Electric car

DH has just purchased a plug-in Hybrid.

All electric is not for us.

I looked into it a couple of years ago.

For me the lack of range, the scarcity of charging points on route and the time taken to recharge were the deciding factors.

I changed my mind about buying an EV at the last minute and went for a hybrid. The cost wasn't the issue, it's the worry about having to stop and recharge every so often. Living where I do, rural county, and travelling abroad a lot, I couldn't be arsed to factor in recharging stops on my journeys.

We have also purchased a plug in hybrid which seems to give the best of both worlds.

I think the points about the scarcity of charging points and the time taken to charge are all a bit outdated now.

kittylester

We have also purchased a plug in hybrid which seems to give the best of both worlds.

I think the points about the scarcity of charging points and the time taken to charge are all a bit outdated now.

It still takes 30-40 mins on a high voltage public charger. Too long for me I’m afraid.

And people were reporting only getting 100 miles from a full charge in the recent bad weather when they needed heating and lights.

We’ve got an EV and love it. We can charge up at home and the range is over 250 miles so haven’t had any problems finding rapid charging points when we’ve wanted to go further afield.

Yes, both in our seventies, we have had ours for four years and love it. Wonderfully smooth and easy to drive, charger on the wall of the house so just stroll out and plug it in overnight, no problem with charging on long drives if you do the minimum of planning. Very cheap to service. I especially like, in extreme temperatures, being able to set it off warming up or cooling down before driving, without going out of the house.

My son and Dil have a Nissan Leaf for their second car. Bought second hand and is around 5 yrs old now. They have a charging unit on their house. The range has dropped in recent years and they’d only safely trust it for 60 miles. Not a particular problem as it’s mainly used by my Dil for work around 12 miles total. They use it for a local runaround. It’s not as economical as when they first purchased it due to the cost of electricity.

They enjoyed it during the freezing weather as they can heat it up remotely from the house and the car is toasty when they go out. I think they’ll eventually change it for a hybrid.

Lathyrus3

kittylester

We have also purchased a plug in hybrid which seems to give the best of both worlds.

I think the points about the scarcity of charging points and the time taken to charge are all a bit outdated now.

It still takes 30-40 mins on a high voltage public charger. Too long for me I’m afraid.

And people were reporting only getting 100 miles from a full charge in the recent bad weather when they needed heating and lights.

My daughter drives from Kent, across the channel through the tunnel and down to us in Normandy with one 20 minute charge. About 330 miles.

That’s interesting. What make does she have?

It's true range is reduced quite a lot in cold weather. When we fully charge in the Summer we get 300+ miles, in the really cold weather it goes down to about 260 (values are car dependent, obviously).

We're lucky we can charge at home, which many can't, and as we have solar panels we rarely pay to charge from about April till October. But that's because we don't usually do more than 80 miles a day. If we were commuting back and fore to work like we used to I don't think I would have an electric car.

The main difference is we plan more when we go anywhere, so we know where the chargers are (and there are a lot of hubs now), and plan our routes. Places like the NEC have their own chargers so we just book one and leave the car charging while we're doing whatever we went there to do. We drove from Surrey to Jersey and didn't have to fill up before we came home - and didn't really need to then, we were just being cautious.

Lathyrus3

That’s interesting. What make does she have?

An Audi Q e-tron. The superfast chargers are way quicker than 40 minutes now.

We've had a BMW i3s fir almost 3 years, and love driving it. Like Ambergran, we charge at home using solar, great even on a sunny winter day like today. Yes, a bit of careful planning if going on a longer trip. Zapmap is a very useful app to help plan where to charge en route. The number of charging stations has grown enormously over the last few years. We charge mostly at home, costs very little even without solar panels. Some energy companies have great deals for ev owners. Good luck.

I’m 70. I bought a secondhand Nissan leaf 6 years ago. £10k. Its range was 110 miles. At the time I seldom did journeys over 100 miles, and most were less than 40. So all was great. Servicing very cheap, no road tax, instant heat when needed, I could charge at home just on an extension from the socket in my porch and electricity in 2019 meant cost per mile was about 6p. I had to do serious planning for the occasional longer trip and in 2019 even with zapmap that sometimes didn’t go to plan even when I had aback up plan for my backup plan. I’ve never actually run out of charge though but I’ve been seriously late sometimes for family events which has given EVs a bad name in my family. Six years on, the car is over ten years old now and online search for value reveals less than £2k, range is down to 70 miles (partly my fault I was charging up to full and leaving it there fully charged which isn’t good for battery capacity) and cost per mile is about 9p, and in 2028 I will pay 3p per mile tax. Now the charging away from home is much more available and reliable but still that 70mile range is only ok if it was a second car. So I’ve decided to sell and buy a replacement..
It’ll be a fully electric again! But with a CCS connector not Chademo, which is the Betamax of chargers. ICE cars are much less polluting than they once were, but EV inconvenience at times is worth it for me, for less pollution and the cheaper running costs, even including that depreciation.

I've been driving all-electric for 5 years now and the improvement in public charging points over that period has been immense. I no longer have "range anxiety" as with a little planning for longer journeys I can always find an available charge point. I have an EV electricity tariff at home, which means that I pay very little at all to charge my car and run my washing machine and dishwasher overnight. I understand people are reluctant to make the change but it has been great for me. My current EV is second hand - a 7 year old Nissan Leaf. Unlike @GrannieWalker I've had no issues with it; the battery is as good as it ever was, even though I charge it to max every time. I get 150 miles in the summer and 120-130 in the winter. You can get Chademo to CCS adapters if you need to, by the way.

It’s a definite no from me - a non-plug in hybrid possibly, but that’s about it.
My BF’s son works in haulage/transport and always says ‘not in your lifetime’ to both his Mum and me. I’m 74, she’s younger.
He’s just taken on an electric Audi - company car. He hates it and after an ‘interesting’ drive to Aberdeen, he’s going by train next time!

Grannynannywanny

My son and Dil have a Nissan Leaf for their second car. Bought second hand and is around 5 yrs old now. They have a charging unit on their house. The range has dropped in recent years and they’d only safely trust it for 60 miles. Not a particular problem as it’s mainly used by my Dil for work around 12 miles total. They use it for a local runaround. It’s not as economical as when they first purchased it due to the cost of electricity.

They enjoyed it during the freezing weather as they can heat it up remotely from the house and the car is toasty when they go out. I think they’ll eventually change it for a hybrid.

It sounds as if the battery is getting old. Not cheap to replace.

I think it does take a while to learn how to charge efficiently and prioritise 20% to 80% where you get the fastest charge. Also the importance of regenerative braking (and not to use the hugely fast acceleration too often). It is about learning and applying a different mindset really.
Doesn't take long though!

We have had EV for 7 yrs ramge 200 miles in winter 250 in summer, we charge at home of Off Peak 8p/ kw a full charge costs around £5

Honestly if you can charge at home buy one, if you cant forget it.
If you do buy one insist on a full warranty and be able to extend it year by year, this applies to plug in hybrids too, they are even more complex having battery and petrol engine

My friend has been an inspiration to at least 4 younger people.
She bought an EV about 8 years ago when she was 80.
She bought it with an interest free loan from the Scottish Government.
She didn't do long journeys but plenty of shorter ones.
She had a home charger and loved giving lifts to all her friends. I never heard her complain about the car.
Sadly the car outlived her as she died last year. The car is now used by her DD and DGD.

I will probably buy a hybrid if I replace my beloved 15 yr old Toyota. I'm not as brave as my dear friend.

My daughter has a EV. No problems with charging on journeys. Nearly all Motorway service stations have very many chargers, as do many other people. She prefers to charge as much as possible at her home, but if we are out she will just a short top up charge, takes about the same amount of time it takes me to go into station to use the loo, then we are off again. Very smooth ride, heated seats, and steering wheel and good air conditioning. It is her second EV and she is very happy with it.

In my 5th year of driving EV. I could never go back to petrol. I have a charger at home so am leaving the house with 'almost a full tank of petrol' every day. Long journeys are a pleasure, the car is so quiet. Very comfortable and smooth. EV all the way

I have a self charging hybrid and love it . I wouldn’t have a fully EV as I couldn’t cope with range anxiety . Several friends and family members have an EV and really have to plan their routes when travelling long distance to include a charging stop . If travelling in the school holidays , there’s often a wait for the charging points .

Tenko

I have a self charging hybrid and love it . I wouldn’t have a fully EV as I couldn’t cope with range anxiety . Several friends and family members have an EV and really have to plan their routes when travelling long distance to include a charging stop . If travelling in the school holidays , there’s often a wait for the charging points .

Self charging hybrids have a range of 30 miles or so maybe more for the latest models in the UK, but the latest EVs have a range of 400 miles plus plenty for use in the UK.
In the US where long distance is a real issue, extended range hybrids are becoming available