in the online independent today they have an article on the new Nissan Leaf electric car.
but they want to sell it at £25,000. why would they want to charge so much? it must be a lot cheaper to make, ie an electric motor as opposed to a petrol engine? That initial cost is bound to put a lot of people off, i would have thought?
Small volume production. Control circuitry. Novelty premium for showing off your green credentials. Nissan LEAF actually cost £30990 less £5000 government grant. But you save London Congestion Charge. However, a Fiat 500 TwinAir also has zero congestion charge and is much cheaper, and runs longer on fill-up.
I fear you may be missing the point. Especially in comparing what's essentially a 2 seat small car with a large family hatch.
What point did I miss? It was about petrol vs electric cars. Ok so he can choose other economical bigger cars, e.g. Skoda Roomster 1.2 Petrol for under half the price at £11,775. Lots of room and is quality build car & low emission.
*whoooooosh*
Neodymium motors (for lightness), Lithium polymer batteries (likewise), regenerative braking control system (to save energy) etc. It's all very marginal and the batteries only last a couple of years before needing replacement. Neodymium is only obtainable from China if they feel like selling it.
Another Dave
Heh! I wonder how that would affect insurance premiums...
Chris
Is that the sound of your motar?
Please write the reply you would have wanted me to write; saves me the time of writing it.
To compare electric cars to carcinogenic belching diesels or even low emissions petrols is ridiculous.
The whole point of electric vehicles is to clean the air in cities, where there are a lot of vehicles - and move the 'dirty' part of energy generation to a more efficient and remote location.
We're behind the curve in the UK, but the combination of clean nuclear power and electric cars will do a huge amount to improve the air quality in populated areas.
Whats the running cost per mile on electric cars
Using 'average' electricity prices, around 2-3p per mile. As little as
0.5p per mile using an 'Economy 7' type overnight tarrif.I make that (at 'average') prices, 10p / mile cheaper than most similar sized diesels - which work out at circa 12p / mile if you do 50mpg over a tank.
That's a £1200 saving for people doing average miles over a year.
If you score a decent lease deal, and were going to lease a new car anyway, then it's not a bad way to do things. But only if you can live with 100 mile range.
Not by very much and not anytime soon. The short useful life of the battery and the materials required is a real worry.
Two Skoda Roomsters 1.2 TSI will produce less pollution than one electric car plus one BMW X5.
However, Skoda has a superb range of cars, some of them at 'No VAT' discount.
Oh, sorry - it'll just spontaneously combust and leave the car stranded once it hits exactly 5 years... forgot to mention that bit.
We had a fleet of Priuses - they're gradually being replaced - but none of them have suffered any noticeable issues with battery performance over the 4 years we had them. And that was 4 years of doing significantly higher mileage than 'average'.
In fact, some of our cars did, in just 3 years, half the mileage your Saab has done in 18 years.
I don't even recall a single hybrid drivetrain related breakdown in all that time, either.
Still, some real-world experience doesn't beat a load of people speculating on the 'net, does it?
The thing is, the Pious isn't 100% dependent on the battery.
Do you think that the battery in the Nissan Leaf will last for 18 years? It's not necessarily the mileage factor that kills a battery, it is also the age factor as the chemicals eats each other.
Depends on where you get the electricity from. And remember at the moment it's tax free. Which won't be allowed to continue if and when electric vehicles become common. The tax on petrol etc would have to be found in another way.
If its just a commute vehicle then 100 mile range is not too bad at all assuming you can recharge it within a few hours
Only for people whose brains don't work.
And only because you aren't paying tax on the fuel used.
No that's £1200 ripped off from other motorists.
If that.
And if the EV only manufacturers have any sense, they'll also set parameters which maximise life.
I'd say the opposite is true.
We need to open our minds to alternative methods of powering vehicles.
Hybrids and EV only are just points along the path to a solution - but EV only will definitely have a long-term place for city dwellers.
However, I do suspect the GM are on the right line with 'range extended' EVs like the Ampera - if you can get 100-200 miles from a full charge, but have the backup of a generator engine to re-charge for longer trips, that appears to be the ideal balance.
On the other hand, my recent experiences of hire cars has demonstrated just how good the Prius is - this Mondeo (fine car though it is) is only averaging 34.9mpg with a 2.0TDI and Powershift box. A Prius would be doing 10mpg more in my hands, and has largely the same interior space (although a smaller boot).
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