Tempted with a Bz4x

[AJones]

11 hours ago, adidev said:

We often do round trips from West Bromwich to Borth in summer. Can AWD or FWD do that on single charge as there is practically no destination chargers?

It looks like there's various charge points, rapids and fast chargers just down the road in Aberystwyth. Rapids at Tesco, Lidl, Morrison's, you could charge up while shopping for groceries.

[adidev]

8 hours ago, philip42h said:

While there aren't many options in Borth, there is a Tesla supercharger in Aberystwyth so you could opt to spend 20 minutes there for peace of mind ...

I appreciate this option, but while in Borth we like to maximise our time, an additional trip to Aberystwyth doesn't look tempting (25 min. trip plus 20 min charge sigh), especially 50% of charges on Zap have issues reported. On top of that, risking a waiting queue (only 6 points and the trips are when good weather) might upset the younger part of my family. Hence, my wonder if bZ4x can do that in one go even if this means 100%->0% SOC

[dab1054]

2 hours ago, adidev said:

I appreciate this option, but while in Borth we like to maximise our time, an additional trip to Aberystwyth doesn't look tempting (25 min. trip plus 20 min charge sigh), especially 50% of charges on Zap have issues reported. On top of that, risking a waiting queue (only 6 points and the trips are when good weather) might upset the younger part of my family. Hence, my wonder if bZ4x can do that in one go even if this means 100%->0% SOC

230 miles is certainly doable in summer temperatures, though you might need to hold your nerve for the last 20-30 miles. From my FWD bZ4X I find the summer range works out surprisingly accurately if you just multiply the %SOC by 3 for normal driving (of course you can simply look at the range meter...). By normal I mean NOT doing 70-80 mph on dual carriageways. I suspect your route will be fairly steady going so you might be averaging only 40-50mph. So if 100% SOC= 300 miles, in your your case I reckon you could do the return journey using 80% of your Battery (240 miles). This would leave you with 20% (assuming 100% at start), but allow for 10% in case of unexpected events. I would risk it, but my wife might be less keen! I have done several trips on one 100% charge in the 220-250 miles range with 4% SOC as the lowest on return.

Note that winter will be different - %SOC x 2  would be a good estimate based on my bZ4X experience last winter.

[adidev]

25 minutes ago, dab1054 said:

230 miles is certainly doable in summer temperatures, though you might need to hold your nerve for the last 20-30 miles. From my FWD bZ4X I find the summer range works out surprisingly accurately if you just multiply the %SOC by 3 for normal driving (of course you can simply look at the range meter...). By normal I mean NOT doing 70-80 mph on dual carriageways. I suspect your route will be fairly steady going so you might be averaging only 40-50mph. So if 100% SOC= 300 miles, in your your case I reckon you could do the return journey using 80% of your battery (240 miles). This would leave you with 20% (assuming 100% at start), but allow for 10% in case of unexpected events. I would risk it, but my wife might be less keen! I have done several trips on one 100% charge in the 220-250 miles range with 4% SOC as the lowest on return.

Note that winter will be different - %SOC x 2  would be a good estimate based on my bZ4X experience last winter.

Thanks for that, it's reassuring hearing this from the owner of the exact model I'm hoping to buy. I wish there was an option to have this car for a week when the weather is nice and to this test. I know winter is difference as there is no wasted energy in form of heat like in ICE 😉

[CruxisCore]

I'm tempted too, but won't consider one realistically until I can charge at home, which would require moving 😄

Also hoping for things to improve a little more, so that I can do my regular trip of about 300 km + whatever I drive at work before I head to that trip without having to stop to charge during the day, regardless of weather. People I've talked to here in Finland are saying that during cold winter days it's not quite there yet. Would also prefer to not have to clench my buttocks to see if I can or can not 😄 So for some years more hybrid likely stays as my choice

[ChrisON]

22 hours ago, CruxisCore said:

I'm tempted too, but won't consider one realistically until I can charge at home, which would require moving 😄

Also hoping for things to improve a little more, so that I can do my regular trip of about 300 km + whatever I drive at work before I head to that trip without having to stop to charge during the day, regardless of weather. People I've talked to here in Finland are saying that during cold winter days it's not quite there yet. Would also prefer to not have to clench my buttocks to see if I can or can not 😄 So for some years more hybrid likely stays as my choice

I get that. When l was working (I retired in 2018) l was on the road a lot - daily trips of >400 miles were not uncommon so my company car was always a diesel. An EV wouldn't have worked and still wouldn't - the number of charging stops would have probably been too much to deal with. For that sort of high mileage/work related driving then a Hybrid is the way to go. Until EV's with a range of least 400 mile range become available then an EV doesn't cut it for regular long trips. For those whose daily mileage is much less demanding then an EV is a great choice; if you have home charging and solar then the numbers becomes undeniable. I've had my bz4x just over two months and absolutely love it, as does my partner; she thinks it's the best thing on 4 wheels. Might be a bit of a comedown when she takes delivery of her Yaris Cross GR Sport in September!

Chris

 

 

[Roy124]

On 7/3/2023 at 2:24 PM, ChrisON said:

Also don't let your Toyota dealer fob you off with a 'round the block' test drive. When we were test driving the Yaris Cross for my partner l stood my ground and said we wanted an hours unaccompanied test drive or I'd walk away. I got an hours test from the dealership l finally

Quite, a round the block is no test at all if you are going for a change of brand or model.  Our first Toyota was sold by a salesman who realised we wanted rather more than down the road, round the roundabout and back.  We got the car for an afternoon.  Rather cheekily we went to the next town and toured other dealerships.  Only the Toyota was properly 'sold' to us though Hyundai tried hard.