Yep, top tip for anyone new to EV motoring, as it doesn't have an ICE so it doesn't generate any heat use screen wash that can cope with temperatures below freezing, do not use water, do not dilute it. Been driving EV for 5 years and it's a lesson you learn very quickly!
The time it took to initiate that first DC charger, I could have filled the tank on my old 2009 Fiat Panda MJT and got 300 miles range. Although I really liked the driving experience of a Zoe, I really don't want to have to get out the calculator and a charging point app just to do a 156 mile trip to Cornwall!
Reminds me of the competitions you and James used to have getting to deliveries 😂 .. such fun playing the range game. I now have a 38kw Ionic which really encourages such play!
Great content as always, I had the same windscreen washer problem a couple of winters ago. Only to realise that some washer fluids operate at sub zero temperature 😅
If you have a 100kwh battery, and it's full, and you get stuck in a snow storm, you'll have 50 hours of heat if it is a 2kwh hour battery and you need the heat on permanently. But you don't need the heat on permanently. So you might get a few more hours than that, and definitely more than 12 hours. But ICE to heat the cabin, you need the engine running. If you're not moving and you're idling, your engine cools be damaged and the fumes coming out your exhaust maybe getting back into your cabin as you're not driving away from the fumes. How much does it cost to idle for 12 hours in an standard car?
Was stuck in stationary traffic for 3 hours a few weeks back. Was about 5 degrees outside and battery went down less than 1%/hour. Zoes have a heat pump so very little energy used to keep warm.
We have a i3s which is great locally but honestly could not be arsed to mess about on long journeys so it’s the Discovery diesel for that, the best description of a electric car charging I heard was it’s like filling your petrol car fuel tank with a syringe
Hello 👋 here in UK we too have public chargers that dont work , but rapids from the likes of Instavolt, gridserve, fastnet , Osprey, ionity are really reliable , charge place scotland less so ! And genie point and bp pulse i avoid at all costs !
From Canada....yesterday morning was --14 C and winter is just getting started. Had a 340 KM run at 120 on cruise control in 3 hrs in my dodge mini van and still had 430KM range left. EVs are ok as a second car for short trips in nice weather when you can charge at home, they are not a replacement for ICE. Also dont you Brits have windshield washer antifreeze? ...good for ---40.
@simonhunter: We do have such stuff yes. Unfortunately(?) The temps here never get as cold as you polar bears get and are so incredibly variable that many people play russian roulette and don't put much in! Mind you, it's -4 here at the moment and there's a threat of snow. 😱 Trust me, as soon as we get a light dusting the whole country will grind to a halt!!😂 It's not the country it used to be anymore.
Thanks Jonathan. Didn't know about the 'leaning on the CCS plug' trick. We've never had a problem with it on our ZE50 though. For the record, I did a 75 mile round trip last week, at -3°C. Started with 99% battery SOC and arrived home with 65%. I've found that using the AC seems to be more economical on charge than using the heater. Turn it on when you set off, keep the windows closed and leave it alone, turning the fan speed down, but not off, once you're comfortable. Defrosting the windscreens seems to be faster if you put the AC on HI at the same time as turning on the screen clearing function. Of course YMMV.
What I've been noticing about EV for years, is that in order to own one you must love extra driving, love service stations, love playing easter egg hunts and love waiting .... But above all, you must have time.... Lots of time. Not sure is great when you got kids and you need to travel unplanned. EV lovers will find numerous plus, but I think the cons outweigh the benefits of owning one. When you add the price you pay for it and the charging... You have saved nothing tbf. But hey ... Each to their own 🎉🎉
I have time for these 'geeky' trips its true , but 99% of the time i plug in overnight whilst im asleep and wake up to a full' tank' that's filled up for 9p a unit with octopus energy. In normal day to day life , i save time by not going to a petrol station and filling up , as it takes as long to plug in our EV as it takes you to charge your phone 😀, seconds !
@@JonathanPorterfield The thing is not the charging at home, otherwise it would be a great idea to put wheels on the house and drive with it on tow 😂😂😂. We all know the problem is when you leave home and need to do a big trip. EV have to plan and leave time to charge when out. The only thing I avoid in my diesel is refueling on motorway services stations and when I get home I don't have to do nothing apart from my neighbour leaving binbags outside his house 😂😂 time is valuable and when you have to wait and faf around to continue your trip... The theory fails. But as I said... Each to their own. 😀😀😀
@@JonathanPorterfield other thing my man. To install a charger at home is over £1200, then you have to add those 9p to your home bill and also the charging away from home is not 9p.. so some form of false economy when you add it all up. Electricity is not free, no matter how cheap is it 😀😀
@zaneta3880 choice , we all have choice, i choose to install 30 solar panels , as i type im filling an ev for free 😉, yes i paid out to install solar , but the electrons to from the sun , are free for anyone to use 'if' they have the equipment. Choice ! Some folk brew their own beer , some buy from supermarket , choice
@@JonathanPorterfield we are going around in circles here 😂😂😂😂. Solar panels are not free nor cheap to install. By the time you recoup your money then car have depreciated. By the time you get your solar panel investment back, is not straightforward plus in some cases you need planning permission. I'm not a hater of new tech, I'm just not convinced ATM. Surely for short rides is marvelous.. but still very impractical 😀
I had the same issue with the windscreen washers staying frozen last weekend on my 93 mile trip to Leicester. Had to keep stopping to throw screen wash i had into windscreen. I have now bought some screenwash that works to -20 and used neat, will see how it works out
Good point about the charging handle. I've noticed that even the smaller type 2 handle has enough weight to pull itself out slightly before it locks in place.
Appreciate the insight into what could be our future. Pulling up at a place with a single charger, that is in use by someone who also needs to catch the same ferry! It's going to get messy out there, or EV users should start budgeting for more over-night stops....
As battery ranges increase , reliance on public chargers will be less, and if there's a demand the likes of Instavolt , gridserve, Osprey, evyre, etc will put more chargers in , its a chicken / egg scenario 😀
@JonathanPorterfield Are you basing this on the assumption that no one else is going to buy an EV? Yes, battery range will increase... but so will the number of EVs on the road, all of which will require a charge on a woefully under equipped infrastructure, which is already showing signs of not being able to reasonably meet the demands of away from home charging.
@@garysmith5025”isn’t a lot different”? Just getting the EV to communicate with the charger took longer than completely filling an ICE car with fuel. Plus I don’t know of anyone who goes to a petrol station to just put 20 miles worth of fuel in a nearly new car.
@garysmith5025 If there's a 15 minute wait at the peccy station, I'm sacking that off and going to the next one. As you say too, "IF" you know that your destination has a charger. If it doesn't, join the queue at the charging station... with the increasing number of other EV drivers, all waiting for their 15 minute charge too... or, pick somewhere else for your holiday. I don't know about you, but I like to pick where I stay based on how it looks and not whether or not it has charge point. I don't like having to pick second best when I go on holiday, especially so if it were through having to compensate for the inconvenience and limitations of an EV. Until they can match the range and speed of fueling an ICE, it's just a less convenient and more time consuming way of getting from A to B in a car that costs more to purchase than an ICE equivalent, a cost that that wouldn't offset the extra cost of fuel over electricity over the average ownership of the car. I mean, as an example, 32 grand for an entry level electric Corsa. A bloody Corsa!! Or, 18 grand for the ICE equivalent. It's not that far off being twice as much for the EV equivalent of the petrol model! That's a 14 grand difference which I can absolutely promise you that, even if I kept it for 5 years, I wouldn't be spending anything close to 14 grand on fuel, even at the £1.80 a litre it was not too long ago. I'm retired and am one of the short journeymajority of car owners, could have a wall charger 'if' I wanted an EV, the vast majority of my trips are short, hometown and surrounding area journeys and have NEVER put more than 100 quid a month into my Merc (which only cost 4 grand to buy more than aforementioned Corsa too... I'm not a car snob and have had my fair share of old bangers over the years too, but between a Mercedes and a Corsa, I know which I'd rather have) and that's not even taking into account the increase on my household electric bill that would inevitably come with an EV too. If my heart was set on the Corsa, then between the ICE and the EV, I would have to own the EV for between 10 - 12 years just to offset the lower 'fuel' cost against higher purchase price (and that's based on the fuel cost of my current car, which undoubtedly drinks more than a small engine in the Corsa). If I only kept it for 3 years, which I typically do these days, I would be out of pocket to the tune of about 8 or 9 grand, despite its lower charging cost vs petrol. Then there is the depreciation too. I've seen 15 year old Jags that hold their value better than the current crop on the EV market! With that in mind, the absolute decider for me was when I bought my Merc just over 2 years ago, around the same time, my friend also bought a Q4 E-tron. Power unit aside, the spec of our two cars are extremely similar. He's currently trying to part ex it and go back to ICE, but is losing his arse on every offer he's getting. His car cost just over 52k 2 years ago, mine was 36k. He's not had an offer from any dealer for more than 30k since he decided to get rid. Out of interest, we did a valuation on mine... 28k (that's average milage too, which mine is way, way below and through WeBuyAnyCar too, hardly famous for their competitive rates). I've seen 8k drop from my car in two years, he's seen over 22 grand disappear on his. Do you think he saved 22 grand in fuel costs over the two years he's owned it? At my age now, it doesn't seem as important to me as it once was, but my car is marginally quicker to 60 and is considerably faster at the top end. I am at an age where convenience and financial sense are far more important to me now though, so on that note, my car has at least twice the range on a full tank of his Audi on a full charge and it hasn't mugged us off for over 10k a year in depreciation. Our milage is pretty similar and where I am still comfortably on my first set of tyres, he's already had to change all 4 corners at 600 quid and is down to 5 mil on the second set. That's half of my annual fuel bill! My home eleccy bill hasn't gone up outside of the grid increases either. He reckons that his is electricity bill has gone up by 40 to 45 quid a month too, so with his tyres and home electric (I'm not even taking into account public charge point costs), how much has he actually 'saved' in running costs over those two years on the car that cost 16 grand more to buy? About five hundred quid. For all the difference it makes, his 52k car is now worth about a grand or two more than my 36k car is. Give it another few months and I'd bet cash money that by then, it'll actually be worth LESS than mine. I think I would rather have saved the 22+ grand in depreciation over the two years, than 'saving' about 500 quid in day to day running costs. I mean, where is the real terms cost saving there?? On the plus side though, I guess he could use that 30k part ex on his Audi to get a Corsa EV and only have to put a couple of grand of his own into it.
I agree about the screen wash I have to use neat washer fluid. Just a quick edit, it’s also the headlights which don’t clear of frost if they are LED , never realised that, but it applies to ice cars also. Plus modern cars the washer bottle is usually down near the front bumper so never gets any heat from the engine, great modern design.
You are right, as all the ICE cars I've owned have washer bottles away from the engine. However, it must be warm enough to stop them freezing. In my experience, it might also be the washer jets that freeze up, as I found that on my ICE cars in extreme temperatures.
For screenwash look at the temp on the bottle and 1/2 it. Eg if it says -10c it is good for -5c I use the -60stuff from Lidl and Aldi . They sometimes call it antifreeze but it is screenwash. I’m in the mountains a lot
Keen to hear what it actually costs to fill up the battery. I'm in Australia, but my brother in the UK says price varies like buggery. Always loved Far Kinross
Great set of videos. With regards to out of service chargers do you think it would make a difference if we all informed companies every time we encountered one?
Great video. Good show of weather and EV driving up there. The Three Bridges cafe, could you have switched to the Rapid AC plug and let the Ioniq 5 charge on the DC side? Likely you’d have gotten the same speeds from the AC side at that point.
That was quite exciting to watch ! Do you find that your key fob gets a low battery message during extremely cold weather, even if the battery is new as my 500e does this?
Jonathan whats your opinion on buyinng a used EV with the Chademo standard? Will they be obsolete soon for anything more than local driving with home charging? Thanks
Thanks for sharing and clearly explaining your Zoe journey logistics! This made me nostalgic for my Zoe 52 Kw, but not for the painfully cramped rear seats ... You were pretty lucky with most chargers you encountered, but the EV charging lottery re availability and reliability remains a challenge.
Easy to keep screen wash bottle warm just wrap insulation round it , I know this works as used to live in a Caravan years ago on a site and the pipes never froze underneath for water supply why ? because they were wrapped in foam insulation even in -23c in 2010 the water pipes never froze so it definitely would work for a screen wash bottle.
Thanks simon , it brought back many memories of driving 24kWh leaf and Mitsubishi I-Miev up to scrabster, and working out if id make the ferry on time ! I never missed a booked ferry ! Thanks for watching 👍😊
@@JonathanPorterfield I feel your pain I had a Zoe 22Wh and did a similar journey to Somerset in the snow, was getting about 45-50 miles per charge 😭 have e-208 now. Even that's not the best in the cold.
Lovely BRoll Images, how did it handle with 40psi...haha, you just told me 🤣 I like 36 in winter and 40 in summer Liked how the charging bays had the snow swept, won't see that down south and totally agree it can be fun adjusting driving and range, playing the game
@@JonathanPorterfield I've just pumped the soul tyres up from 32 to 36/34 but may put them up again depending how they feel when we next drive. I'm with you on slowing down , rushing isn't any fun these days , especially on that steep descent you just did with twisty bits😱
You picked a good day/time to be at Kinross P+R, I've been there time after time, and had to queue. Fortunately the services on the opposite side of the M90 now have a bank of Gridserve rapid chargers, rather than the single CCS+CHAdeMO unit there before.
Awesome adventure, it's quite interesting to see high mileage EVs doing these trips, I think I need to convince the missus I need to do a similar one. Will probably use some of your stops as well as reference. I do have a long range MG4 though so might be less squeaky bum in terms of range.
Interesting video, I have seen so many other videos warning about EVs, but you presented a balanced view of an EV experience. I currently have a hybrid which I am happy with and don’t intend to change soon (only purchased 18 months ago). My concern is still with the range anxiety and less than ideal charging infrastructure. Hopefully this will be sorted in the next few years.
Interesting thanks. Ive no idea why this was in my recommended views, but that's the magic of the algorithm and I'll subscribe as it was interesting. Ive also been using our Zoe's this week in the cold, I never use public chargers though so only go to places that I know I can get there and back. My MO, whatever the weather is as follows. I always depart home at 100%, I reset the meter and if I have a 150 mile trip, I know that I need to achieve 3MPKWH or better (based on the 50 KWH of the ZE50). This seems to work for me and I'll drive to be sure I achieve better than the required MPKWH. The net result is If I get 3 MPKWH, ill get 150 miles out of them, if I get 4MPKWH, ill get 200 miles and so on. It would be interesting for you to reset the meter on one of these cold trips and see if the MPKWH is accurately reported. Your predicted MPKWH at your outset was calculated by the car to be 2.876 I'll explain. Battery available = 73% of 50 = 36.5KWH. you had a forecasted range of 105 miles. so, 36.5/105 = 2.876MPKWH. Clearly the car is calculating the range having taken into account the low ambient and the influence this will have on battery chemistry. I noted that your MPKWH meter was showing higher through the journey, thus, I conclude that it hasn't been reset for some time. I'll be putting very low temp screen wash in both of mine today. You have done a lot of mies, well done for getting the most out of these cars.
I had a longer clip of my plugging in and of my 'leak and tatties' soup , but to background music was copyright and YT took out the clip with this music , so the picture of the soup was very short 🙃 😅
16:22 you were lucky to get there before the Ioniq! Otherwise your best laid plan would be all for nought. Would you have been able to stay in a hotel there or near the ferry terminal? Or venture to Inverness for the night?
There are anti-freeze additives and pre-mixtures for the windshield washers in the United States. I'm sure that you can find them in your country at an automotive supply center.
Some cars had the option of heated screen jets, they were available on the MGF sports car where the engine was in the back. I had the problem of frozen screen jets on a ice toyota gt86. Even though it was a petrol engined car, the screen jets were embedded in plastic, so got no heat from the engine. To get round the problem I had to put concentrate -20c screen was in, which seemed to solve the problem, though never had a really bad winter to really try it. I think heated scrren jets were also available for the land rover defender as well, I don't know about other makes of car.
Heated screen jets just a gimmick really, in really cold conditions, your screen will ice up more. Interesting experiment, on a freezing cold day, put out a dish of warm water and a dish of cold water, the warm water dish will freeze first!
@@davidvranch821 Heated screen jets don't heat the fluid/water, just there to stop the jets from freezing. Had them on an old Merc 190E and they were great.
Greetings from Jersey! Two weeks ago I drove my Nissan e-NV200 40kWh combi from Portsmouth to Glasgow. Had similar range decision as you've had. On a long stretch up M6, my 'fumble factor' calculation of 25 miles got eaten away by low temperature. Arrived Carlisle with 3% battery which was a bit close for comfort, but no worries.
Caroline HELLO from Orkney , well done on taking your eNV200 combi to Glasgow, and 3% left is very impressive ,you do have a 'bit' of a cushion below 0% , not much but a little, id say around 1 mile , so at 3% i rekon 4/5 miles left atxaround 30 mph 😀
seeing heavy loss on my wifes e-golf. Used to do a full week commute in the summer, now after three days we’re playing russian roulette with the fourth (so we tend not to risk it). 2.3m/kwh for what is normally a very efficient car. They’re short trips - 8 miles each way which I know is disproportionately ‘heavy’ for EVs heating the cabin/battery and then you’re stopping (like a diesel they don’t like short trips really).
Looks cold up there... I would never use wipers until screen is clear as it really does damage the rubber. If a winter screen wash mix is used then it shouldn't 🥶 freeze. I think its the washer jets that freeze, maybe heated washer jets should be fitted to all electric vehicles.
ALL Vehicles, never mind EV's. Good to see they're becoming much more common, i was almost convinced that all modern cars had them. My last two cars, a 2006 Volvo and a 2008 Land Rover both did.
I have been using -10 screen wash and the bottle is fine in the temp at -6. Pity the wee tubes to the washers froze up. Added half a bottle of -65 demon shot but no luck. Once it warms up in a few days I will use -20 for the rest of the winter.
Never had any problems with my zoe washer bottle freezing and I live in NE Scotland. I use -10 degrees undiluted screen wash available at most supermarkets. Thanks for the video.
Minus 20 degrees at Tesco but then when the interior of the car is cold and the air temp really is minus 7 degrees it still blocks the nozzles or freezes on the screen.
Not in Scotland and CPS , as you can't 100% guarantee that they will work , so when you find a working rapid from cps , charge up as much as possible !
So, the screen wash liquid doesn't freeze in ICE cars? Do you leve them running at night or what? It just has to be an EV owner to put tap water into the screen wash tank in winter time.
Screen wash issue if you use Prestones screen wash then it doesn’t freeze even down to -23 Celsius. They sell it at Costco and some Halfords I’ve been using it for over 10 years
I'd really like an eco car to replace my TDI Passat. Needs to be same size (large estate) and same range (>500 miles). Ideally under £5000. Is there anything or is my best bet to stick with what I have? While I live and do a lot of my journeys in the UK, I have a more european attitude to driving (2hrs is a short journey, 5 is medium and anything over 6 is long)
Yes but with the Zoe it doesn't always work properly in my experience. My Ariya does work well but there is a bug with it, the alarm constantly sounds when preheating, the car is booked in for a recently released software update that fixes this issue. The Ariya heats up so quickly from cold though that its not really an issue, the screen is defrosted in 30 seconds and the heated steering wheel and seats around 2 minutes.
The washer reservoir freezing is a problem on both of our EV's, both of which are EV's that have petrol or hybrid versions of the same vehicle and have the screen wash reservoir down towards the front of the engine bay. We're putting neat extreme low temperature washer fluid in over the winter to try and stop it happening this year.
I just missed you at Kinross! I use Prestone -23’c neat screenwash. You can retrofit heated screenwash nozzles and a heated retrofit screenwash bottle Buy the screenwash at Costco..btw it’s 1hr max on Rapids in Kinross and 4hr max on fasts. It’s the AC on the rapids that’s 22kw mate! Btw the one a Tomatin distillery is only 18p/kwh but agree the one at the community hub is great for food! We stop at Kingussie because it’s got heated toilets and showers and 3 rapids and 2 fasts. Close to the shops for a coffee/soup etc.
Hi , sorry we missed each other , thanks for the heads up on the fast chargers at Kinross , I checked the CPS web site again and both say they are 22Kw fast chargers !?? Ive not tried the distillery Rapid for a while as it was 'faulty' for months a while back and i gave up trying it !
Hello from the United States. In the United States, they sell windshield washer fluid for sub zero temperatures. It’s commonly used here. Engine engine temperature is not sufficient when the engine is not running, obviously. The fluid will freeze and break the tank. You need to find the right fluid
Yep, that's what I do when I get into my car first thing in the morning - plan where I'm going to stop......... not. Because I have a reliable ICE vehicle I get into my car, go where I need to and then come home again.
What was your overall miles per KwH on the route? That's the critical number for me. 2 miles per kwh or less, and my plug-in is cheaper running petrol, at my domestic electricity rate. For on road chargers, the efficiency needs to be even more.
A friend of mine has one of these zoe's and generally drives it around town so doesn't have any issues with range. He did tell me that on a long run if his wife has the other car he puts his 3 phase generator in the back just to give him peace of mind. He said it's like having a proper spare tyre instead of a can of spray!
We’ve had ev’s for the past 5 years and traveled to Europe regularly, the only issues have been unreliable/inadequate chargers in the uk. France and Germany have an abundance of modern chargers (and slightly cheaper to use).
Beautiful through the Cairngorms as usual and the mighty Zoe took it all in its stride.There seems to be an idea now that you must have 4 hundred miles range and charge at warp9.I have a completely different attitude that I can now see places that I have missed for 40 years.Especially around Scotland there are some hidden gems and I just take the EV for a wee run..and remember my childhood.South of Aberdeen to Dundee,everyone goes the A90.Down the coast road through Montrose,Arbroath,Lunan Bay,Carnoustie, Monefeith..Lovely and loads of chargers.Because the car needs a top up its way more relaxing.
@@JonathanPorterfield always better to ask for forgiveness rather than ask for permission! If swmbo didn’t like the Kona high driving position I’d have that Zoe in a heartbeat.
Fifty years ago my Saab was failed an MOT because the screen wash was frozen. You'd have thought they could have thawed it but apparently it's not allowed. But I think you could have got 3 points for that drive!
Very nicely done, shows that a city car can do these kinds of journeys, which I guess is the key take away, no doubt there will be the usual comments about charging stops, diesel, blah blah, which kind of misses the point. Fair play to CPS I’ve never had any issues using the RFID card, and you can find some cheap rates.
Thanks Mike 👍, i expect the anti ev comments , so it's good to see 'you' get what im trying to show , that with a little planning you can drive all day in a Renault Zoe 👍
Re stay on or get off - road tripping I'll usually splash and dash and generally move off when my charge rate drops below 100kW unless I'm aiming for somewhere specific when I may go to 80% or if I'm eating when I may set 95% to get time to eat. (Tesla M3LR) I have no problems with getting home on fumes - I like a buffer elsewhere.
I miss having heated mirrors on my Leaf.. turns out it can be quite useful when the mirrors start to freeze up while driving! Windcreen defrosting is great though, and the heated steering wheel is a godsend :)
Heated mirrors and seats are SERIOUSLY great in this weather, you're dead right! The ones on my 5yr old Juke diesel are brilliant! Also, if my tank was 78% full, I wouldn't have to stop for over 400 miles! No "planning" necessary . 😂😂
@carlarrowsmith Your point being? I don't waste time sitting around waiting for the car to charge, no anxiety about whether the charger will work or will there be a queue. It can literally be a "splash and dash"! (Just have to be careful 😉)
For me a car is just a means of getting from A to B, safely and with a minimum of stress. I couldn't afford the time or effort to plan a journey based around where the chargers are located, what kind of chargers they are, or worry about real world range or a 'buffer' range.
I guess it will take me a while to develop the confidence to go as close to empty as you have been on this journey. The only thing I don't really understand is why on earth are Renault discontinuing the Zoe ? It was a great little car when it launched with 22kW, a really usable car with 41kW and arguably best of the bunch with 52kW. My first journey in a Zoe this august was 190 miles from Bradford to West London area and I had over 70+ left in the tank which shows how slowly I was driving down the M1 !
Hi Rhian. Which version did you get? Is it a 50kw? How are you getting on so far? I'm still looking, but decided the weather today ( 2nd Dec) was not really conducive to car hunting.
The Zoe is a great little car but tech has moved on and they are coming out with the 5 which will be cheaper for them to make with more modern tech and be more in tune with the latest ncap ratings etc. something the Zoe has been criticised for lately.
Also would seem the Zoe, despite being only available as an EV, much like the Leaf, is designed conventionally like an ICE car and loses some of the additional advancements that full BEV packaging can offer.
I am sure the washer problem might be a Renault/Dacia thing. I had the same problem on both makes,ICE and EV.On the Dacia the bottle was located almost under the windscreen and the washers just beside the wipers below the bonnet line.So they were always in the shade or well away from engine heat.Thr cure was Weapons grade deicing fluid and give the jets a wee squirt of deicer as well.Sometimes that wasn't enough but it helped.
The Scrabster Stromness ferries have separate queues for electric vehicles and a fork lift on board(to toss them over the back if they catch fire?) However that is impressive from the Zoe.
Great that you have the time to sit at chargers. Whole thing seems ridiculous! When EV's can do 500 miles on a charge... and a charge takes 10 minutes max, at a charging station with loads of spares at all times... i'll be interested.
Internal combustion engines for the screenwash! That was funny, but to be honest something should've been thought about. I'm not in a position to buy an EV for many personal reasons, but a small electric element in there wouldn't have been difficult would it?
I had a zoe last year fornthe cold snap. It wouldnt charge at all. Battery got too cold. It was great driving in snow but as a cold weather car its rubbish.
He was 30 years of age when he left the house, journey planning,range anxiety and charging stop-overs,mathmatic calculations, instrument Kw watching took their toll!
I get a free bus pass. Now I have to plan my route and wait. It's like an electric car but free.
with full self driving
Good idea, I will sell my EV and wait for the non-existent local bus service.
@@potter2702 actually with these increasing 20mph zones az bicycle will be faster
@steveelkins52 In a city cycling is faster anyway even without speed limited zones
All this Charging subscriptions is how much I pay in Fuel
Yep, top tip for anyone new to EV motoring, as it doesn't have an ICE so it doesn't generate any heat use screen wash that can cope with temperatures below freezing, do not use water, do not dilute it. Been driving EV for 5 years and it's a lesson you learn very quickly!
The time it took to initiate that first DC charger, I could have filled the tank on my old 2009 Fiat Panda MJT and got 300 miles range. Although I really liked the driving experience of a Zoe, I really don't want to have to get out the calculator and a charging point app just to do a 156 mile trip to Cornwall!
Reminds me of the competitions you and James used to have getting to deliveries 😂 .. such fun playing the range game. I now have a 38kw Ionic which really encourages such play!
Love the windknife 👍👏👏
Great content as always, I had the same windscreen washer problem a couple of winters ago. Only to realise that some washer fluids operate at sub zero temperature 😅
I'm surprised you haven't done an exeriment on how long the heater would work if you get caught in a snow storm and are stuck for 12 hours.
Now, there's a video , thanks 😊 i will plan this 😀
Go Green autos has done something like that.
I think David is just having a crafty dig at MacMaster. :)@@JonathanPorterfield
If you have a 100kwh battery, and it's full, and you get stuck in a snow storm, you'll have 50 hours of heat if it is a 2kwh hour battery and you need the heat on permanently.
But you don't need the heat on permanently. So you might get a few more hours than that, and definitely more than 12 hours.
But ICE to heat the cabin, you need the engine running. If you're not moving and you're idling, your engine cools be damaged and the fumes coming out your exhaust maybe getting back into your cabin as you're not driving away from the fumes. How much does it cost to idle for 12 hours in an standard car?
Was stuck in stationary traffic for 3 hours a few weeks back. Was about 5 degrees outside and battery went down less than 1%/hour. Zoes have a heat pump so very little energy used to keep warm.
We have a i3s which is great locally but honestly could not be arsed to mess about on long journeys so it’s the Discovery diesel for that, the best description of a electric car charging I heard was it’s like filling your petrol car fuel tank with a syringe
Plus it only holds a gallon.
The Cairngorms look as beautiful as ever with their dusting. Great views.
Brilliant video - and absolutely beautiful scenery! I really need to do a Scotland trip in the winter.
oh no mr turtle... range planning is fun, finding chargers not working is less fun. Hi from Zoe in France......no ccs!
Hello 👋 here in UK we too have public chargers that dont work , but rapids from the likes of Instavolt, gridserve, fastnet , Osprey, ionity are really reliable , charge place scotland less so ! And genie point and bp pulse i avoid at all costs !
Fabulous!
Thank you for watching 👀 👍
Johnathon,
how do I contact you privately
Thanks in advance Steve
@stevenlomas8812 e mail info@reflexorkney.co.uk and they can pass onto me your e mail and i can message you.
I have enjoyed following your journey mate!!
From Canada....yesterday morning was --14 C and winter is just getting started. Had a 340 KM run at 120 on cruise control in 3 hrs in my dodge mini van and still had 430KM range left. EVs are ok as a second car for short trips in nice weather when you can charge at home, they are not a replacement for ICE. Also dont you Brits have windshield washer antifreeze? ...good for ---40.
I’m in Northern Ontario and with current power sources for EVs, there’s no way I would invest in one, I’ll stick with my ICE Subaru
@simonhunter: We do have such stuff yes. Unfortunately(?) The temps here never get as cold as you polar bears get and are so incredibly variable that many people play russian roulette and don't put much in!
Mind you, it's -4 here at the moment and there's a threat of snow. 😱 Trust me, as soon as we get a light dusting the whole country will grind to a halt!!😂 It's not the country it used to be anymore.
I have driven a ICE for 35 years and have never needed to put antifreeze in screen wash.
Are you proud to be living in the past?
Really enjoyed your trip and hope our Zoe ZE50 can do as many trouble free miles as yours. Enjoy your weekend back home.
Thanks Jonathan. Didn't know about the 'leaning on the CCS plug' trick. We've never had a problem with it on our ZE50 though. For the record, I did a 75 mile round trip last week, at -3°C. Started with 99% battery SOC and arrived home with 65%. I've found that using the AC seems to be more economical on charge than using the heater. Turn it on when you set off, keep the windows closed and leave it alone, turning the fan speed down, but not off, once you're comfortable. Defrosting the windscreens seems to be faster if you put the AC on HI at the same time as turning on the screen clearing function. Of course YMMV.
What I've been noticing about EV for years, is that in order to own one you must love extra driving, love service stations, love playing easter egg hunts and love waiting .... But above all, you must have time.... Lots of time. Not sure is great when you got kids and you need to travel unplanned. EV lovers will find numerous plus, but I think the cons outweigh the benefits of owning one. When you add the price you pay for it and the charging... You have saved nothing tbf. But hey ... Each to their own 🎉🎉
I have time for these 'geeky' trips its true , but 99% of the time i plug in overnight whilst im asleep and wake up to a full' tank' that's filled up for 9p a unit with octopus energy.
In normal day to day life , i save time by not going to a petrol station and filling up , as it takes as long to plug in our EV as it takes you to charge your phone 😀, seconds !
@@JonathanPorterfield The thing is not the charging at home, otherwise it would be a great idea to put wheels on the house and drive with it on tow 😂😂😂. We all know the problem is when you leave home and need to do a big trip. EV have to plan and leave time to charge when out. The only thing I avoid in my diesel is refueling on motorway services stations and when I get home I don't have to do nothing apart from my neighbour leaving binbags outside his house 😂😂 time is valuable and when you have to wait and faf around to continue your trip... The theory fails. But as I said... Each to their own. 😀😀😀
@@JonathanPorterfield other thing my man. To install a charger at home is over £1200, then you have to add those 9p to your home bill and also the charging away from home is not 9p.. so some form of false economy when you add it all up. Electricity is not free, no matter how cheap is it 😀😀
@zaneta3880 choice , we all have choice, i choose to install 30 solar panels , as i type im filling an ev for free 😉, yes i paid out to install solar , but the electrons to from the sun , are free for anyone to use 'if' they have the equipment. Choice !
Some folk brew their own beer , some buy from supermarket , choice
@@JonathanPorterfield we are going around in circles here 😂😂😂😂. Solar panels are not free nor cheap to install. By the time you recoup your money then car have depreciated. By the time you get your solar panel investment back, is not straightforward plus in some cases you need planning permission. I'm not a hater of new tech, I'm just not convinced ATM. Surely for short rides is marvelous.. but still very impractical 😀
Very much enjoyed this mini series. Wish I could have confidence to get down to 3% in my MG ZS Trophy LR. Look forward to next episode.👍
Legend mate!!
I love the highlands in winter - you're making me feel homesick Jonathan..
Guess what , there's an engine that runs on petrol. They are ideal for people who want practical transportation😂
Absolutely
In winter you must use winter washer fluid, it doesn't freeze.
That confused the hell out of me, is there no anti-freeze washer fluid in the UK?
I had the same issue with the windscreen washers staying frozen last weekend on my 93 mile trip to Leicester. Had to keep stopping to throw screen wash i had into windscreen. I have now bought some screenwash that works to -20 and used neat, will see how it works out
Good point about the charging handle. I've noticed that even the smaller type 2 handle has enough weight to pull itself out slightly before it locks in place.
Nice tip about the Tomatin car and driver recharge stop. I'll bear that one in mind for our trip next year. Thanks. 👍
The whisky is worth a try too!
I was trying to avoid that. My drinks cabinet is basically a single malt whisky cabinet already. 🤔 👍
Appreciate the insight into what could be our future. Pulling up at a place with a single charger, that is in use by someone who also needs to catch the same ferry! It's going to get messy out there, or EV users should start budgeting for more over-night stops....
As battery ranges increase , reliance on public chargers will be less, and if there's a demand the likes of Instavolt , gridserve, Osprey, evyre, etc will put more chargers in , its a chicken / egg scenario 😀
@JonathanPorterfield Are you basing this on the assumption that no one else is going to buy an EV? Yes, battery range will increase... but so will the number of EVs on the road, all of which will require a charge on a woefully under equipped infrastructure, which is already showing signs of not being able to reasonably meet the demands of away from home charging.
@@garysmith5025”isn’t a lot different”? Just getting the EV to communicate with the charger took longer than completely filling an ICE car with fuel. Plus I don’t know of anyone who goes to a petrol station to just put 20 miles worth of fuel in a nearly new car.
@garysmith5025 If there's a 15 minute wait at the peccy station, I'm sacking that off and going to the next one. As you say too, "IF" you know that your destination has a charger. If it doesn't, join the queue at the charging station... with the increasing number of other EV drivers, all waiting for their 15 minute charge too... or, pick somewhere else for your holiday. I don't know about you, but I like to pick where I stay based on how it looks and not whether or not it has charge point. I don't like having to pick second best when I go on holiday, especially so if it were through having to compensate for the inconvenience and limitations of an EV.
Until they can match the range and speed of fueling an ICE, it's just a less convenient and more time consuming way of getting from A to B in a car that costs more to purchase than an ICE equivalent, a cost that that wouldn't offset the extra cost of fuel over electricity over the average ownership of the car. I mean, as an example, 32 grand for an entry level electric Corsa. A bloody Corsa!! Or, 18 grand for the ICE equivalent. It's not that far off being twice as much for the EV equivalent of the petrol model! That's a 14 grand difference which I can absolutely promise you that, even if I kept it for 5 years, I wouldn't be spending anything close to 14 grand on fuel, even at the £1.80 a litre it was not too long ago. I'm retired and am one of the short journeymajority of car owners, could have a wall charger 'if' I wanted an EV, the vast majority of my trips are short, hometown and surrounding area journeys and have NEVER put more than 100 quid a month into my Merc (which only cost 4 grand to buy more than aforementioned Corsa too... I'm not a car snob and have had my fair share of old bangers over the years too, but between a Mercedes and a Corsa, I know which I'd rather have) and that's not even taking into account the increase on my household electric bill that would inevitably come with an EV too.
If my heart was set on the Corsa, then between the ICE and the EV, I would have to own the EV for between 10 - 12 years just to offset the lower 'fuel' cost against higher purchase price (and that's based on the fuel cost of my current car, which undoubtedly drinks more than a small engine in the Corsa). If I only kept it for 3 years, which I typically do these days, I would be out of pocket to the tune of about 8 or 9 grand, despite its lower charging cost vs petrol. Then there is the depreciation too. I've seen 15 year old Jags that hold their value better than the current crop on the EV market!
With that in mind, the absolute decider for me was when I bought my Merc just over 2 years ago, around the same time, my friend also bought a Q4 E-tron. Power unit aside, the spec of our two cars are extremely similar. He's currently trying to part ex it and go back to ICE, but is losing his arse on every offer he's getting. His car cost just over 52k 2 years ago, mine was 36k. He's not had an offer from any dealer for more than 30k since he decided to get rid. Out of interest, we did a valuation on mine... 28k (that's average milage too, which mine is way, way below and through WeBuyAnyCar too, hardly famous for their competitive rates). I've seen 8k drop from my car in two years, he's seen over 22 grand disappear on his. Do you think he saved 22 grand in fuel costs over the two years he's owned it? At my age now, it doesn't seem as important to me as it once was, but my car is marginally quicker to 60 and is considerably faster at the top end. I am at an age where convenience and financial sense are far more important to me now though, so on that note, my car has at least twice the range on a full tank of his Audi on a full charge and it hasn't mugged us off for over 10k a year in depreciation. Our milage is pretty similar and where I am still comfortably on my first set of tyres, he's already had to change all 4 corners at 600 quid and is down to 5 mil on the second set. That's half of my annual fuel bill! My home eleccy bill hasn't gone up outside of the grid increases either. He reckons that his is electricity bill has gone up by 40 to 45 quid a month too, so with his tyres and home electric (I'm not even taking into account public charge point costs), how much has he actually 'saved' in running costs over those two years on the car that cost 16 grand more to buy? About five hundred quid. For all the difference it makes, his 52k car is now worth about a grand or two more than my 36k car is. Give it another few months and I'd bet cash money that by then, it'll actually be worth LESS than mine. I think I would rather have saved the 22+ grand in depreciation over the two years, than 'saving' about 500 quid in day to day running costs. I mean, where is the real terms cost saving there??
On the plus side though, I guess he could use that 30k part ex on his Audi to get a Corsa EV and only have to put a couple of grand of his own into it.
510 miles to Scotland from home.
Enjoyed your adventure brilliant
Thanks for watching 👍👍
I agree about the screen wash I have to use neat washer fluid.
Just a quick edit, it’s also the headlights which don’t clear of frost if they are LED , never realised that, but it applies to ice cars also. Plus modern cars the washer bottle is usually down near the front bumper so never gets any heat from the engine, great modern design.
You are right, as all the ICE cars I've owned have washer bottles away from the engine. However, it must be warm enough to stop them freezing. In my experience, it might also be the washer jets that freeze up, as I found that on my ICE cars in extreme temperatures.
if you have the rear screen heater on, in some cars that also heats the washer jets.@@andycotton162
For screenwash look at the temp on the bottle and 1/2 it. Eg if it says -10c it is good for -5c
I use the -60stuff from Lidl and Aldi . They sometimes call it antifreeze but it is screenwash.
I’m in the mountains a lot
Keen to hear what it actually costs to fill up the battery. I'm in Australia, but my brother in the UK says price varies like buggery. Always loved Far Kinross
Great set of videos. With regards to out of service chargers do you think it would make a difference if we all informed companies every time we encountered one?
Great video. Good show of weather and EV driving up there. The Three Bridges cafe, could you have switched to the Rapid AC plug and let the Ioniq 5 charge on the DC side? Likely you’d have gotten the same speeds from the AC side at that point.
That was quite exciting to watch !
Do you find that your key fob gets a low battery message during extremely cold weather, even if the battery is new as my 500e does this?
16.02 i see where the meaning of range anxiety comes from .Great video though .
Jonathan whats your opinion on buyinng a used EV with the Chademo standard? Will they be obsolete soon for anything more than local driving with home charging? Thanks
Thanks for sharing and clearly explaining your Zoe journey logistics! This made me nostalgic for my Zoe 52 Kw, but not for the painfully cramped rear seats ... You were pretty lucky with most chargers you encountered, but the EV charging lottery re availability and reliability remains a challenge.
Easy to keep screen wash bottle warm just wrap insulation round it , I know this works as used to live in a Caravan years ago on a site and the pipes never froze underneath for water supply why ? because they were wrapped in foam insulation even in -23c in 2010 the water pipes never froze so it definitely would work for a screen wash bottle.
Abington is my favourite services heading North and home. It's also about 5 hrs south from home, so great for a first stop.
Nice video, well done a great challenge 🎉
Thanks simon , it brought back many memories of driving 24kWh leaf and Mitsubishi I-Miev up to scrabster, and working out if id make the ferry on time !
I never missed a booked ferry !
Thanks for watching 👍😊
@@JonathanPorterfield I feel your pain I had a Zoe 22Wh and did a similar journey to Somerset in the snow, was getting about 45-50 miles per charge 😭 have e-208 now. Even that's not the best in the cold.
Lovely BRoll Images, how did it handle with 40psi...haha, you just told me 🤣 I like 36 in winter and 40 in summer
Liked how the charging bays had the snow swept, won't see that down south and totally agree it can be fun adjusting driving and range, playing the game
I dont race around any more Nigel ( unless im catching a ferry 🤣) so ive not noticed any loss of grip or handling at 40psi !
@@JonathanPorterfield I've just pumped the soul tyres up from 32 to 36/34 but may put them up again depending how they feel when we next drive.
I'm with you on slowing down , rushing isn't any fun these days , especially on that steep descent you just did with twisty bits😱
You picked a good day/time to be at Kinross P+R, I've been there time after time, and had to queue. Fortunately the services on the opposite side of the M90 now have a bank of Gridserve rapid chargers, rather than the single CCS+CHAdeMO unit there before.
Yes i walked over to the services to buy some screen wash , as i needed to stretch my legs !
I wanted to test out the CPS chargers too
Awesome adventure, it's quite interesting to see high mileage EVs doing these trips, I think I need to convince the missus I need to do a similar one. Will probably use some of your stops as well as reference. I do have a long range MG4 though so might be less squeaky bum in terms of range.
Interesting video, I have seen so many other videos warning about EVs, but you presented a balanced view of an EV experience. I currently have a hybrid which I am happy with and don’t intend to change soon (only purchased 18 months ago). My concern is still with the range anxiety and less than ideal charging infrastructure. Hopefully this will be sorted in the next few years.
Another interesting vlog
Interesting thanks.
Ive no idea why this was in my recommended views, but that's the magic of the algorithm and I'll subscribe as it was interesting.
Ive also been using our Zoe's this week in the cold, I never use public chargers though so only go to places that I know I can get there and back. My MO, whatever the weather is as follows. I always depart home at 100%, I reset the meter and if I have a 150 mile trip, I know that I need to achieve 3MPKWH or better (based on the 50 KWH of the ZE50). This seems to work for me and I'll drive to be sure I achieve better than the required MPKWH. The net result is If I get 3 MPKWH, ill get 150 miles out of them, if I get 4MPKWH, ill get 200 miles and so on. It would be interesting for you to reset the meter on one of these cold trips and see if the MPKWH is accurately reported. Your predicted MPKWH at your outset was calculated by the car to be 2.876 I'll explain. Battery available = 73% of 50 = 36.5KWH. you had a forecasted range of 105 miles. so, 36.5/105 = 2.876MPKWH. Clearly the car is calculating the range having taken into account the low ambient and the influence this will have on battery chemistry. I noted that your MPKWH meter was showing higher through the journey, thus, I conclude that it hasn't been reset for some time. I'll be putting very low temp screen wash in both of mine today. You have done a lot of mies, well done for getting the most out of these cars.
Thanks for watching 👀 🙂
Nice trip, great dialogue; just show what you can do.
Great video, just a tad disappointed we didn't get to see your soup!! 😄
I had a longer clip of my plugging in and of my 'leak and tatties' soup , but to background music was copyright and YT took out the clip with this music , so the picture of the soup was very short 🙃 😅
16:22 you were lucky to get there before the Ioniq! Otherwise your best laid plan would be all for nought. Would you have been able to stay in a hotel there or near the ferry terminal? Or venture to Inverness for the night?
what gasoline car do you drive that the normal windshield washer fluid does not freeze? THey all do.
There are anti-freeze additives and pre-mixtures for the windshield washers in the United States. I'm sure that you can find them in your country at an automotive supply center.
Some cars had the option of heated screen jets, they were available on the MGF sports car where the engine was in the back. I had the problem of frozen screen jets on a ice toyota gt86. Even though it was a petrol engined car, the screen jets were embedded in plastic, so got no heat from the engine. To get round the problem I had to put concentrate -20c screen was in, which seemed to solve the problem, though never had a really bad winter to really try it. I think heated scrren jets were also available for the land rover defender as well, I don't know about other makes of car.
Heated screen jets just a gimmick really, in really cold conditions, your screen will ice up more. Interesting experiment, on a freezing cold day, put out a dish of warm water and a dish of cold water, the warm water dish will freeze first!
@@davidvranch821 Heated screen jets don't heat the fluid/water, just there to stop the jets from freezing. Had them on an old Merc 190E and they were great.
Greetings from Jersey! Two weeks ago I drove my Nissan e-NV200 40kWh combi from Portsmouth to Glasgow. Had similar range decision as you've had. On a long stretch up M6, my 'fumble factor' calculation of 25 miles got eaten away by low temperature. Arrived Carlisle with 3% battery which was a bit close for comfort, but no worries.
Caroline HELLO from Orkney , well done on taking your eNV200 combi to Glasgow, and 3% left is very impressive ,you do have a 'bit' of a cushion below 0% , not much but a little, id say around 1 mile , so at 3% i rekon 4/5 miles left atxaround 30 mph 😀
seeing heavy loss on my wifes e-golf. Used to do a full week commute in the summer, now after three days we’re playing russian roulette with the fourth (so we tend not to risk it). 2.3m/kwh for what is normally a very efficient car. They’re short trips - 8 miles each way which I know is disproportionately ‘heavy’ for EVs heating the cabin/battery and then you’re stopping (like a diesel they don’t like short trips really).
Portable 'top up' charge packs have to be the future?
Hi Jonathan, screen washers freeze in ICEs too. Get some "neat" good temp screenwash for winter.
Oh, and when the roads are like that, switch off the auto wipers😊
Another great video johnathan you're a top man did you have the heating on? Kind regards Mark
Thanks Mark , yes had heating on auto and 20 degrees
Looks cold up there...
I would never use wipers until screen is clear as it really does damage the rubber.
If a winter screen wash mix is used then it shouldn't 🥶 freeze. I think its the washer jets that freeze, maybe heated washer jets should be fitted to all electric vehicles.
ALL Vehicles, never mind EV's. Good to see they're becoming much more common, i was almost convinced that all modern cars had them.
My last two cars, a 2006 Volvo and a 2008 Land Rover both did.
You should put your wipers on when your screen is icy. It will damage the blades
I was about to say the same thing 👍 although you have said should by mistake
That's what a scraper's for! Lol.... Mine's built into a glove! 😝
My 2013 Zoé has free connect pre-heating,why doesnt the newer ones
I have been using -10 screen wash and the bottle is fine in the temp at -6. Pity the wee tubes to the washers froze up. Added half a bottle of -65 demon shot but no luck. Once it warms up in a few days I will use -20 for the rest of the winter.
I've moved to Prestone -28. Never freezes.
Never had any problems with my zoe washer bottle freezing and I live in NE Scotland. I use -10 degrees undiluted screen wash available at most supermarkets. Thanks for the video.
Minus 20 degrees at Tesco but then when the interior of the car is cold and the air temp really is minus 7 degrees it still blocks the nozzles or freezes on the screen.
Thanks for watching 👀 🙂
can you use the heater while charging
Reminds me of the old old days with a Nissan Leaf 24kW. The full charge vs Zap and Dash dilemma? Zap and Dash is quicker, surely?
Not in Scotland and CPS , as you can't 100% guarantee that they will work , so when you find a working rapid from cps , charge up as much as possible !
So, the screen wash liquid doesn't freeze in ICE cars? Do you leve them running at night or what? It just has to be an EV owner to put tap water into the screen wash tank in winter time.
Screen wash issue if you use Prestones screen wash then it doesn’t freeze even down to -23 Celsius. They sell it at Costco and some Halfords I’ve been using it for over 10 years
I'd really like an eco car to replace my TDI Passat. Needs to be same size (large estate) and same range (>500 miles). Ideally under £5000. Is there anything or is my best bet to stick with what I have? While I live and do a lot of my journeys in the UK, I have a more european attitude to driving (2hrs is a short journey, 5 is medium and anything over 6 is long)
Thought you be able to make it defrost remotely through the app? So it would be toasty when you got in. Can do that on our Kona and obvs Tesla M3
Yes but with the Zoe it doesn't always work properly in my experience. My Ariya does work well but there is a bug with it, the alarm constantly sounds when preheating, the car is booked in for a recently released software update that fixes this issue. The Ariya heats up so quickly from cold though that its not really an issue, the screen is defrosted in 30 seconds and the heated steering wheel and seats around 2 minutes.
The washer reservoir freezing is a problem on both of our EV's, both of which are EV's that have petrol or hybrid versions of the same vehicle and have the screen wash reservoir down towards the front of the engine bay. We're putting neat extreme low temperature washer fluid in over the winter to try and stop it happening this year.
I just missed you at Kinross! I use Prestone -23’c neat screenwash. You can retrofit heated screenwash nozzles and a heated retrofit screenwash bottle
Buy the screenwash at Costco..btw it’s 1hr max on Rapids in Kinross and 4hr max on fasts. It’s the AC on the rapids that’s 22kw mate! Btw the one a Tomatin distillery is only 18p/kwh but agree the one at the community hub is great for food! We stop at Kingussie because it’s got heated toilets and showers and 3 rapids and 2 fasts. Close to the shops for a coffee/soup etc.
+1 for the neat Prestone but I suspect his nearest Costco is Westhill near Aberdeen.
Hi , sorry we missed each other , thanks for the heads up on the fast chargers at Kinross , I checked the CPS web site again and both say they are 22Kw fast chargers !??
Ive not tried the distillery Rapid for a while as it was 'faulty' for months a while back and i gave up trying it !
Hello from the United States. In the United States, they sell windshield washer fluid for sub zero temperatures.
It’s commonly used here.
Engine engine temperature is not sufficient when the engine is not running, obviously. The fluid will freeze and break the tank.
You need to find the right fluid
I was being sarcastic, i always use proper screenwash , but the last owner didn't !
Yep, that's what I do when I get into my car first thing in the morning - plan where I'm going to stop......... not. Because I have a reliable ICE vehicle I get into my car, go where I need to and then come home again.
Do people ever get attacked or robbed while waiting for their cars to charge at these public chargers?
Did it take 2 hours to charge up enough to cover 114miles? 😱
What was your overall miles per KwH on the route? That's the critical number for me. 2 miles per kwh or less, and my plug-in is cheaper running petrol, at my domestic electricity rate. For on road chargers, the efficiency needs to be even more.
I thought that all motorists used additive for winter in the screen washer bottle?
A friend of mine has one of these zoe's and generally drives it around town so doesn't have any issues with range. He did tell me that on a long run if his wife has the other car he puts his 3 phase generator in the back just to give him peace of mind. He said it's like having a proper spare tyre instead of a can of spray!
😂😂😂 taking a generator on a long run... what a load of 💩
@@Rhodgie It's his own home made hybrid 😀😀 what a wonderful life
shite@@seantaylor9758
So to get a 7pm ferry you had to spend how long charging in total?
2 stops of around 1 hour each , to cover 305 miles , without stopping in a diesel it would take 5 hours 40 mins , so it took me 7 hours 40 mins.
We’ve had ev’s for the past 5 years and traveled to Europe regularly, the only issues have been unreliable/inadequate chargers in the uk. France and Germany have an abundance of modern chargers (and slightly cheaper to use).
Beautiful through the Cairngorms as usual and the mighty Zoe took it all in its stride.There seems to be an idea now that you must have 4 hundred miles range and charge at warp9.I have a completely different attitude that I can now see places that I have missed for 40 years.Especially around Scotland there are some hidden gems and I just take the EV for a wee run..and remember my childhood.South of Aberdeen to Dundee,everyone goes the A90.Down the coast road through Montrose,Arbroath,Lunan Bay,Carnoustie, Monefeith..Lovely and loads of chargers.Because the car needs a top up its way more relaxing.
I 100% agree with you 😉👍👍
Nice update Jonathon, I dont think you mentioned it, but guessing you bought this for yourself?
yes , waiting on Mrs P's approval !!
@@JonathanPorterfield always better to ask for forgiveness rather than ask for permission! If swmbo didn’t like the Kona high driving position I’d have that Zoe in a heartbeat.
Fifty years ago my Saab was failed an MOT because the screen wash was frozen. You'd have thought they could have thawed it but apparently it's not allowed. But I think you could have got 3 points for that drive!
My C Class has trace heating in the washer pipes. Ideal for an electric car as it is just a thin heating element.
Thats brilliant 👏
Very nicely done, shows that a city car can do these kinds of journeys, which I guess is the key take away, no doubt there will be the usual comments about charging stops, diesel, blah blah, which kind of misses the point. Fair play to CPS I’ve never had any issues using the RFID card, and you can find some cheap rates.
Thanks Mike 👍, i expect the anti ev comments , so it's good to see 'you' get what im trying to show , that with a little planning you can drive all day in a Renault Zoe 👍
one hour thirty to full charge.... my god it would be faster to just go back to horses
Re stay on or get off - road tripping I'll usually splash and dash and generally move off when my charge rate drops below 100kW unless I'm aiming for somewhere specific when I may go to 80% or if I'm eating when I may set 95% to get time to eat. (Tesla M3LR)
I have no problems with getting home on fumes - I like a buffer elsewhere.
We need an EV equivalent of "on fumes".
Make it happen!
@@RichardBrooklyn on millivolts?
I miss having heated mirrors on my Leaf.. turns out it can be quite useful when the mirrors start to freeze up while driving! Windcreen defrosting is great though, and the heated steering wheel is a godsend :)
Heated mirrors and seats are SERIOUSLY great in this weather, you're dead right! The ones on my 5yr old Juke diesel are brilliant! Also, if my tank was 78% full, I wouldn't have to stop for over 400 miles! No "planning" necessary . 😂😂
@@PercyPruneMHDOIFandBarsSo how many times a year do you drive 400 miles without stopping?
@carlarrowsmith Hard to put a precise number on it, but generally, at least 12. However, I do stop for "comfort breaks". I too, am "a certain age"! 🤣
@@PercyPruneMHDOIFandBarsThat'll be a "0" then.
@carlarrowsmith Your point being? I don't waste time sitting around waiting for the car to charge, no anxiety about whether the charger will work or will there be a queue. It can literally be a "splash and dash"! (Just have to be careful 😉)
For me a car is just a means of getting from A to B, safely and with a minimum of stress. I couldn't afford the time or effort to plan a journey based around where the chargers are located, what kind of chargers they are, or worry about real world range or a 'buffer' range.
get a car that does all the planning for you, not all cars are the same you know
Glad you got back safe and well. Thanks for sharing your experience and expertise. I’m going to have to take a closer look at the Zoe’s.
Imagine having to plan your whole day around your car power quantity
Ridiculous
But you would have comfort breaks anyway. So makes sense to change then. 😁
LOL. How long do your "comfort breaks" usually last? @@Christina198561
Cutting it that fine must be very stressful. Supposing there was a detour needed?
Since 2013 ive driven over 60 evs from Leicestershire to orkney, i enjoy the planning, but now it's too easy , and a bit boring ! No drama anymore 😄🤣
Tomatin is the perfect stop when leaving from Central Scotland to Scrabster for the lunchtime ferry. You hit Tomatin for a superb breakfast
I guess it will take me a while to develop the confidence to go as close to empty as you have been on this journey. The only thing I don't really understand is why on earth are Renault discontinuing the Zoe ? It was a great little car when it launched with 22kW, a really usable car with 41kW and arguably best of the bunch with 52kW. My first journey in a Zoe this august was 190 miles from Bradford to West London area and I had over 70+ left in the tank which shows how slowly I was driving down the M1 !
Hi Rhian. Which version did you get? Is it a 50kw? How are you getting on so far? I'm still looking, but decided the weather today ( 2nd Dec) was not really conducive to car hunting.
The Zoe is a great little car but tech has moved on and they are coming out with the 5 which will be cheaper for them to make with more modern tech and be more in tune with the latest ncap ratings etc. something the Zoe has been criticised for lately.
Also would seem the Zoe, despite being only available as an EV, much like the Leaf, is designed conventionally like an ICE car and loses some of the additional advancements that full BEV packaging can offer.
i had a new Renault 5 in the 90s and did a 200 mile drive and the washer bottle kept freezing up .
I am sure the washer problem might be a Renault/Dacia thing. I had the same problem on both makes,ICE and EV.On the Dacia the bottle was located almost under the windscreen and the washers just beside the wipers below the bonnet line.So they were always in the shade or well away from engine heat.Thr cure was Weapons grade deicing fluid and give the jets a wee squirt of deicer as well.Sometimes that wasn't enough but it helped.
The Scrabster Stromness ferries have separate queues for electric vehicles and a fork lift on board(to toss them over the back if they catch fire?) However that is impressive from the Zoe.
No separate queues for EVs 🙄 with Northlink Ferries.
I was on that ferry 3 weeks ago and there was at Stromness@@JonathanPorterfield
When we were on it there were about 10 EV’s. They were all in their own paint marked line at Stromness.
@syncrosimon on Friday last week , i wasn't sent into any 'ev ' line , just lane 7 , and with other cars !
@@JonathanPorterfield yeah don’t know, perhaps if there are over a certain number they do it?
i did laugh when you recomended a comustion engine in the front to keep the washer bottle from freezing up...
Great that you have the time to sit at chargers. Whole thing seems ridiculous! When EV's can do 500 miles on a charge... and a charge takes 10 minutes max, at a charging station with loads of spares at all times... i'll be interested.
99% of the time , i fill up when i sleep ! , and ive a 3 hour bladder range , Max ! Which is around 160 miles with real world speeds on uk roads 😊
Internal combustion engines for the screenwash! That was funny, but to be honest something should've been thought about.
I'm not in a position to buy an EV for many personal reasons, but a small electric element in there wouldn't have been difficult would it?
I had a zoe last year fornthe cold snap. It wouldnt charge at all. Battery got too cold. It was great driving in snow but as a cold weather car its rubbish.
He was 30 years of age when he left the house, journey planning,range anxiety and charging stop-overs,mathmatic calculations, instrument Kw watching took their toll!
🤣🤣🤣
How did the bladder-o-meter do, though? :)
I managed 2 and half hours !🤪🤪
That's impressive in that chilly weather. :) @@JonathanPorterfield
I get anxious with a quarter tank of petrol, so EVs are not for me.
I was exactly the same. But the move was brilliant and it's amazing how the confidence builds when you drive it and learn about your driving style. 😊