An E-piphany!

[squirejo]

The current household cylinder count is 28 and it was 32 until last week when I sold my trusty Fiat 500 Abarth which I use almost exclusively as a London commuter car.

I had been wondering what to get that was cheapish, fun, plenty of pep, hopefully auto, good kit and small. New twingo maybe later this year? Til then I dismissed the new Mini, Audi A1, Polo GT, VW up and others for a combination of factors like poverty spec, price, manual and boring.

Then I drove one of these:


which was a revelation.

Picked the car up yesterday. 20 miles home, dual carriage way and urban stop start. Blooming marvellous. Super smooth drivetrain, more than fast enough (rather sprightly 0-40). So much kit included- touch screen, sat nav, good stereo, Bluetooth inc music streaming, reversing sensors, reversing camera, voice command, auto headlights and wipers, cruise. And the thing I think I will love the most on hot/ cold mornings- remote hvac activation from keyfob or iPhone.

As first impressions go, this has been a very good one.



Always easy to find excuses for a drive with a new car. Been out and about today all urban. I had read the step off regeneration can be harsh but not on mine- very smooth. While I had time on my hands I also went to a public charger (source london) to make sure it worked an I knew what to do. Easier than filing up with petrol. Plug into car and charger, wave source london card at charger and away you go.

It feels quite strange driving past petrol stations knowing they are redundant....and smugly satisfying knowing no congestion charging, no road tax, no service costs, no elec costs, no petrol bill etc etc......

Crap name but more kit, better charger and half the price of a BMW i3.

[hot66]

be interesting to see what real world range is & how long charging takes.

[Midlifecrisis]

Jo looks great, slightly weird filling from the front? Do you have a driveway for charging or will you be laying cable across the pavement? Irony of being in London with an electric car is that yes there are lots of charging places in town, but most people don't have driveways (let alone garages). Be interested to know, I've looked at electric cars for a while now but can't imagine how to charge them without tripping someone up.

[KS]

So... what about the battery life and replacement costs? End of life disposal? The environmental cost of generating the electricity to recharge the car?

[hot66]

Keith, just checked on the renault website & it appears you pay a monthly charge to rent the battery ... if it drops below 75% condition Renault replace it FOC

Shame the range on any of these isn't better for those of us out in the country , 120 mile theoretical limit isn't enough , especially when they say it might reduce to 64 miles during winter

[Darren65]

And private plate too!

[squirejo]

All good questions. Jos- I do not have OSP, so am reliant on public chargers, but, they now also sell a slow charge 'granny cable' (for use at your granny's house) which works from a standard domestic socket. Which handily my work parking space has. The govt support means anyone can have a 3kw charger installed at home and the car, or an extra 100quid gets a 7kw. I will be having one installed at my garage where the Pork lives v close to my house and there are on street chargers 5 min stroll from both work and home.

Most London chargers are 7kw which means 3-4hrs full charge. Ecotricity (as name suggests, no fossil fuels, lots of wind) have rolled out mega rapid chargers already at all m-way services on m4 and m40 that give you 80% in 30 mins. Basically, the infrastructure is already quite good and growing significantly (3 times the number in london over next 3 yrs for example). Don't forget Tesla rollout soon too.

I do 12 miles a day, prob 4 days a week so range will never be an issue. Other owners who do m-way/ A road commutes as opposed to my urban trip report 80 mile plus up to 110. Range is affected most by speed and ambient temp.

As for the battery- Renault lease it. bMW do not. Pros and cons, but, in my case, if the performance deteriorates below 75% original capacity they replace it for free. As for the environmental stuff, the lack of choking diesel particles is enough for me and I am sure a lot of Londoners and Parisiens would agree based on recent episodes. Whatever, I think it's fair to say the future has arrived so start getting used to it! I am quite sure they will be pretty good at harvesting the precious stuff at the end of the service life. Which is another reason renault lease The battery. Cheapest tarif is 45 a month.

And Jos- last time I laid cable on a footpath was a drunken kebab related emergency 20 yrs ago.

[Midlifecrisis]

And Jos- last time I laid cable on a footpath was a drunken kebab related emergency 20 yrs ago.

Come on it wasn't that long ago.......

[KS]

Playing devil's advocate... Should there not be a power station or two built in London or Paris to supply the electricity for the cars that are sold on the premise that they don't pollute the atmosphere? But as long as the electricity is generated somewhere else by a power station in somebody else's neighbourhood, maybe it doesn't matter.

Just being mischievous on a Saturday evening. I'd be fascinated to drive one – not driven an electric car since getting behind the wheel of a converted Golf Cabrio in California about 15 years ago. I was certainly impressed by the (instant) torque!

[Midlifecrisis]

Playing devil's advocate... Should there not be a power station or two built in London or Paris to supply the electricity for the cars that are sold

Perhaps we could if they stopped building £1m bedsits where they used to be....

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/m ... edsit-sale

[Sam]

Keep us advised of how you get on dude.

I do 70 miles max a day of sub 60mph driving and have been and driven the Zoe and the i3 and am close to saying yes to the Renault.

I'm fairly sure an 80mpg petrol will be just as cheap and, as Keith says, the environmental comparisons are difficult to make but I like new technology

[impmad2000]

I drove a Zoe last year, and loved it. Drove a few at a low carbon vehicle event last year. E smart was a bit too small, but did have adjustable regen braking effort. I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't adjustable in a Zoe too. One thing that was a surprise was the "creep" when you take your foot off the brake, just like an auto. An electric car needn't do this at all! I guess it makes it feel familiar. I tried the Vauxhall Ampera too previously. With a motor-generator built in, it is really useful with 300 miles range, and ~80 miles from the plug in charge. It will be interesting to see how you get on with this. I'd have one ! And a porsche too !

[911hillclimber]

Interesting to have one of these in the 'Fold', please keep up updated with the daily routine.

For work these car are the future. I think they should be 2 or single seaters though (ie Smart car) for the commute to reduce traffic; but it is a growing new world.

These are the new 'run about' for modern life, 'Dad's Taxi' stuff for the kids etc.

The next step must be regenerative braking to get some of the energy back into the battery(30%?)

Soon have FWD with motor/dynamo in each front hub....with a small disc brake to help it stop when pushed.

As to charging with the polution 'elsewhere' (so true), but we all have such roof space for solar panels at home and at work. 'Free' charging (or partial replenishment) while at work for 6 hours?

[squirejo]

Interesting to see the level of interest! It already has regeneration via both motor and braking. Appears to put about 20% back in vs amount used. Whizzed into Knightsbridge last night for dinner and whizzed back 4-up. Hardly dented performance.

[impmad2000]

I'm in the innovation industry, I get involved in many bits if new technology. I have spent the last 3 years working on what could be the next big automotive traction motor. I went to Geneva motor show with it last year. things in the EV world will change lots in the next 10 years. When you look at the figures, it Is far easier to make a high performance EV than a 4 seater that can me filled with stuff for a day out! With no gearbox, direct drive to the wheels, you MUST have enough torque to get everyone up a hill. Not since our 1908 Renault has it really been acceptable for the passengers to get out and push ! If you can get everyone up the hill, performance is a given !