Well that is not true.
I did raise an eyebrow at that as well Michael 
I don’t know of any EVs that will not charge on a normal 3-pin socket at the very worse, with many options in-between that and fast-charging, i.e. 7kw home chargers, three-phase supplies, etc.
I would have agreed a few days ago but then I saw Harry’s latest video.
He did one last year about driving from Chipping Norton to London return in a fully electric SUV, like the Guardian story it turned into a saga of broken charging points, queues at chargers, partial charges and getting home later than planned. At the time Harry came to the same conclusion.
But look at his latest experience, the infra is getting there.
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I also saw that and noted that he drove to a charging station to try it out, having plenty of charge still in the tank. He wasn’t under stress or time pressure. That I think is the real difference.
On street charging and the rate of home charging is the issue. A 13A socket won’t charge my friends Tesla over night, if I heard him correctly. He spends time planning his travel around chargers and has the benefit of a charger at work. The amount of time spent buggering about with it puts me right off, I’m way too busy for that. If I need to drive to Leeds and back with barely a stop because that’s what I have time for then that’s what I need. I’ll wait a while for things to develop before I take the plunge.
At the beginning of the year i bought a nearly new diesel van to replace my old smokey thing, no electric versions available at the time.
I think it’s about time and convenience, people are too busy on internet forums to wait for a charge.
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LOL. I’m not sure how much to take seriously there
People with home chargers have the best EV experience. Those without are at the mercy of public chargers which are clearly a developing service. It’s a good service on the whole but there are issues for those who rely on them.
We have a home charger. The car is fully charged each time we use it. There’s no wondering if we have range to get where we’re going, we just get there. There’s no forgetting to charge, it’s second nature to plug in at home. No queueing at petrol stations, no filling up in the cold or heat, waiting to full up. We get in, we go.
When we go city to city and at some point need to charge we stop at a motorway services, park up, plug in, go in to the services, go to the loo, grab some food, do what we need to do and then get back in and hit the road again. It’s such a genuinely nice experience not having to essentially service the car, whilst it’s charging, we are doing what we need to do, not the other way around.
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Having watched several of Harry’s videos on EVs this seems to be one of the biggest advantages to me: the car is always ‘full’ when you hop into it at home.
Completely agree that without a home charger it’s pretty pointless.
My point about it not being fully ready is that if the electric car wants to truly replace the petrol, it needs infrastructure that means you are guaranteed to get to a station at any point. Whether this be for a long trip or for a spur of the moment drive after work, or a diversion.
Take a normal situation. When I was looking at moving I had to take car to work (no charging point), park all day, then drive 60miles in traffic, look at 2-3 properties, then drive back. That would have been a ballache with an electric car. With as petrol car, I filled up the night before and was more than comfortable to do all that
Yes a unique scenario and not everyday use. A different scenario would be to drive a large distance to visit relatives. Crucial with baby you do it in one go, straight after work.
I’m not caught up on ranges these days and it may be that the Teslas can do much more than I anticipated. But then we are not talking about electric cars, we are talking about Teslas. And they carry a hefty price tag of I remember correctly.
I’m sure in the future we’ll all be driving electric (and I do look forward to it) but it’s silly to say it’s as easy to use as petrol. It’s getting there and if your driving profile suits it, it’s a great alternative.
In any case, I’m in a flat and our car park doesn’t have chargers… so pretty pointless
The other big advantage is little or no servicing. I’ve our our EV for two years and there’s been no servicing. Not even new tyres yet (due soon though). If there’s an issue, they let us know. No issues so far. No reliability issues either.
I pump the tyres every six months or so, replace the windscreen wipers and top up the washer fluid once a year and that’s basically it. It’s a really nice experience. Plus the driving’s awesome. It’s fast a hell, has immense torque and there’s no engine warmup required, full power from the get-go!
Oh, full stealth mode as well. Your fun does not bother anyone else.
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What do you mean? I could do that about three times before needing to charge and that’s if I was driving like a tit. They go 200-400 miles on a single charge now depending on budget.
Chargers are getting quicker every year. New ones can top you up to get home to the next charger quicker than you can run to the toilet, grab a coffee and get back to the car. Before long it’ll be so quick you’re the weak link.
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They’re not for all budgets, of course. They go from £35k new upwards. You can lease them or PCP finance them as well, and of course there’s always second-hand. Pound for pound they’re better value than the equivalent petrol car if you look at performance, let alone convenience and running costs.
Maybe you’re right but I’m the above example it was 20milws to.work, then 60 to area, then 60 back. Total would have been about 150ish. Not sure all electric cars, including more affordable ones have that range comfortably these days? I could be wrong as not up to spec.
All with a mixture of traffic and dual carriageway.
It was a shit time to be honest 
I still think it will take a bit longer to get electric to the same standard as petrol - I agree it’s close but don’t think it’s there yet for the majority of us.
Doesn’t sound like a lot of fun, admittedly
Okay, two times.
I wasn’t having a dig, just messing.
My pal with a Tesla lives in Highgate in a flat with no off street parking. Plugging in at home is a problem for him but his firm was keen for Teslas due to the tax savings. He drives a good distance to work and charges there so has juice to get home and back in the morning. I understand that there are a few Teslas at his yard but not a charger for each so they have to move cars about during the day so they can all charge. He often drives to Cornwall and has to plan a stop on the way. Some years ago we went to his place in Cornwall on a filthy wet Friday night and had all sorts of delays and diversions taking us almost to the south coast and along. That sort of trouble, unexpected, could ruin planned stops and put one in jeopardy.
As you can see , my experience with these things is secondhand but instinctively I know it’s not for me yet. Just now I don’t have a car anymore managing with a van and bike.
My youngest will want to learn to drive in a year…should she learn manual or is it a dying art?
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The purist in me reels at the thought of not learning manual, but really, no, there’s no point is there for the next-generation of drivers is there? Everything’s going auto, either due to the transition to EV or just general driver disinterest. What isn’t is edge-case or will come with it’s own professional training, i.e. HGV, and even those will go EV soon. Crazy times eh.
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Interesting question. Between EVs and DSG gearboxes in petrol-engined cars it certainly is a changing world. But the traditionalist in me would still see it as a could skill to have.
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I’d say definitely she should get a manual licence. We are heading to a fully auto world, but, we’re not there yet.
I had to switch to an automatic car a few years ago after wrecking my knee in a bike accident, which is fine for all the driving I do, which other than the odd motorway jaunt up to the midlands to visit family is virtually all around London.
However, not being able to drive a manual makes it difficult when it comes to to hiring a car when on holiday or if I need a van to shift something. Automatic options for hire cars tend to be limited to larger models & is therefore a lot more expensive. Auto vans are harder to find & again more expensive.
So, unless she really struggles with a gearbox - my sister did, she should get a manual licence to keep her options open.
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I never specify an auto when I book a car but more and more they are supplying one. However, I’m sure the moment I try specifying one, they will charge handsomely for it. Actually, pretty much the same for sat nav: they charge extra but if you decline, you will usually find one fitted.
But I take your point, it might be many years before ALL hire cars are auto.
Then there’s always the much delayed flight into some obscure sleepy holiday airport that finally lands around midnight & despite your booking stating automatic, the hire place only has manual cars left. You’ve been up since 4am & it’s 80km to your hotel…
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It’s a bit off topic but I’d encourage her to drive manual for all the reasons above and because I aspire to do some track days with them when they have some experience and I’ve got a suitable car again.
No chance of me getting an automatic anytime soon.
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now if they had the hydrogen car they would have been fine IF there had been a hydrogen station on the south coast