EVs don't suit everyone.

[jpswift]

I got an Audi Etron

works for me

am well chuffed with it, only really use it for a short commute, charge it at home and would use something else for a long trip

is great not pissing about at petrol pumps and has a fab cockpit

[Peter255]

I fancy an EV for local stuff next time i swap a daily. Get a proper charger installed at home and for most of the local stuff we would NEVER need a refuel. Just top up each night at home for pennies.

But currently IMO if you have 2 dailies you'd be mad to get 2 EVs. Get one ICE for the long distance stuff where the battery tech and charging is not quite there yet. One ICE and one EV seems a smart choice for mixed use.

But the rate of improvement of battery and EV tech in general means in a few years this is likely to shift.

And i have 4 ICE cars so not an EV fanboi in any way.

Where did the Ariel Hipercar go? Will it ever get launched?

[John Scherrer]

Default answer is, as usual - Easter !

[Preseh]

I was chatting to Henry about the Ariel Hipercar when I visited the factory (saw it sat there in the back of the unit looking a bit sorry for itself). I was saying how quickly my battery drained at Silverstone and he mentioned that they had very similar problems which seemed to imply it wasn't viable for the track at this point in time. Wonder if the project will ever get traction again? With battery tech getting better all the time, it must be difficult for a small company like Ariel to keep up.

[Luckky]

TbH, I'm for whichever EV or ICE is the cheapest on whole life cycle costs for load lugging - Deprecation and initial purchase being the biggest factor here. S/H ICEs are cheap as chips. 335D 3yo are bargains!

Not with standing practicality and load lugging ability, reliability is also a factor. EVs are not there yet (80% chance of breaking down after 3 years and 5.4 days to repair according to Which?) but once the main manufacturers get hold of EVs the simplicity of the PU and drive train should pay dividends here!



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Atomiser, you point is a valid one, it can of course be different depending on which lens.

Individually owned cars are where you are coming from I think, it’s a different story from a company car BIK rate point of view.

Spending an extra £10k on a company car costs me through my scheme an extra £50 per month. That extra £50 saves me with my car £220 a month on BIK rate. (Car dependant obviously)

Having 0% BIK on pure EV and 2% on a PHEV like mine above (if it’s a new build) is quite an attractive proposition and as most cars are covered for 3/4/5yrs by warranty there’s no breakdown issues to worry about.

Thoughts?


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[CAG3D]

0% BiK is lovely.... until they decide to change it overnight


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[Luckky]

0% BiK is lovely.... until they decide to change it overnight


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To be far the government has answers that to a degree, they are publishing their rates further ahead so there’s clarity until 04-23 at 2% but your point is valid if it’s longer term view you are looking towards


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[SvenTheHammer]

Default answer is, as usual - Easter !

[reg]

This thread

I had an electric lawnmower once.

Never again.

[Winmoz]

This thread

I had an electric lawnmower once.

Never again.

Reminds me, when I was a much younger man, I had a friend who kept me jolly entertained with her battery powered ‘toy’. But she also liked to go for a spin on the back of my ICE powered Kawasaki, which was my ‘toy’ at the time. She used to get quite vocal about both as I recall.

Sorry not sure I have added much to the quality of this debate, but I guess there’s an application for each method of energy storage after all.


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[Hedge]

This is the closest article I could find (from 2012) that gives some indication as to how many residents (only) have on-street parking:https://www.racfoundation.org/assets/ra ... -jul12.pdf

One observation - in the Exec Summary, in case you can be ar$ed to read it - stood out for me:

"Overall, 25% of vehicles are parked on-street overnight, but this rises to 60% at the highest densities".

Now I'm not minded to go into analysing what % of the UK's population is covered by these so-called "highest densities". But I'm gonna go out on a limb here & go for "a lot". Which means that, in lieu of a solution to charging cars with (only) on-road parking, you're going to be fighting a losing battle in terms of take up rates, no?

WDYT?

Cheers,
Hedge

[atomiser]

Atomiser, you point is a valid one, it can of course be different depending on which lens.

Individually owned cars are where you are coming from I think, it’s a different story from a company car BIK rate point of view.

Spending an extra £10k on a company car costs me through my scheme an extra £50 per month. That extra £50 saves me with my car £220 a month on BIK rate. (Car dependant obviously)

Having 0% BIK on pure EV and 2% on a PHEV like mine above (if it’s a new build) is quite an attractive proposition and as most cars are covered for 3/4/5yrs by warranty there’s no breakdown issues to worry about.

Thoughts?

Yes this is why car choice and the journey to that choice is very sensitive to your requirement, usage and personal circumstances.

For me BiK is negated through my 335d costing 0.28p/mile all in (incl BMWSH, warranty + RAC) and claiming 0.45p/mile over the 9-10k miles pa I do on business. The car allowance of £600pcm, which is BS really & just salary, goes straight into pension thus avoiding 40% tax and 13.8% NI.

Even the Green question is not clear cut, given I keep my cars for a minimum of 10 years and sometimes 15. EVs being swapped out every 3 years would negate any savings on direct/indirect emmissions or resources used.

And then we come to emotional side of chosing a car: performance, handling, sound, looks, status, must have the latest, brand loyality etc etc. All valid non-tangible reasons for choosing a car.

So going for bmw m5 comp with substantial UK forces discount using BMW divide would give 0% apr monthlies or just a straight pcp 1000 down 989pcm would give me a car with excellent handling, epic sound track, 2t towing ability and an ludicrous alternative to the atom on a wet track however the wlc makes no sense! (But I'd be very happy!)

[Hedge]

If you want to go full militant, you could of course quote this from a recent(ish) article in the LA Times:

"When a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket blasts off on a plume of white smoke, hot gases shoot out of its 27 engines, creating a thrust equal to 18 Boeing 747 aircraft. Upon reaching orbit, the world’s heaviest operational rocket will have burned about 400 metric tons of kerosene and emitted more carbon dioxide in a few minutes than an average car would in more than two centuries".

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/ ... 0centuries.

Cheers,
Hedge

[phil4]

This is the closest article I could find (from 2012) that gives some indication as to how many residents (only) have on-street parking:https://www.racfoundation.org/assets/ra ... -jul12.pdf

One observation - in the Exec Summary, in case you can be ar$ed to read it - stood out for me:

"Overall, 25% of vehicles are parked on-street overnight, but this rises to 60% at the highest densities".

Now I'm not minded to go into analysing what % of the UK's population is covered by these so-called "highest densities". But I'm gonna go out on a limb here & go for "a lot". Which means that, in lieu of a solution to charging cars with (only) on-road parking, you're going to be fighting a losing battle in terms of take up rates, no?

WDYT?

Cheers,
Hedge

This is plenty biased, and I wouldn’t trust the stats given at the start, but hopefully gives you some idea of the ways they’re currently trying to solve the problem:

https://pod-point.com/electric-car-news ... o-driveway


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[CAG3D]

Anyway, I want an ENGINE


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