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Post by Grampa on Oct 18, 2021 10:14:04 GMT
Following on from this thread: themotorforum.co.uk/thread/2820/soon-all-electricAnd also the way the motoring press talks about electric cars as though half of us are already driving them (round here a few are appearing - a few Teslas but sadly most of the them the worst looking one so far, the ID3)... ...I haven't even come close to driving an electric car yet - how about you? |
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Post by humphreythepug on Oct 18, 2021 10:39:56 GMT
Loads of electric cars around here, many Tesla's, the odd Polestar, a few ID3, ZOE's, Hyundai, Kia pretty much everything but then I work within the M25 and live just outside of the M25 so a) wealthy areas and b) close proximity to London.
I drive a ZOE most of the time and have done on and off since 2013, probably helps that sell them!!
A friend of the wife, her brother who lives in Las Vegas, rang her one day and told her to go to Tesla order what you want for you and the 2 kids (his niece and nephew) and he'll pay for them, their 3 new Model 3's are expected in November.
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 18, 2021 11:21:23 GMT
Nope, I've not come close to driving an electric car yet (not even a hybrid) unless you include fairground dodgem cars or a golf buggy - one place where I worked had 3 units on an industrial estate and we had a couple of golf buggies to move stuff around between them. Very, very occasionally when I was helping out Stores or Production build, I got to drive them
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Post by PetrolEd on Oct 18, 2021 11:25:16 GMT
No, which bothers me somewhat. What if all my prejudices are completely unfounded and a Tesla Model 3 is actually the next coming.
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Post by Martin on Oct 18, 2021 11:59:56 GMT
I've had a very short drive in my bosses Model 3 Performance around MK. It was long enough to know the performance would take some adjusting to, but not long enough to get a decent impression of how it drives as all you want to do when you have a short time in one is experience that instant shove.
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Post by johnc on Oct 18, 2021 12:07:20 GMT
We have now covered nearly 9,000 miles in the i-Pace in just over a year and I can confidently say that a lot of the apparent prejudices are just that.
The car corners way quicker than you would imagine, remaining flat and controlled due to the low centre of gravity. The acceleration is in a different league to 90+% of the cars on the road, not just in the amount of shove in the back but by the immediacy as soon as you hit the accelerator: no lag, no increase in revs, just an immediate great thump in the back. It is quiet and very comfortable and for any journey of c200 miles it is the perfect car. Over that distance you need to charge away from home which is where the current lack of infrastructure shows that the country is a long way from being able to sustain everyone in an electric vehicle at the moment. It will improve but I seriously doubt that by 2030 we will be more than half way to the infrastructure required.
When it comes to spirited driving you have two choices: crank the regeneration up to full and largely drive on one pedal or dial it down to minimum and use the brakes. I quite enjoy driving with maximum regeneration. It isn't quite as quick as full throttle, full brakes but it gives a really quick and smooth flow once you get used to it and it is satisfying in its own way.
The move from ICE to EV's is nowhere as big a step as the move from horses to ICE but it does give a whole new experience although it doesn't tickle some of the senses that ICE cars do. In particular we don't have the aural delight of a straight 6 or a V8 but much as I will miss them too I think we just need to man up and accept that this change is coming whether we like it or not.
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Post by Big Blue on Oct 18, 2021 12:17:21 GMT
My new steed is a hybrid and I clearly have experience of that but not of a full electric car.
What I can say about Eva is that the most noticeable thing is the silence in traffic and even up to driving speeds. I’m aware I’ve had it a month so might do a report but as I haven’t even put any petrol in it thus far my user experience is still a bit “ooh, shiny.” It has made me drive more conservatively but this has been offset by my ragging the Mini a bit more.
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Post by Ben on Oct 18, 2021 12:32:01 GMT
As you can imagine, with my job, I've driven quite a few electric cars myself. The one that impressed me the most was the Porsche Taycan, because it felt like a proper performance car and not some glorified fast golf cart.
I've also driven a Chinese BYD electric van thing, and that was proper shite.
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Post by Andy C on Oct 18, 2021 12:47:00 GMT
My work van is full electric
The instant shove is great, as is having an auto , and it really is smooth.
I’ve got a home charger, which takes about 12 hours to fully charge , but there’s loads of rapid chargers about where I live now (80% charge in 40min)
I get about 180-200 miles range , which I think is really good for the size and weight of this thing .
I’ve had a passenger ride in a Tesla model S 75. Again ,The shove is mighty - you’d never get bored of it , but give me a bit less acceleration and some noise any day
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Post by racingteatray on Oct 18, 2021 13:26:36 GMT
Nope, not yet. I've had a poke about in all three models of Tesla, and been a passenger in a Tesla (friends of our have a Model X which they drove all the way to Puglia and back last summer).
I will try the BMW i4 when it comes out, and I do want to try both the Fiat 500e and the Honda e (which I wish had a slightly better range because I love just about everything else about it).
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Post by garry on Oct 18, 2021 13:31:48 GMT
I've driven quite a few EVs. JohnC nails it. As well as the Etron, I've also driven an ipace, a tesla model s, a taycan 4s, a mini e, even a fiat 500 electric convertible!
In reverse order of preference:
The Telsa did nothing for me. Fast but very cheap feeling. Had no soul. Felt like a fast golf cart.
The Mini is fine but the range is nuts
The 500e was loads of fun. I could see this working for many. Felt like a very slightly more grown up version of a 500 with a significant uplift in quality,
Audi etron is the most refine EV I've driven. A pudding on a B road, but a dream on the motorway
Jaguar ipace is a great piece of kit. Not as refined as the etron but way better dynamically. I would have gone for one if I'd not got a knock out deal on the audi and I didn't have a GTS on order.
The Taycan is outstanding. It feels like a Porsche sports car but rides amazingly well. A car that would definitely get you out of bed early for a Sunday morning blast, but manage a motorway trip with quiet ease. The soundtrack might be muted, but the senses get overloaded in other ways. If you like Porsches I'd challenge you not to like a Taycan. I'm still contemplating a Taycan Cross Turismo
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Post by johnc on Oct 18, 2021 13:43:05 GMT
I'm still contemplating a Taycan Cross Turismo Ditto! |
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Post by PG on Oct 18, 2021 14:52:42 GMT
I drove a Mk 1 Nissan Leaf at a test day soon after they came out. I expected the worst but was impressed, especially by the silence. Of course, the interior was cheap and it didn't look good, but that was no different to many white goods day to day cars.
I've also driven an i-Pace and that is clearly the other extreme. But again, leaving aside the shove available, the refinement and silence on the move were what struck me most and are what would convert me to getting an electric car.
BEV's are coming whether we like it or not. So I just hope enough of them can be good looking, comfortable or fit for function (like towing). And that not too many look like noddy cars - yes I'm looking at you VW.
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Post by rodge on Oct 18, 2021 15:17:36 GMT
I’ve driven a Tesla Model S.
It was a few years old and had an older version of the self driving function on it- having fewer cameras than the current models.
It was quick, it was quiet, the self drive was impressive and way ahead of any of the other manufacturers I’ve tried (Toyota, Kia, Hyundai) especially considering it was an older version.
That said, we spent more time sitting at the supercharger that day than actually driving it as the owner took zoom meetings while he charged.
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Post by cbeaks1 on Oct 18, 2021 21:20:02 GMT
Aside from the i3 and Kuga hybrid I have driven a couple of fairly unusual electric cars. We had Th!nk electric cars as pool cars for a while around 2001 which I used a couple of times, and also drove a Peugeot iOn at a Municipal sales event in Aviemore. I feel safe in saying they have improved a lot in the last 20 years.
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Post by Blarno on Oct 25, 2021 11:21:29 GMT
I drove an i3 very briefly back in 2015, had a go at the automatic parking thing, which was amusing for 5 minutes and then I had to look at the awful interior again. Othewr than being a passenger in a P100D Tesla, not been near an electric car since.
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