Electric car anyone?
5 lurkers |
72 watchers
Oct 2021
5:43pm, 4 Oct 2021
52,045 posts
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Derby Tup
I make driving Miss Daisy look like Juan Fangio My real problem is actually being able to charge an electric car up at home. We don’t have a drive. Any ideas to overcome that please? |
Oct 2021
9:22am, 6 Oct 2021
477 posts
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fuzzyduck79
I did 120 miles each way this weekend and had to slightly more work than planned to find a charger for a small top up on the return leg. Stopped at Oxford services, the normal EV chargers were out of service and Tesla are apparently opening theirs up to UK non Tesla users this year but it's not working yet. Spoke to a lady parked up there in a non Tesla who was struggling a bit (low charge, couldn't find a working one) and showed her ZapMap with local results. Could see network was busier than normal (ZapMap indicates when charging point is in use, but it's not always accurate) so drove into Bicester for a pay and display car park with 12 chargers. Was a 15 mile detour from the M40, delayed me for a bit longer than I might have liked and I paid 1.50 parking for access but no big deal. There were massive queues for the petrol stations I passed inc Oxford services and I was glad to be away from that. I will plan ahead more with finding chargers next time, just assumed there would be strong availability at any decent sized busy motorway services. |
Oct 2021
11:04am, 6 Oct 2021
5,303 posts
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ThorntonRunner
Tesla opening up their network will make a big difference. I've been to motorway service areas that have a row of ten or fifteen Tesla points, with one car there, and then in the other corner a couple of non-Tesla charging points with only one working and a queue (I'm still ICE, but looking at implications of getting an EV, so keep an eye out for this sort of thing)
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Oct 2021
11:13am, 6 Oct 2021
15,642 posts
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larkim
I think I'd missed that intent by Tesla, but yes that sounds a definite opportunity. Could be pricey, but there are plenty of people for whom a guarantee of a full (enough) battery at more or less any price is something worth paying for. autoexpress.co.uk Would be interesting to see how Tesla drivers react to seeing all their chargers filled with paying Peugeot / Nissan / Kia / Renault users if there's not a stall there for their Tesla! |
Oct 2021
11:26am, 6 Oct 2021
887 posts
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MH
The supercharger network is one of the biggest selling points for Tesla, it makes it so much easier. Some superchargers *do* get very busy by the way and you have to wait, luckily they charge quickly! The charging infrastructure otherwise is dire - picked a place recently as it had a BP charger and had to spend ages going through the app multiple times and then on hold on the phone for 2 hours to get them to re-set the charger (common thing with BP). I imagine that the premium for charging a non-Tesla at a Supercharger might be quite high....otherwise the problem of lack of charging just won't get solved any quicker, and it needs to. |
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Oct 2021
11:34am, 6 Oct 2021
15,644 posts
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larkim
I've only had one interaction with a public rapid charger that I've paid for, and it was utterly flawless; Instavolt was the brand in a supermarket carpark. Not cheap, but no prior registration reqiured, no complex screens to navigate, just a quick contactless prior authorisation, plug in and charge. I know though that that sort of experience is pretty rare for many brands (BP, Ecotricity in particular seem to get a bad reputation). Podpoint freebie at my Tesco works fine, but that's only 7kWh charging so only really a trickle. It does work reliably though. |
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Oct 2021
12:00pm, 6 Oct 2021
480 posts
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fuzzyduck79
Tesla owners could be offered the option to reserve a charging point so they can block the riff raff to a degree, or Tesla might not let non Tesla users connect if too few chargers available. I think they will want to protect their customers from not being able to find a charging point.
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Oct 2021
1:13pm, 6 Oct 2021
888 posts
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MH
Instavolt, on the whole, are very good. BP Pulse often need to be reset remotely - really quick, but you are often on in a long phone queue to get to that point. I can understand what Tesla are doing; I just wouldn't want it to be a reason that others drag their heels |
Oct 2021
9:41am, 19 Oct 2021
12,973 posts
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mrs shanksi
We're staying in our (hybrid) campervan on a campsite on a farm. The farmer drives a Nissan Leaf! The farmer's husband drives a Toyota jeep of some sort.
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Oct 2021
10:14am, 19 Oct 2021
15,794 posts
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larkim
Home wall charger packed up over the weekend  Could be 3x weeks before I get a spark out under the warranty from BP Pulse / Chargemaster. Fortunately, boss at work has just got a PHEV but doesn't need her granny charger so I can get by for now. Wiped a bit of the EV smugness off my face when I started to be worrying about fuelling the car for the commute! |
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