Advice on buying electric car please

[beansprout]

Hi there,

Currently have an older VW Golf and am thinking about an electric car or perhaps a hybrid in view of changing laws. Does anyone have any advice they could offer? One of my major concerns is the lack of places to charge up - know there are places locally but was thinking further a field and also how many miles you get on one charge? VW that I am thinking about says roughly 200 miles. Also any pit falls that I have not considered? Thks in advance.

[malumbu]

Loads of sources of advice eg

https://www.goultralow.com/

http://www.nextgreencar.com

http://www.fullychargedshow.co.uk/

All depends on your use, and the starting point is do you need a car, would hiring and/or Zip car membership make more sense? Or even an electric bike.

Book a test on a Nissan Leaf and feel the love as everyone smiles at you.

The go over to Westfields and see how fast but totally unecessary a Tessla model S is! (I've driven both)

You'd be excused for thinking that I have an agenda here and a bit of an environmental fascist...!

[fishbiscuits]

If I had off-street parking where I could install a charging point, I'd probably already have an electric car.

But otherwise, I'd be very reluctant. A plug-in hybrid seems a better idea, so you can charge it when the opportunity arises, but you can still use it either way.

[Nigello]

Won't the council install a charging point for you?

[fishbiscuits]

Nigello Wrote:

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> Won't the council install a charging point for you?

Not that I know of!

I'm sure the infrastructure will get there fairly soon, but at the moment I think it would be very hard to use an EV without your own private charging point.

[bobbsy]

I know very little about them...but there are a couple of BMW i3's parked on my road that seem to be in daily use with no access to charging points where they are parked.

[malumbu]

The Go Ultra Low website will direct you to charging infrastructure. You could also lobby Southwark about on street parking eg via your lamp post.

Plug in hybrids (and pure electric cars) should be charged at home, unless you are using it for work and your employer has charge points. There can also be tax benefit in kind for work use.

I3s are quite popular. BMW did a scheme where you could hire conventional vehicles when you wanted to do a longer journey. There are also range extended electric vehicles that have a petrol motor that recharges the battery. As this does not depend on load, ie a constant RPM much better for the environment and overall fuel economy.

This really is the future!

[mynamehere]

We have an I3. Ask for a charge point on your street. There might be one already not too far off. The battery charge makes this a city car only which is inconvenient for sports events requires kit more than 35 miles away. But it?s a great city car.

[fishbiscuits]

mynamehere Wrote:

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> Ask for a charge point on your street.

Do you have personal experience of requesting a charging point from Southwark (with a positive outcome)?

Are there other EV owners on your street, and is there much "competition" for the charging point?

[beansprout]

Thanks for all your advice

[DovertheRoad]

I would recommend one of these:

Great for getting into the City easily.