[Dave Willis]

Anyone drive one on here?

http://www.environmentallyfriendlymotoring.co.uk/fuels/hybrid-conversions-diesel/

Customer is buying a Mitsubushi Overlander car - reckons it runs off electric for about thirty miles before engine takes over. I could do my whole round off one charge 

[Smudger]

With your history of electrics Dave you wouldn't get off the drive without breakng down 😃😃😃

[Dave Willis]

  lost me.

[Spruce]

Anyone drive one on here?

http://www.environmentallyfriendlymotoring.co.uk/fuels/hybrid-conversions-diesel/

Customer is buying a Mitsubushi Overlander car - reckons it runs off electric for about thirty miles before engine takes over. I could do my whole round off one charge 

The electric Citroen Berlingo van was discontinued about 10 years ago - it was expensive to buy; the batteries expensive to lease; the payload crap because of the weight of the batteries; no commercial resale value after a few years; poor range (especially when loaded) and limited charging facilities.

I have no faith in the future of electric vehicles. Everything about them has been hyped up.

[Jonny 87]

Anyone drive one on here?

http://www.environmentallyfriendlymotoring.co.uk/fuels/hybrid-conversions-diesel/

Customer is buying a Mitsubushi Overlander car - reckons it runs off electric for about thirty miles before engine takes over. I could do my whole round off one charge 

I'm not surprised your looking at a different van the amount of bulbs our hiaces go through.

Cost me £5.50 in two years on bulbs.

[Ian101]

im guessing in a hybrid van batteries would be under load area ... imagine the hassle with a leaky wfp system 

[Dave Willis]

this thing http://www.environmentallyfriendlymotoring.co.uk/fuels/hybrid-conversions-diesel/ doesn't seem to use a large battery pack. Not sure exactly how it works or why it's only for Transits.

[dd]

Would you get much torque to carry around half a tonne or so of water?

[Spruce]

im guessing in a hybrid van batteries would be under load area ... imagine the hassle with a leaky wfp system  

In my case I never saw one as they were factory order. So I'm not sure where the batteries were tbh. To my mind the maths didn't add up. Over the life of the van it was much more first effective to buy a diesel, especially when trade-in time came.

I didn't know this but I see that this electric van has been reintroduced. The spec is far better that the original.

http://www.nextgreencar.com/news/6165/Citroen-Berlingo-Electric-debuts-in-UK

Ian, you are right. The batteries are right under the load bed. Great spot for a leaky WFP system as you say.  (funny thinking about it, but not funny in reality.)

[Gerald Ash]

Right guys, listen to me as I  been using a Nissan leaf for nearly a year now.
Charging, from empty to full on home charger takes five hours and costs about ninety pence on economy seven. You will quite safely get sixty miles. If you rapid charge at ecotricity chargers it's free and takes thirty mins to eighty percent. As to the torque you have 260 lb/ft from zero to 100mph.
 It is the smoothest and quietest vehicle you will ever drive. I'm getting the env200 in April which is better than the leaf and has a payload of 700kg.
The disadvantages are, in winter the range is affected by the cold and the need to run heater. You should still get forty miles safely.
 If you need to charge during the day, although free and only taking thirty mins on rapid you are losing your hourly rate during that down time.
I love them mostly because the leaf and env will leave most cars standing from the lights. Test drive one. I'd recommend the env, Peugeot partner and any plugin hybrid.
Also because there are very few moving parts servicing and reliability are second to none. As I said I  ran a leaf for nearly a year plus I've researched and test drove most of the competition. Outlander is the best plugin hybrid in my opinion.
Give em a try. The safe mileage is based on normal driving. Eg you can drive at thirty mph for 100 miles or 100 mph for not quite 30 miles.

[Dave Willis]

I test drove a leaf and was quite impressed. I think the battery life was around five years and you actually leased them. At the time it didn't interest me because it was not a hybrid.
The Outlander although not much use to me sounds appealing if they ever made it in a van because it would be quite possible to do a days work without starting the engine and as the quick charge points in town are free (so far)then half an hour parked up in the evening wouldn't be a problem.
All comes down to figures in the end and probably not worth it.

[Gerald Ash]

That`s the problem, it`s not simple to work the figures out. If you charge at home on cheap rate electric and can complete a days work then it`s a no brainer. However if you need to charge during the day the if it takes 15 mins to get to free charger, 30 mins to charge up and 15 mins to next job then obviously that`s an hours work lost at say £30. That in diesel will take you a long way.
I use the lunch break to charge so I get around it that way but I could work it. To confess my work isn`t compressed enough and have to travel too much.
    The outlander is great because the economy for that type of vehicle is phenomenal.

[Dave Willis]

I think you have to charge yours because you haven't got an engine? Whereas the Mitsubushi does and takes over if I remember what my customer was saying.

[Gerald Ash]

The leaf, env and peugeot are 100 percent electric and the outlander is a plugin hybrid. it`s cheaper to charge batteries via charge point than with the engine. I`ve made journeys of 200 plus miles but they have to be planned around the available charging points. From Gloucester to Maidstone 3 hours each way but totally free fuel. Pros and cons with both. Personally I would hate to go back to petrol or diesel.
  If you want the ultimate electric car then look up the Tesla model s p85d. 200 plus miles range and 0 to 60 3.2 seconds. Bit on the pricey side though.
One more point is rapid charging can be detrimental to the battery long term plus you can buy the bettery outright, pros and cons.

[duncan h]

ELECTRIC IS THE FUTURE. As an ex mechanic and a massive petrol head  Nothing we can do about it. Hybrid with a small petrol engine is good. All electric is a no no at the moment. Electric driven cars are getting better and better. Batteries are getting much better. Batteries are water proof. Its not hard to keep the battery connection water tight also

[Gerald Ash]

ELECTRIC IS THE FUTURE. As an ex mechanic and a massive petrol head  Nothing we can do about it. Hybrid with a small petrol engine is good. All electric is a no no at the moment. Electric driven cars are getting better and better. Batteries are getting much better. Batteries are water proof. Its not hard to keep the battery connection water tight also

I disagree with total electric being a no no, local work you can`t beat it. Charging during the day is a minus as I said. I`m also a petrol head but the Leaf has impressed me and the ENV200 is excellent. Everything else you say I absolutely agree with.
 At the present time though, because of the infrastructure not being widespread, hybrid offers the flexability you need in business. I would never buy an electric vehicle without rapid charge capability like  the Renault Kangoo. They argue that in a business you have set routes so don`t need it. Well I do houses in Bishops Cleeve which I couldn`t do without rapid charging so that be £170 I couldn`t earn.
  If you do regular work within a fifty mile radius or travel less than thirty miles a day then electric can not be matched. If more than that then you may struggle but it`s still viable with a little thought.

[ChumBucket]

With the initial outlay plus the extra hassle it's way off being both an economical and convenient option IMO for a good few years to come. You can buy a good van & an awful lot of diesel for less money.

I have a customer with the new Mitsubishi, they are wealthy farmers & also have wind turbines so their electricity is free.

[duncan h]

ELECTRIC IS THE FUTURE. As an ex mechanic and a massive petrol head  Nothing we can do about it. Hybrid with a small petrol engine is good. All electric is a no no at the moment. Electric driven cars are getting better and better. Batteries are getting much better. Batteries are water proof. Its not hard to keep the battery connection water tight also

I disagree with total electric being a no no, local work you can`t beat it. Charging during the day is a minus as I said. I`m also a petrol head but the Leaf has impressed me and the ENV200 is excellent. Everything else you say I absolutely agree with.
 At the present time though, because of the infrastructure not being widespread, hybrid offers the flexability you need in business. I would never buy an electric vehicle without rapid charge capability like  the Renault Kangoo. They argue that in a business you have set routes so don`t need it. Well I do houses in Bishops Cleeve which I couldn`t do without rapid charging so that be £170 I couldn`t earn.
  If you do regular work within a fifty mile radius or travel less than thirty miles a day then electric can not be matched. If more than that then you may struggle but it`s still viable with a little thought.

Too many "IF'S" mate
I don't know any charging points round hear. Leeds will have some. If you live in the country, your screwed.
Imagine working all day. Your on your way home and its starts snowing bad. You get stuck and your power is low! Yes you can get stuck low on petrol, but every where sells it. Even if the range gets better. As yet, it takes too long to charge

[mufcglen]

i actually agree with duncan, as an ex lexus and peugeot mechanic i got to see the peugeot 106 electric car that came out years ago it was pants, im sure full electric cars have come right on since then but for now i think hybrid is the best all round to have if your serious about wanting to save the planet!
i remeber driving the lexus and the prius or whatever it was called that was poo but the lexus hybrids were actually quite nice with very smooth transition from electric to petrol when you put your foot down they didnt really save alot though and some of the older ones was getting tired batteries that cost mega money and got me thinking when these cars get old and the the hybrid side breaks down you may as well scrap them for the cost!!
for me stick with good old fashioned derv and the price keeps going down and down at the minute.

[windowswashed]

I drive a Honda Civic hybrid. The acceleration is good unless there's five people in the car and then its just average. Mpg is average if you floor it which I do most of the time BUT if I drive at sensible low speeds, gradual smooth acceleration and gear changes then the petrol tank only needs filling half as much. Stick below thrity around town and it's running off battery power most of the time and fuel don't get used much. Road tax is only ten pounds a year as well.