Test drove an i3 over the weekend - my views on this points machine!

lifes2short

lifes2short

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daverichardson said:
The safety point is a good one
I was in a filling station the other day and went across to pay in front of some small Honda (?) - no matter the point was the driver was about to move off and I was directly in front and had not heard a thing.
We smiled and waved but I felt a bit of a numptie
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ditto, it's scary, happened to me in a different way, am I right in saying that all new electric cars coming out of factories now have to have some sort of sound emitting thingy?
 
TridentTested

TridentTested

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Mattp said:
by jiminy the thing goes! i mean, its not the fastest car in the world, but to 50, im not sure much would bother it, but its not just that... its the way it does it... its full throttle launch in silence, no screaming exhaust or fumbled gear changes... just a surge of speed!
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Another forum I'm on, someone test drove one of these a few years ago and he posted his findings as: "I have driven the future". He bought it on the spot. Loves it.
 
Wack61

Wack61

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Zep said:
I can’t see smart motorways being the thin end of the self driving car wedge. A self driving car can break down and block a smart motorway lane just as well as a human guided one. Also there is still a (presumably terrified) human inside the broken car whether it got there by human or Skynet control.

If there was a link between smart motorways and self driving cars it would be the other way round in my view. Automate to reduce the risk and then increase the available capacity.

Smart motorways are just a cheap way to increase the capacity of the motorway network and reduce emissions (through reduced speed limits). In my view anyway!
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At the moment smart motorways are dangerous places to break down , I've seen 2 cars that have been there for a while but the lane is still live , one had half the boot on the road getting the spare out with trucks coming straight at him.

I just think the government don't care people will die in the transition period to automated cars which will see a stopped car and avoid it
 
safrane

safrane

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For those who own a pure electric car;

Did you buy it with a lease for the battery or outright?

Read today that the Zoe has a c £70pcm on the battery which you need to pay even if you buy the car used... is this right?

If so it seems better value to buy a new Clio for £120pcm as thay comes with a engine you dont have to rent.
 
Mattp

Mattp

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safrane said:
For those who own a pure electric car;

Did you buy it with a lease for the battery or outright?

Read today that the Zoe has a c £70pcm on the battery which you need to pay even if you buy the car used... is this right?

If so it seems better value to buy a new Clio for £120pcm as thay comes with a engine you dont have to rent.
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The Renault seem to have battery leases, BMW & Nissan the battery is included... taking that into account I worked it out that the Zoe/Fluence would cost me as much as an IC car to run - and more so if I decided not to use it!

The sound emitter is an option on the i3, im not sure Id want it - I dont wish to steamroll anyone, but the silence is one of the things that appeals to me! I do love the comment about people looking into the sky for the humming sound though!!!!

The i3 I need spiraled upto £44k! and that is a lot of petrol, even for a thirsty V8 to consume... the pure electric early cars for the £14k mark are interesting, but sadly the range on those is about 70miles, compared with the 110 that my newer test car had... and those 110 went down to about 60-70 when i was using it on the motorway (the petrol range extender did come on to get me the last 5 miles home)... id have the car I test drove, in an instant for £10k, even as a 4yearold used car.... but sadly £18k is the entry point for that and its just too much...
 
jmoon80

jmoon80

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safrane said:
For those who own a pure electric car;

Did you buy it with a lease for the battery or outright?

Read today that the Zoe has a c £70pcm on the battery which you need to pay even if you buy the car used... is this right?

If so it seems better value to buy a new Clio for £120pcm as thay comes with a engine you dont have to rent.
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Battery lease cost depends on mileage. From memory, £70pcm gets you 6k miles (the min available is £40 for 4k miles). It is possible to buy a Renault with the battery. I can't remember the cost, but it obviously didn't appeal at the time. The conditions for replacing a degraded battery are also better under lease than warranty I seem to recall (and a buyer taking on a lease would also benefit from that when a warranty may have expired).

As with most things, it all rather depends on your personal circumstances and values. For me, it was a replace a 10 year old BMW 335i that we were only using for school runs in London. The fuel was costing more than £70pcm, and the servicing/maintenance costs were a lot higher. A Clio would have done the job, but I live in London with small children. The pollution (air and noise) IS bad. A bunch of electric vehicles creeping along at an average of 10mph at rush hour is more pleasant for everyone. Yes, I have a V8 and and classic as well, but combined they do about 4000 miles a year, at the weekends, out of town, so I

There is a novelty factor too. There's just something a bit more interesting about it as a driving/ownership experience than a 1l Clio (IMO).
 
jmoon80

jmoon80

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Mattp said:
The sound emitter is an option on the i3, im not sure Id want it - I dont wish to steamroll anyone, but the silence is one of the things that appeals to me!
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On the Renault, even if you leave the sound on, it only kicks in below 20mph. Above that, it's silent (apart from wind noise, tyre noise, and shouting children)
 
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