My wife and I both drive EVs, absolutely love them and once you get used to how quick they are, the smoothness of the drive, the quietness, waking up to a ‘full tank’ every morning, not going to petrol stations every few days, the low cost, the sturdy feel of the cars (the heavy battery means even a small car feels chunky, like that typical German luxury brand feel) etc there is no going back, ever.
There’s no doubt that you need to choose an EV that suits your needs, if you drive 50000km a year, all on the motorway, or you live in an apartment so cannot get a home charger, you probably should not be buying an EV yet.
To your questions -
1. Within 3-4 weeks you learn the range of the car and this mostly goes away. Queuing anxiety at chargers is much more real, because right not the charging network is a bit overburdened, but the ESB and Ionity are doing big roll-outs as we speak to fix this.
2. If you have home charging then you will hopefully be doing 95%+ of your charging at home, so the charging network is not a major deal, and as I say is about to improve very significantly.
3. I’d say no and no. We want people to use chargers then move their cars so others can get in there, so both charging and parking should come at a cost.
4. The 24kWh Leafs are incredible value if you just want to drive around the city with the very odd longer journey. €10k would get you a low mileage high spec 2014 capable of 120km per charge. The Ionia also gets very good reports. If you have more money to throw around, then the newer generation (Leaf+, Kona, eNiro, Tesla Model3) will all do 3-400km and are either available or will be by the summer, in the €35-45k price range.
The 0% BIK, Accelerated Capital Allowance Scheme and partial VAT rebate make EVs very attractive as company cars FWIW.
Wow, two EVs in the one house. You have lots of experience so.
I test drove a Kona and couldn't believe how smooth and powerful it was to drive. Didn't get to take it onto a motorway though.
You posted some interesting answers.
1. Queuing anxiety - it might help if there was some kind of financial penalty or clamping for people who overstay at charge points. Is there any evidence of people parking up at a charge point and heading off to work for the day?
I understand esb are due to begin charging for use of their chargers, which have been free up to now. If fees could be structured such that the first two hours were free, next two hours cost x, any hour after that costs x multiplied by y, it might go some way to freeing up charge points for others.
It's great that esb are putting in additional chargers now to keep up with demand. However, I think supply of chargers needs to stay way ahead of demand if the EV network is to be properly rolled out. We have a once in a generation opportunity to make a real change to private transport.
2. I'm hoping to charge in work 75% of the time and use the public charge points 25%. I may be naive but going to see if I can get away with not installing a charger at home. It'll be a company vehicle so will be difficult to claim back the electricity costs from by domestic bill.
3. I definitely think it's crazy that non-EVs can park on front of a charge point and block it all day. These spaces should be designated as EV only.
You mentioned the BIK exemption incentive below. Hopefully this is extended way beyond the current 3yr period. The uncertainty created by short extensions is unhelpful to perspective buyers. I wouldn't be getting an EV if this exemption wasn't in place. If it expires in 3yrs time, I will likely no longer be able to drive the EV.
4. I've noticed a few Nissan Leafs recently. Not sure if they were Leaf+ but they certainly seem to have been given a slick remodel. The Zoe looks a nice little hatch too. I think it's important that EVs look the part too. One of the problems with the original hybrid Prius was its dawdy image. They need to look cool, which I think Tesla have captured, but out of my price range I think. I'm leaning towards the Kona - nice car and the long range seals the deal for me. I won't have many long journeys (if any) but I figure I'll only need to find a charge point a couple of times a week with the 64kW battery
If others have experience/opinion, it'd be great to add here as a reference point for people considering buying an EV.