FabSwingers.com forum: Electric cars

By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

I'm considering leasing an electric car, a Nissan Leaf to be precise.

I've test driven one, and they go alright, pretty much like any other automatic car.

Obviously there is the whole range anxiety issue, but lots of charging stations are popping up around the country and some of them can stick nearly a full charge in in about 30 minutes.

What are people's thoughts, would people be tempted by the ease of driving and the low cost of fuelling (£2 a charge, or free if you use a charging station)

Or is the thought of change just too much for everyone

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"I'm considering leasing an electric car, a Nissan Leaf to be precise.

I've test driven one, and they go alright, pretty much like any other automatic car.

Obviously there is the whole range anxiety issue, but lots of charging stations are popping up around the country and some of them can stick nearly a full charge in in about 30 minutes.

What are people's thoughts, would people be tempted by the ease of driving and the low cost of fuelling (£2 a charge, or free if you use a charging station)

Or is the thought of change just too much for everyone "
you know you cant drive an electric car in the wet don't you ?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"you know you cant drive an electric car in the wet don't you ?"

Eh?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"you know you cant drive an electric car in the wet don't you ?"

Your ok if you wear a one piece rubber suit with hood

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"you know you cant drive an electric car in the wet don't you ?

Your ok if you wear a one piece rubber suit with hood"
like a gimp ?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"you know you cant drive an electric car in the wet don't you ?

Your ok if you wear a one piece rubber suit with hoodlike a gimp ?

Just watch out for the metal zip

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By *dventurouscouple69Couple
over a year ago

swingerville

"I'm considering leasing an electric car, a Nissan Leaf to be precise.

I've test driven one, and they go alright, pretty much like any other automatic car.

Obviously there is the whole range anxiety issue, but lots of charging stations are popping up around the country and some of them can stick nearly a full charge in in about 30 minutes.

What are people's thoughts, would people be tempted by the ease of driving and the low cost of fuelling (£2 a charge, or free if you use a charging station)

Or is the thought of change just too much for everyone you know you cant drive an electric car in the wet don't you ?"

Would have to disagree there, seems they fare better than internal combustion.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/20/tesla-model-s-electric-car-floats-water-boat-elon-musk

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"you know you cant drive an electric car in the wet don't you ?

Eh?"
Ive thought about trying to put that in some kind of intellectual way so you might understand but then i realised i cant be arsed

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

My dad had a Nissan Leaf for a while. for some crazy reason swapped his 911 in for it

Still take the piss out of him for it

They're OK in decent weather, and not slow by any means.

Just when it's dark and raining the battery life plummets. They could do with an extra 30 miles on the battery range.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"My dad had a Nissan Leaf for a while. for some crazy reason swapped his 911 in for it

Still take the piss out of him for it

They're OK in decent weather, and not slow by any means.

Just when it's dark and raining the battery life plummets. They could do with an extra 30 miles on the battery range."

The lates ones have a bigger battery, they claim 155 miles on a full charge, the one I drove had a smaller battery they claimed up to 100 miles on a charge, I managed 75

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By *dventurouscouple69Couple
over a year ago

swingerville

"My dad had a Nissan Leaf for a while. for some crazy reason swapped his 911 in for it

Still take the piss out of him for it

They're OK in decent weather, and not slow by any means.

Just when it's dark and raining the battery life plummets. They could do with an extra 30 miles on the battery range.

The lates ones have a bigger battery, they claim 155 miles on a full charge, the one I drove had a smaller battery they claimed up to 100 miles on a charge, I managed 75"

Yes they have increased the range on the latest ones, they are pretty nippy too! I'm waiting for the model 3 as I need 200 mile range but if the limited range works for you then they are great.

Just remember that they are not really an environmental choice though, those batteries contain lithium and the electricity is still likely to be produced from fossils

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Leafs can't be fully charged on half hour. Its around 5 hours for them if they have the extra kit specified (think it's called s if it does). Tesla are the only ones to harte that quick and has to be a tesla charging station not a standard one.

They aren't for me but I'm a petrol head and the sound of the engine is part of that for me.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Yeah the claimed mileage Is about as accurate as most MPG claims

My car claims 45ish....I have to really really try to achieve over 40 on average.

Think his was an 11 plate so will have the lower charge range, but still take the claimed figures with a pinch of salt.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"Leafs can't be fully charged on half hour. Its around 5 hours for them if they have the extra kit specified (think it's called s if it does). Tesla are the only ones to harte that quick and has to be a tesla charging station not a standard one.

They aren't for me but I'm a petrol head and the sound of the engine is part of that for me. "

There are fast chargers, normally at motorway service stations that are 50amp, they will charge a 24kw Nissan Leaf from empty to 80% charge in 30 minutes. I tested it and it's right.

If you charge at home off the mains it takes about 10 hours. If you get a 30amp charger installed you can cut that time to about 5 hours.

The 30amp charger is in the region of £400

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

If the range is good enough for you and it's what you want then go for it.

Electric cars have improved greatly over the last few years and look set to only improve.

As soon as they can match the performance of my last scooby with a 300+ mile range then I wouldn't hesitate

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Recently tested the bmw i8 and it was amazing, one of the best cars I've ever driven.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"If the range is good enough for you and it's what you want then go for it.

Electric cars have improved greatly over the last few years and look set to only improve.

As soon as they can match the performance of my last scooby with a 300+ mile range then I wouldn't hesitate "

Well the tesla model 3 is nearly there, 200 miles plus range and in standard form 0-60 in under 6 seconds.

When it turns up in 2017 I'll be very interested.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"Recently tested the bmw i8 and it was amazing, one of the best cars I've ever driven. "

I'm thinking of looking at an i3 the i8 with all the good will in the world is out side my budget

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By *abioMan
over a year ago

Newcastle and Gateshead

"Recently tested the bmw i8 and it was amazing, one of the best cars I've ever driven.

I'm thinking of looking at an i3 the i8 with all the good will in the world is out side my budget "

I would love a tesla model s.... its my lottery car...

but i am on the much much much cheaper tesla model 3 waiting list..... so if it does come out at the appox 25K they say... i am getting it!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Batteries are not the way forward. Environmentally iffy (to say the least)with the highly polluting batteries, and the power to charge the batteries having to be produced by fossil fuels mostly. Fuel cell technology is far better but is very expensive at the moment. Some manufacturers are researching this, Honda being the prime example, but we are still a few years off commercially viable models.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Go for it, the leaf is probably the most well rounded and tested EV out there.

I would say lease though as they do depreciate allot.

But don't do it for short term fuel savings as an equally specd petrol car is around 10k cheaper to buy.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"Recently tested the bmw i8 and it was amazing, one of the best cars I've ever driven.

I'm thinking of looking at an i3 the i8 with all the good will in the world is out side my budget

I would love a tesla model s.... its my lottery car...

but i am on the much much much cheaper tesla model 3 waiting list..... so if it does come out at the appox 25K they say... i am getting it!"

I'd heard 35k well speced, it may well be that I'll get one of these next time I change my car if they are 25k

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By *homasP80Man
over a year ago

Linwood

I'd say I would buy one, (maybe in another 10+ years) but defo more charging points needed, and the distance/range from electric cars is improving.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"If the range is good enough for you and it's what you want then go for it.

Electric cars have improved greatly over the last few years and look set to only improve.

As soon as they can match the performance of my last scooby with a 300+ mile range then I wouldn't hesitate

Well the tesla model 3 is nearly there, 200 miles plus range and in standard form 0-60 in under 6 seconds.

When it turns up in 2017 I'll be very interested.

Is that the same Tesla Motors that's involved with the "hands free autopilot" fatality?

I am sure they will be fine for city driving especially if you are an extremely short commuter.

If you venture up to Scotland with it in winter, I may tow you out when you get stuck in the snow

Hilux is the way to go

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"I'd say I would buy one, (maybe in another 10+ years) but defo more charging points needed, and the distance/range from electric cars is improving.

I think in 10 years time we will see a lot more of them on the road, as a car it's far easier to drive than a normal car, no gears no clutch.

In traffic I've driven nothing better, it's nippy as the electric motor had instant torque. An it went well on the motorway. Only thing is if you drive it spiritedly it really has an impact on range.

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By *homasP80Man
over a year ago

Linwood

"If the range is good enough for you and it's what you want then go for it.

Electric cars have improved greatly over the last few years and look set to only improve.

As soon as they can match the performance of my last scooby with a 300+ mile range then I wouldn't hesitate "

Yea, I know electric cars have improved etc, and noticed rent-a-cars in centre of Glasgow that were plugged in etc. Good for city driving etc. But where you going to find charging points outwith cities etc.

Ok I'm only like 3-4 miles away from my work, so electric car would be perfect, would have to install charging point though.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"If the range is good enough for you and it's what you want then go for it.

Electric cars have improved greatly over the last few years and look set to only improve.

As soon as they can match the performance of my last scooby with a 300+ mile range then I wouldn't hesitate

Ok I'm only like 3-4 miles away from my work, so electric car would be perfect, would have to install charging point though."

Charging points at all motorway services, and loads of carparks have them too, plus all ikeas. You would be surprised by how many there are. Plus the Nissan has sat nav that has a regularly updated list of where they all are.

I think for my day to day driving is totally be able to use one. It's just when I have to go further a field it takes a lot of planning.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

We don't even have electricity on the east coast, sparky cars are waaaaay off

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

I think if it had a 200 mile range id be more than happy to have one.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I am not into cars or phones, so I have an 11 year old Ford, and my wife's old iphone 4s.

What I know from this worries me on electric cars.

My phone batteries are about half as good as they were when new, so will a car able to do 100 miles per charge when new only do 50 in 5 years time?

My car sits on the drive much of the year as I am out on one of my bikes, but sometimes I drive it to Holland or Germany sometimes I drive it to the shops. the short trips in an electric car no problem, but would I need 2 cars? I already tax and insure 5 bikes, don't want 2 cars...

think I will stay with diesel car for a while, may consider an electric bike though.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"I am not into cars or phones, so I have an 11 year old Ford, and my wife's old iphone 4s.

What I know from this worries me on electric cars.

My phone batteries are about half as good as they were when new, so will a car able to do 100 miles per charge when new only do 50 in 5 years time?

think I will stay with diesel car for a while, may consider an electric bike though."

Yeah batteries degrade over time, I was considering leasing so wouldn't be my problem.

I'm interested in electric bikes too a long American company called zero make a range of bikes, from what I have heard they are pretty good.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I have looked at the zero range. I am looking to get a test ride on the Zero FXS not sure what I want it for... but that is true of several of my bikes.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"I have looked at the zero range. I am looking to get a test ride on the Zero FXS not sure what I want it for... but that is true of several of my bikes."

The correct number of bikes is N+1

Where N is the number of bikes in your garage;-)

I have 2 myself;-)

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By *olgateMan
over a year ago

on the road to nowhere in particular

Battery packs are leased, up to £7500 for tesla batteries. If I were to consider an electric car I would also purchase a mobile generator as back up

The London mayor has just announced extra charges for diesel cars coming into London. I missed all the details

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"Battery packs are leased, up to £7500 for tesla batteries. If I were to consider an electric car I would also purchase a mobile generator as back up

The London mayor has just announced extra charges for diesel cars coming into London. I missed all the details "

Well the bmw i3 has a range extender option, it's basically a motorbike engine that runs a generator

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By *radleywigginsMan
over a year ago

northwest

If you've got less than 15 miles to work, think about the golf GTE.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Id love a Tesla. Prohibitively expensive though.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"Id love a Tesla. Prohibitively expensive though. "

Next version is going to be a fair bit cheaper

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Recently tested the bmw i8 and it was amazing, one of the best cars I've ever driven.

I'm thinking of looking at an i3 the i8 with all the good will in the world is out side my budget "

It's an amazing car but I'm leaning towards the r8 audi, the roar from the engine is just wonderful. Got to test the granturismo first though

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Recently tested the bmw i8 and it was amazing, one of the best cars I've ever driven.

I'm thinking of looking at an i3 the i8 with all the good will in the world is out side my budget

I would love a tesla model s.... its my lottery car...

but i am on the much much much cheaper tesla model 3 waiting list..... so if it does come out at the appox 25K they say... i am getting it!"

I'm of the same view, model s is a great car and electric, it's a win win.

Hope they do get the production right for the model 3. I'm a Deffo buyer (him lol)

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By *uke olovingmanMan
over a year ago

Gravesend

The poor range a..the expense ... what happens if you're in a crash .. the inefficient weight of those batteries being lugged about and the room they take up put me off ... I would be extremely dubious about getting a second hand one

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By *ce WingerMan
over a year ago

P.O. Box DE1 0NQ

I once had a Scalextric set if that's any ngood

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"I once had a Scalextric set if that's any ngood

I did an they kept flying off at the corners, perhaps not what I want then

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By *inzi LTV/TS
over a year ago

The Garden of Eden in Beautiful North Wales

In the future I may go for an electric car but I'm talking in about another 10 years time when lots of the bugs have been ironed out and the range and charging points grow.

Personally, I don't think you can beat a petrol engine singing at full belt though.

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By *abioMan
over a year ago

Newcastle and Gateshead

"The poor range a..the expense ... what happens if you're in a crash .. the inefficient weight of those batteries being lugged about and the room they take up put me off ... I would be extremely dubious about getting a second hand one"

on a tesla the battery don't take up any space... because it runs along the floor....

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By *echnosonic_BrummieMan
over a year ago

Willenhall

"Batteries are not the way forward. Environmentally iffy (to say the least)with the highly polluting batteries, and the power to charge the batteries having to be produced by fossil fuels mostly. Fuel cell technology is far better but is very expensive at the moment. Some manufacturers are researching this, Honda being the prime example, but we are still a few years off commercially viable models."

Spot on. Batteries have huge drawbacks in that they take up space, weight, lose efficiency over time and the quicker you charge them - the quicker they lose capacity. Spent batteries are also a huge environmental problem due to the presence of heavy metals required for their operation.

Hydrogen fuel cells are definitely the way forward. You still need electricity to hydrolyse water in the first place but the waste product of a fuel cell is water.

Larger vehicles that don't scale well to fuel cell technology could be made diesel-electric (or bio-diesel electric). A small diesel generator is used to continually generate a current for a series of batteries. Whilst not as environmentally friendly as fuel cells this still drastically cuts the amount of diesel used for an equivalent amount of power (well, torque, which is what matters for large vehicles). Diesel-electric engines have been used for decades in locomotives for these very reasons.

It's just a pity the big car manufacturers try to fool everyone into thinking electric is the way forward when they themselves know it isn't...

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

Hydrogen fuel cells are definitely the way forward. You still need electricity to hydrolyse water in the first place but the waste product of a fuel cell is water.

It's just a pity the big car manufacturers try to fool everyone into thinking electric is the way forward when they themselves know it isn't..."

If they know it isn't then why are they trying to fool us? What's the point

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By *olgateMan
over a year ago

on the road to nowhere in particular

Hydrogen fuel cells are definitely the way forward. You still need electricity to hydrolyse water in the first place but the waste product of a fuel cell is water.

It's just a pity the big car manufacturers try to fool everyone into thinking electric is the way forward when they themselves know it isn't...

If they know it isn't then why are they trying to fool us? What's the point"

Tax breads funding and stupid emissions laws which cause pollution

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

Hydrogen fuel cells are definitely the way forward. You still need electricity to hydrolyse water in the first place but the waste product of a fuel cell is water.

It's just a pity the big car manufacturers try to fool everyone into thinking electric is the way forward when they themselves know it isn't...

If they know it isn't then why are they trying to fool us? What's the point

Tax breads funding and stupid emissions laws which cause pollution "

In 20 years time you will be driving a car that has an electric motor, whether the electricity for that is stored in a battery or a fuel cell is to be seen.

What you won't be doing is driving a v8

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Electricity is probably the answer, it's just quite volitile and we are not good at making it efficiently.

the problems to solve are generation and storage.

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