Could this be a "FREE" car?

Flyboy152

I saw a piece on the news this morning about electric cars and that the government is giving away lots of money to encourage people to buy them. So I had a look around to see what was available and came across this:

http://www.citroen.co.uk/new-cars/car-range/citroen-c-zero/?campaignid=PPC_NCS&advertiserid=google&bannerid=electric_cars#/new-cars/car-range/c-zero/c-zero-price/

Now, the fully maintained contract hire rate is £358.00 a month (£4,296 pa). If you spend £80 a week (£347 pcm) on petrol and it costs £2.00 a day to charge, that's a net fuel saving of £290 a month. Then factor in the maintenance cost inc. tyres etc., RFL and anything else you might spend; the net cost could be minimal.

If this translates across the market, could we see more electric cars on the road in the coming years?

colino

Read the Alexei Sayle piece on the car. Its tiny, even in the middle of London its a pain to recharge and the claimed 81 miles between charges is an overestimated joke. Its a battery car, not a hybrid and seems to being sold to maintain a green face for the company. Your better off on the bus.

Hintza

What I would want to know is how many Watts it takes to charge it range and then figure out the cost per mile.

I hate it when they try and hide this with could/should/might type figures. I have searched the brochure and no mention of this.


0% emissions...aye right!

But having moaned it does look vaguely interesting.

Hintza

colino wrote: »

the claimed 81 miles between charges is an overestimated joke.

Not necessarily if you are pottering around town 30-50 miles for a town car could be handy especially if you have no public transport.

Flyboy152

Although I have not had time to do a full in-depth analysis, I am sure the figures stack up, in principle, in terms of the net saving. Even if the net cost is fifty pounds a month more than it was costing you before, it still makes a reasonable amount of sense.

almillar

Ah yes, that's the Mitsubishi iMiev or something isn't it? Peugeot have a version and now Citroen do too. Just to mention the range - remember that these things don't need to go to a 'Filling Station' so you're saving some time, fuel and hassle there. But these are definitely 2nd cars, for commuting, for the moment...

benjus

I don't know how this one compares, but I've used the electric Citroen C1 that Hertz On Demand used to have/still has for hourly hire at Lincoln's Inn Fields in central London.

It was quite fun to drive, didn't feel like a "real" car... however, it charged incredibly slowly, and even pottering around London I was mildly concerned a few times that I would run out of charge. Don't turn the heater on!

Personally I can't see what I'd use one for. I don't commute by car, and while it would be fine for going shopping locally it would be useless for weekend trips away.

forgotmyname

Yes laugh at the people who spend 20 minutes to queue for petrol and the price they pay, Until you come home
one day and need to rush out then have to phone around and tell everyone your going to be 8 hours late because
your battery is low.

Or can you book a venue somewhere closer to home as driving at night cuts 30% off your range. And you wont
have enough power to get there and back.

As soon as some bright spark comes up with a decent solution to charging electric vehicles it will be a gimmick. Problem
then is the government will have added tax and vat increases to electricity used to charge vehicles.

Tax for enviromental issues etc is all rubbish its because they can and will fleece the motorists. Diesel was cheap until lots
of cars started using it, LPG is creeping up in price. But isnt LPG a waste product, Thats enviromentally friendly?

Keith

Trouble with electric cars and charging points is they are very badly thought out.

There I was in MK a while back, "Oh look, an electric car charging point" says I.

As we walk towards it, we notice the car parked in front of it is a non-electric Audi and the council haven't put a restriction on who can park in front of the point.

thenudeone

Flyboy152 wrote: »

Now, the fully maintained contract hire rate is £358.00 a month (£4,296 pa). If you spend £80 a week (£347 pcm) on petrol and it costs £2.00 a day to charge, that's a net fuel saving of £290 a month.

£80 a week in a petrol car works out at about 400 miles a week depending on the car's size, (more in a diesel).

If that's all commuting it would be 5 days of commuting 40 miles each way, or about an hour's drive.

That's pretty much at the limit of the range and probably outside the range in winter when you need lights, wipers, and demisters on.

The website doesn't give 0-60 acceleration figures. I think the car would struggle to replace the comfort and speed of a standard car on a daily commute of that length. It could work very well, however, for someone making more shorter journeys, especially in a city environment, where acceleration and speed are less important, but they would probably not do the mileage you've used.

Strider590

Hintza wrote: »

0% emissions...aye right!

Yes really......