Everything you always wanted to know about electric vehicle (but were afraid to ask)

Hi, I'm very new to this - got my first EV 3 weeks ago. A 2019 Kona with 64kw battery. A Zappi charger was installed at the house 10 days ago and is set at "Fast" charge as I've no other power source bar the national grid. I have set the car to charge up to 90% at home on AC and to only charge over night during my night rate time slot. It's set to charge up to 80% if charging at a DC station.

On the last three home charging sessions the car has indicated that it needed a certain amount to top it up to 90% but the following morning the charger indicated that it gave the car quite a bit more. Example 1: Started charge at 57% which implied that the battery needed about 21kw to top out at 90% - the next morning the Zappi data told me it gave it 27.5kw and the car showed 90% as planned. Example 2: Started charge at 79% = 7Kw needed; the charger gave it 9.6Kw. So many questions in my head over this!!

Am I looking at this too simply?... Is this normal or should I be worried that something is wrong?... Where is the "extra" energy going?... Which amount of energy am I paying for - should I believe the car or the charger?... Any thoughts would be really welcome.

I've only got 12kva connection & we manage fine. I also have a 3kw immersion & granny charge a leaf every night too as well as a HP. Run the washing machine,dryer & dw too. The dryer wouldn't usually go on till the morning. we do have 9hrs of nightrate though.

The important thing is a load sensing Charge Point like the zappi & setting it up correctly.

A quick look is all you'll get too, absolute mirage of a car so far in Ireland.

Start with the Plugshare and that will help with forward planning.

Generally if you have ESB eCars and EasyGo RFID / app you'll get around ok for DC fast charging. Also consider the Tesla, Ionity and Weev apps. You can use contactless at Applegreen, Circle K, Maxol and BP Pulse(NI). Some find the Freshmile RFID card cost effective for the fastest 100kW+ chargers as long as your EV can DC charge that fast.

These are all shown within the Plugshare app.

Once you start getting into the slower AC charging it becomes next level wild west. You'll then potentially also need Plugsurfing, Chargepoint, ShellRecharge, ePowerEV and Monta. I've also come across operators with only a few chargepoints in the country such as EVchargeonline, stopNtop, GoTo-U, EVbox, Virta (and there are more). Plugshare will provide some info.

Tesla have reasonable rates to Tesla chargers in their cars only but this doesn't give you access to other public charging via the car.

ChargeMyHyundai / Elli provide an RFID card for most public charging. Look carefully at these though as you might be paying way over the going "per kWh" rate for the "convenience".

Start with Plugshare, ESB eCars and EasyGo would be my suggestion for most people.

Anyone know if it is still the case that you can import an EV from Northern Ireland and that there is no VRT on EVs and also no VAT if it is registered before a certain year around when Brexit became official? If so what is that year?

Would be looking at a 2015/6 22kw Renault Zoe. If anyone here has one of that age would be good to hear the real life range on it, dealers just seem to publish the range when it was brand new.

Does anybody have any idea how much this BYD EV might sell for in Ireland?

"At $US15,000, BYD’s new Qin EV is already being touted as a “Corolla killer”, as the world’s second largest EV maker continues to disrupt the global auto market.

Launched earlier this week in China, the all-electric Qin Plus has five variants priced between 109,800 RMB to ($A23,300) to 139,800 RMB ($A29,700).

The Qin Plus comes with a 100 kW motor and the option of either a 48 kWh battery providing 420 km CLTC range or a 57.6 kW hour battery with 510 km range.

Mobility consultant James Carter wrote on LinkedIn the new offering is the $15,000 car that incumbent OEMs (car makers) hoped would never come."

USD 15,000 abroad would become what here, after margins and VAT?

It's pretty much in line with the WLTP for the model 3 with a similar-sized battery. The car will never see it, but if the WLTP gives it that assessment, then that's what goes into the marketing material.

It's currently listed on their website as 513km WLTP for the standard range (estimated 554km with the 18-inch wheels) with the long range coming in at 629km (678km with 18s). If memory serves last year's model was 490, but an estimated WLTP of 512 with the 18-inch wheels.

Regardless of what system is used to advertise the car's range, it is insane to advertise that a car with a 57kWh battery will give 510km of range... Folks buy it thinking this is possible when it isn't in any reality.

That would be an efficiency of 11.2kWh/100km 😐

Which is achievable on rural roads in warmer weather. But I agree, average will never be that good

Took a test drive today and I am really impressed with it. Nippy little thing too.