Our Cars (dream or actual)
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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
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Full electric with an Audi Q4 for 2 years and 25000 km now in DK. Occasionally doing 450km trips and also down to visit family in Germany with 850km. Usually charging for 25min every 250 to 300km. No real problems where you have a dense network of fast chargers. Also no problems so far with excessive tire wear.
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I have had an electric car since last summer, and have done several drives from UK to south of France as well as shorter UK road trips. Most use in the car is getting out of the city but usually by less than an hour for trail runs. The experience of driving with an electric motor is far superior to me. It is so responsive, immediate power, and simple. I don’t mind taking the longer breaks on longer road trips. As for the ecological side of it, no private vehicle is ever really going to be ecological compared with public transportation.
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@Nik said in Our Cars (dream or actual):
s for the ecological side of it, no private vehicle is ever really going to be ecological compared with public transportation.
And with that, I can't disagree....
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@Nik True! I miss living in Chicago with its busses and trains…
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@Giles Top Gear took a Kia EV3 from Adelaide to Darwin. They didn't have any range anxiety except for the leg between Coober Pedy and Ghan, which was about 300 miles. I'm sure that the network in the UK is better.
My brother runs a Toyota bz4X, and the only issues he's had are in the far north of Scotland during the winter, when the cold reduces range.
The best strategy with an EV, as @Tobi alluded to, is to charge from 20% to 80% of battery capacity.
If you're looking for something small and quick, Lexus is bringing the LBX Morizo RR to the UK in the near future. This basically has the engine from the bonkers Toyota Yaris GR in a more civilised package.
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@Giles we just got an x1 last year and loving it so far. it's nothing like the range of specs you get in the uk but bmw in the last few years has quite the technological advantage. the 5 series does look really good despite the complaints about its weight with the M5
heading to Italy at the end of the year and also potentially looking at renting the Tesla model Y. will be my very first road trip in a fully electric vehicle..
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We have a tesla model-3 (well my wife does, though it was mine at the start). that car rules - so much less hassle/maintenance vs. my combustion engine car. Its a joy to drive, fast as fuuuck and comfortable. It does shred tires though, we're on our 3rd set and seem to be getting 20k on average. we just put some EV rated tires on it so we'll see how those fair.
I guess my only 'complaint' is that you can't really wrench on an eV, those things are like UFOs - so if that's your thing its not really an option. -
I gave you my point of view. Don’t waste your time trying to convert me. I’m too old and ugly to go through the hassle. I love doing impromptu shit, and whizz off down backroads (the smaller and less trodden it looks, the better) and shit, if I could not do that because I was worried about how much charge I had, my enjoyment of the journey would be compromised. Fuck tgat….
"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 yup - charge anxiety is real..and going offroading/camping with an ev is a gamble. Sure the Rivians are cool inside + out, but i have yet to see one in the elements and off-grid. I did see a cybertruck stuck in the sand, oh and an ev ford mustang (which I pulled out with my Land Cruiser!)...
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I buy cars outright, no loans, finance etc and keep them a long time so an EV makes no sense, massive battery costs if it goes wrong, and in my experience of battery powered things (phones, cameras etc) the batteries will fail in the next 10 years.
I get why they work for some people, just not me. And I agree with Giles that they are an interim solution, I can't see how they are properly scalable in the UK.
We bought a very low mileage 3 year old 320d in 2020 and it's been brilliant, no plans to change it at the moment.
