Which EV would you get?

[rogerzilla]

Lane keep assist on a Yaris tried to kill me on the A442 near Kidderminster last week. An oncoming lorry came slightly over the central white line, I naturally aimed for the verge to avoid it, and the car fought me all the way. Absolutely terrifying.

 

[fossyant]

I always worry that the people who complain most about lane assist are those that want to change lanes on a motorway or dual carriageway without signalling.

Probably wrong.

They can be a bit keen. Fortunately my van doesn't grab steering wheels, but if you drift near to the line it bongs and both the dash and HUD flash up warnings. Same with country lanes. Fortunately none of the aids are intrusive and aren't grabbing the wheel. You can also turn them off permanently, rather than them resetting.

I leave them on as they aren't intrusive.

 

[markemark]

Musk will not get 1penny out of me no matter what he offers. It appears Europe agrees.

 

[Gunk]

I automatically turn off the lane assist and speed limit warning as soon as drive off, drives me nuts.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

In preparation for when my current car (nearly 14 years old) needs to be replaced, I've been looking around and I reckon I'll go for a Kia, primarily because they give a seven year warranty, even on their approved used cars.

I wasn't looking to go electric as they tended to be much more expensive but for the same price as a petrol Kia Proceed I can get an electric Niro (much as I hate the 4x4 styling). I just need to compare running costs.

I certainly wouldn’t consider a Tessla.

 

[lazybloke]

I automatically turn off the lane assist and speed limit warning as soon as drive off, drives me nuts.

Either you're a terrible driver, or you forgot to add the smiley.

 

[fossyant]

Well, around 50% drop in sales over Europe.

For Tesla BTW.

 

[fossyant]

Either you're a terrible driver, or you forgot to add the smiley.

The Speed limit ones are great on my dirty diesel. The HUD is ace for sticking to the limit, and no-one is going to bully a big van.

 

[icowden]

I wasn't looking to go electric as they tended to be much more expensive but for the same price as a petrol Kia Proceed I can get an electric Niro (much as I hate the 4x4 styling). I just need to compare running costs.

Much much cheaper. If you have your own driveway and can fit a charging box you can hook up to Intelligent Octopus and get 7p per kwh charging. That's around £5.81 for about 250 miles of travel. Brake pads seldom wear out. You may need to change the tyres earlier than on an ICE car. No oil to change and brake fluid rarely needs a look at because the brakes don't get much use.

Other perks:

• If you have to sit in the car and wait for someone (husband, wife, children, supermarket to open etc etc) you can sit in a nice warm car with the radio on and use almost no energy. No fumes and no noise.
• If you need to go out early you can tell the car to warm itself up and de-ice itself.
• Really easy to drive and very nimble.

The only downsides are if you occasionally take longer journeys, when you will need to plan a stop. Just look for a good charging place with at least 4 chargers, preferably 6 - or a nice pub with 2 or 3. Do not bother with motorway services - they are just awful for charging. Most off motorway charging with 4 or more chargers will be near somewhere nice to have a coffee and snack or meal.

Kia are a very good EV brand, so I'd say you have nothing to lose and everything to gain going with the e-Niro.

 

[Gunk]

and can fit a charging box you can hook up to Intelligent Octopus and get 7p per kwh charging.

A decent range and a home charger is a game changer, my total charging costs last month were around £25, I only use a public charger if I’m on a long journey away from home.

There are other alternatives to Octopus, I am on Eon Next which gives me 6.7kwh between 12.00am and 7.00am, doesn’t bother me that it’s not intelligent charging, I just have the wall charger set up with a 7 hour timer (like the old fashioned Economy 7 storage heaters). Although EON’s day time rate is slightly higher, you much more off peak than Octopus.

 

[icowden]

There are other alternatives to Octopus, I am on Eon Next which gives me 6.7kwh between 12.00am and 7.00am, doesn’t bother me that it’s not intelligent charging, I just have the wall charger set up with a 7 hour timer (like the old fashioned Economy 7 storage heaters). Although EON’s day time rate is slightly higher, you much more off peak than Octopus.

Just had a look and the rates are pretty much identical between EON Next Drive and Octopus. Octopus is a bit more swings and roundabouts in that you always get 6 hours of charging but you can get up to 9 hours. They also offer some perks if you join energy saving sessions.

But yes - other providers are available but an EV tariff is essential to get the lowest charging costs. This is one bugbear with lamppost chargers for those that cannot have a home box.

 

[Gunk]

Just had a look and the rates are pretty much identical between EON Next Drive and Octopus. Octopus is a bit more swings and roundabouts in that you always get 6 hours of charging but you can get up to 9 hours. They also offer some perks if you join energy saving sessions.

But yes - other providers are available but an EV tariff is essential to get the lowest charging costs. This is one bugbear with lamppost chargers for those that cannot have a home box.

The endless Octopus adverts put me off them!

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Much much cheaper. If you have your own driveway and can fit a charging box you can hook up to Intelligent Octopus and get 7p per kwh charging. That's around £5.81 for about 250 miles of travel. Brake pads seldom wear out. You may need to change the tyres earlier than on an ICE car. No oil to change and brake fluid rarely needs a look at because the brakes don't get much use.

Other perks:

• If you have to sit in the car and wait for someone (husband, wife, children, supermarket to open etc etc) you can sit in a nice warm car with the radio on and use almost no energy. No fumes and no noise.
• If you need to go out early you can tell the car to warm itself up and de-ice itself.
• Really easy to drive and very nimble.

The only downsides are if you occasionally take longer journeys, when you will need to plan a stop. Just look for a good charging place with at least 4 chargers, preferably 6 - or a nice pub with 2 or 3. Do not bother with motorway services - they are just awful for charging. Most off motorway charging with 4 or more chargers will be near somewhere nice to have a coffee and snack or meal.

Kia are a very good EV brand, so I'd say you have nothing to lose and everything to gain going with the e-Niro.

Thanks for all that.

I have a driveway but can’t fit a charging box yet. There’s some element of the consumer unit in my house that’s too old and won’t support it. The part is scheduled for a free upgrade but it’s been two years now since they said they’d do it.

It seems to cost around £1000 to install a home charger, which I’d probably have to do again in the next one or two years as we’re looking to move house.

That said, your estimate of running costs is about a third of mine in my very frugal Fabia Greenline.

I’ll do some sums, factoring in the possibility of fitting a charger twice.

 

[Gunk]

It’s not run off your consumer unit, it’s wired directly to the meter with its own box.

It is about £1000 fitted, but worth it.

 

[icowden]

I have a driveway but can’t fit a charging box yet. There’s some element of the consumer unit in my house that’s too old and won’t support it. The part is scheduled for a free upgrade but it’s been two years now since they said they’d do it.

What @Gunk said. It can be wired to the consumer unit, but it can also be wired in seperately (that's what they did at my house).
The first thing a charger installer will do is assess your consumer unit and let you know what needs to be done.

The charger itself is between £500 and £1000 depending on how swanky a charger you want, but the installation cost will be around £300 to £350.
If you have a friendly sparky it is possible just to fit a new RCD into the circuit and run a socket connection from it. The car will manage the actual charging. Obviously it will look pretty ugly unless you build some sort of box to hold the dangling socket connector. You also won't get the discounted EV rate as there will be no charger to talk to your energy provider.