Electric cars.

My current car doesn't have air-con but my previous one did. It is the single biggest thing I miss. Mine was never off (actually, leaving it off leads to leaks and necessary recharging).

 

Mine hasn't worked for ages properly, it needs recharging, but its not worth the effort or price for the two days a year I might use it.
Running it all the time really cuts down your MPG so I'm told.

Now heated seats, I do miss those.

 

I tried mpg figures with and without air-con on and there was no appreciable difference. It depends on the power of the car and the air-con unit itself. The more effective the air-con compressor is, the more energy it requires to drive it. I had a hire car in California and you had to switch off the air-con to overtake!

 

I do remember many years ago seeing signs, on steep inclines, telling people to turn off their air conditioners, in America.
I assumed things had moved on a bit since then, but their A/C was always much more effective than anything I've ever owned.
110F outside and 60f inside.

 

I’ll preface what follows by saying I’m all in favour of electric cars, but it all depends on what you need it for, and also where you live. Like most things these days it’s all a bit of a postcode lottery.

I was seduced by the retro futurism of the Honda e prototype back in 2019 and pre-ordered the release model on that basis. Lockdown prevented delivery until late summer 2020. And it’s been a great runaround car during the height of the pandemic, has more ports than an island’s fishing industry, as nippy as a Sturgeon press briefing, as techy as an iPhone on wheels, innovative cameras instead of mirrors, and yes, it’s a bit short on the range side, but it serves the purpose of town and city driving adequately enough.

Sadly though, the infrastructure just isn’t in place, or even in enough places to make it viable for lifestyle use any more. Further to that, the lack of any other EV model that isn’t a variant on the bloated blob design that car makers favour these days, has driven me back to petrol, and back to the MX5, which I know will fit in the small (by modern standards) garage. After a year and a half of being pampered by technology, it’s refreshing to return to a more engaging driving experience and not having to fret about the rapidly diminishing charge % when out and about.

I’m not against EVs, they are very much the future all. They manage the risk for you if you want, braking for you, steering straighter for you, reversing for you, giving you all the tech you could ever need. They’ll get you from the A to B, and this is the problem for me just now, when B is that bit farther away. Taking Sheal’s comment about Tesco installing charging points, that’s great to hear but it’s not enough in these parts, and it’s the type of charging that’s critical, and the really fast chargers that get the job done in 20 mins. In the honeymoon period of the EV here, the council were pretty encouraging, giving out free charging points, which was an incentive of sorts if you were lucky to get one not hogged all day by a driver gone to work, or indeed you had 8 hours spare to make your way through that book of War and Peace, or The Goldfinch that had been kicking about the house for years.

Inevitably it was quicker to charge at home, and while in the main is perfectly do-able overnight, if you’re down to 20% and need 80, you’re well and truly goosed if you need an urgent trip. Frankly, if well in excess of £100bn can be given towards shaving off 20 mins for the vast minority of the population travelling by train from London to Birmingham, then that same funding has to be given to the vast majority of the population to have a chance to charge their car in 20 mins. It shows where the priorities currently lie.

Hopefully in the next few years, the designers will get round to something other than the blob model of cars, and respective govts can get their hypocritical fingers out of their hypocritical rears and actually do something to make EVs more viable to the all not having a big city postcode. Until then, I’ll enjoy the old school driving experience and keep on balancing my C footprint with everything else I do.

 

I go along with all that, I've never owned the type of car I always wanted but I have over the years tended to buy second hand when I could, at one time, have afforded new.
But I'd always buy something with a bit more character, that I could afford, than buy a new, but less interesting car.

These electric cars are very boring, sorry, but cant think of a better way to describe something that has lots of techy stuff but doesn't make a sound, and they all look the same.

I agree, the all look the same thing is pretty much happened now anyways, but there seems to be no fun in driving anymore, and its just a means of getting from A to B.

As for balancing a C footprint that was on country file this evening and another story, but what a racket that is.

 

Ach, missed Countryfile tonight, Pete. I’ll whizz through the iplayer to get to that bit.
EVs are incredibly quick though, and that’s a tangible difference, but whereas a lot of emphasis is placed on what you can do inside the car (if you’re a passenger mainly), the engaging experience of actually driving is lessened, all the more for being automatic and not manual. Boring is an apt description, if you’re looking to be engaged, safety I guess is where the designers are aiming instead. I guess also that the car firms are looking at the demographics and maxing out on the family of 4 just now, and give more attention to the originality different folks down the line. Ride out the blob years is called for in the interim

 

I had automatic cars from 1990 to 2016 and I found them so pleasant to drive. I currently have a manual and rue the day I gave up my automatics. I drove manual cars from 1965 until I got my first automatic and didn't know any better. A manual is fine on an open country road but today's endless queues and city driving needs an automatic. And the thing about tech is you can just ignore it. If it doesn't make your driving experience better then just ignore it. People are always going on about pairing their phone with the car and such. I don't have that issue. My phone goes in my trouser pocket and stays there when I am driving.

 

Taking onboard everything you've said in post #201, Malus Aforethought, I don't think drivers will consider buying an electric car until such times as both manufacturers and governments get together and improve the charging situation.

Speaking of which, the car below was on charge at Tesco. I actually liked it's looks but until prices come down, not only on this but most electric cars, there's no chance for many of us being able to afford the price tag, let alone deal with the charging issues once obtained. Starting price around £40,ooo? Huh, only in my dreams....

Scroll down to a video on the car.

Discover the Hyundai IONIQ 5 | New Electric CUV | Hyundai UK

 

I drove automatic cars in the 1980's when we hired them for business. I absolutely hated the three speed box they had in them days. Just bought my first auto 2 years ago Mazda with a six speed box, an absolute dream to drive So the top of the list for car purchase are automatic, aircon and heated seats ( lovely in winter ! ).

 

Blimey just my satvav making stupid bleeping noises if you should ever dare to go 1mph over the speed limit gets my goat.
My car hasn't got many gadgets by modern standards but apart from a couple I tend to turn them off.

Think some are probably more distracting than playing with a mobile phone.

 

Sorry, Sheal. I’m not advocating for folk to avoid electric cars. Just that they’re not for me at the moment with what’s available, and in a Duncan Bannatyne sort of way, Ahhm Oot for the time being. I just couldn’t contemplate a two-stop charging journey just for a drive to Glasgow, let alone getting back. And yes, I could have chosen a car with a greater range, there are a good few out there, but there wasn’t one that appealed to me, other than the Honda. Everyone’s taste is different, be it plants or cars, and no doubt a more diverse choice will come through in the future, and by then there may be a greater access to fast charging points, and an end to the over inflation of the car prices themselves, to make it viable for everyone.

 

It is my understanding that Ford has developed and is testing a new "super cable" that would charge the vehicle in the same time it takes to fill a tank with petrol. Of course, the governments will never catch up to manufacturer's innovations.

I wouldn't mind an electric car as a second vehicle. But the prices are too high. And unless they got their distance range much improved, it would not be good as a primary vehicle for most around here as lots commute long distances through stop and go traffic.