PeteC wrote: ↑Fri Jul 19, 2024 2:39 am
Has anyone found a site that compares quality between the different EV manufacturers?
Manufacturers? I'm struggling to see what (the royal) we can compare at times. Where do the components come from - the batteries, the Chips, the motors? Where are they assembled, components made in China and assembled in Europe - is that a better EV? Odds are that the Chips are from Taiwan, Batteries (or the majority of components) Chinese. What truly do the major European/US Auto companies provide?
I've not trusted Chinese safety or quality having lived and worked there (in engineering), but time has certainly passed. Perhaps I should question some aspects of the Western World..
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things" - Yma o Hyd.
All of the above would be difficult to find for an ICE manufacturer. I would hope soon there are just simply comparisons of quality experience reported by owners. The normal stuff: Owner satisfaction, recalls, maintenance costs, would you recommend and if not, why? etc. A "Consumer Report" type breakdown.
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PeteC wrote: ↑Fri Jul 19, 2024 3:33 am
All of the above would be difficult to find for an ICE manufacturer. I would hope soon there are just simply comparisons of quality experience reported by owners. The normal stuff: Owner satisfaction, recalls, maintenance costs, would you recommend and if not, why? etc. A "Consumer Report" type breakdown.
Couldn't agree more! With the last comment....
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things" - Yma o Hyd.
Passed by the BYD stand at a shopping center a few days ago, and asked about the specs.
The bigger, SUV looking thing (Atto3) has only a single motor driving the rear(?) wheels, the smaller, more recent one (Seal) has two motors and a bit more grunt. And had those flush door handles that even the sales person had a problem opening..
Both have absolutely zero storage space. They do look nice, but that is about all I can say without being negative.
Not enough range for the usage I need, and no storage if you have all 4 seats filled. I am sceptical re prolonged continuous use of batteries on long journeys (think at least 7 hours on the road of continuous highway/ mixed driving) mixed with charging/waiting then off you go again. I've lived with the NiCD batteries and other rechargeables from the first Nokia through those b#@$!! tiny things posing as backup batteries in my car dashcam to have a deep mistrust of the supersized ones now being put into EVs.
My friend (and also car mechanic, not in Thailand) also says the tyre wear is appalling and the lack of a spare seems to be the trend these days.
Enjoy the test drive. EVs will appeal to a certain cross section who have specific usage parameters. I'm not one of them.
My friend (and also car mechanic, not in Thailand) also says the tyre wear is appalling and the lack of a spare seems to be the trend these days.
The majority of the tyre wear on EVs is due to people using the instant power to get high acceleration but that is nothing to do with them being electric, any high power car is the same.
One of my colleagues bought a 600hp V8 Camaro and got through a set of back tyres in four months!
If you drive an EV normally, there will be a slight increase in tyre weight due to a bit more weight but it's not going to be significant. I've never worn out a set of tyres in Thailand, I've always changed them because of them being perished from the climate, so I can't see any problem.
SAIC / MG seems pretty confident in their product, using CATL batteries. Have just raised their 8 yr / 180k kms warranty in TH to life time on most EV models. Includes past, present and not restricted to original owner.
My friend (and also car mechanic, not in Thailand) also says the tyre wear is appalling and the lack of a spare seems to be the trend these days.
The majority of the tyre wear on EVs is due to people using the instant power to get high acceleration but that is nothing to do with them being electric, any high power car is the same.
One of my colleagues bought a 600hp V8 Camaro and got through a set of back tyres in four months!
If you drive an EV normally, there will be a slight increase in tyre weight due to a bit more weight but it's not going to be significant.
I can agree to a certain extent, but using the whole "High Power" (especially a 600hp V8 Camaro) argument is stretching things a tad Steve.... Different rubber compounds and the excessive weights of EVs is the issue. It's a proven fact that tyre wear is significantly more on EVs throughout the range - not simply the larger "High Powered" units (a V8 Camaro is also a very heavy unit). There is also a thing called "Traction Control" as no doubt you well know.
Going back to "Rubber Compounds", many suppliers actually use a "Softer Tyre" (see F1 ) to reduce road noise, understandable with an EV, but certainly does not improve wear. Tyre side walls are manufactured with strengthening materials to handle the additional weight, but there are reports of reduced longevity.
I reported earlier in this thread that a friend of mine who has a Tesla suffered from countless issues - punctures being a huge problem.
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things" - Yma o Hyd.
^Bridgestone sell an EV tyre with a 50,000 mile warranty.
That's more than ten years of driving for me in Thailand so they'll be perished before they get that far.
“You’ll never have to buy a car,” a passenger inside one of the white robotaxi sedans said in a video that has been viewed over 80 million times on Chinese social media platform Weibo since last week.
STEVE G wrote: ↑Sat Jul 20, 2024 5:34 pm
This has the potential to be an even larger disrupter to the auto industry than EVs:
Super cheap robotaxi rides spark widespread anxiety in China
I was always more anxious getting a "normal" (Chinese Driven) Taxi! I've had taxis galore involved in accidents, a couple turned over and the odd one simply leaving me in the middle of nowhere. The "anxiety" of course is due to the threat to jobs - zero to do with safety or IT.
It's a sad state of affairs, but personally I will never return to China by choice - seen it, done it, suffered from it and no further interest in it (aside
from "some" family)...
Getting back to topic (:oops: ), "Driverless Cars" will no doubt continue to move forward, but I must admit to having serious concerns over numerous aspects.
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things" - Yma o Hyd.