The worst thing about owning an EV (electric car) | Auto Expert John Cadogan

Save thousands on any new car (Australia-only): autoexpert.com.au/contact
OLIGHT DISCOUNT! (These are awesome.)
bit.ly/3zF5hCQ
12% off: Use code AEJC
Bluetti lithium-ion portable power (240V & 12V) - ditto, awesomeness:
www.bluettipower.com.au/?ref=...
Help support my independent reporting, securely, via Patreon: www.patreon.com/user?u=54778969
Podcast (audio-only version, for listening in the car, etc.): anchor.fm/autoexpert
Save thousands on any new car (Australia-only): autoexpert.com.au/contact
AutoExpert discount roadside assistance package:
247roadservices.com.au/autoex...
Did you like this report? You can help support the channel, securely via PayPal: www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr...

[@grahamsmith2022]

I work for a national electricity distribution company and trust me,if people get buying E.V's en masse then without colossal investment in the distribution networks of even "advanced nations" then we will see major electricity supply issues.

[@muzzakehurst7220]

Hi John. I bought a 2013 Holden (Chevy) Volt 4 years ago for just under 23,000 Aussie dollars at 102,000 km. It is now 9 years old and still has 70 -75 km of the claimed 80km electric range, had the battery and ICE coolant changed when I bought it, and apart from a couple of initial hiccups with the battery coolant sensor ( which was a recall in the USA but not here of course.) it has been trouble free. I charge it of my powerwall and solar setup for free, and use 4.5 litres / 100km when I drive it on the freeway at 100 kph. I would love to get a bigger battery down the track, but it fulfills all my transport needs, and I don't suffer range anxiety. It is 9 years old and has done over 140,000 km and is not showing any early signs of battery failure. I have an American GM OBD2 code reader capable of going right into all the voltec control modules and so far everything is A-OK. Love your reports, keep up the good work. Cheers Mate!

[@MarioDallaRiva]

I’ve only ever heard positive remarks from Volt owners. GM did an excellent job engineering that vehicle. Its too bad the marketing wasn’t there to promote it more. I’m glad to hear your experience has been great.

[@bobbritten5673]

A new battery for the bolt is about 15000dolars aus .best of luck ???

[@billhanna8838]

@@bobbritten5673 If you can get one now ?

[@geoffreyveale7715]

@@bobbritten5673 At 9 years old an EV battery is entering the twilight zone. It is basic chemistry that batteries do not last forever. Simple searches indicate a fair life is 10 years or 200,000km. The car mentioned is getting close to this typical life and what follows is potentially a repair bill exceeding the value of the car.

[@muzzakehurst7220]

@@geoffreyveale7715 I'm not disputing any of what you said, however in Australia all the new full EV's with good range are AU$70,000 or more, and the rest of the car is in good condition. Therefore if an aftermarket 3rd party large battery pack was available I would consider spending up to AU$20,000 for a large battery, and continue to get many years further use out of the car. I paid AU$42,000 less than the new price, so for me it is less of an issue. In the USA market this would definitely not make financial sense. Cheers.

[@cleomaddiem3581]

I own a Mazda 626 Sedan in Prestige Silver Metallic colour, 1990 model ... bought brand new in Melbourne, Australia as a gift from my father for my 18th birthday. He paid $32,000 Australian dollars for it back then! It's now 32 years old, has done 500,000 kilometres (310,000 miles) and l continue to drive it daily. Has never failed me. Unbelievable car. I cannot part with it. My first and so far, only car ...!! It still looks like new and has always been outside for its entire 32 years, so far. People cant believe it! LOVE my 1990 Mazda 626! Drives like a dream. Never parting with it.

[@gregbailey45]

I owned one once. Nice car to drive. I had to sell it for non-car related reasons. The only problem was the drivers seat was trashed by the fat bastard that owned before me.

[@David_P132]

Can't imagine what the clear coat looks like now!

[@dchubworldsharenetwork]

Why wouldn't people believe? Maybe those people who buy new cars every 3 years and they think that the car is over when it has 100-200k. 😂 Otherwise, when the car has 80-100k, now the car is barely hardened, and all the "problems" have been fixed. 🙂 I bought cars when they had 50-80k (if the car had problems, everything was already replaced by now), and then all the way up to 200-250k. My current car, BMW E46, has 300k and runs fine with automatic transmission. Never had any serious problems other than normal maintenance, except one car had something wrong with the engine... and we had more than 10 cars. Of course, some cars had around 150k at the time of purchase. Car with engine problem, it was not the main car, but rather a side car for short distances to the field... We could have sold it for parts and bought another car, but it was cheaper to replace the engine. We got the engine for €250 and €100 for the work, and it cost €350 ($378) in total. This is the power of ICE cars, cheap and easy to fix. 👍🙂 Replacing anything on an EV would cost the same as when the car was new. 🤣

[@davidbarnsley8486]

I’m sorry John I don’t blame those fools in the big house for Canberras issues That is completely the fault of the act government and I am surprised by what you say I thought the act was the greenest place in Australia so why is there no proper charging places I also thought everyone in Canberra had an ev And mate obviously you are so much better off then me as I can’t afford 20 k for a new car let alone 80 for a battery car So I will keep my ten year old 520d 1200 km to a tank of fuel 👍👍

[@0.618-0]

I bought a Tesla, then I bought a diesel genset, then I put it in the back-seat, now I don't have range anxiety any more, thankyou dieselgenset

[@declanbrady5172]

You could have saved 20-30k and bought a diesel and a jet ski or motor Ike to tow on the back

[@0.618-0]

@declanbrady5172 yes but was trying to save the world mate....and I'm an idiot Tesla owner..there you go hey

[@declanbrady5172]

@@0.618-0 I respect you for having a conscience and doing something to try and save the world. That said it is not "our" world that is being impacted by the harm and pollution caused in the mining and production of cobalt and lithium in Africa dug by hand by children as young as 3 for a couple of pence a day if they are lucky. This is not the fault of EV owners who are genuinely passionate about playing their part in bringing about a better world. It is the fault of politicians world wide who have a vested and often financial interest in pushing the EV narrative. The politicians are railroading drivers into purchasing very expensive EV's that most people cannot afford. Even a bog standard family sized EV is north of £40,000. If everyone bought EV's tomorrow we would be screwed. Like Stralia, most countries would have to rely on coal just to produce sufficient electricity just to keep the lights on. There is no doubt EV's play an important role in reducing localised emissions, but politicians and car manufacturers have a duty of candour to make people aware that whilst EV's produce no local emissions, those emissions are being created elsewhere, be it in the mining of cobalt and lithium or the energy that is used in the factories that make EV's. EV's are not as environmentally friendly as the elites would have you believe. Politicians wax lyrical about a perfect world in which fairies bring happiness unicorns poop strawberry ice cream. I respect you and other EV owners for trying to do their bit, but they been misled by people with hidden agendas.

[@mat1500]

@@0.618-0 in other words bought the whole ten yards of mythical Madness, lol!

[@0.618-0]

@mat1500 you don't get it I supplemented the Tesla model A wirh a Deisel Genset in the back-seat so I can travel beyond the recharging station into the unkown

[@Perl88]

I was torn between an EV and a PHEV for my next car last year and I’m glad I went with the PHEV. I live in a mid sized town in Scotland and not one supermarket has charging available, there is only one rapid charger here (located in a petrol station funnily enough), the shopping mall does have a handful of chargers but they are only 7kW AC and that’s it. It’s the same story in most of the surrounding towns and the villages are lucky to even have one charger in them. We suffer from the same issues as you, I’ve noticed that not all chargers are working, their all ran by different companies, they don’t all support card payments and instead require various apps or RFID cards. It’s just a mess and really put me off going full EV as for me it’s not range anxiety per se but charge anxiety. I also go down to London 4 or 5 times per year which is a 500 mile (800km) or so trip one way. I took a look at the charging infrastructure at service stations on my way back and forth over the last few years and it used to be a mess with out of order signs all too common, broken cables, no card payment option forcing you to use an app to charge. Since GridServe took over the running of most of the chargers things have improved over the last couple of years. Most of the new charges they have installed support card payments so no need for an app, have DC rapid charging as well as AC available too which is great and they almost always seem to be working to boot which helps. This should be the benchmark for all charging infrastructure, if it was maybe I would have went full EV rather than PHEV if it had been available at the time of me purchasing my car.

[@edwyncorteen1527]

Most new EVs now have 200 miles plus range so there is no reason your next one is not full EV! If you can charge at home you do not need local chargers.

[@Perl88]

@@MatthewBayard I do a bit more travel than just down to London a couple of times a year. I’m based relatively close to Edinburgh and travel to Aberdeen, Inverness, Glasgow, Newcastle and Manchester too.

[@Perl88]

@@edwyncorteen1527 My biggest problem is that I can’t charge at home it’s either at work or in public for me.

[@johndavis16]

Own an EV. Drive 160km highway round trip each workday. Plug in at night. Have significant credit from solar feed in on home electricity. Use free chargefox occasionally. Been pleased so far....but also have a ICE car for other trips. Hope to see improved network of chargers and one app for all chargers into the future

[@AutoExpertJC]

If you can get in the groove like that - awesome.

[@margarita8442]

auto idiot will tell you to go ice only,, a clapped out 2003 commodore

[@leftright8826]

Thats the best case scenario. Congrats you sir are living the dream!

[@MrRez808]

What worries me the most about the whole electrification of the car industry, is the massive use of rare natural resources to become “green”.

[@AutoExpertJC]

Yeah - consuming our way to green utopia is a fantasy.

[@archygrey9093]

Yeah, Lithium batteries are great but we need something else if ev's are going to be the mass market norm. Funnily enough lead acid batteries are the most environmental friendly batteries as they use a common easy to get resource, use less energy to create and the lead can be melted down and recycled almost indefinitely. All that is assuming the batteries actually get recycled, they become one of the worst batteries for the environment if just dumped.

[@tomnewham1269]

@@archygrey9093 which I find bizarre as there is no effort in getting them recycled. There is a guy in my town who takes them away for free.

[@graemejohnson9025]

My favourite.. as a electric car is bigger and heavier than a standard car.. More energy is used just to produce it... thus with extra weight, more energy is required to ship it.. it's fake..

[@zoransarin5411]

@@graemejohnson9025 Tesla chose to build an EV to provide for a sustainable future. The existing OEM's did not have to follow suit if the idea is as stupid as you say. And not follow suit is exactly what they did for many years, laughing at Elon and his phone battery cars. Fast forward just a few years and Tesla is the biggest auto company by market cap on the planet. The market values Tesla higher than the entire auto industry combined. So millions of investors, big and small have put their money behind the idea that Tesla and EV's are the future. By all means invest your money in GM and Ford if you really believe more of the same oil burning combustion engines is the future of society. My money is on Tesla and so far it has proven to be a wise decision. Research Tesla's earnings and growth targets and read their Environmental Report. You might be surprised.

[@RichardOzanne]

Very well said and absolutely true for your part of the world. Things are slightly different on this side of the world (Brexitpotamia), but the problem of CCS chargers not working is still real even here - especially in remote areas where the cost to send someone out to fix them is prohibitive. The second issue is there are so many apps needed for each provider and all have their own pricing structure. The Bonnet app is pretty good and brings most of the providers together at a flat price, which is a bonus. Sadly it doesn't yet appear to cover Shitsville, not that it would help if there are bugger-all chargers available anyway. We've had an EV for nearly 2 years and never had a problem, but that's here where things are better. We recently took delivery of our 2nd EV - an EV6, as it happens. I, recently (like 2 weeks ago), had to do a 140 mile trip with an estimated starting range of 184 miles. I had a ferry to catch so there was no time to stop anywhere to charge. I would have charged overnight but... the hotel I was staying at had 3 chargers -1 was Chademo so no use, the 2nd was Type 2 and was being used by another car and the 3rd was CCS, was working and available, but the car on the Type 2 was parked in the wrong bay so the CCS cable didn't reach my car. I drove at a conservative 60 - 65 MPH and made it with 25 miles in the tank. At home we charge off the solar on a sunny day and/or green power at night, and a charge lasts 2 weeks in the EV6 and 5-7 days in the wife's Honda E. Am I under the illusion that I am somehow saving the planet? Am I fuck, but we are saving money on fossil fuel which is now close to £2 a litre so that's good, and we don't pump out fumes in town, which is also a bonus. Both cars were on need of changing so the trade-up to EV wasn't that big in terms of cost so we were happy to go that way. PHEVs - I did consider one, but here it's not such an advantage as it is in 'Straya as you can generally charge an EV on a trip, albeit it takes 20 - 30minutes on one of the 350KW chargers and a lot longer on a 50KW unit. I think if you had to travel more than 250 miles a day regularly a PHEV could be a good option, but where your average trip is much shorter, and you can charge at home, an EV makes total sense, especially with the current spiraling cost of petrol/diesel and the reliance on quango states to supply it.

[@andrewallen9993]

A PHEV has all the wearing out and servicing problems as an IC car as well as all the battery and electronic problems of an EV!

[@Gazzxy]

you dont pump out fumes in town.. but are you certain your houses power supply is "green" its not like this stuff magicaly knows where to go on the grid.. and there is just the one grid.... and even the "green" power we do generate has such environmental costs in its construction (and short lifespan) calling it green is just total outright daft

[@RJ-vb7gh]

I can promise you if you bring that BMW hybrid to your mechanic, you will never see it running again and if you bring it to BMW you most likely won't see it for a very long time and once it's out of warranty, all you have to do is take on a third full time job to replace the battery and keep the car serviced for those rare occasions when it isn't in the shop. And all of that relies on parts being available five years from now. Here in the US we are already seeing OEM electronic parts for modern cars strangely disappearing at an alarming rate... and for the oddball ones, there's no aftermarket for them.

[@miskatonic6210]

In the EU brands are forced to guarantee the supply of parts. Don't know how it's like in a third world country like the US.

[@RJ-vb7gh]

@@miskatonic6210 Even European cars are coming up with "parts not available here" Sometimes they are listed as "out of stock", but everyone knows they will likely never be in stock again. I suppose it was always hard to find certain parts for 20+ year old cars, but when it comes to electronic parts it's happening way more often with newer cars. Some of these parts are bespoke to a certain model and year and option package. They were made on a limited run basis. and even the chips in them aren't made anymore. Once any part of the supply chain stops existing, the new old stock parts are used up and they are gone forever. In some cases for popular models, the manufacturer or the aftermarket might reverse engineer a modern replacement part, but if you have an unusual car, or a certain part starts failing faster then expected and the NOS gets unexpectedly used up, you are just out of luck. Maybe in Europe the law requires manufacturers to list parts for longer, but there is no law about being "out of stock" and after that time period is up even there, I imagine you are SOL there too.

[@siraff4461]

That BMW is great but I've had a Kuga plug-in for about 12 months now. More ev range and better on fuel once that range runs out - also quite a bit cheaper. I went from ev's (since 2010) to this simply because of the charging network not being fit for purpose. This still does all my day to day stuff on electric but anything further and its a decent hybrid - usually averaging ~60mpg (UK) or so once the battery is completely flat. Also in ev mode its actually in ev mode - locked so even if you slam your foot down it won't start the engine automatically. It pops up a message asking if you want to and a flick of a button will allow it but you have the option which I think is great. Boot it to get out of a turn quickly or onto a roundabout and you don't have to wonder if your foot strayed a bit far down. Worth a look if you're after a plug-in.

[@ITILII]

If you judge by the reliability of gas powered BMW's.....not good. Long track record of poor reliability and VERY expensive repairs, like Mercedes and Audi....nothing more expensive than a cheap German car, ja ? And John makes some of the most informative and honest reviews of anyone on KZbin....electric cars are not the be all and end all, savior of the planet, that in "Murica, fools such as sleepy, senile, socialist Joey Biden and KommieLIE Harris tell us (what a surprise a lying politician) Green New Deal ? Franklin Deficit Russianvelt's Raw Deal did NOT work, all that liar did was put all the leftist government big brother state in place with the alphabet soup of agencies....oh I'm sorry it's "free government money".....where does the govt. get the money......from THE TAXPAYERS !!! G'day all...cheers !

[@devo7428]

We get the guilt trip about being high polluters per person compared to the rest of the world. But We have one of the lowest density populations hence travel further. We get sloppy seconds when it comes to new car tech. We pay premium prices. We have coal generated power. We represent 1% of global immisions. Of which 17% approx is transport and only half of that is light vehicle. WTF is the average mum and dad driving an SUV forced to feel guilty compared to the world stage..... I don't get it.

[@Low760]

Because we are statistically crowded into three big cities with said pos SUVs and utes taking up the road space. The resources to build and drive them are more than cars etc. Yet biggest selling vehicles now are dynamically backwards leaf spring utes with not much interior space.

[@Low760]

Also imissions? Johns going to love quoting that.

[@AutoExpertJC]

We don't actually pay premium prices for fuel, but agreed on other points.

[@tjroelsma]

Because we're the lowest on the totem pole and shit always flows downwards. Pretty much every Government is the same in this: the bills always end up being paid by the largest group of people; the ones with the least money to spend. Governments rule on behalf of and therefore for the benefit of rich people. Apply that rule to your questions and you'll notice that it's almost always the answer.

[@devo7428]

@@Low760 yeah fair call. 6 beers in. Fat fingers........

[@brentonl1746]

I'd really like to know how you get cars cheap in "Strailya" when nobody can get a new one for the next 100 years.

[@JasonISF]

I got a 2022 Toyota Camry Hybrid SL, (Japanese fully imported) in Straya in a little over 4 months.

[@m4real84]

how much did you pay for that?

[@JasonISF]

@@m4real84 almost 3k less than rrp, including 12 months rego and stamp duty and less than these bozos are trying to get for used ones on Carsales.

[@OzDrizzleDrizzle]

I roolly roolly want one of those t-shirts. Where can I find one? Have Googled. Google says “no”. I would be willing to pay a large and small sum of money😀

[@chrispearson6706]

Hi John. As an Eclipse Cross PHEV owner from NZ I watched your video with interest especially the coments around PHEVs option. As a recent purchaser while on an overnight trip I thought I would try out charging from a public charger mainly just to see how it all works and if a 67 year old could figure it all out. I managed that OK, downloading APPS and loading money etc without too much trouble. The Eclipse Cross does not give you the actual battery charge remaining but just a series of bars like you get a phone signal and km available for travel. The vehicle has a 18.8 kwhr battery but even though the vehicle showed it was empty when I plugged it into a fast charger it showed the vehicle had 30% charge remaining. It charged up to 80% and I stopped it there to look after the battery health. The phone APP showed that I had infact only put in half the battery capacity going from 30 to 80%. The price of the electricity per unit was pretty good at 25c per kwhr but there was a parking charge of 25c per minute for the 20minutes it took to take on that small amount of power. It is infact cheaper to just use petrol and not bother charging when away from home in PHEVs.

[@gregbailey45]

Wow, that parking charge is a deal breaker! Bastards!

[@kendallshore5733]

For a long time I've been saying subsidies like EV subsidies, solar subsidies, etc. take money from taxpayers who cannot afford what's being subsidised.

[@siobrade8273]

Ever heard of fossil fuel subsidies? Look it up.

[@gunbuggy]

@@siobrade8273 like what? you talking diesel rebates?

[@mayflowerlash11]

I'm sorry, I think I've been living under a rock. Exactly how does the government subsidies EVs? I paid full market rate for mine. And the 4.4 KW of roof PV was only subsidised to the tune of a few thousand dollars, once.

[@mayflowerlash11]

@@siobrade8273 Amen. The government taxes the fuel at the bowser but provides enormous subsidies to the producers and explorers. They even provide grants for CO2 sequestration which is the biggest fraud, con job and outright theft in the industry. It will never be achieved because of the energy required to sequester CO2 from the atmosphere. Basic physics.

[@siobrade8273]

@@gunbuggy Fossil fuel subsidies come in many forms and include cash transfers, tax credits and rebates, and trade restrictions such as quotas. For example, production subsidies in the coal industry discourage more efficient production and use of coal, and the development of cleaner energy sources. By subsidising fossil fuel production infrastructure, such as coal fired energy plants, they also lock-in a high carbon future.

[@glennmoloney7460]

Thank you for your informative video. Highlighting the problem of say third party charging infrastructure (Charge fox etc) and the reliability of them which as you say is a global problem. This is the main reason why most people who are really interested in EV's buy Tesla's because of the very high reliability of their network and simple operation. It just works! Plugin and charge no mess or fuss. It's hard to see that changing in the near future. As you rightly said it's not the EV's fault for poor charging infrastructure. Also the highlighting of cleaning up the grid is required to give our next generation the clean air we all deserve rather than these mobile cigarettes on wheels all giving us cancer... Hopefully these Muppets in power get kicked out and the next correct the situation... Cheers.

[@JanKowalski-vj9py]

The only reason electric connectors to EV are no so simple like petrol nozzle at gas station is axiety to break into computeized car brains. For electricity alone + and - is enough.

[@glennmoloney7460]

@@SunriseLAW Which is why I and John have made the point of cleaning up the grid with renewable energy so you're not moving the pollution elsewhere...

[@glennmoloney7460]

@@JanKowalski-vj9py Not sure what you mean in relation to my comment... I'm assuming it's for someone else's comment and Google for confused 😂. Cheers Jan 👍

[@glennmoloney7460]

@@SunriseLAW Yeah sorry highly nuclear is concerned. Tasmania is 100 percent renewable, South Australia is close to that mark and Aussies don't want another Chernobyl in their backyard. From a cost point of view nuclear doesn't make any sense as it's just way too expensive and Australia has the biggest potential to exploit renewables in the world. If anything nuclear doesn't cut it... Cheers 👍

[@woofhound]

Service stations won't have EV chargers if they can avoid them, cuts into their business. Some place that should have EV chargers are the restaurants or other touristy type ventures that want people to hang around foe 30 minutes or more.

[@kensmith5694]

A service station with a "convenience store" would be a natural or having a charger. Such places make very little on the fuel and make a lot on selling people fizzy water and indigestion. The guy with the EV is more likely to buy a soda or something just to pass the time.

[@garageblitztv3215]

@@kensmith5694 commercial charging stations, like Tritium or NRMA/ChargeFox points cost around $8,000 to $15,000, if my memory serves me correctly. You realistically only make cents per KWh from the power and, yes you may sell a drink or two but IMO I cannot see a commercial case for a service station at this stage to do this, while covering high net worth and expensive realestate in vehicles to make a few dollars from a drink or two. However, charging points are definitely an attraction for shopping centres or coffee strips so as to “upsell” other goods and services. The CEO of ChargeFox Australia seems like an honest sort of guy and is happy to explain the difficulties in commercialisation of changing points - maybe John could interview him about what he sees the solution could be.

[@kensmith5694]

@@garageblitztv3215 You seem to be ignoring the fact that gas pumps and storage tanks are also a long way from being free and yet the gas stations exist and stay in business.

[@BrentonStringer]

You nailed it I think. We considered BEV but settled on phev. I have a daughter that lives out in the country and I want to be able to take my shiny new car if I go visit her (rather than my cheap and tiny 2nd car), but it was a real risk with a BEV that we would arrive without enough electrons to get home. So we went phev, 98% of the time it will cover our day to day on electricity, now and then, we'll use petrol and we'll get 1000km range when we do, with a servo on every corner if it happens to be low on fuel. Thanks for the video.

[@doctorrobin3040]

Yes like the shirt. NAILED IT.

[@GuitarsRockForever]

you nailed it John. anyway, it would be nice if all EV chargers are compatible. I know there are at least three Tesla chargers right next to Macca near Canberra airport.

[@chrismarchant1483]

And eight chargers at Goulburn - all of which are working. In fact Tesla's "up time' for its Superchargers world wide is 99.9% - more than happy with my choice of a Tesla for this very reason

[@numbereightyseven]

Range anxiety, Charger availability anxiety, Charger-working anxiety, Thermal-runaway fire anxiety, Expensive battery-replacement-in-10-years anxiety, Breakdown cant-even-push-it-to-the-side-of-the-road anxiety, Dangerous eyes-off-road screen-use anxiety. And power-cut anxiety, why not. Yeah nah, I'm sticking with petrol.

[@lucasvyner1502]

@timemachine194 And once again we get Europeans thinking what they do ( hint, here in Australia and the US it's very different and daily/infrequent use can be a lot higher than the 35km noted, and the whole point of the video is required infrastructure here in Australia doesn't make EV ownership easy ) is the be all and end all of the experience and 1 facet of a multi facet argument is the problem.

[@davidpearn5925]

LFP and

[@JanKowalski-vj9py]

@timemachine194 Right place for those with fears listed in Your coment is wheelchair. All of this is effect of aging society and wishful thinking about living forever.

[@AcuraAddicted]

On point, as always. Of course, running AC in a continuous manner for cooling (Australia) or warming (Canada winter) significantly reduces range. And infrastructure is definitely one of the two most important deterrents for mass EV adoption (unjustifiably exorbitant price is the other one).

[@AutoExpertJC]

Yeah - and using the battery to heat vital components in sub-zero Canada is also a factor.

[@labourlawact7826]

Ev's battery performance drop substantially in cold climates. You'd be lucky to get half your range in Northern Canada during winter.

[@David_Johnson_]

@@AutoExpertJC that might be helped as more manufacturers include heat pump systems . Better for colder climates, so Canada would be ideal for that. Not so much here in Western Australia though. But then there's nearly no point owning an EV here unless you're located in Perth or major centres. Trying to travel in between? Well, your Goulburn journey would be the norm.

[@yosefmacgruber1920]

You have to keep the driver cool for safety, unless the fully-autonomous self-drive is finally ready-to-go? And then you still need to stay cool. However, according to a Tesla YT video, running the heater or A/C while parked overnight, or to sleep, only uses but 1 or 2% of the range per hour. That sounds far better than for a fuel-burning car, since there is no engine to leave running. I love how quiet that EVs are, however, like so many people, I will have to wait until long-range EVs are finally affordable. How long should I expect to wait for that?

[@mmikee407]

@@yosefmacgruber1920 The question how long an overnight conditioned climate would last once you drive the car out and about. I guess depending on the length of time your trip takes and the adverse weather or the lack thereof you will need to switch on the HVAC ultimately and be under the mercy of range compromise.

[@dtengineering1]

This has got to be one of your best vehicle reviews - loved it. Had me chuckling away. We both use the same terms to describe certain situations - must be a mechanic/engineer thing. If only the EV diehards would pay attention. On Tuesday, I was driving from Launceston to Burnie (Tasmania) for work, driving an old 2008 Lexus IS250 work car, when I caught up to a Tesla Model 3. I can only think that the driver was new to the car because they slowed to 15-20 kph under the comfortable safe and legal speed for every bloody corner. And then, as soon as the corner straitened up they nailed the throttle to about 10-20 kph over the limit for a few hundred metres and then backed off down to under the speed limit again by about 10 kph until they encountered another corner. So I would catch them part way up the straight and then we would go through this stupid process again, and again, and again. There were no overtaking areas so I just had to be patient for around 3-5 kms. Then the road came around a bend and went down hill. Dotted lines appeared. The Tesla was again doing approximately 90kph. "Rippa" I said and after I checked my mirrors and also for any oncoming traffic, I applied my R/H indicator, nailed the throttle and proceeded to carry out a safe overtaking maneuver. Well bugger me if that idiot didn't nail his throttle too. At this stage I was already at his C-pillar and was traveling quicker than him so there was no turning back. He was oblivious to my being in the lane beside him as when I got to his door, he had a surprised look on his face and jumped on the brakes - drongo!

[@pablorages1241]

I've had that happen a few times with Tesla drivers ... they don't like being overtaken when they paid all that money

[@ohdearearthlings1879]

You would have been on his driver screen also, therefore double drongo.

[@davidrayner9832]

It doesn't matter what car they were driving, they are an idiot and should not be driving at all.

[@gregbailey45]

Licences should be reviewed annually, methinks. There'd be a lot more competent drivers on the road, if so.

[@kdegraa]

It’s not the car’s fault it’s driven by a bad driver.

[@glenndesmo3]

Great commentary, as Aussies living in California, the EV infrastructure is improving. My Office in Silicon Valley has 15+ chargers and the local supermarket has 5 including several DC chargers. We had a full electric for several years but have gone back to a PHEV . Our X5 45e enables us to do the school runs and day to day fully EV and still drive to the mountains with a sweet turbo straight six ….. one thing worth mentioning is these cars are heavy and if you drive in a spirited manner they do eat tires . We have just replaced the tires @ 12,000 miles.

[@timcollins380]

Good choice. I live by myself so don't need an X5 but a 330e would probably be a good choice for me. I really do think that PHEV is the sensible middle ground.

[@hdmccart6735]

Cool story

[@illegalopinions4082]

@@timcollins380 Nobody needs an X5. People like him are the problem, and he's such a mouth breather he bought the scam while _still_ managing to be a massive hypocrite in a turbo straight 6. Unbelievable.

[@leonhubbard9032]

We're pretty good here in Oz too..

[@reiniernn9071]

"one thing worth mentioning is these cars are heavy and if you drive in a spirited manner they do eat tires . We have just replaced the tires @ 12,000 miles." If you drive ANY car in such manner they eat tyres. Unless the ICE variant is a very slow car with no power. But I'm lucky to live in Europe....more fastchargers with every day....350 KW chargers so never hours waiting before charged again on a long trip...only just enough minutes for drinking a cup of coffe and a quick sanitair stop. And when not owning youre private parking with electricity connection we do have a lot of public fas2 chargers....park your car when needed there and start charging. It's not hours of waiting but overnight during your sleeping time. If there is NOT a public charger close nearby the local government will build one on request. (In the Netherlands at least). But it's true....you'll need a good infrastructure for driving EV's. But remember: 100 years ago there was also not a good infrastructure for petrol selling.....

[@kevinmorgan1763]

Loved the vid. In my town we recently had two new petrol stations built - stupid council had a chance to force them to have an EV charger - but no - just dumb.

[@lllordllloyd]

Everything vaguely environmental is politicised- John is refreshingly vandid about this. So, elected turds in all manner of assemblies feel the need to assert their Murdoch-approved 'common sense'. Gotta stop electing them.

[@lllordllloyd]

Are the chargers "broken" or vandalised?

[@JasonISF]

EVs are oil companies no. 1 enemy.

[@batmanlives6456]

Not dumb at all !!! Why would you mix electric hazards to a liquid fuel station with vapour available for instant bbq There is a reason you are supposed to turn your phone off when refueling Why would you add an electric hazard to the mix? Let the muppets stand out in a field in the rain and electricute themselves at will

[@kevinmorgan1763]

@@batmanlives6456 for a start I think you need to rethink your so-called electrical hazards, as John pointed out, the charging setup is very safe. Plus, there is no reason why a charging point or two could not have been put in a location away from the petrol, in fact that would be a necessity due to the extended time involved. I believe it is quite short sited to not include EV charging in new fueling infrastructure projects and our council has let us down.

[@feedingravens]

In Germany they just tested an EV against a Diesel Station Wagon for a trip over about 300 miles. Result 1: just 65 mph on the unlimited german Autobahn, or the EV consumption explodes. Result 2: Even with pretty low charging prices per kWh, the EV cost about 1/3 MORE than the Diesel. Granted, not in real life, no one would have trundled along with 65 mph with a 583 hp - BMW. At that "speed" the car had a mileage of 50mpg. It was hilarious, the indicated range grew from ca. 300 miles to 500 miles because the car had to get used to that low speed. A realistic long range cruise speed would be about 80-100 mph. I will keep my fueler as long as I can, An EV is not for my way of drive, weeks not at all, then short trips, but also a longer one mixed erratically in. A hybrid, maybe, to be clean in the city. If possible, with recuperation, getting the brake energy back. That would make sense. City buses, ideal.

[@claywoolcock3034]

Mate - love your stuff. Vids too. I run an electric vehicle design and race competition for high school kids in WA and am often asked if I’m a big promoter of EVs. The answer is no - it just works well in school for a STEM project. I’ve seen both sides of the eV argument, and don’t mind EVs (even considered a model 3 as my next car and love the brutal performance the new Tesla roadster prototype has shown) while at the same time have an XR8 ute as my daily. With this in mind, this video has been the most realistic and balanced I’ve ever seen on the reality of owning an EV in Australia. Love your work!

[@AutoExpertJC]

Thanks very much, Clay. And long live STEM - as an engineer I can tell you it's the only thing keeping subsequent generations from going back to living in caves.

[@mayflowerlash11]

@@AutoExpertJC While Putin and Scomo are driving us back to the caves.

[@garageblitztv3215]

Absolutely brilliant on so many level’s… Another high quality video, packed full of factual information that consumers actually want/need to make a decision, rather than the BS of others wobbling and pressing trim to give a “quality assessment” or just talking about one positive aspect of the car, like it’s 0-100 than conveniently not talking about the negatives. Well done 👍🏿

[@gasdive]

You realise that plugshare has like 50 photos of exactly where the Northbourne Ave charger is? There's no way that anyone capable of feeding themselves could fail to find it. That even without the fast chargers working at the hotel, he could have added 24 kWh through a normal socket while he slept at the hotel? That plugshare already told him the unit with the dead screen worked fine "Leftmost station is out of order, middle has broken screen but usable via app. Chargefox is aware of the problem and awaiting parts."?

[@ScottMurrayBestFamilyCars]

@@gasdive This is the exact point John's making in this report. It should not require multiple apps, photos and insider knowledge for the average motorist to recharge their vehicle. It's easy for those 'plugged into' all that shit, but for a large portion of ambient car owners - non tech-nerds - the system is stupid.

[@gasdive]

@@ScottMurrayBestFamilyCars you literally typed that in an app...

[@gasdive]

@@ScottMurrayBestFamilyCars your argument might apply to some people, but not one single person who views this hatchet job.

[@gasdive]

@@ScottMurrayBestFamilyCars plus, his story is that he found it hard, not that his 95 year old partially blind great aunt found it hard. Which requires us to believe that someone who makes a living as a youtube content creator can't use the Internet. How far do you expect our suspenders of disbelief to stretch? This is total, unmitigated Bullshit of the most obvious sort.

[@4WayFinSystem]

To close off the video it would have been apt to have mentioned the more successful Tesla supercharging network. Battery tech and recharge infrastructure are where other manufacturers could learn a lot from the leader in the EV industry.

[@peterhoz]

If only Telstra hadn't built a closed system that no-one else could use.

[@4WayFinSystem]

@@peterhoz the hardware is universal. Only restricted by software.

[@michaelrexrode3759]

@@4WayFinSystem "Only" huh. Hardware is just a doorstop without the necessary software.

[@4WayFinSystem]

@@michaelrexrode3759 so why should Tesla (not ‘Telstra’) open up it’s well planned and funded network to the competition?

[@peterhoz]

@@4WayFinSystem The plugs are different shapes. Its VHS/Betamax all over again, but in this case there's 3 which is even worse

[@BlackhawkPilot]

$3-4K for an EV charger? That is crazy. New Level II charger and a licensed electrician to install less than $1K US here in Oregon.

[@tomnewham1269]

Hi John. Harry Metcalf did a review on his KZbin channel on an electric BMW SUV. The recharging times was staggering and it was an eye opener for me. If you haven’t seen the video I suggest you check it out even if you just look at the end of the video where he talks about charging times. Electric vehicles have a place in the future of personal transportation but the charging infrastructure needs to make a huge improvement before that can happen. For a start an EV is not an option for someone who doesn’t have off street parking at their residence and so will need to depend on a recharging station at work or at a shopping car park.

[@AutoExpertJC]

Kinda my point.

[@dandel351]

First love your work john. Second I'm about to install the biggest solar set up I can afford to future proof myself as best I can. At the moment household battery systems are out of reach from your average Joe . I'd love to go for an electric car as most of my driving is in a sub 100km range. If the government was as serious about climate and energy security as they say they are then they would be putting policy in place to make it easier for as many people as possible to make the switch to a fully renewable energy solution. You and I know it's possible with current tech. The Pollie's are to afraid to lose votes and the $$ coming in the back door by big coal and fuel excises.

[@TheWombat2012]

Remind us again why taxpayers should help subsidise your choice to drive a limited EV…? That should be completely on you.

[@Ray-dv1md]

@@roddaniels1809 Great. What about the children working in cobalt mines in Africa so people can feel great about themselves driving an electric car that weights more than the average 4x4 and causes far more damage to the environment to build than it will ever recoup in its lifetime, with the other problem of disposal of its battery. Another problem it shares with the green dream, solar panels cannot be recycled and windmills cannot be recycled, and have a 20 - 30 year life span. Until China gets on board and rains in its emissions (it never will) Australia is pissing in the wind. If Australia had zero emissions tomorrow is would make zero difference.

[@shanestratford7211]

Lucky the Goulburn charger was available. Imagine when there will one day be ten or more EVs waiting to get charged, from that one working charger! What a nightmare! Battery exchange might be more practical in Straylia!

[@kensmith5694]

No because you just know that the replacement batteries will be out of stock. They have to shipped in from another town using an electric powered truck and that truck has a dead battery with no charging stations or something. Until someone thinks their life or political career is on the line if charging doesn't work, it is not going to get fixed.

[@mycleanearth]

All wrong👎you just need the infra and charging points strategically located in OZ. Like the petrol stations are. It is just a matter of time..

[@PPTrump]

Was a time Goulburn had one petrol pump and they solved that.

[@MrRocktuga]

Great and factual review as always, John. I’m glad it worked at the last attempt, but you could still be on a queue for that one charger! But while the hybrid version seems to me like the best option against range-anxiety and all these problems, I still feel like they’re also the most complex, by having both ICE and EV technologies, plus the integration of both. Complexity is often the enemy of reliability, and as much as I would like to trust engineers, car manufacturers are usually not the best at showing that all the homework was done. BMW (as well as MB or VW) have loads of examples of poorly engineered ICE engines over the years, specially as time and km goes by. They also have some great engines (no doubts about it), but I believe that every buyer should take into account how much time it's going to own the car before trading it. As time goes by (and the warranty expires), the additional expense with corrective maintenance can (relatively) easily offset the cheaper running costs over the ICE engine version of the same car. I’m not against EVs or Hybrids at all, but I actually owned one some years ago, and while the technology is much more advanced and appealing these days on several different ways, it was the kind of ownership experience that I don’t miss. I got rid of the car 2 years before the warranty expired, as I didn’t want to take some of the bills later that the warranty was (still) paying for. The recharging infrastructure is not the only that needs to grow up. All the aftermarket support needs grow up with EVs and Hybrids (both in parts and service alternatives), unless the future path is to retire cars a lot sooner (which I assume that it isn’t that “green”, after all). Cheers and thank you for your usual great content. Roger

[@gasdive]

You realise that plugshare has like 50 photos of exactly where the Northbourne Ave charger is? There's no way that anyone capable of feeding themselves could fail to find it. That even without the fast chargers working at the hotel, he could have added 24 kWh through a normal socket while he slept at the hotel? That plugshare already told him the unit with the dead screen worked fine "Leftmost station is out of order, middle has broken screen but usable via app. Chargefox is aware of the problem and awaiting parts."?

[@PowerOn-]

@@gasdive Agree totally, I was watching this and thinking the same (and muttering to myself) that John C could have done him self a favour with better planning. Quite a few glaring omissions in this video don't make for a balanced media presentation.

[@lukeclemo3659]

@@gasdive Hotel Realm isn’t exactly a drive in motel where you might run a lead from room door to car.

[@gasdive]

@@lukeclemo3659 oh, didn't know which hotel it was. Hotel Realm Parking has 2 free chargers. So even double the Bullshit now we know which hotel we're talking about.

[@alanwhite6161]

I live in Exmouth and I will drive to Perth about twice a year. About 4 to 5 hours bewteen townships. the is a servo/roadhouse almost every two hours or so. Don't recall seeing a charging station in any of them..

[@levenkay4468]

Oh, if only there were an EV manufacturer that saw charging as such an integral part of the user experience that it constructed a network of charging stations itself, and zealously maintained them.

[@AutoExpertJC]

Sure, but the only problem is: You have to join a cult and be an insufferable twat. So there's that.

[@debaser3000]

@@AutoExpertJC wow projecting a bit there mate.

[@mrtwrx]

You left out the most important part: Pay Auto Expert for referrals.

[@Jerry-tg2lj]

thing is that this is extremely, EXTREMELY anti consumer and is bad for everyone.

[@kardy12]

@@AutoExpertJC Why would you have to “join a cult and be an insufferable twat” just because you buy a car of a certain brand? Just because most people I see on the road driving like an idiot drive Audis doesn’t mean I think everyone who gets an Audi drives like an idiot.

[@stevemaltby4496]

Hi John. Interested to know if Kia disclosed the cost of a replacement battery for the EV6 in 5-7 years when the battery goes to greenie heaven?. I recall you once mentioned Nissan were smashing Leaf owners without lube for replacement batteries.

[@Noah_E]

Nissan doesn't use active thermal management for their batteries. Kia does so the range won't degrade as quickly as a Leaf. Nissan really did a lot of bad PR for BEVs by taking short cuts they shouldn't have

[@steffenjensen9350]

@@Noah_E Only true for Nissan Leaf,,,,the new Ariya has battery thermal management, as well as a new developed compact size battery. 110 mm thickness.

[@noelanderson8915]

You just said everything about EVs that I have been thinking myself. I would be tempted if I was driving in the city all the time, but I do like to venture out a little and the closest major city to my home torwn (Cairns) would be Townsville is almost 350k, so I'll be sticking to an ICE for the time being. Not sure how many charging stations are between Cairns and Townsville but I don't like the idea of sitting for how many hours it takes to get enough electrons to get to my destination. Thanks

[@FranFirman]

Checking plugshare - betwen Townsville and Cairns there are 3 charging stops. Cardwell - 50KW, Tully - 50KW and Innisfall - 50KW. For the 350km drive, I personally would do 1 stop at one of those 3 for about 15 mins which would be enough time to put about 10KwH of energy or about 70 km of range. So with a car that could do 300 easy, this would add the buffer to make it there without any issues. Any of the 3 could be used to charge, so if the first one is dead, use the next one etc. Would be better if there was more than one charging station at each location though. Either way you wouldn't have to wait for hours to get to the destination.

[@noelanderson8915]

@@FranFirman thanks, I didn't know that... I don't know why I am worried because I can't afford an EV or ANY OTHER new car at this time.. *L*

[@therealjeffg]

So entertaining John and some important messages. Love the straight shooting, call it as it is, no bullish analysis. Vote 1 JC.

[@gasdive]

You realise that plugshare has like 50 photos of exactly where the Northbourne Ave charger is? There's no way that anyone capable of feeding themselves could fail to find it. That even without the fast chargers working at the hotel, he could have added 24 kWh through a normal socket while he slept at the hotel? That plugshare already told him the unit with the dead screen worked fine "Leftmost station is out of order, middle has broken screen but usable via app. Chargefox is aware of the problem and awaiting parts."?

[@HarmanMotorWorks]

I knew you were going the Hybrid route shortly after clicking this vid 😁 Interesting point though...in the scenario where someone suddenly needs additional horsepower for overtaking the peasants you describe...I wonder if there's a scenario where the ICE hasn't turned on for the entire drive thus far, and is thus not at operating temperature, and is suddenly being asked to propel the vehicle at maximal acceleration?

[@AutoExpertJC]

A modern engine would be OK with that. Not ideal, but OK.

[@andrewallen9993]

@@AutoExpertJC Don't you mean ok with that a few times going from absolutely cold to flat out?

[@notathome13]

But all should be good, your in the front row… next to disabled parking at wokefield shopping centres and govt buildings…. Or somewhat along mad max highway. The chargers blew there load of electronic trickery…. That suxs….. your comments are very true, the chargers stations are very much about profits and external providers tend to choose cheapest unproven design thinking, then place it at the worst locations in a hostile country. At some point it will be fixed but don’t give up your premium road side service with extra options.

[@AutoExpertJC]

Wokefield - I like that one.

[@notathome13]

@@AutoExpertJC best I have seen so far, someone is a 1970 patrol with sign saying don’t discriminate when I can not afford electric anything in the front row at Chermside wakefields… if I had a phone to get a picture for you!

[@palebluedot747]

John, I'm a long time fan of the channel and I am 100% behind you in your CO2 life cycle arguments and your opinions on EV marketing BS. A couple of interesting new developments that I thought you might find interesting when analysing life cycle CO2 emissions for future EV markets and also to keep you updated on new tech solutions. 1. New Market entrant Sono with the Sion offers a price point of around 25k USD and can generate power via body mounted solar panels and 100% regeneration settings as standard. Small car, small range but incremental improvements. Due to market 2023. 2. EV conversion kits are now making greater inroads and are more widely available. Neither of the above are perfect solutions but I believe that they will both affect the CO2 lifecycle analysis of EV against ICE and I would welcome your thoughts. Personally I am not an EV head but I would soooooooo like both of the above to kick Electric Jesus right in the nuts. Best regards from Thailand, Jim Reid Ps Give my regards to Tiffany.

[@Noah_E]

This is why I am waiting for BEVs to have 800km (500ml) of range for $86.5k AUD($60k USD). That would be enough to cover all but maybe half a dozen trips a year without having to rely on public chargers.

[@Barrysautospares]

I know this is a bit late for you to read, John, but I just wanted to pull you up on one point: while your dislike for ScoMo is palpable, consistent and long-held, the (former) Federal Government is not responsible for the state of EV Charging Stations within the ACT. That would be in the remit of the ACT Legislative Assembly, which has had a Greens/ALP Coalition or a Greens minority Government since 2008.

[@tonystone3565]

Spot on, nothing to do with the federal government.

[@apn42]

EV chargers seems to be really low quality as they are often broken down. Other electrical appliances like gas station pumps seems to be a lot more reliable. A big advance of Tesla is their super charger network which the legacy car makers cannot match for some strange reason.

[@Noah_E]

At least in America there are a ton of regulations and quality standards for fuel pumps and they are periodically checked. BEV charge stations can cost less than $1,000 USD (1,440 AUD) installed because they aren't held to the same standards and are mostly made in China with cheap materials and almost no QC. The idea currently is quantity over quality and sort out the problems over time

[@Jaredscott89]

@@Noah_E You aren't installing the equivalent chargers shown in this video for less than $1,000 that is simple level 2 stuff, if you had a clue, those are extremely reliable, because they are just a cable interface, the car does the charging...

[@kingjulian1549]

Bravo John! That was a very entertaining and enlightening story on the realities of EV ownership. As someone who has been contemplating introducing a Tesla Model 3 to the garage, it was a wake up call. It certainly is also an indictment of our Federal Government, that for reasons that completely mystify me, is so hostile to anything to do with EV's. No wonder they don't want a Federal ICAC. Could it reveal a flow of riches from fossil fuel interests direct to MP's bank accounts? You'd have to think so.

[@ohdearearthlings1879]

A 15 amp plug will help you charge it faster. Great shopping cart. I have petrol in the ute that I use use occasionally. I am hoping the Cybertruck comes with huge ranges. I like the stainless steel body.

[@gregbailey45]

John didn't mention all the Tesla Superchargers he had to drive past...

[@gasdive]

There's very little reality in this tale. You realise that plugshare has like 50 photos of exactly where the Northbourne Ave charger is? There's no way that anyone capable of feeding themselves could fail to find it. That even without the fast chargers working at the hotel, he could have added 24 kWh through a normal socket while he slept at the hotel? That plugshare already told him the unit with the dead screen worked fine "Leftmost station is out of order, middle has broken screen but usable via app. Chargefox is aware of the problem and awaiting parts."?

[@peterbutcher4848]

The charger structure needs to monetised rather than supplied by Government subsidies, petrol stations are businesses and they are abundant. Well except in Sydney where they are being closed and turned into until blocks. A watched a British KZbin vid where they had the same issues, 15 apps and broken chargers.

[@teaspoon7173]

SPOT ON, ( I hate saying this but) that's the basic difference between Labor and Liberal voters in Australia, Liberal voters see a opportunity to make some $$$ and run their own EV charging station, where Labor voters just want to sit on their arses and get the Tax payer to fund it all. I didn't want to bring politics into it but sadly John Cadogen has over time started posting his own personal political views on his site ( And No I'm not a Liberal arse kisser)

[@ElectricCarAustralia]

Bugger you had such a shitty experience John. You're right though, the EV's are great but charging infrastructure for road trips is lacking. Biggest problem is grants have been provided in lots of cases to install (makes great headlines) but the cost/responsibility for maintenance and upkeep is not glamourous so lower priority.

[@davidfreeman4625]

Good review, again, thanks. One question: if you have a PHEV that you can drive electric all week, how often should you run the petrol motor? Should it go for a highway spin once a month, for example? Edit: I could run electric, charging each night, with a 50-100km trip each weekend on petrol. I can't see myself running petrol to for shopping. Edit: Regarding RTFM - I currently own an ICE vehicle and am only asking the question for future reference. Why the vitriol?

[@AutoExpertJC]

I don't think it really matters.

[@HP-bi5py]

Check your user manual.

[@timothyadams4477]

I'd follow the criteria for an engine that doesn't get up to temp often and does short trips. More frequent oil changes.

[@stevelloyd5785]

Great question and one I have thought about often. Unless I choose the EV mode intentionally I still find the engine starts if I get a bit leadfooted or as happened a couple of days ago, when it was a cold morning and I had unknowingly left AC on heating, the engine started instantly I pressed the on button. Pissed me off since I only needed to go about 6km to work. Usually if i know i will need the engine sometime in a trip, I'll choose "Save" or "Charge" mode for the motorway part of the drive so it will get up to temperature and then it will go to Parallel Hybrid mode where the engine drives the front wheels directly via a clutch and single gear ratio when it's over about 75km/h. BTW it's Outlander PHEV. It also has a feature whereby it runs the engine and informs me it is using "Old Fuel" if it has not been topped up with about 15litres in one go within 3 months.

[@kerrynball2734]

I know a guy who had a PEV and was fairly upset because it ran the petrol engine in order to make sure the fuel didn't go stale. His plan was to just us it as an EV except for family holidays.

[@Nigel42]

I do the Sydney -> Canberra commute each week, the charger is there in the Manuka car park, but it's well-hidden :-) I agree that the charging network in the ACT is f#%#%, no clue why. Don't let out the secret about the second one in Goulburn working; that's my go-to one as it's always free :-) Another hidden secret is the 50kw free charger at Mittagong. Stop at the RSL for a meal and get a full charge by the time you've finished.

[@AutoExpertJC]

I did not know about Mittagong. (And the one at Manuka must be invisible, not well hidden.)

[@Nigel42]

BTW this is my second EV, my first was a Telsa model 3 which has a claimed range of 510kms but I only just got to Goulburn. Anyway, after I got the ACCC involved I got a full refund and brought Ioniq 5. My model 3 was the first batch from China, Tesla had changed battery chemistry without saying anything. I had watched a number of your "electric hay Zeus" videos but brought the model 3 anyway, live and learn :-) @@AutoExpertJC

[@dennisstaines8005]

John another good video and having been an electronic/electronic engineer fro many years, a charger is a pretty basic device with not overly complex design or parts so I find this really weird. Its not just in Australia loads of people moan here in the UK. in the US and Europe. Must be designed on the cheap and build cheaply. Also I have seen an article were a charger was charging per 40 p KWH which meant even at £7.20 per gallon a petrol car was cheaper per mile, this is not supposed to happen. However it appears chargers are the old wild west and you are allowed to rip people off as you are green(ish). I also worry about this obsession with PHEV's and what they will do on electric only, to me this misses the point its the overall energy use and reduction in mpg that is more important. A case in point Harry's garage" tested" a BMW X5 45Eand over a 6 month test managed 88 mpg which is more important as a X5 4.0i would struggle to get 30 mpg (although it now as MHT mild hybrid) but even then 35 mpg may be possible (same b58 engine lower tune in the PHEV). I also have to pick you up on diesels produce 30% CO2, if you check the BMW website on the X3 2.0 petrol and diesel they are 185-175 & 164-154 respectively and that's not 30%, can you explain? A long time ago I went to buy a new BMW 5 series and tested the 530 D and the 535 D on my daily commute Egham airport to Gatwick (office) and at set speeds on the motorway and keeping to speed limits on road from home to Motorway they averaged 31.7 and 31.3 respectively. The problem was I had a BMW E39 525i and it managed 32.5 on the same road and same speeds that appears to me less CO2 in the petrol, the E39 was heavier than the E60. They were more expensive than the petrol, diesel cost more and they use more so I bought a 530i and that returned 32 mpg and the N52 petrol is a brillaint engine and so refined and mine as just clocked 159000 miles with no engine issues. Perhaps in a hot environment and over longer mileages a diesel is better but a 40 miles trip should be more than enough to match a petrol but it does not. I have tested other cars and this was the same result, A First Panda 1.2 and 1.3 diesel and the result was the same 52 mpg petrol and 47 mpg diesel. I did notice that my 6 mile journey from cold to the motorway is where the petrol is King warms up quicker and was at 27 mpg and the diesel 22 mpg. The efficency when cold is poor on a diesel.

[@WesternAustraliaNowAndThen]

Unless EVs somehow get a charging system that is as quick as filling up and ICE car's tank, they are never going to be viable outside big cities.

[@gregbailey45]

Give it another year.

[@MrBenHaynes]

I think a Camry or RAV4 hybrid saves a lot of fuel (compared to non-hybrid) for very little extra outlay. Plug-in hybrids are expensive and complex. Tesla has the EV market sewn up in Aus (currently) due to the Supercharger network.

[@kensmith5694]

A plugin is not significant more complex than a non-plugin hybrid. Compared to the electronics of a hybrid, the plugin part of the electronics is simple. There is a company in the US that converts some models to make them plugins.

[@craigelliott2524]

Toyota hybrid is the way to go. From an engineering perspective they have reduced some of an ICE complexity…. like no starter motor or alternator (two items that regularly fail on old cars) so there is that and zero charging required.

[@JasonISF]

Yep, very happy with my 2022 Camry hybrid SL. Don't ever have to worry about plugging it in and only uses around 5l/100km. Also love the instant torque of the electric.

[@darylcheshire1618]

Does the roadhouse at Cook in the Nullarbor transport diesel to feed the diesel generator to recharge EVs?

[@westnblu]

The inadequate and often not working ev charging stations remind me of the old school emergency public phones that used to exist on freeways. Half were not working the other half were vandalised .

[@grahamnguyen3726]

Love watching these vids, even though sobering. Feel like I should just build a flintstone car and call it a day.

[@pablorages1241]

Yaba Daba Dooooooo

[@alexgeorge2993]

I guess if you wanted to do a round Straya trip you will need a trailer with genset on it with ample of fuel for it to recharge the car :P

[@gregbailey45]

Or a few solar panels for a short stay at dingo piss Creek.

[@nomyafiftyonefifty8081]

I was listening to a segment on the radio Thursday night and a woman who owned a electric car ( not sure model, definitely not Tesla) said that she charges her car over night to go from 20% to 60%. Are you kidding. All night for a 40% increase.

[@nettlesoup]

She's likely plugging in to a wall socket using the 12A granny charger. An EVSE wall box such as the one shown towards the end of this video would easily charge most Teslas from 20% to 90% or more overnight. Even installing a blue Commando camper socket in the garage or outside wall would be dead cheap and on the granny charger would deliver a quicker charge, albeit limited to 16 amps. If she opted for more heavy duty wiring and installed the bigger version at 32 amps with the optional Tesla adaptor, she can expect the 7 kW speed JC mentions but for a fraction of the cost of a dedicated EVSE. Not saying this is what everyone should do because there are advantages to having a wall box such as access, electrical safety, timed charging, automatic charge level abatement when the house appliances are drawing more, etc. but this lady does not represent the experience of the majority of EV owners. If she's unhappy with the charge speed, she should probably consult with an expert to see what options are available for her budget, instead of just going with what came with the car.

[@nomyafiftyonefifty8081]

@@nettlesoup either wasn't told about the charger or couldn't afford it.

[@JasonISF]

@@nomyafiftyonefifty8081 in my experience with Tesla owners they are well cashed up.

[@gardengnome3249]

The intro alone was worth the click. Thanks for the laugh. So John we can't drive across the Nullabor in an E. V. Is that correct? My son ordered a new Toyota Corolla hybrid last april. He can track the order vide "??? app" . Every time he visits we ask how's the car going. It ain't been built yet apparently. October 2022. Thank the heavens I am old and don't have to worry about this stuff any more. I have my last car. Brought it 15 years ago and if I can't drive any more the wife can. If she can't I will walk. If I can't walk, well that's it then dude. Enough is enough. Big hole in the back yard and turn me into worm food. Thanks John I learned a lot from this vid.

[@ziyaonbashi5864]

Awesome review. This is the shit nobody ever talks about, and you can never find out until you own an EV I have been lucky enough to only do city driving and charge from home

[@AutoExpertJC]

There's a lot of vested interests in only pushing the positives.

[@chrismcgowan3938]

Yes spot on. My EV is great, love driving it and don't want to go back, however, I have had the same issue, and now limit my driving to the 200k range of my EV. Fortunately most of my driving is either local or going to work and back, I charge at home or at work. Insanely, there are 3 public chargers close to me that seem to work fine ( two are at McDonald's ... ) but finding a working one in Newcastle has proven to be almost impossible on the two trips I have done to there. ( I live in outer Sydney ). Driving to Canberra is out of the question until the charging infrastructure is reliable.

[@davidmarkham2099]

Another excellent video, as always, John: Very much appreciated. One thing that is utterly beyond my comprehension is why - in a country so vast as Australia, and with such appallingly bad EV-charging infrastructure: 1. There is almost no media or marketing coverage of Hydrogen-Electric vehicles, such as the Toyota Mirai; 2. Why even such vehicles such as the Toyota Mirai do not - yet - employ ammonia decomposition catalysts for hydrogen production. Considering that the CSIRO has, over the past several years, been working on an ammonia to hydrogen catalyst project, it strikes me as profoundly negative to Australia's economic interests, that such ground-breaking technology is not promoted and developed with the urgency that I feel it ought to be. I would like to hear your thoughts on these points.

[@deSloleye]

John's answered that. There's only one refueling station in Australia. Hydrogen isn't slightly green because it doesn't get made by electrolysis but by decomposing methane. It's not actually good tech. It's less efficient than battery evs

[@gregbailey45]

@@deSloleye still sadly too true, but if it can achieve the power and range to satisfy Aussies with more money than sense, I guess it's a great idea!

[@deSloleye]

@@gregbailey45 battery EV satisfy the power in spades. There's a whole of industry activation issue where the cars are good, the infrastructure is letting them down. Charging infrastructure needs to improve a lot for it to take off and start delivering the benefits possible divorcing transport from oil.

[@M8YM8]

Plug-in Hybrids are great John but so many car makers don’t release them in our market. Plus there’s so many important categories that don’t have a suitable EV/Hybrid alternate.

[@NMSS-eh9vn]

Good thing there is now a government that IS interested in building infrastructure, incentives for home charges would help also for both home owners and landlords. I am surprised that places like maccas has not jumped at the chance to have fast charges at their locations, get a coffee while getting a top up

[@chrischerry2787]

I came across a Tesla parked on the side of the motorway & from a distance, it looked like there was smoke coming from it. As I got closer, it became obvious that the smoke was actually coming from the portable generator that the Tesla was plugged in to. It was charging on the side of the motorway for quite some time. Had this been a hybrid, petrol or diesel powered vehicle, a quick trip to the service station for a jerry can of fuel would've solved the problem. I just dont see all-electric vehicles as a practial, viable alternative to the internal combustion engine until batteries become better and charging stations more readily available.

[@AutoExpertJC]

That would take for ever.

[@rp9674]

I've heard this story before if this one isn't BS I'm sure most of them are. I live in LA area, never seen this, I've been driving 2 short range EVS for 3 and 1/2 yr never ran out of power, if it did I'd get a free tow from AAA road service.

[@chrischerry2787]

@@rp9674 saw it with my own eyes, on the side of the Sunshine Coast motorway just before the Kawana Way off ramp @ Sippy Downs ( Queensland, Australia).I can even show you on the map...

[@CNile-se9xw]

@@rp9674 FFS, you live in 'Marycar, totally different from here in Straya mate. 🙄

[@rp9674]

@@chrischerry2787 it's totally plausible I just think every one of these stories gets retold a thousand times because it's kind of a dumb thing to do & and it fits in with the idea of canceling EVS. There are several hyundais that are being recalled for catching fire, not a big story, but when the Chevy Bolt or Tesla catches fire it gets disproportionate press.

[@SoshiMECH]

This is one of the reasons why Tesla are winning the EV race. Tesla understood how important it was to have a reliable fast charging network. It might be up to other car companies to implement an alternative reliable fast charging network, something that VW were forced to do in the USA.

[@gregb1599]

Only winning in some countries, others like here in NZ they still do not have enough chargers vs the huge uptake in sales

[@LearnAboutFlow]

What race is Tesla winning? Its vehicle are constantly at the bottom of reliability ratings, they never deliver on promises (America will have a new present before the cybertruck goes on sale), and they are still playthings for the rich. And in the grander scheme, 20% of EV buyers in California - the greenest US state - went back to ICE vehicles because of range and infrastructure issues. EVs are just toys at this stage.

[@gregb1599]

@@LearnAboutFlow The 0-60mph lol

[@SoshiMECH]

@@LearnAboutFlow Thank You FOX/SKY News! That was hilarious 😂

[@SoshiMECH]

@@gregb1599 Tesla's are the top selling EV in Australia by an absolute country mile. In fact they sold 4417 Model 3 in the first 3 months (quarter) of 2022 this is more than all the other EVs combined and it's sales are competitive with nonEVs.

[@trevorlees1241]

Dingo piss creek is easy in a Tesla ! Around Australia too - many have done it years ago ,one extra trick Tesla have is simple 3 phase charging too !, 40000 plus points around Australia ! Free My car charges at up to 110kms/hr on 3 phase

[@shaneweaving8708]

What is the most efficient speed to travel? I have had to sit on 80 kph one time when the servo was closed and l had 100 km to go and the fuel light was on.

[@jameswaterhouse-brown6646]

I’m most concerned about what system the car is connected to in the future and how much it controls where you are allowed to go.

[@r.a.monigold9789]

I'm back to horses because they are limiting gasoline at some stations.

[@amandajane8227]

I have been saying that for years. The software is going to have to give preference to emergency vehicles so how long before the wealthy can purchase preference on the road at the expense of everyone else. At the moment we still have the same chance of getting a red light but I doubt that will be the case in the future.

[@Cruelaid]

The Coal fired Tesla wet dream 😴

[@AutoExpertJC]

EV = 'remote combustion' in 'Straya

[@patthetech]

I'm in northern Alberta Canada and the EV charger infrastructure is the problem here too. For some reason, the Post Office of all places installed a couple chargers last fall. but being 200 km from here to a Costco, and almost 400km to a city you'd actually want to go to, with no charging along the major routes.

[@LectricLad]

Love your videos. You have such an interesting way with words...

[@lukekeegan9403]

Thank you for your videos John. We've been EV owners for nearly 3 years with a Kona EV, and earlier this year replaced our diesel Mazda CX5 with an iX3. I used to be an EV greenie, thought they were the fix to our environmental problems, often harping on to family and friends that EVs good, everything else, bad. Then I saw your videos, and you've helped me come back down to Earth. What has stuck with me the most is when you said something along the lines of "we cannot drive our way to a greener future". And I love your comments about how EV's will ensure fuel security for Australia. Charging infrastructure in Australia is poor. I've had no issue with charging and always have a plan B and C as I plan out my EV trips in detail, but this is not the norm, and many EV owners would get stuck should the chargers they arrive at be down. Side note about urban vs highway range. Our Kona averages about 12kWh/100 km around Sydney, and usually between 15 to 16kWh when on the open road (I averaged 14.5kWh on a return trip to Melbourne). However with our iX3, I get the same, if not better, consumption on the open road vs around town. After 5 months of driving the iX3, I am still surprised when I hit the open road and get consumption of about 18kWh/100km where as around town it's between 17 to 20 kWh/100km.

[@DavidGreen_au]

Couldn't help notice that the Goldburn charging station was NRMA's. They spent quite a bit "talking up" their infrastructure rollout, but if it's broken, it may as well not be there. Wouldn't it be nice if recharging was a matter of opening a latch, and replace a couple of Eveready "X" batteries.

[@ianmccurley2806]

Hi. There is a Tesla charging station in town at Belmore Park, Sloane Street side. Do Tesla chargers not fit other EV’s?

[@DavidGreen_au]

@IAN McCurley Last I heard, Tesla plug & socket was proprietary. So most likely not…

[@ianmccurley2806]

@@DavidGreen_au thanks David. Thought as much.

[@AirzonesBlasters]

@@ianmccurley2806 Tesla chargers will fit other EV's in Australia, but they are software locked to Tesla only. In the USA, they're different plugs.

[@Bellakelpie]

I stopped a hotel in rural Victoria 6 weeks ago and there were 3 EV charging stations in the carpark. Each one was “ powered” by a small Diesel generator. Gee, that’s saving the planet.

[@dudleygb45]

Great video, I recently took a polestar for a drive, lovely car, but your 80k is a total let down when there's no where to charge. In Australia, if you want full ev, only choice is Tesla, they have the supercharger network. But the cost, omg. So I to am looking at hybrid, they're great. Waiting for the new outlander to come out so I can test it. In your opinion, what is the best bang for buck phev right now?

[@peterhess6039]

Love these videos Before I discovered this channel, I thought my ideas were “unique” and “weird” because they were different to the flock but it’s good to know there’s a few individual thinkers out there

[@jimbojonesporfavor]

confirmation bias

[@lesliefranklin1870]

Congrats! You are now part of a "unique", "weird" clique.

[@EmadKhader]

Another great video (as usual), John. Keep up the good work. At night, when solar cells are useless and when most people will probably want to charge their EVs, the juice coming out of the socket is made by burning coal or natural gas (if we ignore the small hydro supply). Wouldn't it be fair to say that mother earth is not going to benefit if we replace the CO2 released by ICE cars with CO2 released by the power stations making the juice used by electric cars? Wouldn't mother earth suffer more since more CO2 is released by burning coal compared to burning petrol? Add the losses due to extra weight of EVs and the losses in the grid and the truth is probably very ugly. Until the beauty or otherwise of the truth is established (by engineers not advocates), I do not see why I should pay taxes to subsidize EVs or the installation of chargers. If the rich want to advertise their green credentials, they can do so using their own money. My money is needed for a very deserving cause (my retirement fund).

[@peterhoz]

Not necessarily. Wind.

[@EmadKhader]

@@peterhoz you are right. Wind can work at night when the solar cells are comatose. However, "guaranteed" wind power is science fiction at this stage.

[@EmadKhader]

@@Nudge822 Your first reply started with accusing me of peddling petroleum propaganda.Your second reply claimed most of my facts are false. I guess attacking the messenger is an easier task than actually checking the facts. According to the American Geosciences Institute, the following is the number of pounds of CO2 emitted per million Btu (you can do the arithmetic to convert to SI units if you wish), - Coal ~215 - Diesel ~161 - Petrol ~157 I am sure one didn't need to pay particular attention at school to see that burning Diesel or Petrol produces less CO2 than burning coal for the same amount of energy produced. You can make the comparison more complete by factoring in the relevant efficiency of ICE car engines, the efficiency of coal power plants, the extra energy consumed by moving heaver EVs, the losses in the grid, the efficiency of chargers, etc, etc. I suggest your will find the resultant numbers will still show powering an EV with electricity generated from fossil fuel power plants is worse for the climate than running an ICE powered car. No amount of ad hominem attacks can change the facts.

[@EmadKhader]

@@Nudge822 More ad hominem attacks. A practical alternative to thinking. Very professional!!

[@DallasSDogger]

On my recent trip from Gold Coast to Canberra and return, we stopped a few times at service centres. Each one I checked there were faulty chargers, frustrating waiting dead EV greenies. I note, with interest it must never rain on EV charging points as not one was covered. I also noted that highway 1 is 95% dual carriageway and our trip was an hour faster than it used to be. An EV would make that trip the same as a trip in 1973. Glad to save the Earth but not in the rain and the extra hour is a tax on my time the new EV science experiments wield on the unfortunate cult members. Another point JC (interesting initials). I get 8c kwh for solar feed-in so even If I do charge at home (should the farging sun ever come out) does cost. Equally, if you don't have solar charging at home is going to cost a lot more. I really think that either LiS batteries or Graphpine or Hydrogen. might overtake conventional EV by the time they mature. The current EV tech is only transitional and eperimentational. The EV infrastructure is not keeping up and I suspect majors are not investing because they know it could be superseded. Just my 2.2c worth inc GST and LCT.

[@tbone5654]

Well said. A lot of engineers think hydrogen (as an energy carrier) will eventually make battery vehicles uneconomic.

[@silkysixx]

In tears of both kinds, the phrase "we have simply lost the ability to do anything worthwhile" rings in his ears... public domain or otherwise, we're on Struggle St in terms of meaningful productivity. Though I still call Shitsville home. My view on the middle-class welfare for EVs is that it's particularly egregious when you consider that those are the same people who are up to their taller brother's eyeballs in debt and empty real property and are therefore going to be the only ones who are safe once the current hyperinflation is fully realised.

[@leviathan68w78]

Can't trust the government man! JFK was a suicide!

[@tbone5654]

When the monthly inflation rate exceeds 50%, then we're in hyperinflation. We're not even in yearly double digits yet. Most the hyperinflation gold bug alarmists I witnessed since the 80's are now dead. Sad how they lived in fantasy waiting for end of world b.s so they could make a quick buck betting on brain dead gold speculation.

[@dingbatt]

Albo’s going to fix all this though isn’t he? A network of public EV chargers the length and breadth of Australia, powered by fairy dust and unicorn shit. Instead of dropping $110K on a Teutonic status symbol you could always spend half the amount on a Ford, Mitsubishi or MG PHEV to get the coal to ScoMo. And give the balance to the poor. But yes the worst thing is arriving at the planned recharge point to find it’s out of commission. Roadside assistance in the future may consist of a diesel truck with a huge diesel generator on the back to replenish your electrons.

[@ScottyPilot]

Albo promises 170 chargers, Sydney would need more than that alone.... If you consider how many servo's we have for a 10 minute refuel then EVs will need more space and larger refuelling options. And the Grid needs the power and the 'poles and wires' also need to be upgraded to handle the higher loads.

[@BrisbaneTeslaGuy]

He will do more than Scotty from marketing I guarantee it

[@ScottyPilot]

@@BrisbaneTeslaGuy I'll add that worthless 'guarantee' to all the other Labor worthless guarantee's... headed by their classic, and Albo repeated 'there will be no carbon tax under a government I lead'... If Labor just took some time to develop policy instead of waiting for their turn, I might be able to vote for them...

[@neil492]

As an Australian living in France, I can attest to the EV infrastructure here being in a far better state to that in Australia. The supermarkets here in the south (Montpellier) have huge solar panels in the carparks for you to park in their shade and to charge your car. But I get it that the ScoMo Sh!tShow government makes it unwise to have an EV in Oz. EVs are the future and I'm glad that you make the point. I think for Australia's size and comparatively small population, you can overlook emissions per person, unlike the EU or the USA so if Australians consume more, then for the land area, it's less. Maybe you need to be in my head to understand my logic.

[@mayflowerlash11]

HI Neil, But Australians falsely imagine they are ahead of the curve and doing cutting edge stuff. We are not. We are 10 years at least behind Europe. Australians don't realise how far behind we are because we are constantly feed bullshit about how clever and advanced we are. It doesn't bear scrutiny. Scomo is trying to keep us in the 20th century by bringing lumps of coal into parliament. It's pathetic. Name the industries in which we lead the world? That's right bugger all. Why can't these stupid politicians imagine the employment required and the revenue that could be earned if Australia made an effort to lead in some major industry ? Like PV panel manufacture, like wind generators, but no, Scomo wants to keep up in the coal age, which is just about to expire. We are still being a giant quarry for the world. Here's an idea. Why don't we turn those raw materials we dig up into a finished product? It's called value adding. If a dumb arse like me can figure this out what does it say about our politicians? I despair.

[@anthonyadverse4449]

For the truly range anxiety affected, keep a 2-stroke generator in the boot, for extra green supplementary power... :)

[@gregbailey45]

Sounds like a bloody brilliant sol-oo-shi-on, as JC would no doubt say!

[@alejo5401]

You have a very GOOD and REAL sense of humor, i dont care if this was scripted or not, GOOD JOB sir. subscribed.

[@dtengineering1]

Hey John, you have driven a few EV's now. How much do you find yourself, less/same/more than an ICE powered vehicle, concentrating or looking at the various screens and calculating range, potential charge point locations, instant/average battery range, etc? I have watched a few decent EV reviews, but not as funny and to the point as yours, and they seem to be constantly not looking at the road - I guess this is the range anxiety thing.

[@4WayFinSystem]

Tesla owner for 2+ years no range anxiety (500km range and full 32 amp home charging). Tesla got the balance right by focusing on battery tech and supporting supercharge network. Other vehicle manufacturers should be learning a thing or two from this.

[@springer-qb4dv]

@@4WayFinSystem Till your massive battery goes bad out of warranty. Don't expect Tesla to pickup the tabs for new battery then. Driving a peasant 30 year old ICE econobox, it still amazes me that best Tesla still has far worse range and fill up time than my peasant gas car.

[@4WayFinSystem]

@@springer-qb4dv best thing is to keep your old car running as long as possible so you’re well ahead on 30 years. I still have my xtrail running smoothly 16 years later and hope to keep it going for another 10+ years. So far my Tesla is going very well, both from cost and performance perspective. Time will tell…

[@FranFirman]

@@springer-qb4dv The batteries generally don't just fail. They lose capacity over time. The normal rule of thumb for that is the battery can do 1,500 charge cycles before it has lost 30% of it's capacity. So taking "4 Way Fin System's" example range of 500km, that gives an approx distance of 750,000km before the battery has lost 30% and will only go 350km on a charge, which is still very usable. Either way 750,000km is a good 30 years of driving, so I personally think he will be fine. Now the smaller the battery the sooner getting to that limit - ie the original Leaf batteries would only do around 140km, so with the same charge cycles = 210,000km. They aren't lasting that well, but then they also don't have any form of thermal control on the battery either. But that being said my parents 2011 Leaf has done 130,000km and is sitting at about 65% left with a range of about 90km, which still does what they want for around town etc.

[@dtengineering1]

Thanks for all of your replies - much appreciated. But can anyone answer the question? Cheers

[@raystravelsaustralia6737]

Thanks for the video, John. I would be interested in hearing your opinion on the end-of-life recycling, or not, of the materials that go into producing an EV. I question the notion that an EV is actually green when you consider the materials that go into producing an EV.

[@leftright8826]

Although the EV's manufacturing process does put a huge question on the notion of green-friendly vehicle, you have to consider that more EV's in a city will be much better for overall health and well-being of everyone. That aspect alone convinces me to switch to EV or Plug-in Hybrid.

[@robstone4537]

The materials going into an EV battery are pretty expensive, I would imagine there is a cost incentive to extract them. Also once the batteries are no longer viable for an EV they can be repurposed for a home solar system and still have many years of use.

[@davidbrayshaw3529]

@@leftright8826 Think about the people that live in regions where coal fired electricity is generated before you get too excited about the "health benefits" of EV's. I actually agree with you that removing tail pipe emissions from our cities is a commendable thing but don't forget that there is a significant cost that comes with that. Burning coal is that cost.

[@leftright8826]

@@davidbrayshaw3529 I agree with the fact that the coal burning is indeed an issue, but that can be significantly controlled with wider adoption of solar panels throughput cities. For example what Germany is doing by putting solar panels on open car parking spaces. Government should incentivise people to install solar panels on houses. Just charge your EV overnight with backed up solar power.

[@davidbrayshaw3529]

@@leftright8826 The bleak reality is that growing demand is the biggest problem that we face as a species. Charging a battery by day in order to re charge another battery by night just compounds the problem.

[@lawrenceakini9507]

Thanks for this vlog. It’s so true. You have an amazing day. Ciao. 2022.

[@ianwilson3802]

How well did your heater and AC work in your EV ? Did it affect the range much ?

[@matsv201]

That depends on how fast you drive: If you drive at highway speed is barley noticeable. If you drive at city speed it very much is

[@GraemeHart8888]

You're right about maintenance being behind the problem you're experiencing. We have a lot of the Tritium chargers in NZ, which are made in Australia and while they break down occasionally (don't we all) they're usually fixed pretty promptly by the network operator here. I'm not sure why the network operators in Australia are a bit shit.

[@Jaredscott89]

Tritium chargers have a reputation globally at this point for being shit.

[@GraemeHart8888]

@@Jaredscott89 Yet Chargenet are able to operate a reasonable sized network made up of mostly Tritium chargers. The Delta and ABB ones seem to be just as bad, possibly even worse.

[@Jaredscott89]

@@GraemeHart8888 ChargeNet is mostly low 25kW & 50kW units, they also regularly experience faults....

[@gasdive]

There are three chargers at Goulburn. One was broken, one had a bad screen and can be accessed via the app, which is noted on plugshare and one works fine, but he doesn't mention that. For some reason. Probably the same reason he couldn't find the charger on Northbourne Ave, despite the 50 photos on plugshare that show exactly where it is, the giant blue signs, the signs that direct to the charger, and the huge yellow markings on the road. The same reason that the hotel was mysteriously out of electricity.

[@markfoster6110]

So I can put the 16 kw generator on the truck . And run a rescue service ?

[@archygrey9093]

RAC already do that lol, literally just a van with a massive diesel generator in the back. As long as you keep it cheaper than a tow truck i reckon you could charge quite a bit.

[@TheHsan22]

Cnr Northbourne Ave and London Cct (East) car park in Canberra has two chargers…. Saw a car plugged in once.

[@johnstaring3210]

That explains why I passed a mega bucks Tesla going so low out on the Nullarbor, and didn't the driver and passenger look pleased about their rate of progress. The motel owners up the road were pleased too !

[@AutoExpertJC]

Ha!

[@archygrey9093]

I saw a red Tesla (driving) on the highway halfway between Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing, makes me wonder since there are no ev chargers in any of the towns they must have had to stay overnight to recharge at a motel power outlet or something.

[@slimpickins5922]

Hearing of your experience bought back so many memories, My wife and I hired a E pace Jaguar when we went to England. We were very keen to experience an ev as were considering buying one in Australia, where we live. The app showing re charging stations in the UK shows literately hundreds of charging points. when we picked up the vehicle from Heathrow we were travelling to Cornwall, the car was only 70% charged. we soon realized we would need to charge before too long as we were unsure of the range, this is where our troubles began. lots of Tesla chargers very few others and after hooking up to a standard charger we went for a coffee whilst we waited, after an hour we went back and to our dismay it had not charged properly, we headed to the next town to a carpark showing 3 charging points, 2 were out of order, we had trouble connecting the vehicle and actually getting it to charge, finally with the help from a call to assistance we connected, someone after five minutes told us there was a fast charger several kilometers away and we should go and use that one, i told him to go and use it himself. Politely of course. I admit i was stressed out, we had lost so much time trying to charge this car, my wife said " why dont you call the rent," before she had finished i had called the rental company and requested an exchange, to cut a long story short, we ended up with a great little BMW diesel sports hatch. and straight away all stress dissipated, we no longer experienced range anxiety. We did not buy an ev, we will one day but the charging system here in Aus should learn from the overseas experience and set up a reliable and fast charge system.

[@gregbailey45]

Talk to Scomo and see how far you get...

[@lifetimevic]

I just want one because they are so fast. I'm talking about a fast one lol. Not a Nissan leaf lol

[@chrissscottt]

Leafs will smoke off most 'hot hatches'

[@BrisbaneTeslaGuy]

@@chrissscottt truest comment on this entire board

[@AutoExpertJC]

EV6 will smoke most cars.

[@JohnSmith-yv6eq]

Try a YT vid where Robert gets a new battery installed in his Leaf... well a second hand high capacity Gen2 Leaf battery.... so it can go fast... for much longer....

[@kevindennis916]

ANOTHER stellar performance, thanks mate🤙

[@AutoExpertJC]

Thank you for watching, Kevin.

[@Stefan-mg5gl]

Fun fact: here in Germany the Automotorjournalist Bloch (part of the system, not independend) tried to do a nice make up calcultion on EV costs per 100 km and he did the best to get it down to reasonable family car prices and failed. If yo do not charge your EV at home from your own solar panel than you have to fight 2 facts: 1.): the cost per km is on the level of a conservative sports car like a 2nd hand Porsche 911 or a 2nd hand Lamborghini Countach. 2.): there is a charging difficulty. We have not enough chargers. No where. We have though an acceptable tight net but you go in a traffic jam to that with all the other EVs in front of your EV.

[@archygrey9093]

I live in a small country town (15 mins to drive from one end to the other), i would seriously consider getting a small cheap EV in the future just for driving in that, wouldn't need much range at all, on average i probably only drive about 10-15 km a day. I don't plan on selling the cars I've already got so it won't be a big deal if i need to drive to the next town 3 hours away or do a road trip. Big expensive long range Teslas don't appeal to me at all but smaller shorter range ev's like the Honda E certainly do. I believe that is the future for ev's, most family houses already have 2 or 3 cars in the driveway anyway, typically one of those cars is some cheap little grocery getter for quick errands and thats what i reckon the ev will probably replace.

[@BrisbaneTeslaGuy]

You need a golf cart my friend l😃

[@AutoExpertJC]

Pushbike?

[@BrisbaneTeslaGuy]

They should allow gold carts in super small towns hey, how great would that be

[@archygrey9093]

@@BrisbaneTeslaGuy I probably would if they were road legal lol, when i worked at the airport as a baggage handler we used electric tugs that were basically beefed up heavy duty golf carts made out of checkerplate steel, they just used deep cycle lead acid house batteries and would last all day pulling around baggage trailers without needing to recharge, they had tiny wheels though so got stuck easy if you took them into the gravel area, and then you'd need one of the diesel tugs to push you out. They should actually make golf carts road legal, perhaps give them the same rules as mopeds (under 50kmh, no freeway use ect.)

[@t5ruxlee210]

A small cheap EV is a second cousin to a small cheap flashlight with the added excitement that if it "flames up" the firefighters will get a really good workout trying to put it out.

[@williammurray6921]

I think the plan is to limit the distance one can travel by road, and therefore get a huge number of vehicles off the road and onto public transport. Your EV is only for city use only and keep the public contained as much as possible.

[@rimaspazereckas2748]

Seems that is the overall goal with the "smart city". Not to mention easy to control said population...

[@siobrade8273]

Interestingly I only use my EV for inter-city travel, no point in using it in town where I can easily walk or bike (okay I only live 5kms from work, an easy cycle). Mine's got 450kms of range so plenty if I need to travel out of town; the good thing here in little ol' NZ is that speed is limited to 100kph which helps greatly with range.

[@batmanlives6456]

Keep the wankers contained in the city’s I can see the merit in this… I live in the country….

[@rimaspazereckas2748]

@@batmanlives6456 i escape to the country on weekends and holidays...unfortunately i work in the suburbs...

[@batmanlives6456]

@@rimaspazereckas2748 this EV plan is to keep you trapped in the city / densely populated areas

[@nicksauer6749]

Here in the UK there are a lot of charging stations, but most are not available unless you subscribe to a particular brand. On top of that, many of them do not work, as you experienced in Australia. However, the Tesla supercharger network has been reliable and adequate for me to travel across the whole island as long as I plan my journeys. Charging times are short although I sometimes have to wait a bit if all the chargers are in use. On the driving side, it is one of the quickest, and dullest, cars I have ever driven. Boy racers will hate them.

[@karlgunterwunsch1950]

That is not true. Not even for the Tesla supercharger network as that has been partally opened for everyone. Easy to check which are available. The only thing you need to know is if the charger is supporting CCS or the obsolete Chademo connector and what type of connection your car needs.

[@peterlock3881]

I saw the operative from Tesla doing a service on the Electric Jesus chargers in Wodonga. I must need new glasses because his "cyber truck" looked a lot like a Triton to me.

[@AutoExpertJC]

Living the dream, obviously...