Who has or is planning to get an electric car / EV Talk

[The-Real-Deal82]

I like the video except the bit about the cost of the car I own! Bargain for people buying one now mind.

Wow £15.5k for an i3S with 44k miles on the clock is a bargain. Ideal as a short commute car and definitely something that would suit me most of the time. There is still a lot of nervousness about buying secondhand EV’s I find when talking to people. People want to be sure the battery is covered should it fail, whether that’s a legitimate concern or not. That’s one thing I am asked a lot when people find out we have an EV and it’s the one scare story often shared amongst the millions yet to drive one.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Wow £15.5k for an i3S with 44k miles on the clock is a bargain. Ideal as a short commute car and definitely something that would suit me most of the time. There is still a lot of nervousness about buying secondhand EV’s I find when talking to people. People want to be sure the battery is covered should it fail, whether that’s a legitimate concern or not. That’s one thing I am asked a lot when people find out we have an EV and it’s the one scare story often shared amongst the millions yet to drive one.

Indeed. 8 years or 100k miles so another 5 years or so battery warranty left.
I think part of the issue is people think about an EV like a 6 or 7 year old iPhone or laptop. But the battery technology is very different.

That and the anti EV brigade are very vocal of course!

 

[Apple fanboy]

Anybody seen the Tesla Model 2 'leaks' doing the rounds? £25K price tag I think they will sell like hot cakes.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Anybody seen the Tesla Model 2 'leaks' doing the rounds? £25K price tag I think they will sell like hot cakes.

I have yeah, there’s spy shots of it and looks the size of a Golf, so think it’ll be immensely popular, especially in Europe.

 

[jz0309]

Anybody seen the Tesla Model 2 'leaks' doing the rounds? £25K price tag I think they will sell like hot cakes.

had to google for it, pretty good looking imho, might be in time to replace my Bolt EUV in 3 or 4 years, I don't expect it to be released until eo of '25 and then wait another year

 

[Apple fanboy]

had to google for it, pretty good looking imho, might be in time to replace my Bolt EUV in 3 or 4 years, I don't expect it to be released until eo of '25 and then wait another year

Indeed. Despite everything I have said about Tesla, I might give it a look in a few years when its time to retire the i3. But hopefully that's a quite a few years from now.

 

[jz0309]

Indeed. Despite everything I have said about Tesla, I might give it a look in a few years when its time to retire the i3. But hopefully that's a quite a few years from now.

I wonder what they will do to bring that cost down to the rumored $25k? smaller battery? some features not available? will be interesting ...

 

[Apple fanboy]

I wonder what they will do to bring that cost down to the rumored $25k? smaller battery? some features not available? will be interesting ...

A smaller lighter car would only require a smaller battery so there is some obvious savings there.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

I wonder what they will do to bring that cost down to the rumored $25k? smaller battery? some features not available? will be interesting ...

The problem with a smaller battery that is still made of the same materials, is that it results in a drive-range reduction. That by itself it now going to significantly reduce the price of the vehicle. For example the smaller battery used in the eMini Cooper does not make the car any cheaper. The same for the Chevy Bolt, although most of these models are cheaper than the eMini Cooper and have longer drive ranges. Perhaps the Mini offers a more luxurious drive (?), and this attracts some EV buyers who can afford it. I would prefer it over the Bolt.

As it is now maybe China can mass-produce compact EV's that are somewhat similar to the Bolt for $25,000?

 

[zagato27]

Flew from Savannah to Stockton, CA for a funeral last Thursday and just got back today. I tried to rent a TM3 but was unsuccessful. The substitute was a KIA EV6. Disappointed as I really wanted to drive a Tesla but things worked out. Picked it up at Sacramento and drove to Stockton, about 60 miles. This was the first time driving an EV. My first impression was this car was solidly built and oh so quiet. Don't know if it had double pane glass or not but man it was quiet. On the highway with the cruise and the nav on it practically drove itself. Lane centering and it would do the steering too. Comfy seats (cloth as this was probably the lower end model with rear wheel drive) that you sat up high in like an suv. So, quiet, quick, roomy, and comfy. A couple of things that I didn't like: start button (so yester year and ICE like), not the greatest visibility, wired Car Play, those dam charge lights at the charging cable receptable at night blind you so you can't see the plug receptable. Lots of settings to "play" with that I just didn't have the time to do so but I'm sure that with a little time would become second nature. "Mileage"? I think that I was averaging 2.7-3.3 mi/kwh. Is that reasonable? Oh, the hotel I was staying in had chargers with no idling fees so I was able to charge when I came back at night. I believe that I charged it 3 times with the total cost being around $18 for maybe a total of 200 miles. BTW, gas prices in CA were above $4/gal. Now I need to test drive a Tesla. Have my heart set on a TMY, the future version so it might be a year away. I've heard, "if you don't want a Tesla, don't test drive a Tesla", so I'm going to wait til it comes out and THEN have my wife test drive it. Cheers

 

[cyb3rdud3]

I agree the Tesla model 2 is looking good. They’ve definitely got their designs sorted now. The model 3 highland is so much better looking than the original 3. And I have high hopes for the model Y juniper.

I can totally see how they can make that a 25K car. Sure there will be a smaller battery. But Tesla is build/finished at a Toyota level as it is. Smart as they get the sales volumes undoubtedly. Whether there profits reflect their succes remains to be seen. A smaller battery is absolutely fine as long as the charging stops can be measured in Poronkusema and it has a good charging curve.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

A smaller lighter car would only require a smaller battery so there is some obvious savings there.

Battery technology is improving all the time too and I’d imagine we’ll start seeing longer ranges coming out of smaller sized batteries in the near future. It’s one of the biggest pressures on the car industry now and the likes of BYD are leaders, and also suppliers in this sector. I wouldn’t mind betting the Tesla Model 2 will still produce 350 miles on a full charge which is adequate.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Battery technology is improving all the time too and I’d imagine we’ll start seeing longer ranges coming out of smaller sized batteries in the near future. It’s one of the biggest pressures on the car industry now and the likes of BYD are leaders, and also suppliers in this sector. I wouldn’t mind betting the Tesla Model 2 will still produce 350 miles on a full charge which is adequate.

Unfortunately you are wrong. If it can’t do 10,000 miles on a single charge it won’t work!

350 miles would mean most people could charge once a week. I charge 1-2 times mostly. But my car does less than 200. It really is an easy transition.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Unfortunately you are wrong. If it can’t do 10,000 miles on a single charge it won’t work!

350 miles would mean most people could charge once a week. I charge 1-2 times mostly. But my car does less than 200. It really is an easy transition.

Ha! Tesla also use smaller batteries than their rivals but return longer range on paper. Thats the case with the Model 3 anyway, so I’d expect Tesla to do the same job with the drag coefficient to squeeze a few extra miles out of the design.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Ha! Tesla also use smaller batteries than their rivals but return longer range on paper. Thats the case with the Model 3 anyway, so I’d expect Tesla to do the same job with the drag coefficient to squeeze a few extra miles out of the design.

Drag and weight saving go so far. Efficient driving will probably do more than both though.

 

[I7guy]

Unfortunately you are wrong. If it can’t do 10,000 miles on a single charge it won’t work!

350 miles would mean most people could charge once a week. I charge 1-2 times mostly. But my car does less than 200. It really is an easy transition.

I know there are those who have EVs but don’t have a dedicated charger, but I ascribe to A(lways)B(e)C(harging).

 

[JT2002TJ]

I have 1 Tesla Wall Connector and 2 EV’s. My wife doesn’t drive much (10% per day in the winter without a heat pump), I use 30%-40% per day. When I get home after her, I charge her car (L2 50 amps) then leave mine plugged in until the next morning. We both use weekday preconditioning.

I wish I had 2 connectors, but I cant justify the cost when her car only needs about 1.5 hrs per day.

I also believe in the ABC method.

 

[jz0309]

ABC here too.
Most of the EVs that are on the road today I'd say the owners/drivers have charge ports, most at home and some at work, and sure there is some percentage that have neither but I think that is low single digit.
When Tesl Model 2 comes around, it should attract more buyers purely on cost, and a lot more of those (potential) buyers are likely in apartments and won't have "at home" charging. It'll be interesting to see how this unfolds and how Tesla will position the Model 2 with that regard ...

 

[hobowankenobi]

I have 1 Tesla Wall Connector and 2 EV’s. My wife doesn’t drive much (10% per day in the winter without a heat pump), I use 30%-40% per day. When I get home after her, I charge her car (L2 50 amps) then leave mine plugged in until the next morning. We both use weekday preconditioning.

I wish I had 2 connectors, but I cant justify the cost when her car only needs about 1.5 hrs per day.

I also believe in the ABC method.

Would a 110 connection be adequate for the light-use car...given a 12+ hour overnight charge? That would save a second 220 circuit and wall charger.

 

[jz0309]

Would a 110 connection be adequate for the light-use car...given a 12+ hour overnight charge? That would save a second 220 circuit and wall charger.

yea, you'd still need a charger, and on 110V, you'll get ~ 4 miles/hour on a 12A charger

 

[I7guy]

yea, you'd still need a charger, and on 110V, you'll get ~ 4 miles/hour on a 12A charger

When I first got my Tesla I only had a 110v. I survived a month by judiciously driving and using my ice vehicle. It took about a month to get a nema 1450 installed. To be honest, it was quite the relief.

 

[jz0309]

When I first got my Tesla I only had a 110v. I survived a month by judiciously driving and using my ice vehicle. It took about a month to get a nema 1450 installed. To be honest, it was quite the relief.

I was in the same boat, actually took me 7 or so weeks to get the 14-50 (was courtesy of GM at the time). I managed ok, but my round trip commute was 100 miles 3 times per week at that time, so most of the weekend - charging .
But if you really only do less than 30 or so miles per day, you can get away provided there are fast charging options available when needed. But that leaves an EV not so desirable imho.

 

[Tagbert]

I have 1 Tesla Wall Connector and 2 EV’s. My wife doesn’t drive much (10% per day in the winter without a heat pump), I use 30%-40% per day. When I get home after her, I charge her car (L2 50 amps) then leave mine plugged in until the next morning. We both use weekday preconditioning.

I wish I had 2 connectors, but I cant justify the cost when her car only needs about 1.5 hrs per day.

I also believe in the ABC method.

Could she charge from the EVSE plugged into a 120v outlet?

 

[hobowankenobi]

yea, you'd still need a charger, and on 110V, you'll get ~ 4 miles/hour on a 12A charger

~4 miles x 15 hours = plenty for 10% battery capacity use, no?

 

[JT2002TJ]

Would a 110 connection be adequate for the light-use car...given a 12+ hour overnight charge? That would save a second 220 circuit and wall charger.

It might but I would have to run a dedicated 20 amp 110v line to the face of my garage, then I would have to leave her mobile connector outside. If I was going to go through that effort, I would just get a second wall connector, and share the 50 Amp circuit, since wall connectors can load share, then when the second vehicle is fully charged, it will send full power to the remaining vehicle.

But, either way, I'd be looking at spending money, that right now my setup costs me a minute to plug her car in, then an hour later a minute to move the cable to my car and go back inside.

The fully charged notification (phone and apple watch) lets me know when it's time to move the cable.