Category Archives: Opinion

Tesla Model 3 (Image: Tesla.com)

BEST 10 PURE-ELECTRIC CARS WITH A RANGE OF 300 MILES OR MORE TO BUY FROM 2021

BMW, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Opinion, Tesla

WHICH ELECTRIC cars can be driven 300 miles or more between charges? When buying a new battery-electric vehicle, a long range is one of the first things a customer will look for.

At the time of the original Nissan Leaf’s launch 10 years ago, the car makers dabbling with pure-electric models were trying to convince us that its official range of 109 miles between charges (less than that in the real world) was more than enough for most drivers.

In a way, it was true — research from 2008, published in the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ 2011 Electric Car Guide, showed that the average individual journey length in the UK was 8.6 miles and the average total daily distance travelled was 25 miles, while more than 80% of motorists across Europe drove less than 63 miles in a typical day.

And yet “range anxiety” (the fear of running out of charge) was still a major talking point, with many commentators asking, “But what happens if I want to drive from London to Scotland”. Although journeys of that distance aren’t common, a long road trip — say for a family holiday — once or twice a year isn’t out of the question for many households — especially with the coronavirus pandemic forcing us away from air travel.

Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, was one of the few pure-electric car advocates arguing that drivers shouldn’t just put up with a range of 100 miles or less. He knew that if the tech was going to take off, drivers would need electric cars capable of travelling at least three times as far as the Leaf. He had introduced the Roadster in 2008, which could travel 244 miles according to the American test cycle, and then the Model S (more than 300 miles) in 2012.

Now it seems, the rest of the car industry is catching up. Cars that can go at least 300 miles per charge are becoming the norm rather than the exception, and they’re becoming more affordable, too.

Tesla Model 3 (Image: Tesla.com)
Tesla Model 3 (Image: Tesla.com)

Here are 10 of longest-range electric cars available to buy in 2020/2021.

1. Long range electric cars: Tesla Model S Plaid — 520 miles
The most powerful and quickest-accelerating Model S yet certainly packs some impressive stats, ahead of its production beginning in late 2021.
A teaser video released by Tesla as part of its Battery Day celebrations in September claimed 0-62mph in under two seconds, a 200mph top speed, the ability to cover a quarter mile in nine seconds and 1100hp (1085bhp), intermingled with shots of the much-awaited model sprinting around the Laguna Seca racetrack in 1:30.3 minutes, 6 seconds quicker than a model that the car maker sent round in 2019.
In the era of electric hypercars like the Lotus Evija or the Pininfarina Battista, however, stats like this are nothing new. What is, is an estimated range of 520 miles, which leaves even the Tesla Model S Long Range, second in this list, in its dust. At a price of £130,980 it’s not what you’d call cheap, but it’s a fraction of the price of an Evija or Battista.

2. Long range electric cars: Tesla Model S Long Range Plus — 405 miles
This version of the Model S is already available to buy. It’s the cheapest version of the electric saloon — although, at £74,980, “cheap” might not be an apt descriptor — meaning the Model S is still the standard-bearer when it comes to how far an electric car can go on a single charge.

3. BMW iX — 373 miles
The announcement of the BMW iX was overshadowed somewhat by the red-blooded anger about its looks, which have proved, to put it mildly, polarising. However, beneath the skin is a seriously impressive drivetrain, packing what BMW claims will be a range of 373 miles.
That’s considerably more than any of the electric SUV’s current competitors, including the Jaguar I-Pace, Mercedes EQC and Tesla Model X. How far ahead of its rivals it will be when it goes into production at the end of next year remains to be seen.

4. BMW i4 — 373 miles
The i4 electric coupé represents another step in BMW’s desire to diversify the drivetrain options in its current lineup, as part of what it is calling its “power of choice” mantra. It will share the same electric setup as the aforementioned iX, with the same range.

Read more: The Sunday Times: Driving

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Vauxhall Vivaro-e (Image: gb-media.vauxhall.co.uk)

Van of the Year 2021: Best Electric Van

Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Opinion

The running costs for the Vauxhall Vivaro-e are as low as you can get, but it’s a winner here because it couples that with all-round practicality and great driving manners…

WINNER: Best Electric Van
Vauxhall Vivaro-e
Priced from £27,028 Range 143-205 miles CO2 emissions 0g/km Load space 5.3-6.1m3 Payload 1002-1226kg Power 136bhp Torque 192lb ft

The chances are that you’ll buy an electric van for economic or environmental reasons, so perhaps it’s no surprise that the van we name as delivering best value for its ownership costs is also our overall winner in this class.

However, don’t make the mistake of thinking the Vauxhall Vivaro-e is a worthy winner only for the rational reasons of being able to save you money in terms of taxation and fuel costs, because while that is true, there is also far more to it than that.

Vauxhall Vivaro-e (Image: gb-media.vauxhall.co.uk)
Vauxhall Vivaro-e (Image: gb-media.vauxhall.co.uk)

For instance, it runs the Mercedes eSprinter close as a calm, comfortable and fun van to drive. Its 75kW motor – equivalent to 136bhp – delivers strong pace without the need to change gear and with the bonus of instant torque that propels you off the line in a flash.

Its claimed range – 143 or 205 miles depending which model you buy – which in the real world we would estimate is good for at least 100-150 miles, is more than enough for most van drivers to complete a day’s work. And, for those who need to go farther, the Vivaro-e supports rapid charging of up to 100kW – at it’s peak, this will charge from 0-80% in 32 minutes. Rivals such as the Mercedes-Benz eVito can not match this.

You might also have expected the Volkswagen ABT eTransporter to challenge the e-Vivaro on residual values, but whereas the combustion-engined versions of the German van deliver strong figures, the relatively unknown electric conversion has yet to convince the market. As a result, the Vivaro-e beats the more expensive eTransporter for ownership value. In fact, current predictions are for it to hold more value over a typical ownership cycle than the Citroën e-Dispatch and Peugeot e-Expert, to which it’s very closely related.

Yes, there are quibbles: we’d prefer its driving mode controls to be steering-wheel mounted and for some stronger regenerative braking to be available, but at present the Vivaro-e is a great example of how an electric van can deliver as an all-round package.

Read more: WHAT CAR?

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Car prices after Brexit: should you buy now?

Electric Cars, Energy and Climate Change, News, Reviews and Comment, Opinion, Sales

Find out how manufacturers plan to change car prices in response to a no deal Brexit, and how you can avoid being caught out

Car buyers should complete their purchases soon to avoid the risk of price rises from a no-deal Brexit outcome, Which? has learned. Find out what impact car manufacturers say a no-deal Brexit will have on them and what it could mean for you. Car manufacturers are announcing their plans in the event the UK leaves the EU without a deal at the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December. Any additional costs in manufacturing and importing cars risks price rises for car buyers. Manufacturers, including Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot and Vauxhall have confirmed the prices of their cars will rise in the event of a no-deal Brexit, with others saying it would lead them to review their prices. Some manufacturers have told Which? that they’re committed to honouring the price of cars bought before the end of the transition period, but which are delivered after that date. The approach varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Find out below how much extra you could pay, plus what key car manufacturers have told us.

How much more could you pay for a car? Around 70% of cars registered in the UK are currently imported from the EU. At the moment there are no tariffs on cars imported from the EU because the UK is following EU trade rules until the transition period ends on 31 December. If the UK leaves the EU without a trade agreement, in line with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, after this date a 10% tariff will apply to finished cars imported from the EU. If a manufacturer passed on the full 10% import tariff, that would then lead to a 6.3% increase in the price you pay for a car (based on average prices and according to industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders). This is because import tariffs are levied on the customs price of a vehicle at the time of import, rather than the final price of sale. When a vehicle is sold in the UK, it will have additional taxes such as VAT and Vehicle Excise Duty added to it. Costs can also be impacted by changes in vehicle demand. In the table below, we’ve added this 6.3% increase to the purchase price of the top five bestselling UK cars to see how much prices could rise in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

An industry insider told us overall car costs would rise by around £1,800, on average, if a 10% tariff is introduced. The increase will be even more for premium-priced cars. The popular BMW X5 SUV starts from £59,135. With the 6.3% increase applied, potential buyers would see its price rise by around £3,726 to £62,861.

Will Ford put up its car prices if there’s a no-deal Brexit?
Ford makes some of the UK’s bestselling cars, including the Ford Fiesta and Ford Focus. Ford has confirmed to Which? it will price-protect orders placed prior to leaving the transition period without a deal. Ford of Britain managing director Andy Barratt said: ‘In a no-deal scenario and the imposition of a WTO 10% tariff regime on new vehicles, prices for Ford’s most popular passenger and commercial vehicles would rise by between £1,000 and £2,000. Ford said: ‘We will provide more details if or when the situation dictates.’ Ford of Europe communications executive director, John Gardiner, also said: ‘We continue to hope that all sides can reach an agreement to ensure the UK leaves the EU with a deal in an orderly manner.’ Adding that despite taking actions to mitigate the impact of not having a deal, it’s ‘impossible to avoid disruption in such a scenario’.

Read more: Which

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Tesla Cybertruck (Image: Tesla)

Why Electric Vehicles Are Going To Take Over The World

Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Opinion, Tesla, Volkswagen

Interesting times in the electric vehicle market, as more and more carmakers try to position themselves in what looks like a second phase of growth.

In the luxury market segment, the announced launch of Tesla’s Cybertruck has galvanized a market that, in the United States, buys two million vehicles each year. What at first looked like a prototype of a prototype, has turned out to be a completely revolutionary design that combines a unique-looking vehicle with much lower manufacturing costs than expected. With more than half-a-million orders on its books, the company is now prioritizing its production over the Roadster.

Tesla Cybertruck (Image: Tesla)
Tesla Cybertruck (Image: Tesla)

The reason is simple: the Roadster appeals to a relatively marginal market and, from a target audience point of view, does not contribute much to the segments in which the brand already had significant appeal, whereas the Cybertruck, if successful, could allow it to dominate a very important and iconic part of the market that is fundamental to achieving mass popularity in a country like the United States.

In the economy segment, Volkswagen has announced plans to launch a family of electric vehicles priced at below $22,000, targeting city dwellers and not originally designed for the US, which was originally going to be launched under the Seat brand. Affordable mobility is an important segment that could shift a lot of units.

Read more: Forbes

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Charging with an Ohme smart charging cable

How Coronavirus will supercharge the electric vehicle market

Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Opinion

There have been plenty of good news stories coming from the automotive sector since the covid-19 outbreak, including car manufacturers switching their production lines to make ventilators.

But, of course, there are concerns about the industry’s economic stability, at the beginning of April 2020 car sales were down 44 per cent.

However, there are three powerful reasons why the electric vehicle market will be supercharged by this dreadful virus and lockdown when it’s over.

Clean refuelling

Firstly, drivers will want electric vehicles because diesel and petrol forecourts will be perceived as unclean. You have to hold the pump the previous person has used, touch the screen or enter the shop to pay. With electricity you can fuel up at your own home for consumers, or at a centralised depot for fleet owners.

Charging with an Ohme smart charging cable
Charging at home

We may all want to get back to normal but some things you can’t unknow, and one of those things is how infection is transmitted.

Preserving environmental gains

Secondly, people will want to do things differently and better. Those who can afford to buy cars will want to play a part in making the world a better, greener place. Already we are seeing how nature is recovery as a result of the lockdown: “This is the first time I have seen such a dramatic drop-off over such a wide area for a specific event,” said Fei Liu, an air quality researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre describing levels of nitrogen dioxide over China.

The nationwide shutdown has led to a big drop in air pollution across the UK’s major cities. For nitrogen dioxide pollution, new data shows that this has almost halved in London, Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff. Transport contributes 23 per cent of global carbon emissions and driving is by far the largest element of that, contributing 72 per cent of transport carbon emissions.

Read more: Fleet News

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OVO Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) charging (Image: T. Larkum/Fuel Included)

Electric vehicles could turn solar households into autonomous energy units

Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Opinion, V2G

Many discussions abound on how Australia can reach renewable energy targets of 50 per cent and much more. Many experts believe achieving this goal will depend on the availability of a low cost, bulk energy storage infrastructure.

Pumped hydro has received much attention in this regard. While technically feasible, bulk storage still requires transmission and distribution infrastructure that is not only costly but will take considerable time to implement.

A far simpler and cost effective route is the bottom-up approach of turning each house into an autonomous energy unit.

OVO Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) charging (Image: T. Larkum/Fuel Included)
OVO Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) charging (Image: T. Larkum/Fuel Included)

The use of solar panels in homes and small industry has proven to be remarkably successful. The uptake of rooftop solar has been so good that the grid, as well as losing a portion of their market to solar, is becoming unable to use all of the exportable household solar energy generated during clear days.

Without some form of energy storage, solar panels can provide only around 30% of daily household energy, leaving the grid to supply the rest. Solar hot water systems can bring the total solar contribution to around 45% of energy requirements.

However, to reach greater household energy autonomy requires storage.

The missing element to achieving high levels of renewable energy has emerged in the form of the Electric Vehicle (EV). EVs not only provide transportation, but also have significant battery storage capacity.

Read more: The Driven

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Red Tesla Model S (Image: T. Larkum)

Let’s spark the electric car revolution now — there’s no time to stall

Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Opinion, Sales, Tesla

For those of you thinking that electric cars didn’t exist before Elon Musk and Tesla, think again.

Those stepping out into the manure-strewn streets of Manhattan in 1897 could have hailed a battery fuelled, as opposed to horse drawn, taxi. In 1900, more than 1,000 electric cars were made in the US, 28 per cent of total American car production that year.

A few years later, however, Henry Ford produced the petrol-powered Model T and the electric starter motor replaced the hand crank. From that point on, the electric car was seemingly doomed: not enough power, not enough range and, as petrol stations proliferated, not enough charging points.

Red Tesla Model S (Image: T. Larkum)
Red Tesla Model S (Image: T. Larkum)

To be fair, electric vehicles still managed to flourish in niche areas. The humble milk float had a maximum speed of around 15mph, could travel roughly 25 miles (following a seven-hour charge) and blocked the streets of Britain for decades. Floats were cheap to run and could easily be charged at the milk depot after the day’s deliveries (a model that could be used in the 21st century if we end up with huge fleets of self-driving cars). Still, floats could never compete with a Ford or, for that matter, a Ferrari.

Tesla, however, can. And, increasingly, so can other manufacturers of electric cars, one reason why the Government is now planning to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2035. Range is less of an issue than it once was. The cars — unlike milk floats — are quick. Fuel-wise, they’re incredibly efficient: they don’t rely on the controlled explosions taking place in an internal combustion engine (which creates too much by the way of heat and too little by the way of miles). And, over time, the maintenance bills will be a lot lower: no gearboxes to go wrong, no spark plugs to clean, no engine oil to be changed.

Read more: Standard

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Is 2020 the year of the electric car?

Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Opinion, Sales

Could 2020 be the year the UK electric car market reaches a major milestone, and hit 5% of new car sales for the first time?

The fast-evolving market forces point to it, as the introduction of Clean Air Zones, new models on the market and impassioned campaigning for stronger CO2 regulations mean the stars may be aligning.

The UK lags behind some of its neighbours. In Europe’s pacesetter, Norway, nearly 60% of new cars sold were electric during a record-breaking month last year. In the UK, battery-powered Electric Vehicles (EVs) make up only 3.3% of new car sales, though this rose from 1.1% in a year.

In the UK, EVs are exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), though not if they have a list price of more than £40,000, and grants towards the purchase and home charger are available, although the amount available has fallen by £1,000.

New measures may be necessary to convince UK drivers to leave diesel and petrol behind. The Government’s Road to Zero has three key ambitions; for at least 50% of new car sales to be ultra-low emission by 2030, to ban the sale of new combustion engine vehicles by 2040, and, by 2050, for virtually all cars and vans sold to have zero tailpipe emissions.

In the lead up to 2040 grants may be vital to chip away at the high price points attached to many EVs, while removing VAT from the sale of EVs, along with getting rid of the premium VED, should encourage uptake.

When benefit-in-kind taxes for electric company cars reduce to 0% in April, manufacturers will likely see an uptake in business from employers and fleet operators. Manufacturers could use those profits to reduce prices for individual consumers, thus encouraging their transition to EV and increasing sales.

As EVs become more mainstream in the new car market, motorists are hoping this will also impact the used car market, making these greener vehicles more accessible to people who cannot afford to buy brand new or simply do not want to.

Read more: Motor Trader

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How Soon Will Electric Vehicles Kill The Gasoline Car?

Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Opinion, Sales

When I talk about exponential growth in clean transportation—or say anything optimistic about climate change—the pessimists baulk.

C’mon, they say, the overwhelming majority of our electricity comes from fossil fuels. Demand for oil is still growing. Electric vehicles (EVs) are a miniscule percentage of cars sold. What good can a few wealthy Tesla owners possibly do for the environment?

To pessimists, the EV revolution seems underwhelming. That’s because they underestimate the power of exponential growth.

Optimists don’t demand instant results from innovation. Rather, they recognize how sudden technological transformation can be. Societies won’t register the full potential of EVs until moments before they sweep gasoline cars into the dustbin of history.

What Exponential Growth Really Means

People say that innovations like the Internet, smartphone and social media grew “exponentially” because they radically changed our lives within a few years of appearing. But what do we mean by “exponential”? The late physics professor Al Bartlett used to demonstrate the shocking power of exponential growth very clearly.

Imagine a glass with one bacterium that divides into two bacteria every minute. In one hour, that doubling process fills the glass. If you started the process at 11 am, at what time would the glass be half full?

Many people assume 11:30 am. In reality, the glass is only half full at 11:59 am. At 11:58, it’s 25% full, and at 11:55, it’s only 3% full! 97% seems like business as usual, with no tipping point in sight. The progress seems unimpressive until the moment the bacteria become ubiquitous. The same is likely true of electric vehicles.

Read more: Forbes

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Driving into a city should become as antisocial as smoking

Electric Cars, Energy and Climate Change, News, Reviews and Comment, Opinion, Pollution

Imagine a capital city where nobody has to die on the roads.

It may sound almost impossible, but last year not a single pedestrian, cyclist or child lost their life on the streets of Norway’s capital, Oslo; the only fatality recorded was a motorist crashing into a fence. (By comparison 12 people were killed in Bristol, a city slightly smaller than Oslo, in 2017 – and over half of them were pedestrians or cyclists.)

The catch? The lives saved in Norway seem to have been a byproduct of a bigger plan to become a carbon-neutral city that would probably spark a mutiny if you tried it here. Oslo has closed some streets to traffic entirely, removed parking spaces across the city to deter drivers, introduced measures to stop parents doing the school run by car and reduced speed limits. There’s plentiful public transport and lots of bike lanes but the bottom line is, as Oslo’s mayor says, that while cities will always have traffic, “the drivers should act as guests”. And not very welcome guests, by the sound of it.

Something like this would probably be the future for British cities, if we were serious about dealing with the air pollution filling urban children’s lungs, as well as tackling the climate crisis. This week, Birmingham announced proposals to stop people driving across the city centre, amid research suggesting that illegal levels of air pollution may be shortening the lives of children growing up in the city by up to half a year. Cars will be allowed into a new clean-air zone, but not through it to reach other parts of the city, forcing them out around the ring road, or otherwise encouraging drivers on to the bus.

It’s following in the footsteps of other cities, including Bristol, which unveiled proposals last autumn to ban diesel cars from parts of the city in daytime, and Oxford, which this week published plans for a zero-emission zone in the centre with a £10 charge for non-compliant vehicles. Suddenly you can imagine a time when driving into a smog-laden city, in all but the greenest cars and for all but the most essential journeys, will feel as antisocial as smoking on the bus.

Read more: The Guardian

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