IDD15

Forgot to mention the pre heated front screen is not so necessary as most ev will allow you to pre condition car from phone app or on car timer. Very nice on winter morning. Idd

Range - my experience in 5.5 years of driving both 30 and 40 kWh Leafs. Bear in mind both these vehicles contain roughly one gallon of petrol in terms of energy. Warning YMMV! Range is the most difficult item to consider when buying an EV. People tend to focus on how far you can go, I think it is more helpful to think of it in terms of a round trip to your most frequent “long range” destination. When driving an ICE vehicle you are not as aware how much environmental factors are lowering your mpg, and you’re carrying so much spare energy it is almost irrelevant. In comparison in an EV with its better metering and monitoring you become very aware. As an example one trip in the 30 Leaf took 30% of the battery one sunny winters afternoon. Coming back that evening in “son of Beast from the East” with 50mph headwinds and driving sleet and rain the car used 60%! It would have been the same for any ICE but you would only have noticed when you had to pay at the pump. In my case my daily commute is 16 miles, no problem. Longest frequent fortnightly round trip is 110 miles, not quite so easy in 30 kWh Leaf bearing in mind the above.40 kW Leaf no problem. If you can easily charge at your destination that changes the equation again. Zap Map is your friend for long distance. It is well worth having a look at what chargers are in the area your travelling to. think most people on here would be surprised at just how much charging infrastructure is around. In summary buy the smallest battery you can with the fastest charge capability. Would I go back to ICE, and give up my near silent, super smooth, instant torque magic carpet? Not even if you paid me. HTH idd

Yes. Nissan and Cranfield have been working on V2G for quite some time and the conclusion was because of the quite small amounts of power taken and the fact that the EV battery is carefully managed by the V2G system battery life was not degraded and was (counter intuitively) enhanced. BBC article There have been quite a few V2G projects in the UK since the above article was published and I’ve not seen anything to suggest Nissan vehicles taking part have experienced problems with their drive batteries as a result of these projects. idd

Rich This may get you an electric car and prove an interesting retirement project in one. Keep that Fiesta going! Electric car kit cheers idd

Absolutely JD, go for it. Probably not a cheap option but may be worth enquiring? Fully Charged Green Laning Things get really interesting though when you stick a motor on each wheel… Rivian cheers idd

I think it only fair we should acknowledge the subsidies handed out to ICE drivers: Autumn Budget Fuel duty has been frozen since 2011 and now reduced: Fuel duty rates 2022-2023 As the saying goes “the only two certainties in life are death and taxes” ? idd

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) released the new car registration figures for April yesterday. Zap Map have provided a summary page which I’ve linked to below. Thought it would be interesting to compare these new figures to were we were when this thread started. Sales of Battery Electric Vehicles were up 40% compared to April 2021 at 12889 vehicles Surprisingly sales of Plug in Hybrids were down 33% on the same period to 6449 vehicles Sales of all types of cars were down 15.8% to just short of 120,000 vehicles. There are now around 470K BEV and 385K PHEV cars on the road in the UK. In contrast by the end of 2018 there were just short of 60K plug-in cars on the road. In terms of public charging devices there are now 31506 devices which represents a 35% year on year increase. There are now in excess of 5700 rapid (50kW) and ultra-rapid (100kW) chargers. The year-on-year growth in the number of ultra-rapid chargers is 74% with 1600 of those devices being available. In 2018 there were just 11054 devices and of those there were just 1571 rapid (50kW) chargers. I think Tesla had also introduced around 476 ultra-rapid chargers by then. The other (obvious) thing to mention is that the choice of EV’s is also much improved, I think in 2018 you had a choice of the Tesla Model S and X, the Leaf and the ZOE and maybe a couple of others. ev-database.uk is a useful site that lists all the available EV models in the UK. Don’t recall there being an entry for the Sinclair C5… So, vehicle electrification is continuing to progress, but there is still quite some way to go. TTFN idd Zap Map April Sales Figures

Problem is EV’s have had a lot, and still have, a long way to go to being accepted. You only have to go back a few pages to the early days of this thread to see that, milk floats etc etc. So consequently EV’s are on a quest for “jack rabbit” acceleration and ever more range, couple that with everyone (really?) wanting an SUV for the shopping and we are where we are. The Sinclair C5 approach failed, so the Tesla strategy of building something awesome and working downwards to everyday is what (nearly) all the manufacturers are doing. You’re not wrong about the “fleshy bit” behind the wheel. ? idd

I'm sorry but that statement is sooo 2018! ? It has apparently been replaced with "broken charger anxiety", I kid you not. To be fair I think people have got a point with this one having been caught by this issue a couple of times this past month, thank you BP Pulse....? However with the likes of charging networks Instavolt, Gridserve and Osprey with their new reliable super chargers installed as hubs and dedicated electric forecourts, things are improving rapidly. 4 Fast charges there and back to Fully Charged, so around 440 miles, with no waiting and no broken chargers with these networks. Cheers idd

Finally the TRON motorcycle in real life. Absolutely awesome, and from the way it took off on test drives bottom end torque is not an issue... Enjoy idd

Lots of converted classics on show and in the car park. Sadly no flux capacitor in this one but plenty of the conventional kind no doubt in its drive system.

Next up the Carver. Classed as a motorbike but driven like any other electric car. All the people who drove this (including Mrs idd and idd jnr) always came away with smiles a mile wide. Also available in a cargo version, but you would still struggle to get your 1/4 scale hack in it.

Seems I goofed trying to upload the pics from Fully Charged, quite how I could see them and everyone else couldn't seems a bit bizarre. So anyway we'll try again one at a time. First up my dream future model carrier, the VW IDBuzz. Given the length of the queues just to sit in it I think it will be a bit popular. idd

Well yes I do know quite a bit about Norway and why a new grid interconnect has just come into operation between our electricity network and theirs. Yes, Norway appears to have been a damn sight cleverer than us Brits in how it has benefitted from N Sea oil and gas. Quite why you think I am an advocate for Shell, Nuclear and Fracking escapes me as I am not aware of having made any posts doing so, and in fact my position is quite the opposite. Also having worked for many years in sales and marketing I find it deeply insulting to be called a professional liar. But if it makes you happy, then so be it. idd

That's interesting, one of the reasons we went to the FC show was to have a look at the new Swytch bike conversion kit as we have been thinking of converting our hybrids for a while. We were very impressed and got to try it on both a Brompton and a conventional step through. Another motivation to do this is that we will have a purpose made cycle track very soon that passes right by our club flying field, so I'm thinking Swytch kit and a cycle trailer! I think given you and your wife's "travel history" you should try and get a test drive in the Carver. It is actually classed as a motorbike but you drive it like any other electric car. Both Mrs idd and my son tried it and came back from test drives with smiles a mile wide! ? cheers idd

Good position, open mind and keeps your options open. But to say all we have seen is window dressing is I think perhaps a bit demeaning to all the people who are genuinely getting their hands dirty to make a massive change for the better. But to each their own. Idd

I'd be careful taking that one. Norway bans ICE sales in 2025, but all the signs are sales of ICE will be near zero in 2023. Perhaps the same will happen here? Idd

Went off bikes when I witnessed a poor chap launched into a series of somersaults courtesy of a driver who turned across his path. Can still hear the sound of him hitting the road to this day. Horrible. Given the number of bike garage queen's I see around here perhaps 100km range is sufficient for that particular market today?

Dear Debs Funny you should mention Shell https://www.zap-map.com/ubitricity-prepares-rapid-growth-charging/ As the owner of the largest number of charge points in the UK could this be a case of leopards and spots? Guess we won't know till 2025 to see if they make those numbers. Chin up love. Just think you may never have to wear eau de derv ever again if you go electric! ? Stay safe Idd

Oooh goodness people do have the "debby downers" in this thread today! Come on chaps cheer up. One of the great things about going to the Fully Charged Show was seeing a lot of people really working on the problems we face and coming up with some great products. I mean who would have thought you could get a DeLorean to perform? Or that the motorcycles in TRON would become reality? Or that you could fly a drone without goggle thingies strapped to your face? That my next model carrier would be so hip and trendy that I'd have to wear a Hawaiian shirt to the field? Or that personal transport could be such fun?

Actually they are using electric buses from the car parks. Used them last year in York from the park and ride. Much more pleasant than the rattly old oil burners. ? Idd Be quiet, smell nice, drive electric.

Trevor We've just got back from a great day at the show. You need to be here queuing to get in well before 10 am to give you the best chance of booking test drives. The Cinch stand is really good because they had quite a wide range of cars to choose from. We tested the ID3 and a model 3 with them. Cinch test drives lasted 30 minutes over different road types so really quite useful. No booking required for ebikes, scooters etc. Just turn up and have fun. We are there again tomorrow and it's half as good as today it will be brilliant! ? Hope you have a good day. Idd

As a 40kWhr Leaf driver that is a consideration not to be underestimated as we are doing three days at the show! ? I’ve told Mrs idd to take a book, or two. But I could be single again come Monday! idd

Oooh nice idea, a clubmate has one and it’s a very good flyer. My only doubt would be whether the wing section would work for a soarer. If it didn’t work it wouldn’t really matter as it could be electrified for the field and nothing would be lost. Definitely worth some serious thought even though it might be stepping a bit outside the original intentions of the build! thx idd

I like the idea as well, but must admit am a bit stumped as to what to build. My thought processes have revolved around Flitetest and fold up profile fuselages but that’s about as far as I’ve got! Anyone got any design ideas they’re happy to share? ? thx idd