Random EV thoughts.....

zg3409

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118724660#Comment_118724660

What is your daily commute round trip in km? What is your typical weekend long trip round trip in km? Something like an ioniq 28kWh will cost 20,000 euro for a 3 year old car, it will do a guaranteed 130km per day with only home charging, typically 130km and in summer 170km+. If you have the budget or finance something with a 60+kWh battery will get you 300+km reliably. You may save 1000+ euro per year by going EV. Now may be the right time, particularly if you are a 2 car household and you can use the non EV for longer trips. Public chargers are often busy, blocked and broken, so you should buy an EV where you can home charge and have the range to avoid public charging regularly.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118724660#Comment_118724660

I'd say it's definitely worth it with petrol prices going through the roof and set to keep going that way for a while yet

I'm guessing you want the space of the 2008, so that kind of rules out the 208, Corse-e and Zoe

Here's some cars which should be in that price range and have decent range for longer trips

• Peugoet e-2008
• Open Mokka-e
• Citroen eC4
• VW ID.3 58kWh
• Nissan Leaf 40kWh
• Hyundai Ioniq 3 or Kona
• Kia E-Niro 64kWh
• MG5 or MG ZS EV

T-Bird

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118724934#Comment_118724934

Thanks very much @zg3409 . Daily would be around 40km (16 each way to and from work plus a bit more), weekend about the same could go up to 200km a day the very odd time (less than 10 a year). I'm based in Sligo so would have to travel a fair bit to another town. We are a 2 car household and other is diesel so would be grand for longer trips. We are a bit dubious of buying used because we are unsure of battery life, and don't want to find out in 2 or 3 years that we got a bad one.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118725064#Comment_118725064

If you find a used one it's worth posting about it in one of the threads here to see what people think. There's often a thread for every make of EV sold in Ireland at the moment

Most EVs sold in the last few years come with an 8 year or 160,000km battery warranty, usually with some allowed loss of capacity. If the battery loses capacity faster than that then the manufacturer should replace it

Some cars can also show battery health using an OBD adaptor, it's worth looking into this before buying any modern 2nd hand car

200km is doable in almost any EV sold in the last few years, some of the smaller battery ones will need a quick charge to make the distance, assuming you aren't able to charge at your destination overnight.

A lot of EVs now come with the 3 pin charger (also know as the granny lead) which allows you to charge from any household socket. They're extremely slow, but they work almost anywhere, and if you charge overnight then you'd probably recover 100km or more of range

You'll want to get familiar with what chargers are available in your area, use a site like Plugshare to do this

https://www.plugshare.com/

Also, I forgot the most important question, do you have your own driveway and are you able to install a home charger? That will make living with an EV much easier

T-Bird

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118725038#Comment_118725038

Thanks @the_amazing_raisin, there are 3 options for a new in Sligo, 2008e, Kona and Leaf. I drove the Kona yesterday and loved it, it was first EV I drove. I will look at the e2008.

I liked the idea of the 40Kw Leaf with 0% until I read some the lambasting it received on threads here with it being old model in new clothing etc..

Edit: Have driveway so can install charger.

TitianGerm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118725301#Comment_118725301

You'd imagine you'd get a decent trade going from a 2008 to an e2008.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118725301#Comment_118725301

There's a few strong opinions either way regarding the Leaf. It is true that it's pretty old technology and the main issue is that it uses an older connector (Chademo) for fast charging, and there aren't that many new fast chargers with Chademo being installed. So future value is probably more of a risk

However, it's kinda hard to find a better finance deal out there for an EV at the moment. e-208 is probably closest in price, and is a better EV on specs, but is a smaller car

And the Leaf is pretty reliable, there's a few horror stories but in general most owners (including me) haven't had any real issues to speak of

T-Bird

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118725630#Comment_118725630

14:000 (53,000km on clock), they are also a new Nissan dealer as well as a Peugeot one. I was there and took the leaf for a test drive at lunchtime EV SVE 40kWh 146 BH for 34.950 Euro grey colour. It had absolutely everything spec wise but I was completely underwhelmed due to what I read here. He really tried to push the sale and said that the e2008 was nothing compared to it and was really underselling it.

He said range is 250 and you can get 300 in eco mode. I know nothing apart from recent reading, so I will leave it up to your interpretation.

The Kona yesterday was great to drive in comparison.

Laviski

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118725915#Comment_118725915

most of the leaf begrudgers here are able to afford cars the more generous electric cars.... not the entry line such as the leaf zoe e2008 etc. Another point they whine on that it is old tech, which is true but been tried&tested along with being able to get the car (unlike the supply issues with the newer models) with also having it on 0% finance adds to the advantages. They also get their panties in a twist that it still comes with a Chademo for fast charging, as some leaf's may use the 150 ecars stations where the other 50 station was taken (with chademo you would never draw this under current standard).

if someone told me a leaf 40kwh can do 300km on eco.... i need to see proof in a real world scenario. Summer range can be up to 250km (with conservative driving), and winter down to 200km.

You need to think about your current usage and calculate your daily/weekly distance along with the possible long journeys. Can you charge at work? can you charge at home? what charge points are along my regular route? can i charge while shopping? where is there free juice? some of the questions you should ask. For me 95% of the year, the charge that i have at the start of the day gets me through day no issues and even gets me 2/3 days without needing to charge. Long journeys, this does require some planning and ensuring stations are available with backups in case full, as said in my case these journeys are rare and have no issue if it takes a little longer.

if you think fast charge is something you would regularly need, then perhaps a car with ccs would be better suited. It does charge faster and plus you can join the party and sigh/rage when you see a leaf in a 150 station :)

whippet

I'm almost 12 months in to owning a Leaf 40 SVE .. it was bought as the second car but has actually covered more milage than the other car (BMW 330e PHEV) over the last 12 months.

We got it as the finance was cheap, dealer had it in stock and managed to do a very decent deal on it. It has all the tech I'd really want in a car; apart from electric seats !.

The very best range I have ever gotten out of it was about 265km in summer weather .. at the moment its showing about 220km most days.

It has a decent enough boot, comfortable to drive, the e-pedal is nice. The infotainment is typically Japanese and seems to be a generation or two behind - but with AirPlay that is a bit of a mute point.

With almost 18,000km on the clock we have only ever had to use public charging twice ... I'm happy with it and will hold on to it for a fair while and hopefully change the 330e for an i4 next year.

Its a functional car and for us functions perfectly well

AndyBoBandy

I genuinely believe a Leaf now is a fairly shrewd investment for the simple reason that at all except 1 eCars sites with more than 1 charger, CHAdeMO has a 50% foothold at those sites, so at sites like Kilcullen, Kells, Park Ri etc... there could be 3-4-5 CCS cars waiting for a charge from 2 plugs, but there'll always be a space available for a CHAdeMO car.

So there's about 15 eCars sites ('Hubs' LoL), where there is a CHAdeMO plug that will always be available only to CHAdeMO cars

CCS cars now outnumber CHAdeMO cars (Leaf's) by about 6-7/1, so having a 50/50 split at all eCars multi-unit sites (except Mayfield), makes getting a Leaf a good idea if you plan on using these sites a lot. This argument however falls flat when the likes of Ionity install more real hubs, and if Tesla do open up their CCS network. eCars will eventually get left behind, but they show no signs of weaning themselves off installing CHAdeMO for the time being.

innrain

Have you seen that the newly proposed Circle K units come with the dual CCS/CHAeMO units like in Norway? I know it is a first hub in planning but who knows what it may follow.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118727204#Comment_118727204

Those Delta units seem to be getting pretty popular, I like how extendable they are, up to 4 cars can charge at once from the 350kW units I believe

AndyBoBandy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118727917#Comment_118727917

eCars be like: But can we stick 2 AC sockets on it though?

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118728149#Comment_118728149

And drop the DC side by 22kW even when the AC is pulling 3kW 🤣

cannco253

taken from the IEVOA facebook page, can't post the actual link for some reason.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/IEVOA/

NMD EV Charging Stations

We are delighted to have installed the very first charge arm in Ireland today.

eagerv

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118725915#Comment_118725915

Don't listen to a sales person bullsh1tting about getting more range from Eco mode. There is no magic extra range available. It's all down to the way you drive, heat requirements etc. Eco mode normally only changes throttle response and A/C level.

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118728925#Comment_118728925

So there are planted in someone's garden? Wonder what incentive the homeowner would get for that?

Also, despite the fact that they are going out and over the pavement, I can still see this setup being rife for compo claims from people.

Busman Paddy Lasty

Can see a lot of neighbours complaining about the visual impact.

There was an image of an Outlander with a similar set up posted somewhere and across the street there are no houses. Perfect spot for a row of public charging pillars and you don't need your 'own spot' of a public road also.

NIMAN

Whatever happened the idea of chargers via lamp-posts?

Did it ever happen?

T-Bird

Yeah I had experience of this salesman before and he is both full of bs and himself. He talks so much crap he can't remember half the time. They all seem to be driving the very same car you are trying to buy as well ..

YFlyer

Notice the neighbour recharge his taxi during the day time. We all got the smart meters in last year. Can you still get night rates via these meters?

markpb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118729542#Comment_118729542

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown have fitted a few of them over the years, generally one or two at a time but they fitted about ten of them on a street in Sandyford last year, about 1/3 of the parking spaces on that street. The entire lamp post was replaced in all cases so it’s probably not as cheap or quick as people had hoped.

cannco253

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/irish-electrical-vehicle-supports-benefit-the-wealthy-study-finds-1.4817841

breeno

Hi all.

Considering an ev as day to day it would suit us with a short commute circa 6km each way plus a bit of evening stuff dropping kids here and there and shopping and gym etc. That bit feels prime for an EV.

We do spend a bit of time in Clare (we're Dubs!) so every month or two we'd be down there. A long range EV these days should easily sort us for getting down there (220km approx) and around etc but I'd be worried about getting a charge down there as I've read that a 3 pin plug charger wouldn't give a full charge overnight? I'm wary of having to rely on public chargers but don't have the option of adding a full charger to our house there.

Just wondering if others have had similar issues and how they managed it etc? I might be overthinking it!

zg3409

I would be worried attempting regular 200km trips in a 40kWh leaf. You may not get there in winter at high speed, If you are very light footed and want to risk getting near zero fine, but I would not call that fun. Don't trust sales people. There job is to lie and close sales.

Ideally you need a 60+kWh battery car giving 300km worst case range for reliable 200km trips, that allows extra for trips to shops, diversions, delays, sudden trips in the evening etc. With that sort of range Dublin non stop from Sligo is possible, but beware on return trip it may require a 1 hour recharge stop on way back.

The Kona has a tiny boot and small back seats. It is also very plasticy. The Niro from kia is similar but bigger worth considering. They seem to be in stock for sale too.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118729846#Comment_118729846

So the 3 pin adaptor should give around 2kW into the battery. Multiply this by the number of hours you're plugged in to get how much charge you'll add to the battery

Say you plugged in for 12 hours, 2*12=24kWh into the battery, probably enough for 100-125km of range

That won't get you from Clare back to Dublin, so you'll need a quick charge on the way home. But having that extra range gives you a lot of options around which charger to use, if one is in use you'll probably have enough to move on to another one

It also shortens the time taken at the charger, you'll probably only need a 15-20 mins stop on the way

Of course if you're staying longer then you can add more charge, if you stayed 2 night then you'd probably have a full battery when going home

AndyBoBandy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118729846#Comment_118729846

If budget allowed, a Tesla Model 3 RWD would be a great EV for the trips to Clare as you have the Birdhill SuperCharger so you'd never need to concern yourself about finding a charger, or having to queue at one....

SomeGuyCalledMi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118729811#Comment_118729811

Electric cars are expensive. I don't think a study was needed to tell us that.

Their conclusion... “Only transforming how we travel can reduce transport inequalities. Therefore, it is advisable to increase the support for sustainable and inclusive mobility strategies, such as shifting to walking, cycling and affordable public transport, reducing the demand for travel through compact development and enhancing rural accessibility as envisioned in the governmental plans.”

So do they still want to ban the sale of fossil cars by 2030 and take away all EV related grants? In an ideal world its fair enough I suppose. But people don't seem to want cycling and walking infrastructure if it takes away space for their cars.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118729811#Comment_118729811

Yeah I don't see how this is a surprise to anyone, EV grants in Ireland are targeted towards more expensive vehicles, and the charger grant is only available to houses with driveways

Something that maybe the Greens could try fixing if they'd manage to put together a single bit of policy at any points 🙄