EV Discussion thread

JKenH

Grumpy_chap said:

70sbudgie said:

We are waiting for an all electric estate. 

MG5.
Though it is a smaller estate (like a Focus), not a real load-lugger (like a Superb)

As you say the MG5 has a relatively small boot for an estate car. In fact one litre smaller than my Leaf n- Connecta and around 140 litres less  than my Golf Estate.

https://www.parkers.co.uk/mg/mg5-ev/review/practicality/

silvercar

70sbudgie said:

There is a new, big blue (not relevant, I know, but makes it stand out) MG on my road. Every time I drive past it, I think I should wander round and have a look at whether it is a 4. I haven't seen it from the back yet.

I don't understand why SUVs are so popular. We are waiting for an all electric estate. With children, we like lots of horizontal space in the boot, SUV may have volume, but there's a limit to how high you can stack suitcases (or children's stuff).

Higher seating position suits us middle aged people as we start to crack and strain with age. Only need room for shopping as the Tesla boot is big enough and we rarely travel anywhere with the adult kids

EricMears

thevilla said:

There are fixed magnet motors as used in the Leaf and induction motors as used in the Ariya for example.   According to Tesla Bjorn the Ariya is much more efficient if you ignore the fact the Ariya is yet another drivable brick (SUV).  When will the SUV madness come round an end? We need pointy cars.

That's my motor knowledge exhausted BTW. 

If you want better aerodynamics,  remember that the 'pointy bit' needs to be at the back rather than front !

Think 'tear drop'

2nd_time_buyer

EricMears said:

thevilla said:

There are fixed magnet motors as used in the Leaf and induction motors as used in the Ariya for example.   According to Tesla Bjorn the Ariya is much more efficient if you ignore the fact the Ariya is yet another drivable brick (SUV).  When will the SUV madness come round an end? We need pointy cars.

That's my motor knowledge exhausted BTW. 

If you want better aerodynamics,  remember that the 'pointy bit' needs to be at the back rather than front !

Think 'tear drop'

I think generally frontal area is the dominant factor. With a given frontal area, as you say the coefficient of drag then becomes important.

Martyn1981

silvercar said:

I'm thinking of changing my 8 yr old Nissan Juke for an EV. The other family car is a model 3 LR Tesla, so I only need something with a range of 120 miles, I do have a preference for mini-SUV. Initial thoughts are a Leaf. I don't want anything too small, so a Mini or Smart is out and I don't want anything too big. If anyone has any other suggestions I'm listening.

The IONIQ is a good and efficient car. Our 28kWh is good for 130 miles, and can hit 150 if you drive a bit more gently. Probably around £20k, but the 38kWh will cost more. Very similar shape and dimensions as the TM3, but smaller inside.

Martyn1981

michaels said:

Martyn1981 said:

thevilla said:

michaels said:

thevilla said:

There are fixed magnet motors as used in the Leaf and induction motors as used in the Ariya for example.   According to Tesla Bjorn the Ariya is much more efficient if you ignore the fact the Ariya is yet another drivable brick (SUV).  When will the SUV madness come round an end? We need pointy cars.

That's my motor knowledge exhausted BTW. 

I guess that will be when people get home and decide they would prefer to lower themselves to sit with their bum a couple of inches off the floor at about the same height as their ankles whilst not being able to see the telly properly because it is still mounted halfway up the wall and being constantly in danger of having their head bashed by people walking around who fail to see them right down there, rather than use their favourite easy chair/settee....

Tesla seem to be successful with a point on the front of the vehicle.  As do F16s and Airbus A380s.  

Actually I was also thinking that the 3 & Y are quite pointy. Our 2018 IONIQ is very slippery too.

Have to say I find the SUV 'thing' a bit weird. We had a Zafira, big and bulky, but extremely versatile, and half the price of a 'SUV'. Also baffled at the TMY being called a SUV, it's just a fat 3. Maybe cars sell better if they are described as being a SUV?



Total change of subject, just got back from an exotic trip to the Covid booster site (I go to all the best places), and spent a pleasant few minutes in the carpark having a good look at a MG4, the first I've spotted in the wild. Kudos to Silverwhistle, it's a lot more car than I expected. Sleek nose, but a big old cabin, with loads of capacity. Very nice, and now I'm thinking even better VFM than before.

Whereas I thought it looked a bit smaller than I expected next to our leaf, and lower in particular.

I suspect the reason the Y outsells the 3 3:1 despite the 3 being 'the better car' and considerably cheaper is that people don't like sitting on the floor after all....

The standard range Y is ~£3k more than the 3, but the LR models are roughly the same price.

silverwhistle

Martyn1981 said:

Total change of subject, just got back from an exotic trip to the Covid booster site (I go to all the best places), and spent a pleasant few minutes in the carpark having a good look at a MG4, the first I've spotted in the wild. Kudos to Silverwhistle, it's a lot more car than I expected. Sleek nose, but a big old cabin, with loads of capacity. Very nice, and now I'm thinking even better VFM than before.

Glad I've been for my Covid booster too, as I tested positive this morning!

I can't remember if I've mentioned on here that somebody was experimenting with the MG4s V2L capability and got to 7KW! That might be useful for a few people?

Gave my sister a lift in mine and she moved the front seat _forward_ as it was so roomy!

JKenH

“The Lucid Air is head and shoulders above a Tesla Model S”

I realise that not many of us money savers on here will be buying a Lucid Air, but then again there are a lot of mentions of £40k+ cars which you wouldn’t think would be the normal territory of MSErs. The main take from this article for me, though, is that the myth that Tesla cars are 5-10 years ahead of the opposition is just that; a myth. 

What Tesla still, though, does better than anyone else (BYD aside, perhaps) is manufacture EVs in volume. The likelihood is, in the future, there will be a Tesla beater at every price point (perhaps there is already) so potentially Tesla’s sales advantage in the near future will hinge on production rather than being the best car in class (as it was when all the previous models were launched). Will Tesla enjoy the same dominance when it launches the TM2 when there are already competitors out there like the MG4, Ora Cat or whatever BYD is producing?

 With so many good cars being rolled out now will someone who wants a Lucid Air (or whatever the top dog in their chosen sector is) be prepared to buy a Tesla just because that is all that’s available? With all the competition out there now, Tesla production could get ahead of demand.

Tesla sales growth can only be sustained for so long by the cult following it currently enjoys. Or can it actually defy gravity and be another Apple?

Just my opinion.

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/lucid/air/359242/lucid-air-head-and-shoulders-above-tesla-model-s

Martyn1981

Thought I'd pop this on here as it's early days (so perhaps 'news tomorrow'), but has set discussions alight on the Youtube channels.

Sounds like big battery news, but so do many hundreds of other articles, and TBH I got completely lost, very quickly. 

My personal guess on such matters, is that there simply seem to be too many for significant progress in batts not to happen. But I'm clueless on which one's will, or won't move us forward a bit / a lot?

MIT Researchers Solve Dendrites Mystery To Creating Smaller & Lighter Batteries

A breakthrough regarding dendrites made by MIT researchers may finally open the way to the building of a new type of rechargeable lithium battery that is safer, lighter, and more compact than existing models, a concept that has been pursued by labs all over the world for years.

The replacement of the liquid electrolyte between the positive and negative electrodes with a considerably thinner, lighter layer of solid ceramic material and the replacement of one electrode with solid lithium metal are the two essential components of this prospective advancement in battery technology. By making these changes, the battery’s overall size and weight would be significantly reduced, and the flammable liquid electrolytes that provide a safety risk would be eliminated. Dendrites, however, have proven to be a significant obstacle in that pursuit.

Grumpy_chap

Well, just been out for the afternoon with the MiL. 
There happened to be a display in the shopping centre of Toyota / Lexus vehicles, including the bZ4x.

MiL commented that it was a car that was launched too late to be a success because electric cars have had their day and on the way out.
This odd statement was backed up by reference to someone MiL knows who went to Cornwall in their EV and had to stop twice to plug it in.  Now, from us to Cornwall is a slow 250ish miles (depends where in Cornwall, obviously) and probably takes 5 hours at the best of times.  I commented that two stops seemed reasonable given the need for comfort breaks, only for MiL to retort that was ridiculous as it was an easy journey without stopping and how it was essential that EV's were consigned to history.
I knew it was not worth continuing the discussion any further given how MiL is stubborn and it was not worth the effort, even when she is provably wrong.

I just though this was such an odd viewpoint so I share it to see if it has any more general traction amongst people in general.

Now, for quite different reasons, I do think that the bZ4x is a car that has been launched too late.  Not because EV's are history, but because the intransigence shown by Toyota and other legacy-auto risks them becoming also-rans while they sit back and let new start-up businesses steal a march.