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

[Tagbert]

One of my biggest issues with EVs is their weight. They may use lots of tricks to keep it on the road, but physics demands that when you change direction in a heavier vehicle, it will try to keep going in the original direction.

I agree that because of the zero speed torque that an electric motor can provide, the initial rush is quite exciting. However it is not sustainable as the speed increases and that weight again becomes an issue. Overall the handling and overall driver interaction in an EV is not comparable to the better ICE cars. It will get better as battery technology improves but at the moment there is no comparison. If you want a smooth quiet ride and are not bothered about how a car handles, current EVs are reasonable but they have a long way to go before they have the driver involvement that some of the older ICE cars were capable of, but that is a small proportion of the driving population. Unfortunately for me, I am one of them.

True, most EVs will not be the canyon carvers that a few ICEVs are but most ICEVs don’t satisfy your handling requirements either. EVs actually handle fairly well, it a flat, predictable way due to the low center of gravity. You just won’t be thrashing them. The torque is nice for low to medium speed acceleration. What is nicer is the “throttle” response when the EV responds directly to accelerator input without hesitation or lag. Still, I no longer feel the need to be ‘boy racer’ on the street.

Driving an EV is a different experience than driving an ICEV. Some things are better other things are not. In balance, I would not want to go back to driving an ICEV. I dread it every time I need to.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

Are we supposed to be comparing our EVs to F1 automobiles, now?

I used to have a ‘75 Scirocco that was almost exactly that weight but that was a very different time. Not ready to go back to that.

Not. My response was in relation to producing lightweight EV's. I cited F1 vehicles not because I am pro or against EV's or ICE automobiles. To produce a lightweight EV is only possible by using lightweight metal alloys for the chassis or frame, brakes, lightweight wheels, motors, drive unit, and so on, all which makes the automobile extremely expensive. The technology constructing lightweight vehicles is already known in the F1 circuit, thus my mentioning F1 automobiles.

 

[Neodym]

Not. My response was in relation to producing lightweight EV's. I cited F1 vehicles not because I am pro or against EV's or ICE automobiles. To produce a lightweight EV is only possible by using lightweight metal allows for the chassis or frame, brakes, lightweight wheels, motors, drive unit, and so on, all which makes the automobile extremely expensive. The technology constructing lightweight vehicles is already known in the F1 circuit, thus my mentioning F1 automobiles.

Constructing lightweight vehicles is not restricted to F1 cars. Lotus did it for many „normal“ sports cars as well. F1 is only pushing it to the extreme, but it’s done in basically every current car (to various extents and thus various cost points).

The weight problem in modern cars (both EV‘s and ICEV‘s) often stems from all the luxury and safety addons, that add up. And a big part of the problem is in the heads of both car maker managers and customers alike. Going EV should not mean to slap an electric motor and batteries on your 2.5ton SUV and try to break the sonic wall with it.

There are small electric cars out there that follow a similar principle as Porsche in some of their high end sports cars: Leave out unnecessary bloat and find intelligent solutions:

• Do you really need AC or will clever ventilation be sufficient?
• Is a seat heating required or will e.g. a removeable sheepskin seat cover do in Winter?
• Do you really hear a difference when listening to FM or compressed digital radio on a 7-speaker Dolby Atmos system or may a simple stereo speaker layout be enough?
• Are electric window openers really needed? And if so - how did we survive the dark times of 80s and older, when electric window openers were simply not available at all (except for in some extravagant luxury car)?
• Are all those assistants for parking, staying in lane, radar traffic-monitoring etc. really indispensable?
• And do we really need 4-5 seats plus a huge trunk for our single-person everyday commuting?

There are a few interesting cars out there (e.g. Smart ed, Renault Twizy, Citroën Ami) that tried to change the narrative, but many more concept cars unfortunately never saw the light of day.

Often, because people insist on being able to make high-speed 1.000km trips w/o recharge every week (of course with 4 people aboard and half a ton of luggage) and recharge the required humongous battery for such a capability in five minutes from 0 to 100%. Not to mention the need to store away the half ton of grocery shopping every day.

Maybe someone is now thinking “That guy is really exaggerating the (undisputed! - mind you) issues to an absurd level”. Unfortunately, quite often, the excuses for not going EV are as absurd (or worse) as the example given above. And it’s not only coming from petrol heads …

 

[icanhazmac]

I rented an electric car for a 4-day road trip. I spent more time charging it than I did sleeping. | Fox Business

Renting a new electric Kia EV6 for a four-day road trip ended up costing more time at the charger than expected, despite the dollars saved.

www.foxbusiness.com

This is a long read but I am interested in what those of you that have EVs have to say on the topic of charging both locally versus a road trip as described in the article. Also interested in comments on the Tesla charging network versus all others as they seem to be a mixed bag.

My interest stems from considering a Telsa Y but I travel extensively for work and if I will spend an undue amount of time either planning or charging then it just isn't practical yet.

 

[quagmire]

I rented an electric car for a 4-day road trip. I spent more time charging it than I did sleeping. | Fox Business

Renting a new electric Kia EV6 for a four-day road trip ended up costing more time at the charger than expected, despite the dollars saved.

www.foxbusiness.com

This is a long read but I am interested in what those of you that have EVs have to say on the topic of charging both locally versus a road trip as described in the article. Also interested in comments on the Tesla charging network versus all others as they seem to be a mixed bag.

My interest stems from considering a Telsa Y but I travel extensively for work and if I will spend an undue amount of time either planning or charging then it just isn't practical yet.

I am not sure if they purposely chose the chargers they did to fit an agenda, highlight the issues of chargers being labeled as fast, but are not, or just bad at planning.

But I plugged in the route they did into a better route planner using the Kia EV6 they drove and it routed me to Electrify America chargers that are all high output chargers vs the ones they used that didn't go above 50kwh and would only be charging for 2 hours during the trip. And at $79 vs the $175 they spent.

A Better Routeplanner Classic

A Better Routeplanner Classic has Retired

abetterrouteplanner.com

 

[icanhazmac]

I am not sure if they purposely chose the chargers they did to fit an agenda

Thanks for the feedback!

That is exactly why I asked, unfortunately news articles today need click-bait titles and be over the top pro or against the given topic and rarely just state the facts.

PS - Giggity

 

[Apple fanboy]

Thanks for the feedback!

That is exactly why I asked, unfortunately news articles today need click-bait titles and be over the top pro or against the given topic and rarely just state the facts.

PS - Giggity

So about a month in of EV ownership. I’ve not had to charge it anywhere other than work (my preference 😀) or home.
My BMW i3 has a much smaller battery and range than a Tesla. But 95% of my journey’s are just me going to work and back. I can do about 3 days in between charges.
The Tesla network (which in the U.K. is starting to open up to non Tesla’s) is much better than the rest. But you have to do your research. Download Zapp map and plan some routes. See where the charging points are etc.
You do have to plan ahead. But it’s a small price to pay. Today petrol prices closed at a new record high. They jumped the most in a single day for 17 years.
The future is EV.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Constructing lightweight vehicles is not restricted to F1 cars. Lotus did it for many „normal“ sports cars as well. F1 is only pushing it to the extreme, but it’s done in basically every current car (to various extents and thus various cost points).

The weight problem in modern cars (both EV‘s and ICEV‘s) often stems from all the luxury and safety addons, that add up. And a big part of the problem is in the heads of both car maker managers and customers alike. Going EV should not mean to slap an electric motor and batteries on your 2.5ton SUV and try to break the sonic wall with it.

There are small electric cars out there that follow a similar principle as Porsche in some of their high end sports cars: Leave out unnecessary bloat and find intelligent solutions:

• Do you really need AC or will clever ventilation be sufficient?
• Is a seat heating required or will e.g. a removeable sheepskin seat cover do in Winter?
• Do you really hear a difference when listening to FM or compressed digital radio on a 7-speaker Dolby Atmos system or may a simple stereo speaker layout be enough?
• Are electric window openers really needed? And if so - how did we survive the dark times of 80s and older, when electric window openers were simply not available at all (except for in some extravagant luxury car)?
• Are all those assistants for parking, staying in lane, radar traffic-monitoring etc. really indispensable?
• And do we really need 4-5 seats plus a huge trunk for our single-person everyday commuting?

There are a few interesting cars out there (e.g. Smart ed, Renault Twizy, Citroën Ami) that tried to change the narrative, but many more concept cars unfortunately never saw the light of day.

Often, because people insist on being able to make high-speed 1.000km trips w/o recharge every week (of course with 4 people aboard and half a ton of luggage) and recharge the required humongous battery for such a capability in five minutes from 0 to 100%. Not to mention the need to store away the half ton of grocery shopping every day.

Maybe someone is now thinking “That guy is really exaggerating the (undisputed! - mind you) issues to an absurd level”. Unfortunately, quite often, the excuses for not going EV are as absurd (or worse) as the example given above. And it’s not only coming from petrol heads …

That’s what attracted me to the i3. A different approach to EV.
We have to make changes as you say. Large SUV’s with one person commuting to work are not going to work as EV’s due to the price point of batteries to shift all that weight. Got to shed some pounds people!

 

[AlaskaMoose]

Constructing lightweight vehicles is not restricted to F1 cars. Lotus did it for many „normal“ sports cars as well. F1 is only pushing it to the extreme, but it’s done in basically every current car (to various extents and thus various cost points).

The weight problem in modern cars (both EV‘s and ICEV‘s) often stems from all the luxury and safety addons, that add up. And a big part of the problem is in the heads of both car maker managers and customers alike. Going EV should not mean to slap an electric motor and batteries on your 2.5ton SUV and try to break the sonic wall with it.

There are small electric cars out there that follow a similar principle as Porsche in some of their high end sports cars: Leave out unnecessary bloat and find intelligent solutions:

• Do you really need AC or will clever ventilation be sufficient?
• Is a seat heating required or will e.g. a removeable sheepskin seat cover do in Winter?
• Do you really hear a difference when listening to FM or compressed digital radio on a 7-speaker Dolby Atmos system or may a simple stereo speaker layout be enough?
• Are electric window openers really needed? And if so - how did we survive the dark times of 80s and older, when electric window openers were simply not available at all (except for in some extravagant luxury car)?
• Are all those assistants for parking, staying in lane, radar traffic-monitoring etc. really indispensable?
• And do we really need 4-5 seats plus a huge trunk for our single-person everyday commuting?

There are a few interesting cars out there (e.g. Smart ed, Renault Twizy, Citroën Ami) that tried to change the narrative, but many more concept cars unfortunately never saw the light of day.

Often, because people insist on being able to make high-speed 1.000km trips w/o recharge every week (of course with 4 people aboard and half a ton of luggage) and recharge the required humongous battery for such a capability in five minutes from 0 to 100%. Not to mention the need to store away the half ton of grocery shopping every day.

Maybe someone is now thinking “That guy is really exaggerating the (undisputed! - mind you) issues to an absurd level”. Unfortunately, quite often, the excuses for not going EV are as absurd (or worse) as the example given above. And it’s not only coming from petrol heads …

That's true. Most sports cars, ICE and EVs, are made as light as possible. But is nearly impossible at the moment to build powerful lightweight EV batteries. The enclosure that protects the battery packs adds a lot of weight too, but this enclosure must be strong to resist breakage during a crash. Several of the materials use in race cars are now being used in the construction of most expensive EV's. Here is a list of the heavier to lighter EV's:

Electric Cars From Heaviest To Lightest

Today we will take a look at the weight of electric cars, which usually are much heavier than their conventional counterparts.

insideevs.com

 

[Apple fanboy]

That's true. Most sports cars, ICE and EVs, are made as light as possible. But is nearly impossible at the moment to build powerful lightweight EV batteries. The enclosure that protects the battery packs adds a lot of weight too, but this enclosure must be strong to resist breakage during a crash. Several of the materials use in race cars are now being used in the construction of most expensive EV's. Here is a list of the heavier to lighter EV's:

Electric Cars From Heaviest To Lightest

Today we will take a look at the weight of electric cars, which usually are much heavier than their conventional counterparts.

insideevs.com

Mines the 4th lightest. Not bad for a car that can comfortably sit 4.

 

[Herdfan]

Saw this guy in the wild today. First one I've seen.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Saw this guy in the wild today. First one I've seen.

View attachment 2016393

But why is he middle Lane hogging? 😀

 

[Neodym]

Mines the 4th lightest. Not bad for a car that can comfortably sit 4.

List is incomplete and therefore misleading. It gives a wrong impression of what is possible in terms of EV weight. Mine weighs only 975kg (w/o driver) and would lead that table (admittedly only with two seats). Vehicles fulfilling the L6/L7 norm (Renault Twizy, Citroën Ami) weigh less than half a ton (w/o driver).

 

[zagato27]

Saw this guy in the wild today. First one I've seen.

View attachment 2016393

Can't make out the plate. Where'd you see it?

 

[zagato27]

But why is he middle Lane hogging? 😀

Look again. The white squares on the right and the diminishing solid line to the right indicate that the roadway on the right is a on ramp/merge lane.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Look again. The white squares on the right and the diminishing solid line to the right indicate that the roadway on the right is a on ramp/merge lane.

We merge on the left! Probably why I didn’t spot it.

 

[Apple fanboy]

List is incomplete and therefore misleading. It gives a wrong impression of what is possible in terms of EV weight. Mine weighs only 975kg (w/o driver) and would lead that table (admittedly only with two seats). Vehicles fulfilling the L6/L7 norm (Renault Twizy, Citroën Ami) weigh less than half a ton (w/o driver).

That’s good. Lots of choices and more everyday.

 

[Neodym]

That’s good. Lots of choices and more everyday.

Yep. Forgot to mention the Microlino.

 

[Herdfan]

But why is he middle Lane hogging? 😀

LOL. That's the right lane. The far right one is an entrance ramp.

 

[Herdfan]

Can't make out the plate. Where'd you see it?

Hurricane WV. I should have looked when I passed him.

 

[mikedis]

I am SOOOOO ready to get an EV.
And while I looked at others, it is very hard to beat a Tesla.
Just the "gimmicks" alone are a attractive (and I am not a gimmick guy).
It is so UN-like a car.

I am not going in blind, Engineering Explained has great critical videos on his experience with EV's.
He does a good job of a neutral review of the basic, and is critical of somethings, but so far not enough salt to discount a Tesla.

In past I was considering a Leaf and a Volt (and other plug-in). Ironically Prius Plugin is not on lots in Texas, dealer does not say why.
And I do not go to country like I used to, so almost all in a (very big) city.

What you fine folks think?

Don't have a car, never have. Don't really want to get my license. (Cars are way too expensive)

Whenever I do end up needing one, though... Smart Fortwo. I love small cars. Especially the look of yellow.

 

[Pezimak]

So about a month in of EV ownership. I’ve not had to charge it anywhere other than work (my preference 😀) or home.
My BMW i3 has a much smaller battery and range than a Tesla. But 95% of my journey’s are just me going to work and back. I can do about 3 days in between charges.
The Tesla network (which in the U.K. is starting to open up to non Tesla’s) is much better than the rest. But you have to do your research. Download Zapp map and plan some routes. See where the charging points are etc.
You do have to plan ahead. But it’s a small price to pay. Today petrol prices closed at a new record high. They jumped the most in a single day for 17 years.
The future is EV.

Yes I see it now costs an average £100 to fill a family car, and that’s with petrol. Last week it was 195.9 a litre when I went to fill up. Luckily still only going into work once a week and shopping at the weekend. Working from home having its advantage there.
How much does it cost a week to charge your car up?

 

[Apple fanboy]

Yes I see it now costs an average £100 to fill a family car, and that’s with petrol. Last week it was 195.9 a litre when I went to fill up. Luckily still only going into work once a week and shopping at the weekend. Working from home having its advantage there.
How much does it cost a week to charge your car up?

I’ve only charged it at home twice. Mostly I charge at work for free.

 

[Pezimak]

I’ve only charged it at home twice. Mostly I charge at work for free.

If you can charge for free then happy days. A good incentive by your workplace. Must cost a tenner if that to charge at home?

 

[Apple fanboy]

If you can charge for free then happy days. A good incentive by your workplace. Must costa tenner if that to charge at home?

£6.52