Electric Vehicles

Firblog

Anyone on here got one? How do you find it driving around Donegal? Power on hills, overtaking etc?

Thinking of going for one, any review would be appreciated.

reboot

Look up Dexter,he like myself drives the Renault Zoe.He even talks to Leaf owners.

Firblog

reboot wrote: »

Look up Dexter,he like myself drives the Renault Zoe.He even talks to Leaf owners.

Bit late with the reply, bought a leaf more than a year ago..

NIMAN

DrPhilG is another Donegal Leaf owner.

How you finding yours Firblog? I just changed my main car but went for another diesel. Was tempted by EVs last couple of years but they just don't do it for me yet. Maybe next time around?

Firblog

I'm happy with it.

It's great to drive, very comfortable and high spec - got the SVE version.

I wouldn't mind a bit more range of course, but full charge is enough to cover the longest journey I make every week or so, just have to connect when I get there to get me back home afterwards.

I have to say that I can't see myself ever going back to ICE, unless

1. My usage changes dramatically.
2. They start charging ridiculous amount of money for charging.

Seems the depreciation is a bit savage on them at the minute so will be holding onto mine for the foreseeable future anyway

NIMAN

Yeah it was the resale value that I was afraid of when changing this time.

I thought EVs would be getting popular by 2017, and there would be a good market for selling in a few years time, but I'm just not convinced yet.

Firblog

I suppose the more that people see them driving around then the more used they'll get to the idea of owning one. I'm amazed at how much people know about ev's when they come up to have a chat if I'm plugging/unplugging from the charger.
As I say I'll be hanging onto mine for quiet a while; might get the self driving version next time

NIMAN

I would consider buying a new one, or a one year or two year old one


But is there a market for a 5 yr old battery, an 8 yr old battery, a 10 yr old battery?

Any EV is only as good as it's battery after all.

water-man

Hi Firblog,

You have the EV for 2 years now how are you finding driving it in Donegal? And accessing charging points?

Have you noticed if the battery life (journey distance) has dropped over the 2 years?

I'd love to get one (2nd hand) but worry if the battery degrades much.

Thanks,

WM

Firblog

I've only had it a year at this stage, nearly 20,000km on it. Haven't noticed any drop off, but sometimes some journeys seem to use more battery power than others even though they're nearly the same distance, rain, wind, temp, hills all affect the distance you can get from the power. I don't expect there to be any degradation in the battery for a long time, having read this...

DrPhilG

Only just spotted this thread...

I'm 19 months into EV ownership. It's our only car and we have been to Belfast, Dublin and Cork in it.

Can never go back to ICE.

water-man

@ DrPhilG & Firblog,

I'm really interested now in getting a 2nd hand leaf so am reaching out for your experiences. I know I could post in the dedicated forum but as I'll be using it in Donegal I'm really after your experiences.

1) Are there enough charging points in Donegal? What do you do if you're caught out? You can't phone one of your mates to bring a wee drum out or walk to nearest petrol pump.
2) Are the charge points ever broke/faulty or occupied? Can some messer unplug you while charging?
3) Anything you bought with the car that you don't need? And vice versa anything you didn't buy which you wish you had? What would you consider 100% needed?
4) How long did the drive to Cork take? How many charges did you have to do? Does it take military planning for a long trip?

Regards,

WM

DrPhilG

1&2 - depends where in Donegal you are I suppose. There is a fast charger in Letterkenny and one in Laghy. I rarely use the Laghy one but it has always been reliable and available. My most common fast charger is Derry as I work there. There is also one in Lifford which is not a good spot. A local taxi driver abuses the charger as his own personal resource. Not sure if that charger unlocks once the charge ends though.

Slow charging I don't use that often in Donegal, again my usual slow charge spot is the cinema in Derry. I've used the slow chargers in Letterkenny behind the bank. Sometimes blocked because the traffic wardens don't police it. Only other regular slow that I use is at the quay in Donegal town and that's fine except when there is a festival on and they just park lorries in front of it.

Being caught out is rare. There are generally enough spaces to get by provided you plan ahead and be prepared with a plan B. Install apps like plugshare which has a check in system so you will know when a charger was last used. It's not perfect, as it depends on enough people actually using it and checking in, but the ESB map app is often unreliable as to whether a charger is working or not.

Also join the Irish EV Owners Facebook page. There are a few groups. The "Irish EV owners" and the "Irish EV owners Association". There is a bit of history and politics involved there that I won't go into here. I am involved with the first one but not the Association one, I'll leave it at that. The Facebook group is handy for asking in advance if people have used various chargers recently, and also as a general resource.

If you're using a slow charger, you can't be unplugged. The cable locks at the charger and the car. Some fast chargers will unlock only when the charge is finished. They can also be unlocked if someone presses the red emergency stop button but I've never had someone do that.


3 - I had a specific wish list. I bought in June 2015. I wanted a 1 year old car, more than 5000 miles but less than 10000 (that means you get a low mileage car but don't pay VAT or VRT) as I was importing from England. I wanted the Tekna spec, known as SVE in Ireland which has leather seats, heated seats and wheel and 360 surround cameras. I also wanted the 6.6kw on board charger. The Leaf comes with 3.3 or 6.6 and this is the speed you can charge at from slow chargers. I can get about 30-30% in an hour at a slow charger. Well worth it. I can go to the cinema, plug in with 30% and come out to a full battery.

There isn't anything that I regret not getting, because I got the top spec. And I wanted all those things so nothing is unnecessary. The Leaf can be found with a solar panel on the spoiler, fairly useless by all accounts.

4 - The drive to Cork was a pain in the ass and I won't do it again. Don't remember how long it took but I charged probably 7 times. I had only owned the car for a week so I was extra careful. Nowadays for my once a year trip there I just hire a car. Costs about €130 which is a drop in the ocean compared to the €2100 a year I'm saving on fuel.

water-man

Thanks for the detailed response. I went for a test drive today in one. And I was well impressed. It was surprisingly spacious inside.

Do you know if the VAT/VRT exemption still exists today if I imported a UK model? I didn't know that was a rule. These electrics cars are getting more appealing the more i find out

One more question if you don't mind, how do you know if a car is 3.3kw charger or 6.6kw charger. I ask as I see one up north for sale and it says it is both.

Sorry for all the questions but I trust a Donegal person who has used EV more than other people.

Thanks again,

WM

DrPhilG

There is a display option on the dash to show how long is left to complete a charge on a slow charger.

The display on a 6.6kw car will show 2 options, the time it would take at 3.3 and at 6.6kw. It will lookike this.



A car without the 6.6kw charger would not show that faster option.

When I bought, I made the dealer send me a picture of the dash display to confirm it.

There are deals to be had in England or the North, the reason I went to Leeds was because there was more choice to fit my requirements.

EVs are not VRT exempt, but have a €5k allowance, so unless you're buying a Tesla or maybe an i3, you won't have to pay VRT. Just make sure that the car has at least 6000 km on the clock or it will be classed as new and you'll get stung for VAT.

DrPhilG

There is a guy in (I think) Kildare who runs a business importing EVs. He also sells cables, chargers etc. I bought my charger and accessories from him when I started.

He'll source to your needs if he doesn't have what you want in stock. I'll probably use him next time I change.

http://www.electricautos.ie/

Mods feel free to delete that link if this isn't allowed? I have no connection to the company in question other than the fact that am a past customer.

muffler

DrPhilG wrote: »

Mods feel free to delete that link if this isn't allowed? I have no connection to the company in question other than the fact that am a past customer.

All good

reboot

Am told there are only 3 CP Engineers for all of the North,(Including) Donegal. Sometimes this can mean a couple of months for repairs to take place, the parts largely coming from the manufacturer in Munich.
The Leaf, being the most available EV in the South has been the source for most of the internet sites mentioned above, which may sometimes give the appearance of being a "cold place", for the likes of Renault Zoe owner,who move on to their own site.
On the point of EV generally, the recent announcement by the UK government, of it's intention to apply road tax to Hybrids, seems a shame, same thing happened with Solar.