Could this be a "FREE" car?

Trebor16

Flyboy152 wrote: »

There is apparently a quick charge option that takes only half an hour.

Would that option fully charge the batteries?

colino

If you have access to an external 400V DC terminal capable of passing 120A, it is possible to recharge the vehicle to 80 per cent in 30 minutes.

Trebor16

colino wrote: »

If you have access to an external 400V DC terminal capable of passing 120A, it is possible to recharge the vehicle to 80 per cent in 30 minutes.

I wonder how many people will have access to those? And would a charge of 120A be too much for the car?

Jemma1986

Keith wrote: »

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.

Sadly there's not sufficient demand to make all the electric charging point parking spaces in MK exclusively for the use of electric vehicles... so instead anyone can pay and display between the hours of 10am and 4pm. The assumption being that if you're commuting to work you'll be there before 10am and have the opportunity to fully recharge before the journey home. Plus the council then get parking revenue from shoppers in their regular cars during the day - likely to change when more people go electric though!

Flyboy152

colino wrote: »

If you have access to an external 400V DC terminal capable of passing 120A, it is possible to recharge the vehicle to 80 per cent in 30 minutes.

I believe some of the roadside charging points in London have this facility. There is also a call for many car parks to provide them as well.

If people don't buy the cars, then the requirement for charging points will not be there. It all has to start somewhere.

Trebor16

Flyboy152 wrote: »

I find it quite odd, the abject rejection of the thought of an electric car being used on the roads. Why are so many people so dead against them?

While they cost nearly £30k to buy and have a range, at best, of no more than 100 miles, then people are not going to give them a second glance. Maybe when the price and range of them is comparable to cars with internal combustion engines then people might start to use them.

smitchy73

Well some of the cars that are available to buy just now are in the region of £25k-£30k Nissan Leaf is about £26k, which for less money you can buy a VW Golf Bluemotion 1.6tdi, so you can buy the car for about £18.5k plus fuel at about £1.40 per litre for 60k miles and still have change from the nissan leaf, why bother and have the range anxiety.
However, from what I've read, I like the Renault Zoe which when it comes out should cost about £13k plus a battery lease for 15k miles p.a. will be about £85 per month, so adding all this together comes in a shade over £16k over 3 years, okay you still have your charging costs, but there are even some companies now who for a set monthly fee will install an external charging point at your home, and/or your work, plus you get access to their network and won't have to pay for the use, this will be included in your monthly fee, or you can just have the one charging point at your home/work if you can do it that way.
I also liked the thought of the Vauxhall Ampera or Chevrolet Volt which are range extending vehicles where a small petrol engine runs a electric generator that powers the wheels, so you still get the benefits of the electric vehicle but get the range of a small petrol car - in a big car, HOWEVER, from what I read it has about an 8 gallon tank for petrol and you only get about 300 odd miles out of this, whats different between that and a small car, and for this you pay over £30k.

To me the leasing of the batteries is the way to go as you're not responsible for the upkeep of them so if they need changed the cost isn't yours to pay, plus and more importantly it makes the car that bit more affordable to normal folks(like me) I can't afford a £30k car but I can afford one at half the price.
My work place is willing to let me charge there as well as home, I do a round trip of just under 70 miles, I don't tend to ever go anywhere else other than work and home again, then I can still go out at the weekend on seperate trips.
At the end of the day when the car I want becomes available I will be asking for an extended test drive so that I can drive it real time conditions and not just a two minute trip around the block, I've been trying to run my car on my journey without using the heater and although the temperature here being about +5/6 degrees it's still quite cold and it's worked okay so far, but not great so I'll be making sure that I know what the range will be like with the heater running, lights being used and most importantly the radio being on for my 45-60 min drive. Some people will be able to make great use of an electric car, and for others it's not suitable, for me I believe it will be suitable, within my price range and a nice wee car.
Electric cars are only 0% emissions from the vehicle, no-one is saying that the generation of the electricity is 0% emissions, but on my doorstep I have three windfarms, and a nuclear power station, but I pay the same if not more than some of the people in the rest of the Country, within about another 30 miles radius of where I live is I believe one of the UK's biggest wind farms.

Trebor16

I see Flyboy is up to his usual behaviour. He starts a thread, gets asked pertinent questions and ignores them. What a surprise:D

sidjoloo

We have found an excellent deal for a 3 year lease on a Citroen C-Zero for less than £200 per month, so we've been test driving the car this week before signing on the dotted line.
My husband drives about 50 miles per day, and puts £80 every ten days into his MG (approximately £240 per month). The C-Zero will cost £196 per month, and each recharge at home is about £1.20, so based on 5 working days per week it will cost about £26.
We are already "saving" £18 a month on fuel cost alone, and then there are other benefits: nil car tax, lower maintenance (new cars under warranty), future increased fuel costs, no Congestion charges, free to park in many areas of London, and we have also discovered that many of the charging points are free! My husband has been going to Clacket Lane Services where he can park at the front door of the shopping area and get an 80% charge in half an hour. Obviously, they want you to go into the services and spent some money... but he's cannier than that!
I've got a company car and we always use that for longer journeys, so the C-Zero will be purely for commuting and driving in London.

forgotmyname

So if for some reason he cannot charge it whilst at work he wont have enough power to get home? What if he cant park at the front door to the shop and charge it?

Whats the range when its snowing with the heater and lights and wipers going?

Im thinking his journey to work and back will need at least an extra hour to stop off somewhere to charge up again.

If it was 25 miles each way, Then go for it. 50 miles each way is pushing it.

Other reviews state 80 miles. So will it do a 50 mile winter journey?

Buy a C1 or similar.

Ahhh AutoExpress said typical journeys see it needing a charge in 60 miles.

So he wont make it in the winter then.