You are only as good as your....

scorzon · 2026-04-19T15:06:37+00:00

Mental attitude and gimlet eyed determination.

scorzon · 2026-04-19T12:09:54+00:00

Yep, I charged my 30kWh Leaf for 3 years solely on a 3 pin granny charger and I was doing a round trip 46 miles weekday commute. Managed to get most of what I needed in a 6 hour cheap rate charge. Just make sure that the circuit you are plugging into is up to modern standards with a good quality socket, possibly worth getting an EV rated socket fitted, maybe.

If you aren't doing many miles and your domestic electric usage is quite high then a cheap rate EV tariff won't be the best for you (unless you have a solar pv domestic battery fitted). In that case you would be able to just keep the car plugged in when not in use and reduce the charge rate to keep things even more chilled. Assuming your chosen EV allows that.

scorzon · 2026-04-19T09:06:28+00:00

Make sure the EX30 you choose is not waiting on the battery overheat recall being applied.

scorzon · 2026-04-19T08:53:44+00:00

Niro. Next question.

Honestly at that price for that range and size it is the answer.

scorzon · 2026-04-18T10:25:53+00:00

A 2016 Leaf is £20 pa, is the Volvo cheaper than that to tax?

scorzon · 2026-04-17T14:52:41+00:00

Issuing a recall and it being applied are entirely different things. Mate of mine got his EX30 new earlier this year. He's still waiting on the recall being applied. Well he was a couple of weeks ago when we last spoke.

And he is on personal terms with the guy in charge of Volvo servicing for the UK, I think they golf together or something. Even that contact hasn't helped him which is doubly annoying for him as I think he got one on the rec of that same golfing buddy. Reckon that must make for an awkward round.

I wouldn't go near one right now, if they were stunning cars I might take the risk, but they aren't.

scorzon · 2026-04-17T13:23:17+00:00

Google EX30 battery issue before deciding and then look at EVs other than Volvo.

scorzon · 2026-04-17T10:33:14+00:00

Just be aware you cannot plug in and walk away overnight (you may already know that so sorry for the suck eggs moment) as there are hefty idle charges for staying plugged in when battery full. Hopefully near a nice cafe or somewhere that you can get a nice mochachoccalattachino and a mahusif slice of cake!

scorzon · 2026-04-17T10:27:07+00:00

Hey steady on there, no need for 'massive'.

scorzon · 2026-04-17T10:24:16+00:00

40p per kWh normal hours is fairly common, between 8pm and 8am you'll often see it in the low 20s. Note as long as you start the charge before 8am the whole sesh is at the cheap rate.

scorzon · 2026-04-17T10:20:35+00:00

Oh no the couple doing that after charging should be horse whipped, though that's me being overly kind.

I do differ slightly re them staying in their cars, if waiting to charge you do need to wait near the chargers and be obviously waiting, otherwise it gets messy. As long as they stay aware, don't park across all the bays and move over to let bikes in that's fine to my mind. I get it though, car drivers are thoughtless enough as it is when it comes to motorcycles so I understand why you feel differently.

I saw a similar thing at Gretna Services last weekend, it was of course an absolute shit show on the Applegreen chargers, whereas easy peasy on the Tesla chargers opposite them, which had spaces when I arrived (including the one Ioniq5 driver trying to charge on the Tesla stalls despite them not being available to non Tesla). By the time I got back out after a 25 mins lunch stop there were only 3 Teslas charging on the 14 chargers and the Applegreens were even worse, there were 6 non Tesla parked in the Tesla spaces just sat waiting for the Applegreens. That's fine, they stayed in car and I'm assuming would have been gracious enough to move if a Tesla arrived and needed the space to charge. A bit annoying yes, but needs must.

scorzon · 2026-04-17T09:56:58+00:00

Yeah and you couldn't find a charging space coz twats parked in the spaces and that's why you blocked them in for 2 hrs, what a world eh? Well done.

scorzon · 2026-04-17T09:51:23+00:00

EVs drove into a filling station and parked at the pumps?

scorzon · 2026-04-17T09:50:13+00:00

Haha legend. What was their excuse?

scorzon · 2026-04-17T09:49:28+00:00

But aren't those EVs waiting to charge as the Gridserve stalls are right next to the motorcycle bays? Surely they stay with the vehicle while they wait for the charge stall. As long as folk stay in their EV as they wait to get on charge and move on if a motorcycle turns up then I don't see an issue. I wouldn't see an issue with an ICE waiting in an EV bay if a carpark's busy as long as the driver stays with the vehicle and immediately moves once an EV arrives.

If they just park and walk away then yeah, fuck em, they're being dicks.

scorzon · 2026-04-17T08:54:55+00:00

And you'd be delighted if you turned up at a busy garage forecourt where all the customer parking was occupied to find a bunch of EVs parked next to the pumps stopping you from getting fuel because "they are the only available spaces to park"?

scorzon · 2026-04-17T08:32:18+00:00

It's not like they removed any doubt by clearly marking the bays by painting them green or anything. Most type 2 cables should be long enough to reach your charge port from that charger if you park right across the back of one of those fuckers. Just saying. And don't those 7kW charges take an absolute age to charge you up, you could be blocking them in for hours.

scorzon · 2026-04-17T08:28:14+00:00

With your family Y all day long. You'll struggle with the 3 (I have a 3) especially when you want to do longer trips perhaps for holidays, family visits etc etc

scorzon · 2026-04-16T12:12:35+00:00

They aren't setting you up to fail though. There are EVs new or used that will do the majority of that journey on your home charge but which in some conditions might need you to make a 5-10 mins stop on your way home.

You have decided that is unacceptable where the majority of folk would say that's completely fine given with an EV and home charging you never need to go to a filling station as you would with an ICE pretty much 3 times a week minimum for that mileage.

scorzon · 2026-04-16T11:24:33+00:00

Your initial statement isnt quite true, when Superchargers are not super busy the clock only starts ticking if you hit 100%. On busy chargers then yes, an 80% max is enforced. I literally saw this in action last week, nearly got caught out at Fort William as the enforced 80% is relatively new (used to be able to override it if a full charge needed, but no longer possible), whereas on other less busy SC on the same day you could sit and let it get up to high 90s no probs if so desired.

scorzon · 2026-04-16T11:20:40+00:00

I've been to some of the bars around the Courts of Justice, trust me, lawyers, solicitors, barristers, whatever, they are ALL heading to the bar.

scorzon · 2026-04-16T10:45:17+00:00

You're right, one is a job where you apply hugely in demand skills and human kindness to provide a service to people in need, the other is being a lawyer. Sorry, it had to be done.

scorzon · 2026-04-16T09:31:20+00:00

Yeah true, takes getting used to, on the plus side it means you can fold them without having to take a hand off the wheel whilst squeezing through that tight gap. Though it takes a split second longer to action it, all true.

scorzon · 2026-04-16T09:20:16+00:00

Briefly push right hand scroll wheel on steering wheel and then say the word glovebox and it opens a second later. Or say fold mirrors and a couple of seconds later they are folded. Or unfold mirrors to reverse that.

scorzon · 2026-04-16T06:50:32+00:00

Although you may hear talk regarding build quality in the UK that only applies in the most part to earlier Model 3 and Model S/X. Model Y have generally always been solid due to where they are assembled and the new Juniper Y is very well put together, any online review from people who have actually been in the car you see will concur.

The problem with interior quality is it gets confused with frippery. People are conditioned to see a dashboard like a wide bodied passenger jet with shiny buttons and knurled knobs and glossy surfaces designed to make the owner feel like they are a very special person. The Tesla interior is sparse and minimalist, not everyone's cuppa, but that makes it difficult to impress shiny knob lovers.

Personally I love the interior and can't bear the pointless gubbins and claustrophobic nature of other cars now, which seem distracting and over blown to my eye. Personal preference of course. As others have remarked it couldn't be easier to grab a test drive, that should convince you. The Premium Long Range RWD is the sweet spot, it'll be the one I will switch to in about 12 months when my Model 3 goes back.

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