Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) buying an EV

Hmm,I think it a bit antisocial on our square if I use the phone to start the Volvo. OK if you have a driveway or off the road.
We have 32 houses (about 50 cars as most have 2 ) and 3 lamp post chargers. Tell me when and how I can buy an EV please?? How can London with all its flat blocks and terraced houses go EV ??

Like to save the planet but Somerset regular trips are 134 miles and it cannot be charged once there - No access.
Then as I have said previously (and do not chastise or be critical), I do 900 plus miles in one hit overnight three times a year.
I hate German and Austrian roadworks and find driving in the day just makes the trip awful. Drive through the night, pee stops, and yes if I get tired I would stop for a quick snooze and it’s easy peasy.. unsure how this would work with an EV, fully loaded, heating etc . The stops would mean hitting traffic in Luxembourg, Stuttgart, Munich, Salzburg and other places beyond.
Strangely on the way home we still mainly do night drives but stop at hotels for a day at a town. Only on the dash to the channel through France do we drive during the day . Occasionally in Germany and sometimes along the Rhine sightseeing perhaps.
Stay frosty MM
PS Antique Road Trip on the TV . She said the heater on the Morgan was working well !!
PPS just been given some Baron Bigod for Christmas - that is a festive recommendation from me.

MM, Thanks for pointing out another possible advantage of an EV ... (-: To pre-heat or defrost a Tesla does cause some degree noise, though nothing like firing up an ICE, accompanied by the exhaust pollution also..

My niece and partner did the North Coast 500 in their Tesla, apparently without anxiety. While every croft is unlikely to have a supercharger (-: With the Tesla app on their phones apparently it was a simple matter to pre-plan their trip relative to charging points, their type and availability, even while on route..

Perhaps worth adding that a Tesla comes with a standard 13amp plug extension lead to facilitate charging possibilities...

I suspect an EV with circa 260 mile range would more than cover the average daily usage of many car owners and for those with the rare need for longer journeys, perhaps hiring a car might seem a reasonable option.

MM thank you for your view ... it amused me a little because I used exactly your argument in my pre EV time.
I actually bought an EV to show that this system is not suitable for everyday use. Unfortunately, today I have to admit that it works very well. My only criticism is still the purchase price. An EV is simply too expensive today.
Oh yes, what I miss is the filling station. The cashier was very nice and extremely attractive 😃 But I still have the Morgan 😇

Luddite - agreed, but my friend does start and defrost his V90 by phone on cold mornings. I think it is not right to do this with an ICE.
CLPlus 4 - both, I considered an EV but my main & regular trips just did not fit in with my thinking/lifestyle, let alone charging over the pavement at home! . Yes I could be less selfish and accept the difficulty on Somerset and Europe but truthfully v unlikely. It’s just not convenient in any way for us……sorry.
Happy for your view on how London can go electric. No chargers near me, no service stations with chargers near me and the nearest lamppost 80 metres away but anyone can park in front of them and 3 cars are electric/hybrid in the square vying for power.. One is a big Porsche thing (£80K?) and the battery failed after 3 months. I would consider an EV for buzzing about but not paying another £300 for a council parking permit. It needs to fit in a very very narrow drive .
Best MM
PS Thinking about a motorhome - any ideas on an Electric model to look at at the next Motorhome show ???
PPS Friends from Slovenia in a new Motorhome did the Scotland 500 last July before our daughters fake wedding and the main thing they wanted to talk about was “ Scottish people hate you, they seem to really really hate the you, why”
They did enjoy the trip.

Yes the UK contribution to MMGW is negligible but can you expect the major polluters like China to walk everywhere when the UK still has gas guzzlers? Its not realistic. We all have to contribute.

The elephant in the room is of course population. Each of us emits about 1kg of CO2/day just existing. Then we want food, and houses and toys and cars and holidays etc. So whatever we do here in terms of leccy cars is cancelled out by breeding in the third world. Luckily populations are declining in the rich countries and even those that have just developed like Korea have a birth rate below 2 per woman.

That we all need to do something cannot be denied. The problem is - what? Sounds horrific but a pandemic in the third world killing off 75% of the population is as necessary as swapping moaning first world types over to a return to a more austere 1950s style way of life. One small EV per family?

MM, so sorry to read that your Slovenian friends thought Scottish folk really hated them. From the other side of the coin as a Scot, though not one who lives on a single track part of the NC500, I have read of frustrations of folk who do indeed live on that road with tales of speeding convoys and folk parking up in passing places on single track roads in their camper vans, which more for some than others can add frustration to those trying to go about their daily routines, be that time critical or not.

I have lived on a single track road for circa 40 years it serves a small community and fortunately is a cul-de-sac, In recent years a dog exercise area was opened up by one of the smallholders, followed by another creating a glamping site, thus as you can imagine a once sleepy location has become a tad busy, add to that that some large vehicles take the wrong turning perhaps 30 yds early and end up in our road as opposed to that of the new nursing home, but then it is all just part of the evolutionary processes that can really upset some folk.... fortunately, I am not one of those.. (-:

I just posted a couple of pics in the gallery which I took from my Mog while in convoy along a west Coast single track road with a group of Porsche pals.... The lady in the red jumper carrying a bucket no doubt herding her long horn cattle along the single track road might well have rather completed her journey without the complications of a mix of noisy machines some perhaps precious to their owners pushing her cattle off to the side of the road with who knows what possible risks involved..... I felt guilty in perhaps adding any form of complication to her day...sigh.

Thought I'd share some random thoughts on my second journey with an EV.

The car scheme I am part of has us changing cars every six months so it's nice to be able to have a taste of something different.

My first EV was the ID.5 when it first came out. A quick search of early reviews will show that the software was a bit half-baked. It wasn't the base offering but one up. Claimed range was 260ish miles but in the middle of winter I was lucky if I saw 150 at 80% charge. Granted it was mostly used to take my dog to day care and the weekly shop run. It should be said that the ability to defrost and preheat the car in the morning was a welcome. This was when the app worked. The other failing was it at times wouldn't charge when it was scheduled to so I was always out checking to ensure it was! This was about 2 years ago.

I've recently take delivery of an Audi Q4 e-tron 45. The software in this is more akin to what I've become used to with an Audi and everything just works. Claimed range is circa 370. The heft of this thing can be felt but it's delivered in a way that is oddly enjoyable, almost to where it feels luxurious if that makes sense.

Both ride on a shared architecture and is a lovely place to be. Very quiet, calming and even with the lower power output of the ID I had, brisk departures from traffic lights. The Q4 feels faster yet and a joy to overtake when needed.

However, with guests arriving for the holidays and a jammed packed itinerary, I am now finding I need to plan around the projected range at my disposal and accounting for ideal times to stop and charge. The Q4 wasn't supposed to arrive until after they are set to leave so now plans will need to change as some of the plans I made simply won't work timing wise. It's not the end of the world but it does require a slightly different mindset.

As a tool, I am enjoying it quite a lot and find myself driving a tab more spirited than I thought I would. The big question is if I'd buy it, perhaps, but not new as almost all EV's plummet in resale value far more and faster than an equivalent ICE.

However, a slightly used EV is an attractive proposition. I've had quite a lot of seat time in a Porsche Taycan and boy oh boy, what a car! One the one hand it's very luxurious and one of the most luxurious rides I've been in yet change the drive mode and driving style and it's a sports car. A certified used example can be had for not much more than a normal grocery getter EV!

I hope some of this rambling is of interest or help to someone.

No no Mr Luddite ! They are Slovenian and they found Scottish people really helpful and lovely . It was the English the Scottish hated’ ……..they found them so vocal about it & v odd . I reminded them how Slovenians love Croatia but somewhat dislike Croatians and Serbians!
MM
PS They travelled the 500 in late June and up to about 17th July - also not too busy. They loved it, thought it very special, want to bring the motorhome over again. To those who have not been to Slovenia , it is spectacular ! Sure our Belgian , German & Austrian friends here will agree.

Perry, given the predicted depreciation on my Tesla, my thought was that what a great buy it would be as a year old second hand car with circa 3k miles on the clock @ the predicted £25-£27k.
From that which I have read and heard of the Taycan, it seems Porsche have a lot to learn re software issues.... I chose Tesla because I had a degree of faith that Musks in hiring NASA guys might just have the electrics digital and otherwise all talking to each other with few if any issues...

Mike good to know that your Slovenian friends felt welcomed. As a Scot I sure do not hate the English, I feel most fortunate not to hate anyone. I suspect the picture I painted exists, and is no more than expected human interaction I suspect may be found anywhere in the world where there might be a mix of immigrants of one particular type or other..? The lady with the bucket leading her cows could have been English...? (-:

I have MY23 Plus Four. It seems that the rule of thumb range adopted by CX ownersof 4 and 6 is 250 miles from a brimmed tank. This is less than trads with bigger tanks so has introduced a variation of range anxiety to an EV. It is easier to plan though as petrol stations are numerous and refuelling takes minutes.
We go for long trips fairly regularly, two to Scotland planned for 2025 already. Previous trips have been planned with tank filling when near the hotels used on returning at the day's end. Full tank for the next day. We have found places to stop on previous trips and these provide both refuelling and comfort/ food stops. The norm is on the return home we do the journey in one day, approx 500 miles, with these stops built in. Only one issue when the M6 southbound was closed for bridge work. It added 4 hours to our return but luckily we had stopped in the lakes for a couple of days so about 300 miles to do. That had us on stop as traffic was being "managed" off through villages to rejoin at the next junction. Utte4 chaos with no real alternate routes. The northbound carriageway was unaffected with traffic at normal speeds. We had the Plus8 then. Several chats with others whilst on stop.
The barrier to me buying pure EV is the up-front cost for a family workhorse with big depreciation. Range wouldn't be a problem based on our mileage pattern as properly long trips are Morgan based.Our longest regular trips are 120 mile round trip visting our son and family. A self charging hybrid might be considered but again cost of buying is high.
Politicians want us to go EV yet the cost barrier is a big obstacle. Penalising ICE owners to try to get them to switch is not working. Political dogma hitting people in their pockets when finances are under big pressure.