Topic: Electric cars

[NotAsBigDanno]

I dont know if anybody has thought of buying one? but after reading this article i dont think i will be anytime soon.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/8674273/Electric-car-owners-may-face-19000-battery-charge.html

Apologies if there is already a thread on this subject but i couldnt find one.

[Andy @ Allerton!]

Saw them reviewed on Top Gear. Going to be 20 years til they are viable.

[Brian Blessed]

I dont know if anybody has thought of buying one? but after reading this article i dont think i will be anytime soon.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/8674273/Electric-car-owners-may-face-19000-battery-charge.html

Apologies if there is already a thread on this subject but i couldnt find one.

Seems a little scare-tactic-y to me. Afterall the last line is "He said that most owners would not need a new battery for at least ten years because electric vehicles should mainly be used for short journeys. " Which at this early point isn't bad.

[NotAsBigDanno]

On Topgear they reckon if you fast charge the batteries they may last only 3 years compared to 5 - 10 years if your trickle charge them. The resale value of a 5 year old electric car with the original batteries is going to be next to nothing!

[campioni]

Renault have tried to combat this problem with their release of the Renault Fluence ZE. Instead of buying the battery with the car you lease it from them for approx £70 a month. That will mean you don't have to worry about any battery problems.

And because you're not buying the battery, the initial cost of the car is a lot lower than electric cars have been until now. The price of the Fluence ZE is expected to be around £17k.

[Andy @ Allerton!]

Seems a little scare-tactic-y to me. Afterall the last line is "He said that most owners would not need a new battery for at least ten years because electric vehicles should mainly be used for short journeys. " Which at this early point isn't bad.

Said on Top Gear that the battery lasts randomly from 5-10 years.

[barneystuta]

The most striking thing from Top Gear the other night, was the fact that the they were no "cheaper" to run than say a similarly priced Diesel.

There is currently, little advantage in them for the mass market. But as a 2nd car, in a city, they could do someone a decent job.

[Something Else]

Hold the phone, suddenly people are believing what top gear are suggesting. What do you think they base their comments on, fact or cake?

[Andy @ Allerton!]

Hold the phone, suddenly people are believing what top gear are suggesting. What do you think they base their comments on, fact or cake?

I'm confused. Are you saying that Jeremy Hammond doesn't always tell the truth!!?!

[Andy @ Allerton!]

Renault have tried to combat this problem with their release of the Renault Fluence ZE. Instead of buying the battery with the car you lease it from them for approx £70 a month. That will mean you don't have to worry about any battery problems.

And because you're not buying the battery, the initial cost of the car is a lot lower than electric cars have been until now. The price of the Fluence ZE is expected to be around £17k.

That's an interesting solution.

11-12 hours for a charge with a limited range is still a major problem though

[Caston]

My friend won one of these on a radio competition, they are very very quiet which could be a bit dangerous?

[[new username under construction]]

seeing as the battery is more or less the engine of these things are they not covered under the warranty?

[conman]

Saw them reviewed on Top Gear. Going to be 20 years til they are viable.

wouldn't say that..

Car of the year: http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/motors/2010/11/29/nissan-leaf-wins-car-of-year/
Review of the car: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/motors/2011/0511/1224296684444.html
Nissan Diary: http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/motors/2011/04/27/nissan-note-diary/

I would consider over here in ireland we are a little behind the UK for motors and adapting to new things. Well, have a read of the above review, see how much it costs to run, and how much money you will save per year.

I know i would save over 400€ per year on tax incomparrison to my Ford Focus,
and would save €2000 (i think) in petrol judging by how much it would cost to commute to work each day, and general travelling about. Add to this a €5000 Government grant, and its totally workable.

It must be affordable, travel far enough and be easily recharged.

[Andy @ Allerton!]

My friend won one of these on a radio competition, they are very very quiet which could be a bit dangerous?

I read about one the other day that had an 'Engine Sound' so you could hear them coming!

[Andy @ Allerton!]

wouldn't say that..

Car of the year: http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/motors/2010/11/29/nissan-leaf-wins-car-of-year/
Review of the car: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/motors/2011/0511/1224296684444.html
Nissan Diary: http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/motors/2011/04/27/nissan-note-diary/

I would consider over here in ireland we are a little behind the UK for motors and adapting to new things. Well, have a read of the above review, see how much it costs to run, and how much money you will save per year.

I know i would save over 400€ per year on tax incomparrison to my Ford Focus,
and would save €2000 (i think) in petrol judging by how much it would cost to commute to work each day, and general travelling about. Add to this a €5000 Government grant, and its totally workable.

It must be affordable, travel far enough and be easily recharged.

The ones they reviewed were over £30,000 with an Engine/Battery that only lasted the 5-10 years.

The thing posted above sounds interesting where you just rent the Engine/Battery and they sort it whenever it breaks.

They reckoned it cost about £9 to fully charge it - for a range of about 100 miles.

[conman]

the nissan leaf above costs  €2 to charge overnight at home, will do about 160km.. Not sure what the battery lifetime is though.

[Andy @ Allerton!]

the nissan leaf above costs  €2 to charge overnight at home, will do about 160km.. Not sure what the battery lifetime is though.

They reviewed the Nissan Leaf on the show.

They said (Depending on your electric company in the UK) it could cost £9 to charge and it did about 100 miles (It claimed more on the range)

[Acaustiq]

Hold the phone, suddenly people are believing what top gear are suggesting. What do you think they base their comments on, fact or cake?

"It's a joke, like they have on top gear."

When it suits, it's the arbiter of all that is true, when they're caught out lying, it's 'tongue in cheek'.

[campioni]

That's an interesting solution.

11-12 hours for a charge with a limited range is still a major problem though

the charge time is a big problem and i don't think it will seriously take off until there are a lot more accessible fast-charging points dotted around the country. there are ongoing projects trying to do that but its gonna take a few years to build any sort of a network.

a fast charge will still take 20-30 minutes, which is a bit of a difference to a 5 minute stop to fill up with petrol/diesel.

[Brian Blessed]

For the immediate future, hybrids are the way to go. A Prius will be my next car. And if I ever see Larry David driving around he better wave.

[Andy @ Allerton!]

the charge time is a big problem and i don't think it will seriously take off until there are a lot more accessible fast-charging points dotted around the country. there are ongoing projects trying to do that but its gonna take a few years to build any sort of a network.

a fast charge will still take 20-30 minutes, which is a bit of a difference to a 5 minute stop to fill up with petrol/diesel.

They said that the fast charge wrecks the battery really quickly as well.

[Andy @ Allerton!]

For the immediate future, hybrids are the way to go. A Prius will be my next car. And if I ever see Larry David driving around he better wave.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzQBz3h5gnc

[Andy @ Allerton!]

http://transmission.blogs.topgear.com/2011/08/02/electric-cars-charges-answered/

[Brian Blessed]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzQBz3h5gnc

how did you know I own a jet?

[Andy @ Allerton!]

how did you know I own a jet?

[Brian Blessed]

I actually don't want one for environmental reasons, but as I'll get double the mileage per gallon. Although I do need to research more as to whether that is offset by other costs.

[Andy @ Allerton!]

I actually don't want one for environmental reasons, but as I'll get double the mileage per gallon. Although I do need to research more as to whether that is offset by other costs.

[Brian Blessed]

I also love Manchester United

[Andy @ Allerton!]

I also love Manchester United

Me too. You've got to respect any side that get beat 8-2

[Brian Blessed]

Me too. You've got to respect any side that get beat 8-2

it's character building.

[NotAsBigDanno]

Renault have tried to combat this problem with their release of the Renault Fluence ZE. Instead of buying the battery with the car you lease it from them for approx £70 a month. That will mean you don't have to worry about any battery problems.

And because you're not buying the battery, the initial cost of the car is a lot lower than electric cars have been until now. The price of the Fluence ZE is expected to be around £17k.

Sounds good in theory but if you keep the car 10 years before it needs a new battery you will have paid out 17k on the car and 8.4k on the battery.

[conman]

They reviewed the Nissan Leaf on the show.

They said (Depending on your electric company in the UK) it could cost £9 to charge and it did about 100 miles (It claimed more on the range)

All their roads must be uphill, and ours downhill..

I went to sleep after i last posted last night, so didnt get to follow up. but did you read the articles i posted? Especially the "review" one?


I reckon these cars are ideal for driving around town and short commutes, if your daily travel is within 100km, then atleast according to Irish electricity rates and downhill roads ( ), it will save us a fortune.

My mate got to sit inside one at a car show room recently, he said it is so comfy you could almost sleep there immediately after sitting in

[conman]

I remember reading a science article about 3 years ago, apparently some scientists had created a new battery solution. They said they will soon be able to charge batteries within an absolute fraction of the time, and have it last multiple times longer. If and when these get to the market, i'd expect to see these cars become a lot more attractive.

[campioni]

Sounds good in theory but if you keep the car 10 years before it needs a new battery you will have paid out 17k on the car and 8.4k on the battery.

still not ideal, but i think its a better option than paying out approx £10k extra to buy the battery with the car then have to worry about replacing it 5 years down the line.

I'm not sure where they got the £9 per charge from. From what i've read the Nissan Leaf battery has a 34kWh per 100 mile capacity. If you use 15p per unit rate of electricity, that would cost you £5.10 per charge.

The Fluence battery capacity is 22kWh, therefore costing £3.30 per full charge.

[conman]

still not ideal, but i think its a better option than paying out approx £10k extra to buy the battery with the car then have to worry about replacing it 5 years down the line.

I'm not sure where they got the £9 per charge from. From what i've read the Nissan Leaf battery has a 34kWh per 100 mile capacity. If you use 15p per unit rate of electricity, that would cost you £5.10 per charge.

The Fluence battery capacity is 22kWh, therefore costing £3.30 per full charge.

yep, €2 overnight charge in Ireland.. Its cheap as chips to run.. If i charged it overnight 95% of the time, Id not spend more than €500 on fuel per year, in comparison to atleast 2k with a Focus.

[Brian Blessed]

Sounds good in theory but if you keep the car 10 years before it needs a new battery you will have paid out 17k on the car and 8.4k on the battery.

For me that's about 3 years worth of petrol at current rates.

[Brian Blessed]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/jeremy-clarkson-row-over-nissan-electric-car-101205770.html

[Sudden Death Draft Loser]

Saw them reviewed on Top Gear. Going to be 20 years til they are viable.

Electric cars have been viable for a least 2 decades. There is a great documentary called "Who Killed the Electric Car ?" General motors recalled and crushed a significant number of them for no apparent reason. Those that had bought them loved them.

Who Killed the Electric Car? is a 2006 documentary film that explores the creation, limited commercialization, and subsequent destruction of the battery electric vehicle in the United States, specifically the General Motors EV1 of the mid 1990s. The film explores the roles of automobile manufacturers, the oil industry, the US government, the Californian government, batteries, hydrogen vehicles, and consumers in limiting the development and adoption of this technology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car%3F

The issue is the batteries, the cars are superb. With a proper network of charge points/battery exchange stations (in petrol stations would be ideal) there is no problem. With the necessary and inevitable increase in wind power in the UK, electric cars could prove to be very useful re "grid stabilization" and use of power generated by wind at night when consumer demand is low.

As with most other things, people are frightened of change.

[Sudden Death Draft Loser]

In the latest episode of Top Gear Jeremy Clarkson was shown running out of power and having to be pushed into the centre of Lincoln, which has no public charging points.

A typical stunt by a "petrol head" dinosaur. The man is a disgrace.

[Sudden Death Draft Loser]

The most striking thing from Top Gear the other night, was the fact that the they were no "cheaper" to run than say a similarly priced Diesel.

There is currently, little advantage in them for the mass market. But as a 2nd car, in a city, they could do someone a decent job.

Don't believe this at all; no tax, much lower fuel prices, much less maintenance. Propaganda from Clarkson.