Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

Electric cars

cars are generally getting much more difficult and
expensive to repair.

My experience is that the type of systems that adorn modern cars are very reliable and reasonably easy to diagnose when they fail. It's still things like rust and transmission failures that write cars off.
 
My work’s mindblowingly reliable Suzuki Carry minivan continues to serve us without a single mechanical failure in 21 years. But as its bodywork bears many scars and it’s not exactly a glamorous vehicle, the boss has decided to replace it with an electric van.

We don’t need anything as big as even a standard Transit-sized van for 95% of our needs, so I’ve suggested to him this beauty. I think it looks the dog’s bollocks :)

IMG_6448.jpeg

Sixty fucking grand, though :eek::eek:
 
My work’s mindblowingly reliable Suzuki Carry minivan continues to serve us without a single mechanical failure in 21 years. But as its bodywork bears many scars and it’s not exactly a glamorous vehicle, the boss has decided to replace it with an electric van.

We don’t need anything as big as even a standard Transit-sized van for 95% of our needs, so I’ve suggested to him this beauty. I think it looks the dog’s bollocks :)

View attachment 445584

Sixty fucking grand, though :eek::eek:
I’m waiting to lease the passenger model but it’s been massively delayed which is annoying.

I absolutely loved it on my test drive.

IMG_3707.jpeg
 
The word seems to be that you'll want that wait while they get the kinks out. It's a general rule not to buy the first year of anything, but now that cars are primarily software driven... maybe wait a bit longer. Though some of the problems just seem to be VW's UX designers utterly losing their minds.

Just be grateful it doesn't have the ID.4's problems. A left and right window control where you then have to flick a switch to choose between front and rear windows. Flat touch controls on the steering wheel with zero user feedback when you accidentally brush them. I've no idea how that sort of shit made it into production cars, but it's not a giant surprise that VW is not having a good time right now.
 
The word seems to be that you'll want that wait while they get the kinks out. It's a general rule not to buy the first year of anything, but now that cars are primarily software driven... maybe wait a bit longer. Though some of the problems just seem to be VW's UX designers utterly losing their minds.

Just be grateful it doesn't have the ID.4's problems. A left and right window control where you then have to flick a switch to choose between front and rear windows. Flat touch controls on the steering wheel with zero user feedback when you accidentally brush them. I've no idea how that sort of shit made it into production cars, but it's not a giant surprise that VW is not having a good time right now.
Yeah there’s definite benefits to having the newer version. Bigger battery, improved app/entertainment system and an opening window in the back. Not sure about the rest.

I ordered it in May though so am really banking on getting in by the end of 2024!
 
We get our first PHEV on Tuesday. I'm already disappointed by its performance compared to the Golf. But the golf is a GTD and this is a "standard" SUV with no sporting pretensions. That aside its a 71 plate with FSH and only 12750 miles. Paying a bit over the odds because we're getting it from the VW main dealership.

Screenshot_20241005-183715_Outlook.jpg
 
We get our first PHEV on Tuesday. I'm already disappointed by its performance compared to the Golf. But the golf is a GTD and this is a "standard" SUV with no sporting pretensions. That aside its a 71 plate with FSH and only 12750 miles. Paying a bit over the odds because we're getting it from the VW main dealership.

View attachment 445592
Incidentally, I looked at another car on Saturday, which just happened to be an MHEV. The mileage was good, price affordable but spec wasn't quite right. Mrs tag has given the green light so if and when the right one comes along that's what we will be doing. The MHEV was a pure coincidence.
 
Incidentally, I looked at another car on Saturday, which just happened to be an MHEV. The mileage was good, price affordable but spec wasn't quite right. Mrs tag has given the green light so if and when the right one comes along that's what we will be doing. The MHEV was a pure coincidence.
I wish they'd stop calling them hybrids. It's a great way to cheat the standardised fuel consumption tests, but does bugger all in real life for the most part. Unlike a proper hybrid. I know someone who has the two years later version of my own car, after they added "mild hybrid" to it. Utterly no difference between the two, with a slight advantage to me in mpg because my driving style is more economical.

Edit to add: Advertising Standards Ireland even banned a car manufacturer from claiming their mild hybrid was more efficient, because there was zero evidence that it was true.
 
Last edited:
We get our first PHEV on Tuesday. I'm already disappointed by its performance compared to the Golf. But the golf is a GTD and this is a "standard" SUV with no sporting pretensions. That aside its a 71 plate with FSH and only 12750 miles. Paying a bit over the odds because we're getting it from the VW main dealership.

View attachment 445592
Im getting old..all cars look the same. What make of car is that? jCT600 was a Saab dealership in Leeds back in the day, but I’m not sure Saab exists anymore.
 
It's a Cupra Formentor, Cupra being a VAG sub-sub-brand that didn't really need to exist but apparently does.
Thank you, that makes it..clear.
I hope I’ve bought my last ICE car..maybe I can buy the forthcoming Renault 5 as something familiar when I next need a new vehicle
 
I did ride in a BYB (brink your bottle?) recently and it seemed very nice. We seem to have skipped Tesla down here and got Chinese EVs. The former consul general had an electric jaguar which was fine until you went out of the city and discovered there were no chargers at petrol stations.
 
I did ride in a BYB (brink your bottle?) recently and it seemed very nice. We seem to have skipped Tesla down here and got Chinese EVs. The former consul general had an electric jaguar which was fine until you went out of the city and discovered there were no chargers at petrol stations.
BYD stands for Build Your Dreams apparently. That alone puts me off having one.
 
Fuck is that thing???
It’s a Citroen Ami. It’s considered a quadricycle rather than a car.
It looks as if it could be driven in whatever direction one fancies, like a pushmipullu.
The front and rear sections are identical but with different lights. Even the doors are identical with one being hinged at the front and the other at the rear. It’s to save on production costs.
 
You can pick one up for £5000. Go anywhere in the city in a fully enclosed electric vehicle. What's not to like.
But how many people never leave the city? For 95% of people, it's inappropriate as a primary car* and I really think that we shouldn't promote multiple vehicle ownership.

* Try going 28mph (Ami's top speed) out of town and you're going to cause a lot of road rage. The Ami also has, compared to a proper car, absolutely pathetic passenger protection and you'll get turned to bloody paste if someone hits you at extra-urban speeds.
 
But how many people never leave the city? For 95% of people, it's inappropriate as a primary car* and I really think that we shouldn't promote multiple vehicle ownership.

* Try going 28mph (Ami's top speed) out of town and you're going to cause a lot of road rage. The Ami also has, compared to a proper car, absolutely pathetic passenger protection and you'll get turned to bloody paste if someone hits you at extra-urban speeds.
95%, you are kidding. Loads of people round here have a huge car for the nanny to take the ankle biters to school, amongst other things. Many cars journeys are less than 5 miles and the cars often have a single occupant. Sticking with the small EVs, I see there is a new baby one coming out.
In a totally different vein, questioning their green credentials.
 
95%, you are kidding. Loads of people round here have a huge car for the nanny to take the ankle biters to school, amongst other things. Many cars journeys are less than 5 miles and the cars often have a single occupant. Sticking with the small EVs, I see there is a new baby one coming out.
In a totally different vein, questioning their green credentials.
I am not kidding. People aren't going to spend £8k on a primary vehicle that they can't drive out of town. Doesn't matter that 95% of your journeys (by number) are fine for it, it's that other 5% and that other 5% generally accounts for more than 50% of the mileage that the vehicle does.

Your mention of nanny vehicles is exactly what I was railing against. More cars are bad. Ami or Range Rover, we should not encourage people to own multiple vehicles. In 2024, any solution that ends up with more cars on the road is untenable.
 
I reckon I have seen at least 4 different Amis knocking around. gwhizzs were quite a thing a while back.
Personally, I wouldn't take anything as small as a 500 on a longish journey.
 
The abuses are starting to leak out now, amongst other things. There are a few reasons why Chinese cars are cheap so no surprises about their human rights abuses.
 
The abuses are starting to leak out now, amongst other things. There are a few reasons why Chinese cars are cheap so no surprises about their human rights abuses.
I agree that electric vehicle manufacturers need to be vigilant regarding their supply chains but that applies to all manufacturers of every product.

Hasn't the explosive growth of smart phones also fuelled human rights abuses? They all have batteries too. Any cordless product has a battery which could be contributing to human rights abuses.

And, of course, the oil and gas industry have never been involved in human rights abuses. :hmm:
 
I agree that electric vehicle manufacturers need to be vigilant regarding their supply chains but that applies to all manufacturers of every product.

Hasn't the explosive growth of smart phones also fuelled human rights abuses? They all have batteries too. Any cordless product has a battery which could be contributing to human rights abuses.

And, of course, the oil and gas industry have never been involved in human rights abuses. :hmm:
Sure, some companies are cleaner than other but It wasn't just the human rights abuses. The report was also highlighting all the new mines which could be opening over the next few years which also highlights that EVs might not be as green as people believe them to be.
 
Oh, I saw a Tesla Cyber truck in the metal at the weekend. It's hideous! It's far too big and the body looks like it's been built by a group of 15 year olds in metal work class with too little supervision.
 
I absolutely love my PHEV, but am appalled by how poor the fuel consumption is on a long run.

Edinburgh return, so running on petrol most of the time, returned 41mpg, my Golf diesel on the same run would average 58mpg. Around town and on short runs I get 182mpg from the PHEV so, of course, I'll win greatly on this. However, I've spent a very much larger amount on the new car, the economics don't make much sense.
 
Back
Top Bottom