Which electric car to buy?

[subthree]

I know you have had a solar PV / battery storage / EV setup for a long time and I just want to check with you. Do you use any grid electricity at all at the day rate ?

We have 19 panels, I take a reading once per month. In the winter we can produce as little as 100kWh per month, but in the summer this can reach 450kWh per month. Very roughly we use 10kWh per day, so unless someone has a very significant number of panels you will need the grid for 3-6 months per year to supplement your PV.

 

[Mansfieldman750]

I am not sure. We have an Economy 7 meter. In the last 12 months from the grid we have only used 843 day units at 45.123 p/kWh and 338 night units at 11.602p/kWh.
I think with battery storage we can easily eliminate the day units altogether by charging the battery at night and drawing from it during the day.
When my wife retires in a year’s time, we won’t put a lot of miles on a car, combination of being away in van a lot and free bus passes, so I reckon we would be able to top up charge an EV at night as well. From what I can make make out they do 3-4 miles per kWh of charge, depends how you drive them I suppose.

 

[GrannyJen]

I am not sure. We have an Economy 7 meter. In the last 12 months from the grid we have only used 843 day units at 45.123 p/kWh and 338 night units at 11.602p/kWh.
I think with battery storage we can easily eliminate the day units altogether by charging the battery at night and drawing from it during the day.
When my wife retires in a year’s time, we won’t put a lot of miles on a car, combination of being away in van a lot and free bus passes, so I reckon we would be able to top up charge an EV at night as well. From what I can make make out they do 3-4 miles per kWh of charge, depends how you drive them I suppose.

From a standard 3 pin plug they can draw up to 2.5 KwH which given most EV's have an everyday per KwH range of at least three miles gives a possible range of around 8 miles an hour. My car is doing around 150 miles a week and refuelling from a 3 pin is no problem at all, even when I try to limit charging for when the sun's out.

 

[johnyboy]

Yes I use plenty - air source heat pump

 

[Mansfieldman750]

Yes I use plenty - air source heat pump

Ah, then you will do. But no gas bill. Gas is the killer for us in winter.

 

[Mansfieldman750]

From a standard 3 pin plug they can draw up to 2.5 KwH which given most EV's have an everyday per KwH range of at least three miles gives a possible range of around 8 miles an hour. My car is doing around 150 miles a week and refuelling from a 3 pin is no problem at all, even when I try to limit charging for when the sun's out.

I’m sorry if I’m a bit obsessed with the economics of it all. It’s just that like Seasick Steve, I started out with nothing and I’ve still got most of it left.
We have a VW Up. If we do 4000 miles a year in it in retirement that’s about 400 lites of petrol at £1.50 = £600
With an EV doing say 4 miles per kWh that’s 1000 kWh of electric at maximum 11.602 p/kWh = £116.02. But would be less because like you we’d try to charge it for free when the sun is shining.
So it’s a saving but not huge.
So we‘ll have a test drive in something like a Honda e and take it from there. If wife says we’re keeping the Up end of story.

 

[GrannyJen]

So we‘ll have a test drive in something like a Honda e and take it from there. If wife says we’re keeping the Up end of story.

 

[johnyboy]

Ah, then you will do. But no gas bill. Gas is the killer for us in winter.

Same with the electric but that is at least getting 3x the input as heat output.... onnly got a screenshot from 2021 but this is a classic pattern repeated every year for us

 

[Mansfieldman750]

Same with the electric but that is at least getting 3x the input as heat output.... onnly got a screenshot from 2021 but this is a classic pattern repeated every year for us
View attachment 105426

That‘s a fascinating graph. The Tesla is cheap to run if you’re charging it at home all the time.

 

[chockswahay]

I’m sorry if I’m a bit obsessed with the economics of it all. It’s just that like Seasick Steve, I started out with nothing and I’ve still got most of it left.
We have a VW Up. If we do 4000 miles a year in it in retirement that’s about 400 lites of petrol at £1.50 = £600
With an EV doing say 4 miles per kWh that’s 1000 kWh of electric at maximum 11.602 p/kWh = £116.02. But would be less because like you we’d try to charge it for free when the sun is shining.
So it’s a saving but not huge.
So we‘ll have a test drive in something like a Honda e and take it from there. If wife says we’re keeping the Up end of story.

Stay with an E up! nicer and cheaper! (and you can tell the difference between front and back on the Up!)

 

[larrylamb]

We have a VW Up. If we do 4000 miles a year in it in retirement that’s about 400 lites of petrol at £1.50 = £600
With an EV doing say 4 miles per kWh that’s 1000 kWh of electric at maximum 11.602 p/kWh = £116.02. But would be less because like you we’d try to charge it for free when the sun is shining.
So it’s a saving but not huge.
So we‘ll have a test drive in something like a Honda e and take it from there. If wife says we’re keeping the Up end of story.

Why spend 30K on the Honda to save £500 per year? Surely the economics say stick with the Up.

 

[wilburthewombat]

Why spend 30K on the Honda to save £500 per year? Surely the economics say stick with the Up.

The economics say we should continue to use ICEs until climate change floods and / or burns the planet ...

 

[Digger]

It is true the Tesla is very expensive to insure compared to an ice car. Does this cancel out the extra cost of petrol vs electricity. I look forward to the day range and easy charging is available to everyone.

 

[wilburthewombat]

Personally I love the Honda e. It's on my wish list for my next short-trip car. Saving money is not a consideration when buying an electric car, they just make no sense economically. I just want some fun!

 

[Mansfieldman750]

I made up my mind or more accurately my mind was made up for me. We’re keeping these two for the next 10 years then we’re giving up driving and taking the bus.

 

[OGII]

View attachment 105460
I made up my mind or more accurately my mind was made up for me. We’re keeping these two for the next 10 years then we’re giving up driving and taking the bus.

Factor in the big environmental cost of building new cars and keeping an older one long-term narrows the guilt gap.

 

[scottk]

View attachment 105460
I made up my mind or more accurately my mind was made up for me. We’re keeping these two for the next 10 years then we’re giving up driving and taking the bus.

The up gti must be a bit of a pocket rocket.

 

[Velma's Dad]

Factor in the big environmental cost of building new cars and keeping an older one long-term narrows the guilt gap.

Completely agree. If only everything in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen...

 

[chockswahay]

This is topical ……………

I love the paragraph that states ’The top spot being named as Londonderry comes after a recent report regarding Northern Irish attitudes towards electric vehicles found that 44 per cent of respondents felt discouraged about purchasing an electric vehicle due to the need to recharge it.’

UK cities with the most broken electric car charging points revealed

Londonderry has the highest number of broken electric car charging points, with a staggering 30 per cent of their existing chargers not working.

www.thisismoney.co.uk

 

[Scoobz1]

This is topical ……………

I love the paragraph that states ’The top spot being named as Londonderry comes after a recent report regarding Northern Irish attitudes towards electric vehicles found that 44 per cent of respondents felt discouraged about purchasing an electric vehicle due to the need to recharge it.’

UK cities with the most broken electric car charging points revealed

Londonderry has the highest number of broken electric car charging points, with a staggering 30 per cent of their existing chargers not working.

www.thisismoney.co.uk

So they have 3 broken charging points as they only have a 11 in total !

 

[Georgeo]

Could nobody bother going further north than East Kilbride. Which is a town not a City

 

[Wildcamper]

I see according to the Financial Times that Germany has halted the EU's plan to outlaw the sale of ICE vehicles.

 

[Digger]

EV adoption targets are unachievable within regulatory timelines, says global automotive industry. So says the industry news reports.
Seems the mad rush to Ev's is proving not just unachievable but harming economies. Agree we need to change but it takes time no matter how much some disagree.

 

[Corradobrit]

I see according to the Financial Times that Germany has halted the EU's plan to outlaw the sale of ICE vehicles.

"“The internal combustion engine itself is not the problem, the fossil fuels it runs on are.” according to the Germans inventive accountancy.

Germany wants e-fuel ICE cars to survive the EU's 2035 petrol and diesel ban

Not all EU countries are aboard the 2035 Electric-Only Express

www.topgear.com

Not sure synthetic fuels are curing the primary problem, ie CO2 emissions. The source of that combusted fuel is irrelevant.

 

[66tim99]

look at the changes in the VW Cali over say past 10 years..ie - very little).

Made me wonder…thinking I’d find significant efficiency improvements and emissions reductions. Not that clear cut though…






2005, 2015 and last one is current figures