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[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

One thing I consistently hear........

The average battery pack has a 'usable' life expectancy of 5-7 years, and  the current price of a replacement battery pack means the car will uneconomical to repair.

I would be very wary of buying an electric car with a 5 year old battery.

It may be consistently said (in these parts it certainly is!), but I doubt the reality is the same. Manufacturers certainly don't think so.

The big players all offer an 8 year warranty on the battery (typically 8 or 10 years in the US depending on the state) with varying mileages:
VW  100,000 mile
Tesla unlimited mileage
Hyundai 125,000 mile
JLR 100,000 mile

There is no way the manufacturers would offer warranties like this if they thought the batteries would keel over in 5-7yrs. Rather, they'd just warranty them like the rest of the vehicle (3yrs, 60k mostly).

The reputation damage was done by the 1st generation Leafs which, due to poor thermal management could shed 25-30% of their capacity in 5 years. The only big(ish) data set available (as far as I know) is on Teslas, showing that they will lose around 6% of their capacity over 160,000. So for a Tesla 75d (the lowest range) this will take you from 225 ish real world miles down to 212. I could probably live with that. 

Also, its often not the case that a battery pack dies rather some of the cells in them die. So you aren't necessarily on the hook for a 5 figure bill, just because the main battery has issues.

Article here: https://electrek.co/2018/04/14/tesla-battery-degradation-data/

All that said, I'm very glad that there is a lot of media talk around the subject of battery degradation. Hopefully it will help to drive down the cost of the 2-3yr old I-pace I'll be looking for when the golf lease is up 

It looks like US cars have a superior a battery warranty to UK cars...... F*ucking yanks.

It also depends how manufacturers decide what constitutes a battery failure, and what is considered normal wear and tear. My understanding is that anything up to a 30% loss in battery capacity is considered normal wear and tear.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

My guess is a Tesla battery will last longer in sunny California than when used in equally desirable Kidderminster.

[STEMO]

My guess is a Tesla battery will last longer in sunny California than when used in equally desirable Kidderminster.

Hence the longer warranty.

[aaronjb]

Look what I spied earlier, stealing the company electrons... https://photos.app.goo.gl/akfb8kwJiFL4C8Jx8

I was in my highly environmentally friendly 4.8L V8 at the time, making up for you.. 

[STEMO]

Look what I spied earlier, stealing the company electrons... https://photos.app.goo.gl/akfb8kwJiFL4C8Jx8

I was in my highly environmentally friendly 4.8L V8 at the time, making up for you.. 

Nice jumper 

[Viral_Jim]

Look what I spied earlier, stealing the company electrons... https://photos.app.goo.gl/akfb8kwJiFL4C8Jx8

I was in my highly environmentally friendly 4.8L V8 at the time, making up for you.. 

Ha!

I still don't know who owns the red Tesla that's upstaging me  .

Trust me, if I lived as close to Rye Hill as you do, I'd be opting for something with at least 8 cylinders 

Didn't your OH wonder why you were photographing some random car? She probably thinks you've turned into an EV spotter 

[aaronjb]

Didn't your OH wonder why you were photographing some random car? She probably thinks you've turned into an EV spotter 

I think the conversation went something like "Oh look, remember that bloke I mentioned on the car forum who works at your place? That's his new e-Golf.."
Her: "Does look a bit weird though, stopping to take a picture of it"