Joining the electric car club

hashluck

hashluck

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1,521
Having just seen a TV ad for the Audi e-tron I know that if I were in my twenties again now and of the same mindset (tech hungry for sure but also aspirational I am also sure) then I would absolutely, totally want one.

There I said it - I am going to go and lie down now

(That said, whilst I was buying Audis in my twenties because they were very cool back then (to me) I did have a classic Jaguar as well, so it was not that I thought older cars were dinosaurs by any means)
 
MrCoop

MrCoop

Junior Member
Messages
410
Afternoon fellas, it's been a whiles.

I ordered a Polestar 2 a couple of weeks ago, thought it was time to change into an EV for daily driving. It'll be a bit of a difference from the RS7 but the thought of saving myself well over £3k p/a in fuel costs helped taking the plunge.
 
Jamin

Jamin

Member
Messages
238
MrCoop said:
Afternoon fellas, it's been a whiles.

I ordered a Polestar 2 a couple of weeks ago, thought it was time to change into an EV for daily driving. It'll be a bit of a difference from the RS7 but the thought of saving myself well over £3k p/a in fuel costs helped taking the plunge.
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Very nice, I was considering one but couldn't wait so went with the tesla model 3 LR instead, in hind sight I probably prefer the looks and finish of the polestar but it wasn't ready when I was.
 
MrCoop

MrCoop

Junior Member
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410
Jamin said:
Very nice, I was considering one but couldn't wait so went with the tesla model 3 LR instead, in hind sight I probably prefer the looks and finish of the polestar but it wasn't ready when I was.
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how are you finding living with an EV? My biggest concern is range with the Polestar, the official range is something like 270 but real world reviews from owners say to expect no more than 210 in reality. That’s fine, as I’ll be charging up at home but the non tesla charging network is nowhere near as good as the Tesla one.
 
Ewan

Ewan

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6,803
There are charging points popping up all over the place, so you’d have be somewhere extraordinarily remote to not find one. We’ve had our three months and never had it charge it away from home, so a 200 mile journey for us is very rare (especially during lock down!).
Make sure you download one of those apps that show you were all the points are, just in case.
 
mjheathcote

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
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9,038
Good range review.
Polestar poor compared to Tesla, using much more kWs per mile.
Why is that?
You would have thought the tech to be the same.
However if the range is sufficient for you in the Polestar, it would be my choice

 
doodlebug

doodlebug

Member
Messages
917
MrCoop said:
The Polestar is something ridiculous like 350kg heavier than the Tesla and nor does it have pre-warming, which improves battery range.
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The Polestar also has a 0.28Cd compared to the Tesla's 0.23. I'd still take one over a Tesla 3 even with the poorer range.
 
Jamin

Jamin

Member
Messages
238
MrCoop said:
how are you finding living with an EV? My biggest concern is range with the Polestar, the official range is something like 270 but real world reviews from owners say to expect no more than 210 in reality. That’s fine, as I’ll be charging up at home but the non tesla charging network is nowhere near as good as the Tesla one.
Click to expand...

Range was one of the surprises, tesla quote 350 miles, what I naively didn't consider was real life, when fully charged, based on my driving style 350miles is actually 310miles, Tesla recommend regularly charging to only 80% to maintain battery life and saving 100% for planned long journeys which make sense as the regenerative braking wont give you free charge when 100%
So my standard full charge is around 270 miles, now unlike a fossil car you don't generally risk dropping to empty as charging takes a little longer so in reality my LR range is more like 250 miles, which is still pretty good, however, in winter, with every thing running from the battery, heated seats, heating, spotify, head lights, cameras blah blah, high real life every day range is probably more like 220 miles!

That said, for a work car with charging provided at work it is absolute fantastic, pre warm the car and seats from bed in the morning and 0-60 in 4.2s.

I am due to travel to Aberdeen from Kent in the summer and whilst the tesla charging network is extensive and a 80% charge taking around half an hour, I'm still not entirely convinced.
 
davy83

davy83

Member
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2,821
I think its pretty normal for the maximum range on these things to be exaggerated, in the same way fuel consumption on ICE cars is. My Skoda yeti is the only car i have ever seen that does the MPG it claims. My BMW i3 does nearly the range it claims in the summer when its warm and if i keep my right foot in control. Real life when its cold and I drive normally :cool: its about 75% of the published range. I also think when you are looking at this the ability to fast charge makes a difference, like they said in that video the Tesla charged quicker than the polestar. My i3 has the CCS connection (not standard I don't think) on it and its pretty good on a supercharger and will go to 50-60 KW charging giving me a full charge in <20 minutes. And on a long trip this makes a difference. 20 minutes for a coffee break is ideal, if you are actually having to wait 40-60 minutes to get a charge at regular intervals (depending on how long the trip is) this gets annoying.
 
rockits

rockits

Member
Messages
9,172
I have looked at going EV and have a PHEV for work. However, I'm not convinced by the end to end green advantages over ICE for me on my low mileage.

Especially if synthetic fuels become mainstream and cost effective for existing ICE cars.

The EV cars are very expensive and heavier. I'm not sure adding 250-500kg is progress.

EV will again be mass produced and mass bought then in 5 years the govt and everyone will agree it wasn't the silver bullet it was purported to be.
 
schell70

schell70

Member
Messages
314
I keep looking at EV's - driven a couple of Tesla 3's and liked them but I just can't get over the cost - even if you bang it through a LTD Company its just a nice way to save tax but you still have to spend the money.

I just can't make it stack up against a 10yr or 15yr old luxo barge which I can change for another whenever I feel like it - bangernomics rules I'm afraid

Thinking about changing the E Class for an XJ6 Sport at the moment :)
 
Felonious Crud

Felonious Crud

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21,141
schell70 said:
I keep looking at EV's - driven a couple of Tesla 3's and liked them but I just can't get over the cost - even if you bang it through a LTD Company its just a nice way to save tax but you still have to spend the money.
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Exactly this. You could be spending the same money on a nice dividend or chucking some coin into your pension. I suppose if I was used to paying for a company car and didn't want to 'trade down', or if I did lots of miles and long runs (in which case all that charging would annoy me) then it would make sense. Overall I'm intrigued by EVs but, for me, the maths doesn't work.
 
Ewan

Ewan

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6,803
Like any car - everyone’s exact position is different. But for me, the tax advantage is huge, and with my repetitive low mileage journeys, range is irrelevant. All of which makes an EV a no brainer as daily. But I get that it won’t be the instant solution for everyone right now.
 
rockits

rockits

Member
Messages
9,172
Ewan said:
Like any car - everyone’s exact position is different. But for me, the tax advantage is huge, and with my repetitive low mileage journeys, range is irrelevant. All of which makes an EV a no brainer as daily. But I get that it won’t be the instant solution for everyone right now.
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Would you have bought an EV Ewan if the tax incentives were substantially less or zero?
 
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