I'm enjoying Mrs P's i-Car today, as I had to take it to the local dealer for a minor warranty repair; the fitting of a new rear washer jet.

Whilst waiting at the dealer for the new part to be fitted, the sales guy kindly offered me a drive in the MiEV; the electric version of our i-Car.

The demo' version is a Japanese market MiEV, so it had LED headlamps, proximity locking and few other gee gaws the UK version (of which there was one in showroom) does not.

Aside from the immediate total silence of the car, the main difference is the much more 'planted' feel of the MiEV - due in no small part to the additional 300 Kg it weighs over the petrol powered version.

The car is quick. From a standstill, it feels decidedly nippy and the punch from 30 - 60 mph is quite a surprise. Handling-wise I didn't really have the opportunity to throw it into corners or try out my recently acquired J-turn skills, but for what it is, it is completely satisfactory. I'd go as far to say that it has a more comfortable ride and feels 'better' than our petrol powered version - a result of the reduced variance between unladen and laden weights in the electric version, making the suspension settings easier to setup.

The driving experience is very Prius-like; lots of toque, albeit without the engine noise.

According to the sales guy who went out with me, a local council has one and its driver is seeing c. 130 - 140 miles from a charge. I'd want to verify that myself before trusting this on a wet, winter's night...

If a 90 mile range were realistic, I could manage with one for a daily driver. I would need to charge it every night and whilst the car was parked at work, but I guess that's the same mind-set one applies with mobile 'phones and portable computers.

Overall, I'm very impressed with the MiEV; I would dearly love to try a Tesla Roadster.

I have first refusal on the demo' MiEV when it comes up for sale... let's see what happens with fuel prices in the next few months.

 

Electric cars have been 'the future' for the last 30 years, until they make them viable as a family's only car, they'll remain firmly in the future or at best, a niche car for a very specific set of users.

Having recently bought a Nissan, I was looking through the sales brochure for the Leaf - base price £23k and only because the UK taxpayer has subsidised it to the tune of £20million. Why would the majority of the British public pay £23k for a car they can drive 100 miles (assuming it's not dark, or raining, in which case range is reduced), can't refuel immediately and which the ownership of requires a second car of some sort. Aside from a few, they just don't work for most people.

 

Capital cost aside, electric cars could work for most people. In reality not for me, but for the majority the people I know who commute, they'd make sense.

Long distances (given current technology) are indeed the Achilles heel, but in reality how often do many people make long journeys? Of course there'll be a core for whom an electric vehicle is simply not tenable; much as a 2 seater sports car is impractical for a family of six.

If an electric car made economic sense for the majority of my use, I could rent a fossil-fueled vehicle for the infrequent occasions I require something with additional range.

Also I suggest there's a hefty early adopter premium for electric vehicles; it will be interesting to see what their price is in 6 months or a year.

A top-spec Prius can be bought for £22K - I'd suggest they cost considerably more to manufacture than a MiEV or Leaf given their hybrid systems, even allowing for the increased battery capacity of the electric-only vehicles.

Of course it's all moot - if as is rumoured, the new smart meters being installed in homes can be configured for different tariffs depending on power usage, the economies of 'fueling' an electric car could be drastically eroded at the throw of a switch...

 

Every house occupied by more than one person in my street has 2 or more cars.

I suspect that many of these cars never move more than 50 miles in a single day, so electric would be perfectly viable for them.

For example, as I was walking home from the station last night, I noticed a neighbour driving into the Tennis Club which I walk past. A couple of minutes later, he passed me again and returned home, having picked up a large-ish child. A distance of 400 metres each way.

Given that he drives an old T-Reg diesel Galaxy which leaves behind it a thick black cloud of pollution, an electric car would be hugely beneficial.

Of course, not being such a lazy-arsed waste of resources would be best.

1,300 electric car charging points are being installed around London, at which you can charge your car for £100 a year.

They aren't a solution for all, but could well be for many.

 

i could quite easily live with an electric car. the times i go further than a reasonable electric car distance is very low. 99% of my driving is city. the odd time it'd be down to oxford (~140 mile round trip).
so much so, it would be better (well... cheaper) to opt for a rental car for the day/weekend.

naturally the recharge duration would be annoying - im not sure if it's something i would like to live with.
at the moment, i see fuel cell as the way forward as it's both 'green' and is as easy to refill to fossil powered.
untill fuelcell does become mainstream, the Prius setup would likely be popular as you wont get stranded!

electric would have to be a car i test before buying though; winter running is a 'concern' with battery life; got to keep warm somehow! and i like reasonable sound too...
nuclear is the way forward shame it's a controlled substance.

iirc, i saw something recently; 12k/year @ 8p/unit for electric = £260 area.
vs around £5k fuel for similar distance.
in fuel alone, 4 years down the line the car has practically paid for itself!

 

gad agrees

and would add when are they going to spot spouting the bollox that these cars are somehow greener?

wtf does the electricity come from?

 

I don't disagree with your logic

but your argument (maybe deliberately) seems to take little account of the huge emotional element pertaining to car choice

yes, an electric car would be viable for me - but I don't bloody want one!

it's like home ownership - for many people renting would be viable and probably more sensible

but it's not what they want

 

i dont know about calorific values and whatnot, but petrol is about 4% efficient isnt it?
how efficient is a power station?

obviously your not removing polution, and mearly moving it, but is the actual HCs and CO2's less when being produced by a powerplant?
surely nuclear or fusion is the way forward if electric cars were to be THE option, albeit costly to build...

 

it's £23k FFS

and it's built to a budget, well, the body at least

exposed screw heads and the flimsiness of a paper bag (a wet one)

you could almost get a car for that price

 

Nothing deliberate at all.

I think that there are plenty of people with the necessary readies who have the "emotional element" of wanting to "save the planet"/"stop global warming"/"reduce pollution"/whatever, however noble/misguided they may be, who could well actually want an electric car for those reasons.

Add in that many people regard their cars as necessary transport, so don't really mind, as long as they get there, and it doesn't cost too much.

You're quite correct that there are also people who don't want an electric car at all.

The fact that Priuses are selling so well, despite not being dynamically interesting and pretty expensive seems to back up my logic.

Your logic is backed up by the large numbers of Prius haters one encounters

So, electric cars are becoming a choice for a few, and will become a choice for more and more people as the cars and, very importantly, supporting infrastructure improve. In fact, it rather parallels the early development of the petrol car.