Why Did You Buy an EV?

All Volvo XC40 related discussions
JFDIT
Posts: 1241
Joined: Tue Sep 28, 2021 5:21 pm

Post by JFDIT »

Disregarding "Running Costs", because whichever way you cut it EVs are not and will not be cheaper to run than current vehicles. My concern is how realistic is it for someone driving beyond a single charge regularly to own one?
I can understand it will work for short haul owners but how realistic is it for me to run one? I don't want to have to "Plan" my journey around charging points and charging duration. Like I don't want to plan my journey around train and bus timetables. I own a car for convenience and to go places. In my case those places are beyond a single charge range.
Anyone out there that does long haul in an EV that can share experiences?
XC40 MY24 B4 Ultimate Dark, Black Leather, Crystal White, 20" Rims
Lincolnshire England.

eugen61
Posts: 1211
Joined: Sun May 10, 2020 7:33 am

Post by eugen61 »

I agree with JFDIT. For me the main deterrent for owning an EV is the time required for battery charging on a long trip. Even the ideal case scenario, with plenty of 250 kW stations on the route and no cueing for charging, requires 25 min to get 200 miles of range. Now I fill up my T4 in 3 min and get 400 miles of range.

I would consider an EV if my driving would consist of daily short trips and charging at home during the night, but only as my second car dedicated to city driving. But the cost of owning two cars is not offset by the EV city driving savings compared with owning a single ICE car.
qrt31
Posts: 172
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:30 am

Post by qrt31 »

I only foresee driving beyond the range of the battery a few to several times a times year. For those times, a slight adjustment to my routines is worth the benefits, including, most importantly, the environmental benefits. While EVs may not work for all people at the moment, including some on this forum, I think they would work for most. It just requires a bit of rethinking one's approach to the car. How often do you need to drive 400 miles, for example? Most people assume they need very long range even though they don't actually use it very often. And also remember that you are not likely going to be putting a full 200 miles into the car at one go, meaning charing at any one point will take less time. And most of us would need to stop every 150-200 miles anyway for a comfort/food stop. Charging at the same time is not likely to add much more time, if any, to those stops. As I was approaching purchasing the car, I was worrying about range anxiety. But I did a lot of research and thinking about my particular situations, and realised it was not, in fact, a big deal. For me, the convenience of being able to travel 400 miles or whatever without stopping and filling up is balanced against other considerations. Somebody else's mileage, of course, may vary.
Rifleman
Posts: 435
Joined: Wed Mar 21, 2018 2:21 pm
Location: Nottingham, UK

Post by Rifleman »

XC40 | First Edition | 2.0 D4 AWD | Bursting Blue | 19" wheels | Ordered 11/03/18 | Delivered 19th October 2018.
eugen61
Posts: 1211
Joined: Sun May 10, 2020 7:33 am

Post by eugen61 »

The article talks about an 8 year old hybrid with a primitive battery management software offering no preheating, no cooling during charging and most important, no option to limit charging to 80% of total battery capacity. Today, EV battery software takes into account various factors that can lead to degradation, Tesla’s been pioneering this system for almost a decade and no wonder their batteries end up with marginal degradation after several years of usage. Volvo included these learnings in the XC40 EV battery management software and I would expect similar battery degradation over the years as seen today in old Teslas.
User avatar
Greggspies
Posts: 403
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2021 10:16 am

Post by Greggspies »

"Tesla's been pioneering this system" you say...

https://gizmodo.com/finnish-man-passes- ... 1848268874
MY22 T5 Recharge Inscription Pro in Denim Blue with Blond Interior
Mikeg1
Posts: 495
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2021 7:14 pm

Post by Mikeg1 »

Greggspies wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 9:18 am "Tesla's been pioneering this system" you say...

https://gizmodo.com/finnish-man-passes- ... 1848268874
Amazing video.
Mike. West Yorks.

MY22 B4P R Design 8 sp auto, Thunder Grey with Climate, Park Assist, Android Auto, Car Protection & mudflaps, Service Plan.

Ordered 02/11/21, collected 17/11/21
Deleted User 3629

Post by Deleted User 3629 »

When battery tech becomes a solid-state affair that can be detached and replace with the same ease as say a fuel tank - then and only then we will be getting somewhere, and 20yrs from now, probably less, we will look back at wiring together loads of little batteries and burying them deep in the chassis as primitive as we now consider the steam engine.
Mikeg1
Posts: 495
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2021 7:14 pm

Post by Mikeg1 »

Oldie wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 1:51 pm When battery tech becomes a solid-state affair that can be detached and replace with the same ease as say a fuel tank - then and only then we will be getting somewhere, and 20yrs from now, probably less, we will look back at wiring together loads of little batteries and burying them deep in the chassis as primitive as we now consider the steam engine.
Agreed. And whilst EV tech and the infrastructure sorts itself out, it's almost as if renting, rather than dropping £50kon an evolving format, makes perfect sense.
Mike. West Yorks.

MY22 B4P R Design 8 sp auto, Thunder Grey with Climate, Park Assist, Android Auto, Car Protection & mudflaps, Service Plan.

Ordered 02/11/21, collected 17/11/21
qrt31
Posts: 172
Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:30 am

Post by qrt31 »

We shouldn't let the perfect become the enemy of the good. It is clear that we need to move away from ICE cars and other fossil fuel emissions as soon as we can. EVs might not be right for everybody right now. But if we wait until they can go 500 miles on a charge and last for 20 years without degradation, that will be far too late. With regard to the renting/buying question, that might be a rational decision for some. I found what Volvo was asking for its subscriptions to be far too much. And it's not like current EVs are going to just stop working in a few years.
Post Reply