The model S is what I am looking at currently, even the basic and not with the extended range, however am tempted by the full autopilot feature (just like a gadget, don’t know if I would actually use it much).
However, it is the cost, I think like everything you need to:
A) Save damn hard
B) Pay rise, pay rise, pay rise - would make it easier to afford.
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If you work employed worth seeing if your company has a salary sacrifice scheme.
I’ve found out ours doesn’t but is planning to set it up, or was back in Feb before it all kicked off. I’m going to enquire again when things have calmed down.
So leasing a Tesla on gross salary before you have tax and NI taken off saves a huge amount monthly as BIK is now 0% on EVs.
I don’t understand the salary sacrifice and BIK thingy…
So if my work does salary sacrifice, according to this calculator I can have a Model 3 for £154 per month? 
That might be so, depends largely on your marginal rate of tax for the most beneficial arrangement.
More important today is job security and the ability to maintain our present standard of living.
I think that in twelve months times many of us will view these schemes in a very different way.
So why aren’t all employers doing this if all they have to do is recalculate your salary and payslips which is probably automated through some software anyway 
I know mine does the cycle to work scheme where they get you a new bike and all the equipment through salary sacrifice. I really need to look into this 
I’ve always wanted a Tesla.
My Renault Zoe arrived last week. Hardly had a chance to drive it, but really loving it so far. It’s nippy and has great handling. So easy to drive.
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Employer commitment?
What happens to the car if you leave your current job, are made redundant, become sick or fired?
This is surely a consideration for the employer, i.e. does it lock you into a ‘guaranteed’ job for 3,4,5 years because of the car? Am I missing something other than the obvious if you part ways; is the car simply taken back from you and you pay no more? In which case, there’s nothing to lose.
Or is the car ‘ownership/lease/PCP/rental’ transferred between employers if you switch employment?
I have also considered presenting the sacrifice scheme to my employer, but need to consider the potentially expensive personal downside(s) first
I find this a really interesting post. I agree that electric car prices are high, but if I compare the original list price of my Honda Civic 2014 (Touring EX Plus) with a Tesla Model 3 I find them to be very comparable (£38k vs £40k), the real difference is that the second hand prices are not really comparable (for some reason Teslas do not depreciate the same way as ICE cars).
The Range requirement of 300+ miles though I really question. How many people really need to do 300+ miles off a single charge? Is this just that we have become so used to ICE motors and filling up with fuel every 300 to 500 miles that we cannot conceive of doing it a different way?
We recently invested in a second hand Leaf (latest shape). I was surprised how large it is, and I would definitely compare it to my Civic (although the back seats don’t fold flat so the “extended” boot is not as useful). With a range of 160 miles on a full charge I was concerned because my partner works in Manchester and commutes 80-110 miles to get there (depending on route), stays a few days then commutes back. A full charge on a normal 13A socket can complete overnight, and many of the locations she works (Hospitals) have some charging facility available.
Whilst she has to be concious of the battery state at no point has she had to resort to a top-up quick charge on any journey (although COVID-19 meant she only did 4/5 weeks before the lockdown).
If you are planning on getting an EV the ONLY thing you need to do is ensure that wherever it is parked overnight has available charging then you only need to have the range for your single longest journey. Is that really 300 miles?
Mindset for EVs is different.
David
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Good advice if you are fortunate enough to have a charging facility at an overnight location, very many don’t.
More important is to be aware of available chargers in the area and allow sufficient time to charge when needed.
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Currently for me until there is a good electric pick up with over 300 miles range (that includes towing a trailer) electric isn’t an option.
Waiting to see Ford’s electric Ranger when it’s finally ready.
It’s true that the typical Jo probably doesn’t need 300 miles on a single charge maybe that’s just me (possibly a few others) because I’m/we are used to having a car that would run on petrol/diesel that would do this on a full tank.
But on the other hand, whilst I only commute 21.4 miles to/from work 5 days a week (obviously not including self isolation) if you have these needs because you go camping throughout the year etc and have need to take 2 cars, I wouldn’t want to have a car with such a low mileage range that I would need to stop every 100 miles to ensure I have enough charge to get to the destination. Like everything it all comes down to individual need
I agree 100 mile range would be a pain. But 200 mile range would get you to pretty much anywhere in the UK with one maybe two stops at most.
But how long would those stops have to be? If you’re in the middle of nowhere I doubt they’ll have a fast charger and otherwise it can take 10-20 hours to fully charge a battery, whereas I can refuel in 5 minutes
I would love an electric car, but range and cost mean mean I won’t be getting one anytime soon
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In the new Zoe it’s 50 mins to go from 20% to 80% at a 50kw charger, which you can find at plenty of motorway service stations.
Just because you’re traveling to the middle of nowhere doesn’t mean you have to charge in the middle of nowhere. You can charge 100 miles away from your destination, go to your destination then drive 100 miles back on your return trip. Granted it takes more planning, and you will have to wait an hour every 3 hours of driving. But just plan your lunch to coincide with your stop. Also worth factoring in the cost of refueling. It might only take 5 mins to fill your tank, but it’ll cost about 10 times more than charging an EV.
This spring I was meant to go and visit relatives in Wales. From where I live, I could’ve driven 3.5 hours, refill my car in 5 minutes when I’m there then not worry about petrol for the week. Top up in five, then drive home and refuel again in 5 minutes before doing my weekly shop
With a Zoe I’d be cutting it fine trying to make it to Wales in the first place. The nearest 7kW point to my relatives is 7 miles away so I’d have to stop there for 7-8 hours (according to the internet) to fill my battery up (hardly a lunch). Stop for a few hours again on the way back to top up, then at home waste another 8 hours
While I agree that I’d love an electric car, and it would work for the majority of my travel, it is simply impractical currently
And that’s a real worry. Who really wants to extend their day to that extent purely for refuelling?
Charging times will surely remain a real challenge.
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Carl
That is well said, and what I was trying to say but didn’t do particularly well. It is important to pick an EV range that is suitable for (I would say) 90% of your expected journeys.
Aiming for a range of 350 miles because you drove to Scotland once in the last couple of years would probably not be sensible, but if you visit family in Bristol regularly so need 150 miles then that would be sensible to include in your “requirements”.
I agree, but part of this is planning when you do exceptional journeys. There are lots of fast chargers available across many areas of the UK and all EVs have the locations built into their sat nav systems.
David
I have never known any EV owner that was required to fully charge a car, except Bjorn Nyland when he has been carrying out his excellent tests and showing the results on his YouTube channel.
Keep in mind that whilst some ICE owners will try and run their car on fumes it is not something an EV driver would do.
My car will provide, if the battery is lower than 40%, additional range of around 50 miles in about 15 minutes or less so the anxiety you have is not something that has ever troubled me.
Incidentally I drove to Cardiff from Cambridge and then back again without the need to charge after the initial top up of 50 minutes at the outset.
Like I said, you don’t have to charge at the destination you can charge 100 miles away. So your trip could look more like this; Drive for 2.5 hours, stop for an hour for lunch and top up, drive the remaining 1 hour to your relatives. Then on the return, drive for an hour, stop for an hour to top up, then drive the remaining 2.5 hours back home. It turns 7 hours of total travel time into 9 hours, which is pretty reasonable for those one off trips to your relatives. Plus if you’re staying over, then you could top up overnight and avoid the second charge altogether.
edit: and again it would cost 10 times more to fuel a petrol car for the same journey.
Its not like you have to stand there waiting for 8 hours. You charge overnight while you sleep. or at a 50kw charger for an hour.
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If you’re regularly spending all day driving, then sure, an electric car might be a pain. But personally if I’m doing a 6 hour drive I will take a break to eat and stretch my legs.