[a303]

Can I please pick the hive-mind of the e-Niro drivers on here?

I have a 30kwh Leaf at the moment. I love almost everything about it, except the range when on a longer motorway run, especially in cold/wet weather.

I've also got a second car, which basically only gets used for those longer journeys.

I'd like to sell both and replace with one EV.

However, it would need to cope with a 200 mile round trip without charging. That's 100 miles out, and the same back again. No charging at the destination. Mostly motorways, sitting at 70mph.

It would need to do that summer or winter, dry or rain, and with the heater or a/c on! And it would need to get me home with a reasonable margin left so I'm not panicking all the way home about if I'm going to get stuck...

And it would need to do it today, and for the next six or seven years (as that's how long I tend to keep my cars).

It feels like a lot of demands! Can the e-Niro do that? Or am I expecting too much?

I'd really appreciate the wisdom of your experience before I make an expensive mistake!

 

[a303]

A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to answer - I really appreciate your insights!

What I'm taking away from this is that the Niro will do my longer journeys some of the time, but it's going to be pretty tight - probably requiring some compromise in terms of speed or a charging stop - on some occasions.

Given the Niro was absolutely top of my budget, that's a compromise I was hoping not to have to make!

So, if I'm going to have to stop somewhere for a top-up, am I better off buying something more like a Ioniq 38 or an MG5? Admittedly one of those would turn a 10 minute top-up into a slightly longer break, but I could save a good few £thousands on the cost of the car!

I've got to confess to feeling pretty lost: I really want to go full-electric with just the one car; I'm trying to avoid reliance on the public charging network (as my experiences to date haven't been reassuring!); and I just can't work out the best way to do it!

 

[a303]

You've hit a very good point here. Just how much is your time worth per minute, and how often are you doing this 200 mile round trip? Once that is answered, if it is a regular occurrence, can you tell us what the average speed you achieve is for the full journey door-to-door each way? These are more important questions that often are missed, as 70mph will never be the average unless you start on the motorway, finish on the motorway and never have any congestion.

If you do the journey once per month, or 12 times per year and you need to charge once on the return leg for 20 minutes, that is a total of 4 hours per year. £22k will get you a 20 plated Ioniq 38kWh, with less than 6k miles on it, vs £26k for 68 plated Kona 64kWh with 15k miles on it and less warranty left. So if you keep it 7 years you'll have used 28 hours of time, or spent over £142 per hour, and if you want to be pessimistic and call it 36 hours for 7years, then it is £111 per hour. You need to deduct the cost of the charge put into the car, but that would likely be less than £60 per year.
These are just random figures for you since the first question isn't yet answered, and obviously if your journey is time sensitive or you just hate not moving won't help you a great deal. I just though it is nice to see, I don't personally know many people who are paid £111+ per hour, food for thought!

That's a good way to look at it... The e-Niro is (even second hand) very much at the top of my budget. (Possibly outside it, if my wife is looking!) I was trying to convince myself it was worth the extra if it would avoid the compromises of a smaller-range car - mainly having to rely on the rapid charger network (I've not had great experiences when I have used it!)

However if the Niro won't allow me to escape completely, then do I save £££ and stick to an Ioniq or similar. This 200 mile round trip is a (relatively) occasional thing - maybe half a dozen times a year. So the £-per-hour figures for a Niro vs a smaller range car probably look pretty scary...

Or do I accept I can't sensibly get rid of the diesel yet?

Thanks to those who pointed me to ABRP. I've had a play, but it feels quite pessimistic - suggesting the Niro will make the trip only at 60mph in summer. (However, it also says I won't be able to do some of the journeys I've done before in the Leaf, so I'm guessing it's set up to be a little cautious?) That's why these personal insights (even if they are anecdotal) are so helpful!

Anyway, lots of food for thought - so thank you!

 

[a303]

Where is this occasional trip's starting and ending points? I've only had good experiences with rapid charging personally, but a lot would depend on where you are.

I've simplified slightly - I live in Berkshire, and we visit friends or family in Somerset, Essex and Worcestershire. But they're all very similar journeys - 100 miles each way; mostly motorway (or dual carriageway A roads). The Essex one is easy, as they have a home charger I can use. The relevant bits of Somerset and Worcestershire don't have anything helpful nearby... My bad experiences have been with Ecotricity, BP Pulse (or whatever they were called at the time!) and Geniepoint, and can basically be summarised as unreliable chargers!

 

[a303]

Given it is only 6 or so times a year that you make this long journey, OP, and if the vast majority of journeys are then going to be be under, say, 100-120 miles round trip, I’d seriously consider getting something that’s probably more likely to put a smile on your face when you drive it, probably cheaper, charges more quickly and is generally likely to be more fun to own and drive. The current gen Korean cars are generally very sensible, and able, but don’t offer much in the way of driver enjoyment. But it also then comes down to things like what are the roads like where you mostly drive, what chargers are available now / coming soon along the route of your normal longer journeys, what are your space requirements, do you need something with a higher seating position that’s easier to get in and out of etc etc. This video may be enlightening in this regard.

I like your thinking - what would you recommend? It's got to be family transport for 2+2 with enough boot space for a long weekend / week's holiday. Our Diesel, a Volvo V60, does the job. The Leaf is currently a little too tight on boot space. I was thinking that the Niro (or an MG5 or Ioniq) might be somewhere between the two, and hence do the job. But is there anything else I should have on the list to tick the "fun" box?

 

[a303]

To each their own but apparently the OP is interested in EVs, actually already has one, and has the means to buy a better one. I hope we all realize that every EV that replaces a diesel is one step closer to mitigating the effects of the climate crisis.

With that in mind I personally cannot fathom that someone would consider dieseling on just because once in a blue moon they'd have to stop for 10 minutes on a 200 mile journey in order to put some more electrons in the battery.

Hi - OP here!

You're right, Xinix - I'm very much a proponent of EVs. I've been driving electric for more than 4 years; I've encouraged two of my friends to also buy a Leaf each. It's absolutely my go-to for my next car, and I am prepared to make compromises to make that work.

The question is how far I'm willing to compromise, even as a fan of EVs:

I'd have no problem stopping for 10 minutes "once in a blue moon", or even 20 or 30 minutes every time I do those longer journeys IF I had confidence that it would only be a brief stop. However, I've probably used rapid chargers maybe 20 times so far, and about 25% of the time it's proven to be a problem. I've encountered:

• broken chargers (more than once; despite the provider's own website saying they were up and running) leaving me unable to charge
• a long queue (caused by someone using a rapid charger at 3kw to recharge their hybrid)
• chargers refusing to accept payment and hence work
• charges on the map not existing in real life, and vice-versa
• rapid charger cables being locked into my car because the app crashes, leaving me trapped, and requiring a lengthy wait in a phone queue until someone can remotely reset the charger (had that one twice!)

It's this rubbish that I'm really trying to avoid!

And, it's worth not losing sight of the up-front cost of the cars. I can get a c.2 year old e-Niro for just under £30k; I don't know what a petrol or PHEV equivalent would cost - but not too far off half that? OK, i'll recover some of that in running costs, but that extra money up front is a big consideration for me.

Plus, my wife and kids will be in the car for each of these journeys. They don't share my interest in EVs, and will therefore be a lot less understanding if/when something goes wrong.

So, I'm trying to find a way to make this work - I had hoped the e-Niro would be the magic answer that would allow me to go full-electric but yet completely escape the perils of the public charging network. Not sure it 100% achieves that. Which leaves me with having to make some tricky choices!

(Counter-argument: yes the charging network is improving all the time; no, I've not tried Instavolt - maybe they're better and I've been using the dodgy networks and getting a bad experience!)