I‘m aware this is only a tiny datapoint, but as someone who is now finally living completely ICE-free since June, when we switched the larger family car to a BEV, too: I will never go back.
It’s hard to describe really, but driving an ICE car by now simply feels — wrong. And I don’t mean on a moral level, I really mean the feeling of the physical act of driving.
The delayed throttle response is really aggravating whenever I get into an ICE car. And the noise, the vibration and the smell of the fumes.
You really start noticing these things around you when you’ve got used to the clean and silent operation of an BEV. And I’ve certainly noticed the cost savings - going from filling a tank with £60 of petrol to charging my car conveniently at home for £5
Emphasis on the "at home" part. Unless you have your own home with private parking and charger, EV ownership is a pain due to how expensive ,lacking and shit public charging infrastructure is. I'll have to stick to an ICE until they fix those since owning a house with my own parking space doesn't seem to be on the cards for me financially. People somehow forget this demographic exists.
There’s nothing on earth like the low end torque of an electric car. Everyone should experience it once. But I went back to ICE the same way i go back to vacuum tube guitar amps.
The constant explosions in four different compartments might have something to do with it feeling wrong. I wonder if anyone can tell us how many mounts support the engine and give it some opportunity to dampen the explosions -- and through what apparatus.
My last car had a v8 engine mounted on hydraulic engine mounts, and you could hardly feel the engine (but certainly hear it). The sound was glorious, and it’s the only thing I miss about that car having gone to EV 3 months ago
Eh. In most countries the majority of electricity generation still comes from fossil fuels so people are essentially doing what the ad is depicting just with extra steps.
It's a good way to put the general wastefulness we exhibit with electricity into perspective though.
I’ve had a Ford F-150 Lightning for about 6 months and ICE vehicles viscerally feel poisonous and clunky. The responsiveness, torque, quiet, low cost of use, low maintenance and just how clean they are (no poisons spewed) is just something I can’t give up anymore. There are still problems with range and charge times specifically for a truck but we are very close. A doubling of the standard range and a halving of the charge time would make ICE irrelevant in the truck space outside of very long distance towing.
EVs are nice at first but if you enjoy cars as a hobby the problems become apparent. They all have the same torque curve, doesn’t matter if it’s a Tesla or a Kia or a GM. They are all as heavy as a truck, understeer like crazy and have over boosted steering. Most are difficult to maintain and the mfgr’s are downright hostile to backyard mechanics.
On paper they can get great times around a track have instant torque and all the things we already know, but in real life they feel like a kitchen appliance. Some people like that and more power to them. For a gearhead it leaves so much to be desired.
The most popular cars in the US are the RAV4, Toyota Camry, ford f150, Tesla model 3, etc. the market has voted on stable and boring, I don’t think 90% of cars on the market by volume sold will lose really anything in the transition to electric tbh.
As someone who has a very high end car (ie 2.3 seconds 0 to 60 and that's with what others claim is, um, 'acceleration lag' and a standing stop (ie not the way Tesla apparently does it) in almost all driving you don't go around trying to zip from a complete start. In fact it's actually dangerous to do so (on a consistent basis). (My other car has a respectable 0 to 60 of about 4.3 and I don't do anything like that either). When I drive my wife's car (0 to 60 8 seconds) it fees fine simply because there is no reason to rip from a stop light except in edge cases.
That said the fabulous acceleration is either for special occasions (when other cars are not around and you want a buzz) or in some emergency situation where you need the extra power.
I assume you're talking about on-street charging? If so... I think you're right. The UK, like Poland (where I live), has a LOT to do in terms of supporting folks that live in a flat. On-street charging really needs to be properly prioritised, properly funded, the paperwork/process streamlined, etc.
In Poland, especially in the cities, parking is always an issue and doubly so around large blocks of flats. I doubt the new coalition government has the backbone to do much about the situation, but while EV adoption is low here, they have the chance to get ahead of the curve and mandate new builds have a meaningful percentage of parking with ~11 kW charging points. Existing builds should be heavily supported but it should also be mandatory to retrofit charging at existing parking spots.
Yes, or some regions in China have pretty good battery swap infrastructure, for example NIOPower.
Whatever the solution, there isn't one in the UK. I think UK has to get over its NIMBYism before any serious infra projects can take place. We even struggled to build a space port in the middle of nowhere, and it was for a national cause in a way.
I actually happen to know about Poland's situation because I lived in Central/Eastern Europe for a while and it's the same thing everywhere. Lithuania's capital Vilnius has solved this by seemingly allowing private companies to convert some parking spaces into EV charging bays. Now there are more bays than there is demand for.
Maybe the government should simply let private companies convert building block parking lots to electric car charging stations in part. Perhaps up to the % of EV users in each block of flats. So if 10% of car owners drive EVs, 10% of all common parking spaces can be converted. Of course, if the situation is similar in Poland to how it is in Lithuania, some of the condominium buildings and the land they are on are owned by the unit owners fractionally. But NIMBYism isn't a problem in Lithuania. Is it a problem in Poland? I think people could be quite supportive of upgrading some parking bays, even if they owned a fraction of the land under them.
If it wasn't for NIMBYism, I am pretty sure the UK could do this too for roadside parking.
Readit News
It’s hard to describe really, but driving an ICE car by now simply feels — wrong. And I don’t mean on a moral level, I really mean the feeling of the physical act of driving.
You really start noticing these things around you when you’ve got used to the clean and silent operation of an BEV. And I’ve certainly noticed the cost savings - going from filling a tank with £60 of petrol to charging my car conveniently at home for £5
Emphasis on the "at home" part. Unless you have your own home with private parking and charger, EV ownership is a pain due to how expensive ,lacking and shit public charging infrastructure is. I'll have to stick to an ICE until they fix those since owning a house with my own parking space doesn't seem to be on the cards for me financially. People somehow forget this demographic exists.
In this day and age? Which car do you 'smell the fumes' or 'the vibration' unless the vibration is intentional (for the experience).
anyway i think this ad illustrates the difference nicely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn__9hLJKAk
It's a good way to put the general wastefulness we exhibit with electricity into perspective though.
On paper they can get great times around a track have instant torque and all the things we already know, but in real life they feel like a kitchen appliance. Some people like that and more power to them. For a gearhead it leaves so much to be desired.
The Ariya's real heavy, but it's surprisingly nimble. The Bolt feels zippy and doesn't weigh much more than the average SUV.
Definitely feel you on the appliance thing. Electric cars are almost too easy to drive.
https://about.bnef.com/electric-vehicle-outlook/
https://ev-volumes.com/news/ev/global-ev-sales-for-2023/
That said the fabulous acceleration is either for special occasions (when other cars are not around and you want a buzz) or in some emergency situation where you need the extra power.
Acceleration in a thing that in every other aspect feels like an internet appliance (tesla+friends) kind of misses the point in my experience.
Labour ought to be doing all of this already, but I haven't seen it yet and this article: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdrddz2407zo ... is a good example of the situation.
In Poland, especially in the cities, parking is always an issue and doubly so around large blocks of flats. I doubt the new coalition government has the backbone to do much about the situation, but while EV adoption is low here, they have the chance to get ahead of the curve and mandate new builds have a meaningful percentage of parking with ~11 kW charging points. Existing builds should be heavily supported but it should also be mandatory to retrofit charging at existing parking spots.
Whatever the solution, there isn't one in the UK. I think UK has to get over its NIMBYism before any serious infra projects can take place. We even struggled to build a space port in the middle of nowhere, and it was for a national cause in a way.
I actually happen to know about Poland's situation because I lived in Central/Eastern Europe for a while and it's the same thing everywhere. Lithuania's capital Vilnius has solved this by seemingly allowing private companies to convert some parking spaces into EV charging bays. Now there are more bays than there is demand for.
Maybe the government should simply let private companies convert building block parking lots to electric car charging stations in part. Perhaps up to the % of EV users in each block of flats. So if 10% of car owners drive EVs, 10% of all common parking spaces can be converted. Of course, if the situation is similar in Poland to how it is in Lithuania, some of the condominium buildings and the land they are on are owned by the unit owners fractionally. But NIMBYism isn't a problem in Lithuania. Is it a problem in Poland? I think people could be quite supportive of upgrading some parking bays, even if they owned a fraction of the land under them.
If it wasn't for NIMBYism, I am pretty sure the UK could do this too for roadside parking.