What's with the fuel prices! And cheap whisky, apparently ...

[cougie uk]

I think the future for all of us needs to involve less driving. We've had a few decades of great freedom but we are paying for it now. And a car shouldn't be the default means of transport in a big city.

 

[MrGrumpy]

I think the future for all of us needs to involve less driving. We've had a few decades of great freedom but we are paying for it now. And a car shouldn't be the default means of transport in a big city.

I agree but we don’t all live in big cities neither . We rely on a car to get to work. I’ve got a son working three jobs just now. Hopefully that will change but he needs that car to get to those jobs !

 

[chris-suffolk]

I agree but we don’t all live in big cities neither . We rely on a car to get to work. I’ve got a son working three jobs just now. Hopefully that will change but he needs that car to get to those jobs !

I think the future for all of us needs to involve less driving. We've had a few decades of great freedom but we are paying for it now. And a car shouldn't be the default means of transport in a big city.

I hardly use my car, but when I do I tend to do long journeys. Just back from a trip round North Wales. Now, granted, I didin't look very hard, but none of the villages I visited, nor the cottage we were staying at had facilities for charging an EV car. And given the distance for me to get there, I'd have had to recharge once if not twice en-route.

My next major use of the car will be a 300 mile (each way) trip to get my daughter from Uni in Lancaster, where she lives in a terraced street with no on street charging.

The one after that is to the North York Moors, in a cottage with no charging facility, in a tiny hamlet, also with no charging.

So, even I wanted an EV car, the practical issues surrounding ownership, in particular charging in remote places on long trips, just means it's a non starter for me right now.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

So, even I wanted an EV car, the practical issues surrounding ownership, in particular charging in remote places on long trips, just means it's a non starter for me right now.

You don't need an actual charging point if time is not an issue, you can plug into a 240V supply, granted it will take 8 hours instead og 80 minutes, so your cottages in Wales would probably of worked, as the last time I was there they did have electricity.

 

[icowden]

My next major use of the car will be a 300 mile (each way) trip to get my daughter from Uni in Lancaster, where she lives in a terraced street with no on street charging.

Yep, so probably drive 200 or so miles then have a 30-45 minute break for a sandwich and coffee, then get to Lancaster. If necessary there is probably a charging point somewhere near your daughters house (there are 11 pod points in and around the university according to zap map).

 

[chris-suffolk]

You don't need an actual charging point if time is not an issue, you can plug into a 240V supply, granted it will take 8 hours instead og 80 minutes, so your cottages in Wales would probably of worked, as the last time I was there they did have electricity.

True, they did have electrcity, and the local fuel station refuelled in approx 5 minutes, vs 8 hours or even 80 minutes. We need a rapid and widespread increase in rapid charging points, that are reliable rather than out of action when you get there.

 

[chris-suffolk]

Yep, so probably drive 200 or so miles then have a 30-45 minute break for a sandwich and coffee, then get to Lancaster. If necessary there is probably a charging point somewhere near your daughters house (there are 11 pod points in and around the university according to zap map).

I usually don't stop for the whole journey, so instantly my journey time has increased by 45 minutes = 15% increase in travel time. Then, I have to charge again in or around Lancaster and find something to do whilst it charges, rather then load the car with my daughters belongings, then repeat on the way back.

Solution I'd like to see is a removable battery pack, that I switch out at the equivalent of a petrol station and insert a new one. Then I can 'charge' in the same time it currently takes to fill with diesel / petrol. That boat has sailed, but would have been good if thought about upfront.

 

[Mike_P]

There is such a battery swop system. It was on a TV EV car program. Think it was in one of the Scandinavian countries.

 

[cyberknight]

There is such a battery swop system. It was on a TV EV car program. Think it was in one of the Scandinavian countries.

indeed although it relies on the vehicles having a standardized battery pack system which i don't think the majority of manufacturers use yet ?

 

[Deleted member 26715]

indeed although it relies on the vehicles having a standardized battery pack system which i don't think the majority of manufacturers use yet ?

Or any of them, it wouldn't be in their financial interest to do this. It would also stifle
R&D

 

[cougie uk]

I usually don't stop for the whole journey, so instantly my journey time has increased by 45 minutes = 15% increase in travel time. Then, I have to charge again in or around Lancaster and find something to do whilst it charges, rather then load the car with my daughters belongings, then repeat on the way back.

Solution I'd like to see is a removable battery pack, that I switch out at the equivalent of a petrol station and insert a new one. Then I can 'charge' in the same time it currently takes to fill with diesel / petrol. That boat has sailed, but would have been good if thought about upfront.

How long is that drive then ? 5 hours ? Aren't you advised to break long journeys up ?

I know there's a few charging stations in north Wales. You've just not noticed them.

I can cope with my longer journeys involving a recharge stop of 45 mins or so as my fuel bill is 1/10 the cost of petrol the rest of the time.

Swappable batteries would involve standardisation, employing staff to remove and replace the batteries etc etc. Probably would take longer than the fast charging now.

 

[PeteXXX]

How long is that drive then ? 5 hours ? Aren't you advised to break long journeys up ?

I know there's a few charging stations in north Wales. You've just not noticed them.

I can cope with my longer journeys involving a recharge stop of 45 mins or so as my fuel bill is 1/10 the cost of petrol the rest of the time.

Swappable batteries would involve standardisation, employing staff to remove and replace the batteries etc etc. Probably would take longer than the fast charging now.

Just out of interest, how much per thingywhatsit of power cost and does it vary from supermarket to motorway charging points?

 

[icowden]

I usually don't stop for the whole journey, so instantly my journey time has increased by 45 minutes = 15% increase in travel time. Then, I have to charge again in or around Lancaster and find something to do whilst it charges, rather then load the car with my daughters belongings, then repeat on the way back.

Seriously, you are driving 5 hours plus to Lancaster, loading straight up and driving 5 hours back again? That just sounds dangerous to me.
The recommendation is that you have at least a 15 minute break every two hours.

Personally I'd set off before lunch, stop for lunch and a top up charge, then find a charger near my daughters digs. Take her out for dinner, spend the night in a hotel then load up all her stuff and set off back.

 

[icowden]

Just out of interest, how much per thingywhatsit of power cost and does it vary from supermarket to motorway charging points?

It costs the same as a piece of string and each point will have its own price. If you charge on the motorway, expect to get very high prices just as you do for petrol / diesel.

Tesco / VW's network have free charging at 7kw and 28kw chargers, 50kw chargers are 28p per kWh.

An ID4 has a usable capacity of 77kWh so from empty to full at at 50kw would cost £21.56.
Realistically you wouldn't do that - mostly because the closer you get to full, the slower the charge gets, and you aren't going to be charging from empty.
You'd probably be charging about 50kwh or about £14.

Either way, the same sort of range in my Diesel Scenic would cost me around £40-£50 at the moment. Tesla charge 28p per kWh, SpeakEV charge 37p. On the motorway you might expect 30p per kWh from Ecotricity chargers. BP Pulse have a model which requires a monthy subscription of £7.85 and then 12p / 15p/ 27p depending on how powerful a charger you are using.

Home charging will cost about 14p per kWH although it will depend on your tariff, if you have solar panels etc.

Figures taken from here (mostly):-
https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/electric-cars/charging/how-much-does-it-cost-to-charge-an-electric-car/

 

[cougie uk]

I'm on a v cheap offpeak rate of 5p per kWh so it's so much cheaper than petrol.
That tariff ends in September but it'll still be a bargain compared to an ICE car.