Welcome to the new Electric Vehicles Forum Section

Cooper

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This is a long overdue addition to the forum. Yes, I know, Petrolheads and electric. No exhaust or induction noise. No manual gearbox.

But what we gain is 100% torque from standstill, torque vectoring, substantially cheaper running costs. Ideal for daily drivers. Plus government, world market forces, the manufacturers, the environmentalists... Greta Thunberg. That's where the mass market is going, and whether we like it or not, there it is [insert Jeff Goldblum].

I must admit, several times I've came close to swapping out the daily for a BEV. The 'good ones' - Tesla, I-Pace, are a bit out of my price range. The second hand market is low volume, high demand. NI public charging infrastructure is grim. However I'd bet in the next 5 years that will drastically change, and I'll be humming my way to work on top of dynamo and duracells.

Oh and I've hastily thrown together a brief article on EVs and some subjective commentary on NI electrification:


Anyway, I know we have many members with EVs, so post up your experiences and let us know how great life is on the dark side.

Andy
 

pablo

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After my new Leon contract is up (2/3 years) Im defo going electric. There were some good Tesla deals recently (expensive monthly but once fuel savings are in its decent)
 

pablo

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my concern would be the lost tax revenue from petrol, and how that money will be recouped from EV owners.
 

Gaz

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my concern would be the lost tax revenue from petrol, and how that money will be recouped from EV owners.

Be interesting to see alright. Petrol stations apparently don't make much from fuel anyway but there will be a knock-on effect on people buying other consumables in shops when paying for their fuel.

And then the government side as you mention, with no tax from petrol. They can't very well penalise drivers now for zero-emissions vehicles so I'm sure some new taxation system will be dreamt up to substitute what they've lost.
 

pablo

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I suspect it will come via battery rental/charge points although Im not sure how they will tax charge at home folks without putting a blanket tax on leccy (which would hurt non ev owners)
 

Gavlar

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Was the tax system not revised in April 2017? Alot of £30pa cars were pushed up to £130/140 with no difference to the car. New cars from April 2017 costing over £40,000 If bought new also got a big bill as they've normal tax and then another value calculated on top for first 4/5 years. Could see it going that way with the £40,000 cost threshold lowered

Edit found it - so any new EV over £40,000 Will be £320pa tax for first 6 years!!
As the result of a government policy introduced in 2015, cars are split into two groups according to their date of registration for the purposes of working out VED.

The cut-off date is 31 March 2017 - vehicles registered on or before that date have tax applied under the old system, while more recent models are classified under the new system

This new system charges a certain rate for the first year which is linked to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions levels - this rate ranges from zero for vehicles which produce no emissions to more than £2,000 for the most polluting models.

In the second and subsequent years, VED on electric vehicles remains at zero, but on petrol or diesel models it's now £145 a year (up from £140 in 2018-19), while alternatively fuelled cars are charged at £135 (up from £130).

To add to the confusion, these rates only apply to vehicles with list prices of less than £40,000. Pricier cars pay higher rates - electric vehicles originally valued at £40,000 or more pay £320 a year; for petrol and diesel models the rate is now £465; and for alternatively fuelled cars, it's £455.

These higher rates are enforced until six years after a vehicle was registered: after that point, they revert to the rates for cheaper cars.
 
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gpaevo

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Funny just had this conversation with my mate who has a e-golf. Currently he has free motoring and he loves it. Free electricity from the charge points, no tax, £60 service every two years and that's it. Drives about for free everyday............The bastid! 🤣
 

Cooper

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Cooper
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Funny just had this conversation with my mate who has a e-golf. Currently he has free motoring and he loves it. Free electricity from the charge points, no tax, £60 service every two years and that's it. Drives about for free everyday............The bastid! 🤣
Surely his e-Golf wasn't free in the first place? Up front costs, lease costs, bank fees and interest still all come into play. eSmugness LOL.
 

Coog

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A friend of mine has just switched to his 3rd EV in so many years and he's spent more on swapping and upgrades than I have running stuff doing 12mpg.

We have a lease going back in less than 18months. I'm genuinely torn between the likes of a M140i / Golf R or a ID.3 or a Model 3.

Range anxiety is a big concern. Especially with the Mrs who's constantly driving about with the fuel light on or is seemingly unable to keep her iPhone going for a full day without it dying.

2nd major concern is that we're nearing the end of an era of ICE's and I suspect we will all look back at today in much the same way we do looking back at the stuff of the mid 90's... thinking about all those missed opportunities.

Maybe one last flirtation with ICE's might be the best option and going with the flow on the EV's in a few years time when the tech is better sorted. It's where we are all going. It's inevitable and I've 30+ more years of driving ahead of me to get into EV's.
 

EVANI

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My first EV was a Nissan Leaf. £2K down and £178 / Month. Each years 'fuel' was around £240 (8K miles). Bought it out of the lease at the end and made a decent profit selling it on as well (used EV prices are rising). All in all an amazingly inexpensive way of trying out an EV. There are £199/month deals around on the eGolf currently.

M.
 

Apis

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"PHEVs, or hybrids that are appearing in most model ranges don’t pose the same range or charging questions, and in many cases are too much of a compromise too, so in a swipe of the pen I have discounted those as well. "

: unamused:: unamused: no phevs.
 

DC.

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Good chance my next car will be electric so this thread will be interesting to watch.
 

CR

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Almost every taxi at the airport in Amsterdam last week was a Tesla.
 

Cooper

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Cooper
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"PHEVs, or hybrids that are appearing in most model ranges don’t pose the same range or charging questions, and in many cases are too much of a compromise too, so in a swipe of the pen I have discounted those as well. "

: unamused:: unamused: no phevs.
PHEVs - just in my article. There are that many of them I decided to focus on BEVs.

Isn't there some back of a fag packet stat that 9x% of business lease PHEVs have never.... never been charged (outside the manufacturer). Cables still in the wrapper!

Paid for in full
Heroic. Depreciation on a new eGolf is just over £10k for the first two years of ownership. That's £416/month. And then there's those rims... 😀

All very cynical, I guess the point I'm making is there is a lot of early adopter costs which are swept under the carpet. Man maths has a large part to play. Doesn't stop me wanting an I-Pace or Model 3 Performance. 🔋
My first EV was a Nissan Leaf. £2K down and £178 / Month. Each years 'fuel' was around £240 (8K miles). Bought it out of the lease at the end and made a decent profit selling it on as well (used EV prices are rising). All in all an amazingly inexpensive way of trying out an EV. There are £199/month deals around on the eGolf currently.

M.
The Ioniq deal I posted a few weeks back, and I think a few members took advantage of was genuinely very good. And the early Leaves - a great deal. ICE snobbery currently prevents me from owning a Leaf, Zoe or MG XS Excite China Revolution E.
 
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Apis

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PHEVs - just in my article. There are that many of them I decided to focus on BEVs.

Isn't there some back of a fag packet stat that 9x% of business lease PHEVs have never.... never been charged (outside the manufacturer). Cables still in the wrapper!
I'll be keeping an eye on the thread regarding chargers etc.

That could a true statistic for sure. They are bought for the BIK saving, not for the running costs.
 

saxo_man

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I do like the EVs, but it's hard to get excited in the same way as ICEs. I like the tech - most EVs come will a great level of standard kit - reversing cameras, adaptive CC, heated seats/steering wheels etc. And there is always the talking point with strangers, usually when plugging in or plugging out of chargers.


My first EV was a Merc/Tesla conglomeration, and the performance was great. The media said that Merc played down the official stats to ensure it wasnt quicker than the AMG models on paper. The quoted top speed was certainly incorrect by some margin ^o) My second EV is a Kia, and now I'm waiting on delivery of my third, the Hyundai Ioniq as mentioned by @Cooper above.


On idle this morning whilst waiting for my window to clear, I was getting 9.9mpg in my petrol merc on the trip. For me the whole point of EV motoring is cost - if it's not cheaper I wouldnt be doing it. My EV merc was £40 a week amortised cost to lease. You dont get many brand new cars for that price. The Ioniq is working out at £52 amotised. Again pretty low. Running costs of an EV (a brand new car under warranty) are not much different to the cost of a fill of fuel on an older car.
 
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