Our Cars (dream or actual)
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Two of the great loves of my life. Both lost to time.
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." -Thomas Edison
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@Go-For-Chill that LC is incredible!!!
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I got to drive my first EV yesterday, a Hyundai Inster.
If you imagine plotting a progression of the mechanical connection with a vehicle that starts with motorcycles, then manual cars, and then automatics, an EV would be the next step along. There isn't the same aural feedback of having engine noise or needing to shift gears.
I don't have a lot of experience with automatics, and most of that was in a Kia Picanto hire car in Shetland a couple of years ago. There was a period of adjustment to that, and there would be a period of adjustment to losing a manual gearbox and engine noises in an EV.
The Inster itself is a clever little car. It's got a surprising amount of space, seats that can be slid around and folded, and quite a bit of tech. It does feel built down to a price, but it's not that expensive.
My main concern would be range. I'm in a rural area of Australia, and I sometimes cover large distances. The Inster has a WLTP range of 360 km or 223 miles, and probably somewhat less at highway or motorway speeds. I think that getting to Melbourne (about 200 km or 125 miles) on a charge should be possible, but the return trip wouldn't be. On longer runs the number of stops might slow things down, whilst off the major roads the charging network gets very sparse.
I'm tempted by the Inster. A similar sized hatchback, such as a VW Polo, would be one alternative, as would a long-range EV like an Ioniq 6. I'm still thinking...
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@Graeme I think EV are great for city and in town driving. My father in law is a big electric car nerd, he even built his own electric VW Jetta years before Teslas were readily available.
EVs are the future of daily travel and commuting, in my opinion.
But for road trips, you have to change the way you travel entirely. You can’t have any spontaneity with an EV because even a change in the wind direction can effect your total range. No side trips to a random road stop because you have to stick to your schedule to get to the next supercharger location.
So until they come up with a fast charger or super long range battery, I would prefer gas or diesel for long trips.The biggest adjustment for driving an EV is the lack of coasting ability. As soon as you let off the accelerator the cars begins to decelerate, which take some getting used to.
The low maintenance and low energy cost of an EV is truly unmatched. No engine oil, no transmission with transmission fluid changes, no fuel filters or spark plugs or exhaust issues.
Kyle, TX
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@Matt said in Our Cars (dream or actual):
@Iron-Heart-Germany but you look so good in it.
That's what I thought for a moment....
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@Danimal506 my biggest concern with range is that there are parts of Australia where the charging network is patchy. For example, I was looking at going up to Broken Hill for an event a couple of weeks ago, and there was about 280 km or 175 miles between chargers. The Inster has 360 km or 225 miles range according to the WLTP standard, and probably less in the real world, so things would be tight.
As for road trips, a friend drove from Adelaide to Melbourne (around 730 km or 450 miles) in a Tesla Model 3. He said that it was the most relaxing drive he had done because the car's range mandated stops every couple of hours.
Plug-in hybrids are increasingly popular in Australia, particularly outside of the major cities, because of range anxiety. Maybe that's the way to go. Unfortunately, they're not as cool as the Mustang that @Iron-Heart-Germany was riding around in!
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I have a Merc E Class Estate hybrid. 6 weeks out of warranty and with a sum total of 11,000 miles on the clock, the electric bit fucked up. Initial quote was GBP6K to fix. After 3 months of me being belligerent, I got it down to GBP600.
Basically it fucked up because there is too much torque going through the rear wheels, also the rear tyres need changing every 6K, and I don't gun the fucker, same reason.
So I have decided that when I come to change the car, Mercedes Benz, and anything with Electric motive power can fuck right off.
I personally mistrust the eco claims for electric cars, I'm not sure there is enough Lithium to go around and the charging network is way behind. How do you sort out a highrise block of flats with 100's of apartments, most with at least 1 car?
So I think at best, it is an interim solution, and I don't need to be part of the experiment.
"OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011
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@Giles Being apart of the experiment is a good way to put it. It’s like they’re still BETA testing electric cars.
I think electric cars are very cool. But I don’t see them entirely replacing gas combustion engines anytime soon. Especially for industrial uses. If people have access to solar energy, that’s a bonus. But I imagine it’s tough to charge a car on solar power in the UK… San Diego, California (where my father in law resides) has a bit more sunshine to go around lol
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I think that electric will be the way to go (in time). I’m still not sold on the claim of being better for the environment (where are the raw materials coming from, how are they mined, and what are the disposal/recyclable costs in the future). How do they fair in poor conditions (extreme heat/cold)? How easily can they be fixed and by whom?
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And what is the economic/green cost of making our roads better able to deal with all that added weight, and all the multi story car parks that will have to be re-engineered for ditto....
Just to be 100% transparent. I am not totally against the concept, I just think that a lot of the world has jumped on the e car ideal, and not really thought that much about the economic/green reality......Oh. and by the way, if I want to go from A to B and it's 3 or 400 miles, I just want to get there without fretting about shit.....
"OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011
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@Giles so what they're saying is you need to do more burnouts to take advantage of the power to the rear wheels?
you should look into BMWs. the 3 and 5 estates are pretty sweet too
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I'm looking at BMW 5 series and Audi A6 Avant. Or go rogue and get something small and a pickup.....
"OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011
