Where to start? Electric vehicle

5p9arw38djv2b4

I have an older car, 2006 UK import, fuel efficiency 16km/ litre, 40 litre tank. Has done its job well but it won't keep going forever and I've a new job which will increase annual driving to approx 25-30,000km

Just wondering how I make an informed decision on if an electric car would provide savings, and be suitable. Realistically any new car of course will provide savings on an older car of course, but for environmental reasons I'd like to explore an Ecar. I'll be looking to buy second hand.

I've test driven a Leaf and thought it was great. If we didnt go electric we would go for a small petrol car, Kia Rio or similar. Budget 10k ish.

There are charge points in my town, and the town I would commute to. Commute mostly on bog standard 80-100km roads. Only motorway driving would be 3-4 times a year for drives up the country

Could someone point me in direction of where to start? How to budget for what it will cost me in fuel, if I need a homecharger? Basically an idiots guide to electric cars

And should I discount looking at hybrid?

Are repairs expensive? I'm used to running a very common car, with lots of spare parts that can be bought cheaply.

Grateful for any help

KCross

A few quick questions so you get decent answers:

- What is the max daily distance you will drive once you start the new job (exclude the occasional 4 times a year long distance).
- What long distance journeys(>100km) do you do and how often?
- Can you drive the car up to your house to plug it in (i.e. off street parking)?
- Would the EV be the only car in your house? i.e. it has to cover all your journeys.

KCross

Above is a worked example of what fuel would cost on a petrol vs electric car for 30,000km per year.

Your savings would be about €2k/yr on fuel assuming it could all be done on home charging at night.

5p9arw38djv2b4

KCross wrote: »

Above is a worked example of what fuel would cost on a petrol vs electric car for 30,000km per year.

Your savings would be about €2k/yr on fuel assuming it could all be done on home charging at night.

Sorry not to reply, busy busy week

Thank you very much. I've spent time reading, and test driving and the range on EV just won't cope with my commute, which really annoys me as I love to drive the Leaf. Live in a mountainous area and the sales lady actually drove my commute herself and ran out of battery starting with 110km when commute was 63km. It's just not going to work.

I'm slowing working through the auris hybrid vs Prius discussions i can find to see if that's an option.

isnottheword

LadyLabyrinth wrote: »

Live in a mountainous area and the sales lady actually drove my commute herself and ran out of battery starting with 110km when commute was 63km. It's just not going to work..

I'd go with your own research - don't depend on sales people. I drive an 80 mile roundtrip commute. Whilst car shows 50% left on halfway - I always top up for 20 minutes during a work break. As per a very recent thread here, there are guys who say they can do this without issue without having to top up.

It's not Holland down my way - just the usual gently undulating landscape. What region are you in that it's so mountainous? There are some here that deal with areas like that and they'll probably come back and tell you that your experience should even out i.e. you can't be going uphill the whole time - surely you can use regen mode on the declines?

Did you not replicate your commute when you test drove? You should speak to a Leaf driver directly. Most people take heed of the percentage range figure - the other thing is inaccurate (KM remaining) - it's commonly known as the guess o meter! The nature of your driving determines what sort of range you get.

That's with a 24kW Leaf. There's a 30kW Leaf - and a brand new Leaf (with greater range still) to be announced in September. Otherwise, the Hyundai Ioniq is on the market currently with a range of 200km.

pwurple

Well which EV was that? The 30kw leave normally has a guessometer range of 250km, not 110

30 Kwh Leaf is good for about 160 Kms at 100-110 Kph with 28 usable Kwh.

Definitely the one to get if possible and it charges faster at the fast charger too.

With a 10 K budget I'd keep the old car another few years and get a 30 Kwh Leaf or Hyundai Ioniq or Prius.

I drove the Wicklow Mountains and managed 135 Kms, very hilly driving doesn't impact range much because what you loose going up you gain back down using regen only to keep the speed down and coast the rest. Coming through Baltinglass Up N81 to Hollywood and up the Wicklow Gap, down into Glendalough and back into laragh, Glenmalure, up to the Genmalure Lodge on the left continue straight and back through Baltinglass, this has some seriously long steep hills, all done in the 24 Kwh Leaf with no problem. Granted my speed on those roads wouldn't have been high but it wasn't that slow either.

Anyway , if I were you I'd get a MK II Prius or early Gen III if budget can manage. Or save another few years and get a 30 Kwh Leaf or even better, Hyundai Ioniq.

reboot

LadyLabyrinth wrote: »

I have an older car, 2006 UK import, fuel efficiency 16km/ litre, 40 litre tank. Has done its job well but it won't keep going forever and I've a new job which will increase annual driving to approx 25-30,000km

Just wondering how I make an informed decision on if an electric car would provide savings, and be suitable. Realistically any new car of course will provide savings on an older car of course, but for environmental reasons I'd like to explore an Ecar. I'll be looking to buy second hand.

I've test driven a Leaf and thought it was great. If we didnt go electric we would go for a small petrol car, Kia Rio or similar. Budget 10k ish.

There are charge points in my town, and the town I would commute to. Commute mostly on bog standard 80-100km roads. Only motorway driving would be 3-4 times a year for drives up the country

Could someone point me in direction of where to start? How to budget for what it will cost me in fuel, if I need a homecharger? Basically an idiots guide to electric cars

And should I discount looking at hybrid?

Are repairs expensive? I'm used to running a very common car, with lots of spare parts that can be bought cheaply.

Grateful for any help

Renault Zoe, no argument. ( Some chance of that, here)