Volvo EVs

[DB192]

Hi all,

I know that a lot of people are not sure of the concept of electric cars. There are still many questions that people have. Volvo have certainly helped the transition with the XC40 and C40. They are both cracking cars.

Here is a review of the C40:

https://youtu.be/QPNSFq_RRMA

[rudi dudi]

Range is crap on all of them..
I've just done 600miles today on a tank of fuel without stopping..
I don't have time to Fcuk around waiting for the damn thing to charge.
If range gets to 1000 miles and recharge in 10 mins then Id consider one.
Until then...No way Jose.

[Forg]

Originally Posted by rudi dudi

Range is crap on all of them..
I've just done 600miles today on a tank of fuel without stopping..

They are only (technically) useful for most people, not everyone.
And I say "technically" because there's still a large Early Adopter Tax on them, even with government subsidy; a lot of people would struggle to afford the extra cost compared to a dinosaur-powered vehicle of similar utility.

You not wanting an EV because you regularly do 600 miles in a stint is not unlike someone who wants to tow a 240 Group A to race meetings all over the country not wanting a VW Up! ... OK that's even rarer, but still a rare requirement.

I could get away with one, I rarely use a car to commute & my wife only works 10km away. We do enjoy the utility of a full-sized family wagon without all the downsides that SUV's have, and I don't think there's yet a vehicle at any price or any tech-level which offers that in an EV.

The freight companies considering using them for heavy commercials are looking into carousel auto-loader systems to switch batteries rather than charge on the fly, for example. I suspect car packaging constraints/expectations will mean that sort of thing isn't affordable for you & I before we can just charge the battery (somehow) at similar speed.

[baggy798]

Why do these silvertop chariots all look so ugly and crap?

[Ulrikas PA]

Originally Posted by rudi dudi

Range is crap on all of them..
I've just done 600miles today on a tank of fuel without stopping..
I don't have time to Fcuk around waiting for the damn thing to charge.
If range gets to 1000 miles and recharge in 10 mins then Id consider one.
Until then...No way Jose.

I know it has its compromises, but for me the V60 D5/D6 twin engine is a great compromise for me. Getting it Polestar'd just made it more convincing (for me)

+ No range anxiety at all (4-500m, on diesel + battery)
+ I get to work on battery power alone driving in traffic, even in winter (21m)
+ It goes very quickly when I want to overtake
+ Its not an SUV* (* I'm more an estate person)
+ £0 tax. My last Audi diesel was £50 a month
+ Not that I'm likely to, but its free to go into city clean air zones, which will multiply

I used to enjoy filling up my Audi and regularly seeing the range indicator to over 700 miles. I then realised that it was £110 a tank for the privilege.

[rudi dudi]

But yours is a hybrid and not an Ev..

[Ulrikas PA]

Originally Posted by rudi dudi

But yours is a hybrid and not an Ev..

Ahhh.

I did look at buying a new EV to replace my 15 yr old Audi, but

- I'm with you on range. I'd want a *true* 400m range though
- Couldn't justify the cost of finance when doing 20k a year for anything premium.

I also reckon that battery development will deal with my current concerns by the time I change again in 3 years.

So a good halfway house.

[andy_d]

Originally Posted by DB192

Hi all,

I know that a lot of people are not sure of the concept of electric cars. There are still many questions that people have. Volvo have certainly helped the transition with the XC40 and C40. They are both cracking cars.

Here is a review of the C40:

https://youtu.be/QPNSFq_RRMA

its a milk float,, end of
they suit SOME but not all
forcing ALL to have to have them - wrong

its not the concept people with a brain dont like as much as the "forced to have something that
A/ costs stupid money
B/ isnt fit for purpose
C/does Not work for them
D/can not EVER work for them

[andy_d]

Originally Posted by baggy798

Why do these silvertop chariots all look so ugly and crap?

if it walks like a duck, looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, theres a good chance it IS a duck

springs to mind

[Rocinante]

Originally Posted by rudi dudi

Range is crap on all of them..
I've just done 600miles today on a tank of fuel without stopping..
I don't have time to Fcuk around waiting for the damn thing to charge.
If range gets to 1000 miles and recharge in 10 mins then Id consider one.
Until then...No way Jose.

Originally Posted by andy_d

its a milk float,, end of
they suit SOME but not all
forcing ALL to have to have them - wrong

its not the concept people with a brain dont like as much as the "forced to have something that
A/ costs stupid money
B/ isnt fit for purpose
C/does Not work for them
D/can not EVER work for them

Your views seem somewhat antiquated. I don't have an electric or even a hybrid, I've got a nice diesel, so I'm not an electric evangelist, and appreciate that there are limits to current electric cars, but with your flat refusals for the reasons you have cited just makes you appear like luddites.

So lets address some of your points :
"Range is crap on all of them" - You didn't stop for 600 miles, not even for a toilet break ? That's at least 10 hours of constant driving ?
The Tesla Model 3 has a range of 375 miles, so yes that's short of your 600 miles, but you can add in about 100miles of charge on a 50kW charger in 30 minutes, so in the course of your 10 hour drive, you can have 3, 1/2hr stops, where you can have a toilet break and a bite to eat. If that's completely unreasonable, 150kw chargers are being rolled out which will give you 300 miles in 30 minutes (Tesla Superchargers do this already), so all you would need was one 1/2 hour stop, or you could have 3 10 minute stops in the not too distant future, and it's another 8 years before they will stop selling ICE cars in the UK. Do you really need 1000mile range in 10 minutes ? This is also a very limited use case, I can't imagine you're doing this every day, but maybe you are.

"It's a milk float" - I don't even know what this is supposed to mean. Yes they are both electrically power vehicles, so ? Is this supposed to imply they are slow ? Tesla model3 0-60, 3.1 seconds.

Costs Stupid Money - Compared to what ? Ford Focus Estate base model diesel £26085. MG5 EV £27945, so £1500 more, but the running costs are going to be considerably cheaper, cost of fuel in an electric is probably 1/2 that of a diesel, not to mention servicing costs.

Tesla Model 3 is from £42,990, C-class is from £40785, so again not a lot in it, and again cheaper to run.

"Isn't fit for purpose" - It provides a means of transportation for people to get them where they want to go. When the average person travels 20 miles a day a 250mile ranges (MG5) is perfectly adequate.

"Does not work for them" - This I'll give most credence to. They aren't perfect for everyone, no one is saying they are. The biggest issue would be people who can't charge at home, which can make life a lot more complicated with an electric car, but they are introducing things like lamppost charging points, so they you will be able to charge in the street. Hybrids will be sold to 2035, so that's a 13 years away. We might be on to the next form of propulsion by then.

"Can never Work for them" - It's 8 years away before new ICE cars are supposed to be stopped from selling in the UK (there will still be ICE cars on the road at that point), with the rate of development currently going on in Electric cars, I don't see how you can say 'never'. 5th gear the other night demonstrated a car that has the battery changed out automatically in 5 minutes for a fresh one. There's you 5 minute top up.

As I said I'm not an Electrical evangelist in any shape or form, I appreciate that the infrastructure isn't there for some use cases yet, and some people would struggle at the minute to make them work. There's the environmental issue of all these batteries that will have to be dealt with,(I appreciate how environmentally aware you are) as well as obtaining the materials to make them in the first place. Before we even start on the issue of the Power the grid will need to supply to power all these electric vehicles, and how that is going to be produced.

But to just dismiss the vehicles out of hand because, I'm not sure why, is ridiculous.

No doubt, this won't be received well, but never mind.