Would you buy a petrol/diesel car now, or only buy electric with the state of the oil industry?

[-]

ShqueakBob@reddit

Electric and I’ve got plans to get solar panels in the future

[-]

your_swindon_lot@reddit

Just bought a nearly new petrol Kia Sportage with 7 year warranty. Our rationale over EVs:

we keep cars for 10+ years and I am unsure about the longevity of EVs. My diesel Mondeo is 10 years old.
EVs are more expensive than ICE
I’m not convinced by overall cost effectiveness of EVs with par per mile coming in

[-]

Notagelding@reddit

Last month I paid 7p per kWh off peak, this month it's reduced to 3.5p per kWh. Pay per mile is planned to be 3p. But which part of cost effectiveness are you not convinced by?

[-]

The highest peak electricity demand in the UK in recent years was 62GW in 2002. Since then, the nation’s peak demand has fallen by roughly 16% due to improvements in energy efficiency.

Even if we all switched to EVs overnight, we estimate demand would only increase by around 10%. So we’d still be using less power as a nation than we did in 2002 and this is well within the range the grid can capably handle.

Source: https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero-stories/can-grid-cope-extra-demand-electric-cars

Additionally, the UK is hoping to get rid of setting the price of electricity based on the price of gas. By 2030, they hope the price will be set by renweables 95% of the time (I will believe that when I see it).

Obviously, I can't comment on future tax changes

[-]

THW-44@reddit

That's promising at least, I just don't have much faith in these companies especially when they used to say they need to go to back up power during half time of a world cup game with everyone using a kettle. Hopefully the renewables take us into a decent energy future

[-]

Acceptable-Split6348@reddit

Which companies?

What do you think "back up power" is?

[-]

THW-44@reddit

Any company that has to keep shareholders happy whilst providing a public service

[-]

Acceptable-Split6348@reddit

Which companies?

[-]

Beginning-Bird9591@reddit

I hope you do understand a nation using less energy is also going to have a worse GDP. It's a perfect correlation and explains why the Uk has gone to utter shite in the last 20 odd years.

It has to be funded by electricity tax. It'll inevitably jump up... Just like it had jumped up and incentives cut.

The best thing "we" can do as a collective is force competition, because a monopoly never - never benefits the consumer.

It's money or control that one profits from, so who is profiting from the change in consumer practice?

[-]

Kaliasluke@reddit

I think new vs new there’s no contest, but you can get very reliable, very cheap 2nd hand ICE cars - ours cost £10,000 when we bought it 5 years ago. We use it relatively infrequently, so only buy about £50 a month of petrol. I’ve not seen EVs available for less than £20k, so even if electricity is free it’ll take 17 years to pay back the difference in purchase price.

[-]

Englishmuffin1@reddit

I paid £10k for a 4 year old hyundai ioniq electric (top spec) with 35k mi in December.

My i3 was £9500, but I've seen sub 4k Renault Zoe's.

[-]

mr_mlk@reddit

I've not yet seen EVs for less than £20k

atsevoN@reddit

How much did you pay for the car?

[-]

superioso@reddit

We drive to south France regularly and I don’t think an EV could make it as conveniently as ICE

I’m not convinced by overall cost effectiveness of EVs with pay per mile coming in.

But don't forget petrol/diesel has fuel duty, which, assuming 40mpg, works out as about 7.25p per mile...

Electric is only going to be 3p/mile and PHEV only 1.5p/mile.

Having said that, I don't drive electric to save money, I do it to reduce CO2 emissions. I don't expect to save more on reduced fuel than the additional cost of the car... I knew that when I bought the car...

[-]

THW-44@reddit

I don't have all the stats but is it that much better? By the time you mine all the resources, take out second hand markets so more cars need building, isn't some of our electricity still made by burning coal too? I'm all for going green and bought solar and batteries for the house, but EV'seem to be a false economy

[-]

Sharter-Darkly@reddit

Untrue, here's a great video explaining why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oVrIHcdxjA

[-]

IntellegentIdiot@reddit

Strange thing to say for someone who bought a battery and solar

[-]

Freedom-For-Ever@reddit

My research came up with a break even time (from CO2 point of view) of 2 to 3 years (from memory), assuming batteries manufactured from fresh raw materials. I have had my car for almost 3 years now (1st MOT just booked). I plan on keeping it for as long as I can... hopefully another 7 years.

But then, at that point, the elements within the batteries can be recycled.

lazyplayboy@reddit

Europe is easy to EV in.

[-]

Acceptable-Split6348@reddit

We drive to south France regularly and I don’t think an EV could make it as conveniently as ICE

How regularly?

[-]

Sensitive_Tomato_581@reddit

Plenty of high mileage old Teslas and Kias around - no problem and nearly new evs are comparable in cost with ICE cars. Kia make excellent EVs all with 7 year warranties and servicing so much cheaper as well.

[-]

EntirelyRandom1590@reddit

A new Kia EV comes with a 7 year warranty, and an 8 year/100,000m battery warranty.

A diesel Mondeo doesn't have that.

If you're driving a Mondeo-sized EV you'll have no problem getting to the South of France.

[-]

bluejackmovedagain@reddit

On your last point. If anything, France is more convenient than the UK for charging. Most E.Leclerc's have a whole row of fast chargers, and the car park every tiny town has in front of the Hôtel de Ville generally has at least a few.

[-]

GoodTato@reddit

As far as i'm concerned, electric's been the only sane choice since they got good years ago. Not even in a weirdo eco-shaming kind of way, they're just convenient. Can't really put a pretrol station on your driveway.

[-]

omgu8mynewt@reddit

They're great if your rich and have a driveway, lots of people dont

[-]

ayeayefitlike@reddit

Or if you live very rurally and are prone to the electric going off. We get a few power cuts a year in our rural farm cottage in bad weather, and being able to just drive to the nearest town for a chippy or to my MIL’d for a hot shower is lifesaving - and with no ability to charge the car and no real options for public transport we’d be stuck otherwise.

It’s why we still have a wood burning fireplace despite having an ASHP and solar panels.

I’d consider a hybrid for the next car, although we don’t have a driveway and getting a charger installed would be a bit tricky and we’d need to figure that out. But I wouldn’t go fully electric for that reason.

[-]

I didn't realise there are still parts of the uk without reliable power supply, you must be very rural

[-]

ayeayefitlike@reddit

It’s not that we don’t have reliable power supply most of the time, but in bad weather it goes out. It happens a few times a year, but often enough we do plan for it. And it’s not worth how potentially stuck we’d be without a car if we had several days without electricity.

It’s an increasing problem in rural Scotland because of the increasingly bad storms. Look at the news after every big storm and see parts of Aberdeenshire, the Highlands, the Borders and Dumfries & Galloway that all end up without power. There’s news reports right now from this weekend.

[-]

CrossCityLine@reddit

The only sane choice unless:

you live in a flat
you live in a terraced house with no drive
you live in a rented house and you’re not allowed to install a charger
you live in a rented house and don’t want to pay to install a charger you can’t take with you on a home you don’t own.
you regularly travel further than the range of your car
you can afford the initial sizeable purchase price vs a comparable ICE car
you work somewhere without chargers
you can deal with expensive battery replacements when the time comes
you can deal with battery degradation after a few years and the subsequent range hit and therefore increased charging frequency

Which is quite a sizeable proportion of the country.

I’m all for electric cars, but there’s very little to actually persuade me to buy one at the moment.

[-]

superioso@reddit

Realistically if you're going to buy a new or nearly new car anyway then the purchase cost of either an EV or petrol car will be similar. If you only buy cheap second hand then it's a different story, but there are still some very cheap older EVs which is just fine. The earlier generations have generally have lower ranges and slower charging, if that fits with how you drive then they're fine.

[-]

Would be amazing if you could let me know which black magic spell I need to use to get in touch with Birmingham City council. Been trying to get an answer about my recycling for over a year

[-]

EntirelyRandom1590@reddit

Here you go mate.

Email: majid.mahmood@birmingham.gov.uk

https://ubitricity.com/en/birmingham-launch-ubitricity-ev-charge-point-network/

[-]

Luke639@reddit

lol they put one of these a few roads away from me for a road of 200 terraced houses about 2 cars a night can use it. Why don’t you give him a shout see if you get anything except an auto response like every other birmingham council email that exists

[-]

EntirelyRandom1590@reddit

Why? I don't live in Birmingham, chick.

[-]

CrossCityLine@reddit

I drove 2000 miles around Scotland camping this summer, most of it was VERY rural.

I’d say that was quite far away.

[-]

EntirelyRandom1590@reddit

So did you speak to your local authority about charging solutions or not?

[-]

EntirelyRandom1590@reddit

Even today, octopus have been dumping cheap (for some negatively priced!) energy throughout the day.

[-]

SubjectiveAssertive@reddit

you regularly travel further than the range of your car

That bit is still my stopper, I did 700ish miles last week on a really annoying deadline, so I'd need a car with a 300+ mile range to stand any hope in hell in doing that... sadly nothing electric with that range is currently within my price point

(although there is a couple that get close.... so check back with me in 18 months)

[-]

hereforGOTtheories@reddit

I don't have a driveway and just bought and EV. As long as there's charging points it's not bad to charge and usually a bit cheaper than petrol, otherwise about the same.

Also the batteries will usually outlive the rest of the car. There's people with 200k on some older Tesla's.

Range is surprisingly not that much of an issue. I don't really want to drive for more than 2 hours without a break, so doing 30-40 minutes (rapid) charge on a long journey to have a bit of food etc makes sense. It's be annoying if you were doing like an 8 hour trip I guess.

[-]

Plus_Pangolin_8924@reddit

First 4 points I agree we need to figure out how to allow people to charge with flats and rented accommodation. It’s a huge issue!

I did a 400 mile trip in my EV that’s does 200 miles to a charge in winter. We had to stop before I was close to 0 so took the time to top up and made it there with zero issues.

Second hand EVs 2-3 years old are priced like an ICE car are now. They are dirt cheap.

Battery degradation is a huge non issue. Modern EVs loose about 2-5% in the first year and people are seeing a max loss of 8% after 6 years. Of course like everything depends on how it’s charged, used etc but it’s nowhere near as bad as people make it out to be.

A replacement engine is also very expensive. I don’t see how that’s an issue and something that’s way more likely to happen than an EV battery failing. There’s some cars out there at 200k and still on the original battery.

Most of what you say was true 10 years ago but not anymore!

[-]

ponytoaster@reddit

It's not even figuring it out, thats usually just an accessible public charger, the issue is the cost of public charging. Near me the on road ones are few and far between, if more than 10 people on the road had an EV they would never be able to charge. Many on road are also very slow and have parking restrictions too to keep them freed up.

Our neighbour had an EV when Tesco had cheap charging but now it's just not economical to do it

[-]

Past-Obligation1930@reddit

Some of those are legit, but the battery range reduction is much less than people were worrying about, now. The first gen batteries were much worse for this than those in cars now.

Also, almost no-one drives more daily than the 250 mile range of my 5-year-old Kia e-Niro.

[-]

OrangeCushion256@reddit

Yup. I'm a renter, in a flat, without a private driveway and street parking is a nightmare, hoping to get a mortgage and move within the next couple of years, so electric is a no go for me for now.

Communal car parks and on-street parking solutions exist, get targeted funding and are expanding fast.

You're allowed to install a charger at a rented house.

Why is travelling beyond the range an issue? Public charging exists for that reason.

Expensive engine replacements too?

What battery degradation? Is this your 2014 nonsense?

[-]

CrossCityLine@reddit

not anywhere near me they don’t
I’m not putting my money into a house I don’t own and might move out of soon
I might go somewhere without chargers. I camp rurally a lot
you really think engines need replacing more than old batteries?
you don’t think EV batteries degrade? Yikes.

[-]

EntirelyRandom1590@reddit

Show us on zap map.
There's grants for landlords. Not your money.
You don't have to charge your car every night. Infact many people use their car to power their camping (V2L).
So why is the engine warranty always less than the EV warranty?
The evidence is that modern EV battery degradation is less than 5%. It's like complaining your car lost 5% MPG, which often happens.

[-]

RoohsMama@reddit

Yes on #2. We put a nice bidet in our rented house. Can’t get it back! That’s just a bidet. Can’t imagine if I install an EV charger.

[-]

sidneylopsides@reddit

I'd say you have valid points apart from the battery cost and degradation, they've been shown to degrade much less than expected. 20 years and 200,000 miles wouldn't be unusual.

Battery replacements would cost a lot, but it's not like it's a common thing, similar to having to replace an engine.

[-]

DoomscrollerUK@reddit

Two thirds of UK households have off street parking so most could get home EV charging but there’s still a significant minority who will have to work it out.

[-]

Lonely-Ad-5387@reddit

Two thirds of UK households have off street parking

Where on earth are you getting that figure from? Where I live up north the majority have on street with no designated spaces and that's before I even think about the number of people who live in flats with no dedicated space attached.

Like I'm not saying you're making it up, but I wanna see them figures sourced.

[-]

Acceptable-Split6348@reddit

Where I live up north the majority have on street with no designated spaces

This is unusual. I'd ever even seen this situation until I was 18.

[-]

Extra_Standard5802@reddit

Did you not get out much?

[-]

So I own my home, but will need to install a charger at a cost of £1300, but then I can't just connect to my car cause even though I have a parking spot the cable will traverse the footpath, meaning I need a licence from the council to have their own preferred contractor dig up the pavement and install a channel, and that's another £1300. So roughly 2.5k spent on home charging.

Oh and occasionally my parking spot is taken by someone who's decided to park in it, meaning I need to park elsewhere and wouldn't be able to charge.

Then it's a decision of going to a garage, the local shell one at 89kwh or maybe 10 miles away at 49kwh. There's no sane answer here other than to wait for a better solution to EVs

[-]

ZekkPacus@reddit

On the flip side of that, I can't get EV charging in the public parking outside my flat, and until that becomes available and/or I have guaranteed access to it (it's first come first served and I frequently have to park a street or two away), an EV would be massively inconvenient for me.

If you have a driveway and can get a charger installed they're the better choice for probably 95% of motorists, but the edge cases sadly still exist.

[-]

crgoodw@reddit

Completely agree, I have a miniscule front garden with no opportunity for a driveway, on a road that is only a single lane. Identical to every street around me for roughly 1/2 mile.

We have some rapid chargers on a hill nearby and a handful of streetlights with them on, but if everyone went electric around near me, it would just be a wild bun fight every day for a charger.

Which is pretty gutting, cause there are some decent second hand EVs still going for real cheap!

Sure, modern electric/digital technology works better and has other benefits. But you lose the mechanical/analogue elements.

For me, this feels like the soul/character of the machine. Without character, the car becomes just another piece of equipment.

For sitting in urban traffic, I'd rather have an auto or an EV. But I'd also like to have a car with a soul for the weekend. It doesn't have to be particularly fast, just enjoyable to drive and within my budget (another MX-5 ND could work).

[-]

[-]

Long-Signature-6481@reddit

I had one, too. 729 miles on a single tank and over 72mpg. A 2005 Passat 140 Sport (saloon) with six-speed manual. Midnight Blue. Superb car.

[-]

epicmindwarp@reddit

I've done a 400 mile round trip in 3/4 of a tank of diesel. Could've done it in half had I been a bit less throttle heavy. 60mpg isn't uncommon on the M40.

[-]

Not_Alpha_Centaurian@reddit

I tend to do a lot of long distance motorway driving, and i do a lot of miles. Diesel has traditionally been the better option for that kind of driving profile.

[-]

epicmindwarp@reddit

Make sure you're looking after your DPF if you're not down long drives.

I learnt that the hard way.

[-]

BamberGasgroin@reddit

So did I, and I was doing regular long drives (2hrs+), so I get my cars remapped now.

The final straw was a 300 mile drive in limp home mode a few years ago, followed by a Honda dealership 'clean' that only lasted 50 miles before it reoccurred.

[-]

wimpires@reddit

I agree, If I could charge at home id replace my car with an EV ASAP.

Fortunately, the government has come out with a small amount of guidance lately saying that if you have permission from the local authority and national highways they will give a (small) grant to install on-street charging

[-]

someguyontheweb99@reddit

Unless they can guarantee you a space outside your house it’s not much use if you live on a busy street. I haven’t parked outside my house for about a week

[-]

wimpires@reddit

The guidance explicitly says it doesn't give you "ownership" or priority of that space. However, to be fair most of us only need to charge once or twice a week and I think between that and a gentlemenly agreement to avoid parking there where possible it's not a bad solution. Od hate for a charger install to become proof of a car park space on-street. The best case scenario is just plenty of cheap public chargers so that even when yours is blocked it's not the end of the world

[-]

KingDaveRa@reddit

I have two choices for parking my car. One in the block of garages about 30m from my house, or on the road, about 70m in the other direction. And those are 'as the crow flies' distances, I use a 50m power extension and hose to pressure wash my car by the garage. And as we have two cars, it adds to the complications of power.

If there were public chargers on the road we could do it, but I can see those turning into a bun fight.

Petrol it is for now, unfortunately.

[-]

CherryRoutine9397@reddit

Honestly this is one of those decisions that depends way more on your situation than where the industry is going. People talk about the end of petrol like it’s happening tomorrow, but realistically it’s a slow phase out, not a switch overnight.

If you need something affordable right now, petrol or diesel still makes a lot of sense. Cheaper upfront, easier to find used, no stress about charging. Electric is great if you can afford it and have easy access to charging, but if that’s not sorted it becomes more hassle than it’s worth.

The bigger thing is how long you plan to keep the car. If you’re holding it for 5 to 10 years, yeah, EVs probably make more sense long term. But if it’s a shorter term buy, petrol is still completely fine and honestly what most people are still doing.

People overthink this because of headlines. The reality is simple. Buy what fits your budget and daily life now, not what might happen 10 years from now.

>When was the last time you drove 500 miles without stopping?

Never. The issue is more so when was the last time I drove 500 miles without stopping *where there's ev charging available*, which was like 2 weeks ago. And yes, driving out of my way and stopping for longer than i'd like every time I make that journey or similar *is* an inconvenience

[-]

Acceptable-Split6348@reddit

You simply did not drive 500 miles without passing an EV charger.

[-]

The_AJR@reddit

Yes of course I have, especially at the moment with them being sky high but the other 99% of the time it’s a moot point that doesn’t really get spoken about.

And when did I say I needed to drive 500 miles without stopping? The point is I can stop wherever I want to stop without factoring in if it has a charger. Especially when visiting more rural places like the Peak District there’s a lot more petrol stations than there is chargers. Not to mention that chargers can often be full so you can’t use them. I went to the Trafford centre not too long ago and literally all the tesla super chargers I could see had cars in them and were taken. If the petrol station is full, you just wait in a queue for 2 mins and then you fill up.

[-]

Reallyboringname2@reddit

Sounds like they’re sharing best practice and giving each other tips. Not a bad thing.

[-]

The_AJR@reddit

It’s even more boring than your name though.

[-]

R1ch0C@reddit

Why's there so much angst that you have complained about the drawbacks of EVs? I feel like as with everything there are pros and cons but for some reason people have to dive in with passive aggressive "uhm not that difficult is it??" Type comments, I can only assume its somehow become an emotional topic

[-]

Acceptable-Split6348@reddit

Because all the criticisms are just so stupid.

Don’t you know you just plug in your car, go get a coffee and by time your done the car will be charged 😂

It doesn’t matter that it cost twice as much to charge than an ICE and then another tenner for a drink. Plus adding 20 minutes to your journey.

[-]

Reallyboringname2@reddit

Last time I made this mistake the queue in Costa was long and my car ended up charging almost back to full- costing me an extra £20 I didn’t plan on / need to be spending! Hahah

[-]

Mundo7@reddit

Which is more than made up for by the £3 to charge the vehicle overnight at my house

[-]

fadgebread@reddit

Because he's probably lying. Even older EVs can go 300 miles yet every time he has "to do a longish journey it's very stressful"!?

London to Newcastle is 280 miles so where is this liar going on holiday?

[-]

fidler2326@reddit

Because they all regret buying one and basically have to lie to themselves that it's better.

[-]

IntellegentIdiot@reddit

They weren't getting snappy. If anything they were the ones complaining

[-]

iamabigtree@reddit

It can be when you follow EV discussions and see the same tropes trotted out again and again.

Personally I find getting to a destination in the UK is no problem.

The main issue is when you're on your holiday and then you want to do day trips to see the area. If your accommodation doesn't have charging then keeping the car topped up can be a pain.

[-]

bouncypete@reddit

I've done 85,000 miles in my Tesla. I've been as far as Stuttgart and as remote as the Mull of Kintyre and I haven't had any issues.

[-]

ponytoaster@reddit

I think Tesla have it easy though due to the network. If you live in parts of Cornwall and Devon it's a different story!

[-]

I had this a couple of times with octopus and it’s always down to octopus/the car manufacturer/the charger manufacturer changing a small detail randomly meaning the rest of the system doesn’t talk to eachother properly.

In the end I unlinked the car from octopus, linked the charger directly and haven’t had an issue since.

Another friend of mine doesn’t bother with the intelligent part at all and just schedules a timer for the cheap overnight rate and leaves it at that.

If you’re having trouble, just do that.

[-]

Grimdotdotdot@reddit

I did that and Octopus changed me from Intelligent Go to some flat rate tariff, the fucks.

[-]

Juju8419@reddit

I’m connected to the charger and not has a single issue. I will never buy an ICE vehicle again

[-]

I charge overnight for most use, but I bang it on without the timer if I’m doing a long drive. Most of the time it’s me screwing the charging schedule anyway. The solar panels stop anything being an issue from now to the end of summer, anyway.

[-]

brit953@reddit

Why not just plug in and charge without the timer on the occasions when you have to have a full charge the next day. Might cost a little more, but probably not as much as the inconvenience of your car not being ready for the trip

[-]

Silver_Macaroon1875@reddit

8p on the cheap rate, 35p or something on standard. Whilst still cheaper than petrol, paying that sort of money is against my religion.

[-]

IanM50@reddit

So 3p a mile for an EV on cheap rate, versus 15p or more for petrol or diesel.

“Hundreds”

I’ve been driving EV for 5 years and got my first home charger last month.

Prior to that, I’ve spent no longer than a TOTAL of 30 minutes waiting to get on a charger in all that time.

And I’ve used “hundreds”of public chargers.

I wonder how many ICE cars we’ll see queuing in the coming weeks…

[-]

Acceptable-Split6348@reddit

/r/ThatHappened

[-]

MorningToast@reddit

Where do you live? Out of interest.

I've had absolutely zero issues charging and frequently drive 250 mile round trips for work and to visit family.

[-]

Different car ;)

[-]

Any-Skill-5128@reddit

I’m gonna have a look at that app if I’m wrong fair play but even so travelling 25 miles out the way when your trying to go somewhere else is still a ballauche

[-]

EntirelyRandom1590@reddit

Who said out of your way?

[-]

TinyZoro@reddit

Most people are cost conscious. Does the unpredictable cost of petrol not worry you? I currently run a cheap old petrol but I wouldn’t buy a new petrol at this point.

[-]

brabrabra222@reddit

For the car, not really. We do maybe 2-3k miles per year or even less.

Best let the Japanese know who are building an infrastructure...mate. And they're not alone. Just because something isnt happening here it doesn't mean its not viable (and BMW actually have a pretty big programme.

I think you might like to look into hydrogen technology vs the manufacturer and recycling of EV batteries by contrast.

[-]

Bumble072@reddit

The Japanese are wise to follow with tech and they are following Hydrogen.

[-]

IntellegentIdiot@reddit

Them thinking Hydrogen is a viable option tells you all you need to know about the quality of their analysis.

[-]

Past-Obligation1930@reddit

Last time I drove a petrol was when I had my EV in the garage. I was astounded by how crap the acceleration was.

Hydrogen is nonsense, the chain losses in producing and using hydrogen from electricity (or natural gas with CCS) make them pretty poor from an environmental standpoint. Batteries use less and less of whichever element the mining of you disagree with every year… and oil extraction isn’t exactly great for the environment.

[-]

We have been charging on a normal 3 pin plug for 18 months and I can’t count on my nipples the number of times it would’ve been more convenient if we had a 7kW charger. It’s so rare to come home with an incredibly low battery, at a time late enough, that it wouldn’t charge enough for an early trip the following day.

[-]

Paul73uk@reddit

We did this for 3 years with our first EV, installed a metal clad socket (more robust) in a small rital panel with a door on it. We only upgraded when our friends moved house and gave us their old 7kw type 2 charger (I’ve turned that down to 3kw anyway)

[-]

Total_Rules@reddit

Our cars both have 250+ miles of range so it’s never an issue.

We don’t really think about it and just plug in often to keep them topped up.

[-]

wallenstein3d@reddit

That's good to know. We've had an EV for two weeks and it has similar range and we're now thinking about a second for my wife, sounds like we'd be fine topping up slightly less often and still comfortably keeping day to day range intact.

[-]

Reallyboringname2@reddit

Probably only need to charge once or twice per week so it’s unlikely an issue. If both need a full charge on any given day you would charge one the previous day and maybe top it up in the morning.

[-]

iamabigtree@reddit

Not OP but this is what we do. Both our cars have around 200 miles range so us both arriving back and both needing a charge just doesn't happen. Especially as if there's been a long trip then we'll be together.

I like electric cars, they make a lot of sense... But I also hate modern cars. Early 2000s cars were peak for build quality, and just the right balance of tech.

This shows a massive misunderstand of what uses electricity.

[-]

Ashamed-Platypus-147@reddit

£128 to fill our BMW520D, our EV will do 14,000 miles for that with our current night rate of 3.19p. Over a years driving for one tank of fuel, but only if you can charge at home.

[-]

Less-Sympathy3778@reddit

Why not get a Shire horse,? You don't need to plug it in to recharge it or fill it up with diesel or petrol.

[-]

bluetooth_pizza@reddit

I would have an EV but unfortunately I'm not remotely rich enough for a drive or a garage so home charging isn't happening. I'd rather have a petrol or diesel than deal with the faff of charging on the road

[-]

Top-Significance8791@reddit

God the ev brigade are almost as bad as vegans.

Buy an EV if you want to, or don’t. Who cares what other people do.

Maybe they work for some people but they won’t work for everyone, stop trying to push it. These comments are exhausting.

[-]

iffyClyro@reddit

I’ve been thinking about going for an EV. Current volatility isn’t swaying me, fuel price rises also have a knock on impact on electricity prices and some fast chargers at service stations and such like are more expensive than standard fuel.

I’ll make the switch when I’m ready, overall I think it’s better but current events aren’t the reason.

[-]

nithanielgarro@reddit

This is completely untrue. I've been running an EV fleet of 14 cars and my staff travel across England and there have been zero price rises for public chargers.

We use Podpoint Bp pulse Ionity Tesla super chargers Instavolt Shell recharge

Not a single one has changed their prices. Appreciate you might have an agenda in your comment but it's not appropriate to lie.

[-]

People dont operate on "social impact" they operate in reality - ie/what they can afford, is practical and common sense from their perspective.

[-]

EntirelyRandom1590@reddit

Of course they do.

You know why we got rid of leaded petrol?

How about EURO emissions standards, DPF, adblue?

Or maybe exhaust silencers, pedestrian impact protection?

Or do you add lead to your fuel, map out the emissions equipment and stick spikes on your bonnet?

People make compromises all the time. Because of perception of benefit and risk. Because of aesthetic reasons. Because of prejudices. That happens from the bottom of the car market all the way to the top.

[-]

Bumble072@reddit

Consumers look at the options and make the decision right for them.

[-]

AMD1607037@reddit

Older high mpg petrol any day of the week. Better in lretty much every way that matters.

[-]

mr_mlk@reddit

EV only, I'm unlikely to buy ICE cars again.i get I'm in a somewhat privileged position, with a drive and enough solar to mean the driving in the summer months is free.

[-]

snoopswoop@reddit

Is it though? Losing export at 15p is more expensive than charging overnight at 7.

I never charge off my solar.

[-]

mr_mlk@reddit

If I sell at 15p then buy back at 7p or not is kinda irrelevant to the point. During summer driving an EV costs nothing, where as with petrol it costs the same as driving at winter.

[-]

snoopswoop@reddit

It costs you 15p, not nothing, it's totally relevant.

[-]

HR_Specter@reddit

I'm never going to buy an electric car.

[-]

target51@reddit

I test drove a e208, coming from a 1.4 golf it was a really tough sell. The performance just wasn't there for me. The biggest issues I have with EVs are:

Ride Height - I feel like I am sat on top of the car not in it
Interiors - I LOATHE the current trend of interiors
Non-Chinese car - I work in cyber security and there is a compelling case to not have an EV from a Chinese manufacturer (In fact if you get high level security clearance they don’t want you to have a Chinese EV
Range - My current car on a full tank will take me close to 500 miles (I have no ability to charge at home)
Soul of the car - I'll fully admit I have only driven the e208, but it just felt a bit empty to drive. Like it was whispering rather than shouting even when having a bit of fun.

If an EV came out that didn’t have the stupid super-glued screen effect that everyone copied from Telsa and that had a seating position lower to the ground, non-chinese and a decent range, I would be in. Until that time I will stick to ICE cars. (To be clear, I WANT and EV, but I just dont like the styling, ride height, etc...)

[-]

[-]

RaymondoH@reddit

Took delivery of my eC3 just days before this shitstorm started, I feel kinda smug now.

[-]

Depress-Mode@reddit

Can’t charge at home and the cars that are capable of the range I need are very expensive, Porsche, Audi, and Polestar.

[-]

ButterflyRoyal3292@reddit

We have company cars, about 10 in total.

Our jobs require travel across the country, and includes Ireland.

We would not cope with doing our job in electric vehicles.

[-]

volster@reddit

I guess it depends on budget and use-case for me.

At both the bottom and top end of the market i think ICE still wins.

You've got a job to find anything under 5k that can go more than 200 miles - It's also pretty much anything you like as long as its a 1st gen Leaf, or perhaps the odd Zoe... Not much hope if you need something bigger.

In another 5-10 years I'm sure depreciation will work its magic and bring more options into the poverty price bracket, but as for right now the choices just aren't really there.

On the other end of the spectrum, if you're looking for something that's got a bit of life to it - While EV's can undeniably be shockingly quick .... It's just not got the soul of a v8, or even a straight 6.

If you enjoy driving as an activity in and of itself, rather than just a means to get from place to place.... then i think petrol still wins.

There's also just an element of "last chance to see" - With the looming ban in 2030.... If i had the money for something fun I'd far rather get the last hurrah of petrol (with a manual transmission if i could find one) while i could than rush to embrace the future and then they're gone.

Where i think EV's already win is in the "box on wheels" category. If you need a family car / something to get you to work every day etc, then provided you have off-street parting to be able to charge it - it's something of a no-brainer.

The fuel cost i think is something of a red-herring. We're already seeing per mile charges being announced as a substitute for fuel duty, and energy prices are no less subject to fluctuation and supply disruptions based on current events than petrol is.

IMO the real win is in convenience of having a full "tank" every morning; The reduction in mechanical complexity and associated maintenance issues, and a power-boost when compared to a same price-bracket commutermobile.

.... Albeit typically in exchange for slightly worse handling in the form of weight. However given the type of driving typically being done, that's not a terrible trade-off.

[-]

BrieflyVerbose@reddit

Electric cars are nowhere near good enough to be even considered an option for me. And as far as I can see things going, they never will be.

I'll be sticking to engines as long as I can

[-]

WarAdventurous5277@reddit

I would only buy EV if that was my only choice.

[-]

linkheroz@reddit

A vehicle with enough range and carrying capacity with an ability to tow isn't remotely in my budget so yes.

[-]

jk844@reddit

I wouldn’t mind a fully electric car. I just don’t like the design language.

EVs insist on looking pseudo-futuristic. They want to look like the bridge of the star ship enterprise, specifically the one from the 2009 reboot.

If EVs were designed to look like normal cars then I’d absolutely buy one.

[-]

New_Line4049@reddit

Currently Id stick to petrol. Home charging is not possible here, no availability of charging at work, nor anywhere else I routinely travel to, so Id need to make regular special trips to somewhere to charge..... and then sit watching paint dry while it charged until I could go get on with life. The infrastructure currently is a fucking joke. I also.take regular longer journeys. Im not convinced Id save much with the price of public charging, until recently it would definitely have been more expensive, although I must admit Im not certain how the recent petrol price increase changes that, but if its now brought public charging into saving vs petrol it wont be close to enough to be worth the significant inconvenience.

[-]

zephyrmox@reddit

If you can have charging at home and you are the average person (i.e. do not drive massive long distance trips frequently), EVs make sense.

Of course one of the leading countries for ev production has an exemplary record for pollution control.

Plastics too, yes recycling materials is good, we can overlook the byproducts of that process and just glaze at the bigger picture.

The batteries are at least as far as I know, using lithium polymer in their makeup at present and lithium is known to be not only volatile but also mining for it has a significant impact on the environment.

Aside from that, I am comfortable in keeping my own car well maintained and have no intention of relinquishing control of the ability to spanner as and when necessary.

To be honest I didn’t realise it was that quick now. Might be doable: the reason we drive to Northern Spain (1000 odd miles) twice a year is so we can take the dog so if it’s only half an hour I could take break from the car, take her for her a walk and would be ok. I thought it took longer, like an overnight charge

[-]

iamabigtree@reddit

Overnight is for the slower - and cheaper charging. Like at home.

Rapid chargers are the ones at services that are done in half an hour. Honestly most of the time I'm rushing back to the car to unplug rather than waiting on it charging. But there is of course times when I don't have anything else to do and have to sit there for 20 mins.

[-]

Strong-Librarian-OOK@reddit

It might actually be doable. My dad has a holiday home in northern Spain and we go twice a year. Midlands to near Figueres. We always stay at the same hotel (at Bourges, central France) that has a charge station for an overnight stop. That wouldn’t be an issue.

It’s the midlands to Bourges on day one, Bourges to Figueres on day 2 that always put me off. Can’t do either on a single tank of fuel so the idea of having to hang around for a charge really put me off.

[-]

iamabigtree@reddit

My planner says for my car that would be 3x 20 min stops. Which considering the drive is 7 hours that's how many times I would be stopping anyway roughly every 90 mins. But of course you may prefer longer stints.

There's no denying that ICE is better for this sort of trip. It's the offset of that vs driving you do from home that's the evaluation.

[-]

VariousBeat9169@reddit

EV. I’ve been EV for 3 years as my main car. Second car is a petrol convertible, feels archaic by comparison. The key is being able to charge from home, cheap as chips.

[-]

After having an electric fire 3 years it's petrol all the way now.

[-]

jimmy19742018@reddit

No driveway or charger for electric, got a diesel at the min, next car will be petrol

[-]

Evening-Carrot6262@reddit

No brainer for me.

My diesel cost £2500, which was pushing my budget to the limit.

People saying "oh you can get a used EV for like £20k" are forgetting that is a LOT of money for some of us. That extra £17,500 gets you a lot of fuel.

Plus:

I can't have a charger at home or work.

There are no chargers in between my house and my work.

An EV would be totally pointless for me.

[-]

IntellegentIdiot@reddit

Who's saying you can get a used EV for £20k? You can get a new one for £10k and there are used Leafs for under £2k

[-]

Evening-Carrot6262@reddit

Fair enough.

Not around here, though. Did a search on autotrader for evs under £3k in my area. One came up, and it doesn't charge.

[-]

GuaranteeCareless@reddit

Can’t charge at home so EV doesn’t really work. I ran an ID3 for four years with home charger and it definitely works on balance. Had to move last year to a place without home charging. Stuck with it for about 6months then decided petrol would be the way to go (have reservations about environmental cost of diesels).

Enjoying petrol at the moment notwithstanding cost increases, it’s definitely a more relaxing drive when not planning journeys around charge spots. Plus my back is thanking me for not spending so much time sat in the car when charging. You can’t buy a coffee and cake every charge!

Once ranges surpass 500 miles I will consider EV.

[-]

Small-Literature9380@reddit

We will be buying a second hand EV for our next car. At present we have both petrol and diesel ICEs. However, we are fortunate in having generous off street private parking, we already have our own solar panels, and we are currently adding air source heat pump, lots of additional insulation, upgraded double glazing and a double battery setup. The house itself is having an extensively glazed south facing room added, partially to act as a passive solar cell feeding an air to water heat harvester for hot water, and partly to feed a simple air transfer system to heat the north end of the house. The eventual aim is to be as far as possible independent of external energy supplies. Up to now we were reluctant to try EVs because of making 400 mile trips on a regular basis and not having home chargers. As our situation has changed, we are attempting to partially cut costs, but as importantly to get nearer energy self sufficiency.

[-]

cokyrobes1@reddit

I’m never going back to ICE, been fully EV household for 6 years now

[-]

Nickjc88@reddit

I'll buy petrol over everything. Prices don't bother me, I've been driving 17 years and I've never looked at fuel prices, I just fill up at whatever petrol station is closest too me at the time. I can't charge at home so petrol is the easiest way for me. I can see the positives for electric but at the moment, it's petrol cars for me. Also the prices of electric cars and 99% of them are incredibly ugly or impractical for me. I need a car with 3 full sized rear seats and paying £10,000 for the perfect car over £30,000 for an electric equivalent isn't worth it.

[-]

FinanceBloke99@reddit

I can't wait to get an EV and completely get rid of my gas car.

You'd be surprised at how often the EV parking spaces are empty because the EV charging points are not working.

You might be guaranteed a parking spot, but you are not guaranteed the convenience of actually charging your car up.

[-]

flight147z@reddit

It's also very expensive compared to home charging so most EV users don't use them

[-]

We have a house with a charging point. I recently was due replacing my 7 year old Corsa. The other half has an EV through work, which they pay for. We can both drive it for personal use too, the employee just claims work-related miles back. That one does just under 300miles.

So I got a Jeep Avenger EV. Previous owner had done just over 2000 miles and it wasn’t even a year old - people are just giving up on them when they don’t have their own charging capabilities at home.

Even just dropping down from one petrol car to an EV… our outgoing costs have fallen. There’s some bargains to be had if you’re willing to spend time searching.

Absolutely love the car. Theres nothing quite like driving an EV, and the decent ones have loads of character. I loved driving petrol, and have always enjoyed driving anyway. But I’m a total convert now.

We’ve had the work EV for a few years so “range anxiety” is a thing of the past. If we’re travelling a considerable distance, we simply plan the lunch break to coincide with a charging point. It’s easy.

CountryMouse359@reddit

I have no way of installing a charger at home. An electric car would be nice, but it just isn't feasible.

[-]

jattthelad@reddit

i bought an EV 4 years ago. no charging at home so i park at the local tesco and charge it there. its a pain but it is what it is. i did have charging at work but i've been let go last week.

i've contact lancashire council 4 years ago regarding a gully for a charger. they said it was on trial. i emailed them a few weeks ago and there's an apparent waiting list.

[-]

lazyplayboy@reddit

EVs are definitely more environmentally friendly. Absolutely not perfect by any means, but your comment is objectively incorrect.

[-]

tacticall0tion@reddit

I'm still stubborn on the fact I don't want to commit to a fully EV car, I'd absolutely go for a decent hybrid. Especially after it costing £105 to fill my Astra this Saturday....

I could quite do my weekly work commute on the battery in say a Chevrolet Volt, charge it at work, or over night on a Tuesday. Charge it on a friday for weekend bibbles, then got ye old combustable for the holiday drives, which can charge the battery to bibble around on holiday a bit.

[-]

Chuck1984ish@reddit

I have an EV and a petrol,

After the first week or so of stressing about range and if the blowers are using too much battery etc I just stopped thinking about it.

I've done 300+ mile journeys, including Scottish islands.

It's really just not the issue people think it is. Id get rid of the petrol car Tomo no with no hesitation aside from the fact it's paid off so we'll run it into the ground.

I will add I had a major fault and needed a whole new main battery, even that's not really made me think twice. I got a brand new battery and a brand new courtesy car while I waited.

I prefer everything about my EV.

However if I couldnt charge at home I definitely wouldn't have one!

[-]

What puts me off is the cost of replacing a battery on an electric car. It's much more expensive compared to traditional vehicle batteries.

[-]

lammy82@reddit

You should be comparing it to the cost of replacing the engine, not the 12V battery!

I bought an EV in Feb simply because I do 50 miles a day just to get to and from work which was costing me a tank of fuel a week (with some weekend driving too), but if I didn’t do that then I likely wouldn’t have got one.

Petrol/diesel all day long. EVs just aren't there yet. Less efficient, more cost and rubbish miles.

[-]

Telematic-aardvark@reddit

I would prefer an EV. But I can't charge at home right now so it'll be a petrol or petrol hybrid for me next

[-]

Much_Line_7388@reddit

Hybrid petrol cars are the way forward. EVs have no resale.

[-]

Redvat@reddit

Petrol. I usually buy a 3-5 year old car and sell it once it gets to 10 years old. I can imagine I’d recoup much of my money when it comes to selling a 10 year old electric car where the battery is out of warranty and only holding 80% capacity.

[-]

escapingfromelba@reddit

Petrol.

The maths when I ran the numbers a year ago made no sense for electric. Don't do enough miles to save enough on fuel to offset the far higher price and insurance that a model of the size that I needed was. Plus it does over 650 miles on a tank so the odd long trip we do never turns into the charger hunt that I've had to do when traveling with friends.

Each person needs to look at their own use case

[-]

ClydeB3@reddit

I bought an electric car a couple of years ago. I'd happily go electric again in future too.

I don't have a home charger so it's not the cheapest to run, but now I'm used to working charging into my routine it's been nowhere near as big a problem for as some people make out.

[-]

ivysaurs@reddit

It's the change in routine bit for me.

When I got my petrol Dacia Sandero, I was living in a top floor flat and getting a charge point installed was not an option with the leasehold or freeholder. Now that I'm in a terraced house with off street parking, it is possible – but the positioning of my house makes it difficult for us to install a charge point for our use without blocking all of our neighbours from accessing the shared parking.

Frustrating, but hey ho. That's the joy of affordable new builds LOL.

[-]

ClydeB3@reddit

Yeah, I live in a first floor flat (shared ownership & leasehold) and the management company keep saying no chargers. I'm hoping they'll change their minds eventually.

NGL I've considered getting a really long extension cable and just throwing it out my window...

[-]

Wickpick@reddit

When you bought the dacia sander did you announce to the family GOOD NEWS

[-]

ivysaurs@reddit

omg, I never got that reference before but now it's dawning on me why my partner got a Dacia Sandero and then recommended it to me 😂😂

He loves James May. We have his cookbooks ffs.

[-]

Front_Pepper_360@reddit

Hybrid only.

[-]

Toffeemade@reddit

I think the imposition of a daily charge for all ICE private cars within the ULEZ is inevitable and only a matter of time. I will have to charge illegally by running a cable across the pavement as I live in a terrace, but so be it.

[-]

little_green_star@reddit

My parents have a Cupra, three years old. I call it their difficult fourth child. It’s incredibly sensitive, not a month goes by without some issue with it. It’s also not great in the snow or ice and holidays can revolve around finding a charging point. Even with the apps, it can be tricky. They like not being reliant on petrol and they’re retired, but there’s no way my dad could have relied on it for work and his daily commute.

[-]

Smaxter84@reddit

Gas production has been damaged more than oil...even if the straits open they can't produce the LNG.

Electric prices come winter likely to be just as fucked as petrol and diesel. They will pull the crazy cheap night rates when it costs them too much (or more likely, just increase the normal rates for the plebs who don't have 80k electric tanks lol)

[-]

pipsta2001@reddit

I'm in my 20s. At the moment, EVs are very expensive to buy, insure, and repair. I also have worries about the longevity of them and the amount of tech that can be abused by companies (for example data being tracked and sold). I live with family so it's impractical (and again costly) to install a charger at home, esp when I might move out in a few years. I currently have a 19 year old car that I am very happy with. Paid less than 2K for it and it goes good MPG. Just starting to explore options for my next car.

[-]

Notorius_Womble@reddit

I'm buying my first new car this year after years of older cars. It will be a hybrid most likely.

Electric cars are expensive to purchase, and not great for the long trips around the UK that we do several times a year. The people I know that have them moan about long journeys or have ice cars just for that.

Charging infrastructure isn't quite there for me yet, needs to be faster and more plentiful. If my life was based round a smaller area and only a few thousand miles a year I'd totally switch though.

[-]

BlueOvalRacer@reddit

Rather shit in my hands and clap than drive an EV.

[-]

Capable_Tip7815@reddit

Feeling smug with our 2 EVs, not gonna lie. Been driving them for 3 years now and wouldn't go back. My brother has had his for longer. I have driven to Cotswolds, up to Dornoch, to Skipton. He has driven to Cornwall and Isle of Wight (delivered in Central Scotland). Neither of us have had any issues with travelling and charging. We both have home charger points - an initial vulva ache to install as we both have flats but worth it.

A fiver to charge my EV; £3 for my partner's. I charge nightly in winter but every other night in mild temps. My partner's car is a smaller battery so he does a couple of hours peak rate.

[-]

davus_maximus@reddit

I'd go EV. The main factor for me is the skyrocketing traffic congestion. It's fickle, unpredictable and on my work route, intensely start-stoppy. It's never, ever, going to get better. With my petrol manual, my clutch knee started to ache. I f**cking despise petrol autos, they drive me to homicidal rage. So, EV was a great choice.

The other deciding factor was that I was sick of blowing exhausts.

Luckily I have a small yard to granny-charge in, and dirt cheap charging at work. If I didn't have those I'd have stuck with a petrol.

[-]

IntellegentIdiot@reddit

I've wanted an EV for the last 30 years but they didn't exist and it's only in the last year or so they've become affordable for me. Surprisingly the price of uses EVs continue to fall, you can get a Nissan Leaf for under £2k and while it's ancient for an EV it's a brilliant car and for that price it's a no-brainer

To be honest my main concern is environmental as well as a concern for energy security. I'm really happy that I got my first EV in the autumn wish I could have justified the expenditure earlier

[-]

Ok-Personality-6630@reddit

These fuel issues have happened time and time again and been much worse and I still buy diesel.

[-]

xxdavidxcx87@reddit

Yes absolutely, can't really charge at home and don't want to queue for hours at Christmas eve like I saw people doing last Christmas, and god knows what other taxes the government will slap on EVs.

Petrol, we have the refinery capacity and I don’t like the way diesel sounds.

If I had to buy an EV it’d be a Tesla.

[-]

IllPlane3019@reddit

Either way you're screwed if you're not well off.

£35k-50k electric car using electricity at above market rates unless you have an extra 20k lying around for solar and batteries.

or

A Diesel/Petrol car with fuel prices that's vulnerable to global conflicts, that's also never subsidised because we wont drill our own oil and that's always taxed because this government will do everything it can to extract whatever little money you have until you die.

[-]

iamabigtree@reddit

Above market rates are you meaning for public charging?

[-]

Snooker1471@reddit

Well thank the lord for all the other governments previous who NEVER taxed us especially at the petrol pump, Tobacco counter and of course at the bar. /s

[-]

teal1601@reddit

Umm, you can get 2nd hand EVs from £10,000 upwards, you don’t need to spend £30,000 and night time charging for 4-11p per kWh which equates to 1/10th of the cost for a petrol/diesel trip if you get 40mpg.

An EV may not be the answer but if you have the money and were going to replace an old car anyway why wouldn’t you go EV…

[-]

Serious-Top9613@reddit

I’d stick with my petrol. Can’t afford to install an electric charger (or whatever they’re called) in the driveway. And I sometimes stay overnight with elderly relatives to help them out, who don’t have a driveway (so, I’ve got to park on the street).

There’s someone in my dad’s estate that doesn’t have a driveway, and charges their EV by having the cable go across the footpath. And yes, there have been people tripping over it, to which whoever owns it receives complaints.

[-]

iamabigtree@reddit

If you have a drive you can charge a car. All you need is a plug socket. Which I assume you have in your house.

[-]

Fellainiac@reddit

Complaints are the least of their concerns, people could go for an injury claim under such circumstances.

[-]

DoctorOctagonapus@reddit

The only reason I don't drive an electric is because I live in a flat and have no way of charging it at home.

I think even with the recent increase in petrol it's still cheaper per-mile to run on petrol than use public chargers.

[-]

Souldestroyer_Reborn@reddit

I’ve just made the jump to an EV as a single car household. New car arrives next month. Done it through the work scheme, so it’s just a lease, but I’m at the point of not giving a fuck about “owning” a car anymore.

I can just take this one for a few years and then change it with another brand new one down the line.

Unfortunately the current cars alternator packed in so that’s a fucking expensive repair.

[-]

AndrewHinds67@reddit

I would only buy an electric car when they can match the range of a diesel car. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for doing away with our need for oil, but as my car is paid for and only £35 a year to tax, I'll stick with it until I can't.

[-]

[-]

SubseaGardener@reddit

Bought a petrol car this week, its actually cheaper for me as I was used to running on super unleaded as opposed to unleaded

[-]

HobNob_Pack@reddit

Couldn't decide... got a hybrid instead.

[-]

PerLin107@reddit

Petrol all the way. If only newer disesel cars could run on used cooling oil (remember Clarkson on TV showing that on ome of his programmes) otherwise would be diesel.

[-]

Mr-Thursday@reddit

It's a 350 mile drive from my current home to where my family lives and I make that journey too often to be comfortable with an EV that would run out of charge before getting there.

I'd like to get a plug in hybrid though.

[-]

Kitchen-Sky-160@reddit

Bought a used EV a few months ago and increasingly glad we did, even without home charging. Yeah you have to factor regular-ish charging, but we’re lucky we have local infrastructure that means we can a) charge at parity / slightly cheaper than running a petrol car and b) can easily fill the time that the car is charging with something worthwhile. Can see this wouldn’t be the case everywhere.

We’ve just done our first long distance journey and other than the range taking a bit of a battering from driving on faster roads than normal, we had zero problems. Chargers were available and we just timed them to coincide with lunch / coffee stops we would have been taking anyway.

Wouldn’t say buying the car itself was more expensive than the closest equivalent petrol.

Well I kinda only use mine when I need to leave the city and live in a flat without any charge points but I see the range and charge times improving every year so at some point this won’t be a major issue

[-]

T0mmyVerceti@reddit

Petrol

[-]

I'm aware of that.

But I live in the Highlands and EV charging, particularly fast charging, is not as common as it is down south.

If I want to go back a couple of Munros and they're 200mi away, I can't do that there and back (400mi) on one charge. I could potentially plan a stop on the way there or back to break up what is actually a relatively short journey time wise and wait for it to charge, but from experience you run the risk of one of the few EV chargers being out of action.

Whereas with a handy diesel, I can do that on a single fuel tank fill, and in winter I can carry a 20L jerry can of spare fuel if it's even more remote.

[-]

First_Folly@reddit

No. Nowhere to charge it and they're expensive compared to conventionally fueled cars. Doesn't help that I live in the arse end of nowhere, not far from somewhere that only got fibre internet installed two years ago.

[-]

yoy78@reddit

I wouldn’t say no to an EV but charging at home would mean decapitating anyone walk down the street due to being in a flat with on street parking only. And quite honestly that sounds like a lot of paperwork.

[-]

Select_Fig_31@reddit

Bought one used a few months ago. Depreciation means it's an absolute bargain provided you're the type who only buys a new car when the old one is dead

220 miles real world when the battery is 80pc charged and I can charge at home. It's a no brainer for my circumstances.

[-]

Tonythepillow@reddit

I live on the 6th floor and have to park in a car park with no charging facilities. I work all over the country. I do have a plug in hybrid (does about 35 miles on electric) because I got a good deal and was looking to the future if my building gets charging points or if I move somewhere that does.

It’s probably 2 months since I plugged it in anywhere. I sometimes charge it from the engine on the motorway before using electric mode in a city, there will no doubt be mixed opinions on whether that helps anything.

The state of the oil industry sadly has very little bearing on what I do because I just need to carry on. Diesel prices appear to have been hit so much harder than petrol but it’s still costing more than it did.

What are we going to do? It’d have to double in price before the train became more feasible for most of my journeys.

Fully electric cars seemed to be much higher insurance when I looked although it wasn’t always a like for like comparison, but as a teenager it’s all hugely expensive.

[-]

Sad-Prune9025@reddit

We have a ICE car and a EV since the fuel price shot up we have been using the EV it’s cheaper to run fun to drive and have found it handles everything.

Down side is doing super long rides with it.

[-]

lordsteve1@reddit

We have no realistic way to charge an EV at home so we’ll be sticking to petrol for a fair while yet I reckon. Millions of people in the UK are in the same situation where they have no off street parking to charge a car in. Running cables all over the pavement is a non starter in many council areas too so in the current situation it’s simply unworkable for many.

We can totally see the benefit of an EV in a city or town, but the practically in there yet.

[-]

Sway_RL@reddit

I don't buy new cars. But my next will be diesel if I can find one for a decent price.

I currently have a diesel and it's just better imo

[-]

Not having to make a specific trip to fuel up is a bonus, just having it top up while sat on the drive is more convenient. I've only used a public charger once just to see how it worked, not had any reason to otherwise.

I know they don't work for everyone, if you don't have a drive, or regularly drive more than the range (how many people do 2-300 miles in one go most days though?). Some people will want the old school feel of manual and ICE, but for the majority who just want to get A to B, or if your preference is comfortable cruising, EV is great.

[-]

jamesycakes231@reddit

I'm keeping my diesel but have ordered a bike to commute and so I can be more smug than ev drivers.

[-]

nothingnew09876@reddit

None of the above, I'd buy a Toyota Mirai if I had the money, FCEV's are the future.

[-]

EntirelyRandom1590@reddit

Then guy one. They're dirt cheap. Barely sold. Hardly any hydrogen stations left. And the hydrogen tanks have an 8 year life, and you can't fill them after the expiry date...

[-]

IhaveaDoberman@reddit

Technology and infrastructure still aren't at a point that I'd consider the change.

Not to mention, there simply aren't any all electrics I find particularly appealing.

And I don't see the point of getting a brand new car, or changing car every few years. So the only EV's in the price range of many very nice pre owned cars I could get, are just monumentally shit prospects by comparison.

[-]

m1nkeh@reddit

the oil price gas no bearing on me choosing an EV, they’re great to drive

[-]

xXxTommo@reddit

If someone magically invents a sensible and practical way of charging at home without a driveway on a terraced street I'd consider it.

Nope.

Not interested in an iPad on wheels that’s feeding a massive data stream back to the manufacturer about every little thing I do in it. (I am aware that this s brand new ICE cars as well).

Tip of a really shitty iceberg.

Wait until the insurance companies inevitably barge in on all that.

I just recently got an EV. To run it, it's under £30/month. My last car was a fuel guzzler at £70/week (I only had it from September to December of last year) and the one before that was £25/week.

I get it if you do 100 miles a week and have a driveway.

I drove to spain and was so grateful fory petrol car.

Also the manufacturers want to change the whole battery instead of individual cells.

In 10-15 years it will still be a mix of petrol, electric and hydrogen.

One idiot causing a war is not going to change car manufacturing

[-]

Cantthinkifany@reddit

As far as I know EV are going to be taxed on how many miles you drive. -something ridiculous like that it’s decided or is being talked about. I am sticking with my car, don’t have the money to buy electric, nvm if this mileage tax becomes a real thing

[-]

OctaneTroopers@reddit

I'd give it 2 months then but a bargain petrol or diesel car.

[-]

DameKumquat@reddit

I bought diesel last year, because I needed a 7-seater and didn't have £30k.

I don't drive that much but glad we filled up 3 weeks ago at 1.59, as it's now 1.89/l. They're putting in chargers at our petrol station atm, and also doing 500 others over the next year. By then, anyone urban would generally be better with EV, if they can afford the upfront cost.

Looking into installing solar panels, though.

[-]

evenstevens280@reddit

Probably not because I have no way to charge it at home due to not having a driveway

pgnlzbth@reddit

We got a Nissan leaf in 2019 and I’ve recently bought a second hand one as a ‘second car’ for my daughters and I to use. I’d never go back to stinky ICE with all the associated issues / expense.

[-]

Remote-Pool7787@reddit

It’s not a choice for me. I can’t afford an electric car and I don’t have the ability to have home charging

[-]

Stinkinhippy@reddit

In the fortunate position of being able to charge at home.. so won't be going back to ICE unless that changes.

[-]

klmarchant23@reddit

We have been fully electric for 3 years now, hybrid for 3 years before that and wouldn’t go back to fuel now.

Our current car does more or less the same mileage for a full charge as we used to get in a full tank in our previous cars, so charging for long journeys at home means we leave full and mostly get to our destination as needed and only have to re charge as if we were refuelling.

It’s a non issue given how improved the charging infrastructure is now.

[-]

AutoModerator@reddit

Please help keep AskUK welcoming!

When replying to submission/post please make genuine efforts to answer the question given. Please no jokes, judgements, etc. If a post is marked 'Serious Answers Only' you may receive a ban for violating this rule.
Don't be a dick to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on.
This is a strictly no-politics subreddit!

Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.