Hi all,
thought i might start a little debate with my new car.
Just ordered a Nissan Leaf
(I have a second car that is petrol)
and discuss...........
Neil
The first question I'd ask is:
Did you buy it because you want to save money on fuel? Or because you want to be 'green'?
Chris
Why not for commuting.
A chap here at work has a Renault Twizy, and the company won't let him plug it in to charge in the daytime as it would be regarded a taxable
benefit..
Thats a loaded question
quote:
Originally posted by ChrisW
The first question I'd ask is:
Did you buy it because you want to save money on fuel? Or because you want to be 'green'?
Chris
Chris
Save money blatently!
I have to say a car that I could only drive 100 miles (possibly 
) and then have to wait 8 hours to drive another 100 miles (maybe ) would get a
bit old rather quickly...... Nothing whatsoever against having a solely electric powered car but I would only want one if I wasn't going to be
having to constantly watch the miles!
fair point if you drive over a hundred miles regularly.
but i only do 40 a day, and it only take 15 (mins) to recharge 80%
plus i still have the petrol for everyday
and at 10% the fuel cost i can happily have a coffee while charging
A lot of the miles my wife and I do are local, so an electric car makes sense. A renault Twizy looks like a laugh.
As an example of a different kind of employer, my current client is a major telco and they've reserved 3 parking bays with power points for
people with electric cars.
thats the way it needs to be Furyrebuild.
I'm lucky too we have 12 charge points and more planned.
plus i'm getting a charge point installed for free at home (bonus house value increase!)
quote:
Originally posted by nib1980
Save money blatently!
Also, how are you supposed to charge it if you park on the street? Big extension cable from the front of the house screams of a nice little law suit
for someone who trips up on it and gets "whiplash".
And the batteries don't last that long so you have to be doing lots of miles per year which means you'll likely be doing more than a full
charge per day etc etc.
But I did like the leccy Ginetta as the pace car at Thruxton...
Not spending 20k on the car, getting it via the company.
batteries last ten years, and are covered under a exchange program (some cars i've had have failed there MOTs in less time on bodywork!)
but all valid arguments i've studied into
I reckon the way to save money is keep old cars on the road and not buy new ones...
If they are lithium polymer/ion batteries I doubt you will charge 80% in 15 minutes! It takes an hour to charge a 2250mAh RC plane battery!
I think for something like commuting you couldn't get any better, for set miles every day, knowing exactly how far you are going to go, but the
price tag is just too high!
I'll stick to good ol' hydrocarbons!
My commute is 20 miles a day. It only takes 5 minutes to recharge myself with some toast before I get on the bike!
Although it's not much fun in the cold, and I'll probably be killed at some point. But you can't have everything can you?
I considered this myself, would be fine for the wife to potter around in. But then i worked out that i only spend £1500 a year on diseasel, so it got
ruled out. However, if you were going to buy a new motor anyway, it seems a no brainer to me. Especially if you can bypass your meter!
But, the gov needs to spend some serious money on the national grid so its ready in time for the sudden demand as these cars become popular. I can see
it all come crashing down one day.
As long as its to save cash and not because you think its 'Green'.
I'd hate to work out how much harm making the batteries causes to our green earth
Is there not a third possible reason to have one outside of money and greeness, you might just like the way it drives.
How does it drive? I like the idea of one, as I'm told you have all the power available all the time, and in theory it should be really nippy
between 0-30 and great for just going into work or to tescos. I'd only need to charge it up once a month I reckon if I had one at the moment.
The great thing about it being a company car is there is no real risk to you.
Try it, if it works then great, if it doesn't then give it back after 3 years and don't do it again.
I suspect it is inevitable that commuting in the future will use electric cars.
Recharge overnight using spare electricity from nuclear power, wind, wave etc.
it's supposedly drives like a 3.5 v6 at 0rpm, but of course driving like that reduces range significanlty! so you tend to use it to cruise (bit
like the americans and their V8s)
and your right as its a company car it's only for 12 months at a time so no risk to me, or worries about batteries etc
quote:
Originally posted by nib1980
it's supposedly drives like a 3.5 v6 at 0rpm