Partners and other peoples opinions of your EV

monkeysnapper

Hope this is OK to post.

I've been following EV's for years and find myself on my last petrol car , switching next year.

My wife isn't warming to the idea and thinks I'm a little nuts, why would you do that to yourself , I explain we are a two car house, nether of us do over 40 km a day .

Move on to work buddies and friends and equally I get very mixed opinions . I feel sometimes everybody thinks your a stupid and its almost like if you try explaining your reasons, its almost like trying to convert their religion.

So

How have all your partners taken it when you explained you wanted to buy EV , or others.

I will say tho 2 people I talked to are now looking into it so its not all one way.

homer911

In my case it was the other way around, was looking for a car for the wife, narrowed it down to a few, including the leaf (back in 2014). I was interested but didn't push it with her. The wife loved the idea. The future of cars is electric - this should be obvious to everyone. An electric car is a sound financial decision and its also great fun to drive, while making you feel a bit virtuous at the same time. Three years on we have no regrets and I still struggle to get my wife give me time behind the wheel

mel.b

I don't have a partner, so didn't need to worry about their opinion

How when I told my parents I was thinking about it, they were very skeptical at first and then as i was looking for them (and having trouble getting what I wanted) dad was just making sure i didn't compromise and getting the best that was available (in my budget).

Work friends were curious at first with lots of questions and now that most of them have been for a drive in it, a lot of them want one I'm looking forward to my parents coming over to Ireland in Dec so they get to experience it. I was talking to my grandad in Australia the other day for his birthday and he was very curious about it.

macnab

My wife was skeptical at first, now she drives the Leaf most of the time.
Workmates, yeah I think your religion analogy is spot on. I was once asked in the car park "do you have to plug it in every time?" I replied "only if I want to charge it" which provoked a response of "thats a bit of a hassle isnt it?" So I asked him how he got diesel into his VW and walked away grinning.
Lately the kind of questions I am getting from workmates suggests that they are starting to consider buying an EV or at least a plug in hybrid as a second family vehicle.

Gumbo

I get strange looks from my mates as I've always had sports cars or high end cars of some sort, think Lancer Evolutions, Audi S3, Type R Hondas, nearly every version of bmw including X5, 535d etc etc

Everybody questions it, but they all acknowledge that we'll all be driving them in a few years.

reboot

Within the EV community, I find sometimes it can be a" cold place" if your not in a Leaf, there are understandable and historic reasons going back at least 5 years.
Personally I ditched the wife, and took up with Zoe.

liamog

We've had really good reactions to the Ioniq.
The wife and I had planned to run our old car into the ground until the Model 3 came out so convincing her to take it just needed a bit of help from Bjorn Nyland.

The rest of the family know us as the techies so weren't surprised that we got it, they all think it's a really nice car and commented that it's not ugly like the Leaf. The range and general driving has impressed them. My sister in law is now seriously considering a Zoe.

goz83

Mixed here too.

The wife was only mildly reluctant when I suggested a full BEV. I was looking at an Outlander PHEV, so the BEV wasn't that much of a leap to convince her.

My Brother thinks the Leaf is great. Like me, he was converted after I took a test drive in one. If he gets a car again, it will be a Leaf. My Dad was very skeptical but has warmed to the idea and I can see he is considering one. He drives a 1 year old petrol yeti. My Sister remains skeptical but has also warmed to the idea of EVs. She hasn't been in the car yet :P

The inlaws all think EVs are great. Both our cars are Leafs. I honestly couldn't give a damn what others think. It's me and the wife who drive the cars and we are happy to to just that. If people don't want to know, I don't talk about it. If people are interested/curious, I tell them my experience and how it works.

reboot

"Some people never see the light, until the day they die" Neil Diamond.

DrPhilG

My wife was the one who suggested it, 3 years ago. I dismiss it due to range concerns, but admittedly didn't really do any homework.

2 years ago she asked why I hadn't considered it, so I did the homework mainly so I could present her with evidence of how I was right and she was wrong...

So I've had the Leaf 2 years now. Admittedly her motivation was environmental, mine was purely financial.

Most people have the same reaction. Takes too long to charge and range is too short. Even though most of them drive 10 miles to work and 10 miles back with little other need. In the last year however I've had one friend basically decide to go electric, has tested the i3 and waiting for a test in an E-golf. And another friend, who mocked me in the past, has decided to get a Leaf for his wife.

So the tide is slowly turning.

peposhi

I first wanted to get a Leaf back in 2011 when they came up on stage. MOH shot me down right away and did not want to hear anything for years.
In 2015 though when it came to getting a bigger car for her due to a baby arrival I sat her down and wrote with large font digits why it is worth and backed it up with lot of research. She was still very sceptical so I did something she did not expect - i traded my favourite car in to prove it's the right step forward (I still miss that car!). It took her some time to fully get the concept of owning an EV but now... lol... I ended up having to ask if I can get the Leaf...
We only had a quick conversation to convince her to switch to a 30kw Leaf when a good deal came around and now the ICE is used primarily as a shopping basket if the Leaf is not at home... it took time to convert but come see her now how she advertises EV to her friends lol...

As for colleagues... we are more than 150 ppl team that is a serious mix of people of different age, origin, culture, level of education and etc... I've been asked lots of questions, many colleagues have been either passengers in or driven my car and there's a lot of positive feedback, but no one has made the step yet. Only one in my department came close to buying an EV this January but his OH was not convinced at all so he went for an Auris hybrid instead.
So I can clearly say the mass public is not ready for an EV uptake, not yet...

pwurple

It was my idea, but husband is generally happy with any of my money saving notions. We fight mainly over who gets to drive it now, so will have to change the second car to an EV also, when we save up a bit.

My mum loves it. My dad still refuses to get in it. He thinks it can explode at any moment... never mind that he drives a petrol and seems to have forgotten that three of my petrol cars have gone up in flames over the years.

Shefwedfan

First time I discussed it my wife thought I was nuts but she let me off. I am always buying or looking at new gadgets so she just thought it was another fad of mine.....when I took the Leaf for test drive she really didn't want to know. But I got her to take it for a spin and she started to warm to the idea. The issue at that stage was the Leaf and similar to myself we didn't want a Leaf.

So once the eGolf came up and she took that for a spin I had won her over. If the eGolf wasn't available I think it might have been a bigger battle. She loves the Golf as a car.

Anyway now she will take the eGolf if she gets a chance, the SMAX is left in driveway at all times possible. She loves it because of the speed etc and also how handy it is to refuel. She NEVER goes to a garage and fills a car unless she is literally in the red and can't get home. Otherwise she will drive home on fumes and I will have to refill it. The fact she can plug it in she loves.

I was amazed when we started to look at the SMAX replacement she wants a electric car to replace. Unfortunately the manufacturers have not caught up with my wife yet

quietsailor

monkeysnapper wrote: »

Hope this is OK to post.

I've been following EV's for years and find myself on my last petrol car , switching next year.

My wife isn't warming to the idea and thinks I'm a little nuts, why would you do that to yourself , I explain we are a two car house, nether of us do over 40 km a day .

I know exactly how that conversation goes as I'm having the same one at the moment with my wife. We are both 20Km exactly to work (40Km return) I'm a shift worker - 4 on/6 off and shes a 9-5 Mon - Fri so the vast, vast majority of our driving is within any EV range, and I include hybrids/plug in hybrids in that statement.

I've a thread started about using your Google timeline info to prove the distances we drive and how a BEV/Hybrid would work for us and,as my wife is very practical, if I can show it will work out cheaper and there is no hassle then she would convert

monkeysnapper

OK just a bit of an update ...

So as I said I'm planning on going EV next year and wife is a bit negative to this , one of the changes is night meter being Installed .... I think this is just annoying her even more . 3 kids.... Washing machine .... Dishwasher .... I was explaining these should all go on after midnight, both have timers , plus I'd go to bed at midnight anyway most nights .

Do most of you bother with night meters. We don't do crazy miles so maybe wed be better to stick with what we have , my Citroen c4 gets filled every 3 weeks , 400 miles ish €70.

She was telling me the other day while doing school run, the two older kids ( 5/7) both shouted out, "there's an electric car!!!!! " in pure excitement. Thinks I've brain washed them.

BoatMad

monkeysnapper wrote: »

OK just a bit of an update ...

So as I said I'm planning on going EV next year and wife is a bit negative to this , one of the changes is night meter being Installed .... I think this is just annoying her even more . 3 kids.... Washing machine .... Dishwasher .... I was explaining these should all go on after midnight, both have timers , plus I'd go to bed at midnight anyway most nights .

Do most of you bother with night meters. We don't do crazy miles so maybe wed be better to stick with what we have , my Citroen c4 gets filled every 3 weeks , 400 miles ish €70.

She was telling me the other day while doing school run, the two older kids ( 5/7) both shouted out, "there's an electric car!!!!! " in pure excitement. Thinks I've brain washed them.

as per night meter

explain to your partner using small words

day rate circa 17-20 cents
Nights rate 6.5.7.5 cents per unit

3: 1 saving

PS my leaf does 100 km , 60 mils for a cost of 90 cents on average , so 400 miles , circa , 6 euros, The difference would buy you and your partner a nice lunch for two , plus a bottle of wine , every week !!

DrPhilG

I use about 65% of my power on night rate. My washer and dryer both have a timer anyway so I can go to bed earlier and still get the benefit.

goz83

monkeysnapper wrote: »

OK just a bit of an update ...

So as I said I'm planning on going EV next year and wife is a bit negative to this , one of the changes is night meter being Installed .... I think this is just annoying her even more . 3 kids.... Washing machine .... Dishwasher .... I was explaining these should all go on after midnight, both have timers , plus I'd go to bed at midnight anyway most nights .

Do most of you bother with night meters. We don't do crazy miles so maybe wed be better to stick with what we have , my Citroen c4 gets filled every 3 weeks , 400 miles ish €70.

She was telling me the other day while doing school run, the two older kids ( 5/7) both shouted out, "there's an electric car!!!!! " in pure excitement. Thinks I've brain washed them.

Sometimes it’s best to ignore the negativity from the partner and push ahead with what makes sense. She will quickly come around after a couple of drives in the ev.

When going night rate, the day rate only goes up by about 1 cent and the night rate is slashed. The annual standing charge increases by €50. All good considering I also use 65% of my electricity on the night rate. Overall, we are making a saving on our electric bill because we are more conscious of our energy usage habits and timers are used.

Now go buy yourself that EV

pwurple

BoatMad wrote: »

as per night meter

explain to your partner using small words

day rate circa 17-20 cents
Nights rate 6.5.7.5 cents per unit

3: 1 saving

PS my leaf does 100 km , 60 mils for a cost of 90 cents on average , so 400 miles , circa , 6 euros, The difference would buy you and your partner a nice lunch for two , plus a bottle of wine , every week !!

Small words?? Bribe her with wine?

Yes, cos us women are pure thick. Jesus. :P

On the night rate electricity, you will have an easier time of this if you don't become a total nazi about it. We have night rate, and we do dishwasher and washing machine at night for the most part, but we don't freak otu if it has to go on during the day for an extra one. It is only a few pence difference every now and then after all.

No one likes their freedom to manage their own life being taken away. We tried a House Rule at the start, where the washing had to be saved for nighttime... we had a heap of fights over it. we dropped the rule and kept it more of a Best Practive Guideline.

Water John

Children are great adopters to change. It's hard wired into them. Sadly most of us loose it as we get older.

BoatMad

pwurple wrote: »

Small words?? Bribe her with wine?

AT my age, whatever it takes , is what I say

Yes, cos us women are pure thick. Jesus. :P

well anyone doubting a 3:1 ..... if the caps fits and all that ......:p

On the night rate electricity, you will have an easier time of this if you don't become a total nazi about it. We have night rate, and we do dishwasher and washing machine at night for the most part, but we don't freak otu if it has to go on during the day for an extra one. It is only a few pence difference every now and then after all.

Sure thats normal , were the same, lots off time we break the rules, last time I looked it wasn't a dictatorship

No one likes their freedom to manage their own life being taken away. We tried a House Rule at the start, where the washing had to be saved for nighttime... we had a heap of fights over it. we dropped the rule and kept it more of a Best Practive Guideline.

cool the jets , there. " rocketman", I was being sarcastic :rolleyes:

ELM327

BoatMad wrote: »

cool the jets , there. " rocketman", I was being sarcastic :rolleyes:

Careful there, they like to be "rocket people " these days :P

BoatMad

ELM327 wrote: »

Careful there, they like to be "rocket people " these days :P

sorry, "slapping wrist",

write 100 times on a blackboard

" I must remember to be politically correct "

Water John

You can't call it a 'blackboard'.

BoatMad

Water John wrote: »

You can't call it a 'blackboard'.

damm, its everywhere isnt it, thanks god humans come in just a few colours, or wed never to able to describe anything

sgalvin

And there are no individuals anymore it's
"We must remember........

We are all part of a team...

BoatMad wrote: »

sorry, "slapping wrist",

write 100 times on a blackboard

" I must remember to be politically correct "

BoatMad

sgalvin wrote: »

And there are no individuals anymore it's
"We must remember........

We are all part of a team...

when do I start eating the soylent green cookies and also ensuring my name isnt " Tubbs"

pwurple

Era yeah, I'm WAY off the PC deep end here.

Being told "Use small words" so your wife can understand is normal for you?


Morto for them.

pwurple

BoatMad wrote: »

AT my age, whatever it takes , is what I say

Vomit.

Sure thats normal , were the same, lots off time we break the rules, last time I looked it wasn't a dictatorship

Tricky enough to tell that from here I have to say. Because between the wine for getting whatever it takes at your age, and using small words to convince your self-proclaimed stupid wife of something... Just sayin'

kippy

Shefwedfan wrote: »

First time I discussed it my wife thought I was nuts but she let me off. I am always buying or looking at new gadgets so she just thought it was another fad of mine.....when I took the Leaf for test drive she really didn't want to know. But I got her to take it for a spin and she started to warm to the idea. The issue at that stage was the Leaf and similar to myself we didn't want a Leaf.

So once the eGolf came up and she took that for a spin I had won her over. If the eGolf wasn't available I think it might have been a bigger battle. She loves the Golf as a car.

Anyway now she will take the eGolf if she gets a chance, the SMAX is left in driveway at all times possible. She loves it because of the speed etc and also how handy it is to refuel. She NEVER goes to a garage and fills a car unless she is literally in the red and can't get home. Otherwise she will drive home on fumes and I will have to refill it. The fact she can plug it in she loves.

I was amazed when we started to look at the SMAX replacement she wants a electric car to replace. Unfortunately the manufacturers have not caught up with my wife yet

This is the big issue I have
We have three kids and a requirement for buggy friendly boot. Even our second car would need to be able tale three car seats in the back. I'd love to look at an EV next time we change but the options available are limited even from a 2 adults and 2 kids perspective. I think Battery tech is the big barrier on bigger EVs and until that changes we are probably staying where we are.

NIMAN

My OH really likes the Leaf. She's been driving cars nearly 20 years now, and said to me the other day "why aren't all cars automatic, its so handy?".

She seems to reach for the keys of the Leaf now before the ICE ones.

KCross

kippy wrote: »

This is the big issue I have
We have three kids and a requirement for buggy friendly boot. Even our second car would need to be able tale three car seats in the back. I'd love to look at an EV next time we change but the options available are limited even from a 2 adults and 2 kids perspective. I think Battery tech is the big barrier on bigger EVs and until that changes we are probably staying where we are.

3 kids here, Leaf works fine for us.

If it's 3 full size baby seats then no, but that's an issue with most cars.

kippy

KCross wrote: »

3 kids here, Leaf works fine for us.

If it's 3 full size baby seats then no, but that's an issue with most cars.

2 Boosters and a baby seat. Room in the boot for a buggy that can take the car seat and a few other bits?

Will have to review again if that is the case.

sgalvin

i also gave 3 kids and have had my Fluence 2 years. At the time I go it I had a 7/5/2 year olds and a buggy. One wheel had to come off the buggy to get it in and certainly a double buggy would be out.

The 7 seater do have much bigger boot space but I don't think the rear seats are any wider overall. I remember the same issues in getting access to the cars own seat belts in the 7 seater as in both our saloons. (Fluence/Mazda 6)
As our eldest is tall and heavy enough to be out of a booster, they can now all put on their own seatbelt themselves , which is a brilliant timesaver.

On a day to day basis the 5 of us don't all travel together anyway so I generally move one child to the front seat (in both cars) to spread them out and reduce fighting.

To the original OP.
it doesn't really matter what your partner thinks, you don't need 2 cars that can do everything.
When my 3rd child arrived, I needed to get a car so I bought a smart roadster! 2 seats, no roof, and the boot wouldn't fit a child seat let alone a buggy. We managed fine, we took a car to meet our needs each day.

Don't think too hard about it, just do it. Buy an older leaf for small money and try it out and see how you get on! What you save in fuel will cover your experiment!

kippy wrote: »

2 Boosters and a baby seat. Room in the boot for a buggy that can take the car seat and a few other bits?

Will have to review again if that is the case.

goz83

kippy wrote: »

This is the big issue I have
We have three kids and a requirement for buggy friendly boot. Even our second car would need to be able tale three car seats in the back. I'd love to look at an EV next time we change but the options available are limited even from a 2 adults and 2 kids perspective. I think Battery tech is the big barrier on bigger EVs and until that changes we are probably staying where we are.

kippy wrote: »

2 Boosters and a baby seat. Room in the boot for a buggy that can take the car seat and a few other bits?

Will have to review again if that is the case.

My 3 youngest kids are 6, 4 & (almost) 2. Myself, the youngest 3 and the OH are heading into town shortly. That means 1 baby seat and 2 boosters + 1 buggy and baby bag. We will have enough room to comfortably bring back the equivalent on 3 school bags of whatever we pick up in town and will be quite comfortable doing that. We drive a Leaf (2 actually).

The 2018 Leaf has more room than the current one and it has more range and looks much better. They are bigger than they look by the way. Same space as the quashqai if I remember correctly. Don’t make any decisions before looking around first.

kippy

goz83 wrote: »

My 3 youngest kids are 6, 4 & (almost) 2. Myself, the youngest 3 and the OH are heading into town shortly. That means 1 baby seat and 2 boosters + 1 buggy and baby bag. We will have enough room to comfortably bring back the equivalent on 3 school bags of whatever we pick up in town and will be quite comfortable doing that. We drive a Leaf (2 actually).

The 2018 Leaf has more room than the current one and it has more range and looks much better. They are bigger than they look by the way. Same space as the quashqai if I remember correctly. Don’t make any decisions before looking around first.

Thanks to yourself and others that have addressed my queries.
Have a 09 mondeo as a "second" car but only do short runs in it. If I can get another couple of years out of it the baby seat requirement will be gone as will the bigger boot requirement so I will look seriously at an electric.

monkeysnapper

Thanks everyone for your sound advice . I totally agree with others on here there's no need to have two cars that can drive 400 miles plus in one go when 99% of the time nether do over 40 miles a day .

I've contacted electric Ireland about getting a night meter and prices. My Citroen c4 passed NCT Thursday and I now have 13 months NCT on it. I was planning getting leaf in 12 months but for the hell might chuck it up on donedeal and see if there's any takers, I have nothing to lose.

DrPhilG

monkeysnapper wrote: »

I've contacted electric Ireland about getting a night meter and prices.

Price other suppliers too. I switched to Energia recently. Best prices in the country at the minute I believe.

goz83

DrPhilG wrote: »

Price other suppliers too. I switched to Energia recently. Best prices in the country at the minute I believe.

The supplier only organises the install with esb. I was with Electric Ireland when I got the night meter installed and about a week later, I moved supplier.

unkel

Night meter install costs €0.00

DrPhilG

goz83 wrote: »

The supplier only organises the install with esb. I was with Electric Ireland when I got the night meter installed and about a week later, I moved supplier.

I know.

NIMAN

unkel wrote: »

Night meter install costs €0.00

Is there actually any physical change needed, or is it just a change in how you're charged?

goz83

DrPhilG wrote: »

I know.

Maybe the OP didn't. Your post wasn't clear and would be easy to misinterpret it and think there was a cost in getting a night meter.

NIMAN wrote: »

Is there actually any physical change needed, or is it just a change in how you're charged?

I had an old analogue meter. They removed it and installed a digital meter. The digital meter shows how many units I use on the day rate and how many I use on the night rate by toggling through the menu (pressing 1 button a few times). I have seen older analogue and digital meters that show both day and night rate readings though.

So, if your meter can only show one set of numbers....then they will replace it with a digital day and night meter.

Something to note....the old analogue meters can go backwards if power is being exported to the grid from your property

monkeysnapper

I did know that meter wouldn't cost but can I ask roughly what the break down in unit cost day/ night is . I'm paying 0.1513 a unit at present.

KCross

monkeysnapper wrote: »

I did know that meter wouldn't cost but can I ask roughly what the break down in unit cost day/ night is . I'm paying 0.1513 a unit at present.

Energia: 13.89/6.65 inc Vat.

bonkers.ie is your friend here if you don't want to look at each vendors site.

unkel

goz83 wrote: »

Something to note....the old analogue meters can go backwards if power is being exported to the grid from your property

I was wondering about that. My parents had one and with the 2 PV panels they installed (in the 1990s!!!) - I think they were 100W each, the meter ran back on a sunny day when nothing much else in the house was running

So does that effectively mean you get net metering / a FIT of exactly the same as you pay the grid? Why haven't we discussed this here before?

unkel

KCross wrote: »

Energia: 13.89/6.65 inc Vat.

bonkers.ie is your friend here if you don't want to look at each vendors site.

+1

And for an average Irish household (using 3,500kWh per year), Energia works out at €700 for the year, all in. But there's a new player Just Energy that charges roughly the same (€730), but your electricity use is then unlimited

It looks too good to be true, but it is true!

KCross

unkel wrote: »

I was wondering about that. My parents had one and with the 2 PV panels they installed (in the 1990s!!!) - I think they were 100W each, the meter ran back on a sunny day when nothing much else in the house was running

So does that effectively mean you get net metering / a FIT of exactly the same as you pay the grid? Why haven't we discussed this here before?

Its been discussed on the Renewable forum alright!

If you are lucky enough to have an analogue meter keep your mouth shut and put up some Solar PV!

goz83

KCross wrote: »

Its been discussed on the Renewable forum alright!

If you are lucky enough to have an analogue meter keep your mouth shut and put up some Solar PV!

I was only told AFTER the ESB guy installed the new meter for night rate

Although tbf, i'm doing alright. Bills are the same, or less with minimal habit change and no disruption. The cars are effectively charged for free.

unkel

KCross wrote: »

Its been discussed on the Renewable forum alright!

If you are lucky enough to have an analogue meter keep your mouth shut and put up some Solar PV!

I've seen a few discussions that seem to agree that the disc turns back alright, but the meter itself doesn't. So you're just feeding back to the grid for free.

BoatMad

pwurple wrote: »

Vomit.



Tricky enough to tell that from here I have to say. Because between the wine for getting whatever it takes at your age, and using small words to convince your self-proclaimed stupid wife of something... Just sayin'

I was being facetious , but next time I'll add a few emojis , people need then it seems these days