Electric Car Diary

yes, it's a while away for solar to be good enough to be both a cheap addition and to provide range anxiety back-up and by then a standard battery will probably be at 600km++.

But there's no requirement for sunlight - solar just needs natural light to create electricity. Sunlight will give it a little extra oomph, but the hours of bright daylight is a better measurement.
 
Tech stuff isn't always intuitive. Often its about working the numbers and seeing what the data tells you. Often its counter intuitive.

Often it requires a paradigm shift in our behavior to use it effectively.
 
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johnwilliams said:
thinking out loud maybe a mini ram air turbine where the engine used to be or not (probably wont work )
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Just as Slim was saying above, any mechanism like that will cost you more energy than it produces as it can't exceed 100% efficiency and in reality will fall some distance short with losses meaning it will cost you more energy than it produces.

EV manufacturers give a lot of consideration to reducing drag so as to reduce the amount of energy to propel the car. Adding any form of turbine will mean an increase in drag.
 
johnwilliams said:
question back in my youth i had a bicycle with a dynamo on the back wheel producing electricity for my bikes lamp so wondering if something like this could be done for electric cars , connected to drivetrain not tyres ? charge as you go
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EVs already recharge the battery when the brakes are applied, this is effectively the same thing.
 
Final update: It's been 2 months now since we bought the ID.4. We love the car. It's a pleasure to drive but is it perfect? No, of course not! So, here's the Good, the Bad and the Ugly:
Good
Very comfortable to drive.
Adaptive Cruise control is amazing
Acceleration is phenomenal
Spacious cabin and boot.
Bad
Armrests on the front seats feel a bit cheap.
Infotainment buttons do not light up at night so hard to adjust settings.
Constant lane assist instructions are irritating.
Ugly
Well, nothing really. However, the overwhelming factor in the discussion of EVs are economy and convenience, i.e. Range and cost of fuel. Certainly, more range would be desirable but, with planning, longer journeys will be manageable. We're never in that much of a hurry these days. Cost of fuel is developing, I suppose. It's cheaper per km than petrol or diesel. The Charging Network needs much investment for more fast chargers - We're not all whizzing past motoway service stations every day. Finally, cost of ownership remains to be proven. Trade in values as newer, better models come onto the market, may be weaker than thought.

I will leave it at that. I have managed to charge up commercially without much trouble, at last but it's never far from my mind. No regrets!
 
Slim said:
Final update: It's been 2 months now since we bought the ID.4. We love the car. It's a pleasure to drive but is it perfect? No, of course not! So, here's the Good, the Bad and the Ugly:
Good
Very comfortable to drive.
Adaptive Cruise control is amazing
Acceleration is phenomenal
Spacious cabin and boot.
Bad
Armrests on the front seats feel a bit cheap.
Infotainment buttons do not light up at night so hard to adjust settings.
Constant lane assist instructions are irritating.
Ugly
Well, nothing really. However, the overwhelming factor in the discussion of EVs are economy and convenience, i.e. Range and cost of fuel. Certainly, more range would be desirable but, with planning, longer journeys will be manageable. We're never in that much of a hurry these days. Cost of fuel is developing, I suppose. It's cheaper per km than petrol or diesel. The Charging Network needs much investment for more fast chargers - We're not all whizzing past motoway service stations every day. Finally, cost of ownership remains to be proven. Trade in values as newer, better models come onto the market, may be weaker than thought.

I will leave it at that. I have managed to charge up commercially without much trouble, at last but it's never far from my mind. No regrets!
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A very honest and balanced appraisal. Well done!
 
Slim said:
Final update: It's been 2 months now since we bought the ID.4. We love the car. It's a pleasure to drive but is it perfect? No, of course not! So, here's the Good, the Bad and the Ugly:
Good
Very comfortable to drive.
Adaptive Cruise control is amazing
Acceleration is phenomenal
Spacious cabin and boot.
Bad
Armrests on the front seats feel a bit cheap.
Infotainment buttons do not light up at night so hard to adjust settings.
Constant lane assist instructions are irritating.
Ugly
Well, nothing really. However, the overwhelming factor in the discussion of EVs are economy and convenience, i.e. Range and cost of fuel. Certainly, more range would be desirable but, with planning, longer journeys will be manageable. We're never in that much of a hurry these days. Cost of fuel is developing, I suppose. It's cheaper per km than petrol or diesel. The Charging Network needs much investment for more fast chargers - We're not all whizzing past motoway service stations every day. Finally, cost of ownership remains to be proven. Trade in values as newer, better models come onto the market, may be weaker than thought.

I will leave it at that. I have managed to charge up commercially without much trouble, at last but it's never far from my mind. No regrets!
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Slim - if you had the same choice again would you stick with EV or return to ICE? And if you stuck with EV would you go with the same model again?
 
I moved to an electric car in 2018. It was the government incentive for 0% BIK that ultimately made me go for it.
I bought a top spec Leaf and I've loved it. Few of our journeys have been long , in particular because of Covid. But I've never had a problem with a charger (other than queuing for 10-15 mins).
In the early years I used to public slow charge it as it was free so my running costs were very low but since I now work remove 60% of the time and my commutes are 25km round trip its perfect.
I still haven't put a proper home charging solution in as I don't currently need it but I just got the SEAI sign off for the grant for it so I might just go ahead and have it done.
 
I'm currently considering changing car and that's not because I need to but because I would like to pick up a newer toy!
Even with the BIK benefit going over the next couple of years it has not stopped me from looking almost exclusively for a new EV.
 
PGF2016 said:
Slim - if you had the same choice again would you stick with EV or return to ICE? And if you stuck with EV would you go with the same model again?
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I wouldn't go back but I might have waited one more year for the new models to hit the market. That, of course, would have diminished the trade in value of my diesel, so swings and roundabouts! I would be very interested in the Kia EV6 but am very pleased with the VW.
 
DeeKie said:
I have an ID4. I find it annoying that only one person can use the app. We have two drivers in the house.
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That capability (in both the car and the app) is coming in version 3.0 of the software. As for when that will be available... It is on the MY22.5 cars, I believe.
 
Would be similar to slim in the fact that I’m 2 months into my ID4 journey. Came from a well spec’d allspace.

The rear seat space is still amazing me. Especially with 3 young kids that all need belting up.

I would add the parking sensors to the bad section. They are so late activating you would already be too late to prevent hitting something. Also the app is terrible, vw app for ice car was much better. Could monitor previous driving data, location etc

Pre-heating is great though.

I do find that even with very careful driving in the 12-15 degree range I’d rarely achieve better that 19kw per 100km. Meaning 400km range is closer to the mark. But summer is coming so let’s see.

I also find the lane assist much more aggressive than my Tiguan.

Looks wise I would take the r-line Tiguan all day long but the ID4 is just a smarter choice. And I don’t for a moment regret it especially with free charging at work. Even the very odd time I charge at home I have 9c per kw night rate. So empty to full for 6/7 euro. I would however have no issue looking around at what’s out there in a years or 2 years time. But would have to be EV again :) Audi Etron Gt :)))))))
 
banjopotato said:
That capability (in both the car and the app) is coming in version 3.0 of the software. As for when that will be available... It is on the MY22.5 cars, I believe.
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Or use the same login on two different phones, I’m not quite sure what the benefit in having two separate logins for the app would be (based on my experience of the Audi version of the same thing )
 
I've been following this with interest. I bought a Hyundai Ioniq 5 two months ago. It was close between that and the ID.4.
My previous car was 14 year old Toyota, so I was going to be impressed by any new car.

The driving is so easy, the accelaration is impressive, the space in the back is amazing.
My only complaint is that the ioniq 5 doesnt have a wiper on the rear window which is odd.

For my mileage and driving pattern, the electric suits me. I can charge at night on v cheap electricity. I know long journeys will involve more advance planning than before, but I very rarely go beyond the 400km range, so Im prepared for that.
 
Anthony7 said:
I would add the parking sensors to the bad section. They are so late activating you would already be too late to prevent hitting something.
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LOL! Agreed. I reversed into the kerb at the ESB charge point last week. Thought I'd demolished it!
 
Savvy said:
I'm currently considering changing car and that's not because I need to but because I would like to pick up a newer toy!
Even with the BIK benefit going over the next couple of years it has not stopped me from looking almost exclusively for a new EV.
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buy a Hyundai Ioniq 5 ( circa 50 K for a nice spec )

If money is no obstacle , a Jaguar I pace
 
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