I drove an electric car and I liked it.

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I drove an electric car and I liked it.

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

With acknowledgement to Katy Perry!
Are you going to give it a try :?: Have you had a test drive :?: What did you think :?:
This thread may not get immediate use, but when you do go for a test drive either with your nearest EV seller, or you have a special trip to Milton Keynes, or you have a go of a friends tell the assembled FCF throng about it here.
You could do worse than try out an MGZS EV they even come in Red
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I was doing a bit of EV chatting to the Owner of a MGZS EV this morning who couldn't have been more enthusiastic about it. Enthusiasm sells. 7 year warranty to boot and they also now have an Estate in their stable the MG5 EV. To quote him
Once you have driven one of these you will never go back to a combustion engine car. They are fantastic :!: "
Like me he runs a detached hybrid, but the ICE part of his hybrid a 3 year old diesel is hardly ever used. He was looking to replace the diesel it but told me the trade-in price offered was pitiful. The shape of things to come.

On many levels now is the best time to get an electric car. Taxation hasn't caught up with Vehicle Excise Duty/or use of home electricity as a road "fuel" yet. If you have off-road parking there is absolutely no problem with getting a home charger installed should you wish, without putting out the lights off for the rest of your street. Many manufacturers package up home-charging and link with energy companies, some even pay you to allow vehicle-to-grid charging while your vehicle is plugged in.

Through your employer, and many are switched on, salary sacrifice schemes are a very tax efficient method of acquiring a new electric vehicle, and better than any deal you can get walking into a showroom. This thread here has a brief introduction Salary Sacrifice-Acquiring a new car with a useful video from NHS fleet solutions.
Any employer can do it.

Apart from all the incentives, the change is the most interesting and exciting thing which has happened to motoring since I passed my test in 1977 and flew solo for the first time in our Austin 2200 Mk III. :-D

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Re: I drove and electric car and I liked it.

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I've never bought a new car and doubt if I will pay over thirty grand for one now. :-D
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Re: I drove and electric car and I liked it.

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Gibbo2286 wrote: 23 Feb 2021, 12:42 I've never bought a new car and doubt if I will pay over thirty grand for one now. :-D
Nor me and but I talked myself into taking the plunge with ten grand for a second-hand Leaf, and its cheaper (finance included/residual value assumed) than running a £100 Micra. This thread reveals all :-D

Bargain Basement Electric

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Re: I drove an electric car and I liked it.

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NewcastleFalcon wrote: 23 Feb 2021, 12:20 With acknowledgement to Katy Perry!
Are you going to give it a try :?: Have you had a test drive :?: What did you think :?:
This thread may not get immediate use, but when you do go for a test drive either with your nearest EV seller, or you have a special trip to Milton Keynes, or you have a go of a friends tell the assembled FCF throng about it here.
So what's Milton Keynes got :?:

The EV Experience Centre

You can either have a short test drive, or go go a flexible experience. Prices published at December 2020 were. Currently closed but hopefully re-opening when restrictions are lifted.
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“”I highly recommend visiting the EV Experience Centre, they have a lot of cars to see and try and are very knowledgeable, my 7-day loan of the VW E-Golf was great and I’ll definitely be getting an EV as my next car”

“Great experience test driving the Zoe and Golf. Fully recommend a visit, friendly staff and atmosphere.”

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Re: I drove an electric car and I liked it.

Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Hub Nut has quite a following, likes his everyday classics, but in the words of the thread title

He drove an electric quadricycle well out of his comfort zone and and liked it :-D

Vid on the New Citroen Ami thread,
https://www.frenchcarforum.co.uk/forum/ ... 48#p680148

He's not on his own, Robert Llewelyn couldn't stop smiling on his test drive for Fully Charged too :-D

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Post by NewcastleFalcon »

Book your Mini Electric Test Drive. Currently being advertised. Nothing to lose, See if you like it. Give it a try you don't have to buy :-D

Advertising it on TV right now. Test drives are back. Apart from the Nissan Leaf the only electric car currently manufactured in the UK.

https://www.mini.co.uk/en_GB/home/explo ... drive.html


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Post by steen2345uk »

that's great but I won't be buying electric I prefer 2 carbs and and fine adjustments as I'm a petrol head I think 2 weeks test drive on electric with kids and busy family life then we sée real results as factory data can sometimes be false as they should be tested in real time and not in a lab on computer simulation but that's just me
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Well if you happen to live in France and you have a nearby E. Leclerc and 5 euros in you pocket you can hire a Dacia Spring for the day....
In his publication, Michel-Edouard Leclerc confirms the rental price of the Dacia Spring. It will be 5 euros per day, including insurance and maintenance! A total of 3000 Dacia Springs will be offered for rent by the 510 Leclerc Location agencies. The Dacia electric will not be the only electric vehicle offered for hire since 1000 Renault Zoe will soon join the fleet of vehicles for hire.
In his publication, Michel-Edouard Leclerc confirms the rental price of the Dacia Spring. It will be 5 euros per day, including insurance and maintenance! A total of 3000 Dacia Springs will be offered for rent by the 510 Leclerc Location agencies. The Dacia electric will not be the only electric vehicle offered for hire since 1000 Renault Zoe will soon join the fleet of vehicles for hire.

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Re: I drove an electric car and I liked it.

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If you can get someone to test drive an electric car for the first time, it’s almost guaranteed they will love it and will become much more interested in EVs and much less hampered by common EV myths and overemphasized fears.

MG knows this, and it has taken an innovative yet simple approach to EV sales in the UK with this in mind. It is simply paying people for going on a test drive. Come in and test drive an electric MG and you get a £750 discount on one.

There may be more to read here, but that's basically it. If you haven't had a test drive of an electric vehicle yet give it a go. Nothing to lose, if you are going to consider getting an electric car surely you are entitled to try out not just one, but a few. No need for the slightest feelings of timewasting. You need to gather the information for yourself and come to your own conclusions.

Goes alongside my recommendation to take an opportunity to chat with an EV driver if you get the chance, best way apart from being an FCF member of finding out a bit more about them :-D
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I drove an electric car and I liked it.

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Renault have made one of the best selling EV's, but you hardly notice them in the UK even now apart from on Gibbo's drive!. It's as if they didn't really try selling them.

However, maybe not for long with VW and TESLA joining the party, Renault proudly claim

"Renault is the number one EV manufacturer in Europe, with the Zoe E-Tech being Europe’s best-selling EV in 2020 with more than 100,000 examples sold." https://www.press.renault.co.uk/en-gb/releases/2926

Like all legacy auto they are slowly getting with the beat, and have announced that all of their Courtesy Cars in their 15 Dealerships (yes..just 15!) in the entire UK, are going to be Renault Zoe's.
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"The Renault Retail Group is switching all its courtesy cars to the Renault Zoe. The move affects 143 vehicles spread across the 15 official Renault and Dacia dealerships in England and Wales the Group comprises. The new EVs join 21 Zoe E-Tech that already exist on the 164-strong courtesy car fleet."
"Renault Retail Group also offers customers a 48-hour test drive of the Zoe E-Tech independently of the courtesy car programme."
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I drove an electric car and I liked it.

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Another way of giving electric a go.

The AA from March 2022, is diversifying its fleet to include some electric cars. The Peugeot e-208 hatchback and e-2008 SUV will join the fleet of cars available to instructors, alongside the Vauxhall Corsa-e electric hatchback.

If the headline is true, a market exists, both for qualified drivers, and potential learner drivers.
Inside Evs
Almost Half Of UK Drivers Would Sign Up For Electric Car Lessons
Almost half of motorists in the UK would take an electric car lesson if such things were offered by driving schools, according to new research. A study by the AA found 44 percent of qualified UK drivers would like the chance of an electric vehicle (EV) lesson to boost their knowledge of the new tech.

The survey of more than 13,000 drivers revealed younger drivers and those in London were among the most likely to be interested in EV driving lessons. Half (49 percent) of 18-24-year-olds questioned said they would be interested in an electric car lesson, while 53 percent of Londoners said the same thing.
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Post by myglaren »

This fella was not impressed. Mainly for the charging infrastructure.



A bit excitable but at least not American.
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Post by mickthemaverick »

I have a few points arising from that video Steve has posted:

1) That huge screen looks like an afterthought that I wouldn't want in my car. The integrated layout in his Honda looks so much better.
2) Unnecessary use of the computing power to fix problems that were never there - a button on the screen to open the glove box?
3) The relatively harsh ride the model 3 seems to have, seen that on other reviews.
4) The charging infrastructure - he covers most of it but I do believe an issue is people topping up unnecessarily, admittedly he was but for the sake of the video, if the chargers only allowed charging if they detected a level of say 25% or less left in the battery. :)
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myglaren wrote: 20 Feb 2022, 12:07 This fella was not impressed. Mainly for the charging infrastructure.
He just rented of course but anyone who buys a Tesla and cant cope with the charging infrastructure consisting of a home charger and the tesla supercharger network, and all of the other chargers, and can't use zap-map or the car to find a working charger, which many in advance will indicate whether they are in operation/vacant in real time, has about as much credibility as the bloke down the pub.

He was talking absolute rubbish 52 miles from Dublin he pulled over at Portlaoise he was 18 miles from this yes a Tesla supercharger installation with 8 charging stalls. If he was just going to Portlaoise and back with a full charge on the Tesla when he set off he could easily have done the trip without recharging at all.

He may have a point about the Rental Company handover, I would expect a full charge on take over, which would have given him plenty enough miles for his trip, but that wouldn't of course allowed him to rant on his video.

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Regards Neil

PS I was surprised that as of the time of the Map there wasnt a supercharger installation in Dublin although one was on the way for 2022.
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Post by myglaren »

I think he was using the non-Tesla chargers because he has said that there are insufficient Tesla chargers in Ireland, also a comparison with his Honda-E.

Agreed Mick on your points, completely unnecessary use of electronics, over complicated and the screen is horrendous.
Most of which apply to a lot of recent cars.
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