How do ordinary people make the switch to electric vehicles ?

MX5huggy

Speed;- not really, mine doesn’t have adaptive cruise control, or speed detection, just standard cruise control which is more useful than in a manual (where using the clutch cancels the CC) the speed is displayed in large numbers (not unique to ev’s, but the first car I’ve had with it) so no I don’t find my self speeding unconsciously. The acceleration is however addictive. Every time I go out I think let’s see how efficiently I can drive this, then I pass a deregulation sign and boom 30 to 60 up a hill in 3 seconds, and I remember efficient driving saves me just 0.41p per miles so why bother. 

Petriix

There's definitely less feedback to tell you your speed. You get used to it after a while, but can occasionally get caught out, especially when it's dark.

BOWFER

I definitely drive my EV 'faster' than I did my previous car, and that was a Polo GTi.
It's just easier.
Not a case of breaking speed limits, just using the full performance more.
Full acceleration in the Polo was a noisy, aggressive mess.
The LEaf is a similar 0-60 (around 7 seocnds) but there's no drama and it's a giggle, so it's basically floored every time.
I don't have to worry about range.

motorguy

Grumpy_chap said:

I agree with what is being said by our friendly and super-cool Eskimo.

People still don't go to the car showroom for a mental workout and car sales people won't put the effort in.

I don't feel that the contributors to this thread reflect the majority of people assessing the ICE / EV choice.

There is no mental workout involved in comparing monthly payments.  

Arent we always (usually sneeringly) told that new car buyers only care about "the monthlies".  

If thats the case then its a simple comparison.

Or has the narrative about new car buyers been changed, because it now doesnt suit?

And sales people WILL put the effort in, if theres as much as a £1 more commission to be had for selling an EV, or if its the difference between selling a car and not selling one.

motorguy

DrEskimo said:

Grumpy_chap said:

I agree with what is being said by our friendly and super-cool Eskimo.

People still don't go to the car showroom for a mental workout and car sales people won't put the effort in.

I don't feel that the contributors to this thread reflect the majority of people assessing the ICE / EV choice.

Flattery will get you everywhere...

I tend to agree though. That's reflective in comments like "An EV is £10k more than the ICE, I could buy 5yrs worth of petrol for that!"...

A PCP monthly sort of get around that, since it's based on depreciation (+interest), but the GFV tend to be pessimistic and not reflecting how well residuals have held. Of course this is all with hindsight. No way of knowing if that will be true of the next few years....

The people actually "buying" new cars dont care about list price though do they?

You pretty much always see new cars advertised as deposit + monthly payment.  

People buy new based on "what can i afford per month?", not "what is the list price of this car?"

BOWFER

motorguy said:

DrEskimo said:

Grumpy_chap said:

I agree with what is being said by our friendly and super-cool Eskimo.

People still don't go to the car showroom for a mental workout and car sales people won't put the effort in.

I don't feel that the contributors to this thread reflect the majority of people assessing the ICE / EV choice.

Flattery will get you everywhere...

I tend to agree though. That's reflective in comments like "An EV is £10k more than the ICE, I could buy 5yrs worth of petrol for that!"...

A PCP monthly sort of get around that, since it's based on depreciation (+interest), but the GFV tend to be pessimistic and not reflecting how well residuals have held. Of course this is all with hindsight. No way of knowing if that will be true of the next few years....

The people actually "buying" new cars dont care about list price though do they?

You pretty much always see new cars advertised as deposit + monthly payment.  

People buy new based on "what can i afford per month?", not "what is the list price of this car?"

Agreed, list price is completely irrelevant to the vast majority these days.
Couldn't even tell you what the buy price of my Leaf is, not interested.
Don';rt even need to know for insurance, all they ask is "is it under £70K"

Jenni_D

MX5huggy said:

Speed;- not really, mine doesn’t have adaptive cruise control, or speed detection, just standard cruise control which is more useful than in a manual (where using the clutch cancels the CC) the speed is displayed in large numbers (not unique to ev’s, but the first car I’ve had with it) so no I don’t find my self speeding unconsciously. The acceleration is however addictive. Every time I go out I think let’s see how efficiently I can drive this, then I pass a deregulation sign and boom 30 to 60 up a hill in 3 seconds, and I remember efficient driving saves me just 0.41p per miles so why bother. 

I hope none of your driving is done that way.  

BTW - CC in my car isn't cancelled if the clutch is pressed, so it is easy to (re)set CC on and then change gear as the car accelerates.  

Grumpy_chap

motorguy said:

There is no mental workout involved in comparing monthly payments.  

Arent we always (usually sneeringly) told that new car buyers only care about "the monthlies".  

If thats the case then its a simple comparison.

Or has the narrative about new car buyers been changed, because it now doesnt suit?

And sales people WILL put the effort in, if theres as much as a £1 more commission to be had for selling an EV, or if its the difference between selling a car and not selling one.

My narrative has not changed - it is the cost of buying the car that matters, the monthlies are only marketing smoke-and-mirrors.

Your faith in the skill level of car sales personnel is quite amazing and not at all aligned with my experience.
My latest encounter to "not" buy a new car was as recent as September.  Lexus kindly sent me a marketing e-mail and I was tempted by the offer, enough to:

1. research their models on line
2. select a model I thought could be a purchase, model and the trim level, even looked at colour choices in the brochure ans what we'd most prefer
3. visit the local dealer while closed to show my wife the potential model, look at the shiny new one through the window and peer inside the used examples on the forecourt
4. discuss the car with Mrs Grumpy-chap and think about and agree we'd go for it if the deal was as good as the offer and we liked the car
5. visit the local dealer to enquire about the offer and request to arrange a test drive

The "not" then quickly set in as the conversation went pretty much like this:

• Hello, I'd like to see the new ES please.
• What car do you drive currently, Sir?
• Ford Focus
• Well, you see, the ES is not really that good as a car.  Let me show you our used UX models, they are much better cars which I really like and they are cheaper.
• It's not really the type of car I like, it is a lot smaller inside.  Maybe I'd be better with a Mondeo.
• Oh right, well we have got a couple of ES models on site that you could look at if you insist.
• Well, yeah, but you just told me they are not very good, so why would I want a car that is not very good?  Perhaps we'll leave it

So, off I trotted, no new car but a sour taste in my mouth.  This is really the type of useless experience I always get when meeting car sales personnel.

BOWFER

Colleague here just asked if I could call the local Nissan dealer on the off-chance they had a Leaf in stock.
They've got one, he's hot-footing it over now.
His car is blooming ridiculous for his solo commute though (diesel Ford Kuga).
The revolution grows! 

Grumpy_chap

BOWFER said:

Colleague here just asked if I could call the local Nissan dealer on the off-chance they had a Leaf in stock.
They've got one, he's hot-footing it over now.

That sounds like desperation