Mr H
Active Member
just reply and say ‘neither do you’ as it’s called Vehicle Excise Duty and has nothing to do with the roads.
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Is there dislike towards EV drivers in the UK?
- Thread starter Alistairuk
- Start date
just reply and say ‘neither do you’ as it’s called Vehicle Excise Duty and has nothing to do with the roads.
Rather than identify the article as "hate" towards EVs which I think you are stretching to find I would ask why do so many EV owners feel ENTITLED to use the roads without contributing to their upkeep?
EV owners entitlement creates much of the little animosity I have seen towards EVs. EV owners that don't want to pay road taxes, luxury Tesla owners who want tax dollars to help pay for their rich person's car. Those are the things that cause EV hate not the fact they are electric.
On the road tax, here in the state I live in they fairly recently raised EV annual registration rates, my car costs over twice as much a year to register. I am fine with that because I use the roads I should share in the cost to maintain them.
EV owners entitlement creates much of the little animosity I have seen towards EVs. EV owners that don't want to pay road taxes, luxury Tesla owners who want tax dollars to help pay for their rich person's car. Those are the things that cause EV hate not the fact they are electric.
On the road tax, here in the state I live in they fairly recently raised EV annual registration rates, my car costs over twice as much a year to register. I am fine with that because I use the roads I should share in the cost to maintain them.
Lot of people hate seeing others getting something for nothing especially when their taxes are funding it, expensive cars with government grants, free VED, free charging (in certain places) it's bound to wind some people up who are running normal cars with the amount they costs to run and the majority of that money going to the government who are then paying some of it back out to give incentives to EV's. Like lots of government incentives only last until they reach the uptake they are looking for, then the taxes will follow.
Smart girl!
I jumped fairly early at some of Renault's early incentive deals with low cost 2 year PCP finance. IMO couldn't go wront except for the battery rental deal. While the Leaf (like Prius) stood out like a sore thumb, the Zoe really slid under the radar as it looks relatively conventional. I think the marketplace sometimes ignores just how long Nissan and Renault have been in the EV business, adopting a somewhat different approach from Tesla but apparently making progress none-the-less.
While Tesla and Leaf shout "EV" & "Different", Zoe imo really just says understated, functional, non-pretentious, practical electric transport.
As an EV owner I do have some self-hatred. I suspect that I am allowing the issue of battery recycling / repurposing to not be faced up to. When you buy an EV it is almost inevitable that the battery will degrade before the rest of the car is truely EOL. If that's not the case, then the whole environmental model of EV's needs to be reassessed! So as the rush to make more and more batteries at ever lower cost and higher performance, there is the potential for a huge market exploiting the material sources used. Every EV should have a cost upfront - like an environmental 'deposit' that follows the battery as its use / value changes. If that 'deposit' should be carried by manufacturers or owners I don't know, but you should not risk a situation where expediency and lower cost of disposal makes true recycling less attractive.
Any ways, EV's will bring about masssive volumes of battery manufacture all of which need to be handled in an environmental sustainable manner.
Rustybkts
Member
Really? Try comparing to a new BMW or Merc with the same performance, You can almost get two SR+'s for one of those with seriously cheaper running costs.
I know as I used to have an E46 M3 which had very high annual servicing costs plus parts.
The letter writer is blissfully unaware that Tesla pays for its own Supercharger network.
I have had lots of lovely comments about my car. A few questions about range and charging. Sister-in-law was concerned it might be a bit slow(!)
I have had lots of lovely comments about my car. A few questions about range and charging. Sister-in-law was concerned it might be a bit slow(!)
It's all about perception.
That being said, I would question your comment about comparing it with a Merc or BMW. When my M3P arrives next month it'll be more expensive, less well equipped and much less well built than my current Merc. Which is an AMG Line CLS350D so not exactly a cheap car in itself.
Truth of the matter is, Tesla's ARE expensive to buy. Significantly so sometimes, even a model 3 (when you consider how little kit you get on a SR+). People see that and ignore the cheaper running costs.
I'm a massive fan of the Zoe. If I only needed a city car I would have gone for this hands down above my M3 due to the much cheaper cost. It's very subtle, and just looks like a car. If you squint it could be a Clio. Don't get me wrong I don't mind cars with bold styling but to attract the masses it's good to have an EV that looks like, and gets mistaken for, an ICE car because that's what everyone is used to.
ACarneiro
Active Member
I think that applies to newspapers in general, regardless of nationality.
Yes. We all have favourites for different reasons, but the Zoe (40kwr that I currently have) ticks a lot of boxes. I have driven Sheffield to nearly London and back with only an hour of charging. 3 years old now, 94% battery condition, still 170+ miles in summer, 4.7 miles per kwh.
My dad still has the 2015 22kwh model and the battery is struggling but as a car it still suits him fine. Faced with what to do given a viable 4 year old car with owned battery but reduced battery performance he is wrestling with issues that many more will face in future.
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Jason71
Well-Known Member
I would say don't hate the player hate the game.
The govt put in place some pretty compelling (company car) tax breaks for EV's. And I fell neatly into their trap. damn them
I think there are probably people who thought Brexit would bring an end to all this pinko lefty environmentalism and we could all just go back to burning good ole british coal and in our cars. Then one of the first things Johnsons govt did was announced the end of ICE sales in 15 years and they were like WTF this isn't what I voted for.
And yes I have actually read daily mail comments to this effect. People who stand up for EV's in the comments are regularly called "remoners" for some reason so the two are clearly linked in some people's minds.
The govt put in place some pretty compelling (company car) tax breaks for EV's. And I fell neatly into their trap. damn them
I think there are probably people who thought Brexit would bring an end to all this pinko lefty environmentalism and we could all just go back to burning good ole british coal and in our cars. Then one of the first things Johnsons govt did was announced the end of ICE sales in 15 years and they were like WTF this isn't what I voted for.
And yes I have actually read daily mail comments to this effect. People who stand up for EV's in the comments are regularly called "remoners" for some reason so the two are clearly linked in some people's minds.
12Pack
Member
Perhaps because I am ensconced in a forward-thinking tech community in the UK, certainly most Tesla conversations are genuine curiosity and polite checking about things like battery life, range and charging. Most see the light when I talk about charging the car when it is idle.
Unfortunately, not so on Pistonheads forums that I also inhabit regarding my performance cars but then people on this forum don’t seem to appreciate light weight, engaging performance.
But regardless this is a far cry compared to the US where the EV divide is huge - with the under-educated, over-entitled blindly followIng flat-earth politics.
Unfortunately, not so on Pistonheads forums that I also inhabit regarding my performance cars but then people on this forum don’t seem to appreciate light weight, engaging performance.
But regardless this is a far cry compared to the US where the EV divide is huge - with the under-educated, over-entitled blindly followIng flat-earth politics.
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Three of my friends have bought new cars in the last twelve months, all moving from diesel to petrol - two of them to hybrid petrol. Their reactions when they found out I had a Tesla on order were ones of interest and defensiveness - they seemed to want to justify why a full EV was not suitable for them (trips to Europe, range in winter, etc.).
I hope my EV myth busting will carry a little more weight when I have actually got mine
I hope my EV myth busting will carry a little more weight when I have actually got mine
My experience when dealing with EV doubters is to be HONEST admit what cold weather does to short trip efficiency but tell them that once the cabin is warm consumption drops closer to normal.
I will tell folks that road trips with my P85 under about 400miles take the same amount of time as an ICE long as you stop for one proper meal you charge during, longer range cars stretch that number higher.
That way you are admitting long range EV driving can take longer but you are quantifying that with a number, and that number they will realize they rarely exceed. Give the good with the bad and they believe you rather than be some unhinged sycophant that believes you should get everything for free and anyone driving ICE is either an idiot or evil.
I will tell folks that road trips with my P85 under about 400miles take the same amount of time as an ICE long as you stop for one proper meal you charge during, longer range cars stretch that number higher.
That way you are admitting long range EV driving can take longer but you are quantifying that with a number, and that number they will realize they rarely exceed. Give the good with the bad and they believe you rather than be some unhinged sycophant that believes you should get everything for free and anyone driving ICE is either an idiot or evil.
Comment above just reminded me, wasn't as much a dislike.
Speaking with a couple of friends about the model 3, one did comment about the appearance, but they were both in agreement that it was too early to make the jump just now, wait on the big player who will produce a better vehicle, it was more aimed at Tesla, rather then EV in general.
Speaking with a couple of friends about the model 3, one did comment about the appearance, but they were both in agreement that it was too early to make the jump just now, wait on the big player who will produce a better vehicle, it was more aimed at Tesla, rather then EV in general.
Rustybkts
Member
Maybe but BMW or VAG cars of similar performance are way more expensive. The M3 BMW I purchased in 2004 cost £36,000 second hand.
My SR+ is the full Monty for me with extra widgets etc arriving every few months whereas you need to buy the next years model repeatedly from the companies above to match.
They also have a lot of catching up to do as their EV's at the moment tend to need much larger batteries to achieve the same range.......crazy.
That's a bit harsh. I'm all for performance,ance and light weight. Having owned a (not particularly quick or powerful) extremely light car in the past I can appreciate the affects on handling of a light car. They thing about this being an EV forum though is it's just not currently possible to have a lightweight EV with a practical range.
Maybe that'll change? The lotus Evija should help? Surely they, of all car companies, won't produce a heavy car?
MrBadger
Badger out
From witnessing the recent TV ads, and like of BP changing their focus to more low carbon products, I think the tide is turning quicker than I had anticipated just a year ago. Roll on EV adopters.
