Electric Vans - Range

[johnb2713]

I heard this on a decent podcast the other day about the extreme costs of independent EV charge points.

I just thought it was worth recounting for the record

So from a point of ignorance if you stop at an independent charge point is it very obvious how much the cost is per kWh ?

Usually yes, when you plug in before you swipe card it will state the kWh rate. It's nice bonus when the comms system goes down they drop down to free vend, fill yer boots! My local council offices have a small business centre next to a supermarket, the charge points there are free vend, I go and do the shopping , have a coffee and I've put 60 miles back in my battery.
I'm under no illusions that it wont last but charging at home from Solar also works well. Before my i3 I had a 4.4 TDV8 Range Rover, I did 12,000 miles per year travelling throughout the UK delivering commercial drone training courses. £120 per week was my average fuel burn, my i3 with the same use I didnt spend £120 in a whole year. I was more than happy in the i3 compared to the Rangie, it is smaller but theres more room behind the wheel.

 

[Murdoch]

I’m almost certainly retiring next year and the van will be sold.

The misses has a Ford Kuga which is great so I’m thinking about a small petrol or ev for all the short local runs we do

Not sure what to do but the £20 ish k the van is will be put to good use

 

[johnb2713]

I’m almost certainly retiring next year and the van will be sold.

The misses has a Ford Kuga which is great so I’m thinking about a small petrol or ev for all the short local runs we do

Not sure what to do but the £20 ish k the van is will be put to good use

Try an EV for a week, you will never go back to ICE. I bought my i3 at 30 months old, extended the BMW warranty and now with 80,000 on the clock the battery has degraded less than 2%. It's carbon fibre so doesnt rust, amazing performance, 0 to 60 is good, 0 to 30 will take anything from lights LOL. Free road tax, BMW service contract including MOT's £525 for three years.

 

[Murdoch]

So how much is a used i3

 

[johnb2713]

So how much is a used i3

When I bought mine I paid £17k, it was a 94A/h battery (33 Kw) and well spec'd, it would all depend on how 'used' it was and the spec. It is a bit of a Marmite car, people love them or hate them but once you've been in one or driven they are universally liked. It is the only car I've had that after 3 years I still look forward to driving it.

 

[Murdoch]

I’ve had a look in line at prices and they seem to be in the right ballpark for us. Mileage isn’t a great issue for us either.

Something to think about. I did a job for the GM at the local BMW recently so maybe I’ll see if he’ll lend us one for a day to try out

 

[johnb2713]

I’ve had a look in line at prices and they seem to be in the right ballpark for us. Mileage isn’t a great issue for us either.

Something to think about. I did a job for the GM at the local BMW recently so maybe I’ll see if he’ll lend us one for a day to try out

Seriously, don't do it if you really don't want one, once you've driven one, you'll want one straight away. As with all electric vehicles, torque is instant, more instant that you could imagine, regen braking is of course standard, take your foot off the accelerator, you won't need to use the brake pedal, mine is still on the original pads at 74,000 miles

 

[NozSpark]

I'm with @johnb2713 on this..... my wife has an EV on notability lease... we wouldn't go back to ICE and I have looked at getting a Maxus eDeliver3 which seems to have the most realistic WLTP figures... just not sure of the size of it yet

 

[PaulieN]

Try an EV for a week, you will never go back to ICE. I bought my i3 at 30 months old, extended the BMW warranty and now with 80,000 on the clock the battery has degraded less than 2%. It's carbon fibre so doesnt rust, amazing performance, 0 to 60 is good, 0 to 30 will take anything from lights LOL. Free road tax, BMW service contract including MOT's £525 for three years.

I've driven the i3 a bit, it really is a great car to drive if you can put up with the weird looks, but it's really nice inside as well. I love the build too, almost nothing to corrode at all on it and the added bonus that door contact in car parks from careless types does nothing to it, they just bounce off the thermoplastic panels, whereas steel & aluminium bodied cars get expensive to put right dents! It's a shame BMW have reverted to conventional panels for the current crop of EV's.

Oh, you'd not beat me on the 0 to 30 sprint mind!

Back on topic, they do need to work on EV van range, they're lagging the latest EV car ranges now by a huge margin. I think the best of the bunch at present is the big battery Mercedes e-Vito, but it's only available as a minibus, the panel gets a smaller battery, and the price is eye watering.

 

[johnb2713]

I've driven the i3 a bit, it really is a great car to drive if you can put up with the weird looks, but it's really nice inside as well. I love the build too, almost nothing to corrode at all on it and the added bonus that door contact in car parks from careless types does nothing to it, they just bounce off the thermoplastic panels, whereas steel & aluminium bodied cars get expensive to put right dents! It's a shame BMW have reverted to conventional panels for the current crop of EV's.

Oh, you'd not beat me on the 0 to 30 sprint mind!

Back on topic, they do need to work on EV van range, they're lagging the latest EV car ranges now by a huge margin. I think the best of the bunch at present is the big battery Mercedes e-Vito, but it's only available as a minibus, the panel gets a smaller battery, and the price is eye watering.

The looks I like except for the back which at first looked like an after thought, it's now grown on me a bit, it is an amazing car for sure.

So what projectile is going to give me a hard time 0 to 30?

 

[PaulieN]

The looks I like except for the back which at first looked like an after thought, it's now grown on me a bit, it is an amazing car for sure.

So what projectile is going to give me a hard time 0 to 30?

Model S Long Range (Although I admit that's the "slower" one, my organs wouldn't survive driving the performance version!)

 

[johnb2713]

Model S Long Range (Although I admit that's the "slower" one, my organs wouldn't survive driving the performance version!)

Nice, very nice, my claim to the traffic light sprint was against ICE cars not a mighty Tesla.
I was working in USA a few years ago and the company gave me a top of the range model X with ludicrous mode OMG, the first time I floored it I thought something had run into the back of me. Awesome car, incredible charging network, stunning in every way.

 

[C.R]

My worry would be when the batteries need replacing, someone down the line is gonna inherit that cost

 

[PaulieN]

Nice, very nice, my claim to the traffic light sprint was against ICE cars not a mighty Tesla.
I was working in USA a few years ago and the company gave me a top of the range model X with ludicrous mode OMG, the first time I floored it I thought something had run into the back of me. Awesome car, incredible charging network, stunning in every way.

Yes, I just can't take the insane speed of the fastest models at all, just makes me feel ill! Mine is more mad than anyone could possibly need already!

 

[PaulieN]

My worry would be when the batteries need replacing, someone down the line is gonna inherit that cost

At some point, yes, usually at least 250k and/or 12 years minimum though first, warranty is 8 years unlimited.

 

[johnb2713]

My worry would be when the batteries need replacing, someone down the line is gonna inherit that cost

Do you worry about replacing your engine and gearbox of your current car?
There’s no evidence of EV batteries needing to be changed except for the Nissan Leaf which has very poor thermal management. When an EV does eventually suffer battery failure, that’s deemed to be when the battery has degraded to 80%, still perfectly usable.

 

[Sharpend]

Do you worry about replacing your engine and gearbox of your current car?
There’s no evidence of EV batteries needing to be changed except for the Nissan Leaf which has very poor thermal management. When an EV does eventually suffer battery failure, that’s deemed to be when the battery has degraded to 80%, still perfectly usable.

I have some drill batteries like that, they are only any good now for the lesser tools, lights and nail gun anything that needs a bit of grunt such as a drill impact or grinder they collapse within minutes!! Are car batteries the same?

 

[C.R]

I don’t worry about replacing my engine or gearbox as it’s correctly serviced and will be good for a few hundred k miles, years after it’s left my possession, I’m not sure these batteries have that sort of longevity

 

[Sharpend]

Talking of EV batteries, I hear they don’t like salt water, apparently they instantaneously combust and can keep reigniting for hours?
According to reports following hurricane Ian in the USA? So does this render them dangerous coastal areas?

 

[C.R]

Or would the cost of replacement batteries potentially write a car off, I had a beemer 330e and I asked at the dealers about expected battery life and they were all told to say, the battery will function perfectly throughout the warranty period of the car, as it turned out i kept it about 12 months before I chopped it in for a Ranger, as I could see the beemer being a money pit out of warranty