Miscellaneous Electric vehicles

[Targa]

It might not matter if batteries don't catch up in a few years anyway as there's a reasonable chance you will be able to just change vehicles half way through your trip i.e. get out of the back of one discharged driverless car and into the back of another fully charged one ready to complete your journey.

And of course there will be another vehicle available exactly within a couple of yards of where you stop.
And there will always be a vacant charging point available at every parking bay and car park space around the country.

 

[richardr]

Yes, they say 80% - 90% after five years.

Do you mean that after five years the battery charge capacity has diminished by 80% - 90% or that's what's left after five years? And, assuming you mean the latter, can one expect that after 10 years the battery capacity will be 60% - 80% of the original or does it diminish more rapidly after the first five years?

 

[Pete Thomas]

Do you mean that after five years the battery charge capacity has diminished by 80% - 90% or that's what's left after five years? And, assuming you mean the latter, can one expect that after 10 years the battery capacity will be 60% - 80% of the original or does it diminish more rapidly after the first five years?

Yes diminished to 80%, not sure about 10 years, but I would imagine it will continue. There are battery lease options though.

My current thoughts are given the likely developments in technology, may look at a lightly used one rather than new at the moment.

 

[MandyH]

Anyone got one?

I've currently got a Leaf out on four day test drive. Loving it so far.

My husband bought a Leaf on a 2 year finance deal thingy!
Personally I think he needs his head read!
It's brilliant around town, and shorter hops, I can't deny that, but we live a minimum of 2 1/2 hours drive from any family member, up to 5 hours drive, and mostly across country, not along a motorway.
He took it to Newquay last week - which required 3 stops to recharge each way, totalling an extra 1.5 hours each way on an already challenging route!

His hope is that in 2 years time battery technology will have improved dramatically and he can trade up to one with better capacity.

I would also add that the advertised range on a full charge is a bit like the advertised MPG on a petrol/diesel car - pie in the sky!
100 miles on a full charge is just about realistic, if your blood pressure can withstand the range anxiety! The hubby has made it home with 5 miles left in the battery, having done 50 on the motorway to preserve the charge and get home! This is not a way to live!

 

[vries1]

I am not sure what the advertised range of the Leaf is, but Wikipedia lists the EPA range at 84-107 miles, depending on the battery capacity. For a small car, an average of 17.5kWh per 100 km seems quite realistic. As a reference, on Tesla forums you can find that the larger Tesla S consumes 20-25 kWh/100km on the motorway.

US agencies give much more realistic values than the European ones, I would imagine this is one of the (few) positive consequences of the "class action" culture!

Nissan Leaf - Wikipedia:

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official range for the 2016 model year Leaf with the 30 kWh battery is 172 km (107 miles) on a full battery charge, while the trim with the smaller 24 kWh battery is 135 km (84 miles),"

 

[QWales]

And of course there will be another vehicle available exactly within a couple of yards of where you stop.
And there will always be a vacant charging point available at every parking bay and car park space around the country.

Yes, I guess it could be an issue if you don't stop until you've run out of electricity

It's rare you are far from an electric socket, I'm sure people will catch on. The Norwegians certainly have

 

[Pete Thomas]

Do you mean that after five years the battery charge capacity has diminished by 80% - 90% or that's what's left after five years? And, assuming you mean the latter, can one expect that after 10 years the battery capacity will be 60% - 80% of the original or does it diminish more rapidly after the first five years?

Just checked, Nissan say 80% after 5 years and 70% after 10.

 

[Targa]

Yes, I guess it could be an issue if you don't stop until you've run out of electricity

It's rare you are far from an electric socket, I'm sure people will catch on. The Norwegians certainly have

I didn't mean stop because you run out of charge but stop to change vehicles. If you decide to drive from Lands End to John o' Groats in your scenario would you have to arrange vehicle changes in advance and who with or would there be a car parks along the way always well stocked and help yourself? Think of the time that would add to the journey with all the administration involved or would it be like Formula E with a one minute pit stop?
Are you saying that in Norway there is always a recharge point available when they want one and what is the percentage of electric car ownership in Norway?

 

[Pete Thomas]

I didn't mean stop because you run out of charge but stop to change vehicles. If you decide to drive from Lands End to John o' Groats in your scenario would you have to arrange vehicle changes in advance and who with or would there be a car parks along the way always well stocked and help yourself?

I took it to mean in the lovely green world of the future and there is a kind of Boris bike type scheme for electric cars.

 

[Jazzaferri]

Prius Hybrid. Taxi drivers love em. Batteries last. A friend who was a taxi driver for years got the first one in Vancouver. They go to 600-800,000 km before they are too worn out inside

My son's wife has a Chevy Volt which she uses as a commuter vehicle. She loves it. There are n increasing number of electric cars here. One downside is to come to a busy charging station and its full

There is a battery under development that is several times more energy dense than the current ones. It changes size physically by about 50% as it loses it's charge. As soon as they get the case sorted it will be on the market.

Hyundai have two Hydrogen fuel cell cars that have 5-600 km range operating here in Victoria thanks to a pilot program my wife and one of her people set up. That is another clean option. The only emissions are a bit of heat and H2O.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Prius Hybrid. Taxi drivers love em. Batteries last. A friend who was a taxi driver for years got the first one in Vancouver. .

Yes, I had one a while back. But it's not electric like the Leaf or Tesla so you even though you get good mileage, it still requires petrol and more expensive to run that fully electric.

 

[MandyH]

I am not sure what the advertised range of the Leaf is, but Wikipedia lists the EPA range at 84-107 miles, depending on the battery capacity. For a small car, an average of 17.5kWh per 100 km seems quite realistic. As a reference, on Tesla forums you can find that the larger Tesla S consumes 20-25 kWh/100km on the motorway.

US agencies give much more realistic values than the European ones, I would imagine this is one of the (few) positive consequences of the "class action" culture!

Nissan Leaf - Wikipedia:

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official range for the 2016 model year Leaf with the 30 kWh battery is 172 km (107 miles) on a full battery charge, while the trim with the smaller 24 kWh battery is 135 km (84 miles),"

107 is honest, but advertised range is 125 in the UK (IIRC).
Indeed, a full charge on our 7kW charger overnight and the car says 125-129 miles.
If you use any accessories - lights, heating, air conditioning, you lose range.
If you drive fast (above 55!) you lose range.

However, the range is the range, so hours spent sitting in motorway queues has little impact on the range - you will still get the range on the battery.

 

[MandyH]

Yes, I had one a while back. But it's not electric like the Leaf or Tesla so you even though you get good mileage, it still requires petrol and more expensive to run that fully electric.

and servicing of engine...

 

[Targa]

I took it to mean in the lovely green world of the future and there is a kind of Boris bike type scheme for electric cars.

We tried to start the lovely green world of the future in 67 and look at what the ******* politicians and corporate business ****** that up.

 

[Alice]

We tried to start the lovely green world of the future in 67 and look at what the ******* politicians and corporate business ****** that up.

Exactly, Targa.

 

[Vetinari]

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[vries1]

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[Pete Thomas]

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[vries1]

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[Pete Thomas]

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