Resisting the new car itch

[IanLorenc]

As of 13th December there are 9469 public charging points at 3698 locations.

As of 18th December, there are 9549 public charging points at 3710 locations.
That sort of demonstrates how quickly the infrastructure is going down. Now if they could just unify and simplify access to it, instigate a reasonable pricing structure, put it in locations that it needs to be, ensure the points aren't blocked, and try to improve the point reliability, that's be great.

[IanLorenc]

I was down the dealers today signing paperwork - hoping for Saturday pick-up - and I was able to snag a picture of my car waiting around the back.
After initial doubts after ordering, the colour's growing on me now and I do like the private plate I picked up...

[frv]

Nice one Ian. Can you do some more photos when you get it please? Maybe some interior shots, dash, etc.
Many thanks in advance

[Karl]

Wow - I'm loving the styling on the front end of that thing. Certainly a big step from the Renault that I always pictured.

[IanLorenc]

Wow - I'm loving the styling on the front end of that thing. Certainly a big step from the Renault that I always pictured.

I think it's the best looking Renault on sale at the moment. Everything else in their range seems a bit bug-eyed and/or bulbous to me. I've always thought, from launch, the Clio one of was the best looking cars in that segment, but I think the last two variations have dropped the ball.

Nice one Ian. Can you do some more photos when you get it please? Maybe some interior shots, dash, etc.
Many thanks in advance

Sorry, took a while but I got there in the end...
1. Front.

2. Back.

3. Interior driver side.

4. Interior passenger side.

5. Seats.

6. Boot.

7. First charge.

8. Dash when charging.

9. A good result.


I charged the car today at the free Ecotricity charger at the LFE M1 services, and all three charging bays were full. Myself, another Zoe, and a guy in a Tesla Model S P85D, who I chatted with for a while. Across the motorway, I could also see a Nissan Leaf charging at one of the bays in the Northbound services opposite.
And people say that electric car charging bays aren't used!

[frv]

Excellent - cheers Ian. The boot looks a decent size for the size of the car and I do like the seats!
I like the look of the car, much better than the Nissan Leaf, it looks more like a traditional car which i prefer.
The interior looks nicely designed, quite interesting to look at but not too "space agey" IYKWIM
Be interesting to see how many miles YOU get out of it compared to the stated numbers specially at this time of year now the temperature has dropped considerably.
Many thanks

[IanLorenc]

The boot looks a decent size for the size of the car

The boot's very good for the class of car. Noticeably bigger than either the Yaris or Fiesta that I'm used to.

Be interesting to see how many miles YOU get out of it compared to the stated numbers specially at this time of year now the temperature has dropped considerably.

It's difficult because I don't really drive it in that way of trying to eke out the most miles possible before charging. I just let it get quite low and then charge back up again.
In fact, today was the lowest I'd ever taken the battery before charging:


However, what I'm taking note of is the average miles per kilowatt hour, which would indicate potential, theoretical range.
When the temp was hovering around (and dipping below) the freezing mark, I was getting about 3.5 miles per kWh which would make for a predicted range of 77 miles.
3.5 x 22* = 77
*capacity of battery
When the temperature rose to about 5 to 8C though, my average went up to 4.5 mpkwh which would make for a predicted range of nearly 100 miles.
4.5 x 22 = 99
I'm longing for Spring/Summer, get the temperature into a nice sweet spot of 14-20C.

Range is the same as a petrol/diesel car - simply how far you can go on the amount of fuel that the car can hold. However, miles per kilowatt hour is the e-equivalent of miles per gallon.
One gallon of petrol contains 158 megajoules or 44kWh of energy, so my battery has around the same energy as half a gallon.
(diesel is around 49kWh)

Busy chargers today!
I grabbed a charge from the free Ecotricity chargers on the M1 today, and electric vehicles abounded. There were two Leafs charging at the Northbound services, and myself, another Zoe, then later also an i3 charging at the Southbound.

[frv]

Thanks again Ian

[IanLorenc]

Getting along just fine.
Keeping track of daily stats so I know how I'm doing. Still quite cold, so the average of 3.8 miles per kiloWatt hour is acceptable. That would make for a theoretical range of just over 83 miles.

[frv]

That's definitely acceptable - like I said it would cover 95%+ of my journeys and probably all of my wife's.
I'm off to Norfolk this afternoon - that's about 116 miles so I'd need to get a charge along the way for that trip.