Help! Confused perhaps in a unique situation

Orrery

· #2 · May 2, 2021

If you can't charge at home then the default advice has to be - don't get an EV. Take the cheapest solution for the next 20 months and see what it looks like then.

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6652

· #3 · May 2, 2021

You don’t mention a budget?

A guy asked a very similar question on here recently, worth a read?

So what is the motorway range of the Kona 64kWh?

Have been posting on other threads. BMW i3 94Ah (33kWh but net 27.3 kWh) owner with Range Extender last 4 years. Make a regular trip from South Wales to London regularly apart from in 2020! No stopping required. Door to door distance 185.5 miles. Do this trip comfortably in the i3 with Rex...

www.speakev.com

230 guaranteed motorway miles in an EV, without needing to recharge, and year round in all weathers, is a big ask for a lot of them, you’ll be needing a fairly chunky battery size and they’re generally not cheap.

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cah197

· #4 · May 2, 2021

Electriornot said:
I need to do a 230 mile journey twice a month (a303) mainly going at 70mph.
I have roughly 12-18k.very little other driving no commute.

Crucially for the next 8-20 months I have no way to charge at home. But potentially could one way (in London).

I was recommended the zoe ze40 or newer one but not sure it will get me there especially in winter without 2 30-40 min charges.

So it depends how committed you are to the cause.

If you have no daily commute then you might find you can charge something like a Zoe once a week when you do your weekly shop (remember the Zoe has 22 kA AC charging).

These days there are plenty of charging options on the A303. So you’d need one stop each way to get there in a Zoe 40.

It is possible, so long as you are happy to be flexible.

As people say, it can be a real hassle not having home charging. Having said that, we haven’t charged our Zoe at home for the past 6 months. We just do it when we go out shopping as there are decent chargers near us.

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srichards

· #5 · May 2, 2021

For that journey pattern and no home charging I'd want a 400 mile capable car to be certain of doing it without charging a lot to give yourself leeway. Motorway speed and cold weather chop the WLTP range nearly in half.

Do you pass any tesla superchargers in your normal journeys? Or are there any tesla destination chargers where you go?

Without home charging I think you'd go off electric very quickly indeed. There are people that have done it.

If you want to find out without committing yourself long term then renting one via Onto might be your best option. You could then try it for a month and see if it works or not. They are limited to 1000 miles a month so there might be over mileage charges depending on your particular month.

All-Inclusive Electric Car Subscriptions | Onto

Onto is an electric car subscription service that is more flexible than leasing. Electric cars available with insurance, charging & maintenance. Switch to Onto today!

on.to

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KenB

· #6 · May 2, 2021

Hybrids are suitable for shorter journeys where most if not all of it can be on the batt so it would not seem suitable for your needs and you would be lugging around the extra weight and costs and therefore decreased efficiency.

A modern diesel working at motorway speeds is at its best and by far the most suitable for your requirements.

That is unless you want to become green and are prepared to give time to charging. The historic problems of on route charging have disappeared but there is still the time cost.

You do not say if you can charge at your destination or near by, this would be the deal breaker for me.

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80698

· #7 · May 2, 2021

I have driven EVs for about 10 years now and at no point had the ability to easily charge at home. It is possible, but it can be inconvenient at times, especially at the start while you get used to it and find the routine that works for you.

If you have good charging nearby, or at your supermarket of choice, place of work etc. then it's easy enough to do. The only other thing to note would be the long distance trip you do. You need to make sure you can easily charge along there.

If you get the Zoe ZE40 You are probably best off getting the Q90 Variant. The range is very slightly shorter than the R90/R110 models, but it charges faster (up to 43kW vs up to 22kW) Which would shorten the time you are at a charger topping up. As has already been said above me, the journey should be possible on only one charge rather than 2.

The Zoe ZE50 has a larger battery pack. In good weather if you take it easy you could possibly even do it without charging in one of them, but in most cases especially as it gets colder you will still need a top up. You can also specify CCS Rapid charging on the ZE50 model which will make these top ups even quicker and easier (There's generally more CCS rapid chargers than AC rapids out there)

The Hyundai and Kia cars with 64kWh batteries would be your best bet for being able to comfortably do this without worrying about charging, but that would only be possible if you can stretch the budget. Otherwise I agree one of the Zoes would be best if you definitely want to go with EV and don't mind stopping to recharge.

If you go away from the EV idea, don't bother with a plug-in hybrid. You say that your journeys are mostly these long distance ones with no commute. You're not going to get much benefit and theres simply more expense and more to go wrong. Just get yourself something efficient and with low emissions at that point.

As Srichards above me just suggested, there is always ONTO. Even if you just try them out for a month to get an idea of how it could work for you. They have both the Renault Zoe ZE40 and ZE50, as well as the Hyundai Kona 64kWh all available. You can add extra miles if necessary. Use code 'cada7' if you do sign up and you can get £50 off the first month for trying them out.

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dk6780

· #8 · May 2, 2021

As above, ON.TO is the way to find out if it works for you.
The other alternative, subject to exact locations and times are trains and taxis. Having a car JUST for use twice a month is very expensive. Of course if you do use it at other times then it makes more sense and a small PHEV like the Mercedes A250e will be all electric locally and ultra efficient on longer cruises, and affordable on lease.

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Talaipwros

· #9 · May 2, 2021

Buy a diesel

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Ultron

· #10 · May 2, 2021

Electriornot said:
Hi I have a question on which car you would recommend.

I need to do a 230 mile journey twice a month (a303) mainly going at 70mph.
I have roughly 12-18k.very little other driving no commute.

Crucially for the next 8-20 months I have no way to charge at home. But potentially could one way (in London).

I was recommended the zoe ze40 or newer one but not sure it will get me there especially in winter without 2 30-40 min charges.

So with electric out? what is my next best move plugin or hybrid? Please help very confused what to go for.

Drive slower (55-60mph) or rapid charge once each way, or get richer, or come back in 5 years. Whithout home charging even a PHEV is not worth it. Get a Diesel.

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donald

· #11 · May 2, 2021

Electriornot said:
Hi I have a question on which car you would recommend.

I need to do a 230 mile journey twice a month (a303) mainly going at 70mph.
I have roughly 12-18k.very little other driving no commute.

Crucially for the next 8-20 months I have no way to charge at home. But potentially could one way (in London).

I was recommended the zoe ze40 or newer one but not sure it will get me there especially in winter without 2 30-40 min charges.

So with electric out? what is my next best move plugin or hybrid? Please help very confused what to go for.

Can you please help me understand why you 'need' to mainly go at 70mph.

Not only does this seem an unnecessary restriction on your conditions, there is simply no way you can sustain 70mph on the A303.

If you bumble along with the trucks you will do 230 miles easy enough in a 50kWh Zoe. Just leave 15 minutes earlier and your destination arrival time will be the same as 'aiming' for 70. You will also add less to CO2 impact.

If you want an EV to reduce environmental impact, why is 15 mins of your time more important than unnecessary CO2 emissions?

Just bear in mind with a Zoe that you have no heating in winter, if you also want a car with air conditioning. Forget 40kWh cars.

Get a Korean 60kWh thing.

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Hitstirrer

· #12 · May 2, 2021

Used Tesla can be affordable these days and would eat your conditions.

2014 Green Tesla Model S E 85 CVT 5dr for sale for £23990 (autotrader.co.uk)

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Johnny Read

· #13 · May 2, 2021

Talaipwros said:
Buy a diesel

or a prius/variant to get an equivalent cost per mile.

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Aleras

· #14 · May 2, 2021 (Edited)

You would be looking at one or more charge in each direction to get a pure EV in that budget with those miles. Plus no home charging.

The only EV that could do that sort of range in the budget would be a BMW I3 Rex I think. It has a range extending motor. I think an I3 Rex can do around 200 miles with the petrol generator. 120 miles electric only.

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HandyAndy

· #15 · May 2, 2021

What's the position re driving into London with a diesel/petrol powered car? Ar you going into the centre, or into a zone where cars producing emissions are likely to be targetted for high fees/bans? Plenty of cities are starting to get fidgetty about allowing any ICE cars into them. Personally I wouldn't buy a diesel if you tried to give it to me - I hate the smell that even supposedly "new" ones make. And the sh*t/smoke that comes out when they have to purge/recycle the DPF stuff is appalling. Add to that the unreliability of dual-mass flywheels, EGR valves clogging up, I'd take a Phev over a diesel any day. In effect you get a "nearly free" gallon of petrol at the start of the trip, plus the ability to fill the battery en-route up the motorway, if it's empty, enough to give you 15-30 miles EV driving when inside the populated area. London air's bad enough imho without adding any more pollution there.

The non-plugin Hybrid EVs just don't have the battery capacity to do that, so I'd rule those out completely, myself. Maybe look at Hyundai Ioniq PHEV? Golf GTE? etc.

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Electriornot

Discussion Starter · #16 · May 2, 2021

KenB said:
Hybrids are suitable for shorter journeys where most if not all of it can be on the batt so it would not seem suitable for your needs and you would be lugging around the extra weight and costs and therefore decreased efficiency.

A modern diesel working at motorway speeds is at its best and by far the most suitable for your requirements.

That is unless you want to become green and are prepared to give time to charging. The historic problems of on route charging have disappeared but there is still the time cost.

You do not say if you can charge at your destination or near by, this would be the deal breaker for me.

Thanks for that. Yes I can charge locally at my destination but not so easily from Cornwall which is where I spend the most time. I'm thinking ze40 but will have to stop for 30 mins or longer? For the 230 mile journey

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srichards

· #17 · May 2, 2021

I had a ZE40. With the normal 22kWh charging it will take 2 hours to get to full roughly. One hour for a half fill. The Q Zoe isn't massively quicker unless you let it get right down to 10% before you charge up, then it's a bit quicker but not that much quicker.

For 230 miles I'd think you'd need an hour with 22kW charging roughly. More in winter. It also charges like a slug in very cold weather.

ZE50 might only need a brief CCS top up of 30 minutes roughly. It does go the farthest on a single charge.

The Carwow on all the small cars is useful...

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cah197

· #18 · May 2, 2021

donald said:
Not only does this seem an unnecessary restriction on your conditions, there is simply no way you can sustain 70mph on the A303.

Clearly you’ve never driven the A303 at 03:00 once the police have removed the caravan debris from the carriageway.

70 mph average is easy.

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MrMoonUK

· #19 · May 2, 2021

70mph on the a303 😂😂😂

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SoulGW

· #20 · May 2, 2021

Tesla or something 64kw from the Koreans will be splendid for you - in the very worst depths of winter at 5 degrees or less you will have to either slow down (55-60 at most) or have some form of charge at some point - but easy the rest of the time.

Sadly I don't know if your budget will get you into one of these. But think on that it's cheaper to buy better once, than buy badly twice.....

So get the CAR that does the right job. If your budget is £18k - what have you based that on? If it's a monthly payment, given your vastly reduced running costs, maybe up that a little? Or if it's cash, given your reduced running costs, a small bank loan to top up?

Basically, I have no home charger, but there are lots of free points near me (you may not have, but check local Tesco / Asda / car parks etc for free chargers - I save £200 a month on fuel - so that in itself gets you about £10k loan.....

If you can't get something with a 60 KWH battery +, consider waiting a bit, or going ICE...... Nothing worse than an EV that frustrates constantly!

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