XIIVVX
Active member
So much to comment on here.
Make no mistake, electric cars in one form or another are the future and no amount of whining about 'Long live petrol cars' will ever change that.
The batteries on the Leaf (which I have been working on) are all contained below floor level and within the wheelbase, so are largely protected in the event of impact, certainly more effectively that your flimsy metal box containing 50 litres of highly volatile liquid hung out behind the rear axle. Evcen then they are a minimal fire risk and have a lot of RCD-type circuitry to isolate them in the event of any incident
This production car has no need of a gearbox, and the car delivers maximum torque from a standstill; in city motoring I'd back a Leaf at any short distance traffic light GP.
The weight being low down it handles pretty well for a C-Segment shopping trolley and, trust me, they are an absolute delight to drive. The total silence is addictive.
7 hours overnight to charge enough for 100 miles + (Say £2.30), or 30 minutes on a rapid charger to give you more than 80 miles.
No VED, no congestion charge, no benefit in kind, no need ever to visit a filling station ever again, the government gives you £5,000 back.
The point is this is just the beginning. Toyota are already looking at adding hybrid to the GT86, the Tesla 'Lotus' is a brilliant, if awfully expensive car. Where powertrains will be within ten years we can only guess. But trust me it will be interesting and a lot of fun.
Make no mistake, electric cars in one form or another are the future and no amount of whining about 'Long live petrol cars' will ever change that.
The batteries on the Leaf (which I have been working on) are all contained below floor level and within the wheelbase, so are largely protected in the event of impact, certainly more effectively that your flimsy metal box containing 50 litres of highly volatile liquid hung out behind the rear axle. Evcen then they are a minimal fire risk and have a lot of RCD-type circuitry to isolate them in the event of any incident
This production car has no need of a gearbox, and the car delivers maximum torque from a standstill; in city motoring I'd back a Leaf at any short distance traffic light GP.
The weight being low down it handles pretty well for a C-Segment shopping trolley and, trust me, they are an absolute delight to drive. The total silence is addictive.
7 hours overnight to charge enough for 100 miles + (Say £2.30), or 30 minutes on a rapid charger to give you more than 80 miles.
No VED, no congestion charge, no benefit in kind, no need ever to visit a filling station ever again, the government gives you £5,000 back.
The point is this is just the beginning. Toyota are already looking at adding hybrid to the GT86, the Tesla 'Lotus' is a brilliant, if awfully expensive car. Where powertrains will be within ten years we can only guess. But trust me it will be interesting and a lot of fun.
