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UK, On Thursday nights on Quest or Discovery+ channel at 9PM, a new series specifically on Electric cars (that is our future, whether we like it or not, as we go new electric cars only, on 2030).
I decided to watch this new series, just to see what advantages and diss-advantages electric cars will have. At present I do not like being railroaded into having to go green, so wanted to watch this series and see if I will be persuaded to go electric in the future.
Episode 1...
Started with the team test of a new Citroen AMi, which is not quite a car, and not quite a mobility vehicle, top speed 30MPH, with 60 mile range. Must be age 17 and over, with a car licence in UK. Cost £6,000. They tested it on a track and it ended up on two wheels at a bend, so had a big stability problem. Citroen said it is not meant for speed, and no wonder. No air bags and made mainly of plastic. So safety is rather low. It got a very low rating off the 5th gear team (8 out of 40). Citroen expects it mainly to be used as a city rental car and for young buyers.
A visit to the Munich car show, showing the latest in electric cars and hybrids.
The cars looked good but very pricey. The only reasonably priced car that was sub £20,000 and looked ok, was the forthcoming electric Renault 5, at £17,000. Worth having a look?
They also did a test track comparison of a Tesla 3 and a Polestar 2( used to be part of the volvo group) both were very pricey (over £45,000) and also very heavy due to the batteries carried (2 tonnes). They could go very fast 0 to 60, but braking was another matter, trying to slow that weight down. No mention of how much for car insurance for fast electric cars like those tested.
Also they showed a new car with built in solar panels on all of the car panels (thats good, some free energy), but still needs to be charged, that is being launched in 2022, and was a crowd funded project that brought in millions, so it can be built. It also had a visual moss filtration system in the dash, that filters the incoming air to the cabin, Yuk! (the green moss looked horrible, like out of a Doctor who episode LOL) The Sion. The Sion Is the First Solar Electric Vehicle | Sono Motors
Another part of the program did a comparison of two identical Vauxhall cars, one electric, one petrol, and did a cost analysis of being leased for three years, which one was cheaper? The conclusion was although the electric car was initially dearer by £4,000, the saving in electric costs, outweighed the petrol car over time. I was not quite convinced either way, as it depends how fuel costs will change over the years for both petrol and electricity. Also initial costs put people off, as many cannot afford a new expensive car, and electric cars are dearer initially.
One thing that was mentioned was that at present electric cars have no road tax ie, zero tax, the Government will introduce car tax on electric cars come 2024. So that's another cost to consider.
Overall quite a good program, packing in a lot of information, looking forward to the next program.
I decided to watch this new series, just to see what advantages and diss-advantages electric cars will have. At present I do not like being railroaded into having to go green, so wanted to watch this series and see if I will be persuaded to go electric in the future.
Episode 1...
Started with the team test of a new Citroen AMi, which is not quite a car, and not quite a mobility vehicle, top speed 30MPH, with 60 mile range. Must be age 17 and over, with a car licence in UK. Cost £6,000. They tested it on a track and it ended up on two wheels at a bend, so had a big stability problem. Citroen said it is not meant for speed, and no wonder. No air bags and made mainly of plastic. So safety is rather low. It got a very low rating off the 5th gear team (8 out of 40). Citroen expects it mainly to be used as a city rental car and for young buyers.

A visit to the Munich car show, showing the latest in electric cars and hybrids.
The cars looked good but very pricey. The only reasonably priced car that was sub £20,000 and looked ok, was the forthcoming electric Renault 5, at £17,000. Worth having a look?

They also did a test track comparison of a Tesla 3 and a Polestar 2( used to be part of the volvo group) both were very pricey (over £45,000) and also very heavy due to the batteries carried (2 tonnes). They could go very fast 0 to 60, but braking was another matter, trying to slow that weight down. No mention of how much for car insurance for fast electric cars like those tested.
Also they showed a new car with built in solar panels on all of the car panels (thats good, some free energy), but still needs to be charged, that is being launched in 2022, and was a crowd funded project that brought in millions, so it can be built. It also had a visual moss filtration system in the dash, that filters the incoming air to the cabin, Yuk! (the green moss looked horrible, like out of a Doctor who episode LOL) The Sion. The Sion Is the First Solar Electric Vehicle | Sono Motors
Another part of the program did a comparison of two identical Vauxhall cars, one electric, one petrol, and did a cost analysis of being leased for three years, which one was cheaper? The conclusion was although the electric car was initially dearer by £4,000, the saving in electric costs, outweighed the petrol car over time. I was not quite convinced either way, as it depends how fuel costs will change over the years for both petrol and electricity. Also initial costs put people off, as many cannot afford a new expensive car, and electric cars are dearer initially.
One thing that was mentioned was that at present electric cars have no road tax ie, zero tax, the Government will introduce car tax on electric cars come 2024. So that's another cost to consider.
Overall quite a good program, packing in a lot of information, looking forward to the next program.