As a recent "convert" to EV usage for general minimal mileage everyday usage, I doubt the numbers would ever personally add up in our situation, so why buy an EV...?
First off our Evoque was seven years old and had twice in 28k miles since new had let us down with wheel sensor issues, the last of which I repaired myself as the LR dealership determined it would be perhaps seven weeks before they could look at it, first failure took them three weeks to book it in.. So I guess it seems obvious that it was wise to seek an alternative vehicle type...?
Even my alternative tin top sports car used as backup to the family barge, threw up a coolant warning, while the barge was in dry dock..!!! Fortunately it`s dealership was able to book it in and repair it within 7 days... I was glad I had taken out the extended manufacturers warranty when I bought it..!
Why an EV..Hmm..? I suspect there were many considerations, and more so for an old Luddite such as I relative to my natural desires to be as self reliant as possible over many years if not decades, however time and tide etc.etc.etc... So crawling about the garage floor let alone getting up off it as I still do (just) when maintaining my Morgan, but with all of the complexity of modern machinery fault finding and spares backup, which I am no stranger to, these days for me it just seems best to leave repairs and maintenance to others.
My unfortunate LR dealership experience had me somewhat frustrated, which manufacturer to trust, as much as any can be trusted to turn out a reasonably fault free machine...?
It seems Tesla had perhaps scooped up the NASA brains when they cut back on staffing some years back, with that in mind if seeking to start fresh in EV design, that seemed to be a reasonable foundation to build upon...?
It does seem by comparison other manufacturers may be evolving from their ICE vehicle building experience towards EV as a step in an evolutionary process, as opposed to building something entirely new, and in the process perhaps trying to retain aspects of design and functionality of their ICE machines to encourage those reluctant to adopt EV ownership, thinking it is not too much of a leap into the future... Those Luddite types are ever trying to put the brakes on everything new.......
The Tesla... I view it as not much more than a personal transportation device which covers so many of the usual operational requirements to pilot a vehicle safely and hopefully in that respect will make driving safer with less in the way of operational distractions to allow more thought and time to consider all else that is happening on the road around during any journey..?
I note the earlier discussion on home charging.... A 13 amp socket can come with so very many limitations that make it unsuitable to carry 13 amps, let alone over the time it might be required to top up or fully charge an EV battery.
Logical questions would seem to be how old is the wiring and socket arrangement, I suspect there may be many far from new homes with a 13A socket connected on to original wiring that perhaps once supplied a round pin socket of 5 or 15 amps...? Thus a bit of thought seems best applied and the services of a certificated electrician or contractor is best engaged..?
Even with a new 13a socket installation such can be the overall electrical LOADING in terms of amps + time, that there are perhaps risks best assessed in terms of choosing a time of day/night when to charge, and when there is less in the way of other household requirements for electrical demand..?
In the case of Tesla, the wall CONNECTOR is just that and NOT a charger, the charger is built into the car, the connector is just an intelligent means of connecting to the household electrical supply, or if a 13A socket is used the car limits the charge to 10 amps..
The functionality of EV`s and their charging systems are quite something. If you are interested in EV you might like to beam up using the link below, all be it Tesla, you might find interest in the aspects of driving and charging as contained in short clips for each of the Tesla models available..?
https://www.tesla.com/support/meet-your-tesla
