Is It Time To Switch To An Electric Van? e-Expert Test

[@SkillBuilder]

See our latest e-van video 👉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWHTeJWgq9insLc

[@tilerman]

Personally, i would like to see a 'real' road test. Middle of a cold winter with heater on full blast, at night with lights on , loaded to the hilt with gear in the back and two bruiser's in the passenger seat's and 25 miles to get home but showing 20 on the batterie's. Otherwise, quite a nice looking toy.

[@bernardcharlesworth9860]

Got one of these lights not a problem nor load but you do see the ceramic heater taking a hit.I have preheated the van while plugged in morning and have a heated seat cover and just use heater when needed got the 75kw model so that that bad still workable at about 140 miles in winter with load and lights and heat

[@SkillBuilder]

We may get another van to test. It depends if the motor manufacturers want to take the risk of a drubbing

[@EverydayLife621]

I've found exactly the same - perfect locally (sub 150 miles / day) - I agree the acceleration is something else - but the infrastructure for longer journeys is very poor - it seem to me that every charging station needs a seperate app / more card details or registration - aparently tesla have a seamless system in that as soon as you plug in - it will atotmatically charge back to your credit card et al. - in the future it will be seamless - but at present it does seem to be a bit of hit n miss depending as to the vehicle / where you are.

[@bernardcharlesworth9860]

@@EverydayLife621 it would be nice for our government to do something.But I see no attempt to improve charging facilities from them . purely left to commercial interests .The US are doing better and Norway has them everywhere.We live in hope

[@michael6737]

@@bernardcharlesworth9860 US are doing better? Explain?

[@alanak3210]

Will not be cheap to run for long, once government lose out on the fuel duties you watch out for the "pay per mile" - coming quick I reckon.

[@dedsert9653]

they're trialling this pay per mile tax in the US already, since they can't tax the electricity, particularly if you generate it yourself.

[@audigex]

Sure, but "it's gonna be the same price as petrol in 5-10 years" is irrelevant: it's cheap today If you went to the pub and they were doing your favourite tipple at 30p/pint, you wouldn't say "Well it won't be cheap for long, they'll put the price up next week" and leave, would you? Make hay while the sun shines

[@elobiretv]

@@audigex Fuel might be cheap but you still have to pay a lot more just to buy an electric vehicle in the first place. The fast chargers are not all that cheap either.

[@martinjp1]

Absolutely once they lose money in one place they'll increase it somewhere else.

[@sambrooks7862]

@@audigex yeah but regardless of how expensive diesel gets, you only pay for what you use. If the government claw back lost fuel duty by increasing the cost of electric we all pay whether we have an ev or not.

[@macdietz]

So the UK government is subsizing people who can afford a $50k vehicle. Sounds about right.

[@dashcam2417]

Why subsidize something that is "so good" everyone will want it ,, a bit like heat pump boilers ..... sound familiar 🤔

[@TheTraditionalGolfer]

Great point 👍

[@Leonard_Smith]

It's not the UK Government, they have no money of their own. It is the UK taxpayer who is funding the lifestyle of the rich and infamous...and they were never asked if they wanted to, which is tantamount to theft...

[@paul756uk2]

Same as subsidising wealthy land owners who put up wind farms on their land which the plebs pay for through green taxes. Yet another wealth transfer from the poor to the rich. Oh, and the queen has a big smile on her face due to the proposed expansion of offshore wind farms to which she will get around £9 billion in the next decade for the auction of offshore sea bed rights. That's what I'd call feudalism.

[@mickyork41]

Fair point, but the other angle is they’re supporting the industry to grow quicker than it otherwise might, accelerating development and research. Over time that will improve the technology and bring down prices though scale. Hopefully…

[@Pistol_Knight]

Once there are enough electric vehicles on the road say bye to free changers & no congestion charge and hello to paying through the nose, way of the world who remembers when diesel was cheaper than petrol......until diesel cars became the norm

[@northeastcorals]

Plus once there are no combustion engines left to charge in areas like London they will simply move the goal posts to extract money from electric vehicle owners & keep the number plebs on the busy city roads down for the wealthy.

[@GG-ch1hm]

I also remember not so long ago the government encouraging people to buy diesel vehicles as they said it was better then once people went out and brought them all of a sudden changed their minds

[@caahacky]

yep - too many middle-men would lose their livelyhoods so they'll find some way to make you keep paying out.

[@vassabatielos4740]

That’s exactly what will happen Probably in favour of a new fuel source maybe steam 😂

[@bernardcharlesworth9860]

Well as a PV solar engineer they are going to have to put it on road tax .

[@bidders77]

This would be great if electricity wasn't going through the roof at the moment with no end in sight.

[@fortnitefred1351]

Meanwhile China is putting 100s of coal fired power stations on line.

[@markgilder9990]

And diesel T £1.48/litre. I did see one station at £1.98/litre.

[@peakproofuk]

@@fortnitefred1351 China are cancelling many fossil fuel stations.

[@fortnitefred1351]

@@peakproofuk ooh do you have a source please.

[@mickyork41]

I don’t expect to see petrol and diesel getting much cheaper by comparison though.

[@fazer12779]

14:25 The brace on the white door is the wrong way round. Also Tesla has a self driving option!

[@TheRealMrLaserCutter]

Got the same van. Best bits are the drive train, instant heater in the winter and decent aircon in the summer. Drives best in town that’s where it really shines. Bad bits are the motorway mileage. Glad to be free of the constant dpf/add blue issues on my old transporter.

[@kevinwillis6707]

how much do u reckon you are saving on garage bills for repairs and service? they arent suitable for everyone but i reckon 50% of vans could go to electric tmrw and never run out of range.

[@stevel9914]

Yes they made sure driving diesel was a real pain ... for a while .. before offering up the next product. Whilst offering them up they increased the price of diesel by 70%+

[@hunterb9273]

All the new technologies in electric vans but they still cant be botherd developing decent security.

[@derekclark7545]

What's the point, with the right blade in a 24v battery circular saw I can just cut the side of your van open and take what ever.

[@mickbmx]

@@derekclark7545 that could easily be stopped.

[@dani4772]

At work we have tried electrical vehicles with a painter and for short distance it is OK. However for long distance it causes major issues.

[@SkillBuilder]

I agree and that was my finding.

[@Robert-mt9jw]

Congestion Charge exempt till October 2023 then all vehicles must pay in London. So you probably won't get your investment back.

[@mikej4193]

Robert The ULEZ and congestion scam the biggest con going , ULEZ money will probably be used to bail out that joke Crossrail project that only a small percentage of Londoner's will actually use !

[@Flat-White]

Think it's 2025.

[@twig3288]

Yes, after extensive research the experts have discovered that EVs use the same amount of road space as diesel or petrol powered vehicles.

[@adamhasan4736]

Love the beginning of this vid - very Scott Brown Carpentry

[@Ultimate-roofing-square.]

The views of London through the eyes of mr B, electrifying… Great review chaps. See Dylan slipped off to re charge the van. 🍻

[@markgilder9990]

Mine arrives Monday! It’s going to happen wether we like it or not. In Norway over the last 6 months all vehicle sales were electric.

[@SkillBuilder]

Let us know how you get on, it will be useful information for lots of people

[@Brian-om2hh]

Norway has the highest take-up of electric vehicles anywhere in the World. Around 50% of the population there now drive EV's. The Government are subsidising EV purchase heavily there. It actually costs *more* in Norway to buy a petrol or diesel car or van than an electric one. Plus they are heavily into V2G schemes, whereby EV owners can sell energy from their vehicles back to the grid in times of peak demand. Many EV drivers in Norway are earning the equivalent of around £30 per week, selling energy from their vehicles back to the grid for a higher price than they paid when they charged up. The V2G system is intelligent, and "learns" your daily commuting energy needs, and so always leaves you sufficient electricity in your car for the following day..... We do have V2G schemes here in the UK, but so far they are just privately owned - as far as I'm aware.......

[@tommcleish3541]

I have had a VW e-transporter for 3 months now. Well made vehicle, drives well. However the 80mile range is not realistic maximum range has been 65miles. The charging point on the van is to far away from the public charging points which mean the cable does not reach the van. With winter coming I am going to have to be careful with my driving range.

[@dashcam2417]

At last a real life experience with an electric van . Thank you for the comment.

[@Brian-om2hh]

Get yourself a longer cable. I have seen 10 metre ones advertised..... A longer charge cable is always a good idea, as chargers are sometimes ICE'd.......

[@tommcleish3541]

Unfortunately I can’t find a cable that can extend the 55kw cable fitted to the charger.

[@sharonbraselton4302]

telsa d ell 92 mle raneg

[@twig3288]

The problem with most road tests is that they use brand new vehicles. Try a 3 to 5 year old EV and see how the battery holds up - that would be a more realistic test, and don't kid yourself that the govt grants and incentives will last once they converted the majority to EVs, these schemes are designed to suck you in. Also, how do you think the govt will make up for the black hole in their finances caused by the loss of fuel duty? What happened to your critical thinking Roger?

[@polomint46]

Rapid charging a battery every day will shorten battery life considerably, even Tesla has that problem, when charged daily.

[@jean0dujardin]

@@craigrobinson1234567 it does, just fast charge your smartphone for a year or two and see the difference in battery life

[@MaDxStArZv]

@@polomint46 You are correct even they have the issue however where you miss the point entirely is that Taxi drivers who have done over 1 million miles on there Tesla's who charge regularly have seen no more than 8% loss of battery capacity. Now tell me how long it would take the average person to drive 1 million miles on their car? Secondly lithium batteries have come along way as have evs the leaf had terrible degredation it had no thermal management (liquid cooling) where as all evs now come with management. New batteries are round the corner like 2023 round the corner it will only get better. You clearly have done no research and its a shame because so many people think like you I have done long distance trips in 3 year old evs namely the leaf and zoe and I was shocked at the comfort and how much range they still had.

[@robertsmith9810]

@@craigrobinson1234567 how old is the vehicle ? i am hoping hydrogen takes of

[@Brian-om2hh]

That's your take on it of course. When ours - and other Governments - sign pledges and agreements to cut Co2 and other emissions, they have to come up with strategies to convince users to switch to alternative, less polluting modes of transport. And no, the incentives and schemes won't last. They were never meant to. But you have to try to begin the switch somehow if you've agreed to reduce Co2 etc..... If you don't offer incentives, then the move will take longer. Of course after 2030 there will be no new petrol and diesel cars or vans, so incentives will no longer be needed, plus prices of new EV's will have fallen by then anyway. It's the same story with all new technology. I bought a new Nikon 3.2mp digital camera about 15 years ago, at a cost of £450. The same thing today will be around £25 to £30...... You can buy a new family sized electric estate car today for £20k with a 7 year warranty if you know where to go..... Why would a 3 to 5 year old EV battery be problematic when it has a 7 year warranty? The average battery degredation rate is around 3 to 4% per year.

[@cuebj]

Good to see all the roads I spent decades cycling, running, walking and driving around

[@thomas24469]

Range anxiety roger is the problem ! some people will really struggle with this ! especially if there going to a place thats not familiar , sat nav does not help when there is a que at the charging station either , beacuse more electric mean more capacity to charge , and people can not wait around for say 3 electric vehicle in front of them in the que ! imagine if every vehicle was electric we would suck the power dry and have blackouts , people who charge over night would find there has been a power cut in the night and find a vehicle with no charge in the morning , just imagine everyone has an EV they come home at 5pm plug in the EV, out goes the electic for sure ! we do not have the capacity for every one to own an EV , and there not telling you that ! so we need an alternative to electric, aswell as deisel and petrol and were no we near that yet are we !

[@tracer1127]

Makes sense to me buddy. I think they’ve lost the plot. Apparently a few wind turbines will sort it.

[@martingill6996]

Thanks, Great laid back review, I’m ditching the diesel and getting a lwb one on lease so hoping it works out, 100% agree on pulling their finger out to improve the charging infrastructure as it’s the key to adoption.

[@martingill6996]

@D Fluke why?

[@nainka11]

You should watch Fifth Gear..........and get very depressed.

[@martingill6996]

@@nainka11 wow thanks 👍🏼

[@grippipethin2796]

Don’t do it, you’ll be sorry.

[@peteydynamite8794]

Do you carry much weight? Let us know how you get on if you pull the pin

[@lazylad8544]

Bloody hell chaps, 180 mile round trip. I hope the coffee and biscuits were good.

[@SkillBuilder]

My record for one day's work isLondon to Liverpool and back.

[@leemajors3834]

@@SkillBuilder Just as well you didnt have an electric van then or it would have been one days work 2 days travel

[@thetessellater9163]

@@SkillBuilder - Did the same for an overnight shift in Liverpool, probably as some scousers coming to London for the same job! Madness.

[@stanstatic]

Would love this in the US

[@CaptainCrunch486]

Electric van wouldn’t last me half a day. I go out with a purified water tank full every day with 700L. Roof rack weighs 80kg + ladders. Some days I have all the jet wash gear as well as a gutter vac. Plus in the winter with the heater going, lights on etc……good in principle but won’t last long in reality!

[@mowtownni4587]

I never thought about tanks, but often I am pulling a trailer with 2 tons of soil or stones, electric will pull it, but the range will be woeful

[@tracer1127]

You will be constantly in limp home mode. Unless you just carry your sarnies to work the van will run out of puff in no time. Waste of money, 45 grand on a a car is a lot of money for most people but 45 grand on a van to carry your tools is bonkers.

[@sahhull]

Im a mobile detailer. My current van is a 20 year old 450,00mile Vauxhall combo diesel. Even loaded I get 50mpg, 600+ miles per 5 min fill up. I paid £1500 for it, 13 years ago! I hired a Nissan EV van for a month. I gave the thing back after 2 weeks because I was having to cancel appointments and loosing money. I cannot charge at home even if I bought one. So I'd be reliant on public charging. The EV van allegedly had a 200 mile range. On a typical day. I drive 150miles per day. Except. Once I'd loaded the van for work inc the water tank. I was getting 50 miles from a charge. I had to charge the thing 3 times per day! Thats around 4 hours wasted per day!. My good day went like this: Take missus to work. She comes home on the bus. Charge the van... Yawn. Do 1st job... Charge the van. Do 2nd job Charge the van so its ready for taking the missus to work. What usually happened was: Take missus to work. She comes home on the bus. Charge the van... Yawn. Do 1st job... Drive to the charge point, wait in a 3 deep que and eventually charge the van. Cancel 2nd job because of the charging issue. Charge the van so its ready for taking the missus to work. If we did any socialising, shopping etc... I'd need to visit the charger again before turning in for the night or we wouldnt have enough juice to take the missus to work in the morning. Charging the van isnt just the time charging the thing. Theres the time to drive to the charge point (not many around here). Waiting for a charger to be available if someone is already there. I have been 5 deep in a que. I really despair for the future. They are not good enough. The range is too short and the charge time too long. public charging facilities are sketchy at best. I live in a city of 320,000 people. My nearest public charge point is 8 miles away, there is just 2 points. The next charge points are across the city some 15 miles away. I hate card payments. I have lost so many credit cards... I leave it at home, Im not good with cards.. I can buy diesel with cash... I like cash, I know where I am with cash. The local bus company has some electric buses... They are always freezing cold and the drivers are not allowed to turn on the heaters on because it kills the range, the buses are constantly getting delayed or cancelled because of them needing charging.

[@mowtownni4587]

@@sahhull Nice to hear your real world electric van experience. I spoke to an Amazon prime driver yesterday in his electric sprinter. 80 miles from a charge, but he admitted he often has to turn the heater off so he can make it back to base.

[@daves4026]

Plz can you fit an 8 by 4 sheet on its side in the van?

[@SaintCoemgen]

What a great video. Not just about an electric van, but about architecture 10:15, British history 10:30, personal history 11:10. Well done.

[@SkillBuilder]

Thank you, we tried to make it as watchable as possible and we were lucky to have a great day for filming.

[@effervescence5664]

We tried the Vauxhall version of that van last year and it just wasn't good enough for countywide coverage. It's great around a town like Brighton where the greens have ballsed up the road layout so much it's basically a car park but on the longer runs it was awful and turned an 8 hour day into 11 a couple times for the lads. Hoping that the VW ID Buzz cargo with it's 350mile range next year will be more suitable to take over from a diesel especially with the ULEZ and other company perks and discounts (which we know once everyones electric won't mean a damn thing). May as well save and finance if you can though.

[@duplicitouskendoll9402]

That's the biggest issue - do you send a worker off the job for a few hours to find a charger and the job takes longer, or endure a longer day at the end of the job charging up just to get home? I'll keep sayiing it on every EV video I watch - show me a vehicle with a reliable 400-500 mile range per charge, all temperatures, air con, heating whatever else, plus a charger that can fully charge in 15 mins... then I'll buy it. Time is precious - I refuse to spend weeks of my life every year sat at charge points!

[@AndrewStrydomBRP]

@@duplicitouskendoll9402 Mate in what day are you doing 400-500 miles in one shot, you'll get zero work done. The huge benefit of EVs is that you plug in every night at your own home and then you get a full battery in the morning for the day ahead.

[@duplicitouskendoll9402]

@@AndrewStrydomBRP I do though, at least 2-3 times per week. I work on critical national infrastructure all over the UK and it's site-based work that can't be done from home. I will leave my home at stupid-o-clock to avoid traffic, do 4-6 hours on site, then back on the road home. The rest of the week I DO work from home to balance out the hours. I live on the South Coast, so everywhere is a drive, even London is 150 miles round trip and that depletes a Tesla Model Y battery in winter beyond what I'm comfortable with! Townies with driveways who live in a bubble are fine with EVs though lol. 10 minutes a week at petrol stations or 3-4 hours per week at charging points for the same mileage - a no-brainer for someone who already spends enough time away from home!

[@AndrewStrydomBRP]

@@duplicitouskendoll9402 Then that's fine and it's not yet ready for you, but that's not the majority of people, these vans are perfect for city and work under 50 miles away, which is good for the majority. I've just bought one and I'm very happy with the range since I work in and around london.

[@mdshovel]

Big problem at the moment is supply. Semiconductor shortage issues mean estimated fleet delivery in over 12 months. My current fleet order for lease diesel vans due in September 2021 has just been delayed by 9 months. BTW, never seen the streets of London so empty !

[@thetessellater9163]

London is only for the wealthy who can afford the CG and ULEZ, or buy an EV. Us poorer folk have been priced out of driving in the capital !

[@mdshovel]

@@thetessellater9163 I avoid London like the plague. Live in the country and love it :D

[@lukiejames]

I could listen to the interesting facts and history all day. Not only was this a great overview of the car but such amazing knowledge. Makes me think back to my time in London Pre-covid.

[@SkillBuilder]

Much appreciated!

[@adriansams6066]

I really enjoyed the video and the honesty. Couple of points , in a city I can see the reasoning behind having one but outside of cities I can't see it working. I live in a large village in East Sussex and UK power have already told our local council that there are no plans to upgrade our infrastructure which is already at capacity so no charging points at all on existing homes. Secondly the UK will not have the capacity to charge vehicles on a mass scale, without Nuclear I'm afraid the idea of electric vehicles rolled out across the country is a non starter.

[@grippipethin2796]

Who wants to spend £50000 on a vehicle that you daren’t take onto a motorway though?

[@PiOfficial]

@@grippipethin2796 why wouldn’t you take it on a motorway??

[@TheBrick2]

What is the y payload in comparison to a diesel version?

[@leebowley6953]

it would be good to see how well the van dose in winter when you need lights, heater, windscreen wipers, etc.

[@mrb1864]

I think we all know the answer to this, tests I have seen with loaded vehicles & fair bit of electrics in use pretty much halve the potential max range . hybrids make more sense and reality is EV vehicle not as emission free high efficiency as you think, take a look at the coal, gas, oil, nuclear, biomass plants producing the bulk of the electric and see how green and sustainable some of them are long term and in required numbers power a EV future ...

[@jezthomas4402]

FYI like diesel vans, the lights and wipers run from the 12V battery so doesn’t affect the range.

[@jezthomas4402]

Most of your charging will be at home and many green tariffs are now cheaper than coal-based tariffs. When charging on the go, choose one of the many green only charger companies. This way you can charge completely fossil free.

[@douglasgreaves188]

@@jezthomas4402 the 12v battery charges from the main drive battery through a dc to dc step down inverter. So it has to reduce range. That's why EV try to pre heat or cool while plugged in to take the initial loss of energy.

[@twig3288]

Especially when the battery begins to degrade after a couple of years. Anyone with a smart phone will know the answer!

[@hawkins7331]

I would definitely go for an electric van, but 45k + isn't possible for me nor is 500 a month finance, that's more than my mortgage 🤔

[@mikeselectricstuff]

You also get very cheap parking in Islington and Westminster on-street pay & display bays - pay for the minimum time, get the maximum!

[@sally6457]

That's not going to last though, is it? It's just a gimmick that punishes the hard working poorer people, while giving the people with money spend less. Rich get richer while the poor are priced out of making a living wage.

[@DAVEXR2007]

Stick with what you know - Nothing beats a good Diesel engine

[@nottjohn9418]

I miss London but one of the reasons I left was the horrendous traffic and poor air quality. Thanks for the upload.

[@shane4013]

Watch out top gear roger is on the way top review roger good job 👍😂

[@mark180780]

The reality of it for the company I work for is engineers charging maybe twice a day. Broken or busy chargers in limited numbers. Renault E varos with a real world 100 mile radius when you factor in heating, air con, van load even weather . The tech or infrastructure outside the cities isn't good enough yet.

[@garethjudd5840]

I personally think that the use of Hydrogen that is being developed to run with conventional diesel engines is the future.

[@jameswilford5225]

Nope, that's a non starter. Electric is the future, in fact it's here today.

[@dashcam2417]

@@jameswilford5225 Toyota the leaders of electric hybrid cars are not developing a fully electric car !! They are going Hydrogen.

[@definitelynotkwacker]

Toyota is an ex-leader. They had their chance and muffed it - as did Nissan, their current crop looks pretty stale and expensive against the competition. Toyota is really just one man pushing his company to put pressure on governments for his own idealism. Meanwhile everyone else is going full battery. It's not like they can even give away the hydrogen vehicles they already make and once they've got over their strop they'll follow the rest of the manufacturers and make BEVs. My gut feeling is they're scared they're going to lose out to the Chinese who are way ahead both in tech and price and so are trying to move the goalposts rather than fight them on their terms. Once you take the engine out of a Toyota it's no different to most of the other stuff out there and that scares them. As a consumer given a choice between something you can charge cheaply overnight at home (or for free at a supermarket) and something that you have to drive no small distance to fill up at more than the equivalent cost of petrol/diesel you'd be mad or have a very specialised use case to buy an hydrogen car. Any chance hydrogen ever had disappeared 10 years ago.

[@dashcam2417]

@@definitelynotkwacker Ford are only developing a full sized transit aimed at fleet markets, because the cost is too high for small businesses and self employed to swallow to go electric. ... Also fleet companies are bothered about their carbon emissions . The new Connect / Caddy will almost certainly be a hybrid ..

[@TheStevenWhiting]

Thats what the gas industry whats you to believe

[@Jack-fs2im]

Cholera was found to be spread by Wells in the city.It was a massive medical breakthrough.

[@D4RKDUB]

I know there's of thousands of you who do it, but I'd be in an early grave if I had to work in London with any regularity. Hats off to you all. The place is horrific to drive around.

[@SkillBuilder]

Hi Mark It takes time and patience but it is never boring, if you like people watching and architecture.

[@PaulGappyNorris]

@@SkillBuilder 😂😂😂 wasted hours stuck in traffic. Lived there for years until 2006…London driving is a nightmare.

[@oblux]

@@SkillBuilder People watching and architecture won't pay for a 50k van in the real world - that'll take some serious hard graft. And by the time you've paid for it, it'll be worthless.

[@Brian-om2hh]

It's donkey's years since I last visited London. I wasn't shocked when I heard on the radio a few weeks back that the average speed of traffic in London is 8mph........

[@Brian-om2hh]

@@oblux You wouldn't *buy* a £50k van if you were in business. You'd lease it, which would be tax deductable. That way the value of the van at the end of the lease is irrelevant.

[@swiftgames5382]

Tried getting hold of a crew cab electric van . Called lots of company’s and they said they weren’t doing them. Said it was still early stages for electric vans. Can’t see them being on the road for a long time.

[@JamesBond-wy6sb]

500 tons of material has to be mined, transported and processed to produce 1 ton of lithium for batteries. Even before you start driving a new electric vehicle, thousands of litres of diesel is produced and burnt in combustion engines to manufacture it. Recycling the batteries after 10 years life is hugely damaging for the environment and vastly more complicated the equivalent combustion engine vehicle. Hydrogen powered combustion engines are the answer. Jcb are developing this technology for its products, which works out cheaper, lighter, performs better and doesn't need charging every 5 minutes! The world has been incredibly stupid listening to Elon Musk!!!

[@jameswilford5225]

Absolute poppycock, Mr Bond.

[@dashcam2417]

@@jameswilford5225 tell that to the 40,000 children in the Congo digging out Cobalt with there bare hands .. An electric vehicle has a carbon footprint of 3 times that of an ice vehicle in production value. 😳

[@JohnnyMotel99]

@@dashcam2417 what about lifetime emissions? Sooner or later, the recycling process will be perfected.

[@HKFunster]

@@dashcam2417 Are these the same kids that dig Cobalt for use in petrol and diesel?, You forgot to mention that, I wonder why?

[@dashcam2417]

@@HKFunster because a car like a model X Tesla has a battery pack using 16,000 laptop style batteries and weighs 76 stone ... cobalt used for fossil fuel is greatly less and only in the refining process.

[@grahamhaynes7658]

Give it a couple of years for battery tech to improve,agree that we need to get diesel off the road,should never have been used in anything other than hgv and heavy plant but we were taxed into them.

[@phillipcave8573]

Hi fellas Thanks for the review. I was thinking of going electric for my next van but the lack of charging points, also vehicle cost is prohibitive and at that cost I'd be worrying about damaging it especially when you have a bunch of trades all parked up on a customers drive ;someone's going to reverse into it or catch it with their tools and if they don't I will. So I'll wait for a few more year's or at least until there's more ev points and hopefully prices come down a bit. Roger! Thanks for London history...interesting mate! perhaps this could be your next venture?

[@marthanorthway2804]

Seems like you may save 700-1000 a year on fuel but approximately £20k more to buy, may take 15 years to break even? Plus if your are financing it the extra interest may outweigh the savings. May be more useful if in London or if more towns only allow low emission vehicles

[@sharonbraselton4302]

ño bjt éktrc go nest nateies or go hibred

[@dashcam2417]

One thing to consider about electric vehicles is that they are technology driven ,,, firmware , software updates.. There is a shortage of electric car engineers and independent garages will not be able to help due to training and technicalrequirements. So main dealer prices for repairs and when a new model comes out , a software update appears to make your battery efficiently drop.

[@Brian-om2hh]

The picture may not be as bad as you paint it. Both the guys in my local (village) garage have been trained to work on EV's. They paid for the courses themselves, knowing it is in their own interest. They both jointly own the business. There are already organisations offering re-training courses.... Remember, when motor cars first appeared 100+ years ago, there were no motor mechanics around then either......

[@dashcam2417]

@@Brian-om2hh my local car body repair centre has been quoted 160,000 pounds to set up a unit to repair and calibration of modern car front end electronic aids .. Auto cruise control. Pedestrian avoidance. Automatic braking etc. They can't employ enough engineers to fill the training requirements. They have been advertising for a car stripper and fitter for 3 months offering 1,000 pounds a week pay with no applications. My bosses van has been at Ford for 3 weeks waiting for someone trained to fix a new Automatic gearbox. 🙄

[@boxinglondon6839]

If Roger wasn't a plumber he'd definitely be a London Cabbie.

[@SkillBuilder]

When I WAS 21 I spent a year as a London chauffeur. I could write a book about that

[@ramblingman8992]

The biggest issue is the short battery life. At least 1 manufacturer admitted to a customer that a 10% drop in range per 11,000 miles is perfectly normal. For a high mileage driver this could lead to spending £7,000+ every 3 years on replacing battery.

[@Simon-dm8zv]

That's vastly exaggerated. Apart from that, there is an 8 year warranty on the battery.

[@Vwfan]

Just ordered a Vw Sportline 204ps DSG. Diesel lol. I’m not even a plumber lol 😂

[@josephrowley2172]

As a T6 150ps owner, enjoy - it pulls!

[@Brian-om2hh]

One of the few diesel buyers left. Diesel sales are now down by over 50%..... My worry would be residuals in 3 to 4 years....

[@Vwfan]

@@Brian-om2hh I’m keeping it till it rots. If a decent electric van comes out I’ll lease that via my business. Electric is definitely the future so hopefully within 3 years they’ll have sorted one out. Technology is moving fast!

[@davidraddings8211]

How long would the battery last when winter temperatures are below zero?

[@hautboxxradio]

What’s the battery life? As in, when do they need to be replaced? Also, what’s the C02 emissions for mining the materials to make these batteries? These all take fossil fuels to make these ‘green’ vehicles..........there’s a much deeper rooted agenda here, Roger. I’m all for cleaner air etc etc, but there’s a lot of hypocrisy surrounded the manufacturing of these machines.

[@davidshipp623]

If you want actual answers to this. 1. battery life- currently expectations are around a 10% loss of range by 300,000 miles, 20% at 500,000 (based on Tesla’s as these are where most data is) This is improving and Tesla is looking at a million mile battery. 300,000 is twice the current average car usage over a lifetime, so it is more likely that the car will collapse around the battery. Bear in ind the battery will still be valuable then for general storage (needed with more renewables). The expected life of the battery is 20 to 30 years as a result. They are already 94% recyclable and this will improve with larger volumes. 2. lifecycle CO2 emissions for an EV are exceeded by an ICE car after only 10,000 miles the latest legitimate independent studies show (this includes all extraction and additional manufacturer energy). This is even if fossil fuels are used to make the cars and all the energy to power them. Electric cars are just so inherently efficient compared to ICE (Internal Combustion Engines). It actually takes nearly as much electricity to make a litre of petrol as it does to drive a car the same distance on that electricity (that is just the electric to refine the petrol, not al the other fossil fuels used to create the petrol or transport it. Electric cars are not green, no car is and we should never think they are, they are way way greener that ICE cars though. 3. The deep rooted agenda is fighting climate change and it has become a thing that voters have requested acres the world so governments are responding. However it is estimated that the world spends 6 trillion dollars a year supporting fossil fuels, so there is an agenda there too - both can be valid for different reasons and different times, but EV’s are set to dominate and relatively quickly.

[@vassabatielos4740]

@@davidshipp623 voters have been coerced into demanding climate change And didn’t they say the same thing about diesel cars a while back Electric engines have been around as long as combustion engines ask yourself why they weren’t developed before

[@davidshipp623]

@@vassabatielos4740 Voters have been coerced into demeaning - sounds like an oxymoron to me. Not sure what the same thing is re- diesel - do you mean promoting to reduce co2? Then yes diesels are quite a bit better than petrol for co2, so maybe that did some good - maybe not. Personally not a diesel fan. And I don’t need to think about why EV’s weren’t developed before (assuming you don’t mean really early EV’s in the early 1900’s that competed well). They competed well until the energy density of fossil fuels really allowed petrol to dominate. It has only been in relatively recent years that batteries have been energy dense enough and at a price point to make EV’s doable. Now they are and the market has been disrupted ICE are just on there way out - economics is taking over. It won’t be overnight but it will be alarmingly quick.

[@SaintCoemgen]

@@davidshipp623 "Electric cars are not green, no car is and we should never think they are, they are way way greener that ICE cars though." I think that is the important, take home message.

[@thetessellater9163]

@@vassabatielos4740 The lithium battery tech got so much better in the last decade !

[@jonnylee2479]

Whats it like with a full load of tools and materials?

[@Sthilboy56]

I would have one today they are just too expensive to buy

[@GavinLawrence747]

Madness isn't it

[@moonraker124]

@@GavinLawrence747 Totally agree.

[@electro4838]

Hello! Maybe you can tell me how to change the language in the menu and where the auto hold key is located ? Thank you in advance!

[@ilijadjujic5911]

Once enough people have enteric vehicles then there will be a massive short fall in revenue for the government when it comes to tax on fuel and road tax so they will have put some sort of tax on electric vehicles to make up for the lost revenue, I would imagine in around a dozen years time there would be a road tax charge on these so that would negate some of the benefits

[@willbee6785]

Talk about staying the obvious.😉

[@SkillBuilder]

Will Sometimes the obvious needs stating, it is surprising how many people miss these things.

[@Brian-om2hh]

It won't be a specific tax on electric vehicles, it is to be a road toll system, which will apply to *all* vehicles. It will replace both fuel duty and road fund licence. The details of the system have already mostly been finalised, and we (the public) are to hear more about the scheme next year.....

[@You-are-right-but]

This a great idea but like any tool, check it suits your purpose. Most builders, working around their home towns will love electric.

[@flyingjackcarpentry9394]

Getting petrol/diesel is a ball ache. Queuing up behind somebody who needs 2hours to charge their vehicle will be lovely.

[@theyoutubeguy1]

Really cool, perfect for builders as they can charge the van while at work.

[@Richard482]

True. Do a job at someone’s house and plug your van in while your there.

[@gdfggggg]

I must admit, breathing in fumes every day sat in traffic is not nice. These lecky vehicles might be a breath of fresh air (soz). I’ve always maintained my owned vehicles (which I quite like) but I’d imagine these vans would require much less maintenance other than the usual brake pads, the odd steering joint etc. Can’t imagine a large electric motor being any trouble. Enjoyed the vid. Cheers Rog.

[@GavinLawrence747]

My take is that these vehicles will actually be more expensive to maintain, due to the amount of electronics in then alone. Look into why mid west farmers pay so much for mechanical John Deere tractors, insane prices, but they can maintain them themselves without an expensive John Deere engineer who can only repair the newer tractors with his John Deere codes and computer. It's potentially huge revenue for car companies

[@definitelynotkwacker]

Electronics only costs money if it goes wrong. For regular maintenance there's significantly less and the long warranties that consumer vehicles offer make that less of an issue. The only extra electronics in an EV over and above an equivalent IC is the motor controller and charge controller - two boxes you could in theory swap yourself in 10 minutes (and by the time they're out of warranty such parts will be available from breakers).

[@nothanks9050]

@@definitelynotkwacker Car manufacturers have a nasty habit of making things that should be simple very difficult.

[@mrfr87]

@@GavinLawrence747 Unless your a mechanic you won’t be aware of the huge quantity of sensor on a Diesel engine. There is so much more to go wrong on a combustion vehicle. EV will still have lots of things go wrong on the rolling structure like all vehicle but not as much as combustion cars.

[@kevinwillis6707]

i paid 450 for a service and timing belt recently, not an issue on an electric van. no clutch, exhaust or head gasket either..

[@terrynunn4643]

Another cracking video Roger. Enjoyed the tour of London and the banter.

[@SkillBuilder]

Glad you enjoyed it, we tried to make it entertaining

[@Droningonuk]

When electric vans are £1200 I'm in!

[@0skar9193]

2nd hand electric... batteries will be shite and cost 5K per set to replace

[@Droningonuk]

@@0skar9193 Your not wrong! Ps love the balsamic dressing.

[@jasoneldridge4738]

@@0skar9193 5k !,and the rest ,more like 11k

[@Brian-om2hh]

They will be eventually. All vehicles depreciate......

[@Brian-om2hh]

@@0skar9193 Not at all. A battery refurbishment is much cheaper than a replacement. A total replacement is not always necessary, as the cells do not all degrade at the same rate. Cleveleys Electric Vehicles in Gloucestershire are already offering battery refurbs. They posted a KZbin vid of a battery refurb on a 10 year old Nissan Leaf. The work took 4 hours, and cost the owner £600. There is a huge amount of nonsense regarding EV batteries. Posted mostly by those whom have never owned, driven, sat-in, or even touched an electric car......

[@bernardcharlesworth9860]

Got a 75kw one so nice I don't need a second vehicles for family.But it's french and there's a few problems not mentioned in video.There is too much room under bonnet as van designed for fossil. So can't store charger lead there. Can only set on-time for off peak electricity and no off time setting.The operator's manual is online version but their server in Paris is out of service. I am 5'8 tall any taller and you might find seat won't go back enough. Some wiring not up to German standard. But this is still a excellent van and will take over the medium van market on cost to run alone

[@robthurlow1347]

I think congestion charges will stay and go up and include electric vehicles eventually as free parking will have to be provided everywhere for electric vehicles to use as they need it for recharging. Think how crippling it would be to pay for parking while charging then electricity on top of that at the same price as petrol or diesel which it will become eventually if used to recharge a vehicle, why they are always pushing smart meters.

[@caahacky]

True - when all vehs are electric there will be as much congestion as ever.

[@Brian-om2hh]

The area covered by the London Congestion Charge is to be increased by almost 20 times, and the daily cost is to increase to £18.50..... a bit of a shocker. There is little doubt we'll see more emissions charging schemes.

[@Brian-om2hh]

@@caahacky But hopefully the levels of Co2 will drop dramatically....

[@caahacky]

@@Brian-om2hh Yes Brian, in the cities no doubt but the electricity has to be generated somewhere and although I'm a big fan of renewables there's no way all the energy currently released from petrol/diesel could be provided by renewables - not for a couple of generations anyway.

[@Lutonman2010]

I just can’t see a time in my life where I could either find or justify 40k on a van. They get scratched and dented on building sites and in the country lanes. I’d be terrified to use it at that price. In the twenty years I’ve had my business I’ve never even spent half that on any of my vans. There’s only so many hours in a day, what on earth would you need to be charging per job to cover 40k over three years. My customers would think I was on the glue.

[@Simon-dm8zv]

You will be able to buy used electric vans in the future and they will also become cheaper when new.

[@tellis9844]

It all sounds great but the price, the range and the recharge time are just deal breakers. This technology needs to be a lot better before it can become mainstream.

[@TheBrick2]

It can't really work for commercial vehicles imo. The energy density is not there. Loss of payload and regular cycling or batteries just doesn't work well. The inflationary pressure that is placed on the economy is also not to be overlooked. The big problem is government mentality of replace one technology with another (hydro carbons -> electric). We will need a mixture with electric vehicles for some applications and hydrogen for other applications.

[@lechk1823]

11kW charging at home. Where in UK? 32A from single phase supply :) 7kW the most.

[@GrahamOCheallaigh]

I went EV & solar at home here in Ireland this year, running costs have been totally slashed. I'm saving hundreds so far this year. Tax & insurance -€550, 8000km has only cost €150 so far. I've traveled cross country without any problems. I'm trying to get my company to wake up & replace the van fleet, they currently spend €300,000 on diesel a year, this video will help a lot.

[@Richard482]

Any luck persuading your company to switch?

[@WirelessGriff]

Sadly the vast majority of comments after this video appear as ill informed negative opinion with little or no fact….here’s a few… 1) The costs of electric vehicles will decline significantly over the next decade as battery costs fall below $120 per kilowatt (they were $1000/kwh in 2010). China will become a major vehicle manufacturing base providing high quality vehicles and pushing down prices further. 2) Range will increase and range becomes less of an issue when you get used to and understand how to use an EV (I know, I have one) 3) The whole life costs of owning an EV are lower than the whole life costs of petrol or diesel - do the maths on any vehicle. 4) Homes that can install a home charger can buy electricity for as little as 4p/kwh with some tariffs. I could go on. I accept there are some exceptions/outliers but for the vast majority this is a positive move, just focus on details and facts not opinions..

[@Simon-dm8zv]

Finally a sensible comment.

[@jakespeed6515]

I was forced to use one at work, it’s great I spend most of my days charging it and not working, if your Marching, your not fighting as we used too say. Outside work I use the original Mk1 Diesel fuel Cooking oil with an ATG diesel therm kit.

[@boriss.861]

JCB and Cummins are perfecting the development of the Hydrogen ICE for commercial vehicles and it's looking good. Find on Harry's Farm an interview with JCB

[@livingladolcevita7318]

Given your experience with your van in a previous video and wondering whether to go electric, I was wondering when you would get to do this. I am not sure if I missed it but you will also save money in servicing costs. Yes I think autonomous vehicles will be the future. I follow " Fully charged" vlog and they say that new charging points are coming on line all the time. We will look back in a few years and wonder why we made such a fuss about going electric.

[@greenreaper1985]

Realistically I can't see any way out infrastructure could handle the masses turning to electric cars. There's an incredible amount of homes in the UK that won't be able to have their own charging point. Even the ones that are currently free or cheap to use will eventually have prices driven high as the demand grows

[@andyhodchild8]

Do they send a message to the car that cuts into your safe driving distance?

[@chrisryan3770]

I like the idea of electric vehicles, the quietness and the driveability. I’m not convinced by their eco credentials, in fact I know fine well they’re a load of bollocks on that front. The problem is they’re no use to me as I regularly drive several hundred miles a day and not to big cities with facilities. The other myth about e-vehicles is that battery technology will catch up and increase range. The truth is Lithium cell technology is approaching it’s capacity and so range will always be an issue. I personally reckon Hydrogen fuel cells are the long term solution. Hydrogen production isn’t easy but it solves the local air pollution issues with a quickly re-fillable fuel source. It should also not be forgotten that there is still no more efficient means of turning a portable energy source into useable power than the diesel engine. We shouldn’t confuse politics with engineering facts.

[@sally6457]

@@immers2410 "ok boomer"? What does that even mean?? you use 2 words to discredit a well constructed argument, Ultimately you are just name calling/ bullying. Well done.

[@sally6457]

@RandomShart but battery lifespan decreases with faster charging.

[@SkillBuilder]

Sorry Sally I took the comment from Imran Hussain off before I saw your reply. We don't need tossers who just want to insult people. I am sure he wouldn't want somebody insulting him.

[@Swwils]

You are not correct and the format of the cell can have significant effects on available range. The reason why these initial EV vans have lower range is an economic decision. It's not like fuel where there is not a weight tradeoff of additional range. With a larger pack most of the time you are lugging it around for no use, so many manufacturers are using the limited cells they have in smaller packs in order to target shorter range routes and fleet operations especially. Your miraculous long range every day cross country EV van will come later when cell production is not constrained and most likely it will be on larger format cells.

[@Monaleenian]

"I’m not convinced by their eco credentials, in fact I know fine well they’re a load of bollocks on that front." Can you explain what you mean by this? You can hardly deny that they're far better than petrol and, particularly, diesel vehicles as far as air quality is concerned?? That's a major eco credential in densely populated areas like big cities. "It should also not be forgotten that there is still no more efficient means of turning a portable energy source into useable power than the diesel engine." That's fine, but do you want to live in a city with millions of diesel engines running?

[@andrewwilson3663]

Expected to hear 'Scott Brown here'!

[@TheIronArmenianakaGIHaigs]

I’m all for EV vehicles but in there current state I would like to buy one with a petrol range extender. Just a 15-20L tank would be nice to not have range anxiety.

[@peterfitzpatrick7032]

And yet they are banning hybrids in Europe... Britain will do the same...wait & see 😒

[@sally6457]

A petrol range extender? You mean a generator? If EV's come with an optional, petrol powered 'range extenders', that surely proves that they aren't fit for purpose in the first place. When the prime minister uses only EVs, I'll get on board.

[@Brian-om2hh]

There won't be such a thing as range anxiety in 2030. There are presently around 26'000 public charging connections in the UK - three times more than there are petrol stations. There has just been a huge deal signed by a charge network company to supply a total of 190'000 EV chargers by 2030. Even the less costly EV's now have getting on for 200 miles of range. How often do you drive 200 miles all at once?

[@sally6457]

@@Brian-om2hhso, petrol stations generally have between 4 and 12 pumps, so your numbers are pure fantasy, People do regularly drive 200+ miles per day, how do you think the crap you order of Amazon gets from the docks to your front door? Not to mention the high class foods that have to be driven into the city centre so you'll have something to eat while you wait for an hours recharge in order to get home. Then let's ask, where is all this electricity coming from? In order to meet demands we will need more power stations, and thousands of miles of copper cable, and hundreds of thousand tons of concrete and steel, do you have any idea the environmental costs of producing, and installation of these types of materials? You show how out of touch with how the real world works you are.

[@ramblingman8992]

If they fitted gearboxes to EVs, then range wouldn't be so much of an issue.

[@shaunglendinning]

Enjoyed it thoroughly! Thanks for sharing.

[@phasedout6769]

Got an eNV200 on the firm and supposed to have one of these end of next month. Would'nt go back to diesel again.

[@zeez9053]

Suker

[@phasedout6769]

@@zeez9053 Nice educated response. Well in chap.

[@SkillBuilder]

@@phasedout6769 You make an intelligent comment and get the polar opposite reply.

[@phasedout6769]

@@SkillBuilder always one 🤷‍♂️

[@denty32]

What mileage you getting Steve when its fully loaded, I’m looking at one next year

[@nicolescott89]

Im thinking of getting an electric van to convert into a camper van. Well done for the review. 😊

[@1real11]

See a van review by a builder certainly made me think about things, such as how I miss parts of London I frequented in my youth, and does the van come with the latest security essential in London....a rottweiler in the back.

[@canalboating]

as the scouser once said can that rottweiler put out fires ?

[@robthurlow1347]

@@canalboating a couple of young lads said that to my uncle ounce when he was parking up in Glasgow for a football match he gave them 5 quid to look after his car.

[@hongk0ngfu3y]

i need more range 450 to be safe in a small van as run all over the place. Havent got time to find a charger and wait.

[@AndrewSmith-bb8sh]

Well they are still using gas to make electricity and also Coal more and more in the uk to power the new electric vehicles!!!

[@gman8950]

better than having diesel fumes blowing out everywhere

[@AndrewSmith-bb8sh]

Oh yeah, but we are burning more coal than ever just to power them!! So are they really clean!!!

[@AndrewSmith-bb8sh]

@@gman8950 and I bet when Diesel came you were saying better than having all those Petrol fumes blowing out everywhere!!! How did that work out for you!!!!!! Ha ha

[@reTool462]

@@AndrewSmith-bb8sh I think 2020 was the first year where more than 50% of the uk's energy came from renewable..... wind/solar. Change is happening and it needs to so we need to embrace it and help drive it. We all need to do our bit for the environment 👍

[@TheDavidsims]

Coal has been 0.8% of generation in the past month

[@MarvinofMars]

I had been looking into the electric van , and eyed this platform from too.. 200 Miles look fine, certain other makes are 75Miles! Look batteries will leap forward, solid state units are almost here but at least 1-2 years away from , so expect replacement in 5 years to give you 400miles, So square one really diesel is 450 miles on most 80Litre tank size medium vans. When I tow 1-2 tons with a transporter, or transit it 400miles tops, but I would swop to electric torque. Great too see the Londoners out look too, on there heritage.. very impressed.. most haven't a clue : )

[@sally6457]

Looks like a good van, but things like electric sliding doors, GPS monitoring and cameras are just using valuable battery life. How hard is it to open a sliding door? (And would you ever remotely open the side door, exposing your tools while still sat in the drivers seat? And the rear camera, like you say, you can reverse fine with mirrors? A built in reversing camera but no dashcam? The purchase price could be lower and range longer if you ditched the gadgets surely? It's a van, not a pleasure vehicle.

[@Monaleenian]

And a roof. Who needs a roof?! And 4 wheels. Why 4 when 3 gives stability?!

[@sally6457]

@@Monaleenian haha, very original, Lmfao! Tell us another un?

[@benrichards1]

It's definitely the future. Just have to get that price down to make it do able for most I reckon.

[@twig3288]

_definitely_ ? That's what they said about Diesel.

[@benrichards1]

@@twig3288 and it was the future. For many many years. Something better always comes along. In 50 years time I'm sure it'll be something else

[@Brian-om2hh]

You can buy a new family sized electric estate car with a 7 year warranty today for £20k if you know where to go. That compares well with a new petrol Astra, Golf or Focus.......

[@twig3288]

@@Brian-om2hh C'mon tell where to go to get a bargain EV.

[@benrichards1]

@@Brian-om2hh I'm sure. How about vans

[@willbee6785]

Can the National Grid infrastructure handle it at peak charging times? Can we have a National Grid electrical consultants point of view on this? Is there enough natural resources in the world to handle this policy?

[@Pandora882]

The grid are crapping themselves

[@_dude..]

What if you live in a flat or have no driveway? There’s no way the nat grid can handle the charging of millions of vehicles using piss poor generation from wind farms or solar. This will come and bite the gov in the arse.

[@bonkersscience732]

Actually the answer, surprisingly, is yes it can! Have a look on youtube for a guy called John Ward - he's a very knowledgable electrical guy with no connection (pun intended) to power companies. He gives the full picture.

[@aiistyt]

@@Pandora882 BS , the grid says they can handle it look on their website

[@WirelessGriff]

Yes the grid will cope, see any podcasts by the Grid, the load on the grid has declined by 20~25% over the last decade as a result of lower energy light bulbs. The proliferation of solar panels and the roll out of vehicle to grid technologies will ensure that loads are more evenly spread.

[@iubiredivina2493]

this man is humble, hardworking and trustworthy

[@antonyporter5045]

air con ! + the heater in mid winter !!! no thanks

[@caahacky]

Plus lights, wipers, radio and sat nav.

[@johannbraunstein1190]

Like the idea but for a 35k outlay on any vehicle I would like maximum versatility and this would include a trip up to the lake district. If one is able to afford this van + parking space for two vans then perhaps it is a nice bit of kit to add to one's toolbox. Note:- that very very few people could possibly fit a fast charger to their homes that can charge from 0- 100% in 10 hrs. Battery on this van =75Kw so one would have to go straight home every single day to get 10 hrs charge on a standard 7.5kw charger. Don't forget that this vehicle will lose about 5% range after 1 year and throw away after 10. My diesel dispatch has add blue and dpf so it is really quite clean for the price.

[@fontyyy]

Clean? Maybe, but any diesel vehicle is still burning a resource that's running out.

[@julesdowner5585]

@@fontyyy power stations also burn fossil fuels to create electric for EV's

[@fontyyy]

@@julesdowner5585 depends how you generate the electric. My supplier is 100% renewable .

[@chriswilson3009]

@@fontyyy It was going to run out by 2000 and we are still getting billion of barrels a day out of the ground 22 years later.

[@chriswilson3009]

@@fontyyy Only when the wind blows and the sun shines

[@johngreen6795]

I tow a trailer every day so no good for me would only get 10 miles out of it

[@twig3288]

Couldn't you put a generator on your trailer.

[@robertbamford8266]

Range anxiety. Wide open spaces in the US. All considerations. But I enjoyed your low-key review (almost rant free) and the drive around London. Develop Covent Garden? Inconceivable. A relative size story. When ICL (UK) acquired our US company they decided to strip field engineers of spare parts stores in their vans. The engineers could diagnose the problem at the customer’s location, drive to a depot to get needed parts, and then return to the customer’s. Worked to cut parts inventories in the UK, after all. Management quickly undecided. Thanks for the video.

[@mrb1864]

and what happens when batteries get exposed as environmental issue and limited available raw materials get classed as short supply ? battery vehicles is a very short sighted development .

[@JohnnyMotel99]

What is the long sighted development?

[@HKFunster]

If the raw materials become limited, it will encourage more recycling and help solve the first issue you mentioned. Think long term, not short term.

[@mrb1864]

@@HKFunster thinking is indeed needed. the recycling isn't a win win scenario, it requires smelting furnaces which emit harmful emissions and requires use of fossil fuels, to recover lithium and metals requires chemical leeching which again big issues on pollution when considering the volume in an EV future ! The battery chemistry and required material spec to give them longer usable life and higher capacity hinders recycling and the amount of materials that be usable at high end manufacture . You can not fix issues of pollution caused by capitalism and consumerism by throwing more industrialism at it ... Electric itself in volumes needed for a EV world will create environmental problems (coal, gas, oil, nuclear, biomass all use limited resources and have serious environmental impact) and if you look at solar panel at raw material mining and manufacture needs of fossil fuels it not the answer in mass volume as you still be damaging natural areas, producing harmful emissions and needing fossil fuels .. One thing it will be very good at is making even worse poor quality junk with short life span and emptying the consumers bank accounts .

[@twig3288]

@@mrb1864 _it requires smelting furnaces which emit harmful emissions_ simple, just use a battery powered smelting furnace; sorted.

[@Brian-om2hh]

Well nobody seems to have bothered to "expose" the oil companies as an environmental issue, despite the fact they've been mining cobalt for decades. They need cobalt to remove sulphur during the refining process.... Why hasn't this ever concerned you previously?

[@nbmrbluesky3688]

Very scott brown esc editing. FANCY.

[@peterfitzpatrick7032]

Roger, mate.... Unless your charging port is being fed by pure renewable energy, you are simply exporting your pollution (which makes a mockery of the "0 tailpipe emissions) from your driving area to the power station.... And the range is just not there yet, are you only going to take on work within that range limitation ? That would be ridiculous, I'll stick with my Citroen Berlingo diesel getting 64mpg and fitted with the latest emissions tech... And how long do you think those free chargers will stay free ? You made a vid recently about the scam of heat pumps... these vehicles are no different, subsidised transport ... from subsidised renewable generation... WHERE is all this electricity gonna come from for transport AND heat pump systems without major grid & generation infrastructure spend ?? 🤔 😎👍☘️🍺

[@GrahamOCheallaigh]

Your stuck in the 80s mate, I'm a van driver & have gone electric on my personal car, you don't really charge on the forecourt, it's mostly at home, and with night rate's it's even cheaper. Range on these vans are about 200 miles/ 300km, I'm sure if you're doing that range one way you'll stop at least once, so why not plug it in for a few minutes?

[@peterfitzpatrick7032]

@@GrahamOCheallaigh yer a "vanman"... yet you talk about your car... why haven't you converted yer van ? 😌 I get call-outs every day... I can't tell the customer "can you wait a couple of hours whilst I charge me battery !! 😂... Admit it... the range & charge-speed isn't there yet.. and the price of electric vehicles is ridiculous... maybe in ten years time...and you haven't addressed the pollution problem.. 🙂👍🍺

[@TVD1984]

43.1% in 2020 was from renewable energy and it's hugely improving each year. You can't just throw out a comment about pollution and such where even the backwards UK already have that much renewable energy. Look at the continent, they're lightyears ahead where even higher percentages of renewable energy is used. The "pollution aspect" is just unbelievably untrue nowadays. And we're not even talking about how polluting ICE cars are, to make and to run. The spending on infrastructure is on an enormous increase as well. Instead of moaning about it, do something to help.

[@squireschown666]

Electric vehicles are lovely and all but. A hybrid van i think would be the way forward. 200odd miles is not a great range and some days you will really struggle to get that full charge in

[@Ray-ki6fs]

Seeing that lead trailing the charging post/van, a thought occurred to me (apart from it being a trip hazard) especially in the cities that I’d hadn’t ever considered was the possibility that you come back and find your lead has been christened by the local dog. A pair of gloves for this purpose in your van or car will no doubt be an essential accessory, just in case….

[@cseanny]

If your lead hasn’t been nicked, nice bit of free copper there!

[@thetessellater9163]

@@cseanny - beat me to it; you get back to your van to find the lead gone and no further charge in the batteries, just a bonus for the scrapman.

[@MM-qd4km]

Cables are locked in when charging. Agree about not knowing what has been interacting with the cable so would like to see more coiled ones that would be suspended of the ground.

[@fivish]

The charging cables are very easy to steal and they are being stolen in vast quantities for the scrap copper.

[@retneprac]

7:17 made me chuckle. i wish i had the money for one of these vans but at the same point i think id rather wait for the battery technology to progress, perhaps tesla will announce a van in the future apparently they have the recipe for a 1 million mile battery in the works?

[@Brian-om2hh]

The battery will have a service life of around a million miles, not a range!!! Teslas seem to do ok as it is already. I watched a KZbin vid posted by a Tesla Model S owner. His car had covered 400'000 kms on it's original battery.....

[@gurnchild1234]

I always hear people whine about range and normally from the same people that stick £10 in everyday at the garage.. i think they just want an excuse to pick up a red bull and a bacon/cheese twist..

[@xxnonstopdancingxx]

👏👏👏

[@LudvigIndestrucable]

They gave you one of the more high end models, so you're getting the best experience. I've driven the cheap electric vans from Maxus, they are absolutely stripped down to the bare essentials and I think they're fantastic. As you say, much quieter than diesel, much nippier. I've never had a problem with charging that grabbing a sandwich and a coffee at Lidl or Tesco for half an hour didn't fix. One colleague tried to say that electric cars have no soul.... it's a van? There's no soul in a person, there's extra no soul in a van.

[@andypsunshineisle5655]

The main issue for friends who have gone electric is the lack of charging stations . If they go to site and the jobs not ready they often have issues going to a different one with the range. Unexpected trips to suppliers for gear also throw spanners in the calculations.

[@Chester-UK]

Great honest account of what could work for you. I honestly believe that the forthcoming battery technologies, providing twice the range within the same physical space and weight, will unlock BEV vans for almost all use cases. But we’re not quite there yet. Cheers.

[@windsolarupnorth7084]

Peugeot has just released this very same van with hydrogen fuel cells. I believe that is the way to go to get that range.

[@DuncanEdwards.]

Can't wait to see charging vehicles outside Terraced housing and in blocks of flats, top it all off with the yobo kids vandalizing

[@greenreaper1985]

I'm quite excited to see the tax system that will eventually be imposed when more people go electric. It's also going to be quite nice when the prices for electricity in the night get hiked up to meet the new demand

[@SkillBuilder]

Chewy. That is the problem and it doesn't seem solvable from where I am sitting.

[@DuncanEdwards.]

@Phil Ware You don't park your car in a petrol station every night either, how is that different, oh yes, some of us have brain cells

[@greenreaper1985]

@Phil Ware it takes 2-3 minutes to fill a car with fuel. That's how it's different.

[@greenreaper1985]

@Phil Ware if we're trying to go to a fully electric system for transport I'd say yes, some people not having a charging point available would be a fairly big problem. Have you ever lived somewhere where you don't have enough dedicated parking for your house members? When your coming home from work not knowing if you'll even get a space anywhere near your house? That's pretty miserable by itself, add in the anxiety of not knowing whether you'll even be able to get a charge to get you back to work the next day and you have a problem.

[@jimbrown8399]

I agree with you about the "Dash Cam" better be safe Roger. I am impressed with the Van. I now live in Australia, the Distances may be an Issue. Originally from Kent.

[@SkillBuilder]

Yes I wouldn't risk it in Oz. I was working in Kent yesterday, lovely county

[@deanthornby2026]

Don't think your gonna save money because in 5 years when you have to buy a battery ,every penny you have saved you will spend on a new battery...

[@markgilder9990]

Checked out fully charged. The guy imported the first Nissan Leaf over 10 years ago and its still going. Well worth a look.

[@kevinwillis6707]

why do you say 5 years is the battery life? most evs are coming up 10 years on original packs, a new pack for a car is around 6 grand, its going to get cheaper as more efficxient batteries get made in larger numbers. it will last at least as long as an internal combustion engine, plus you arent paqying for new clutch, timing belt,exhaust, etc.