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[Rangie]

Just read that VED will more than likely be introduced in next weeks budget for all electric cars which up to now have been exempt, knew it would happen eventually & to be honest I'm pleased about it could never see any reason for them to be exempt when the rest of us have to pay for the "pleasure" of driving.

[ronnyd]

The Chancellor must be losing millions with all the electric and hybrids about. Also some ICE cars, even diesels, are a stupidly low annual rate.

[Nick W]

The Chancellor must be losing millions with all the electric and hybrids about. Also some ICE cars, even diesels, are a stupidly low annual rate.

The 1.0l Ecoboom Focus is only £30 p/a. Which isn't as good as you'd think, because the 10 year timing belt interval instantly absorbs all the savings in a massive, one-off expense.


And you've been driving a 1.0l Ford for that time, which isn't pleasant.

[TheBoy]

The Chancellor must be losing millions with all the electric and hybrids about. Also some ICE cars, even diesels, are a stupidly low annual rate.

The 1.0l Ecoboom Focus is only £30 p/a. Which isn't as good as you'd think, because the 10 year timing belt interval instantly absorbs all the savings in a massive, one-off expense.


And you've been driving a 1.0l Ford for that time, which isn't pleasant.

Had a bucketload of them in hire cars, and in the little Fifi in particular, its a decent enough little lump to drive around with, if somewhat uneconomical.  In the Focus, though, you are punished heavily for not being in the right gear, and it seems to need a bit of extra ragging....    ....just the job for a hire car

[TheBoy]

The Chancellor must be losing millions with all the electric and hybrids about. Also some ICE cars, even diesels, are a stupidly low annual rate.

Mrs TB's soot chucker is currently £0 VED...

[Nick W]

The 1.0l Ecoboom Focus is only £30 p/a. Which isn't as good as you'd think, because the 10 year timing belt interval instantly absorbs all the savings in a massive, one-off expense.


And you've been driving a 1.0l Ford for that time, which isn't pleasant.

Had a bucketload of them in hire cars, and in the little Fifi in particular, its a decent enough little lump to drive around with, if somewhat uneconomical.  In the Focus, though, you are punished heavily for not being in the right gear, and it seems to need a bit of extra ragging....    ....just the job for a hire car

My sister drives the thing using the gear change indicator, so it barely breaks 40mpg and throws fault codes all the time. I don't, and it's currently showing 44.2mpg and runs as well as it ever does.


It clearly has a tiny turbo and heavy flywheel, and to me drives like a 3.0l Essex; a small rush of torque until 4000rpm when it completely runs out of interest - a sort of anti-Vtec . You couldn't call it smooth. And that's before the mechanical flaws start emptying your wallet.


I don't like the rest of the car either

[TheBoy]

I don't get near that economy, but who does from hire cars .  I change up when its running out of breath, which is disappointingly low for a small engine.

But there are more hateful engines fitted to small cars than the 1l ecoboost IMHO, like the shite fitted to Hyundis, whose only benefit is that the engine stands a chance of outlasting the chocolate gearboxes.

But, then, I'm talking hire cars, not stuff I'd actually own myself

[Doctor Gollum]

If £600 a year is the price to pay to be able to overtake uphill and cover bicyclists in soot, then I consider that a fair exchange. 

[Marks DTM Calib]

The Chancellor must be losing millions with all the electric and hybrids about. Also some ICE cars, even diesels, are a stupidly low annual rate.

The 1.0l Ecoboom Focus is only £30 p/a. Which isn't as good as you'd think, because the 10 year timing belt interval instantly absorbs all the savings in a massive, one-off expense.


And you've been driving a 1.0l Ford for that time, which isn't pleasant.

Had a bucketload of them in hire cars, and in the little Fifi in particular, its a decent enough little lump to drive around with, if somewhat uneconomical.  In the Focus, though, you are punished heavily for not being in the right gear, and it seems to need a bit of extra ragging....    ....just the job for a hire car

Hateful is the only word, they also eat Cats about every 40k miles, assuming they don't melt the piston crown when the wrong oil is used. Very under whelmed by them

[Sir Tigger KC]

Oh dear, all those smug middle class types saving the planet in their EV's running on imported electricity generated in coal power stations on the continent, not only now have to pay VED, but are also having to contend with a massive hike in the cost of their leccy! 

[TheBoy]

Hateful is the only word, they also eat Cats about every 40k miles, assuming they don't melt the piston crown when the wrong oil is used. Very under whelmed by them

An improvement on the Corsa 1.2 turbos I often get given.  But then the Fiesta is a nicer car to drive (or be a passenger in) than a Vauxhall 208, although still run trying to match the on power (used in the loose sense) understeer to the horrific lift off oversteer. Maybe that makes the little 1l seem more fun.

I can't make any reliability comments on either, as never owned either.  So I drive them for a few hundred miles, and hand them back. Then its their problem

[TheBoy]

Oh dear, all those smug middle class types saving the planet in their EV's running on imported electricity generated in coal power stations on the continent, not only now have to pay VED, but are also having to contend with a massive hike in the cost of their leccy! 

Fear not, I expect we normal people will get butt-raped every bit as hard on VED.


And you can't ever explain to a middle class oxford type female that "her" electricity is produced from fossil fuels, as she will believe the energy company's BS that their electricity is 100% from renewables, and that the little electrical pixies know exactly how they were generated, and that stops them going up her wires...

[Sir Tigger KC]

Oh dear, all those smug middle class types saving the planet in their EV's running on imported electricity generated in coal power stations on the continent, not only now have to pay VED, but are also having to contend with a massive hike in the cost of their leccy! 

Fear not, I expect we normal people will get butt-raped every bit as hard on VED.


And you can't ever explain to a middle class oxford type female that "her" electricity is produced from fossil fuels, as she will believe the energy company's BS that their electricity is 100% from renewables, and that the little electrical pixies know exactly how they were generated, and that stops them going up her wires...

Had a chat with an EV owner who was stood by his car at the charging point the other day at Sedgemore Services M5 southbound, and it went something like this....

Me: How long does that take to charge mate?

EV Guy: Looking a bit pissed off. About an hour...

Me: Time to go in for a cuppa then?

EV Guy: I would, but I've got to wait for this car to finish charging. Pointing to another car plugged in.

Me: Eh? There's 3 other leads there.

EV Guy: Ah no!  There are 4 different plugs and I need the one that that car is using. I've been waiting for nearly an hour and he's on 95% and obviously taking his time over his cuppa...

Me: So EV's don't have a standard charging plug?

EV Guy: Nope, different manufacturers have different plugs.  I've been here for an hour already and I won't get a full charge, because I can't stay in the services for more than 2 hours. I've got to get to Plymouth tonight, and now tomorrow I'll have to waste time looking for somewhere to charge up again down there before heading home to Burton on Trent. I've only had it for about 6 weeks and I've had it, so it's going back next week!

Me: Oh that doesn't sound great....

EV Guy: Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely thing and fantastic to drive, but a PITA if you're doing long journeys. Great for a shopping car or if you don't go far, but I won't have another until the infrastructure is up to scratch.

Me: Ah well, hope you get charged up soon and get on your way then. Bye!

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Home charging point and never travel more than 100 miles or so and a leccy car would be OK. Other than that the problem with chargers and the time to charge make then a pain.

I mean, how much coffee can you drink while waiting for a charger to become available and then waiting for your car to charge?.......that is provided your charger isn't broken.

PS. the cost of coffee at these charge points is not cheap.

[Sir Tigger KC]

My neighbour has a new Mercedes SU-EV and said that he popped into Rownhams Services on the M27 to charge up the other day on his way home, but the chargers were out of order, so had to go into Southampton to find a charger. 

He said it wasn't too much hassle as the car told him where to go and the charger (at a Shell station) was working and available, but I bet it added an hour on his trip. 

PS. If you can afford a Mercedes Benz EQB I doubt you'll be too bothered by the cost of a services coffee! 

https://www.mercedes-benz.co.uk/passengercars/mercedes-benz-cars/models/eqb/suv-x243/explore/eqb-story.module.html