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next saturday i swap the juke hybrid for an electric ev4 is there anything different i need to do as its electric any checks i should do?
ive sorted all the documents and keys locking wheel nuts etc for the juke and given it its final clean so shouldnt be an issue as far as gcb is concerned.
sorted the relevant usb sticks for music as the ev4 uses different to the juke.
ive downloaded kia app and Be.EV for charging as thats who is at dobbies and will be my go to charger. cant have a home charger.
anything else i need to do? any advice gratefully received.
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Congratulations on your choice. Have a Kia EV6 myself and love the car. Kia’s are well made, reliable and nice to drive.
You will have to adjust to the instant torque of a full electric, especially when setting off. I also use the Full Regeneration setting so it is one pedal driving, also using Cruise Control keeps a set distance to the car in front.
Enjoy.
2024 - KIA EV6 GT Line AWD
2019 - 2024 BMW X1 2.0d X Drive Sport Auto
2017 -2019 Audi Q3 2.0d Quattro Sport Line Plus
2005 - 2017 Honda CRV Exec 2.0dMitch, there is nothing different other than getting your 1st. charging session under your belt.
When yiu do that, the charger plug is locked in until the target level is reached.
The only other difference is you want to stop charging, you have to use the app or the screen in the car to STOP the charge before you can remove the plug.
Just be aware that you cant plug it in for a charge and leave it there for hours. When it has finished charging you have to disconnect and free up the space for someone else. There is a usually a time penalty for leaving it plugged in without charging.
If you had a test srive you should be used to the instant power delivery and the push in the back from the torque .
One thing I didn’t know when I first got my EV, if you forget to lock the car while charging, some people can unplug it 😅 At work people used to unplug mine once it was fully charged because the charging light stopped blinking and they knew it was done 😅 I’d come back to find the cable hanging there still attached to my car. Worth checking your EV’s cable lock settings because every car behaves differently.
Hope all goes well next Saturday @mitch
I am sorry but getting an EV without a home charger is going to cost you more per mile than a 40mpg petrol. I lived with a Megane EV for 8 months like this and at first it was all good as I collected it in spring. By winter time, it was costing me £45 to drive 150 miles! No need to tell you that I returned it ASAP. I just hope you have done your homework otherwise the stress and cost will grind you down like it did to me. I really don’t mean to sound so negative but I was exactly like you, full of optimism.
I am sorry but getting an EV without a home charger is going to cost you more per mile than a 40mpg petrol. I lived with a Megane EV for 8 months like this and at first it was all good as I collected it in spring. By winter time, it was costing me £45 to drive 150 miles! No need to tell you that I returned it ASAP. I just hope you have done your homework otherwise the stress and cost will grind you down like it did to me. I really don’t mean to sound so negative but I was exactly like you, full of optimism.
To be fair to Mitch, he did research it and many of us advised against getting an EV unless you can charge at home, for exactly the reasons you mention. My nephew had a mirror image experience to you (plus added irritations as he did regular longer journeys). Mitch is obviously confident that he can make it work as he does very little mileage, so won’t need to charge regularly, so hopefully it will work out for him. Thankfully, Motability are very good at allowing early terminations if things don’t work out as anticipated, as you found, so at least there is a safety net – something that you wouldn’t have if you bought an EV privately.
@jmc , ive been through all the options and ive only been out 6 times in the last 2 months maybe 120 miles,doctors, farm shop and post office oh and a visit to my sisters. and before anyone says it i need to get out more lol.
the alternative was to leave the scheme and buy a banger. but i thought maybe a new toy will get me out more and the ev4 at the end of feb was the best deal on the scheme 0ap wpms and less than the allowance weekly. so the money saved each week will probably offset the higher recharge cost and the chargers at dobbies arent the most expensive.
weve sorted my meds out now so hopefully i can get to the gym for physio now as well so it will be interesting to see how the range recharging and stuff goes.
That’s fair enough Mitch. I felt stupid after I handed ours back because so many people had warned me 😂. As long as your eyes are open to the negatives. The EV4 is a lovely car and when we order in October, it could well be on our list as my landlord has finally agreed to a home charger being installed but we are on 38k miles after 2 and a half years in our ZR-V so you can see my issues with only using public charging! Congrats and enjoy!
I am curious why you didnt just go for a really cheap lease in your case as it seems like it works out alot more expensive for you do.
Funnily enough I was just thinking it can’t be far off your collection date.
I would contact the dealership to ask them just how much charge they’re putting in the car. As with petrol, it’s rare they’ll simply fully charge it for free but it’s not unheard of and costs them a vast amount less than if it was petrol or, worse, diesel.
Check all the cables are there. You should get a Type 2 to Type 2 cable for your destination charger and you might get a KIA one for 3 pin plug to charge the car. Make a note of what you get, as that’s what you’ve got to return. Don’t leave it for the dealer to remember what was in there in 3 years time, they might think that something was provided that wasn’t and that’ll be a whole new headache.
If it’s not fully charged, go to your preferred charging place and give it a go. Whilst it’s really not that hard, it can be somewhat overwhelming the first time. If it’s a rapid, it should be as simple as take the cable, plug it into the car, either connect through the app or tap the bank card and off it goes.
After that, nothing’s too difficult. There will be a period of time while you can get used to the car and the changes that having an EV provides. I’d suggest starting off with slight regenerative braking and turning it up over time. Get used to how it feels and works and how it changes how you slow the car down. To adjust that you’ve got the flappy paddles, the left one increases regen and the left decreases. They’ll take a minute to get used to, as does most new cars.
If it also works on KIAs, holding certain buttons on the steering wheel controls will shut off some of the irritant ADAS for you. If you’re on FaceBook, find one of the KIA or EV4 groups for the UK and they’ll help with which buttons does what. They’re usually full of friendly people willing to give a newbie some advice.
Most importantly, enjoy the new wheels, take it somewhere pretty and take a few pictures, you know we’re going to want to see the new car…
I'm Autistic, if I say something you find offensive, please let me know, I can guarantee it was unintentional.
I'll try to give my honest opinion but am always open to learning.Mark
Good advice @MFillingham Amazingly, when we took delivery of our PHEV, the Hyundai dealer had not only fully charged it (which takes quite a while with a PHEV) but completely filled up the petrol tank as well. I was very impressed!
As Mark says. But also take pix of the cables etc before you sign off on it. A picture record is good if there are problems.
I saw one guy who had just got his car and took it to the charging station to put energy in. When he finished he tried to pull the plug out of the car. I saw him yanking it with both hands and it would not come out. I reckon he didnt know about the stopping charge from the car trick, and that he bent something in the port yanking it too hard.
Just be aware the plug should come away with one hand easily.
I am sorry but getting an EV without a home charger is going to cost you more per mile than a 40mpg petrol. I lived with a Megane EV for 8 months like this and at first it was all good as I collected it in spring. By winter time, it was costing me £45 to drive 150 miles! No need to tell you that I returned it ASAP. I just hope you have done your homework otherwise the stress and cost will grind you down like it did to me. I really don’t mean to sound so negative but I was exactly like you, full of optimism.
I thought of you this morning as I was chatting to my nephew who, as I’ve mentioned on here before, had an EV but had to rely solely on public charging. The novelty of public charging wore off quickly and he couldn’t wait for the lease to end. Sadly, it wasn’t a Motability car so he was stuck with it for 3 years.
He’s now gone back to a petrol car and tells me that, even with petrol prices as they are at present, his running costs have almost halved, and the range is almost 3 times what he was getting versus the real world range of his EV. He does quite regular long journeys so this has made a big difference to him. I’m sure that EV ranges have improved a lot since his EV was built, but he says he won’t go back to one until he has a house where he can charge at home.
Mitch has the advantage of driving very few miles, it means all fuel costs are relatively small. He also put in a deal of calculation based on all outcomes and was happy to go with the EV4. Last I was aware he was working with kezo for a home charging solution that’ll suit his needs, I believe that’ll help with any cost challenges he finds.
It’s very difficult to simply state that charging away from home doesn’t work. Admittedly, things were much easier back when supermarkets and some car parks were offering free charging (I once managed Cornwall to Southampton for a long weekend and home again for no electric costs). If there’s solutions including charging at work or somewhere regularly visited at a discount, it’s not unaffordable.
I'm Autistic, if I say something you find offensive, please let me know, I can guarantee it was unintentional.
I'll try to give my honest opinion but am always open to learning.Mark
I was under the impression from previous discussions @mitch was going to use a granny charger, that ran down the side of the hedge to keep the car topped up?
Mitch has the advantage of driving very few miles, it means all fuel costs are relatively small. He also put in a deal of calculation based on all outcomes and was happy to go with the EV4. Last I was aware he was working with kezo for a home charging solution that’ll suit his needs, I believe that’ll help with any cost challenges he finds. It’s very difficult to simply state that charging away from home doesn’t work. Admittedly, things were much easier back when supermarkets and some car parks were offering free charging (I once managed Cornwall to Southampton for a long weekend and home again for no electric costs). If there’s solutions including charging at work or somewhere regularly visited at a discount, it’s not unaffordable.
I wasn’t directing my comments to @mitch. As you say, he does negligible mileage, so the issues that my nephew has faced won’t apply. Ultimately, you can make anything work if you want it to.
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