Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) Electric Cars

It’s the wrong kind of cheep and nobody noticed, so nobody’s going to miss an acute accent.

Cheap.. if interested in electric sports cars there is info on someone circumnavigating the US in a Taycan.

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...es-in-6-weeks-cross-country-journal.879/

It’s okay, electric cars don’t go cheap, they charge a lot.

The Electric Car conversation has been pretty free flowing in our house for the past week..

Swmbo has a Fiat 124 Spyder, a lovely car albeit an MX5 in drag (not that there’s anything wrong with the MX5..)

The PCP deal is coming to an end in the next couple of months, so we have to decide whether we pay the balloon payment and keep the car (which was Plan A) or change the car for something else and if so what.

We drove the Tesla 3 last year and were very impressed, initially test driving it so we could confirm how bad it was and why we wouldn’t want one...but came away with a completely different outlook.

Friends of ours have a Renault Zoe, having bought a Generation 1 car then changing that for a Gen 2 car as they were so impressed by the first one, the range being the compromise.

Renault have just released the Gen 3 Zoe which has a 239 mile range, which to be fair Renault say in the real world will be 150 to 200 depending on the weather (cold kills range) and how you drive.

Swmbo’s car is not used on long runs, most she tends to do in a day is 50 miles.

So after a lot of internet based research, talking to our Zoe owning friends, today we have ordered a Zoe Gen 3 , 135 bhp GT line which should land with us May time.

A big part of our decision was the increasingly hostile UK political environment towards ICE. Obviously we as a country have many years of ongoing ICE enjoyment but I would anticipate more clean air zones in our local cities, and so we thought we’d give it a go now!

Are electric cars really that green? I’m not convinced, but there is no doubt their increasing use will improve local pollution levels and on that basis, given the car fits our needs and budget (Tesla fits needs but not budget!) why wouldn’t you?

im not convinced also but can see the point maybe on local pollution if you live in the city , I still think public transport is the answer in this case and avoid at all cost driving into town as its just no fun , I have enjoyed the freedoom the ice has given me over my years and wonder if this is coming to a end for the next generation , I cannot see any signs of inferstructure in place or planned which would enable me to go exploring in the uk let alone Europe . when it does come who will decide where it goes . and will I have to tow a solar panel for if I get cut short . but my main objection is where is the electric coming from ?

I have to agree with this section of the article above EV trip in usa "Well.....when I was 20, I took a road trip a 1971 VW pop top Camper from Columbia South Carolina to Texas to Mexico City Mexico to Veracruz, to the Yucatan to Belize, into the war zones of Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Honduras again, El Salvador, Mexico City (for 6 more months) then to Los Angeles, all n 1985 in the middle of Ronald Reagan's central American contra wars and civil wars. Twice had machines guns pointed at me. Bathing only in rivers and lakes......I could do that at 20, but not now! I guess an adventure like that would NOT be possible with an EV"

The new Zoes do seem to be getting excellent reports, I hope you're very happy with yours.

I wonder how much of the low range in winter problem stems from people who are used to driving their ICE tintops wearing shirtsleeves with the heater turned up full? Stalwart Morgan drivers, used to driving in the cold whilst wrapped up in warm clothing will probably find it quite natural to keep their coat on in an EV and have the temperature set much lower, thus realising many more miles before recharging.

We're planning to get an EV in the next few years, and the solar array, batteries and charging system are going in this spring/summer, but our main runaround (Fiat 500) is just 5 years old and has only done 8k miles. It's working perfectly and it seems a bit wasteful to get rid when it's got so much life left in it. It's amazing how few miles we're doing now we're retired.

Most of the range reduction is due to the increased internal resistance of the battery at low temperatures. There is also less regeneration at low temps because the battery cannot accept high charging currents when cold without damage.
The cabin heater might cost 10 miles for an hour's use but unless you want sauna conditions is not a big issue. For max range heated seats and a cool cabin are the way forward. Some cars use an air source heat pump for more efficient heating, and also make use of the heat from cooling the motor and electronics. My i3 range will decrease from about 160miles (20 degrees C) to about 120 miles (0 degrees C).

John

Another i3 aficionado

I’ve not seen this much reduction In range in the two years I’ve owned EV’s my 40kw leaf did about 160-170 miles in summer and 140-150 in winter. My Kona is around 280 in summer and 260 in winter. Now I’ve traded the leaf for a 38kw ioniq ten days ago I haven’t had chance to check range thoroughly but the guess o meter said 211 miles when I picked it up fully charged from the dealer. I’m seeing around 4.7 miles per kWh so far but early days.

Electric cars are definitely greener than ice cars, in the summer I get 90% of my motoring free from my solar array and battery storage, and in winter I’m on a 100% renewables tarrif with EDF, so no carbon being burnt for my 15k miles a year.

do you know what happened to the 30,000 miles leaf ? and how big is the solar array (area wise) you have installed ? EV sales are on the up in the UK I see