To not get the hate thrown at EVs?

[EngineStart]

We have an EV. We didn’t get it for environmental reasons, we got it because I have access to an EV lease scheme via work and it was the most cost effective way for us to get a new car. I don’t think I’m morally superior for having one. It serves us well, is nice to drive, and cheaper (for us) than running a petrol car.

What I don’t get is the visceral hatred some people have for them. I understand they aren’t for everyone, there are definite logistical challenges with on-street parking and long journeys particularly. However, I expect range and logistics to improve as time goes on. I also get that some car fans might find them a bit sanitised. But I don’t really get why some people are so viciously against them?

AIBU?

This means when you look at certain types of SM posts the algorithms feed you more of the same. So you end up seeing more and more of the same type of information.
Without critical thinking skills people believe the fake news is real because it's 'all over the internet'. Where it's actually just all over HER feed because the algorithms are selecting those types of items. That's how SM works.

How would making noise help the idiot driver see you?
Surely you see them regardless of sound. They have whopping great reversing lights.
Blind people would have a reason to complain but I can't see how you would benefit from loud sounds (or chugging out fumes around your height which must be awful for you)

Range is very dependant on which car you have though.
Some EVs have a very small range, some have much longer ones.

True. You’d have to work out what’s more important. Miles between fuelling, time taken and costs. If you were happy to stop
mite often and take a bit longer then it might be more cost effective. Our Zoe can do 130 on a full charge and would cost you around 6000 to buy. Those 130 miles could cost as little as £4 on a cheap at home charge or up to £15 on the more expensive public charger. The more efficiently you drive, the more miles you get - same as petrol in that sense. Not sure how that compares to petrol but it’s cheaper than using our ICE car. Hope that helps.

It's not that I'm not happy to stop more often, it's that home charging is impossible for me so I'd be solely reliant on public chargers, and as I live somewhere that only has two, I feel that's too much of a risk to take right now.

I don't hate them, but I do feel they're a sticking plaster trying to give the industry some green credentials. It avoids the main issue, which is that we're too reliant on cars and need far fewer of them. It absolves govts from investing in public transport and allows them to get whacking great grants / taxes from building new electric vehicle / battery factories.

This isn't the fault of EVs themselves, but rather an industry which knows they're running out of the proverbial road and are trying to keep themselves afloat.

As the engineer/scientist you are, how you deduced that EVs were going to save the planet is surprising. Spoiler alert, the planet needs a multi-faceted approach from countries and big companies to individuals. But it seems like we’ve given up and are accepting what will be.

It doesn’t change the fact that the top 10+ most polluting companies in the world are all petroleum and gas companies, Shell and BP among them. Remove some of the demand and surely it will help?

I think many people take them as a personal criticism and so get disproportionately angry with anyone who has one much like some people do if you tell them you are vegetarian or vegan.
Then assumptions are made about your other views and beliefs and you are given a label like “loony leftie”, “tree hugger” or more recently “woke”.

It's the cost of replacing the battery if it breaks (15k vs 5k engine swap on ICE) and the fact that even minor damage make them a write off. When we can repair the batteries and the car I would be interested but not until then. Considering a plug in hybrid as the next car to get the best of both worlds

We have one EV and one petrol car. DH drives the EV 50 miles to work and 50 miles back each day and likes it very much. We charge at home and it works fine, cheaper than fuelling the petrol.

But longer journeys are a pain in the arse. You do have to plan stopping around fast charging points, and we've regularly got somewhere and found that all the chargers are in use, or some are broken, and you've not got enough charge to get to the next charging point so just have to wait. It's awkward and inconvenient and until there is much better charging infrastructure on motorways and major A roads I will not be considering swapping my petrol for a fully EV - a hybrid maybe.

Do investigate the plug-in hybrid carefully @sleepyscientist . We looked at a few and some kick into petrol above 15mph, others have a range of 30 miles on the battery.. We were very disappointed. I know it’s the same for non-plug in hybrids but the plug ins are more expensive so I wanted more.

The analogy with vegetarians and vegans is a very good one @Blackcats7 ! People feel threatened that they’re not doing something and hence the back lash.

Do investigate the plug-in hybrid carefully @sleepyscientist . We looked at a few and some kick into petrol above 15mph, others have a range of 30 miles on the battery.. We were very disappointed. I know it’s the same for non-plug in hybrids but the plug ins are more expensive so I wanted more.

The analogy with vegetarians and vegans is a very good one @Blackcats7 ! People feel threatened that they’re not doing something and hence the back lash.

Do investigate the plug-in hybrid carefully @sleepyscientist . We looked at a few and some kick into petrol above 15mph, others have a range of 30 miles on the battery.. We were very disappointed. I know it’s the same for non-plug in hybrids but the plug ins are more expensive so I wanted more.

The analogy with vegetarians and vegans is a very good one @Blackcats7 ! People feel threatened that they’re not doing something and hence the back lash.

Exactly but people don't like to talk about those,only the rare couple of cases where an EV has caught fire 🙄🤦

I don't think we have given up.

The vast majority of car manufacturers will transition to EV only production by 2035 and many by 2030. Transitioning obviously costs them billions and has to be planned over a decade long timescale. It's started so it will finish, no matter what the nay sayers come up with.

EV technology is also progressing quickly. The batteries will improve a lot as solid state batteries come in for the next generation of cars. These will effectively double the performance, have higher power densities, shorter charge times and be (even) safer than existing batteries. Although I am sure that there will still be people who claim they are not viable because they can't drive to Berlin and back on a single charge.

We have an e-up and it's lovely for around and about local journeys.
The only thing I'd say is I wasn't prepared for the drop in battery in the winter.
215 miles full charge in the summer, down to 105 at the worst in the winter, and it wasn't even especially cold this winter.

I wouldn't give up the petrol one for longer journeys yet, but I think it might come.

I don't think the risk is huge on either type.

The main difference I think is that in EVs the fire is a lot more difficult to put out than in an ICE. An ICE fire probably has more danger potential than an EV because of the possibility of releasing large energy rapidly, so it is more explosive because of the petrol. If an ICE fire makes it to the petrol tank the whole process will be over within a couple of minutes and the car will be a smoldering wreck and released most of the energy long before any fire trucks arrive.

In an EV the release of energy is slower and being able to put the fire out becomes a viable proposition in the respect the fire truck can actually reach it while it is still on fire. But actually putting out that fire when it is reached is hard because of the density of the battery and accessibility of it.

This is a quote from the lead officer on tackling lithium-ion battery fires in Essex in an item on the BBC News site at the end of March

"Dealing with a petrol or diesel car fire would normally take about 30 minutes," he says. "With an EV fire we're looking at four or five hours or longer, if we've used water.

"As more and more people use electric vehicles we can expect more and more electric vehicle fires."

This obviously has implications for the availability of crews to respond to other calls, and for the amount of time roads and motorway lanes have to be closed.

They do have a whine/angelic choir noise but we are not accustomed to listening out for it yet.

DH is partially deaf and can't hear high pitched whining noises (among other sounds) so definitely doesn't hear EVs.

All new EVs have a noise generator which kicks in when they are below a certain speed or reversing.

TBH my experience is ICEs don't actually make huge amounts of noise if they are being driven slowly. It is only when the engines are being revved in low gears that they make much of a noise. I have a hybrid and a lot of the time I can barely tell that the engine has kicked in. A little more vibration but not a huge amount.

Do you not just think that as EVs become more popular/common they will develop new techniques to deal with these fires? It’s probably an underdeveloped area currently as focus and funding generally gets put to the highest incidents eg ICE cars (just because there are more of them).

Ha ha - so are all modern cars - how do you think the Range Rovers are all getting stolen?

I've yet to hear one that sounds like a 'proper' engine rather than a milkfloat! Whenever I've seen them on the side roads around here all I can hear is a very faint whine and tyre noise.

I'd love an EV but until they are sub £2k bangers with as much life/range left in 'em as my casr it's just a pipe dream.

I don't hate them but I do hate people banging on about "just get a Tesla etc" when I simply don't have the cash.

I love that, a blessed relief from all the bellends with super loud backfiring exhausts fitted to their bellend-mobiles.