Discussion
Having been a bit of an EV sceptic but also not being blind to the possibilities and the future I thought I'd try out a couple of EV's.
https://ecarclub.co.uk/
Easiest way to do this was to join a car club (e car club) as they have a choice of the main 3 regular EV's in a range of locations that I often visit.
Firstly was the Renault Zoe
This Zoe was the older 22kW version. Picking up the car from Edgeware was a pretty disappointing start sadly, the car wasn't located where their confirmation email stated and I had to call their out of hours help to get the real location. This is something they're currently trying to change as their systems need updating.
The car itself was clean, dent free and plugged in and fully charged. You present your members card to the windscreen and it unlocks, then using your unique pin you free the keys from a locking device in the glovebox. You can also unlock/lock the car from their app if you wish or if you forget the members card.
Inside was different story, there was a half empty bottle of beer in the cupholder and the car absolutely stank of weed. The interior was also really grubby and clearly hadn't been cleaned properly in a long time.
I unplugged and drove away, driving first to Windsor and then on to Ashford. The car itself isn't my cup of tea, it's cheap, poor materials combined with a pogo'ing ride quality and poor seats didn't leave a good impression. These older Zoe's are also pretty slow even from standstill and don't give you that shove in the back all EV owners all ways blather on about. The traffic light grand prix would see it easily beaten by pretty much any normal ICE car.
I had the car for 24 hours and did around 110 miles, needing one charge after around 65 miles. I did this at Costco which is free to member and only a short walk from where I live. The only pain being queuing in the tyre depot as they have to come out and start / stop the charge for you.
Dropped the Zoe back in Edgeware and really didn't enjoy the experience. The range in winter is tiny, the ride is terrible with the dampers seeming to struggle to keep up with the car and the interior is really poorly executed with cheap plastics and uncomfortable seats. The only appeal I can see is as a 2nd hand beater to use as a station car or town car. For a regular only car I just can't see any appeal.
Moving on, yesterday I was in Oxford and took their BMW i3 for 24 hrs. This is a totally different beast, range just as poor sadly although again it's the older model with 22kW battery.
This I took from Summertown in Oxford down to Ashford, trying not to go above 70mph on the M40 but nipping up to 75mph to get out of traffic occasionally. The i3 really does have that EV shove in the back, from standstill to 50mph it's pretty nippy. Above 50mph it has plenty of poke too. This brings it's own problems though, applying a smidge too much right foot with those skinny tyres caused immediate loss of traction with the traction control kicking in. There was little grip and again pretty poor body control at anything other than sedate cornering speeds.
That tall flat body shape also is a cow in cross winds.
I charged once at a Polar point nearby home (Costco was shut). Left it for 3 hours and it was fully charged when I came back. This morning drove a few errands, popped over to New Malden and then did the M25/M40 run up to Oxford. I did also stop at Beaconsfield services to use the Ecotricity CCS rapid charger which gave me plenty more range in 20 minutes to make it to Oxford. (Cost £3).
Overall, loved the power, interior space and materials and features of the i3. Also loved having rapid charging although I believe not all i3 models have this. The only downsides were it seemed overpowered when you take into account the tyres and suspension setup. The power encourages quicker progress which the car then throws up its hands and gives up when it comes to traction and cornering.
As an only car with mostly town use I really could live with the bigger battery version of this, add in the range extender and I think it would make it on a shortlist of next cars for me. It was a great car to experience and unlike the Zoe, very enjoyable to drive.
Lastly, it comes to charging. Why, why, why are there so many different standards, systems and accounts you need?
The type 2 lead in both cars seemed pretty common but slow. The M40 services only had a couple of these though and both were in use. The CCS, there was only one of and I was luck it was not in use. In the 20 mins there 2 Zoe's and a Leaf pulled up to charge next to me.
Ecotricity has it's own app, Pod point - it's own app, Polar - it's own special members card. Relying on the phone is a bad idea especially as these points seem to be located in areas of poor reception. Charger types, Type 2, AC, Chadeamo, CCS. Why not just one standard? At least the BMW had a choice of 2 standards using one connector.
I still a skeptic, the range is a real issue particularly in winter. The BMW had a max 80 mile range from full battery and to be safe in case of charger faults you'd really have to look at charging after 65 miles. I still think a winter real world range of 200 miles+ is needed for these cars to become mainstream. Charging infrastructure is a mess with various companies, charger connections, prices and access tools.
They may be the future but at the moment they seem like the early days of smart phones, clever and appealing but just not quite there yet.
Edit to add - I still have the Leaf to try but no expecting much different from the Zoe.
https://ecarclub.co.uk/
Easiest way to do this was to join a car club (e car club) as they have a choice of the main 3 regular EV's in a range of locations that I often visit.
Firstly was the Renault Zoe
This Zoe was the older 22kW version. Picking up the car from Edgeware was a pretty disappointing start sadly, the car wasn't located where their confirmation email stated and I had to call their out of hours help to get the real location. This is something they're currently trying to change as their systems need updating.
The car itself was clean, dent free and plugged in and fully charged. You present your members card to the windscreen and it unlocks, then using your unique pin you free the keys from a locking device in the glovebox. You can also unlock/lock the car from their app if you wish or if you forget the members card.
Inside was different story, there was a half empty bottle of beer in the cupholder and the car absolutely stank of weed. The interior was also really grubby and clearly hadn't been cleaned properly in a long time.
I unplugged and drove away, driving first to Windsor and then on to Ashford. The car itself isn't my cup of tea, it's cheap, poor materials combined with a pogo'ing ride quality and poor seats didn't leave a good impression. These older Zoe's are also pretty slow even from standstill and don't give you that shove in the back all EV owners all ways blather on about. The traffic light grand prix would see it easily beaten by pretty much any normal ICE car.
I had the car for 24 hours and did around 110 miles, needing one charge after around 65 miles. I did this at Costco which is free to member and only a short walk from where I live. The only pain being queuing in the tyre depot as they have to come out and start / stop the charge for you.
Dropped the Zoe back in Edgeware and really didn't enjoy the experience. The range in winter is tiny, the ride is terrible with the dampers seeming to struggle to keep up with the car and the interior is really poorly executed with cheap plastics and uncomfortable seats. The only appeal I can see is as a 2nd hand beater to use as a station car or town car. For a regular only car I just can't see any appeal.
Moving on, yesterday I was in Oxford and took their BMW i3 for 24 hrs. This is a totally different beast, range just as poor sadly although again it's the older model with 22kW battery.
This I took from Summertown in Oxford down to Ashford, trying not to go above 70mph on the M40 but nipping up to 75mph to get out of traffic occasionally. The i3 really does have that EV shove in the back, from standstill to 50mph it's pretty nippy. Above 50mph it has plenty of poke too. This brings it's own problems though, applying a smidge too much right foot with those skinny tyres caused immediate loss of traction with the traction control kicking in. There was little grip and again pretty poor body control at anything other than sedate cornering speeds.
That tall flat body shape also is a cow in cross winds.
I charged once at a Polar point nearby home (Costco was shut). Left it for 3 hours and it was fully charged when I came back. This morning drove a few errands, popped over to New Malden and then did the M25/M40 run up to Oxford. I did also stop at Beaconsfield services to use the Ecotricity CCS rapid charger which gave me plenty more range in 20 minutes to make it to Oxford. (Cost £3).
Overall, loved the power, interior space and materials and features of the i3. Also loved having rapid charging although I believe not all i3 models have this. The only downsides were it seemed overpowered when you take into account the tyres and suspension setup. The power encourages quicker progress which the car then throws up its hands and gives up when it comes to traction and cornering.
As an only car with mostly town use I really could live with the bigger battery version of this, add in the range extender and I think it would make it on a shortlist of next cars for me. It was a great car to experience and unlike the Zoe, very enjoyable to drive.
Lastly, it comes to charging. Why, why, why are there so many different standards, systems and accounts you need?
The type 2 lead in both cars seemed pretty common but slow. The M40 services only had a couple of these though and both were in use. The CCS, there was only one of and I was luck it was not in use. In the 20 mins there 2 Zoe's and a Leaf pulled up to charge next to me.
Ecotricity has it's own app, Pod point - it's own app, Polar - it's own special members card. Relying on the phone is a bad idea especially as these points seem to be located in areas of poor reception. Charger types, Type 2, AC, Chadeamo, CCS. Why not just one standard? At least the BMW had a choice of 2 standards using one connector.
I still a skeptic, the range is a real issue particularly in winter. The BMW had a max 80 mile range from full battery and to be safe in case of charger faults you'd really have to look at charging after 65 miles. I still think a winter real world range of 200 miles+ is needed for these cars to become mainstream. Charging infrastructure is a mess with various companies, charger connections, prices and access tools.
They may be the future but at the moment they seem like the early days of smart phones, clever and appealing but just not quite there yet.
Edit to add - I still have the Leaf to try but no expecting much different from the Zoe.
Edited by Blaster72 on Tuesday 20th February 14:41
I agree the i3 is quite special. Majority of sales are for the REX, allowing you to forget about range. You should try out an i3S - wider track and rubber. I've never had any tractions issues - yes the wheels are narrow, however being 19"/20" means you have a good footprint with the road.
IME, with the i3, if you think it doesn't grip or handle well it's because you are a "clumsy" driver, using the accel pedal like a switch and yanking on steering angle. Drive smoothly, and traction is excellent (in fact, better than an equivalent 3er in the wet ime) lateral grip perfectly fine, and the front end very very resistant to understeer (because all the masses are low between the wheels) I've had absolutely no problems keeping up with theoretically much faster cars, like my mates 340i, much to his surprise.... ;-)
I have test driven the i3S Rex, not in a professional manner.
The interior, exterior etc are well put together. The acceleration was profound and impressive. The cornering was very good, I pushed it hard around roundabouts [up to 30 mph] and it stuck like the proverbial.
Even with the Rex, I wouldn't be taking it up to Scotland. The battery distance is not impressive at all. However if all the driving I did was local then yes it would be a feasible option.
Would I buy one, no. Would I lease one, I am in two minds even with the impressive BMW deal. I am shocked at the overall price c£44k for a decent spec and so >£40k means your shafted with RFT.
In real terms, the current e cars don't give me what I want in terms of mileage, well ignoring Tesla which I can't afford. BMW dealer reckons that the will be an electric 4 series out in a couple of years, we will see. The bigger battery Leaf next year may well swing my thoughts.
The interior, exterior etc are well put together. The acceleration was profound and impressive. The cornering was very good, I pushed it hard around roundabouts [up to 30 mph] and it stuck like the proverbial.
Even with the Rex, I wouldn't be taking it up to Scotland. The battery distance is not impressive at all. However if all the driving I did was local then yes it would be a feasible option.
Would I buy one, no. Would I lease one, I am in two minds even with the impressive BMW deal. I am shocked at the overall price c£44k for a decent spec and so >£40k means your shafted with RFT.
In real terms, the current e cars don't give me what I want in terms of mileage, well ignoring Tesla which I can't afford. BMW dealer reckons that the will be an electric 4 series out in a couple of years, we will see. The bigger battery Leaf next year may well swing my thoughts.
I've had my i3 for over a year now and 10,000 miles.
I can't honestly say I relate to the negative experiences that the OP has mentioned. It may well be because the i3 drives so differently to everything else I have driven and consequently my driving style has changed. I have had one of two instances where the traction control has had to kick in and each time it was 100% due to driver error! It's a car to drive smoothly and I find it to be a very engaging, enjoyable drive on the right roads.
Likewise, whilst I have read a few people complain about crosswinds, it's simply not something I've experienced and my daily commute involves exposed stretches of motorway that would normally show up issues like this.
Personally, the i3 has completely exceed all my expectations and I am absolutely loving the ownership experience. Perhaps OP would do better to drive a well looked after demonstrator from a dealership?
I can't honestly say I relate to the negative experiences that the OP has mentioned. It may well be because the i3 drives so differently to everything else I have driven and consequently my driving style has changed. I have had one of two instances where the traction control has had to kick in and each time it was 100% due to driver error! It's a car to drive smoothly and I find it to be a very engaging, enjoyable drive on the right roads.
Likewise, whilst I have read a few people complain about crosswinds, it's simply not something I've experienced and my daily commute involves exposed stretches of motorway that would normally show up issues like this.
Personally, the i3 has completely exceed all my expectations and I am absolutely loving the ownership experience. Perhaps OP would do better to drive a well looked after demonstrator from a dealership?
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