11 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

(My Mrs is probably more resistant to EVs than I am mainly because she's never driven anything but a 3 pedal car, and I'm sure she's not the only one. Give an EV a clutch and gear lever and she'd be happy!😀)

I'm with her there!  My thoughts on an electric car (for me specifically) have been changing recently.

My mileage is now so low I haven't passed a filling station for weeks, and I don't think Amazon will deliver it.  It would be more convenient for me to buy a plug in now...  (Once I've moved to the ground floor anyway.)

Trouble is trying to adjust to an auto.  Tbh I'd probably want some diesel growl pumped in through the speakers as well.  

 

5 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

... she's never driven anything but a 3 pedal car...

Now, she must have driven a dodgem car as a kid, right? LOL

45 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

 

Now, she must have driven a dodgem car as a kid, right? LOL

Oh, all right, you win!😀

4 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Oh, all right, you win!😀

Or even a 2-pedal car when she was young?

5 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Trouble is trying to adjust to an auto.  Tbh I'd probably want some diesel growl pumped in through the speakers as well.  

I imagine it one of those things that takes a 10 min drive to sort out, that once you change to auto you think why the hell did I put up with a clutch and gear knob all those years

4 minutes ago, Mark-UK said:

I imagine it one of those things that takes a 10 min drive to sort out, that once you change to auto you think why the hell did I put up with a clutch and gear knob all those years

I dunno Mark. I do keep telling my Mrs she ought at least to try an auto - she might like it, she might not, but at least she'd know for sure either way based on fact rather than just thinking she won't like it.

As for myself, I've driven a lot of autos over the years but never had the slightest desire to own one - I just prefer a clutch and gear knob! On the other hand, I have friends who wouldn't touch a manual with a bargepole. That's the trouble with humans - we're all different!😀

It'll all be academic in a few years anyway.

33 minutes ago, Mark-UK said:

I imagine it one of those things that takes a 10 min drive to sort out, that once you change to auto you think why the hell did I put up with a clutch and gear knob all those years

I've put up with some knobs over the years too. Esp on this forum😂😂😂😂😂

1 hour ago, Mark-UK said:

I imagine it one of those things that takes a 10 min drive to sort out, that once you change to auto you think why the hell did I put up with a clutch and gear knob all those years

For most it probably will be.  I just don't cope with change well unfortunately.  I could really do with an auto now, and even bought one 6 months ago, but my brain just couldn't accept the reduced control around slow speed manoeuvres.

The irony is I use cruise control in a manual for most of the time...makes me wonder how I ever got used to that!  🤔

36 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

............ The irony is I use cruise control in a manual for most of the time...makes me wonder how I ever got used to that!  🤔

Makes me wonder how some people now manage with a flat-bottomed steering wheel, when they have previously always used a round one!! 

48 minutes ago, YOG said:

Makes me wonder how some people now manage with a flat-bottomed steering wheel, when they have previously always used a round one!! 

Had several cars with one (including current) but still wondering what the point is. Is it to make it easier for people with fat thighs? But what happens when they need full lock?😀 Someone just decided it was "sporty" I suppose.

Whatever, better than the "Quartic" wheel on the Allegro - that was weird! Though even that seems to be making a comeback on the Audi Q4!

https://www.audi.co.uk/uk/web/en/live/q4-e-tron.html

 

It's meant to be "sporty".  My stlx has one.  You don't notice it after a while.

1 hour ago, Guy Heaton said:

It's meant to be "sporty".  My stlx has one.  You don't notice it after a while.

Flat-bottomed steering wheel "sporty" OK!

My wife's Citroen C4 Cactus, 1.2 litre 3-cylinder 110bhp automatic, has one as standard. 🤣🤣

Just finished watching "Guy Martin: the world's fastest electric car". Very interesting, and about a lot more than just his speed attempt, and well worth a look on catch up if you missed it, I reckon.

He did an 1100 mile round trip in a Hyundai Nokia 5. Unfortunately it didn't achieve the claimed range, half the chargers he tried were faulty in some way, and because he used super rapid chargers where avaiable, the electricity worked out a lot more expensive than doing the same trip on diesel.

 

 

 

 

8 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Just finished watching "Guy Martin: the world's fastest electric car". Very interesting, and about a lot more than just his speed attempt, and well worth a look on catch up if you missed it, I reckon.

He did an 1100 mile round trip in a Hyundai Nokia 5. Unfortunately it didn't achieve the claimed range, half the chargers he tried were faulty in some way, and because he used super rapid chargers where avaiable, the electricity worked out a lot more expensive than doing the same trip on diesel.

You forgot to mention too that the cost that he paid out for electric charging was just over £200, about £70 more expensive than the equivalent diesel car (£140), which would have had zero range anxiety (whereas his battery hit 1% at one stage!)

59 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

You forgot to mention too that the cost that he paid out for electric charging was just over £200, about £70 more expensive than the equivalent diesel car (£140), which would have had zero range anxiety (whereas his battery hit 1% at one stage!)

Ok, I didn't mention the exact figure but certainly made the point!😀

9 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

the electricity worked out a lot more expensive than doing the same trip on diesel.

Anyway, I expected you would have watched it and we'd be having the full analysis later!😀I'm off for a walk in the Dales right now, but taking my thermos so I don't get anxiety about range to the next cuppa!😀

56 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

You forgot to mention too that the cost that he paid out for electric charging was just over £200, about £70 more expensive than the equivalent diesel car (£140), which would have had zero range anxiety (whereas his battery hit 1% at one stage!)

It was interesting that he compared it to a diesel...an equivalent ~200bhp petrol would've cost more for the same trip.  Though I suppose the point was that high mileage drivers should stick with diesel.

I was disappointed to see how many of the chargers were broken.  Are they just poorly made and not robust enough for the volume of users?  Or are the general public just ar*eholes that have to go around breaking things?  

 

(PS - It was an Ionic 5 - a Nokia 5 would have had considerably better battery life!!  )

2 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

are the general public just ar*eholes that have to go around breaking things?

Yes.

And yet I watched a video where a girl did a 1500 mile trip, no issues, no problems with charges everything fine and said it was cheaper than petrol for the same trip., but then again I would expect a petrol head like Guy Martin to search out all the broken charge just to make his probably biased opinion right .

13 minutes ago, Mark-UK said:

 I would expect a petrol head like Guy Martin to search out all the broken charge just to make his probably biased opinion right .

I hardly think he 'searched' out the broken ones, they were shown on camera not working, and others not accepting payment, and others not charging the car at the speed specified on the actual charger. Although I suppose he could have easily vandalised them off screen LOL

If you actually watch the show, he concludes that he wouldn't get a battery car right now, but probably in a couple of years, for city work, he may be persuaded.

Where there’s a buck to be made the big power companies will be all over this providing leccy for cars. Infrastructure will be there pretty quick I reckon.  

5 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

(PS - It was an Ionic 5 - a Nokia 5 would have had considerably better battery life!!  )

I know I typed in Ioniq 5 'cos I looked up how to spell Ioniq first! That damn predictive text seems to have reached the point where it doesn't just come up with what it thinks you're going to put, it corrects it afterwards to what it thinks you meant to say.

Bah!

And that in a nutshell is why I don't trust lane assistance, collision avoidance etc etc.  

2 hours ago, Mark-UK said:

I would expect a petrol head like Guy Martin to search out all the broken charge just to make his probably biased opinion right .

As well as Guy's appearances in the TT Zero, I think he was pretty balanced in the programme, which after all opened with him defending the Honda e (love the design of those) that he owned against his partners complaints that the range was inadequate.

And as Stephen mentions, his overall conclusion was that electric cars are not quite there yet, but in 2/3 years might well be. He did say that even now they would be a good choice for someone driving in a 50 mile or so radius of home, who was able to home charge overnight. Very fair comments, I thought.

As for chargers, I make a point of seeking them out wherever I am out of interest, and it's hard enough to find any sort of charger in some places, let alone search out all the broken ones. As I've mentioned elsewhere, with some honourable exceptions the charger situation is a disgrace - hard to find, poorly located, no charger cables unless you have yours in the boot, multiplicity of payment systems which usually require different apps, no price transparency. Normal filling stations clearly display their prices outside, let alone on the pump, with a lot of chargers you have to read a tiny screen to find out the cost. And some (there's one where I am now) charge you to park while you're charging your car - £4.50 in this case before you even get any "fuel"!

3 hours ago, StephenFord said:

, he concludes that he wouldn't get a battery car right now

Lol, as mentioned above, he's already got one!😀

couldnt believe 70p a kwh!! and it didnt charge the car fast for that either. the " its cheaper to run"is a bit off the mark. as ive said before, not taking into the higher cost of purchase, only real way at the moment is a slow charge at home using 18p per kwh if you want it cheaper than diesel and petrol.