Thoughts on electric/hybrid/LPG vehicles

[Deleted account]

Anyone else out there with an electric van full of tools and materials and spare stock?
How does it perform

 

[PJH2903]

I have a BMW i3 as my main car and love it. I will get around 120 miles per charge in this colder weather, around 150-160 in summer. I plug it in at the end of the day and set it to charge overnight on E7 @ 9p/kwh. There is a £500 OLEV grant towards the cost of a home charger bringing the installed cost down to around £200.
I will be looking into getting a Nissan env200 van in the new year and going fully electric. If you are doing under 100 miles a day you will not have a problem in an electric vehicle. For longer journeys you just need to plan a stop on route at a rapid charger which will get you around 80% charge in 30-40 minutes (coffee break and a bit of paperwork in the service station for me usually)

 

[Deleted account]

I have a BMW i3 as my main car and love it. I will get around 120 miles per charge in this colder weather, around 150-160 in summer. I plug it in at the end of the day and set it to charge overnight on E7 @ 9p/kwh. There is a £500 OLEV grant towards the cost of a home charger bringing the installed cost down to around £200.
I will be looking into getting a Nissan env200 van in the new year and going fully electric. If you are doing under 100 miles a day you will not have a problem in an electric vehicle. For longer journeys you just need to plan a stop on route at a rapid charger which will get you around 80% charge in 30-40 minutes (coffee break and a bit of paperwork in the service station for me usually)

Will you be buying or hiring? Those milages, are they with a full load?

 

[PJH2903]

Not decided on the buy or hire option yet, need to discuss with the accountant what is better being a limited company (only in my 1st year so new to that side of things).
The mileage is in my i3 generally with 2 adults in it and a 70/30 mix of normal/motorway driving.
The i3 has a 33kwH battery and the new Nissan van has a 40kwH battery so fully loaded I would imagine you would still get similar range if not a bit more.
The other big advantage this time of year is preconditioning. If I am leaving the house at 8.30 I will set to precondition at 8.00 then when I go out all the windows are clear and the cabin is nice and warm at 22 degrees.

 

[telectrix]

Not decided on the buy or hire option yet, need to discuss with the accountant what is better being a limited company (only in my 1st year so new to that side of things).
The mileage is in my i3 generally with 2 adults in it and a 70/30 mix of normal/motorway driving.
The i3 has a 33kwH battery and the new Nissan van has a 40kwH battery so fully loaded I would imagine you would still get similar range if not a bit more.
The other big advantage this time of year is preconditioning. If I am leaving the house at 8.30 I will set to precondition at 8.00 then when I go out all the windows are clear and the cabin is nice and warm at 22 degrees.

that's some new-fangled tech there. when it's really cold, i just bung a 2kW. fan heater in the footwell for 20 minutes. cab then like toast, all windows clear, and the seat warm under my fat arse.

 

[Wilko]

Sadly £150 for a month of fuel may be about average. There is the "total cost of ownership" aspect to deal with as well (insurance, service costs etc). If the old car is reliable I'd save my money. If it's unreliable or doesn't meet your needs to carry tools, then that's another story. Just my opinion .

 

[telectrix]

agree with wilko. stick with the volvo. at least you know you have a vehicle that won't keep stopping due to silly electronics giving up because it's too cold/too hot/too wet/ too dry/wrong kind of snow.

 

[PJH2903]

agree with wilko. stick with the volvo. at least you know you have a vehicle that won't keep stopping due to silly electronics giving up because it's too cold/too hot/too wet/ too dry/wrong kind of snow.

Don't knock it till you've tried it. When the Beast from the East struck my electric i3 was quite happy going up and down hills that the local 4X4's were struggling with.

 

[PEG]

Don't knock it till you've tried it. When the Beast from the East struck my electric i3 was quite happy going up and down hills that the local 4X4's were struggling with.

I hereby challenge you to a tug-of-war,against my Patrol...for logbooks

....and we're doing it the minute we both arrive in Inverness...

 

[Timbo]

Sadly £150 for a month of fuel may be about average. There is the "total cost of ownership" aspect to deal with as well (insurance, service costs etc). If the old car is reliable I'd save my money. If it's unreliable or doesn't meet your needs to carry tools, then that's another story. Just my opinion .

Unfortunately, how much you pay for fuel varies dramatically depending on where you buy. Quantity used is a better benchmark to go by. I put £600+ last month month in my vehicles (and only I drive them), but if I didn't shop around, that could be £50 higher.
Van is 5 yrs old, gets 30mpg, car 1 yr old, averaged 36mpg (over the 29500 miles of its life).