 11:33)
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Topic Originator: jake89
Date: Sat 11 Jul 17:14
What did you go for DBP?
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Topic Originator: DBP
Date: Sat 11 Jul 18:29
It was the bmw i3s.
Looks like a rollerskate, but is surprisingly big inside, very nippy and comfy.
It doesn’t have a huge range, but never drive any further than Glasgow
Sadly Don’t make them anymore which is a shame, I think it basically became the electric mini, but not so keen on that one as the boot access is much smaller
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LRW9ak8Cv60&ra=m
Post Edited (Sat 11 Jul 18:33)
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Topic Originator: Raymie the Legend
Date: Sun 12 Jul 07:49
I’d say if you can charge your car at home and only drive locally, then it’s ideal.
If you are travelling around the country, it’s too much hassle.
It`s bloody tough being a legend
Ron Atkinson - 1983
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Topic Originator: dd23
Date: Wed 15 Jul 12:03
R .
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Topic Originator: Indiapar1
Date: Wed 15 Jul 12:54
I have a self charging hybrid. It has a 2L engine and is driven by two electric motors at the front. I get 640 miles on a full tank and am getting about 52 mpg with general running about.
Until battery technology improves to improve both storage capacity and charging facilities, I wouldnt buy an EV personally. Battery technology is improving all the time, and the big renewables drive is about utilising that excess generating capacity at night with overnight charging. The elephant in the room of course is limited electrical.infrastructure to domestic properties, parking space etc. I would estimate it is 20-25 years away making net zero a targets a pipe dream.
G Wardrope
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Topic Originator: jake89
Date: Wed 15 Jul 20:34
I`m not so sure. So many holiday homes in the Highlands are now installing charging points and I spotted quite a few individual public use chargers in even the most remote parts when I was up last month. It obviously needs to be better but I was quite surprised to see it. That`s the ultimate test area where you might be driving 50+ miles just to get to a decent supermarket. Squeaky bum time if you`re in one of the smaller battery cars.
My understanding is most electric cars are now using a common charger connector (Nissan seem to be the exception) and the battery degradation is now tiny.
The problem I have is there`s still a lack of variety. I don`t want a Chinese car as they`re not yet proven and customer service seems problematic. One thing I`m struggling with is applying fossil fuel knowledge to electric cars. I wouldn`t touch a petrol Stellantis or Renault Group car but the electric engines have much less to break. Kia/Hyundai seem to be he best option in terms of affordability and reliability but I can`t say their designs are that attractive. That leaves VW group cars. They all seem to look bulky and that doesn`t appeal to me.
Basically, I can`t be satisfied!
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Topic Originator: DBP
Date: Wed 15 Jul 21:08
Is the electric car of the year not the Renault 5?
Supposedly it’s excellent
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Topic Originator: LochgellyAlbert
Date: Wed 15 Jul 21:23
Quote:
DBP, Wed 15 Jul 21:08
Is the electric car of the year not the Renault 5?
Supposedly it’s excellent
Same as the new Nissan Micra.
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Topic Originator: jake89
Date: Wed 15 Jul 22:30
Quote:
LochgellyAlbert, Wed 15 Jul 21:23
Quote:
DBP, Wed 15 Jul 21:08
Is the electric car of the year not the Renault 5?
Supposedly it’s excellent
Same as the new Nissan Micra.
And the new Fiesta.
I actually like the 5 but it`s too small while looking big. Also heard horror stories about repairs on electric Renault`s (assume same form the Nissan`s). I`m also a cheapskate so would want to wait until it`s been out a couple of years.
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Topic Originator: Tad Allagash
Date: Sat 18 Jul 08:10
I know not everyone is a fan of Elon Musk, but it’s worth noting that some Tesla chargers are available to non-Tesla drivers.
You’ve got to download the Tesla app to see which ones are available and pay for it through the app.
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Topic Originator: AlterPar
Date: Thu 23 Jul 00:20
Brian, my company install car chargers. We have a charger that is pretty basic but is relatively cheap. Feel free to pop me a message if you ever want upgrade from the granny lead.
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Topic Originator: brian
Date: Thu 23 Jul 07:27
Alter will drop you an email.
I find the granny charger ideal, and the cost of electricity is more than 50% less than external charging.
If I have to charge outside then it`s not often.
Aberdeen is my longest journey at the moment and I`ve just charged prior to go a long charge overnight. One time I had to stop at the Arnold Clark garage for a 20 minute big boost becuase I wasn`t ready.
my car is a Vauxhall Mokka e
its not as large as my previous car but should manage with it.
Hybrid sounds ok but then you have two lots of equipment to wear out.
I did think about Octopus GO as they were offering 9p unit charge, but their other charges went to 32p a kwh which made total bill a lot dearer than it would have been previously
Post Edited (Thu 23 Jul 08:31)
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Topic Originator: dafc111
Date: Thu 23 Jul 19:02
I got the Kia Ev3 last October, absolutely no complaints. Use a Oh Me home charger and switched my tariff to Intelligent Octopus Go which costs 3.49p per kWh between 11.30 pm and 5.30 am so only a few pounds for a full charge. Ive just got the standard battery so get around 370 mile range on a full charge in summer. Ideal for me.
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Topic Originator: LochgellyAlbert
Date: Fri 24 Jul 18:17
Reviewers saying Kia Nero is one of the best in the second hand market.
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Topic Originator: brian
Date: Fri 24 Jul 21:08
wow 3.49p is a great rate
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contact: email me
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Topic Originator: TAFKA_Super_Petrie
Date: Mon 27 Jul 09:09
Stopped off at Gretna retail park on way home last week.
All charging points full to the brim, a queue of four Teslas all backed up waiting to get in and a security / car park attendant on hand overseeing everything.
Is this common?
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"People always talk about Ronaldinho and magic, but I didn't see him today. I saw Henrik Larsson; that's where the magic was."
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Topic Originator: DBP
Date: Mon 27 Jul 23:25
I don’t have a Tesla so don’t use their charging points, but there are a lot of them on the road
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Topic Originator: OzPar
Date: Tue 28 Jul 04:18
I see the Chinese have developed a system where you literally swap your battery when you run low. The swap takes just four minutes. Seems like the way of the future to me.
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