To think Electric cars just aren’t practical yet?

[Youngatheart00]

Car is due for replacement (4 year PCP cycle) this autumn.

I love the idea of getting an electric vehicle in theory, I’m trying to make clean choices and also worry about the future value / obsolescence of petrol cars as I’m hearing more and more about manufacturers going electric only well within the next decade.

But our home is a Victorian terrace with no parking. More often than not we are not even parked outside our own home. There isn’t charging infrastructure at most petrol stations. I see some at motorway service stations but clearly it’s not practical to go there each time you need a charge (and there is a greater cost I think?)

I’m drawing the conclusion I’m going to have to go for another petrol vehicle and revisit at the end of the next 4 year cycle, when I’m hoping the electric car infrastructure will be much better developed.

I’ve thought about a hybrid but models from my preferred manufacturers seem limited (and v expensive) and I’m concerned about power as I do like a bit of ‘oomph’ for confidence!

What do others think?

I don’t think an electric vehicle is right for you OP right now. And I said that as an EV driver who loves it! But I have a drive and a home charge point. I hardly ever charge our and about.

People who are stepping in to roads without looking are idiots. As others have said, bikes make no noise and could easily hit someone. 6-7 year olds know to ‘stop, look, listen’. It’s ridiculous to write off a whole type of vehicle because some adults apparently behave like toddlers. Anyway, new EVs do make a noise.

A couple of years ago we were facing blackouts because there was insufficient electricity capacity in the country. How are these csars going to be charged, will we finally get round to building more power stations, or end up relying on underseas cables from the continent etc.

Yes, how is all this extra electricity for cars being generated? (Genuine question)

@thereisonlyoneofme

A couple of years ago we were facing blackouts because there was insufficient electricity capacity in the country. How are these csars going to be charged, will we finally get round to building more power stations, or end up relying on underseas cables from the continent etc.

A lot of EV drivers who have a charger at home charge overnight when there is a surplus of electricity on the grid. It's also a reason why charging at home is so cheap because you can switch to a tariff with cheaper electricity overnight. Some tariffs have a variable price and sometimes even pay you to charge overnight because they can't do anything with the excess electricity that's produced at those times.

I could manage an electric car I think. Some have good ranges now. I have a drive so could have a charging point put in.

However they are still very very expensive, i buy second hand cars because that's what I can afford. There are few second hand electric cars because they're pretty new. It will be a while before they're in the price range of many.

I have a hybrid. We didn't need to install a charging point, as the charge cable has an adapter for the mains plug in our garage. We have solar panels on the roof so the charging is pretty much free.

I appreciate it is hard to charge up if you don't gave a parking space. The beauty of a hybrid is it just switches back to petrol when the charge is low.

I have a 6 year old Renault Zoe. Bought it when it was a couple of years old for just under 7k. There’s a parking area on our estate but not directly outside the house, so no home parking/charging. In the nearly 4 years I’ve owned it, the charging infrastructure in our town has improved massively! I can also top it up at my workplace. My DH has recently gone electric (Hyundai kona) though he had a few reservations about the charging network. His has a longer range, so we’re going to use his for longer trips.

I’ll add that both cars emit an artificial but very audible hum below 19 MPH, above which it’s expected pedestrians will hear tire noise. You should always look before you step out into a road - even pushbikes can seriously injure you and they truly are silent.

I found this interview with a guy from the National Grid about capacity very interesting.

Personally I always charge overnight as I have a special ev tariff with cheap rate overnight.

I can't think of a single journey of 200 miles that I've ever done where I haven't stopped for the loo and to at least grab a coffee. In that time, the car charges

Everybody has different needs. I have just got home from a 200 mile journey. No stops and towing a one ton trailer.

The number of electric cars currently available that could have done the same thing is extremely limited, if any exist at all.

We live in Australia, and our main car is an electric Kona. The range is 200miles or more depending on the type of trip. We do have a charger at home now, but the development in infrastructure in the last year even here is amazing - we did a nearly 2000 mile road trip for about £40, so a few long lunch breaks are worth it! Maybe not for you yet, but if you can keep your car another year it might be? Check your local charging options and any chargers coming - you might be surprised

@Emmelina

I have a 6 year old Renault Zoe. Bought it when it was a couple of years old for just under 7k. There’s a parking area on our estate but not directly outside the house, so no home parking/charging. In the nearly 4 years I’ve owned it, the charging infrastructure in our town has improved massively! I can also top it up at my workplace. My DH has recently gone electric (Hyundai kona) though he had a few reservations about the charging network. His has a longer range, so we’re going to use his for longer trips.

7K is more than I have spent on any car for more than 30 years (before kids etc). Also a lot of second hand Zoes seem to have a battery lease attached to them?

OP your post title is ludicrous.

"AIBU to think electric cars aren't practical yet?"

Practical for whom? For you with no driveway in a terrace, and with limited infrastructure where you live? Sure.

For people with driveways who mainly do a 20 mile round trip five days a week, and an occasional 80 mile trip to family or seaside? Perfect choice.

I find a lot of the silliness and myths around electric car adoption come from people who mentally want to know their car could do a 400 mile round trip, despite rarely if ever doing that.

These are the same folk who buy 1.6 diesel SUVs which spend 300 days of the year doing 5 miles a day. They they wonder why they receive that expensive DPF filter bill..

Full disclosure I have an electric vehicle. They're fantastic because I don't have to sit everywhere with my rattly Diesel engine running, throwing particulates out into the atmosphere that are hurting our DCs lungs. So yeah I'm an advocate I guess.

Diesel was the biggest wrong decision of our times in my view. Fine that it has CO2 benefits, but it's got horrible harmful particulates and is the wrong fuel for 80% of people (and no if you're driving tons of miles on the motorway a week or towing a horse box, I'm not talking to you).

Anyways yeah. Electric cars are practical. But not yet for everyone I guess.

Stop discouraging people from PCP. I want a nice choice of 3-4 year old cars when I buy. I drive them until they disintegrate. Plenty of people like me who don't want to pay out for brand new for a car that will smell like a farm yard within weeks.

@Etulosba

I can't think of a single journey of 200 miles that I've ever done where I haven't stopped for the loo and to at least grab a coffee. In that time, the car charges

Everybody has different needs. I have just got home from a 200 mile journey. No stops and towing a one ton trailer.

The number of electric cars currently available that could have done the same thing is extremely limited, if any exist at all.

www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/electric-cars/top-10-best-electric-cars-towing

@Ginuwine

OP your post title is ludicrous.

"AIBU to think electric cars aren't practical yet?"

Practical for whom? For you with no driveway in a terrace, and with limited infrastructure where you live? Sure.

For people with driveways who mainly do a 20 mile round trip five days a week, and an occasional 80 mile trip to family or seaside? Perfect choice.

I find a lot of the silliness and myths around electric car adoption come from people who mentally want to know their car could do a 400 mile round trip, despite rarely if ever doing that.

These are the same folk who buy 1.6 diesel SUVs which spend 300 days of the year doing 5 miles a day. They they wonder why they receive that expensive DPF filter bill..

Full disclosure I have an electric vehicle. They're fantastic because I don't have to sit everywhere with my rattly Diesel engine running, throwing particulates out into the atmosphere that are hurting our DCs lungs. So yeah I'm an advocate I guess.

Diesel was the biggest wrong decision of our times in my view. Fine that it has CO2 benefits, but it's got horrible harmful particulates and is the wrong fuel for 80% of people (and no if you're driving tons of miles on the motorway a week or towing a horse box, I'm not talking to you).

Anyways yeah. Electric cars are practical. But not yet for everyone I guess.

Diesel was the biggest wrong decision of our times in my view. Fine that it has CO2 benefits, but it's got horrible harmful particulates and is the wrong fuel for 80% of people (and no if you're driving tons of miles on the motorway a week or towing a horse box, I'm not talking to you). Euro6 (the current standard for new cars) sets the same particulate limits for diesel and petrol cars -

Euro 6 emission limits (petrol)
CO – 1.0 g/km
HC – 0.10 g/km
NOx – 0.06 g/km
PM – 0.005 g/km (direct injection only)
PM – 6.0x10 ^11/km (direct injection only)
Euro 6 emission limits (diesel)
CO – 0.50 g/km
HC+ NOx – 0.17 g/km
NOx – 0.08 g/km
PM – 0.005 g/km
PM – 6.0x10 ^11/km

Electric cars are not free of particulate emissions - tyres and brakes also make particulate emissions (although of course not at anything like the same rates).

I can't think of a single journey of 200 miles that I've ever done where I haven't stopped for the loo and to at least grab a coffee. In that time, the car charges

I regularly drive at least 450 miles in a day for work. It's a long day and I might only have 10 minutes to stop, it's literally run in, toilet, sometimes coffee but not always and then on my way again.

Charging takes much longer than 10 minutes so that's extra time I'd have to factor into an already long day. Perhaps I should demand that the work clients I visit let me plug my car in while I am visiting them? It's that or be late for the appointment while I hang around waiting for a car to charge.

@margaretFraggle I have one with that makes a kind of a whirring noise so you hear it. It's turned on automatically but there's a button and you can turn it off if you like.

All of our stops if we stop are pretty much pee and grab a to go coffee. We don’t hang around at service stations. We leave early enough to be nearly there before the traffic starts. If we had to stop and charge the car for an hour we would have to leave at least an hour earlier, and on the way home if you get stuck in traffic you could just run out of electric. Not like fetching some fuel in a can is it.

Personally I don't think electric cars are going to be viable for a lot of people until such times as they are as practical as current petrol and diesel cars are.
So until you can charge/swap batteries etc as quick as it is to fill the tank at present. As well as covering a similar distance per charge to a tank of fuel. Then I don't think a lot will opt to have them.
Millions of people with cars live on streets with no designated parking. Streets like mine which don't have a pavement don't even have room to put them in. Those of us with livestock to move around rely on vehicles with the capability to tow significant weights on all manner of terrains. It just doesn't work without a hell of a lot of infrastructure change. Including power stations to cope with the demand increases.

What I think will happen is that if they stick with the plans you will just find the secondhand market hots up and more people will hold onto cars for much longer. They are not going to stop selling petrol or diesel anytime soon as freight won't be switching to electric any time soon.

@Youngatheart00

Yes, I know electric cars that can tow exist, but towing a trailer hits the range. Hard.

An example from the article on tow cars you linked to...

In the case of the Audi SUV, that meant its claimed range of 252 miles was slashed by more than a half to just over 100 miles.

Apologies @Youngatheart00 that response was meant for @teaandbiscuitsforme

I'm not quite sure how your username got there.

Our car charges in 20mins, the time it takes us to pee and get snacks. Buy a car that charges quickly!

I would like to buy an EV but I can'tcharge at home and there are only 2 public charging points within 8 miles of my house. One at a hotel, 1 at a nursing home. Since March 2020 I have only been to a place with a charge point twice.

So that you can feel good about doing your bit to save the planet

www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/03/the-dirty-secret-of-electric-vehicles/
www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/03/child-labour-toxic-leaks-the-price-we-could-pay-for-a-greener-future