Electric cars - advice needed

My favourite ‘freeloader’ trick is to stick my car on charge at Tesco, then walk to Aldi to do my shopping.

 

Based on what you say, 250 mile range, body size not too important, Niro EV is the front runner for me. The only issue with the Niro is that they haven't increased the maximum charging speed on the new one which is a bit disappointing, so it charges at a maximum of 72kw. But what they have done is to adjust the charging curve so it holds the maximum speed for longer and so it does a 10 to 80pc charge 9 minutes faster than the old eNiro even though the max speed hasn't gone up (43 minutes). They have also introduced battery conditioning as you approach a charger if you plug the charger in as a destination on the sat nav so the battery is at a good temperature for charging even in winter.

Other than the Niro, take a look at the VW ID.3 or Cupra Born from Seat. Both similar range. They are the same car with a different badge on. Good cars technically, but I don't like the interior on them myself. VW are keeping the costs down by reducing the quality of the materials. Plus, I do like my 7 year warranty on the Kia

The Soul is very 'love it or hate it' style wise. I love it and will miss it when I get rid in a few weeks. I know they are not for everyone but it really is a great car at a good price.

 

Hi John. If you can’t get a home charger then buy a Rolec charge cube. I will send you details later. We use them on sites for our electric work vans and they are really good. I

 

It's worth checking out with Lincoln council what their policy is on home charging without a driveway. Different councils have different views on it. Some are fine, as long as you put the charging cable in a trip protector (I.e. one of those plastic covers that holds the cable flat to the ground so the cable is not trailing across the pavement). Others not so much.

But if you find that it is workable to charge at home, it's not a great idea to use granny charging on a long term basis (charging from a 3 pin plug). It should be seen as an emergency charging method. You need to ensure the 3 pin plug is top quality otherwise they can get hot pulling that load for long periods. It's fine. Until it's not. And when it's not, it will short if you are lucky. And cause a fire if you are unlucky. Some people do charge this way always, and have not had a problem. Yet. But I wouldn't. As a minimum, I'd get an outside commando socket fitted.

 

These are the good networks for rapid chargers in the centre of Lincoln. Not too blessed with options but there is a 28p per kwh Pod Point at Lidl on Deacon Road



This is the full range of all rapids, but this includes BP Pulse which are notoriously unreliable. However if you drop on a local one that works regularly, then a BP Pulse subscription can bring the cost of each charge down.



This is the range of 7kw grazing options in Lincoln

 

Public rapid charging is now between 50p per kwh to 60p per kwh. Massively more expensive than a year ago but that is because electricity generally is. My domestic rate is 33p per kwh in the daytime now. A year ago, public rapids were 35p per kWh. There is a decent chance that, when electricity rates subside, as they must surely do, that public rapid rates will drop to match. But even at 50p per kwh, if you have an efficient car doing nearly 4 miles per kwh, that's still only 12.5p per mile. My car has done 20k miles with a lifetime average of 3.9 miles / kwh so it is achievable if you avoid the big inefficient monster cars.

 

There is an app called Bonnet that covers a lot of the major networks and which allows you to pre purchase charging on a monthly subscription. The more you purchase, the lower the cost. Their costs have just gone right up but there is still a saving to be made if all your charging is public charging.

If you get through 100kwh a month you would pre pay £44 a month so the rate per kwh is 44p.

If you get through 200kwh a month you would pre pay £80 a month so the rate per kwh is 40p

 

Sounds sensible otherwise only 2 cars per day could use it? I'm not convinced that electric cars are the answer, surely what we do with all the old batteries is just kicking the can down the road?

 

What are your requirements regarding travel e.g. is it mainly tootling around Lincolnshire with weekly trips to Barnsley or more or less frequent?

 

I had the same thing with work where they offered Evs. The fleet company said that the Kia range were the only ones with accurate range to the mile and if it said a range of 250 miles than that's what you Got. She said the Worst offenders for range accuracy were Tesla, Audi., BMW and Porsche. When I asked the question about how the luxury models cost more and they would benefit with higher lease costs.. She replied they would rather be upfront with customers and not have them stranded.

 

It is absolutely true that Kia and Hyundai get closer to the WLTP advertised range than many other manufacturers. They are very efficient cars.

And the range estimate on the dashboard GOM (guess-o-meter) is remarkably accurate.

 

I have a EQC Merc and i would suggest range maybe too low for you. There is usually a 10-15% drop in range in winter due to heating etc. Home charging wont be a necessity in future as technology evolves but right now i would say its
essential. Ive never had problems with available network when travelling.

I work for a market leader in EV charging tech. Not just cars but public transport networks. We sponsor Formula E headline series. The technology is moving very fast and have a charger that can do a full 300miles charge in 20mins but not something relevant on the roads today. There is much more that needs to develop than just the charger tech, ie payment systems, energy supply etc

 

Helen, I can't agree more...whilst it's a worthy aspiration it's going to have to be just one of a range of options offered. Currently it's a niche market for those who are relatively well off, can afford a pretty expensive car and have the land and finance available to put a home charging point in. Prices will fall over a period I'm sure, but how long it will be before the market has matured enough to put millions of cheap secondhand vehicles on the market for low income families I haven't a clue.
There must be millions of people who don't have land to install a charger on, or who have no guarantee that they even have a parking space near their home...or a charger at work... driving around supermarkets looking for charging spots doesn't seem practical...added to the fact that in the long term shops, restaurants etc won't want people freeloading for electric at the expense of genuine customers.

 

I ordered a Tesla in October 2020, still waiting for any confirmation when delivery will be.

Availability may be something you may wish to factor in.

 

Yes, exactly that, plus trips to visit friends in other cities from time to time. Will be working mostly from home, so no regular commute. To be honest if Lincolnshire didn't have such atrocious public transport I'd probably not even bother with a car.

 

I had a look and apparently it's fine as long as you use trip protectors.

I've heard about people charging from a regular socket and things going very wrong, so I'll be steering well clear of that!

 

Just but a used Nissan Leaf . You can pick one up for 8 grand