Car tax (again)

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CXRAndy

Guru
Location
Lincs
I thought the whole point of driving an EV was not to touch the brakes apart from when you're pushing/tailgating the car in front down the motorway?

We drive easily 750 miles a week. I can count the times I have to actually brake on the fingers of one hand

I would say that is like never using brakes
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
No they don't. They hardly ever use brakes due to regen from the electric motor acting as brakes.

My experience is the tyres wear no faster than any ICE. I have nearly 200,000 miles with EVs so can speak with some authority on this point

There is research that EV's do cause more road wear due to their weight and power - fairly simple physics really, as might a fast ICE car.

Fair way to VED cars might be on List Price, easy really, nothing technical.
 
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Deleted member 26715

Guest
Newer EV's can have quite aggressve regenerative braking, let your foot off, and the electromagnets are on full to put juice back in. It takes some getting used to. But weight etc will use more tyres, and power.
No way you can drive around town, pull up to junctions etc, yes on the open road, but I'd be very surprised at low speeds, possibly even parking unless it's aided.
 
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Deleted member 26715

Guest
Brake use is generally less than ICE, but weight and power increase wear on the roads.
The claim is that in 750 miles a week the brake is touched less than 5 times, that's the bit I don't believe
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
The claim is that in 750 miles a week the brake is touched less than 5 times, that's the bit I don't believe

Up and down motorways. But 750 miles a week, FFS, that's life lost in a car(s) in traffic. That's alot of hours, fancy pants Tesla or not. Me, work within bike commute distance, or move work. Having once loved driving, I hate it these days, it's not fun, it's boringly shoot.

VED has to be either based on miles or car cost. Got to change as everyone will splosh £50k on a leccy car for zero VED. Why the heck do folk get so worked up about VED when the cost of a car is massive. All cars should be 'taxed' - weight & power would also be a good one as that's easy from manufacturer details.

I don't get the debate. Use a car more, pay a bit more in general tax, ICE or EV. It's not rocket science.
 

raleighnut

Legendary Member
Surely that could be got round by an increase in fuel duty. Big heavy cars with big engines and those doing a high mileage would pay more so similar to road pricing.

T'ain't necessarily 'big cars with big engines' that use a lot of fuel, Scott my former next door neighbour had a Subaru WRX STi that would struggle to get more than 20mpg and that's a normal sized saloon car with a 2 litre engine (albeit turbocharged) if he as he put it went out on back lanes playing 'silly beggers' he could get it down to 4mpg. VED for it was £1200 a year as I remember.
Then he had it rebuilt and tuned with a bigger Turbo and mahoosive intercooler freeflow exhaust etc. so it was putting over 500BHP on the road using E85 fuel at nearly a fiver a litre and did a few 'track days' with it, drive to a circuit on normal fuel then stick the E85 in the tank and the engine knew what fuel was in it and adjusted itself to suit. I always knew when he started it up cos the windows would rattle even with the engine at tickover* and when he got home he could turn the ignition key off, get out and lock the car but it would carry on running until the engine decided it was cool enough to stop. Scott freely admitted it was his toy and only used to 'tax' it for a couple of months and then maybe for a month again later in the year the rest of the time it was declared SORN. By no means a new car as he'd had it for over 15 years to my knowledge and still has it but the car only did 1,000-1,200 miles a year and needed a new set of tyres every year (at over a grand a set)

* The engine note was a deep bass rumble that would put American V8's to shame.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
T'ain't necessarily 'big cars with big engines' that use a lot of fuel, Scott my former next door neighbour had a Subaru WRX STi that would struggle to get more than 20mpg and that's a normal sized saloon car with a 2 litre engine (albeit turbocharged) if he as he put it went out on back lanes playing 'silly beggers' he could get it down to 4mpg. VED for it was £1200 a year as I remember.
Then he had it rebuilt and tuned with a bigger Turbo and mahoosive intercooler freeflow exhaust etc. so it was putting over 500BHP on the road using E85 fuel at nearly a fiver a litre and did a few 'track days' with it, drive to a circuit on normal fuel then stick the E85 in the tank and the engine knew what fuel was in it and adjusted itself to suit. I always knew when he started it up cos the windows would rattle even with the engine at tickover* and when he got home he could turn the ignition key off, get out and lock the car but it would carry on running until the engine decided it was cool enough to stop. Scott freely admitted it was his toy and only used to 'tax' it for a couple of months and then maybe for a month again later in the year the rest of the time it was declared SORN. By no means a new car as he'd had it for over 15 years to my knowledge and still has it but the car only did 1,000-1,200 miles a year and needed a new set of tyres every year (at over a grand a set)

* The engine note was a deep bass rumble that would put American V8's to shame.

Sounds like my lad's Fabia. It's stripped out for track use, so actually doesn't get driven much. I can't get out of the passenger seat if I get in it (old broken back issues - OK on a bike), and mum and daughter can't actually get in the seat with female anatomy (bigger bottoms). Let's say, none of us take a ride in it.

It is very fast, very uncomfortable. It WAS a really nice car before he messed with it, lovely to drive, economic, etc. I'll stick to my bikes.
 

grldtnr

Über Member
Returning to a flat rate for all motor vehicles, owners of high powered/luxury cars pay more than enough tax on the extra fuel they need to purchase.

That is their own stupid fault, I cannot understand why they need to have such polluting ,expensive, fuel hungry vehicles, many of which are unreliable.
Purely opened due to the snob value, it's the I can afford it, so I'll flaunt it.
In truth ,if they would admit it , they can't really, experience if it's on PCP, They don't seem to realise they are being conned !
 

CXRAndy

Guru
Location
Lincs
Sorry but in the real world,
The Tesla Model 3/Y and Nissan Leaf have full stop without brakes
No way you can drive around town, pull up to junctions etc, yes on the open road, but I'd be very surprised at low speeds, possibly even parking unless it's aided.
Yes you can, the slow down is rapid without brakes.
The claim is that in 750 miles a week the brake is touched less than 5 times, that's the bit I don't believe
I was using our Model 3 coming down a 12% gradient hill where we live. I hadn't tried this in a while, but there was no traffic. I lifted my foot off the throttle at 40mph the car came to a full stop in around 70yds on the hill.

It doesn't take very long to adapt to one foot driving. In town it's just as easy,, lift your foot, regen kicks in and the car quickly slows down.

I use AAC in town alot, so if I come across a traffic jam, stick it in cruise at 20mph. The car then sorts stopping and starting as the traffic moves forward.

My method to approach a junction is to lift off early, guage the deceleration and feather the throttle to bring me to a stop at the line.

You really need to try a Nissan Leaf or Tesla M3/Y. I suspect VW Id3 are similar etc.

I was looking at the wife's brakes on her Tesla at 65000 miles, no lip worn on the disc edges
 

CXRAndy

Guru
Location
Lincs
But 750 miles a week

It is a lot , hell of alot of miles. Our journey is for our daughter's school run. It involves 4 miles of country lanes 2, junctions 18miles of 60mph single carriageway around 50 miles of dual carriageway. That is my journey in the morning travel time on ave 1hr30.

I enter the town from the dual carriageway park about 250yds from the school, just by lifting my foot and rolling to a stop at the side of the road. I then have to travel 400 yds in slow traffic to exit town and access dual carriageway

My wife does the afternoon run.

When we lived in Leeds it would regularly take 45-55 mins to do 5 miles into the city. Same again for homeward journey.

The distance is greater but far less demanding than slow grind into a city
 
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