Well, ok, not actually a milk float, but an electric car (EV to those in the know). Not a hybrid either, pure electric - no backup petrol engine. I'm picking it up tomorrow - it's one of these: It's a Renault Zoe (stop sniggering...) Fear not, I still have a normal car too - I ain't THAT brave. This one will be used purely for commuting the 10 miles to and from work each day and also the odd time my son wants to borrow the car (I'm hoping the limited range will mean he won't be able to go far ) Range per "fill up" is between 80-100miles and it costs £3 in 'leccy to fill from 0-100%. £0 road tax, and congestion charge free (if we went to London). I've had a dedicated wall charger fitted to our house as part of the deal which means it will take around 3 hours to charge. If we do venture further afield then there are loads of quick chargers around (at nearly every M6 services for example) that charge up to 80% in 30mins. It's surprisingly nippy since the 87BHP equivalent motor delivers full torque and power from standstill. Although it does max out at 84mph. So with this and the 'blade I can live the best of both worlds. Be a tree-hugging hippy during the week and a petrol headed hooligan at the weekends! Anyone else got an EV?
I drive a hybrid occasionally at work, its ok as long as you shout Vrooom Vrooom out the window in car parks and anywhere else that pedestrians fling themselves out like lemmings in front of you because they don't hear it
This one apparently has the option to make a "humming " noise at low speed to alert all the blind people that throw themselves under electric cars every day. I reckon the noise would make it look even more stupid tho, and definitely sound like a milk float...
That's why i wasn't sure when the wife was interested in something like this... once you take into account the monthly charge (and paying for any charging on the motorway and at home) it didn't make sense for us as we only do around 400 miles a month. If you're doing a fair few miles a month though i can see the savings being pretty appealing
yes a small desiel would be much cheaper to run, even a small petrol would beat that electri, its the £50 a month battery rental thats kills it forl ow mileage, £50 of desiel would get you almost 600 miles
Charging on the motorway is free (for the time being at least). I should point out that we have a couple of issues with my current commuter (a little 11 year old Corsa diesel) which would have meant some fairly large bills, so that also influenced our decision. We weighed up what we were paying on servicing, fuel, tax and insurance and even doing 400 miles a month it worked out cheaper than a diesel.
A new small diesel would be cheaper, for 400 mile a month unless they take that £50 a month battery rental away
£50 wouldn't do 600 miles in my current diesel. Especially on my daily commute. I'm lucky to get 370 miles from that. Even with the £50 battery rental 400 miles a month will cost me £62 (thats if I always charge at home). That's before taking into account servicing, mot, tax and insurance savings. Running costs are close, but for us not quite as expensive as a diesel. Besides the PCP deal we got was practically a steal!
Have they fixed the diesel particulate filter problem in small diesels. Thought they didn't cope well with low mileage runs.
Haven't a clue but mine seems to have a few engine issues (difficult to start, lag etc.). The Dual Mass Flywheel went in it a couple of years ago - that was an expensive day....
Oi stop using my private pics or I won't send you any more In simple terms the DPF didn't get hot enough on short journeys and would go tits up. Not a cheap fix either I believe.
I suppose it gives you a good reason to practice your car noises on the way to work or even play a v8 soundtrack through the stereo if it doesn't use too much power i wouldn't play it too loud though it might knock a few miles off your range
