Are we being forced to go electric?

[cougie uk]

My local national park has always had a bus service between the car park and the castle and gardens which is the main attraction.

In 2020 a big fuss was made about them getting some electric minibuses and all the good it would do.

In the past month or so I have gone there a lot for walks while I recover from injury and I don't use the bus service but can't help noticing that the fancy new electric buses sit there and rarely seem to be used while the ancient Mercedes minibuses that they always had to do all the work.

It just seems strange to me. The electric bus must be either horrible to drive or unreliable. Why else would the drivers shun a nice shiny new bus for a rattling, smokey, diesel-drinking old Merc?

Maybe ask a driver ? There are quite a few electric Mercedes vans from Amazon round here making a lot of deliveries.

 

[Alex321]

My local national park has always had a bus service between the car park and the castle and gardens which is the main attraction.

In 2020 a big fuss was made about them getting some electric minibuses and all the good it would do.

In the past month or so I have gone there a lot for walks while I recover from injury and I don't use the bus service but can't help noticing that the fancy new electric buses sit there and rarely seem to be used while the ancient Mercedes minibuses that they always had to do all the work.

It just seems strange to me. The electric bus must be either horrible to drive or unreliable. Why else would the drivers shun a nice shiny new bus for a rattling, smokey, diesel-drinking old Merc?

Possibly they have been told to wear out the old ones first?

 

[vickster]

Are you sure you have seen them all - quite a few are just EV versions of existing cars ?
Mini, Fiat 500, Corsa, Peugot 208, Zoe, Honda E - they're all small.

Small and estate car is an interesting choice too. Have you seen the MG estate ? Its about what you'd expect for an estate.

There are huge EVs I agree - they are copying the ICE fashion and I'll be avoiding those like the plague.

Rather big. I have a Fabia estate which is perfect size for me (maybe Skoda will oblige in the not too distant future, I won't be changing for at least 5 years my 2012 has only done 31k miles). The MG is more Octavia sized, too big for one person with a bike
You could argue I don't really need a car but I have elderly parents that need me to be able to get to them easily (and having had a car for nigh on 30 years it's a hard habit to break!)

 

[icowden]

Why can’t the kids get themselves to school? Are they tiny (ie someway off driving?)

It's slightly complicated. The access to the school is from a road that's not particularly cycling safe (I know lots of cyclists who avoid it). It's a fast narrow busy 40mph road . As a result the school have banned cycling to school. It's a 15 minute drive (on a good day), but probably an hours walk - again up a long country road which no-one really walks down. The school does have coaches and minibusses from various locations but the cost of those is quite prohibitive compared to just driving to the school.

So although they are 13 and 15, the only way to get them there really is the car.
Now the *good* news is that the council have finally agreed funding to update the road in question to have dedicated cycle infrastructure. Quite how they will do it, and whether it will be any good is another matter. By the time it gets built they are likely to be doing A-Levels. The downside to cycling at the moment is also that they keep all their school books at home (covid decision) and thus have to travel in with several tonnes of stuff every day.

 

[icowden]

I had a look at current EVs...not one of them appealed to me in terms of practicality or more importantly aesthetics! They're all huge, fugly or both!! Once there is a small, good looking estate with decent range at a sensible price, I may consider!

For the moment I think you can only manage two of those criteria. The Tesla Y isn't huge and isn't *that* ugly but is expensive. Similar for the VW ID4. And then you get into the "massive" territory...

 

[vickster]

For the moment I think you can only manage two of those criteria. The Tesla Y isn't huge and isn't *that* ugly but is expensive. Similar for the VW ID4. And then you get into the "massive" territory...

Is the Y the hideous SUV with the fugly gullwing doors (imo)

I've never liked saloons so that's Tesla's other models out

 

[gzoom]

Anyone got more than one EV charger at home ? Son No1 is looking at a new car an EV . Thinking ahead , that’s going to be a PITA if more than one wants to use the charger ?

I barely charge our EV twice a week in day to day use. We actually have x2 32 commando sockets already installed so if needed to we can charge x2 EVs at once - The amp load will be around 70amps so well below the 100amp main fuse limit.

The only thing stopping us getting x2 EVs is ££££, and the fact our 2nd car only does 3000 miles a year so hardly worth changing till it breaks.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I suspect it won't make all that much difference at first, since you will still be able to drive them.

But once fuel stations selling diesel start to disappear, then it will make a big difference. I'm not sure how many of them can use the truck pumps.

I can forsee the eventual cut off becoming much more draconian the nearer we get to 2030 - especially if EV's are substantially in the majority by then.

And if the cut off point does linger on then conventional fuel taxes will go (further) through the roof imo.

 

[gzoom]

Is the Y the hideous SUV with the fugly gullwing doors (imo)

I've never liked saloons so that's Tesla's other models out

No the Y is a 3 on stilts, its only the X that has powered doors all round. You cannot actually order a X at the moment as Tesla aren't producing them due to complexity/components. In fact in the UK there isn't even a price for the new X, last time there was a price Tesla wanted about £100K for base spec with decent seating arrangement.

Looking at Tesla 'approved' sales you need about £65K for a 2017 Model X today.........we paid £71K for ours in 2017, £6K depreciation over 5 years of ownership, so even though you might not like them plenty of people seem to (my self included). Conventional unpowered doors seem just that these days, conventional

 

[vickster]

No the Y is a 3 on stilts, its only the X that has powered doors all round. You cannot actually order a X at the moment as Tesla aren't producing them due to complexity/components.

Looking at Tesla wants £65K for a 2017 Model X today.........we paid £71K for ours in 2017, £6K depreciation over 5 years of ownership, so even though you might not like them plenty of people seem to (my self included). Conventional unpowered doors seem just that these days, conventional

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Yuk especially as it’s white bleurgh…(each to their own )

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Are you sure you have seen them all - quite a few are just EV versions of existing cars ?
Mini, Fiat 500, Corsa, Peugot 208, Zoe, Honda E - they're all small.

Small and estate car is an interesting choice too. Have you seen the MG estate ? Its about what you'd expect for an estate.

There are huge EVs I agree - they are copying the ICE fashion and I'll be avoiding those like the plague.

I think we should be taking the proverbial bull by the horns by banning big EV SUV's now.

 

[vickster]

I think we should be taking the proverbial bull by the horns by banning big EV SUV's now.

Ahhh but it’s ok cos they run on leccy so are completely clean and have no impact on the environment, roads etc

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Ahhh but it’s ok cos they run on leccy so are completely clean

Yup - size matters to some people.

We've had people take the proverbial out of our small car choice despite knowing that we could easily afford to buy/run a big SUV.

They just cannot get their head around downsizing their cars and their EV purchases, sadly, show no sign of this abating.

****wits the lot of them.

 

[icowden]

Yuk especially as it’s white bleurgh…(each to their own )

Other colours are available (for a cost). The Y looks like this. It has a decent amount of space in it though.

 

[vickster]

Yuk..still a saloon and looks like one. The colour is the only acceptable aesthetic
I’ve sat in the back of a Tesla cab in Amsterdam. Complete lack of legroom and headroom, and struggled to actually get out of it with my non bending knee.
never be one for me