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Originally Posted by Shurm
The thing with electric vehicles is that people complain that there isn't an infrastructure in place to charge them otherwise they might consider one.
I was quite sceptical of electric cars but I now drive a Nissan Leaf as a company car and for me personally it saves me quite a bit of money because I only use it to work and back and I can charge it free there.
The problem with the cars as far as I can see is residual values because people are sceptical and also the expensive batteries which someone has mentioned so the second hand market is still difficult for these cars.
As far as New cars go the Nissan Dealer where I work was selling a New Leaf for under £200 a month on a 2 year PCP contract in March which when you take your fuel bill out of the equation isn't bad for a 25k car.
Like I said previously I was quite sceptical myself but I think it's one way city/town cars might go in the future.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shurm
Sorry another obvious problem is the range of these cars currently around 100 miles .
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That's the sales pitch, now let's talk facts.
You want the infrastructure. You'll pay for it? No, the taxpayers will have to to, £40k to £60K a time.
How many do you want? Thousands? Poor taxpayer.
Free car/free charging, company car. Excellent- for popping into work and back.
Have you ever had a day out in the Lakes in it? Can't do that.
Taken the family on holiday in it? Can't do that.
Ahh, you have a proper car to do those things in? I'm sure you do. Not many can afford a proper car and a £25K toy for doing a few miles a day.
£200/month not bad for a £25k car? But it's not a £25k car, it's a £12,000 city car with no engine,just a very expensive battery.
I can buy a much better Focus for half that, £12K will pay for a lot of miles(about 155,000!).
Range 100 miles? You'll be lucky, especially in hilly country like East Lancs.
You can't fully charge the battery, the car won't let you because it damages it.
You can't let it go flat because- guess what, it damages it.
You can't fast charge it too often because-yes it damages it.
Your realistic range- about 70 miles?
In sub zero conditions(you get them in Accrington) one Leaf showed a range of 32 miles when fully charged. It ran out after 8 miles.
Worried about battery life and residuals? I should think so. What do Nissan charge for a new one? £3000? Possibly more? Guarantee life? 5 years?
Rent the battery for £70/month? That's 1000 miles a month in the Focus- so you get to work and back free in your £13000 car with a trip to the Lakes thrown in. And you've still got 155,000 miles to play with.
No, you can keep your £25000 toy, I'll wait for a practical solution.