55 replies to this topic

[IronmanG]

That prompts a question, those who have an EV, does it start slowing down as a warning that you’re running out of power, a bit like my watch goes into power saving mode at the end of a long day just to get itself to the finish?

We've never got that far. In the same way I don't run into the red on my mini or any other fossil fuel car. But it does start letting you know quite persistently when we get below 15%

[IronmanG]

We've had ours for about 10 weeks now. Total cost of electric has been 35 quid. Normally that would be over 200 in our zafira. For us it works well.

Edited by IronmanG, 12 April 2025 - 08:19 AM.

[IronmanG]

Further to this we've just booked a stay in France so it will be interesting to see how that pans out driving down there

[mab01uk]

Further to this we've just booked a stay in France so it will be interesting to see how that pans out driving down there

 

Yes, would be interesting to know how you get on with an EV in France.

 

By the way if you are using the toll Autoroutes in France I highly recommend getting an Emovis-Tag for your car before you go, which means you get virtually no delay in queues at any toll booths as you can drive through the automatic toll barriers on theTelepeage lane:-
https://www.emovis-tag.co.uk/

Edited by mab01uk, 14 April 2025 - 06:37 PM.

[humph]

Further to this we've just booked a stay in France so it will be interesting to see how that pans out driving down there

 

We took our Tesla to Switzerland last year from the North West, doing the same in June, and France is easy.  Unlike the UK all Tesla chargers are open to none Teslas, so you should have no issues charging. The big question will be how many charging stops you'll need along the way, but most rest places we used had better provision than the UK.  Make sure you have a multi network charge card that works in France & do your route planning on something like ABRP before you set off.  When using something like ABRP make sure your 'default' speed used for calculations allows for the higher speed limits over there or your planning may go out the window pretty quickly.

 

 

Further to this we've just booked a stay in France so it will be interesting to see how that pans out driving down there

 

Yes, would be interesting to know how you get on with an EV in France.

 

By the way if you are using the toll Autoroutes in France I highly recommend getting an Emovis-Tag for your car before you go, which means you get virtually no delay in queues at any toll booths as you can drive through the automatic toll barriers on theTelepeage lane:-
https://www.emovis-tag.co.uk/

 

 

I'd agree with this completely, worked a treat last year.  The app tells you how much you've racked up on it too, although it's usually a couple of days out of date unfortunately.

[Jetpacktoby]

I have an EV as a daily drive. We’ve taken it all around GB and to France. I’ve found charging in France just as easy/hard and as confusing as in GB.
Plan the journey. Have your preferred charging stops set but also an earlier one in the journey just in case
Take your time. Enjoy the journey instead of rushing to the destination if you can.
Try and make your charging station a useful stop.
On the way to Scotland we did an out of York park and ride with EV chargers so went and enjoyed the sites of the city instead of sitting in the car.
Obviously it makes a 6 hour trip into a 10-12 hour journey but if you set out with that in mind then there’s less stress. Apart from the occasional defective charger or one that’s on the map but not in situ any more that is.
That and the idea of every town or city having its own charging app to download before it’ll let you use the damn thing.
The problems of swapping from ICE to Ev haven’t got more or less they've just changed.

Edited by Jetpacktoby, 01 May 2025 - 12:34 PM.

[Steam]

I find it amusing that on this forum there are loads of posts on how to make the mini more like modern cars to drive but people are willing to compromise with EVs.

[Bobbins]

I find it amusing that on this forum there are loads of posts on how to make the mini more like modern cars to drive but people are willing to compromise with EVs.

Compromise? I’ve now done 107,000 miles in my daily driver EV and charging hasn’t been an issue, I charge mostly at home or work, plus there’s a decent fast charging network if I travel further afield, usually 20 minutes ish each time I charge. It’s not had a service yet either …

[Blumeanie]

I find it amusing that on this forum there are loads of posts on how to make the mini more like modern cars to drive but people are willing to compromise with EVs.

Compromise?
I get Ferrari performance out of a daily driver vehicle that my wife loves. She has not set foot in a petrol station in years. She spends less time fueling overall (= zero minutes) than she did with the ICE vehicle. We get 100% free fuel from the sun via the panels on our roof. This covers 99% of our fuel needs. - We do fuel at public chargers when traveling.

We had years of fast charging provided by the OEM too.

Maintenance / running costs accounting records show a total of 1 bottle per year of windscreen washing fluid and wipers. Have not had to replace tires yet (3 years on this set).

When we travel far a-field, we are with the family. We stop for meals, for drinks, snacks occasionally. We charge during those stops. There is very little time spent strictly on fueling activities.

Still have two other ICE vehicles. BOTH have manual gearboxes, One is a 4x4 which will be an EV as soon as there is a suitable off-road replacement. The other is the mini.

I've always had manual gearboxes. I will never drive an automatic - but I will trade my third pedal for a 'single pedal (because re-gen braking) and a battery any day... EVs are just so much better! (50 moving parts vs 1,000+.)

AND - did I mention FREE fuel???!!!

PS. The mini will remain. It is perfect just as it is!

Edited by Blumeanie, 03 May 2025 - 02:26 PM.

[petey81]

I have an EV and covered 23k in the last year and its my 4th ev. I have a home charger and received 612 of free charge when I bought the car. For 200 miles it costs me £2 ISH... To me it's not just the fuel against charge its the servicing, reliability and ease of use and tax which I have another year for free.
Also I have a mini and my wife has a fiat 500. I
would never buy another daily ice unless it's a car to mess about in like a Clio 182 172 which I'm looking for

[Jetpacktoby]

Whatever vehicle type is a compromise.
Diesels generally go further on a tank than petrol cars (not so much now with computer controlled injection management)but the fuel is more expensive
EVs are more expensive to buy or lease but cheaper on running costs than ICE vehicles.
ICE pollute at source whereas in EVs all the polluting has been done in manufacturing and however the electricity is made to charge them.
In around 1900 there were more steam cars than ICE. They were more powerful and more reliable. And the fuel was more readily available as the Victorians had a thing about coal and oil. But steam technology had got to its pinnacle. Petroleum development had started and was found to be of great use. So took over the baton in engine development.
Now we have the same type of changeover.
Another ten years or so will probably see 500 miles to a charge for a standard family EV car and charge time in five minutes at a readily available public charger.

But I still love to drive my mini more.

Edited by Jetpacktoby, 03 May 2025 - 10:43 AM.