Back to diesel

[m4rmite]

I try and follow the schooling of my dear late parents, who instilled this value from a very young age :- “If you can’t say nothing nice, then maybe better to say nothing at all”.

Wasn't that a Boyzone song?

Oh wait, it was you say it best, when you say nothing at all.

You'll notice i didn't take my own advice

 

[Kithmo]

 

[Vipar]

My other forum, site criticism of anothers grandma would have got you a 3 month suspension

 

[pollenface]

? Poetic Justice at work

Back to my beer ?

 

[Tobemeister]

I've had my mg5 for 6 months, done 7k in that time. I think it's great, I have had occasional problems almost running out of charge, but that's mainly because I put as little on as I can at public points and charge mostly at work. I must have spent no more than £200 on charging it.

When I have done motorway trips I found 100kw motorway chargers excellent. I did a day trip to London and left it charging on a lamp post in Westminster - parking free when plugged in.

If I was doing 300mile round trips several times a week then I probably would have thought harder about buying it though

 

[JerryB]

Bought mg zs long range last November,excellent car local journeys,charging at home easy,affordable.
Longer higher speed journeys 70mph,cooler weather the range is rubbish (most ev suffer with this),not fit for purpose for me(can’t even go to llanberis and back with heating on 70mph 170 miles)
Will wait until battery technology improves and then re look at it.

I agree absolutely. The only problem I have is whether I can get a decent price for the MG. I bought in October & I've a feeling used EV prices have plummeted.

 

[Piperman]

When deciding to go full EV, then consideration much be matched carefully against the usage needs of the owner for them to work successfully for 99% of the time.
If I was conducting journey lengths that required me spending £130 - £140 on external charging fees, then I would never if considered one in the first place TBH.
The highly inflated costs of charging on the move on a regular basis, has cancelled out the cost savings over fossil fuel.
We cover about 10,000 miles a year in our ZS EV Gen2 and its range capacity suits us just fine !.
We never charge on the move and the cost savings over a fossil car has been very very rewarding.
If I wanted to take a really long trip a couple of times a year, then I am prepared to pay the extra cost of public charging.
So, am I limited - NO.
The other 50 weeks of the year is massively cheaper than using a fossil car.
This is because the car matches my usage case for at least 95% of the time.
If you are pounding the motorways on a regular basis, racking up thousands and thousands of miles, then an oil burner was a better option in the first place ?.

I've had my zx lr for just on 12 months and I've logged every charge and the cost of each charge.
I've averaged it out and compared it with a Toyota corolla HB that I had before which I was getting 56mpg.
In comparison to the I'm getting equal to 120 mpg on the MG. This charging at home on a 7 kwh charger between the hrs of 2am and 6am.
A part for some niggling electrical issue's. I'm quite happy with it.
It's a case of changing you driving style and planning your trips.
I regularly go from Wrexham to Porthmadog = 64 miles each way and back with charge to spare. With travelling around in porthmadog shopping etc.

 

[BrianG]

I'll be doing the same, got a MG5 Exclusive in Sept and my opinion they are only fit for shortish town journeys, anything that requires a motorway journey of a decent length is a nightmare, i had to go to Bodmin from Manchester for work and not only did it cost about £130-140 in charging cost it added about 4 hours to the journey with the stops for charging.

leave aside the poor fittings - no DAB, a screen that constantly blanks out, intermittent wipers that are basically guesswork on speed. if these cars were diesel or petrol nobody would nut them. i'll keep it for the summer to get a years worth of depreciation on the companies books and then back to diesel

Whilst my Passat would do the return trip Manchester to Bodmin, 620 miles just about on a full tank of diesel from a driver’s health point of view I would want to stop twice, probably, for toilet and caffeine. I have never been able to stop at an MSA for less than 20 minutes in which time the newer MG5 should load 25 - 35 kWh? I had to dash to Newport passport office from Alton Hants last year and we made a day of the trip, onward to Penarth and back to Tredegar house NT property in Newport. 300 miles in the day in Mk 1 ZS. My wife drove the first leg from home to Aust/Severn View where we planned a stop for coffee and a pee before going on the 20 miles to Newport. We didn’t know what facilities there might be or the time the business would take so worked on the safe side. So 20 minute stop at Aust and then Newport for 20 minutes then Penarth and back to Newport. A ten minute charge at a BP charger, the first one ever that has worked for me, just to try it out, before an afternoon in the gardens and house at Tradegar. Another stop at Aust to charge and coffee and pee before the last 100 miles home. We were late leaving home by 15 minutes and I wasn’t fit to drive because I take morphine for a failed hip implant, I woke up at Swindon to point out 90 mph wasn’t the best speed for getting there without ‘needing’ to charge and Swindon is famouse for unmarked police cars….

I think it is quite possible to use an MG5 for motorway driving but would add a caveat that you adopt a different driving style, anticipate all slowing and stopping to put power back into the battery and keep speed to below 65. Going at 70-75 in the fast line can be punishing on range, The AA reckon it is 308 miles Manchester to Bodmin and it takes 5:40 hours. That is at least one stop of 30 minutes by employment law. Manchester to Cribbs Causeway is 170 miles which should be achievable in either the long or short range MG5? And then 30 minutes charge should get you to Bodmin? I find it hard to see where it takes you 4 hours longer to do the journey? Bodmin is a bit lacking in Chargers and for that reason I might stop at the services in Exeter to ensure I have enough charge for running around but that isn’t going to add more than 20 minutes to the journey?

 

[sss]

I agree with some of the comments here.

We have a Nissan Leaf 40kw and have recently got a second car - MG4 Trophy.

Electric cars vary and are dependent on the individual’s needs.

Our Nissan Leaf is more suited to town driving. It does take long time to charge on rapid chargers and, with the rapid gate issue, the second or third sessions at the rapid charger are very slow.

Therefore, we use it for local driving only and charge it at home on an off peak tariff. It is definitely more cost effective than petrol or diesel.

As for the MG4 Trophy, it is more suited to long range driving with the bigger battery and 135kw charge rate.

The key thing for new EV drivers is research. You need to make sure if it is suited to your personal needs.

 

[StanBowlesb]

It is horses for courses. As simple as that. If your journeys are mostly within a certain radius of home and you can charge (relatively) cheaply at home then EVs offer significant savings over petrol/diesel and other advantages too. We are about to own a MG4 Trophy and my wife will be using it for a 140 mile return motorway commute. We were careful to research and reassure ourselves that the range in winter cold weather would be sufficiently ok for this journey. Unfortunately, partly due to government incompetence at rolling out and regulating EV charging infrastructure, public charging in the country is both problematic (availability and reliability problems) but also, crucially, way too expensive. How the government managed to get into a situation where charging an EV on the road is more expensive than filling a diesel or petrol engine full of polluting fossil fuel is astonishing. It is a scandal and deserves more public debate. We would never have bought an EV if we weren't sure that all of our charging would be at home. We retain a petrol vehicle as a second car for longer, holiday trips.

 

[Exdro]

Wasn't that a Boyzone song?

Oh wait, it was you say it best, when you say nothing at all.

You'll notice i didn't take my own advice

It is better to keep one’s mouth closed and let everyone think you are stupid than to open it and remove any vestige of doubt.

 

[fatboyfat1981]

It is horses for courses. As simple as that. If your journeys are mostly within a certain radius of home and you can charge (relatively) cheaply at home then EVs offer significant savings over petrol/diesel and other advantages too. We are about to own a MG4 Trophy and my wife will be using it for a 140 mile return motorway commute. We were careful to research and reassure ourselves that the range in winter cold weather would be sufficiently ok for this journey. Unfortunately, partly due to government incompetence at rolling out and regulating EV charging infrastructure, public charging in the country is both problematic (availability and reliability problems) but also, crucially, way too expensive. How the government managed to get into a situation where charging an EV on the road is more expensive than filling a diesel or petrol engine full of polluting fossil fuel is astonishing. It is a scandal and deserves more public debate. We would never have bought an EV if we weren't sure that all of our charging would be at home. We retain a petrol vehicle as a second car for longer, holiday trips.

I wouldn’t call it a scandal re public charging. There are significant costs involved in installing public chargers that obviously have to be paid for, plus the cost of the electricity, plus the users paying for the convenience of having a fast charge in a convenient location. Charging Networks aren’t doing this out of the kindness of their hearts and, whilst I’m not Mr Free-Market Capitalist, they are allowed to make a profit!

As DC fast chargers are relatively new technology, Charging Networks have no idea how long they will last in a real world environment and have presumably been very conservative in estimating their longevity. The estimate would have also been factored into their rates as well. One can assume that rates will fall in the medium to long term as more chargers are installed and companies have to be more competitive.

Much as I think the government should incentivise the switch to EVs, I’m not sure subsidies to private businesses (i.e Charging Networks) is the right way to do it.

 

[BananaDuck]

if these cars were diesel or petrol nobody would nut them.

I’d nut them all day long ?

 

[liam molloy 1]

Public charging costs are typically high, then so is fuel in motorway services, so we have to look at the alternatives.
I have ZS trophy long range which after nine months has just over thirty thousand miles covered. I average just over 200 miles per day charge at home.
I keep speed to 65mph and seldom now go to public charging,
When I do I get pissed ? off at what it costs.
Would I change back? No chance.

 

[m4rmite]

It is better to keep one’s mouth closed and let everyone think you are stupid than to open it and remove any vestige of doubt.

And let the world be a boring place?
Not on your nelly.

 

[Dominic]

Sad to say that with the prices @ service stations long distance is not worth it with EV anymore. I did a trip recently from Derby to Falmouth spent 115 quid charging and 4 hrs combined in service stations would have been cheaper and quicker in our petrol car than our ZS EV LR. Sad thing is when we did this trip 2 years ago in a Q4 with about the same range it was doable then cause prices were at around 47 p KW. Only good to potter about now and charge at home

 

[Gadget Geek]

A saying from the Tao Te Ching; "Those who speak, do not know. Those who know, do not speak".

 

[TheHypnoToad]

Not a big fan of owning and running a modern diesel myself. I'd you are put off EV's, then I'd take a look at the mazda 3 skyactiv x

 

[Gadget Geek]

I did a 204 mile round trip on Wednesday with a top up at a 50kW Pod-Point at Lidl, Worcester. Cost me £9.33 and a 2 mile detour off junction 6 of the M5. A lot better than the services.

 

[fmzsev]

I wouldn’t call it a scandal re public charging. There are significant costs involved in installing public chargers that obviously have to be paid for, plus the cost of the electricity, plus the users paying for the convenience of having a fast charge in a convenient location. Charging Networks aren’t doing this out of the kindness of their hearts and, whilst I’m not Mr Free-Market Capitalist, they are allowed to make a profit!

As DC fast chargers are relatively new technology, Charging Networks have no idea how long they will last in a real world environment and have presumably been very conservative in estimating their longevity. The estimate would have also been factored into their rates as well. One can assume that rates will fall in the medium to long term as more chargers are installed and companies have to be more competitive.

Much as I think the government should incentivise the switch to EVs, I’m not sure subsidies to private businesses (i.e Charging Networks) is the right way to do it.

I'm pretty sure it's similar to house supplys where it is the dno who installs the network and the charge network just needs to connect to

The cost is then charged to the charge network just like standing tarrif is supposed to go to the home supply network.

So the govt could incentive it to an extent by subsidising the network which is the big problem just now lack of chargers.

They could include with ofgem etc regulation on charging costs.

Cynical me would suggest the separation of gas and electric and the current costs of elec factor into the govt longer term plan to push to evs and get people to move to evs.

You also look at the expected kwh unit cost and back even 10/15 years ago they were pricing that elec once gas is seperate/ removed should be around 75p per unit.

There will be push from private companies but to me the current model for energy doesn't work anymore as energy companies inflate the price from the wholesale arm to make it look like the retail side struggling......... these energy companies have got to big and can now dictate prices.

The smart move from the govt would have been to role out an effective ev charging network state funded then sold off once at a sustainable rate and closer to the removal of ice cars