There's more to EVs than Tesla!
yeah, but in terms of tech, efficiency, speed, power & charging as a package, no one comes close.
I love driving, yet I don't consider myself a petrol head. Have a Model 3, would find it difficult to go back to petrol or diesel. I do between 15 and 20k kms per year, love the convenience of an EV. Heaters use a bit of energy, though Teslas heat pump is very efficient. Seats, steering wheel heating, entertainment etc is not really noticeable.
Test drive many, I like Teslas, IDs/Born and the new BYD Seal.
I can only speak for myself but I know I love the switch to driving electric. I love my heated seats, steering wheel as well. Those really don't do much to the battery's range on my Mustang EV so no worries there. Using the heating in the car does drain the battery in winter for sure but I have a charging station installed in my garage so all good there. For me there is no comparison driving an EV is way more enjoyable then an ICE car.
Totally agree. I much prefer my Mustang Mach E over the Tesla. When I was looking I had neighbours one of whom owned a Tesla and one owned a Mustang and the Mustang came out on top for me and thats what I went ahead and bought and am delighted with it.
I ran the numbers like you, where I have been driving various 520d MSports for the last 10 years and a typical year for me is 25,000km. When you calculate fuel and maintenance costs, I have worked out that I'll be about €2,500 better off per year in an Ioniq 6. The numbers would be very similar I'm sure (or better perhaps) for a new Tesla or any other EV with long range.
If you are thinking hybrid, I'd expect that the annual costs would be lower than you are paying at the moment, but you will still have all the maintenance costs of a combustion engine, which you won't have to pay in a BEV.
Any range anxiety I might have had is well and truly gone since I installed a charger at home and got comfortable on DC fast charger locations for very long journeys. Download the Plugshare app and see the locations for yourself.
As regards the car enthusiast comment, I suggest that you test drive an EV to experience the acceleration, the heated seats, a heated steering wheel and the sound system!
Forgive me, but are heated seats and heated steering wheels solely on Battery type cars? All of my plug ins had one or both, cannot remember any of my hybrids with them, the only thing I really miss is heated wing mirrors on a SsangYong pickup I had,
Whats your budget? What are your commutes like? 15000km I know, but it could be 50 km a week and then twice a month 600 km, which will require a charge and sometimes that does not go well.
I have a phev and do around 14000km and I get about 200mpg, I charge out and about when it suits, mostly at home.
I just see now other cars have heated seats, the other nice thing is timed preheating, pre cooling.
Go drive as many as you can.
Make a short list of what ones you like, and then work out which ones are in budget, new or second hand, whatever you feel.
In here, you’ll get tesla owners recommending a Tesla, Ford owners recommending a Ford, VW owners recommending a VW etc
Theres no wrong or right choice, just personal choice based on what you’ll like after driving a few.
Sorry I should have said I expect to do at least 15,000 miles a year, so about 300 miles a week. I rarely go on long journeys and when we we usually take my wife's CHR hybrid. I'm a nostalgia freak so I'm really intrigued by the new Renault 5, although from what I hear that won't be available to buy for another year. At the moment my budget is about 25,000 - 30,000 but I'm in no rush so I might save for another six or even 12 months so I can afford something over 40k.
Is that 300 miles a week spread evenly over 7 days or 5x20 mile trips and one 200 mile trip on a Sunday?
I'd say roughly spread over the week. I rarely go on any long journeys myself anymore.
So 60km a day.
An EV will do. Even a 2014 Leaf!
So that’s your base line!
Yeah, I still do 80km per day in my 24kw 152 leaf, heated everything on this time of year 😀
Have you ever been in a situation where the EV simply didn't charge for some reason? That's another paranoid fear I have. That I'd leave it charge overnight and there would be some sort of stupid issue with it and then I wouldn't be able to get to work the next day.
If your charging at home, once you get used to it and trust it, that fear will diminish.
While electrical faults can happen which could interrupt your charge, they are normally uncommon.
Now if your house has ropey electrical then factor in a car that will do the journey twice so you have cover.
As Redfox posted above - just charge early on in the evening/night until your comfortable that charging isn't a problem.
And you will quickly realise how you wont miss regular trips to the service station for fuel.
Not yet. Not in 11 years.
I've tripped the fuse a couple of times, but you rarely are on zero. There's multiple fast chargers around me (i'd say at least 3 different sites within 20-30km) if that happens.
Note: the tripping the fuse was user error on my behalf and nothing to do with the cars, I have 3 EVs and if I plug them all in on the wrong side of the house they go over the amperage
If you travel less than 300km.per day then an EV may save you a lot. Beware buying a 40,000 euro EV and a not really a cost saving exercise.
I did the sums 6 years ago and switched to EV saving myself around 4000 euro a year but you also need to factor in depreciation which may also be 4000 a year or more.
In your case it may make financial sense to move to EV. All modern big battery ones will go at least 300km without needing to stop and charge. You can have heat on and drive at the speed limit.
If you really like engine noise etc I have a weekend classic with 56 euro tax, 200 insurance and literally no depreciation.
Main downsides, on very long trips you need to public charge to get home. Public chargers can be busy, blocked or broken and have 1+ hour queues of people. Charging can be slow taking 1+ hours to fill up. So educate yourself and plan longer trips and allow extra time.
Depreciation is a big cost, some cats may have less deprecation but the general tile is 20% in first year then 10% all following years. If you are high mileage you may run out of warranty soon in terms of mileage caps on warranty. This will also impact resale value. If you could get a good value car deprecation may be lowered.
The only time I had anything remotely along those lines it was my own fault. I simply didn't plug in properly and didn't notice for a bit. But I have an app where I can check on my car and I noticed a couple of hours later the app didn't say my Mustang was charging so I just went out to the garage and noticed I had not plugged in properly so even that was a non issue.
Some cars will actively warn you if you are home and car is not plugged it. Many cars will automatically adjust the charging times differently for home and away to try prevent you only charging at night when say away from home. It is a risk but you get in the habit of plugging in. Not ideal for the type of person that always has a flat phone battery.
Heated wing mirrors, surely all cars have them nowadays 😱
My 2005 bog standard full of button covers Golf even had them.
not one of the of the 6 younger cars since the 2008 ssanyong sports, its the only thing I miss.
For people who have anxiety over "there is no available charger when I need one", here is a Tesla installation I stopped by today.
In fairness, offscreen on the right there are 120 pumps, so getting petrol isn't much a problem either.
Might have to wait until I get my Toyota to have the range to get to that station.
Don’t most cars just heat the mirrors when you turn on the defog mode or the max clear mode etc
I noticed this morning i done that (Model 3) and within 500m of the house, the windows and mirrors were cleared.
Let me know when that comes to Ireland.
I also think when you turn on the rear window heater. Must check next frosty morning.
I am confused by this car, less than a year old but the Vauxhall badge would suggest it's a UK import. I assume ecorsa has Opel badge. Maybe this was an early demo model brought in from UK? Even then you would think they could have stuck an open badge on.it?
Could do with a nice wash there too:)
