Electric cars

[wheresthetorch]

I wouldn't say no to one of these:

 

[slowmotion]

I was amazed that a major contributor to NOxx and particulate emissions in London is actually gas fired central heating boilers. Given that most of the housing stock in inner London has solid brick walls, the room to improve energy efficiency is a bit limited.

Why stop at diesel scrappage?

Wholesale building scrappage anyone? Step forward John Prescott.

 

[Piemaster]

It may well make a difference to range, but with the way its being used your scenario will not rear its head - for us anyway. It really is short city journeys only. Heater is actually a heat pump, so very efficient.Don't know what it is for the car but heat pumps generally produce around 4-5kW of heat for every 1kW of electric consumed.
Mind, its never made any difference to what my wife wears in the car, if its cold outside big overcoat it is! (I then find that a good time to find out just how far the thermostat will go. Heh.)

The early Freelanders that were sold in Scandinavian countries had a auxiliary heater as the TD4 engines couldn't produce enough heat to keep the engine and cabin warm at same time. It was some sort of diesel burner for warming the system water. believe some owners were fitting it here as with a timer you could then have a warm demisted car in the morning.

 

[fossyant]

@Piemaster I could be quite tempted by one - I now commute 24 mile round trip into Manchester following my accident. It's a nose to tail crawl all the way for 50 minutes to over an hour. My car is returning 22mpg, but it owes me nothing and is reliable.

We have another family car of a similar size to my own. I don't like the look of the Leaf, but quite like the Zoe. We have dedicated charging points at work, and guaranteed parking if you have an electric vehicle. Would certainly make sense. Battery rental would probably be around £70 a month given the miles, which would effectively 'halve' the fuel bill. The only thing that would bother me is the battery life if we want to take a longer trip - e.g. 65 miles to our caravan as we often take two cars if staying longer and one of us has to go back home for work.

The depreciation looks a shocker, but you can pick a relatively new one up for £5-£7k - which is a bargain.

 

[Piemaster]

@fossyant I can see the temptation there. The Zoe is programmed to crawl @5mph like a traditional auto, so pretty good in traffic and none of that gear changing nonsense. My left knee sometimes aches if I get a day when I'm out driving a lot at work from using the clutch.
Dedicated parking and free fuel from work - think of it as a pay rise . Incidentally it cost us £5k from here We did try a Leaf as well, but it is a bigger car and my wife just preferred the Zoe.

The range for the caravan - we only get around a 60 mile range, and charging from a 3 pin plug has issues. Renault don't want you to do it - it took 12 hours from nearly empty when we first got it (before we had the charging point installed) but we've only had to do it the once. The 3-pin plug cables are not standard.
Ours is one of the earlier cars, the range went to 80+ with the later newer motors (possibly 2015 onwards). 2017 cars battery capacities have gone from 22kWh to 40kWh with subsequent rise in range.

 

[fossyant]

Nissan need to re-design the Leaf, its horrible (but that also doesn't stop the Juke selling loads). Bit of a Nissan fan though as we have a 15 year old Primera and a newish Qashqai, but getting 4 bikes up on the roof of the Squashy will be tricky due to its height.

Having not driven and commuted for many years, I've had nothing but foot problems driving to work. My right foot seems the worse though, so an auto wont help.
I might have to test drive one though. We both work in Manchester, so the Squashy doesn't get used - we bought it before my wife changed jobs in the Autumn.

I am torn with being sensible, or going for a 1.6 Turbo Pulsar with 190 bhp !

 

[Piemaster]

There is supposed to be a new Leaf next year, believe Sunderland plant have just won the bid to build it. Autocar reckon on a 340 mile range so in Tesla territory. Given present price of one, and given it still gets a subsidy at the moment for however long that lasts, it will be £££ and out of my reach. VW are supposedly working on a new version of the classic camper - but wholly electric, which may be a SUV alternative.

Just realised we have 3 cars running 3 different fuels, electric Zoe, diesel L200 and the unsensible one - Alfa Spider.

 

[fossyant]

Alfa Spider..... I have been thinking a Brera 3.2 and keeping my old Nissan for work. (I know a lad that has an old 325 BM and a M3 series, both vintage,and also has an Aston Vantage of 10 years old.. !

 

[Piemaster]

Don't buy an Alfa. They are both magnificent and awful.
Mines a 'classic' Spider (1988). Who the hell but Alfa would put something you may want to see, such as the main beam warning light, down in the middle of a row just above the gearstick, and something really useful, such as the demist fan light, directly in front of you within the speedo?

BUT...you will always glance back at it when you walk away. Everytime.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Kamm tail with metal bumpers, yes?

 

[Piemaster]

Original, unmolested Japanese import.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Wish I'd bought one a long time ago, but there again I think that about many cars!

Are the wheels original?

 

[subaqua]

Electric cars are great if you have off street parking . Because then you can charge them overnight .

Tesla battery storage &inverter taking the solar energy from your roof panels storing it in day to charge car overnight .

Sadly even our local authority won't do an electric vehicle only bay outside the house. I did ask.
So it looks like a hybrid .PHEV maybe and plug in away from home. Which defeats object of electric car in a city ...,


Great joined up thinking yet again .

 

[Piemaster]

Are the wheels original?

No idea, they came with it and I wasn't sure about them at first but they have grown on me.

One of my work colleagues has a PHEV that as far as I know never gets plugged in, so electric is generated by the engine thus having to burn fuel to do it. Apparently the range on fuel isn't great either so not a great motorway cruiser either.

 

[Piemaster]

So, had the Zoe for awhile now. Surely has to be time for some tuning mods, or I'll lose all the street cred I've got.
Perhaps a turbo dump valve mated to an induction kit and a back box to get the extra power.
So many options, all thanks to ebay and its 'select vehicle'