Wez Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Hey All, I like everyone on here I guess is very much against the electric car, it doest really work in the real world but yesterday a mate who works in the car industry popped over with a brand new Nissan Leaf, my first thoughts were it looked like crap from the outside Once inside though it was very nice, the dash was quite funky and I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was to drive, its very eerie not having any engine noise but the instant torque from the motors was nice and it pulled quite well up to about 40mph. The main issue as with all cars would be the range, when my mate handed me the key it had 77 mile range, with my max 2 mile drive I had managed to drop that to 70 miles It didn't feel any heavier or sluggish compared to a normal petrol car in the same class, handled OK and the brakes were very good. Overall a surprise as I wanted to hate it but I didn't, maybe I am getting old As far as I am aware there is still no solution in place for any electric car when the 5yr battery life is up, what do you do, this in itself is a show stopper surely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 It may be nice to drive, but it sure does look disgusting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 It may be nice to drive, but it sure does look disgusting! Eaxctly, although I think the Chevy Volt looks a lot better and thanks to the petrol generator has much better range and can be topped up with fuel if needed http://images.chevroleteurope.com/b7e9611c9e374c6865022e2fecb12300ade30fca/volt-my11-new-modeloverview-interim-01.jpeg?tags=ch-lhd%2Cmodel%2Cmy2011%2Cvolt-vo01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Eaxctly, although I think the Chevy Volt looks a lot better and thanks to the petrol generator has much better range and can be topped up with fuel if needed http://images.chevroleteurope.com/b7e9611c9e374c6865022e2fecb12300ade30fca/volt-my11-new-modeloverview-interim-01.jpeg?tags=ch-lhd%2Cmodel%2Cmy2011%2Cvolt-vo01 That's gorgeous in comparison. I don't think I could ever bring myself to own an electric car, it just doesn't seem right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyson Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 My main problem with these is the traffic jams they will cause if you run out of juice, you can't just top it up with a jerry can its a tow job. How many people will gret stuck in traffic and then run out of electricity plus the main place people will use these is in cities where the traffic jams are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyson Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 That's gorgeous in comparison. I don't think I could ever bring myself to own an electric car, it just doesn't seem right. I would have one as a daily and keep the supra for kicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 My main problem with these is the traffic jams they will cause if you run out of juice, you can't just top it up with a jerry can its a tow job. How many people will gret stuck in traffic and then run out of electricity plus the main place people will use these is in cities where the traffic jams are. On the Nissan Leaf yes, but not on the Volt as it has an on-board generator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyson Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 On the Nissan Leaf yes, but not on the Volt as it has an on-board generator Doesn't that defeat the whole point ? I would go for a eagle i-thrust as it has a diesel generator which would give better economy plus it looks hot !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted October 21, 2011 Author Share Posted October 21, 2011 Doesn't that defeat the whole point ? Its still electric and not classed as a hybrid as only one source of power drives the wheels, clever marketing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Plethora Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Battery technology still isn't there yet, almost, but not yet. If there is some infrastructure in place where you could remove your cars battery (standard across all vehicles) and simply swap it out for another unit at a station it would be a good step, it would also get around the 5 year battery quality issue. Still waiting on hydrogen cars at a reasonable cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseys Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Hydrogen power ftw? It's fairly abundant. Trouble as many say, infrastructure does not exist for many of these alternatives. What's needed is a driver to new profits - i.e. new fuels - currently everyone's happy to maintain the status quo. Make an alternative fuel TAX/VAT free for a given period - 5-10 years, whatever it takes to make it to that delta where investment vs loss/profit hits that zero point, so it'd be an incentive for car manufacturers to build the vehicles, energy companies to invest and build alternative fuel points/stations and also make it cheap enough TCO wise for people to buy the vehicles (bar the hippies). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyson Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Hydrogen is the only viable solution to the problem really, as the batteries required for electric cars are more damaging to the environment than a petrol car would be due to what needs to go into to them. Plus they still need to be charged up which comes from a fossil fueled power station, people get too focused on the one good point and negate the many bad ones. Plus what do you do with the millions of batteries once they are done with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noz Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 biofuel. sorted! not `as` green as its made out to be, but any improvement is worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Electric cars are a total novelty with no proper infrastructure for re charging, no easily available info on how much new batteries cost or the environmental impact of making and junking said batteries. Modern small diesels cost a fortune if the injection side goes wrong, you can't beat an ultra light used petrol engined car with as few gizmos as possible for cheap and environmentally friendly motoring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyson Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Electric cars are a total novelty with no proper infrastructure for re charging, no easily available info on how much new batteries cost or the environmental impact of making and junking said batteries. Modern small diesels cost a fortune if the injection side goes wrong, you can't beat an ultra light used petrol engined car with as few gizmos as possible for cheap and environmentally friendly motoring. Bang on all that comes out the back of my Astra is love and kittens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz6002 Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 The Leaf is the best electric car out there right now. It'll do over 100mph if you try hard enough Some funny opinion in this thread though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 I drove the Renault EV at the weekend which is no way near as good. Wouldnt mind trying this version of the Leaf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 I want an electric car. The only problem I have is not having a garage, they push them as commuter cars and good for city use - but people living in cities have to park in the road - usually half a mile from their house - so when do they charge it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 so when do they charge it? At work? You couldn't have one as your only car, as an example my mate had the new Renault EV over the bank holiday weekend, he originally planned to go rock climbing but it was 40 miles away, it wouldn't have enough juice to get there and back and there was no way to charge it once there so he didn't bother going But for work its ideal for most people as they only live a couple miles from work, you could charge once a week at a cost of about £1.50 to £2.00, that's way cheaper than the £35 to £40 a week on petrol, plus you don't have to worry about the petrol prices going up and up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 At work? You couldn't have one as your only car, as an example my mate had the new Renault EV over the bank holiday weekend, he originally planned to go rock climbing but it was 40 miles away, it wouldn't have enough juice to get there and back and there was no way to charge it once there so he didn't bother going But for work its ideal for most people as they only live a couple miles from work, you could charge once a week at a cost of about £1.50 to £2.00, that's way cheaper than the £35 to £40 a week on petrol, plus you don't have to worry about the petrol prices going up and up. So how does that work then? Everyone at work buys an electric car. The employers are expected to install God knows how many separately metered charging points? They'll want to make a profit on their "investment", so the "cheap to run" electric car suddenly becomes dearer, as its fuel costs have just elevated. They are, and will for a good long time, be the choice of the wealthy Greens who want, and can afford, to make a statement. The only statement they make to me is that the driver is either a junior politician, a tree hugging nutter, or he's road testing it for a magazine and silently hoping no one recognises him A total con perpetuated by an ever more desperate Green lobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TubbyTwo Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 Vote Chris Wilson for PM!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 I only consider dictatorial roles, sorry, but thanks for the thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 They are also a way for large OEMs to get their fleet average CO2 figure down to avoid having to pay large fines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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