Electric car pulling a caravan
Comments
-
This isn't a living standards comparison thread JVB, it's about the possibilities of towing with an EV. It would be considerate of you if you'd keep to the subject in question as it is of interest to those who might like to consider the option.
Please, look back at the OP and try to not to hinder the responses.
0 -
We all should know CO2 emissions are the biggest threat to our planet?
One of the other methods. of fuel is Hydrogen,which if it is Green Hydrogen (very expensive to produce if fine
But the method used a pushed by the oil companies although is cheaper to produce pumps more greenhouse gases into the sky than ever
There was a piece on Countryfile yesterday ,where it was stated. ,we will need numerous new nuclear power stations ,not only to replace the life expired stations but to cover for the much more electricity needed in the future. but also to cover for the lack of power available from solar and wind power that has been proved to not be as reliable as as expected with our weather conditions,as when we are having the very high winds of recent years windfarms have to be shut down
0 -
I think Boff's point was that pavement gullies are not new. They have been around for years for different purposes. Charging is just one more use case.
Overnight home charging is undeniably the cheapest option. But does not have to be the only way. As an EV driver, you can set up an agreement to use a neighbours charger through a facility like co-charger. Or you can just use public charging. For a positive story of a user who has been doing exactly that, have a look at https://www.facebook.com/groups/UKEVDrivers/permalink/7548962761841080/
Drawbacks of an EV -
- They can be expensive to buy. But they can also be very cheap depending on who you are and how you access one. This is a subjective, not objective issue.
- They have less range from full to empty than an ICE car. This is a subjective issue.19 days of out of 20, the journeys I do per day are shorter than the range of the car, and by the next day it has full range again.
- If I have to public charge, it costs more, but still less than petrol or diesel.
- If I don't have a drive, I cant charge from home. Maybe. Or maybe there is an option I can look at. It depends.
- They can only tow up to a limited weight. Just like any other car.
- If I want to tow a long way, I might have to unhitch to charge - yes, an actual real drawback. That has almost no impact on me at all...
- The public charging network is not perfect. It still needs to expand and add capacity. Fortunately, only about 1 in 20 days that I use the car do I need to use the public network, and even then its not terrible in my experience. Your experience may vary.
- The batteries will absolutely definitely be shot after three years. Only, my 5 year old PHEV had zero battery loss when I sold it, and it was under warranty for 8, and will more than likely be "fine" after 12 or 15. Same with my EV.
- It doesn't make a sound like a V8. Oh dear, what a pity, never mind.
If I missed any - feel free to call them out, and I will give you my opinion on being a drawback to me or not (with which you may disagree).
But at the end of the day, no one is being forced to drive an EV. Not now, not in 2030, not even in 2035. If someone doesn't want one, they can simply not get one.
If they think they might like one, but have heard there may be issues, or would like to ask how they work, I and a bunch of other EV owners and drivers will be more than happy to bore them to death with all the good stuff about EVs, and point out where they are not so good too.
3 -
Why do you excite yourself so & get into a negative lather about something you will never own nor would consider owning. You don’t need a property with a drive to own an EV the charge points are everywhere. . .Similar to fuel stations(Petrol & Diesel) I don’t hear folk moaning about not having one of those at hand🤷🏻♂️
0 -
Geographic location of my house has very little to do with my ownership. If you have a drive, your local infrastructure is almost irrelevant. If you don't it's far more relevant, definitely to be thought about before getting one.
I do have a company car. It makes ownership cheap. The exact same ownership benefits are open to anyone who can have a car on salary sacrifice (pretty much all of the public sector and lots of private companies). Retired people have a MUCH harder time here, and thats a huge shame (and needs dealing with) as they could benefit from them (low miles and low cost to run).
I do have a cheap cost of charging. Anyone with a smart meter can access it. There are a number of EV charging tariffs from the energy companies. I happen to use Octopus Go!.
Flats and apartments present a challenge. Not impossible, but harder. Of course if government chose, it could mandate charging facilities for these types of dwellings, with home electricity costs.
Your neighbour with the PHEV is unfortunate - but it happens, sometimes things fail. One case does not prove the entire fleet bad? Your son in law says he would not choose one without free workplace charging. Yet he has free charging, and chose an EV. I assume he is otherwise happy with it?
0 -
Oh yeah! And they are absolutely completely silent so I will probably be run over by one too, while crossing the road looking at my phone listening to my headphones.
1 -
My daughters first full EV taxi was swapped in still working but with a 30% reduced battery range, and only after 150,000 miles in 2 years. Photo was taken a few years ago, and would probably equate to normal >10 years of ownership.
Not bad for a hard life.
3 -
Only 150k miles, eh 😀
0 -
Headlights look like a Nissan Leaf 1st gen? Is that the case? If so - thats pretty good for an air cooled battery system!
1 -
Yes, the MG tech is well ahead of the older Leaf. Looked at the MG 5 at Goodwood. It’s a great car for the money! Not sure yet if it will be allowed to tow, but if it can it will make a great tow car for a medium sized van.
Also test drive the MG ZSEV at Fully charged live , again very impressed.
0 -
I suppose to be accurate it’s not a cable, it’s a flex. I.e. it’s not a fixed permanent installation, but a temporary connection from the plug on the car to the socket on the end of the trailing lead. It’s the same as plugging in your vacuum to clean the inside of your car. Just a bit thicker cable and a bit more power.
0 -
I have always assume that electric charging cables are a potential trip hazard. I believe that some areas (Oxford?) have trialed pavement gulleys. I didn’t mention lamp post charges because I was worried it blow JVB66 mind
I filled the Touareg just less than half a tank just over 45litres and it only cost me £90 bargain.
0 -
Some of our older members may recall the arrangement used at petrol retailers in the past that were situated in town centres. A swiveling boom was attached to the wall of the premises and could be swung out over the pavement with the delivery hose dropping down from the end.
Seems an ideal arrangement for charging cables - if one can get one's battery car parked at the right spot.
0 -
If the multiple charging stations get going charging will be much like filling a car with fuel, a different experience but possibly removing the worry that an ev has to be charged at home. We only top up our ev car at home, it rarely has a full charge, it's convenient yes but our motorhome has to go to a fuel court and in the future hopefully this will be the case for evs in situations where home chargers are not possible.
You probably don't worry that your ice vehicle is only a quarter full at home and you take it to your nearest fuel pump. Hopefully it will be the same with EVs. The next question will be is home charging cheaper...but then we all have different life styles and live in different places and have different spending needs.
At present towing with an ev is very cost effective regarding fuel.
0 -
1
-
Sorry link didn't work so Deleted User post.
New Super EV charging hub now open at the Redbridge Park and Ride in Oxford.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-62040946
See if this works🤔
0 -
We are on our second Outlander PHEV. After 6 years of towing and solo driving, we like it and it suits our needs. But we have only ever changed from home. We tried a few times back in the early days, using the zap map, to charge away from home. But you had to have various memberships / cards / credits from all of the different charging providers. Many of the chargers were out of use or faulty. The other inconvenience ( if I only had an EV ) is that I could only go to places and park at places, where there is a charger. In the more remote parts of Scotland, where we like to tour, there are very few chargers. So range anxiety would also be a problem for me, with an EV. We kind of get some of the benefits with our PHEV.
0 -
Superchargers only work if the EV itself is so equipped and the infrastructure simply isn’t there to support there widespread installation.
I agree Alex with our RAV PHEV. We were recently around Loch Ness and in the borders. Anyone with an EV would have been stuffed.
0 -
Interestingly, the Outlander is one of the few PHEVs that can rapid charge, all be it on the older ChaDeMo standard. Wether it’s worth it is another question…
0 -
We tow with an Outlander PHEV, we have recently returned from the New Forest, we have an Octopus juice card and have been using a combination of fast 50kW (49 pence kWh) and the forestry 7 kW (33 pence kWh) even at 49 pence kWh it is a substantial saving.
1 -
EV is the future, as the torque is instant and any hill is just a pimple. However until I can pull into any service station and fill up with another 300 miles of towing fuel, in less time than it takes to have a toilet break, then it's a no no for me.
1 -
The problem with EV/PHEV very few on us have any real experience especially towing with one. Like most I was a bit of a sceptic after read all the negative comments online, however I took the plunge and changed to an PHEV, to be honest I was pleasantly surprised how well it performed everyday and as a tow vehicle.
Would I change back a definite No, would I change to a full electric not quite sure yet, I am more than happy with the PHEV and the infrastructure is improving all the time, but don't count me out is just a maybe ?
2 -
Where we live it is the lack of access and local infrastructure that holds many back , unless they as OHs son who has a free charging point at work ,there is an EV owner( leased)in the rented garage next to ours ,and she says the same, found out.she works at Tesco HQ with free charging points, it is only because her "perk "that on the end of the lease on her last ICE car that she took the plunge with her latest lease car as an EV
0
