Thinking of going Electric?
EVS are now more accessible than ever, so should you be considering one? Steve Rothwell surveys the pros and cons.
EVS are more accessible than ever. We examine the pros and cons of running electric vehicles.
The electric vehicle (EV) has been around for a while now.
The Nissan LEAF hit the car showrooms in 2010 and has been available since 2011 so there are quite a few coming onto the second-hand market. A 2011 24kw version can be found for less than £5000, and with low running costs, the LEAF would appear to be a good purchase providing you do not do regular long runs. If you do, range anxiety may prevent you from owning a vehicle that is only good for about 80 miles per charge – slightly less during the winter months. The latest version of the LEAF – available now – comes with a 40kwh capacity, achieving 0-62 in 7.9 seconds, or a 62kwh version which will take 7.1 seconds to reach 62mph. These, though, are going to take a while to filter down into the second-hand market.
EVS do have a power source, a drivetrain and braking system. They are still designed to carry their occupants and luggage as comfortably and as safely as possible. They are like a conventional vehicle but with a ‘claimed’ zero emissions and with zero road tax fees. This £0 tax applies only to vehicles under £40,000 – vehicles over this will be taxed at £320 for the first five years.
Let me just go back to that emissions tag – why did I say ‘claimed’? Well, while there are no tailpipe emissions it must be remembered that the fuel, in this case electric, must be generated from some source. This may be solar or wind power and so in that case the zero emissions tag could be justified. Yet, there are still other emissions sources, brake dust being one – although with a regenerative braking system this should be reduced to a lower level than internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
Having read through pages of reports on the whole aspect of the electric vehicle, including the sourcing of the battery elements and producing the mains power though the grid, it would
appear that over the lifespan of the EV it will be at least 50% cleaner than its ICE counterpart. Interestingly, while driving at a steady pace will improve fuel economy in a conventional ICE vehicle, driving an EV vehicle at a steady pace will also increase the range available.
Some may also be interested in what happens when you do run out of fuel. Well there is a pre-warning, and before total failure the vehicle will enter ‘Turtle mode’ – this reduces the speed to a crawl, but it should give you sufficient time to move the vehicle off the road and into a safe area. At the moment the main option is then to have the vehicle recovered to an area where it can be charged, but plans are underway for charging stations to be fitted into recovery vehicles, allowing a top-up sufficient to drive the EV to a local charge point. Large recovery battery packs or rangeextender packs which can be plugged into the EV to give it sufficient charge to continue the journey are also available and being developed.
So, where can you charge your EV and, more importantly, how can you find out where there are charging points near you?
Various websites and apps are available which can to point you in the right direction – one of the leaders appears to be zap-map.com. Interestingly enough, charge points for electric vehicles are stilled referred to as pumps.
But not all charge points are created equal, and so another problem arises. The choice of charging point will also be governed by the type of plug your vehicle is equipped with. Low-level charging can be done with a three-pin plug – the choice is between commando for a single- or three-phase, low- or high-level charge, or the type one or type two and the CHADEMO rapid charge which offers a 50kw charge. Then there is the
CSS and the Tesla Type 2 which can charge at 50-120kw.
One option I have seen lately is to purchase a Tesla type 2 adapter which allows other EVS to use Tesla’s charging stations – although I would not recommend this until Tesla themselves release such an adapter. This I believe is unlikely to happen – and as the Tesla charger communicates with the vehicle to confirm its identity, the system would appear to be flawed.