[OnlineGuy]

I hired a car recently. I chose an EV because it was cheaper, and also because I was (which is a rarity) by myself without my young family, so I knew I would have the time to get accustomed to the car, and to wait for long periods to charge, etc., without the kids getting restless.

Prior to this, I was optimistic about EVs and curious to try it out, with a view to perhaps getting one in the next year or two.

So the hire car. The car did not charge. Tried at about 10 different charging stations, different charging providers, and there was an error message on the dashboard every time. In the end I had to find another branch of the car hire company and get a replacement car. Also an EV, but this time it charged perfectly every time, so it was definitely the car that was faulty and not me doing something wrong.

While this charging failure is the fault of a single car and doesn't of course mean that this reflects all EVs, it is still an issue that could happen to an EV at any time. It's unlikely that an ICE car would just refuse to accept fuel from the pump.

I also found that it charging is very difficult/impossible in heavy rain. For some reason, most of the charging points do not have any kind of canopy over them. It was torrential rain and the touchscreen on the charging station did not work properly, or at all, because it was soaking wet. A couple of times it took me several minutes of pressing really hard and constantly drying the touchscreen with a tissue; and a couple of other times it was totally impossible and I had to find a different place to charge.

Then there's the often totally insufficient length of the charging cable. On almost all occasions, you had to park with the corner of the car nearest to the charger, otherwise the cable was not long enough. Sometimes this is impossible, if there is a charger on one side only, so you have no choice but to give up and find another place to charge. For example, say your car's socket is on the front-right, and the charger is on the left as you are driving in. The cable is too short to stretch across from left to right. OK, so you reverse in. But then the cable is too short to stretch from the rear to the front of your car. So it's impossible to charge. In one car park, due to the angle, the only way to charge was to park in a neighbouring non-EV space and charge from there. Why are the cables so short?

Then there's the automatic braking whenever you lift off the accelerator. Sorry, but WTF? Incredibly dangerous, big risk of getting rear-ended. What if you want to neither accelerate nor brake, just cruise along on a flat road with an occasional tap of the accelerator to keep speed? And you don't want cruise control due to the nature of the road you're on (corners, traffic, etc.)? Unbelievable that the only option is accelerate or brake. I felt like I was brake-testing the driving behind.

And even when it works perfectly, it is still very time-consuming. I can see the appeal for city and local driving. But if you regularly have to drive journeys of hundreds of miles, an EV adds several hours to your journey. A no-go for me with young children.

I really wanted to get on board with it, but I am left with the opinion that neither the technology nor the infrastructure is ready for it yet.

[Santa]

An interesting report.

Any car can develop a fault, so I would just chalk that one up to experience.

Charging in the rain (and we do seem to be getting a lot of that recently) is a problem I had not considered. I wonder why they don't provide shelter - at least for the equipment and the screen. I guess an umbrella might be the only solution.

I am puzzled about the short leads. The ones at my local supermarket seem long enough, often with some spare lying on the ground.

[Drivingforfun]

It took me a while to get used to the throttle when I was given an electric courtesy car. As you say if you lift off the car slows down significantly

It requires a bit more precision but I did get used to it in the end. If you want to cruise at a certain speed you just find the correct amount of pressure, same principal as an ICE vehicle but with a different pressure requirement. If you want to slow down similarly to lifting off in an ICE and allowing engine braking, you just ease off a fraction. I actually quite liked that you can come to a complete stop without using the brake pedal - a pedal which is only really needed in emergencies or as a "Plan B" when things don't go as anticipated

May be wrong but I believe the brake lights do come on on some EVs if you lift off the accelerator enough

Something I noticed was that it seemed to be much more economical - even per mile - than an ICE vehicle at slower speeds and the opposite at higher speeds. The total range of the Mini I was given was 99 miles but I feel it could do maybe 130-150 miles in town, but perhaps only 70-80 miles on the motorway

[Mark07]

Originally Posted by OnlineGuy

Then there's the often totally insufficient length of the charging cable.

I'm surprised to hear this.

These days, it is pretty rare that I encounter a petrol station which doesn't provide hose that reach both sides of the car. I would have thought that the cable length would have taken a similar approach.

[NMNeil]

The car slowing when you take your foot off the accelerator is regenerative braking. Rather than get rid of the inertia the car has accumulated by converting it into heat via the brakes, it turns the electric motor into a generator and put's that energy back into the battery.
Something you just have to get used to I suppose. because EV's are here to stay.

[Drivingforfun]

I hear the argument a lot that they are here to stay, get used to it, if you have a problem with them it’s your problem because they are perfect, or whatever

I think maybe if the companies and other advocates admitted they are a step back in many ways, the reason we are embracing them is for environmental reasons - not progress, their honesty would gain more respect rather than lying to us and trying to convince us they are “better” (a word which is subjective anyway)

I do think while Europe and America are playing with our toys the Japanese or Koreans will probably come up with something better, like hydrogen, but regardless I do agree EVs are here to stay - even if as a stopgap

[OnlineGuy]

Originally Posted by Mark07

I'm surprised to hear this.

These days, it is pretty rare that I encounter a petrol station which doesn't provide hose that reach both sides of the car. I would have thought that the cable length would have taken a similar approach.

I would have thought so too, and was shocked that this is not the case.

[camerart]

Originally Posted by Drivingforfun

I do think while Europe and America are playing with our toys the Japanese or Koreans will probably come up with something better, like hydrogen, but regardless I do agree EVs are here to stay - even if as a stopgap

Hi D,
Even a Hydrogen vehicle will be E.V., just not battery for energy
C

[Rolebama]

I was speaking to a friend yesterday, whose son has an EV as a company car. The son told him that when he test drove a few before deciding which one he wanted, they all had the ability to increase/decrease regenerative braking. Honda, apparently, by default, have very little, but is increased by use of a flappy paddle. However, when you next use the accelerator pedal, it resets to default, which is very little regenerative braking. He said he would ask his son how any others worked.

[wishyouwerehere]

The automatic braking thing you mentioned is part of what they call "regenerative braking," where the car recaptures energy when you slow down, but yeah, I can see how that would feel weird, especially if you’re not used to it. It’s not ideal if it feels like you’re being brake-tested every time you let off the pedal.

[olduser]

I had a Nisan Leaf for a year or so, the regenerative braking was adjustable, and at any setting I found it didn't take long to adapt to it.
The throttle had to be treated with respect in slippery conditions due to the torque delivery being opposite to an ICE vehicle - max torque at zero revs, fun though if anyone wanted to play at traffic light drag, (naughty, very naughty) not to mention the tyre wear!

Hydrogen has been mentioned, it has two major snags.
One, whilst it is abundant, extracting pure hydrogen, so far, uses lots of energy, extracting hydrogen from natural gas leaves carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide behind.
Two, it is difficult to store, in a vehicles fuel tank it leaks away over time.

ICE engines can use hydrogen, when they do there are no carbon gases but I think, nitrogen oxides will still be there, the waste heat will be about the same.
Hydrogen used in a fuel cell, works, and looks as though it is more efficient than ICE but the snag is the cost of the fuel cell.
In California (always ahead on pollution) last I heard, Honda (and I think other Japanese car manufacturers) are leasing fuel cell cars.
They tried selling them, and buying back the fuel cells when the car was scrapped but found the purchase price was very high, and the recovery of the fuel cells didn't work very well, hence the leasing.
But they are getting the hydrogen from natural gas, the residue was used in household heating systems, so overall, not that good for the environment.

[Mark07]

I guess the dream scenario is that we find a clean and effective way of releasing Hydrogen from an abundant source e.g. water. IIRC, the vehicle's waste product would also be water.

Regarding EV's there's been noise about silicon, sodium and even graphene (carbon) based batteries - I think these are some way from being feasible replacements for Lithium based cells.

However, there's speculation that demand for Lithium may outstrip supply within the next 10 years, so an alternative may be needed, and some of the other options have potential benefits too.

[Rolebama]

The main reason hydrogen cars are not here yet is a matter of making the refilling of the tank idiot-proof. I still see people lighting up or vaping at the pumps with no clue,and spilling petrol on the ground because they have not put the nozzle in far enough to open the flap, how stupid this is and no thought as to the safety of others. I smoke but not in petrol stations. Nor are any smoker passengers allowed to.