Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Nick W]

I've now recovered several Leafs with insufficient charge to get home. The owners who have experienced this before, arrange the recovery whilst there is still some charge to move the car.
None of the people I've spoken to have said they would risk 125miles! All of them say that cold, dark, wet weather reduces the range considerably.

There was a reason why electric cars stopped being popular 100 years ago, and it is the same today: the range simply isn't adequate, and it takes too long to recharge.

It's a pity, because the Leaf is actually a pretty good car, especially considering that it's based around a conventional car with the electric drivetrain in the normal place.

[aaronjb]

Amperra?

50 miles on battery and then 310 miles on £47 worth of petrol appeared to be the stated range when I looked.. for £37,000.

Might as well buy any large super-mini car and get the same sort of economy, it seemed to me..

Filled up with LPG today, at 64.7p litre 

Who needs Leccy power?

Are your miles right, 310 for £47? That's a bit shite 

My fill up today cost £46.38, for 353 miles. A big chunk of that was town miles, stop start traffic. I got a quite crap 22mpg. (13p mile) Decent runs I can get 27.

They're not my miles, they're Vauxhalls

From the Vx website:

For 25 to 50 miles, its lithium-ion battery pack powers the electric drive unit, which provides full vehicle speed and acceleration.

For longer trips, the car’s ‘range-extending’ engine sustains the battery. The range extender, powered by a 1.4-litre petrol-driven generator, can create electricity to power the car for a further 310 miles* – freeing Ampera from the range limitations of pure-electric cars.

Fuel tank capacity (litres)   35.2

35.2 litres = £48.54 at todays prices in the Sainsbury near me, so that's 360 miles (best case!) for £48..

[tunnie]

Well that is rubbish! 

[Gaffers]

The argument over range is not a problem for us.  95% of my trips are below 30 miles, I would say that 98% were below 15.  I commute to work on the bike/train.

The leaf is not designed to be your long distance car.  If all you do is short journeys a couple of times a day then it will definitely be a suitable choice for you.  For those situations where a bot more range is required from time to time then you have 2 choices, have another car available or hire one.  Don't forget I am saving at least 2 thousand quid a year on fuel , maybe 3.  But I means I get to keep the jag for now for those longer trips and for when I need to take the bike to a race albeit on a reduced mileage insurance.

The leaf is made for shopping, school run, family trips in the local area, short commutes, etc.  Inside is quite roomy, I am quite comfortable in the back which is rare in cars this size.

It fits our needs and situation nicely, it won't be for everyone.  It would be absolutely perfect if it had the means of fitting a bike rack.  One thing is for sure, as batteries develop over the net few years; watch this space.  EVs are getting better.

[pscocoa]

I keep thinking of electric for my trip to farnborough station (6 miles each way) - but £15k to buy a Leaf rather messes up the figures especially when it stands there all day doing nothing.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

A decade from now the average electric car will have a range of 500 miles on a battery the size of a packet of fags.......perhaps.


I'm surprised that battery technology is moving so slowly........almost to the point of stagnation. Surely some technically minded boffin can push the pace of progress along.

[aaronjb]

A decade from now the average electric car will have a range of 500 miles on a battery the size of a packet of fags.......perhaps.


I'm surprised that battery technology is moving so slowly........almost to the point of stagnation. Surely some technically minded boffin can push the pace of progress along.

Indeed, in 1984 you could buy an electric Volkswagen Jetta with a range of 155 miles.. not a lot of progress, there, on the distance front. Although a reduction in price by quite a significant margin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_modern_production_plug-in_electric_vehicles

[henryd]

A decade from now the average electric car will have a range of 500 miles on a battery the size of a packet of fags.......perhaps.


I'm surprised that battery technology is moving so slowly........almost to the point of stagnation. Surely some technically minded boffin can push the pace of progress along.

Indeed, in 1984 you could buy an electric Volkswagen Jetta with a range of 155 miles.. not a lot of progress, there, on the distance front. Although a reduction in price by quite a significant margin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_modern_production_plug-in_electric_vehicles

Probably weighed about two and a half tons though

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

A decade from now the average electric car will have a range of 500 miles on a battery the size of a packet of fags.......perhaps.


I'm surprised that battery technology is moving so slowly........almost to the point of stagnation. Surely some technically minded boffin can push the pace of progress along.

Indeed, in 1984 you could buy an electric Volkswagen Jetta with a range of 155 miles.. not a lot of progress, there, on the distance front. Although a reduction in price by quite a significant margin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_modern_production_plug-in_electric_vehicles

We shouldn't still be at a point where EV owners still have 'fear in their eyes' because they need to turn on the wipers or lights. Those days should be just a distant memory.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Is it possible to get a car to run on dilithium crystals?....

That way lies the future.

[Nick W]

A decade from now the average electric car will have a range of 500 miles on a battery the size of a packet of fags.......perhaps.


I'm surprised that battery technology is moving so slowly........almost to the point of stagnation. Surely some technically minded boffin can push the pace of progress along.

Why the surprise? Battery technology is mostly chemistry with a bit of engineering, neither discipline is known for radical improvements.
The lead acid battery has barely changed in a 100 years; modern ones are a bit more powerful/reliable but are basically the same.

I don't expect the energy supply for electric cars to improve for a very long time.

[Kevin Wood]

A decade from now the average electric car will have a range of 500 miles on a battery the size of a packet of fags.......perhaps.


I'm surprised that battery technology is moving so slowly........almost to the point of stagnation. Surely some technically minded boffin can push the pace of progress along.

Why the surprise? Battery technology is mostly chemistry with a bit of engineering, neither discipline is known for radical improvements.
The lead acid battery has barely changed in a 100 years; modern ones are a bit more powerful/reliable but are basically the same.

I don't expect the energy supply for electric cars to improve for a very long time.

Exactly. Chemistry dictates how much energy you can fit in a car using batteries, and we're not a million miles off the theoretical limit, hence improvements are in tiny increments, and batteries will never deliver what a petrol tank can today. Chemistry also dictates how much energy you can fit in a petrol tank, of course, and it's orders of magnitude greater. Unfortunately, energy as petrol comes ready-stored in a medium from which it is "dirty" to extract the energy.

Hydrogen fuel cells are the only technology that look like delivering what we need in the near future, and hydrogen is a promising medium in which to store and release energy without environmental consequences but there are still some significant challenges there. I don't believe battery powered cars will ever be capable of more than a school run (and everyone knows you need a huge SUV for that) or a nip to the shops - unless people accept that the form factor has to be radically different, and probably, therefore, not really compatible with the rest of the traffic on our roads.

[Sir Tigger KC]

Well lets hope that they crack on with battery technology as if the LibDems have their way we will all be housebound in 2040!   

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/liberaldemocrats/10224801/Lib-Dems-ban-petrol-and-diesel-cars-from-UK-roads-by-2040.html

[Kevin Wood]

if the LibDems have their way

PMSL 

[Del Boy]

The argument over range is not a problem for us.  95% of my trips are below 30 miles, I would say that 98% were below 15.  I commute to work on the bike/train.

The leaf is not designed to be your long distance car.  If all you do is short journeys a couple of times a day then it will definitely be a suitable choice for you.  For those situations where a bot more range is required from time to time then you have 2 choices, have another car available or hire one.  Don't forget I am saving at least 2 thousand quid a year on fuel , maybe 3.  But I means I get to keep the jag for now for those longer trips and for when I need to take the bike to a race albeit on a reduced mileage insurance.

The leaf is made for shopping, school run, family trips in the local area, short commutes, etc.  Inside is quite roomy, I am quite comfortable in the back which is rare in cars this size.

It fits our needs and situation nicely, it won't be for everyone.  It would be absolutely perfect if it had the means of fitting a bike rack.  One thing is for sure, as batteries develop over the net few years; watch this space.  EVs are getting better.

£26,000 or thereabouts is a lot of money for something that isn't designed to be a long distance car though  .