At the risk of sounding like a Tesla fanboy, Tesla realised a decade ago that charging is a critical part of the EV equation, and invested in the supercharger network from the start. I have never had to wait at a charger and never come up against an unserviceable one. Pull up, plug in, sit in the car with a coffee and watch Netflix or TV, unplug and drive away. No cards, no logging in, no phone call required - the car just chats to California for a few seconds to tell them it’s you and when you unplug your authorised account is debited. Relying on third parties for charging is at present a disaster.
Same. Tesla owner since a year back. I've been across Europe a couple of times. No issues. Always works. Admittedly, you'll have to plan your charging route (or rather, the car does it for you), so it's not like zero restrictions, but honestly, it really isn't an issue at all.
I pretended to shop around but the SC network meant I could only buy Tesla. No plugs in my public parking. So lucky I went that way. I subscribed to the 3rd party networks around, including local government sponsored ones, to see if I could charge closer but what a broken cluster...f. I feel sorry for anybody that buys a non Tesla :-( Phillip.
That’s why I stress that Hybrid vehicles are the best option!!! It will be decades before any country has a reliable grid. Even then the cars have decades before battery tech is better.
@@neil78b that is such out of Touch bullshit. Tesla superchargers are everywhere and sluin hybrids are made for idiots who are willing to pay for maintenance free technology.
Yup. I love EVs and have owned several from the Volt, Bolt, Model 3, Hyundai Ioniq etc. but I charge it at home. I still don't think people should get an EV if they plan to rely on the charging network. EVs are first and foremost meant to be charged and topped off at home. If you cannot do this, it will be a pain in the ass. I live in California, so we have charging stations every other mile, but some won't work, some are too filled up you'd have to wait an hour or 2 for the person ahead of you to finish charging. Even in the best case scenario, taking 30 minutes to an hour out of your day to charge is still a huge hassle. It's still not worth it and I think California has the best charging network.
Thanks for your input since I haven't come across a person that owns an electric vehicle which usually tells the whole story and not just the hype. It makes sense that it would be perfect for around town, but on long road trips, I can see the aggravation it can be when trying to charge the vehicle. As more EVs are on the road, the quicker the charging stations will fill up since these cars can't charge fast enough to be ready for the next route. Just do the math. I've done research on all the charging station along my route with both Tesla supercharger and Electrify America and both are still few and far between compared to gas stations. Some of them are a ways in from the highway which would add more stress in driving.
@@maxkonig559 Exactly. Not only that but I personally think charging stations are more dangerous. More people fill up at gas stations, so it gets more traffic, unless you're filling up in the middle of no where or at odd times at night, there will be some people there. As for charging stations, there are not as much traffic and it does not take 5 minutes to charge. Imagine having to sit inside your car at night for an hour while trying to charge your car up... Then there's reliability issues. Most gas stations will work or have a few pumps out of service. Charging stations are a toss up. Some only have 2-3 chargers and all of them can be out of service. At least with gas stations, you can just find another one down the road if the first one has issues, but with charging stations, there may not be another one for miles. So if you don't have enough range to reach the next charging station, you're screwed.
Your comment makes so much sense. We're renting a home at the moment - trying to figure out whether or not to sell our rental and buy something closer to home (we live in Marin County now, but relocated from Chicago - left SF for 2 years and came home - the market there is horrible, so we kept it hoping....). We have an '18 BMW 530i, which has been an absolute dream to drive. I love it, love it, love it. It puts friends Tesla model S's to shame, honestly - the fit and finish on Tesla is just embarrassing. I've been seriously considering selling the BMW outright and buying an Audi Q4 e-tron - to capture the $7500 tax credit which would be lovely, and save on not buying fuel. But...... it's the not having dedicated charging. Your comment has given me pause. Thank you.
I just leased the 2024 Q8 ETron Sportback. Love the ride and look of it. I got pissed after fully charging it and I didn’t see my 296 miles range that was listed on window sticker. Thanks for sharing.
Suppose another way to look at this, would you buy a petrol car if 5 out of 10 petrol stations had no fuel, and the ones that did had a 45 minute - 1 hr waiting time to refill , and every time you dip below a 1/4 of a tank you would have to slow down and really plan your next fill up in case there was no petrol at the next station.
If you drive an ICE vehicle you have NO choice but to fill up at a Service Station and pay the going rate for Petrol (how much is it now?). If you have a BEV you have comparatively complete freedom to “fill-up” ANYWHERE, like at your home! So you never have to visit a Service Station ever again. If you are fortunate enough to be able to easily charge at home over-night using cheaper off-peak electricity then it’s a bargain (even better if you have Solar PV at home). I have had an EV for over a year most daily travel is 50km. I have only been on extended long trips maybe 3-4 times in last year ( in my Audi e-tron 55 Sportback), and never been an issue using a fast charger.
Until now I've had no waittime at all for recharging my car (road trip 1280 km one way). Simply plug in (at an ionity 350 KW station), start the charge. Going to the toilet (necessary anyway...when filling with petrol you have to do this AFTER refilling, not during refilling), taking a coffee/ lunch and than the car was already waiting for me instead that I was waiting for the chargesession in my car.(Only once in 2 times 1250 km road trip the car was just at the end of the session when I returned to the car all other session the car was ready before me.) Also, in holiday time, I've seen waiting queues for the petrol stations which guaranteed a longer waiting time before starting to refill the car than I needed to recharge ...especially at border station with relativ cheap fuel compared to the next country. Oh, I do not drive this much to expensiv audi etron...expensiv in price and using to much energy/km (see testvideo's on the Tesla Bjorn/ Bjorn Nyland channels). But I charge in optimal situation from 10 - 80% in 18 minutes...and yes, this advertiement is correct, but only under optimal conditions. In sub optimal conditions the same charging is maybe 25 minutes...or some less. When really cold (test video's) it can be 30 minutes at most. Also my car will not slow down until below 4% charge....in no way under 25%. And you're infra complains? Well, when the first petrol cars came on market there was no infra structure for petrol. It did not stop selling those cars. Even , short before 1960, my parents had to look and plan carefully on a holiday to France where they could refill the car.... (At this moment in Europe we do have enough locations for recharge.....but when more people switch to EV those numbers must be increased.)
Having owned an EV for two years (with no facility to charge at home), it is absolutely essential to do your homework. Think about how you intend to use the car, how practical is it to charge? What is the charging network like in your area? Sure, a lifestyle change will be needed to accommodate charging. I was expecting this and could easily work it into my commute, or charge whilst shopping, but for some, this might be a step too far. I ran the car for 2.5 years, then sold it because the huge uptake of EV's in my area meant that charging it at convenient times was becoming more difficult and a change in circumstances meant needing to drive further. This either meant going for a longer range EV at a price I really couldn't justify, or go back to internal combustion, which is what I did.
Agreed! I also have had one for over a year, I charge at home, and I actually have an Audi, he must have been using the included charger either on 120v, or at 50% capacity. 6 hrs on a level 2 and the thing is nearly full from dead.
In my country.....just ask the local town to add an extra public charger and, when chargers are mostly occupied, they will do.....and again when the number of EV's increase more. Also in front of appartment buildings they place those public (slow) chargers on requests. Which means that you'll refill at night, maybe once a week at the weekend? Depending on usage. (I just charge at home on my solar panels)
People with electric vehicles charge 90% of the time at home or work. Always leave home with a full charge in the morning just like your cell phone. Drive a Tesla and you will find their SuperCharger network is great. Ionity is the problem not the electric vehicle.
A great honest review. I won't be buying one soon. Or any electric car for the next 5 years. I still think that the car manufacturers have a lot to learn. They've come along way. But there's still a lot to learn.
Correct petrol and diesel was the best thing invented and all of a sudden it's no good electric will take over eventually but at moment just not enough charging points my mate got a new hybrid octavia and not many chargers about nothing faster than just filling up for miles and miles 😀
There is nothing wrong with the car. What the manufacturers have to learn is that they can’t expect people to buy their wonderful cars and leave the network for someone else to build. Thing is Tesla realised this eight years ago and this remains the greatest strength of Tesla vehicles - the network is available and reliable and just works. Contrast every other network and every reviewer who tries to rely on non Tesla networks.
the problem is Brian the tec is moving so fast no car will be worth hanging on to its all down to two things range and efficiency I'm afraid the electricity price is only going one way which will make manufactures make cars more efficient, miles per KWh will be the new mpg and a 2.6 ton Audi wont cut it! bit like the first mobile phones lol
There's nothing to learn. Building a DC charging network for people to charge publicly doesn't make any sense at all. It's a silly boondoggle. It's not economically viable.
At £96,000 I can see loads of people buying one of these! After all thanks to our very low energy prices now days and the super low cost of living , I think everyone has a spare £96 grand lying around, especially for the 'fun' experience of EV charging networks in the UK. But as long as it makes the govnt. feel good then its all good! I mean as a massive island that's way bigger than China and Russia its up to us to make sure we bankrupt ourselves to ensure our huge island is green by 2030! I am in!
EV's are a good choice for a segment of the population. If you have your own home, and you use the car to commute to and from work, or have a regular group of places you need to drive to around a smaller area, they can work. Otherwise, it is just not going to work without dramatic changes in the technology. It boggles my mind that people can't seem to figure this out. Just the cost - both in money and to the environment - to gather all the materials needed to make an EV, especially the elements needed for the battery make it an unworkable proposition. And try to imagine for a second how many charging stations you would need if every vehicle was an EV, not to mention the cost and specialized materials needed for those chargers. They don't just pop up out of the ground. Imagine if every vehicle was an EV and you had to find a charging station. Doesn't that sound like fun? EV's have a place, but too many people think they run on pixie dust and unicorn farts, and can't seem to logically grasp all that it takes to make the technology viable for a large segment of the population. We are going to be driving traditional vehicles for a long time...
Well once upon a time we only had one airport in this country, in fact it was the first airport in the planet. And now people have airports in their backyards. The electric infrastructure will grow little by little.
Bottom line- The electric charging infrastructure is no where ready for the amount of EV cars the world is touting and selling. For now, I will continue with my 42 MPG Audi A6 TDI and enjoy 750 miles per tank fill.
Over here in New Jersey, the EV charging stations grid is a failure. There are very few charging stations around, and if you do find a charger, it will most likely be out of order, vandalized or there will be two cars in front of you. Total disaster. Many folks live in apartment buildings and for that reason they can't charge their cars overnight and would have to depend on the very unreliable (and expensive) public charging stations. Not good. Furthermore, I don't see a fix for this anytime soon with the current group of clowns we have in office at the moment.
V ery well said! Our mindless politicians in the US think they can force people into EVS by stifling the oil supply and jacking up gas prices. They are causing inflation and endorsing an unrealistic scenario that can cripple the country. EVs are untenable if you cannot charge at home
The most intelligent video i have seen about using an EV as an everyday car is this. Do not try to use it as an Internal Combustion Engine where you refuel the car as you get below 1/4 tank. Say once every couple of weeks. But charge it like your phone where by you charge it every night at home. That would be like every day going home via a petrol station every day to maintain your car full of fuel. A new way of fueling your car mindset is required.
This is one of the big issues with EV's - you end up having to make compromises and changing your driving habits to fit around the car, hunting for chargers when you shouldn't need to, finding they're out of action or having to wait ages for one to be free, then when you do find one, praying it communicates with your car ok and charges at a reasonable speed. Longer journeys are all about planning for your next charging stop and how long you might need to be there. Energy cost increases mean charging costs are increasing dramatically too - a 350kw charger from a private company will likely cost you almost as much to charge as it would to fill up with fuel! Being an EV driver in 2022 is a lesson in frustration, patience, anger and military style planning.
It's gonna come to this waiting hours to charge gonna take years to be charging points every where waste of the time if you live in an apartment or flat no where to charge petrol and diesel was the best thing invented all of a sudden it's no good now fill tank in a couple of minutes for miles and miles of driving
@@raymondvaughan6262 At present, yes. But in just a few years, when only a few million EVs are on the road, petrol stations will be uneconomic and you’ll be in the same quandary with ICE cars. There’s a tipping point. Having said that I suspect the forward thinking service stations will have chargers soon. Also, remember that your thinking changes with an EV: since the car, for people with garage or driveway parking, the car can be “full” every morning. It’s only on long trips that filling is necessary.
Good video. I have the q4 etron and for my families lifestyle we can get away with home charging for 99% of use. However, the odd longer journey, I’ve luckily not had to charge on the network so far, as we’ve just eeked out the range with about 10-13% (40ish miles) remaining. The range indicator is pretty accurate if you use the app to check your route and range before leaving.
I remember when cell phone networks were like that. You had to have an account on every network you wanted to use. Then they came up with roaming agreements and suddenly you could travel with your phone and just use it. We need the same thing for vehicle charging networks. If you have an account on one it should just let you plug-n-change anywhere and get billed on your one account for all of them. That way only one entity has your credit card or bank account information and you don't have to worry about getting your card skimmed at the charger.
Loved the Taycan Turbo S I had on order but a weekend taught me that because I'm not trying to save tax I couldn't live with the range. So I'm getting a 911 Turbo S. Enjoy the sound, enjoy the drive and save the planet with insulation.
You've perfectly summarised why I will stick with petrol as long as possible. I currently have a fully loaded S3 Sportback Black Edition which is amazing.
The EV network is why I am reluctant to switch. I'll go hybrid but full ev is a no for me for now. Apparently with the chargers if it says verifying or down if you call the number on the side of the charger they can remotely reboot it and then it works. My friend has done this once or twice but not many people know this and it doesn't always work.
The cars are waaaaaay to far ahead of the network. The only use case for an electric car is someone who charges at some and goes no furthers than 100 miles or less from their house.
And who the hell drives 100 miles each and every day? It’d be a very small percentage of the driving population that does that! In fact global statistics are something like 95% of people travel way less than 50km per day. Just about every BEV in the market could handle that range, and if you can charge over night at home your laughing as you have a Full car every morning and paid 1/4 or less for equivalent cost of fuel.
@@wheelsandwatches You clearly didn’t comprehend my statement. I quoted statistical observation - I’m sure they included those “families” you mentioned in their data gathering.
@@johncanalese588 I did but that is not exactly real world use is it. People do drive longer journeys, maybe not every week. Maybe only once a month and as such a one car household would find an EV a hassle on such occasion.
@@wheelsandwatches Mate, I live in Sydney, Australia and have owned my Audi e-tron for over one year and range is NOT a problem. Could we do with more chargers, yes of course and they will come As you would understand we have great distance to travel over here and I have done a few trips with legs of about 400km (which is nothing in Oz), and I’ve fared just fine. I stop at a fast charger and in less 20mins I’ve got 200km range while I’ve had a break for drink, lol etc. don’t know where your fear is coming from.
Had the q3 hybrid sportback for a month from my employer. No range, cheap plastics, never recharged it since I had the company card for gas. Nice alcantara seats and predictive cruise control is fun. Was it worth 60K € ? No way. Now driving a small petrol car, paid 7K €. EV ? Maybe in 10 years time, 15 more likely.
A freind of mine has an Electric BMW as a Company Car, his site visits are usually dictated to by the charging points he can find when he gets to his destination. The days of pop in the car, pop to site and get back in the office to get some work done are long gone.
No way it will go 200 miles on a charge. It's more like 140 to 170 depending on how you drive it. The big downside of all EVs is that they become outdated super-fast. Every EV that's been made to date will soon become unwanted with the release of the new battery technology that's on its way.
Spot on my friend paying 90,000 for a car that the technology will be changing quicker than its 0 to 62 time is a bad deal, the car in 3 to 5 years will be worthless, it has one massive Achilles heel its range, in 3 to 5 years 400/600 miles on a charge will be normal which put the Audi into scrap land
Thank you so much my friend for your honesty, and being down to Earth this is what we need... I currently drive a Lexus RX 450h hybrid which I love.... But you are so so right, owning a car is one thing, but enjoying the experience as you live with it,is another... I'm definitely getting less fascinated with EV cars for a number of the reasons you've already mentioned... Take care .. thank you👍🏽💛
In the US there are Tesla super chargers & everything else. The everything else is incompatible plugs, bad chargers and rejected accounts. Not ready for prime time. Hyper milers have to charge up to 50% and run to the next charger. Distances in US means there are charging deserts. Not fun!
Definitely depends on where you are even in the US. California as charging stations everywhere and EVs are dime a dozen. It makes perfect sense in ridiculous California traffic jams for a lot of people on the west coast.
If you own a £90k etron sportback as I do, you don’t charge on the granny cable at home, you install a proper charger that can give you the 50% charge you needed overnight at mostly 5p a KWh not 50p at an ionity charger.
What electricity company give you electric at 5p a kilowatt? Ok a few might give you cheap electric at night for about 4 hours but is there one that what gives you it all night.
Just wanted to give you a little feedback on this video, as RUclips recommendations brought me here, and I see you are still growing, and I also hope you don't take this the wrong way. Just want to help you get better at what you love to do. Try to take a break when you are not sure about something. Do quick research. I'm referring to when you mentioned the BMW model and was wrong. These are trivial things that can be fixed with some video editing but to some may affect your credibility. Loved the review. Loved how real you got with the problem of the network, I would however mention that you live in the UK, as the charging network in other countries may be better and you do not want to make everyone think that all is bad, they should research how it is in their country. Love the dog. Keep up the great work!
I feel what you're saying is true for road trips that are not on main road ways or highways. If you're heading out to the countryside and there isn't a level 2 EVSE or higher at your destination you could be in trouble.
Choosing the 21 inch wheels; while they look cool, they really diminish the range. If people want the best range, go with the standard wheels/tires and stay away from all wheel drive.
I have the e-tron 50 with regular 20" wheels, range is 130 in winter, nearly 200 in summer. If you need more range, the Tesla LR or cars that displace less air...
My experience has been different. I have an Ioniq 5 awd, my wife has free charging in work, so we rarely have to pay for it, got two years Ionity subscription with the car, so superfast charging is cheap on long journeys. Sure have to plan a little more, when going beyond the range of a full charge, but it's no biggy so far. Could the network be better? Sure, a lot better, but it's good enough that i have at least so far been able to go where I want when i want without issue.
Ive been driving an ev for a few months now. Saves me a fortune with petrol prices being £1.80 atm, but if I didnt have a home charger id probably burn the thing to the ground through frustration if I had to rely on public chargers
Appreciate the experience differs but I have an ETron Sportback also and live up north (Manchester) and can honestly say I have never really had issues with charging (with the only time I really have is when I took a trip to Cornwall, and most of this was due to holiday traffic/EV charger queuing)
I had been living with electric cars for several years, with a 80 mile commute every day and works perfect for me, but a good charger at home is a must. The flip way to see it is like having the petro station at your home, but at a much lower cost for refilling. If you need more than 150 or 200 miles a day or you plan to travel long distances with it, then proper EV selection and planning is needed and will be more troublesome that owning a combustion car.
@@boogboog8097 If you have only one car in your family, then yes, it’s not advisable to have an electric car only, which it’s not my case and it allows me to optimize 90% of my miles that are actually commute and not having to pay and waste gasoline for the possibility of a few days in a year. But if you are a weekend warrior that likes to drive further to scenic locations beyond the autonomy of an EV, then it’s not advisable to own an EV. So, I am not stocked and if I ever am there’s always a car rental around. I’m passionate on cars and love the rumbling of a good old V8, but I also appreciate the unique dynamics and the precise power distribution of an Electric car. Know what you like and love and stick to it ,regardless of everybody else preference.
@@javierpereira7580 What gets me is the false green narrative of EV virtue signalling while the real political agendas are pushing remaining oil reserves to China India and far east where the big banks and investment funds see future growth and profits. It's not about the "white privileged" westerners saving the planet.
@@boogboog8097 Sorry, I don’t get engage in political discussions or conspiracy theories. I have better things to do with my time. My experience with EVs is very positive and it is as valid as if yours it is not.
@@javierpereira7580 OK you think politicians who spent 30 years destroying the middle east suddenly woke up caring about greta thunberg and sea turtles...
Thank you for the honest opinnion! this is my exact fear and why i will not switch to an EV until the infrastructure is up to standard. The disruption to normal daily duties does not make sence for the pricepoint. Good cars, lacking charging for the masses once we are all forced to switch.
Good on you for a proper review. Now if only car reviewers would stop saying “Tesla Killer” while ignoring the pain of charging without the Tesla network. Happy that you described the growing pains of the independent networks. I’m a Tesla owner and rooting for the other manufacturers to figure this out. This is the number one reason why I continue to replace all the ICE cars in my family with Teslas for now until the other infrastructure improves. A charger at home and the ability to find a charger, invest 40 minutes at a maximum into the charging and having the car route me to WORKING chargers with the fewest number of chargers in use to speed up my charging time.
Charging at home is essential for any BEV to be practical. Tesla's Supercharger network makes road trips practical. As Stef discovered, the network to recharge other brands isn't good enough yet.
I’m sure it was just for the video, but why would you choose to charge your car if you have 140miles already. You wouldn’t stop at a petrol station with the same miles. Just drive home and charge overnight. I drive my Taycan until I have hardly any charge and get up to 260kw at Ionity which is generally very good.
Petrol power is so much less stress, ev’s are okay for a runner round but not for long journeys as the charging network is no where near ready for all these ev’s people are buying.
So you got mad because you didn’t charge your car even though you knew you needed the charge to finish the testdrive? Maybe next time plan ahead or just go to another charger. You had over 100 miles of range in the car. There was no need to be sweating for half an hour in the car.
Ya I want it one cuz as a small business owner it’s a huge write off, but the problem is charging , especially cuz I may not be able to charge at my apartment, so if dc fast is bad for it or a bad charging experience then it won’t Be good for me, and I drive a lot of miles for work. WhAts true Range then? I drive 110 miles per day! I would run out!
The more you travel north the less and less chargers , seems you need about 6 or 7 different apps on your phone to pay any different charging points , hopefully one will be available to use and in working order , for me not enough infrastructure yet , the range in between charging is down to drivers style
I live in the Algarve, the superchargers in Portugal and Spain are located at gorgeous golf courses, breathtaking vineyards or boutique hotels! No Beaconsfield services and urine stinky washrooms for us. *So .. NOT all EV’s give that crappy experience 🔝 a TESLA is utterly different*
Had the same frustrating experience while charging an ID4 at Electrify America. What a royal pain in the a$$. I traded it in for a gas car since I drive long distances for work and I can’t live with that constant stress knowing public charging is a joke (unless it’s a Tesla of course)
I've driven an eTron 55 17,000 miles in 7 months. I have a home charger but, nevertheless, it has also has meant a lot of public charging. Instavolt, Osprey, Fastned, BP Pulse, Gridserve, all great with speeds from 60 kWh to 150 kWh. Ionity poor at Beaconsfield (always has been) but at Gretna, Milton Keynes, Blackburn and Skelton Lakes great. Destination charging (hotels) is also great and often free. You learn where to charge and what to expect. Had to queue a couple of times at Gretna Green during the holiday season but only for about 10 mins each time. Having an EV, even with all that public charging, is saving me a fortune for a minor inconvenience and a great car!
In a few years time the powers that be will catch up and tax the help out of you. In five years time EV will be the next Diesel. Or will it....... either way they will tax the hell out of you.
@@davidowen2859 No denying that, so I am taking advantage while I can. 400 miles today, home and public charging in an eTron 55, a relatively "thirsty" EV at 2.8 miles per kWH, with winter tyres,, it cost me £3,57 at home and £22.85 at Ionity (including contribution towards monthly subscription) - in my previous petrol car it would have cost me around £110, the EV was less than 25% of the cost. All those debating it, are losing out and by the time they come to accept it, it will be too late. The fewer people adopt EV's the longer the financial benefits remain, IMO..
@@philhartley7564 Theres no denying your figures and if it works for you great. I have a Panamera ehybrid and accept it costs but I love my V6. I also have two other Porsches, a bit of a petrol head. I tried to embrace electric but didn't like the lack of connection to the car. The Taycan Turbo S range in winter in spirited driving could be as low as 160 miles even careful driving no better than 240. I live on the east coast and virtually no chargers. Certainly no fast chargers. There are no other electric cars that come close to doing it for me so I went completely the other way and changed to a 911 Turbo S. If or when range gets to a realistic 500 miles on a car that excites me then I might take the plunge. However I can't see how the charge network will keep up. If as they say the network will triple over the next 5 years but EV ownership will increase by 20 times. Maybe solid state and battery swap. Or maybe Hydrogen. Theres a lot of maybe's. I'm 58 soon and I think the ICE will be around for at least 20 so then I will be 78 and get a Porsche electric wheel chair.🤪
@@davidowen2859 A great bunch of cars, the Panamera eHybrid was an option for me before I went full EV. You and I are lucky, we can afford (it seems) the get cars we want. I also have a naturally aspirated v8 convertible which used to be my daily but is now my fun/sun car. Keeping the miles lower and enjoying it on roads/trips that suit. Most of my daily driving is on the motorway at motorway speeds and spirited driving doesn't really come in to it. Comfort, noise and luxury do, hence the eTron. The cost comparison between the 400 mile trip in that and the v8 on super unleaded, is even greater - probably around £100, no contest when you do 25,000 miles year, mostly on A roads or motorways. I take your point about the charging network. There are a few critical issues here, 1) how they can work out effective street parking 2) what % charge primarily at home 3/ what % can charge at work and so on. I don't have the answers, I don't have the foresight but the exponential increase in car sales does not, IMO, require and equal increase in public chargers. Personally, I think road pricing will be the new tax for motorists, that's the only reason I can see whether pursue smart (idiotic) motorways so much. You don't need rapid chargers near home (I assume you will be able to charge at home) you need them around 150 miles away from home on your main routes away. You leave home with a 80% to 100% charge, as I do. Travelling to Norfolk is one of my cheapest trips - destination charging at Sprowston Manor means I do 404 miles return trip for around £4.10. I'm older than you but a hovering mobility sounds right - could be fun!
@@philhartley7564 Thanks for your detailed response. You cant beat a NA V8, do you mind me asking what you've got? The Porsche cars I have at the moment have got me close to a GT3 allocation. I'm keeping the Panamera for another year, its turned out to be the best car I've ever had. Like you I've reached the point where I can let the purse strings loosen a little and enjoy cars. I have a Lotus Emira first edition supposedly arriving later this year and a 911 GTS early next year. My wife drives a Macan S so we have the family car. I'm on the verge of semi retirement so longer journeys may become less which may lead me into an EV. Surprisingly one of my longer private journeys is also to Norfolk. We have family in Gorelston. According to the charger maps there seem to be very few chargers down that way but take your point about chargers around 150 miles from home. Would be interested in hearing about your EV journey as time passes and hopefully network gets better.
The charging network issue is worse with the Audi cos it’s so thirsty - at 1.8 miles per kWh indicated you are going to have to charge pretty often. Most cars get 3 miles per kWh
At least you have an universal plug/charger setup in the UK. Here in the US every recharging station has different plugs and most of them do not work. Btw, at 96k pounds this car should not only find its way to a charging station w/o a driver, it should also cook you breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Lol
@@stephen300o6 just been watching this guy who is basically a maths genius working all this out. He said if you buy the biggest battery EV and charge it from a coal fired power station it will take 17.5 years before there is any benefit to the environment. I wish I was kidding.
Ive bought a 21 e-tron s sportback quattro , and by the way u can have the sound of a petrol engine in the car by setting up the media option through the app......also i charge mine at home at present ,.....and using normal single phase electric i get around 130 miles on charge from 9pm till around 7am the next day ....i had a range rover which i paid £77,000 new almost 4 years ago and put in about £550 month in diesel.....at present im on target for about £32 worth of electric using my home and also tescos free charging facility , even the 50kw one only takes about 40 mins to fully charge my car upto around 230 miles mark ( which is unexpectedly accurate as it differs on whos driving the car)...this charger costs about £5 to £7 to top my car up ....the lesser free tesco charging points take about 1 hour 40 mins ......( i hate shopping but if the wife goes she can easily stay in tescos that long ) lol, the point is use your home electric or im sure theres a tesco near just about everyone on the planet .
Audi launched this in the North of Scotland I remember all the reviewers finding the same problems, range was only 60% of what audi claimed and they had to always drive back to where audi had set up charging stations because there were none within 150 miles, totally exposed the EV nonsense 😀
After boost mode runs out of power ( what is only avaible for only 8 seconds if i’m right? ) doesn’t the car feels “sluggish?” Without the boost it is only like a normal e-tron 55?
I drive an Audi. A 2015 A6 allroad quatro 3.0 V6 diesel. It costs me £100 to fill the tank in around 5 minutes. The range is 800 miles at around 52mpg. It, ULEZ compliant and extremely clean running, definitely has a much smaller carbon footprint than any EV. It's as quiet as this pile of electric crap and it cost me a lot less than 96 grand! Any EV owner want to race me from London to Edinburgh and back?
I agree - I don't get the center section either! Non-ergonomic and total waste of space. Mercedes uses that space phenomenally. And one point I have gotten across from several reviews coming out of the UK...the charging network is not as good as on mainland Europe. This review is a year old, so hopefully it is a better situation today.
Spot on review of the experience - I love driving my EV but the experience of the charging network is abysmal- so pleased I can now use some of the Tesla supercharger network
100% of ICE cars are fueled at gas stations. 95% of EVs will be charged at home. The infrastructure doesn’t need to be the same. Currently a significant amount of the charging stations are being used by plug ins or shorter range cars. As the battery capacity increases and Plug Ins go by the wayside, combined with most cars won’t need public chargers, it will all settle out. Most households in America have more than one car, and not all need to be EVs.
You need one essential thing to make this a good experience - proper charging at home (min 7kw - not through a wall plug!) If you have it, you will love going EV. If you don’t have it - you are the mercy of the slow roll-out of EV infrastructure in the UK… (way behind the curve - but things will improve) Just having had e-Tron for a few weeks now. And this is THE FUTURE. Will never go back to ICE.
Because there isn't room. You can fill up on a petrol pump in a few minutes so having 8 or 10 or 12 is enough. If it took 20 to 30 minutes you would need 40 or 50 pumps.
To deliver just 1 rapid charger delivering just 50kw charge you need 3 phase 415 v at 125 amps. So unless there is local grid distribution, the civil ( digging and laying cable) is costly. Imagine how much power you need for 5 chargers. Not economic
Yep, same conclusion here, almost pulled the trigger before realising the network isn't there. It's quite sad seeing Tesla's queuing up to get to a charger and adding time to their journey. Made me also realise I still want to enjoy a good sounding petrol engine....the noisier the better before it's outlawed!!
@@madmike6266 Triggered! That may be the case for yourself, but I've seen plenty queuing at service stations around the country and in Europe. Take a chill pill before spewing nonsense from your own rear end!🤭
@@LEgoiste unless you’re doing long road trips every day, charging at home is all you need. Long road trips do need planning and require hopping between chargers.
The UK charging network is the thing that’s stopped me buying and EV. Every time we stop at a services I look for the chargers and these days there are often people waiting to use them. We need to get them installed at fuel stations and the payment method needs to be just tap and go without taking the p*** on the unit cost. I drive a 2016 Merc Estate and looking forward to seeing the electric Audi A6 Avant but might have to wait for the second hand market !
Ive owned an electric car for 3 years (VW ID3) and i always charge at home over the night so we actually "wasted" less time charging this car then we did refueling the old petrol car at the gas station (going to the gas station every other week versus just parking the car at home, as you would anyways). I think you need to be able to charge at home (or at work) to really get the perks out of the EV, i cant imagine going on hunt for public charge points, waiting in line and then waiting for charging, that has to be a hussle. Sure if im going on a long trip, i could see myself plan a stop for lunch and charge while eating, and maybe charge over night when staying at hotel before continuing, that i would be fine with, but in every day use i think you need to be able to charge at home.
Very honest and helpful. I think it will be years before infrastructure will outstrip EV production. So I will ride the decline of ICE for now and swap when it makes more sense.
If your daily commute to work is 30mins i think u will consume less than 5% battery. U should just charge the car every night to 80% so u wont have to rely on public dc charger unless u drive outstation
I drive a electric van and find very few public chargers which is really odd as at 35p to 50p per kilowatt hour they are a easy money earners for any install company. Maybe Ladbrokes could start providing them as they could make more money than betting .
I love this car, but you experienced my worst fear. The system may not be up to it. Moved and now have a 60 mile daily commute. If I retire my F150 pickup, I can almost pay for a Q4 with just the gas savings and charge at home overnight.
Very great video! Just to touch on the fast charging capability. I noticed your charging port on the eTron did not come equipped with the fast charger port only the level 1&2. Now, I live in Canada and it is a probability that our cars are made different from yours in the UK. Since you did not have the fast charging port that might've been the reason why it wasn't compatible with the ionity chargers.
Forgive the ignorance. But why is it these battery cars are so expensive when there is no engine with those hundreds of component parts - which surely cost so much more? Admittedly, I’ve not had the inclination to look, but I just can’t get my head around it. I’ll stick to my 840i for the time being.
I feel with you. Charging station network is still very weak in general around Europe/UK. Government has not realize the sudden increase in EV‘s. On top, the charging station maintenance is very bad and client service super weak. I installed at my home a 11Kw charger, so I’m not too dependent on the weak charging station network.
I have a Model 3 Never had an issue but the network is there. It also has a good range and accurate battery range. What needs to happen is the Manufacturers need to get together and make the charging network work. Thats the benefit of Tesla... the network. If they got together the problem would be solved.
Nobody seems to be listening to all the criticism on the charging side of a ev and it's only going to get worse as more people have an ev. They are already saying peak time charging is a no no because the electricity grid will not cope. Just to finish my thoughts the mileage distance goes dramatically down in the winter months, so the car will need charging more often. I'm sticking with my diesel a 5 minute fill up and 600 mile range.
Reason I sold my EV went to petrol, I like to do long trips on weekends without stopping for 1hr to charge if charging station is working. That’s in California. I refuse to get Tesla like everyone else.
You “REFUSE” to get the only long range EV with a proprietary charging network that spans the United States because EVERYONE ELSE has one? Now there is an impregnable reason not to buy one. ;-)
In all Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), the propulsion/drive battery is typically 400V ( or increasingly 800V). This battery is only used to supply the drive motors, obviously and the A/C system. All other electrical consumers in the car like headlights, stereo, interior lights, indicators, etc are still run at 12V! So yes all BEV’s still have a seperate 12V battery to power these systems. Primarily because of economy of scale as these are used on all cars and also using 400V to power them would be dangerous.
I’m definitely missing something here. 114 mile range with a 25 min journey home. That car was always going to make it home and with plenty of range left for some review content.
These are quite cheap now but i fear the maintenance costs: rear motor and some junction box costs in total about 14teur here and nd they tend to break, if there is no warranty or good will then you get to pay them - and the new batterey at some point.
All that money for the amount of stress it gives doesn’t make any sense. Thanks for being so honest and sharing this. I doubt that EVs are here to stay, they are going to be a failed experiment.
Hydrogen looks like a possibility, but it could be something completely different. Maybe a totally different energy storage will allow EVs to work better. It’s interesting to see how brilliant a car like this is in so many ways, but useless where it really matters.
@@peterf46 rubbish, as said in this video ( and frankly this is one inefficient heavy EV ) whats currently letting EVs down is the charging infrastructure ( BP Pulse being one of the worse, hmm a petrol company I wonder why that is then ?) Tesla have proved it can be done and battery technology is evolving at such a pace now its inevitable you'll all be driving EVs. Hydrogen is inefficient to produce ( vast amounts of electric used to produce it and then the hydrogen engine isn't as a EVs motor ). It just someone to oversee the charging infrastructure . I have a EV that I charge at home using solar panels , Can't do that with hydrogen .
I watched an interesting video about how JCB are investing in hydrogen powered vehicle research. It might be that battery technology changes quickly, but unlikely very soon given all the investment. A solar panel to charge a car in the U.K.? You’re kidding, surely? I hate to tell you but it’s not sunny very here and we have long dark winters. Nope, not going to happen soon.
@@peterf46 I already do, yes spring/ Summer my panels turn out around 23kwhs , yes there are days the are less efficient, but over a week its more than enough for allot of peoples needs , winter is different a good day may only make 6kwhs , but spring/Summer I'm literally driving on sunshine .
It takes 10 minutes max to fill up my tank with petrol at the pump and I am on my way. How long will it take me to charge the battery if I am at, say 20% left and I have 50 mile journey ahead of me.
If you have 20℅ ( thats 40 miles)left and you need 50 miles then less than 5 mins on a rapid charger . For the majority of people that charge at home it takes seconds to fill it up, plug it in when you get home , people forget you have to drive to a petrol station and at times wait for a pump !
20% is when fast charging kicks in. Depending on your battery, you’d get a lot of mileage in 10 minutes. But then, I can only put 10l of petrol in my ICE vehicle while it’s sitting in my driveway, because that’s all my Jerry can will hold, but I can fully charge my EV. We have to stop comparing EVs to ICE vehicles, because they’re not managed in the same way. Ultimately, we need an EV to be plugged in whenever it’s not in use. Then, on the go charging will only matter for long drives when you’d need to take a break anyway.
Adding 50miles in an eTron, on a 150 kWh charger will take about 7 minutes, unless you are at 80% when it may take twice as long but as you say, you are already (in this hypothetical question) 20% (40 miles) charged so in reality, to take that to 50miles total, it will be less than 2 minutes at Ionity
@@therealjetlag with an eTron, rapid charging runs from 0% to 80% (at around 148 kWh) and then it starts throttling but between 80% and 100%. It is often faster than many other cars at 50%. The eTron charging curve is not often talked about but it is one of its' best long trip features, yes it is thirsty (it is a relatively large SUV after all) but it is a great charging EV
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
At the risk of sounding like a Tesla fanboy, Tesla realised a decade ago that charging is a critical part of the EV equation, and invested in the supercharger network from the start.
I have never had to wait at a charger and never come up against an unserviceable one.
Pull up, plug in, sit in the car with a coffee and watch Netflix or TV, unplug and drive away. No cards, no logging in, no phone call required - the car just chats to California for a few seconds to tell them it’s you and when you unplug your authorised account is debited.
Relying on third parties for charging is at present a disaster.
This was a big deal breaker for me which is why I bought a m3 long range.
Same. Tesla owner since a year back. I've been across Europe a couple of times. No issues. Always works.
Admittedly, you'll have to plan your charging route (or rather, the car does it for you), so it's not like zero restrictions, but honestly, it really isn't an issue at all.
I pretended to shop around but the SC network meant I could only buy Tesla. No plugs in my public parking. So lucky I went that way. I subscribed to the 3rd party networks around, including local government sponsored ones, to see if I could charge closer but what a broken cluster...f. I feel sorry for anybody that buys a non Tesla :-(
Phillip.
That and 90% of Tesla owners are homeowners with chargers.
Wow, love the raw emotion and honesty in your video Stef. Really good to hear what the reality of the infrastructure is at this moment in time 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
It's OK for someone half sensible.
Its all bullshit. Get a Tesla and the infrastructure is just fine.
That’s why I stress that Hybrid vehicles are the best option!!! It will be decades before any country has a reliable grid. Even then the cars have decades before battery tech is better.
@@neil78b that is such out of Touch bullshit. Tesla superchargers are everywhere and sluin hybrids are made for idiots who are willing to pay for maintenance free technology.
@@neil78bTesla! Gold standard! All the other EV’s are late to the game, simple fact! Most EV owners charge at home!
Yup. I love EVs and have owned several from the Volt, Bolt, Model 3, Hyundai Ioniq etc. but I charge it at home. I still don't think people should get an EV if they plan to rely on the charging network. EVs are first and foremost meant to be charged and topped off at home. If you cannot do this, it will be a pain in the ass. I live in California, so we have charging stations every other mile, but some won't work, some are too filled up you'd have to wait an hour or 2 for the person ahead of you to finish charging. Even in the best case scenario, taking 30 minutes to an hour out of your day to charge is still a huge hassle. It's still not worth it and I think California has the best charging network.
Thanks for your input since I haven't come across a person that owns an electric vehicle which usually tells the whole story and not just the hype. It makes sense that it would be perfect for around town, but on long road trips, I can see the aggravation it can be when trying to charge the vehicle. As more EVs are on the road, the quicker the charging stations will fill up since these cars can't charge fast enough to be ready for the next route. Just do the math. I've done research on all the charging station along my route with both Tesla supercharger and Electrify America and both are still few and far between compared to gas stations. Some of them are a ways in from the highway which would add more stress in driving.
@@maxkonig559 Exactly. Not only that but I personally think charging stations are more dangerous. More people fill up at gas stations, so it gets more traffic, unless you're filling up in the middle of no where or at odd times at night, there will be some people there. As for charging stations, there are not as much traffic and it does not take 5 minutes to charge. Imagine having to sit inside your car at night for an hour while trying to charge your car up...
Then there's reliability issues. Most gas stations will work or have a few pumps out of service. Charging stations are a toss up. Some only have 2-3 chargers and all of them can be out of service. At least with gas stations, you can just find another one down the road if the first one has issues, but with charging stations, there may not be another one for miles. So if you don't have enough range to reach the next charging station, you're screwed.
Your comment makes so much sense. We're renting a home at the moment - trying to figure out whether or not to sell our rental and buy something closer to home (we live in Marin County now, but relocated from Chicago - left SF for 2 years and came home - the market there is horrible, so we kept it hoping....). We have an '18 BMW 530i, which has been an absolute dream to drive. I love it, love it, love it. It puts friends Tesla model S's to shame, honestly - the fit and finish on Tesla is just embarrassing. I've been seriously considering selling the BMW outright and buying an Audi Q4 e-tron - to capture the $7500 tax credit which would be lovely, and save on not buying fuel. But...... it's the not having dedicated charging. Your comment has given me pause. Thank you.
@@user-ij9bs9ke9j Check out the Genesis GV60. It's not out here in the US yet, but it's a very strong contender.
@@BN99239 I’ll keep my eyes peeled. Thanks!
I just leased the 2024 Q8 ETron Sportback. Love the ride and look of it. I got pissed after fully charging it and I didn’t see my 296 miles range that was listed on window sticker. Thanks for sharing.
Suppose another way to look at this, would you buy a petrol car if 5 out of 10 petrol stations had no fuel, and the ones that did had a 45 minute - 1 hr waiting time to refill , and every time you dip below a 1/4 of a tank you would have to slow down and really plan your next fill up in case there was no petrol at the next station.
If you drive an ICE vehicle you have NO choice but to fill up at a Service Station and pay the going rate for Petrol (how much is it now?). If you have a BEV you have comparatively complete freedom to “fill-up” ANYWHERE, like at your home! So you never have to visit a Service Station ever again. If you are fortunate enough to be able to easily charge at home over-night using cheaper off-peak electricity then it’s a bargain (even better if you have Solar PV at home). I have had an EV for over a year most daily travel is 50km. I have only been on extended long trips maybe 3-4 times in last year ( in my Audi e-tron 55 Sportback), and never been an issue using a fast charger.
It is happening in Hungary right now xD
If you can afford this car you can afford to get your own charge pump at home
Until now I've had no waittime at all for recharging my car (road trip 1280 km one way).
Simply plug in (at an ionity 350 KW station), start the charge. Going to the toilet (necessary anyway...when filling with petrol you have to do this AFTER refilling, not during refilling), taking a coffee/ lunch and than the car was already waiting for me instead that I was waiting for the chargesession in my car.(Only once in 2 times 1250 km road trip the car was just at the end of the session when I returned to the car all other session the car was ready before me.)
Also, in holiday time, I've seen waiting queues for the petrol stations which guaranteed a longer waiting time before starting to refill the car than I needed to recharge ...especially at border station with relativ cheap fuel compared to the next country.
Oh, I do not drive this much to expensiv audi etron...expensiv in price and using to much energy/km (see testvideo's on the Tesla Bjorn/ Bjorn Nyland channels). But I charge in optimal situation from 10 - 80% in 18 minutes...and yes, this advertiement is correct, but only under optimal conditions. In sub optimal conditions the same charging is maybe 25 minutes...or some less. When really cold (test video's) it can be 30 minutes at most.
Also my car will not slow down until below 4% charge....in no way under 25%.
And you're infra complains? Well, when the first petrol cars came on market there was no infra structure for petrol. It did not stop selling those cars. Even , short before 1960, my parents had to look and plan carefully on a holiday to France where they could refill the car....
(At this moment in Europe we do have enough locations for recharge.....but when more people switch to EV those numbers must be increased.)
But the reality is all petrol stations do have petrol, what a stupid analogy.
Having owned an EV for two years (with no facility to charge at home), it is absolutely essential to do your homework. Think about how you intend to use the car, how practical is it to charge? What is the charging network like in your area?
Sure, a lifestyle change will be needed to accommodate charging. I was expecting this and could easily work it into my commute, or charge whilst shopping, but for some, this might be a step too far.
I ran the car for 2.5 years, then sold it because the huge uptake of EV's in my area meant that charging it at convenient times was becoming more difficult and a change in circumstances meant needing to drive further. This either meant going for a longer range EV at a price I really couldn't justify, or go back to internal combustion, which is what I did.
What did you get?
why not install a charger at home?
Agreed! I also have had one for over a year, I charge at home, and I actually have an Audi, he must have been using the included charger either on 120v, or at 50% capacity. 6 hrs on a level 2 and the thing is nearly full from dead.
@@claudelemieux6524 You travelling cross country? Just buy a second home there
In my country.....just ask the local town to add an extra public charger and, when chargers are mostly occupied, they will do.....and again when the number of EV's increase more. Also in front of appartment buildings they place those public (slow) chargers on requests. Which means that you'll refill at night, maybe once a week at the weekend? Depending on usage.
(I just charge at home on my solar panels)
I celebrated earth day by getting myself a V8 truck. You guys are so awesome to test new tech. Goooooood for you. Bravo. You are pure geniuses.
No .. you’re the genius .. seriously well done .. bravo sir !
People with electric vehicles charge 90% of the time at home or work.
Always leave home with a full charge in the morning just like your cell phone.
Drive a Tesla and you will find their SuperCharger network is great.
Ionity is the problem not the electric vehicle.
A great honest review. I won't be buying one soon. Or any electric car for the next 5 years. I still think that the car manufacturers have a lot to learn. They've come along way. But there's still a lot to learn.
Correct petrol and diesel was the best thing invented and all of a sudden it's no good electric will take over eventually but at moment just not enough charging points my mate got a new hybrid octavia and not many chargers about nothing faster than just filling up for miles and miles 😀
There is nothing wrong with the car. What the manufacturers have to learn is that they can’t expect people to buy their wonderful cars and leave the network for someone else to build. Thing is Tesla realised this eight years ago and this remains the greatest strength of Tesla vehicles - the network is available and reliable and just works. Contrast every other network and every reviewer who tries to rely on non Tesla networks.
the problem is Brian the tec is moving so fast no car will be worth hanging on to its all down to two things range and efficiency I'm afraid the electricity price is only going one way which will make manufactures make cars more efficient, miles per KWh will be the new mpg and a 2.6 ton Audi wont cut it! bit like the first mobile phones lol
There's nothing to learn. Building a DC charging network for people to charge publicly doesn't make any sense at all. It's a silly boondoggle. It's not economically viable.
At £96,000 I can see loads of people buying one of these! After all thanks to our very low energy prices now days and the super low cost of living , I think everyone has a spare £96 grand lying around, especially for the 'fun' experience of EV charging networks in the UK. But as long as it makes the govnt. feel good then its all good! I mean as a massive island that's way bigger than China and Russia its up to us to make sure we bankrupt ourselves to ensure our huge island is green by 2030! I am in!
Very low energy prices, Have you not seen the news recently?
@@curtisj2165 It seems your sarcasm radar is not working !
What country do you live in ,electric is just on par with petrol lol as in price
@@lesrush6298 Your ability to spot sarcasm is failing you !
100 k and 6 years later new batteries are needed money box no thanks
£96000 now thats so expensive savings the planat brilliant 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
EV's are a good choice for a segment of the population. If you have your own home, and you use the car to commute to and from work, or have a regular group of places you need to drive to around a smaller area, they can work. Otherwise, it is just not going to work without dramatic changes in the technology. It boggles my mind that people can't seem to figure this out.
Just the cost - both in money and to the environment - to gather all the materials needed to make an EV, especially the elements needed for the battery make it an unworkable proposition. And try to imagine for a second how many charging stations you would need if every vehicle was an EV, not to mention the cost and specialized materials needed for those chargers. They don't just pop up out of the ground. Imagine if every vehicle was an EV and you had to find a charging station. Doesn't that sound like fun?
EV's have a place, but too many people think they run on pixie dust and unicorn farts, and can't seem to logically grasp all that it takes to make the technology viable for a large segment of the population. We are going to be driving traditional vehicles for a long time...
None of this is true. What made you think this was true?
@@Lewis_Standing Oh you know...physics, maths, facts, reality. Thats sort of thing.
Well once upon a time we only had one airport in this country, in fact it was the first airport in the planet. And now people have airports in their backyards. The electric infrastructure will grow little by little.
@@nelauren Yeah , powered by wind. HaHa.
Bottom line- The electric charging infrastructure is no where ready for the amount of EV cars the world is touting and selling. For now, I will continue with my 42 MPG Audi A6 TDI and enjoy 750 miles per tank fill.
Over here in New Jersey, the EV charging stations grid is a failure. There are very few charging stations around, and if you do find a charger, it will most likely be out of order, vandalized or there will be two cars in front of you. Total disaster. Many folks live in apartment buildings and for that reason they can't charge their cars overnight and would have to depend on the very unreliable (and expensive) public charging stations. Not good. Furthermore, I don't see a fix for this anytime soon with the current group of clowns we have in office at the moment.
an EV you cannot charge is like a a really nice ornament that looks nice but completely USLESS !
V ery well said! Our mindless politicians in the US think they can force people into EVS by stifling the oil supply and jacking up gas prices. They are causing inflation and endorsing an unrealistic scenario that can cripple the country. EVs are untenable if you cannot charge at home
The most intelligent video i have seen about using an EV as an everyday car is this. Do not try to use it as an Internal Combustion Engine where you refuel the car as you get below 1/4 tank. Say once every couple of weeks. But charge it like your phone where by you charge it every night at home. That would be like every day going home via a petrol station every day to maintain your car full of fuel. A new way of fueling your car mindset is required.
This is one of the big issues with EV's - you end up having to make compromises and changing your driving habits to fit around the car, hunting for chargers when you shouldn't need to, finding they're out of action or having to wait ages for one to be free, then when you do find one, praying it communicates with your car ok and charges at a reasonable speed. Longer journeys are all about planning for your next charging stop and how long you might need to be there. Energy cost increases mean charging costs are increasing dramatically too - a 350kw charger from a private company will likely cost you almost as much to charge as it would to fill up with fuel! Being an EV driver in 2022 is a lesson in frustration, patience, anger and military style planning.
It's gonna come to this waiting hours to charge gonna take years to be charging points every where waste of the time if you live in an apartment or flat no where to charge petrol and diesel was the best thing invented all of a sudden it's no good now fill tank in a couple of minutes for miles and miles of driving
Cars are not failing ..... Your government is
@@raymondvaughan6262
At present, yes. But in just a few years, when only a few million EVs are on the road, petrol stations will be uneconomic and you’ll be in the same quandary with ICE cars. There’s a tipping point.
Having said that I suspect the forward thinking service stations will have chargers soon.
Also, remember that your thinking changes with an EV: since the car, for people with garage or driveway parking, the car can be “full” every morning. It’s only on long trips that filling is necessary.
Or...you buy a Tesla 😉
@@jbogren no thanks to the lot. Looks terrible for me and having to go to a screen to open a glove box is a no for me
Good video. I have the q4 etron and for my families lifestyle we can get away with home charging for 99% of use. However, the odd longer journey, I’ve luckily not had to charge on the network so far, as we’ve just eeked out the range with about 10-13% (40ish miles) remaining. The range indicator is pretty accurate if you use the app to check your route and range before leaving.
Thanks for the honest review. Almost bought one but decided on the Model Y Performance instead. This review just reinforced I made the right decision.
As someone who has owned EVs for 6 years, I can confirm that this is the reality. If range is your priority, don’t get an EV.
You're a plonker as well then!!!
That is not true.
@@StevenHaggis why?
Who has range as a priority?
My EV has a larger range than any ferrari....
Or just get a Tesla. Range matters, but charging speed, reliability and charging network as just as important. Tesla has you covered.
I remember when cell phone networks were like that. You had to have an account on every network you wanted to use. Then they came up with roaming agreements and suddenly you could travel with your phone and just use it. We need the same thing for vehicle charging networks. If you have an account on one it should just let you plug-n-change anywhere and get billed on your one account for all of them. That way only one entity has your credit card or bank account information and you don't have to worry about getting your card skimmed at the charger.
Loved the Taycan Turbo S I had on order but a weekend taught me that because I'm not trying to save tax I couldn't live with the range. So I'm getting a 911 Turbo S. Enjoy the sound, enjoy the drive and save the planet with insulation.
911 T S any day for me over this E crap, well dune on getting a real car
Legend. Respect ✊🏻😁
You've perfectly summarised why I will stick with petrol as long as possible. I currently have a fully loaded S3 Sportback Black Edition which is amazing.
The EV network is why I am reluctant to switch. I'll go hybrid but full ev is a no for me for now. Apparently with the chargers if it says verifying or down if you call the number on the side of the charger they can remotely reboot it and then it works. My friend has done this once or twice but not many people know this and it doesn't always work.
The cars are waaaaaay to far ahead of the network. The only use case for an electric car is someone who charges at some and goes no furthers than 100 miles or less from their house.
And who the hell drives 100 miles each and every day? It’d be a very small percentage of the driving population that does that! In fact global statistics are something like 95% of people travel way less than 50km per day. Just about every BEV in the market could handle that range, and if you can charge over night at home your laughing as you have a Full car every morning and paid 1/4 or less for equivalent cost of fuel.
@@johncanalese588 if this is an only car for a person or family that happens a lot in terms of travelling longer distances…. Hence my comment.
@@wheelsandwatches You clearly didn’t comprehend my statement. I quoted statistical observation - I’m sure they included those “families” you mentioned in their data gathering.
@@johncanalese588 I did but that is not exactly real world use is it. People do drive longer journeys, maybe not every week. Maybe only once a month and as such a one car household would find an EV a hassle on such occasion.
@@wheelsandwatches Mate, I live in Sydney, Australia and have owned my Audi e-tron for over one year and range is NOT a problem. Could we do with more chargers, yes of course and they will come As you would understand we have great distance to travel over here and I have done a few trips with legs of about 400km (which is nothing in Oz), and I’ve fared just fine. I stop at a fast charger and in less 20mins I’ve got 200km range while I’ve had a break for drink, lol etc. don’t know where your fear is coming from.
Had the q3 hybrid sportback for a month from my employer. No range, cheap plastics, never recharged it since I had the company card for gas. Nice alcantara seats and predictive cruise control is fun. Was it worth 60K € ? No way. Now driving a small petrol car, paid 7K €. EV ? Maybe in 10 years time, 15 more likely.
A freind of mine has an Electric BMW as a Company Car, his site visits are usually dictated to by the charging points he can find when he gets to his destination. The days of pop in the car, pop to site and get back in the office to get some work done are long gone.
No way it will go 200 miles on a charge. It's more like 140 to 170 depending on how you drive it. The big downside of all EVs is that they become outdated super-fast. Every EV that's been made to date will soon become unwanted with the release of the new battery technology that's on its way.
Agree. The reason I went back to petrol cars in 2016
Surely they will just be a good used buy, look at 10 year old Nissan Leafs, very popular.
@@jamie-ck6js very cheap also. As soon as a new battery technology is released all the old EVS will be unwanted.
will every petrol/diesel become unwanted technology even quicker as ULEZ charges and tax penalties increase over the next couple of years?
Spot on my friend paying 90,000 for a car that the technology will be changing quicker than its 0 to 62 time is a bad deal, the car in 3 to 5 years will be worthless, it has one massive Achilles heel its range, in 3 to 5 years 400/600 miles on a charge will be normal which put the Audi into scrap land
Thank you so much my friend for your honesty, and being down to Earth this is what we need...
I currently drive a Lexus RX 450h hybrid which I love....
But you are so so right, owning a car is one thing, but enjoying the experience as you live with it,is another...
I'm definitely getting less fascinated with EV cars for a number of the reasons you've already mentioned...
Take care .. thank you👍🏽💛
i dont understand all of these folks buying other cars than Lexuses, maybe one day they realize
@@konstantintourov7654 very very ugly front.. thats why
In the US there are Tesla super chargers & everything else. The everything else is incompatible plugs, bad chargers and rejected accounts. Not ready for prime time. Hyper milers have to charge up to 50% and run to the next charger. Distances in US means there are charging deserts. Not fun!
Definitely depends on where you are even in the US. California as charging stations everywhere and EVs are dime a dozen. It makes perfect sense in ridiculous California traffic jams for a lot of people on the west coast.
If you own a £90k etron sportback as I do, you don’t charge on the granny cable at home, you install a proper charger that can give you the 50% charge you needed overnight at mostly 5p a KWh not 50p at an ionity charger.
What electricity company give you electric at 5p a kilowatt? Ok a few might give you cheap electric at night for about 4 hours but is there one that what gives you it all night.
@@talkthethings7376 I said “mostly” I’m on Octopus go and get 4 hours every night at 5p per KWh
@@talkthethings7376 what car and network you on?
I think you will find the charging rates are on the up
Just wanted to give you a little feedback on this video, as RUclips recommendations brought me here, and I see you are still growing, and I also hope you don't take this the wrong way. Just want to help you get better at what you love to do.
Try to take a break when you are not sure about something. Do quick research. I'm referring to when you mentioned the BMW model and was wrong. These are trivial things that can be fixed with some video editing but to some may affect your credibility.
Loved the review. Loved how real you got with the problem of the network, I would however mention that you live in the UK, as the charging network in other countries may be better and you do not want to make everyone think that all is bad, they should research how it is in their country. Love the dog. Keep up the great work!
I feel what you're saying is true for road trips that are not on main road ways or highways. If you're heading out to the countryside and there isn't a level 2 EVSE or higher at your destination you could be in trouble.
Choosing the 21 inch wheels; while they look cool, they really diminish the range. If people want the best range, go with the standard wheels/tires and stay away from all wheel drive.
I have the e-tron 50 with regular 20" wheels, range is 130 in winter, nearly 200 in summer. If you need more range, the Tesla LR or cars that displace less air...
Until the charging network gets sorted and the battery have a decent range the best option is probably a hybrid
My experience has been different. I have an Ioniq 5 awd, my wife has free charging in work, so we rarely have to pay for it, got two years Ionity subscription with the car, so superfast charging is cheap on long journeys.
Sure have to plan a little more, when going beyond the range of a full charge, but it's no biggy so far. Could the network be better? Sure, a lot better, but it's good enough that i have at least so far been able to go where I want when i want without issue.
The review is great, you're great, your dog is great. Applause !
Ive been driving an ev for a few months now.
Saves me a fortune with petrol prices being £1.80 atm, but if I didnt have a home charger id probably burn the thing to the ground through frustration if I had to rely on public chargers
Appreciate the experience differs but I have an ETron Sportback also and live up north (Manchester) and can honestly say I have never really had issues with charging (with the only time I really have is when I took a trip to Cornwall, and most of this was due to holiday traffic/EV charger queuing)
Mate, it was seriously refreshing hearing you rant about the charging situation. Please vent more often!
Haha thanks!
This looks surprisingly good in real life.
Great video, I have said many times before, we are around 5-10 years away from being 💯 EV.
I had been living with electric cars for several years, with a 80 mile commute every day and works perfect for me, but a good charger at home is a must. The flip way to see it is like having the petro station at your home, but at a much lower cost for refilling. If you need more than 150 or 200 miles a day or you plan to travel long distances with it, then proper EV selection and planning is needed and will be more troublesome that owning a combustion car.
Suppose you wanted to go a trip to the Isle of Skye, see the nice scenery?
You are stuck with a commuter only vehicle that does nothing else.
@@boogboog8097 If you have only one car in your family, then yes, it’s not advisable to have an electric car only, which it’s not my case and it allows me to optimize 90% of my miles that are actually commute and not having to pay and waste gasoline for the possibility of a few days in a year. But if you are a weekend warrior that likes to drive further to scenic locations beyond the autonomy of an EV, then it’s not advisable to own an EV. So, I am not stocked and if I ever am there’s always a car rental around. I’m passionate on cars and love the rumbling of a good old V8, but I also appreciate the unique dynamics and the precise power distribution of an Electric car. Know what you like and love and stick to it ,regardless of everybody else preference.
@@javierpereira7580
What gets me is the false green narrative of EV virtue signalling while the real political agendas are pushing remaining oil reserves to China India and far east where the big banks and investment funds see future growth and profits.
It's not about the "white privileged" westerners saving the planet.
@@boogboog8097 Sorry, I don’t get engage in political discussions or conspiracy theories. I have better things to do with my time. My experience with EVs is very positive and it is as valid as if yours it is not.
@@javierpereira7580
OK you think politicians who spent 30 years destroying the middle east suddenly woke up caring about greta thunberg and sea turtles...
Thank you for the honest opinnion! this is my exact fear and why i will not switch to an EV until the infrastructure is up to standard. The disruption to normal daily duties does not make sence for the pricepoint. Good cars, lacking charging for the masses once we are all forced to switch.
We love ours as we are not one of these mythical people that regularly do 200 mile trips
me too!
I do round trips of 250+ miles to remote places, almost every day. I’m in the UK
I've done 4000-5000 mile trips in the U.S. with my EV. What's mythical about it?
Agree, the car is good but charging infrastructure isn’t there. Range anxiety is a real thing
Good on you for a proper review. Now if only car reviewers would stop saying “Tesla Killer” while ignoring the pain of charging without the Tesla network. Happy that you described the growing pains of the independent networks. I’m a Tesla owner and rooting for the other manufacturers to figure this out. This is the number one reason why I continue to replace all the ICE cars in my family with Teslas for now until the other infrastructure improves. A charger at home and the ability to find a charger, invest 40 minutes at a maximum into the charging and having the car route me to WORKING chargers with the fewest number of chargers in use to speed up my charging time.
Charging at home is essential for any BEV to be practical. Tesla's Supercharger network makes road trips practical. As Stef discovered, the network to recharge other brands isn't good enough yet.
I love your honesty man. Indeed a car is coming with an experience like a home as you mentioned. If its not there, it sucks.
I’m sure it was just for the video, but why would you choose to charge your car if you have 140miles already. You wouldn’t stop at a petrol station with the same miles. Just drive home and charge overnight. I drive my Taycan until I have hardly any charge and get up to 260kw at Ionity which is generally very good.
Petrol power is so much less stress, ev’s are okay for a runner round but not for long journeys as the charging network is no where near ready for all these ev’s people are buying.
Agree. EV’s will get there though
So you got mad because you didn’t charge your car even though you knew you needed the charge to finish the testdrive? Maybe next time plan ahead or just go to another charger. You had over 100 miles of range in the car. There was no need to be sweating for half an hour in the car.
Ya I want it one cuz as a small business owner it’s a huge write off, but the problem is charging , especially cuz I may not be able to charge at my apartment, so if dc fast is bad for it or a bad charging experience then it won’t
Be good for me, and I drive a lot of miles for work. WhAts true
Range then? I drive 110 miles per day! I would run out!
Another 10 years before the electric recharge network is up to the standard of the petrol station network we enjoy at present.
The more you travel north the less and less chargers , seems you need about 6 or 7 different apps on your phone to pay any different charging points , hopefully one will be available to use and in working order , for me not enough infrastructure yet , the range in between charging is down to drivers style
I live in the Algarve, the superchargers in Portugal and Spain are located at gorgeous golf courses, breathtaking vineyards or boutique hotels! No Beaconsfield services and urine stinky washrooms for us.
*So .. NOT all EV’s give that crappy experience 🔝 a TESLA is utterly different*
What’s the point of boost mode? How often do you use it? How does it affect the range?
Had the same frustrating experience while charging an ID4 at Electrify America. What a royal pain in the a$$. I traded it in for a gas car since I drive long distances for work and I can’t live with that constant stress knowing public charging is a joke (unless it’s a Tesla of course)
I've driven an eTron 55 17,000 miles in 7 months. I have a home charger but, nevertheless, it has also has meant a lot of public charging. Instavolt, Osprey, Fastned, BP Pulse, Gridserve, all great with speeds from 60 kWh to 150 kWh. Ionity poor at Beaconsfield (always has been) but at Gretna, Milton Keynes, Blackburn and Skelton Lakes great. Destination charging (hotels) is also great and often free. You learn where to charge and what to expect. Had to queue a couple of times at Gretna Green during the holiday season but only for about 10 mins each time. Having an EV, even with all that public charging, is saving me a fortune for a minor inconvenience and a great car!
In a few years time the powers that be will catch up and tax the help out of you. In five years time EV will be the next Diesel. Or will it....... either way they will tax the hell out of you.
@@davidowen2859 No denying that, so I am taking advantage while I can. 400 miles today, home and public charging in an eTron 55, a relatively "thirsty" EV at 2.8 miles per kWH, with winter tyres,, it cost me £3,57 at home and £22.85 at Ionity (including contribution towards monthly subscription) - in my previous petrol car it would have cost me around £110, the EV was less than 25% of the cost. All those debating it, are losing out and by the time they come to accept it, it will be too late. The fewer people adopt EV's the longer the financial benefits remain, IMO..
@@philhartley7564 Theres no denying your figures and if it works for you great. I have a Panamera ehybrid and accept it costs but I love my V6. I also have two other Porsches, a bit of a petrol head. I tried to embrace electric but didn't like the lack of connection to the car. The Taycan Turbo S range in winter in spirited driving could be as low as 160 miles even careful driving no better than 240. I live on the east coast and virtually no chargers. Certainly no fast chargers. There are no other electric cars that come close to doing it for me so I went completely the other way and changed to a 911 Turbo S. If or when range gets to a realistic 500 miles on a car that excites me then I might take the plunge. However I can't see how the charge network will keep up. If as they say the network will triple over the next 5 years but EV ownership will increase by 20 times. Maybe solid state and battery swap. Or maybe Hydrogen. Theres a lot of maybe's. I'm 58 soon and I think the ICE will be around for at least 20 so then I will be 78 and get a Porsche electric wheel chair.🤪
@@davidowen2859 A great bunch of cars, the Panamera eHybrid was an option for me before I went full EV. You and I are lucky, we can afford (it seems) the get cars we want. I also have a naturally aspirated v8 convertible which used to be my daily but is now my fun/sun car. Keeping the miles lower and enjoying it on roads/trips that suit. Most of my daily driving is on the motorway at motorway speeds and spirited driving doesn't really come in to it. Comfort, noise and luxury do, hence the eTron. The cost comparison between the 400 mile trip in that and the v8 on super unleaded, is even greater - probably around £100, no contest when you do 25,000 miles year, mostly on A roads or motorways. I take your point about the charging network. There are a few critical issues here, 1) how they can work out effective street parking 2) what % charge primarily at home 3/ what % can charge at work and so on. I don't have the answers, I don't have the foresight but the exponential increase in car sales does not, IMO, require and equal increase in public chargers. Personally, I think road pricing will be the new tax for motorists, that's the only reason I can see whether pursue smart (idiotic) motorways so much. You don't need rapid chargers near home (I assume you will be able to charge at home) you need them around 150 miles away from home on your main routes away. You leave home with a 80% to 100% charge, as I do. Travelling to Norfolk is one of my cheapest trips - destination charging at Sprowston Manor means I do 404 miles return trip for around £4.10. I'm older than you but a hovering mobility sounds right - could be fun!
@@philhartley7564 Thanks for your detailed response. You cant beat a NA V8, do you mind me asking what you've got? The Porsche cars I have at the moment have got me close to a GT3 allocation. I'm keeping the Panamera for another year, its turned out to be the best car I've ever had. Like you I've reached the point where I can let the purse strings loosen a little and enjoy cars. I have a Lotus Emira first edition supposedly arriving later this year and a 911 GTS early next year. My wife drives a Macan S so we have the family car. I'm on the verge of semi retirement so longer journeys may become less which may lead me into an EV. Surprisingly one of my longer private journeys is also to Norfolk. We have family in Gorelston. According to the charger maps there seem to be very few chargers down that way but take your point about chargers around 150 miles from home. Would be interested in hearing about your EV journey as time passes and hopefully network gets better.
97k for the 8 percent. The ones not in the 92% on a form of pcp finance. Wild money. Rather a nice 35k used Alfa something.
The charging network issue is worse with the Audi cos it’s so thirsty - at 1.8 miles per kWh indicated you are going to have to charge pretty often. Most cars get 3 miles per kWh
At least you have an universal plug/charger setup in the UK. Here in the US every recharging station has different plugs and most of them do not work. Btw, at 96k pounds this car should not only find its way to a charging station w/o a driver, it should also cook you breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Lol
Synthetic fuel ⛽️ low carbon please. How many years before this tank has it’s carbon in manufacturing offset 150?? 😬
Haha, yeah, made from fairy dust!
@@stephen300o6 just been watching this guy who is basically a maths genius working all this out. He said if you buy the biggest battery EV and charge it from a coal fired power station it will take 17.5 years before there is any benefit to the environment. I wish I was kidding.
I love this steering wheel much more than the other hexagon looking one...
Ive bought a 21 e-tron s sportback quattro , and by the way u can have the sound of a petrol engine in the car by setting up the media option through the app......also i charge mine at home at present ,.....and using normal single phase electric i get around 130 miles on charge from 9pm till around 7am the next day ....i had a range rover which i paid £77,000 new almost 4 years ago and put in about £550 month in diesel.....at present im on target for about £32 worth of electric using my home and also tescos free charging facility , even the 50kw one only takes about 40 mins to fully charge my car upto around 230 miles mark ( which is unexpectedly accurate as it differs on whos driving the car)...this charger costs about £5 to £7 to top my car up ....the lesser free tesco charging points take about 1 hour 40 mins ......( i hate shopping but if the wife goes she can easily stay in tescos that long ) lol, the point is use your home electric or im sure theres a tesco near just about everyone on the planet .
Audi launched this in the North of Scotland I remember all the reviewers finding the same problems, range was only 60% of what audi claimed and they had to always drive back to where audi had set up charging stations because there were none within 150 miles, totally exposed the EV nonsense 😀
After boost mode runs out of power ( what is only avaible for only 8 seconds if i’m right? ) doesn’t the car feels “sluggish?” Without the boost it is only like a normal e-tron 55?
I drive an Audi. A 2015 A6 allroad quatro 3.0 V6 diesel. It costs me £100 to fill the tank in around 5 minutes. The range is 800 miles at around 52mpg. It, ULEZ compliant and extremely clean running, definitely has a much smaller carbon footprint than any EV. It's as quiet as this pile of electric crap and it cost me a lot less than 96 grand!
Any EV owner want to race me from London to Edinburgh and back?
Diesel. From the VW group. "Extremely clean running". LOL!
Just one thing… have you tried a Tesla model S and the supercharger? A different experience altogether…
I agree - I don't get the center section either! Non-ergonomic and total waste of space. Mercedes uses that space phenomenally.
And one point I have gotten across from several reviews coming out of the UK...the charging network is not as good as on mainland Europe. This review is a year old, so hopefully it is a better situation today.
Spot on review of the experience - I love driving my EV but the experience of the charging network is abysmal- so pleased I can now use some of the Tesla supercharger network
So judging by your reaction, you don't have a dedicated 3-phase charger at home. Am I right?
100% of ICE cars are fueled at gas stations. 95% of EVs will be charged at home. The infrastructure doesn’t need to be the same. Currently a significant amount of the charging stations are being used by plug ins or shorter range cars. As the battery capacity increases and Plug Ins go by the wayside, combined with most cars won’t need public chargers, it will all settle out. Most households in America have more than one car, and not all need to be EVs.
You need one essential thing to make this a good experience - proper charging at home (min 7kw - not through a wall plug!)
If you have it, you will love going EV.
If you don’t have it - you are the mercy of the slow roll-out of EV infrastructure in the UK… (way behind the curve - but things will improve)
Just having had e-Tron for a few weeks now. And this is THE FUTURE. Will never go back to ICE.
I don't understand why all petrol stations don't install EV chargers. Seems like a logical evolution.
Because there isn't room. You can fill up on a petrol pump in a few minutes so having 8 or 10 or 12 is enough. If it took 20 to 30 minutes you would need 40 or 50 pumps.
To deliver just 1 rapid charger delivering just 50kw charge you need 3 phase 415 v at 125 amps. So unless there is local grid distribution, the civil ( digging and laying cable) is costly. Imagine how much power you need for 5 chargers. Not economic
Because they're petrol stations, not drive-in theatres.
Yep, same conclusion here, almost pulled the trigger before realising the network isn't there. It's quite sad seeing Tesla's queuing up to get to a charger and adding time to their journey. Made me also realise I still want to enjoy a good sounding petrol engine....the noisier the better before it's outlawed!!
😂😂😂I’ve owned a Tesla for a very long time now. Charge from home and when I’ve ever used supercharger I’ve never qued. Talking out your arse 🤣
@@madmike6266 Triggered! That may be the case for yourself, but I've seen plenty queuing at service stations around the country and in Europe. Take a chill pill before spewing nonsense from your own rear end!🤭
@@LEgoiste unless you’re doing long road trips every day, charging at home is all you need. Long road trips do need planning and require hopping between chargers.
17,000 miles in 7 months in an EV, never seen a queue at a Tesla charging station in all those motorway trips and charging stops
@@LEgoiste He's just living up to his YT name, living life mad. A recipe for an early heart attack, IMHO.
The UK charging network is the thing that’s stopped me buying and EV. Every time we stop at a services I look for the chargers and these days there are often people waiting to use them. We need to get them installed at fuel stations and the payment method needs to be just tap and go without taking the p*** on the unit cost. I drive a 2016 Merc Estate and looking forward to seeing the electric Audi A6 Avant but might have to wait for the second hand market !
Ive owned an electric car for 3 years (VW ID3) and i always charge at home over the night so we actually "wasted" less time charging this car then we did refueling the old petrol car at the gas station (going to the gas station every other week versus just parking the car at home, as you would anyways).
I think you need to be able to charge at home (or at work) to really get the perks out of the EV, i cant imagine going on hunt for public charge points, waiting in line and then waiting for charging, that has to be a hussle.
Sure if im going on a long trip, i could see myself plan a stop for lunch and charge while eating, and maybe charge over night when staying at hotel before continuing, that i would be fine with, but in every day use i think you need to be able to charge at home.
The BMW i4 looks exactly like the ICE BMW 4 Series grand coupe. It’s built on the same platform. That’s a big part of its selling point.
Very honest and helpful. I think it will be years before infrastructure will outstrip EV production. So I will ride the decline of ICE for now and swap when it makes more sense.
If your daily commute to work is 30mins i think u will consume less than 5% battery. U should just charge the car every night to 80% so u wont have to rely on public dc charger unless u drive outstation
I drive a electric van and find very few public chargers which is really odd as at 35p to 50p per kilowatt hour they are a easy money earners for any install company. Maybe Ladbrokes could start providing them as they could make more money than betting .
I love this car, but you experienced my worst fear. The system may not be up to it. Moved and now have a 60 mile daily commute. If I retire my F150 pickup, I can almost pay for a Q4 with just the gas savings and charge at home overnight.
Very great video!
Just to touch on the fast charging capability. I noticed your charging port on the eTron did not come equipped with the fast charger port only the level 1&2. Now, I live in Canada and it is a probability that our cars are made different from yours in the UK. Since you did not have the fast charging port that might've been the reason why it wasn't compatible with the ionity chargers.
🙌
Forgive the ignorance. But why is it these battery cars are so expensive when there is no engine with those hundreds of component parts - which surely cost so much more? Admittedly, I’ve not had the inclination to look, but I just can’t get my head around it. I’ll stick to my 840i for the time being.
How long do tyres last with a 2.5 ton car ? Can’t be very green ?
I feel with you. Charging station network is still very weak in general around Europe/UK. Government has not realize the sudden increase in EV‘s. On top, the charging station maintenance is very bad and client service super weak. I installed at my home a 11Kw charger, so I’m not too dependent on the weak charging station network.
Welcome to the world of electric car. This is not just an Audi e-tron problem…
I have a Model 3 Never had an issue but the network is there. It also has a good range and accurate battery range. What needs to happen is the Manufacturers need to get together and make the charging network work. Thats the benefit of Tesla... the network. If they got together the problem would be solved.
Nobody seems to be listening to all the criticism on the charging side of a ev and it's only going to get worse as more people have an ev. They are already saying peak time charging is a no no because the electricity grid will not cope. Just to finish my thoughts the mileage distance goes dramatically down in the winter months, so the car will need charging more often. I'm sticking with my diesel a 5 minute fill up and 600 mile range.
Reason I sold my EV went to petrol, I like to do long trips on weekends without stopping for 1hr to charge if charging station is working. That’s in California. I refuse to get Tesla like everyone else.
You “REFUSE” to get the only long range EV with a proprietary charging network that spans the United States because EVERYONE ELSE has one? Now there is an impregnable reason not to buy one. ;-)
Yeah , you sounds very happy mate 🤣🤪👍
Wouldn't it be more efficient if there are fewer electronics in an EV sucking power off the battery?
In all Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), the propulsion/drive battery is typically 400V ( or increasingly 800V). This battery is only used to supply the drive motors, obviously and the A/C system. All other electrical consumers in the car like headlights, stereo, interior lights, indicators, etc are still run at 12V! So yes all BEV’s still have a seperate 12V battery to power these systems. Primarily because of economy of scale as these are used on all cars and also using 400V to power them would be dangerous.
I’m definitely missing something here. 114 mile range with a 25 min journey home. That car was always going to make it home and with plenty of range left for some review content.
the moral of the story is spring for a REALLY GOOD AND STRONG home charger
These are quite cheap now but i fear the maintenance costs: rear motor and some junction box costs in total about 14teur here and nd they tend to break, if there is no warranty or good will then you get to pay them - and the new batterey at some point.
All that money for the amount of stress it gives doesn’t make any sense. Thanks for being so honest and sharing this. I doubt that EVs are here to stay, they are going to be a failed experiment.
What do you think will replace ICE ? Hydrogen?
Hydrogen looks like a possibility, but it could be something completely different. Maybe a totally different energy storage will allow EVs to work better. It’s interesting to see how brilliant a car like this is in so many ways, but useless where it really matters.
@@peterf46 rubbish, as said in this video ( and frankly this is one inefficient heavy EV ) whats currently letting EVs down is the charging infrastructure ( BP Pulse being one of the worse, hmm a petrol company I wonder why that is then ?) Tesla have proved it can be done and battery technology is evolving at such a pace now its inevitable you'll all be driving EVs.
Hydrogen is inefficient to produce ( vast amounts of electric used to produce it and then the hydrogen engine isn't as a EVs motor ).
It just someone to oversee the charging infrastructure .
I have a EV that I charge at home using solar panels , Can't do that with hydrogen .
I watched an interesting video about how JCB are investing in hydrogen powered vehicle research. It might be that battery technology changes quickly, but unlikely very soon given all the investment. A solar panel to charge a car in the U.K.? You’re kidding, surely? I hate to tell you but it’s not sunny very here and we have long dark winters. Nope, not going to happen soon.
@@peterf46 I already do, yes spring/ Summer my panels turn out around 23kwhs , yes there are days the are less efficient, but over a week its more than enough for allot of peoples needs , winter is different a good day may only make 6kwhs , but spring/Summer I'm literally driving on sunshine .
Thanks for this review, It was honest I am looking at getting the Q4 sportback. But this experience has lowered my expectations of the
Enjoyed this one bud
It takes 10 minutes max to fill up my tank with petrol at the pump and I am on my way. How long will it take me to charge the battery if I am at, say 20% left and I have 50 mile journey ahead of me.
If you have 20℅ ( thats 40 miles)left and you need 50 miles then less than 5 mins on a rapid charger .
For the majority of people that charge at home it takes seconds to fill it up, plug it in when you get home , people forget you have to drive to a petrol station and at times wait for a pump !
20% is when fast charging kicks in. Depending on your battery, you’d get a lot of mileage in 10 minutes. But then, I can only put 10l of petrol in my ICE vehicle while it’s sitting in my driveway, because that’s all my Jerry can will hold, but I can fully charge my EV. We have to stop comparing EVs to ICE vehicles, because they’re not managed in the same way. Ultimately, we need an EV to be plugged in whenever it’s not in use. Then, on the go charging will only matter for long drives when you’d need to take a break anyway.
Adding 50miles in an eTron, on a 150 kWh charger will take about 7 minutes, unless you are at 80% when it may take twice as long but as you say, you are already (in this hypothetical question) 20% (40 miles) charged so in reality, to take that to 50miles total, it will be less than 2 minutes at Ionity
@@therealjetlag with an eTron, rapid charging runs from 0% to 80% (at around 148 kWh) and then it starts throttling but between 80% and 100%. It is often faster than many other cars at 50%. The eTron charging curve is not often talked about but it is one of its' best long trip features, yes it is thirsty (it is a relatively large SUV after all) but it is a great charging EV
Good review!