Hello from Edinburgh ;-)

[charliestyr]

Hi everyone,

I have been a Tesla Motors fan since the beginning, surprised I haven't joined this forum earlier, as I have often ended up here from various places around the web.

I am a general car nut, originally not all that convinced on electric cars, never against them but was never that bothered, during my time at university so far I have become much more interested in energy/sustainability etc, and although it is silly to think of any car as an efficient mode of transport my love for cars is still there, and as such electric cars are now something I am most interested in. I would love to own an electric car in the future, and am particularly excited for Tesla's eventual 'affordable' EV.

I currently drive a 2008 Fiat 500, an ICE car of course, which I actively dislike more and more (the powertrain, not the 500 itself :tongue. I don't use it that often really, although I am currently commuting around 75 miles per day, 3 days a week and would love to be doing that in a Leaf instead!

Anyway, thought I'd post here but looking forward to chatting around and about on the forum.

Charlie -

 

[PV4EV]

Welcome to the forum :biggrin:

Have a good read around some of the technical threads on here and you'll find a goldmine of knowledge and first hand real-world EV experience instead of the blind-prejudice and FUD in the ICE media !

There is at least one Tesla Roadster driving around in Edinburgh - ever seen it ?

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

it's worth getting involved with Electric Vehicle Association Scotland... great bunch of people :smile:

http://www.eva-scotland.org/

 

[charliestyr]

Hi guys,

PV4EV, I have seen a black roadster in Edinburgh! I was running through Waverley station, late for a train and I saw a sporty car coming towards me, and thought, 'can it be? surely not?!' and it was! Wanted to thumbs up the driver but had far too much luggage! I noticed he'd just picked someone up and was leaving, and wondered why I couldn't get such an excellent taxi service?

Every time I see one of the i-MiEV police cars, or Council-owned Leafs I will always annoy friends by shouting electric car and point - I think they're getting tired of it now.

As for the technical information I consider myself fairly knowledgeable on most things EV and have read a lot about first hand experience. The blind-prejudice can be extremely frustrating even to me, someone that has never sat in, let alone driven, let alone owned an EV!

Kevin, I have seen the EVA, and was considering getting involved previously, but somehow trailed off, (finals at Uni most probably causing the distraction). I will look into it again now, thanks! As for ZCW, I really love what you are doing and completely believe in the no-card system and having simple plugs at places where you are spending time, if/when I own an EV, I will be sure to use some! Bravo!

Charlie -

 

[VolkerP]

I am currently commuting around 75 miles per day, 3 days a week and would love to be doing that in a Leaf instead!

Charlie,

that sounds like a close call on the LEAF's 73 mile EPA rated range. Unless you can charge at your destination, I think it's not feasible and keep your sanity. OTOH it might be a challenge, something Brits appear to like :biggrin:

 

[charliestyr]

haha, it could be a challenge, but my commute is very smooth and not too fast, so I think it would be pretty easy in a Leaf... For example I can't find the EU driving range figures this second, but if I recall they are closer to the 90 range.. and on this commute it is the first time I have achieved the EU combined MPG rating for my car (1.2 Fiat 500) at 55mpg, which generally hovers at around 45-50 normally since the EU ratings are overstating etc...

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is I reckon the Leaf would achieve closer to 90 on this route, so it wouldn't be too bad. Still, I work at a nice open-ish warehouse with plenty of electric sockets around, I'm sure I could persuade my manager to let me park in the warehouse and use a plug if my range looked a little anxiety-inducing it would be much nicer with any Model S of course! Wouldn't have to think!

All a pipe dream anyway, as I don't see anyone lending me or letting me rent a leaf for the rest of the summer at a reasonable price!

Charlie -

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

haha, it could be a challenge, but my commute is very smooth and not too fast, so I think it would be pretty easy in a Leaf... For example I can't find the EU driving range figures this second, but if I recall they are closer to the 90 range.. and on this commute it is the first time I have achieved the EU combined MPG rating for my car (1.2 Fiat 500) at 55mpg, which generally hovers at around 45-50 normally since the EU ratings are overstating etc...

The Leaf's NEDC range is 109 miles but I don't think anyone achieves that in the UK. It might be worth talking to the drivers on the Leaf Talk Forum if you want some real world experience :smile:

 

[charliestyr]

Thanks for the link Kevin.

I appreciate that european range/efficiency ratings are terribly optimistic, I am just saying this commute I am doing this summer is unusual in that it is smooth and steady the whole way, but not high speed, thus allowing surprising efficiency. (The first time I have reliably achieved the EU specified mpg for my ICE car).

Either way, again, being able to commute in an EV is just a dream, I'll stick to my noisy car for now, and stressing over where to buy petrol at 6AM when I head to work, or where will still have any left when I head home at 6PM... yeesh.

This week I went to one station that was all out of unleaded, then went to my usual station closer to home, and only one pump was left open as they were running low, but even then I only got the dregs of the stations tank, and it would only dispense a small amount a go and then the pump would be straining to get any... took me about 10mins to get 8l of fuel... so then I had to go on my break the next day at work to fully fill up so I was secure for the rest of the week... hassle!

Looking forward to an EV later in life ;-)

Charlie -

 

[dpeilow]

Actually I think you want to talk to the owner of the black Roadster, who test drove the LEAF in snow a year and a bit ago and went through 2/3 of a charge in 33 miles (if I recall correctly, it was on March 15th and a circuit from Loanhead through the middle of the city and back on the bypass). That concerned me a bit.

I'm sure he'll be along in a minute.

 

[charliestyr]

That does sound bad, but of course extreme conditions again, my current commute being pretty much 'optimal' conditions.. Of course it'd be preferable to do the commute in any Tesla and then not even think about the range ;-)

One of the most exciting things I have seen (oddly enough) about the Model S was the Motor Trend preview, (even though I don't particularly like Motor Trend), but at one point the driver stated that he'd been driving enthusiastically (or words to that effect) for 20 minutes, and oh, the range still displays 195 miles. I thought that was pretty darned exciting. Can't wait for the general production etc to get delivered and see more reviews/videos

Charlie -