casey

The old battery rental raises it's head again, there is precisely one model, count 'em, just one, on sale in the UK with battery rental. And that is optional, you can buy the car outright, but the majority who buy the Renault Zoe (for this is the one) choose not to. I'm well aware that many can't run to a new car and many more decide to do something different with their money even if they can afford it. There is a pool of second hand EVs, albeit a small one, and if someone was just after a sort range commuter car there are some out there in the £5000-£6000 area. The Mitsubishi iMiev/Citroen C Zero/Peugeot Ion (known as the triplet, its the same car) are a case in point. If you can live with the 'quirky' :)design and low range.

Nothing was incorrect with anything in the comment you replied to with the above. Most EVs are very fast off the lights, not necessarily going to beat every other car on the road but I've seen enough surprised faces when my little Zoe leaves the line at the lights to know that's true. Nottingham (where @mavhc seems to hail from) allows EVs to use bus lanes, possibly the only place in the country but other UK citys are considering it. The Nissan Leaf has indeed appreciated in value over the last couple of years, plenty of people have traded in an old Leaf for the same amount they paid originally, after putting thousands of miles on them. The fuel costs are much less than an ICE vehicle, even if electricity was the same cost as petrol the efficiency of electric motors vastly outweighs the efficiency of any ICE engine. Even in the most efficient ICE engine more than two thirds of the fuel is wasted in the form of heat and friction. I get that you are (or appear to be) anti EV and whilst I agree they are not yet the solution for everyone, tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of drivers could change over but they don't. Very often the reason for this is because of the ridiculous myths that are still perpetuated about them, some of which are no longer true and some which were never correct in the first place. The reason for the 'pretentious waffle' is to try and counter the complete nonsense that is spouted by a vocal minority who seem to have a problem with EVs.

Oh yes that's much worse, I'll stick to my plain white Zoe.

Sob. Mine for a mere week.

I haven't stopped wanting a Tesla since I hired a Model S for a week about 2 years ago, sigh indeed. Lotto here I come.

If it's not practical to own or someone can't afford an EV, and many can't, fair enough. And you're right about the salary in this job. But the first line of your quote..... It's time for me to bow out of this discussion.

Ah, I didn't realise this journey was after work on Friday. That makes all the difference. Anyway an EV suits me and my lifestyle very well but not you and yours. It's early in the transition to alternative fuels and things will change over time. It will be interesting to see how a similar discussion would go in 5 years. (All hail President Musk, world leader or mmm... Tesla, didn't they used to make cars)

Alternatively, spent 45 minutes hoping you won't catch anything nasty in those services spend £10 on expensive coffee, spend £10 charging (at home before the journey and at the services) arrive a mere 45 minutes later and £40 better off. Hmmm... etc.

Yes @Sephiroth, what you said. It is more complex than the comments that I and others in this thread have made. But it’s been very interesting to have a discussion on a forum which has been civilised and constructive rather than descending into abuse/name calling that so many EV vs ICE threads in other places on the internet.

Zoe with battery rental is about £15,000. Battery owned about £21,000 and if you factor in energy costs of about a tenth of your petrol you'd be quids in. Then the first service is less than £100, brakes and discs should last about 75,000 to 100,000 miles due to regen braking. Not winding you up, but you are a prime candidate for an EV as long as you have off road parking or a garage atached to your house, charger and fitting included with most EVs too.

Maybe all of the people on here (and many other discussions all around t'intewebs) want to get to their destination really quickly because they hate driving rattly, smelly, vibrating ICE vehicles. Could it be that's why I'm in less of a hurry, not age but the relaxing driving experience you get with an EV.

Only £110 per month battery rental for unlimited mileage on the Zoe. It just needs you to do less than 120-150 miles a day commute. Or there's the Kia E-Niro 280 miles on a charge (12 to 14 months waiting list) or maybe the Hyundai Kona EV similar mileage but even longer waiting list..

The battery rental is a controversial thing but it's not mandatory if you buy the 'i' version, then you own the battery just like on any other EV. It was started to allay peoples fears about the longevity of batteries (unfounded, so far), and to make the car appear to be cheaper. There's no point me arguing about the price of EVs, they are more expensive than ICE cars at the moment. But to people who own them well worth it for the driving experience. So you pays your money and you takes your choice, I chose battery rental but my dad couldn't get his head around it so bought his outright, battery and all. No problem, no sales person trying to push the rental. I'll be within a couple of years of retirement when my PCP runs out on the current Zoe and the next EV I buy will probably be battery owned whatever make and model it is.

Renault do the same, free flatbed to the nearest charger, but I think only if you are on the battery rental scheme. I've never run out in my 3 years of driving a Zoe and I'll never go back to ICE either. I'm looking forward to Zoe 2 coming out at the end of 2019 beginning of 2020, 200+ miles of range with (probably) a 50kWh battery, 22kW AC charging and 50kW, maybe even 100kW, DC charging.

It's not recommended but there are videos of a Model S being towed and charging in that way. I expect someone is working on it somewhere. There are various videos of Tesla owners waiting for their girlfriend/wife/dog being walked to get back to the car after it has finished being charged. One in particular with a new Model 3 Performance says it's now always the car waiting for them, not them waiting for the car.