Tag Archives: electric car

Nissan

5 Reasons Why You Should Drive a Renault Zoe Dynamique

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Image From Autoviva

What do you do if you want to buy a car that’s cost effective, trustworthy and clean while avoiding a hybrid? Well, there is really only one answer, or one good answer anyway, and that’s the Renault Zoe Dynamique. Renault decided to go all out and make a car that was entirely electric and affordable to ordinary drivers, and the results have really paid off. Here are 5 reasons why we think the Zoe Dynamique is a car every driver should consider.

It’s Electric!

Most electric cars today are out of the reach of most ordinary consumers so this is a really big deal. Hybrids are great and everything but a fully electric car places the Zoe on another plane entirely. And you don’t have to make great sacrifices to go green either. It can go 130 miles after a single charge, but this can be reduced by some factors like weather and temperature.

It’s Incredibly Smooth and Agile

Gearless driving is just one of the great benefits of driving an electric powered car. Not having to shift the gear stick every so often allows for a dramatically smoother drive than any fuel reliant car. Once the battery is charged there’s no holding you back, you’re can cruise to whatever speed you like (within the limit of course!) and feel no shake or wobble. The Zoe Dynamique really does make you rediscover the true pleasure of simply driving in a way only an electric car could.

It’s Very Affordable

Right now you could log onto lifestyleeurope.co.uk and buy a Renault Zoe Dynamique for little more than £10,000. The prices of the Zoe are even more impressive when you factor in the costs you’ll save each week by not buying petrol. It’s a great saving in the short term but an even greater one in the long term. And if you’re buying one new it will cost about £13,000 when you’ve factored in the plug-in car grant offered by the government.

It Has Great Tech

Renault don’t do innovation half-heartedly. Along with the electric engine you get a whole host of other new gadgets and technologies should you choose the Zoe Dynamique. You get Renault’s multimedia system which you can download your own apps for. It also has bluetooth, climate control, touch screen controls and a navigation system. There’s really nothing more you could ask for on the tech front.

It Looks Like the Future

It’s not just the car’s lack of carbon emissions which point to the future, the Zoe Dynamique also looks like it’s just arrive from the future in a time machine. That white, vibrant interior is especially cool. It’s right that it should look this way because, as all hybrid/electric car manufacturers know, the futuristic look sells cars. It’s the kind of car that will catch the eye of any pedestrian strolling past as you drive by in your silent electric wonder.

-Hybrids-, Honda FCX Clarity Hydrogen

Jaguar C-X75: The Hybrid Supercar We’d All Love To Own Some Day

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Jaguar is no stranger to designing innovative and powerful concept cars. Many of these prototypes go on to become production vehicles. One model that got everyone talking was the Jaguar C-X75.

 

It first got unveiled back at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. Jaguar says the car started life as a design concept and reached the prototype stage in just two years. That is quite impressive given the styling of the car. And also the unique way this hybrid monster works!

 

The Jaguar C-X75 is a sports car that we’d all love to own some day. But the sad news is that the project got shelved. The reason? Jaguar Land Rover stated few people would buy it at this moment in time “as a result of the global economic climate.”

Image via Flickr

 

I suspect the price of the car had something to do with Jaguar’s decision to pull the plug on the C-X75 supercar project. Would you pay between £800k to £1 million for a hybrid supercar during today’s austere times? Nope, me neither!

 

Sadly that means you aren’t likely to see the C-X75 as one of the H.A. Fox Jaguars on display at their showroom. Still, that doesn’t you and I from wanting to get behind the wheel of one some day (after winning the lottery, of course)!

So, what is it that makes this unique car a serious contender for supercars like the Porsche 918 Spyder? And various Ferraris and Lamborghinis?

 

The Jaguar C-X75: an eco-friendly supercar?

 

The four-wheel drive Jaguar C-X75 supercar is quite a unique hybrid vehicle. It boasts a ridiculous 850 brake horsepower and 1,000 Nm of torque! But what is it that produces such a monstrous amount of power?

 

According to Jaguar, the car uses four electric motors – one to power each of the four wheels. The batteries these electric motors are all connected to get charged from two micro gas turbine engines. Yes, that’s right: gas turbine!

 

Bladon Jets in Worcestershire built the turbines. On an all-electric range, the car can only do 70 miles. The Jaguar C-X75 boasts a combined range of 560 miles. In fuel economy terms, that equates to just under 30 miles per gallon.

 

The Jaguar C-X75 also has a Formula One race-inspired 1.6-litre twin-charged diesel engine. This four-cylinder engine alone produces 502 brake horsepower. The rest of the power gets generated by the electric motors.

 

Because the car only weighs 1,350 kilograms, it can reach 60 miles per hour from a standing start in just over three seconds.

 

It’s also an eco-friendly supercar. With carbon emissions of just 89 grams per kilometre, it would be exempt from car tax in the UK. Now if that’s not a reason to convince your spouse that you want to buy a supercar, I don’t know what is!

 

Setting out blueprints for future supercars

 

At the time, Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar’s Global Brand Director, had this to say:

 

“[The Jaguar C-X75] represents the pinnacle of Jaguar’s engineering and design expertise.”


He also went on to say how it’s likely the car will be used as the basis for future Jaguar supercar projects.

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Why 2015 Is A Good Year To Buy An Electric Car

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Car drivers are always looking for ways to cut down on their motoring costs. Some might drive slower than usual to conserve fuel. While others will opt for public transport where possible to complete their journeys.

 

When buying a car, consumers have many choices. For example, they could buy petrol or diesel cars. They might even choose a hybrid vehicle. But did you know that electric vehicles are steadily rising in popularity?

Image via Flickr

 

There is much debate over whether it’s a good idea to buy an electric vehicle or not. It turns out that 2015 is an excellent year to buy one. Want to know why? Check out the reasons below:

 

Road taxes are rising

 

In many countries, vehicles get taxed according to the carbon emissions their engines produce. That means if you drive around in a V8 gas guzzler, you can expect to pay a small fortune to drive it on public roads.

To curb high-emissions vehicles, many governments increase the price of road tax on an annual basis. So when you drive a car that has no tailpipe emissions, what happens then? Simple – you pay nothing!

 

It’s no secret that some countries tax cars by engine size rather than emissions. But since electric cars don’t have a conventional combustion engine, there’s no tax to pay.

 

The public charging point infrastructure is growing

 

I was chatting to a salesman from pentagon-group.co.uk the other day. He was telling me how many of the world’s major governments are pushing for more public charging stations. I agreed with him, as I have noticed how there are more public charging stations for electric cars.

 

For example, last week I took a trip down to my local Ikea store and noticed some new parking spaces got installed just for electric cars! Even in shopping mall car parks more dedicated electric car parking spaces are getting installed.

 

There are financial incentives

 

Did you know that you can often receive significant discounts by buying an electric vehicle? For a start, the price you pay to your local car dealer will be lower than the list price. That’s because you are usually eligible for a government grant towards the cost of new electric cars.

 

Some car manufacturers also offer deal-sweeteners too. For instance, let’s say that you want to spend less time charging your electric vehicle at home. You would usually use an ordinary power socket. Some car makers install fast-charging stations at the homes of customers for free!

 

Others might charge a small, nominal fee towards the cost of your home charging station. And they opt for cover the rest of the installation cost. If you decide to sell your home and move elsewhere, you will need to pay for the facility at your new property.


But having a fast charging station at your existing home can increase the value of your property. The extra money you make from your house sale would more than cover the installation cost at your new home!

Model S, Tesla Motors

Tesla Model S: The Classes and Options

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Tesla has become world renown for their superior performance electric vehicles. The Roadster put them on the map as the first production electric car that was actually refined, cool, and exciting. The heir to the awesome electric car throne, the Model S, will finally be delivered in 2012. The Model S sedan is targeted at electric vehicle fans with funds and maybe a couple kids. Remarkably, the base model will remain under their original target price of $50,000, at $49,900 after the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles purchased in or after 2010.

Tesla is providing a slew of classes and options for this electric sedan in hopes of capturing the absurdly rich and the upper middle class market share, so read closely.  There are four classes of Model S: the Model S (plain, vanilla), the Model S Performance, the Model S Signature, and the Model S Signature Performance. On top of that, the plain Model S version has three, liquid cooled, lithium ion battery options, at 40, 60, and 85kWh. The other three classes (Performance, Signature, Signature Performance) all have the 85 kWh battery, standard, which pushes their ranges to a whopping 300 miles per charge. The 40 kWh option gives 160 miles and a 0-60 of 6.5 seconds, the 60 kWh battery puts out 230 miles and 5.9 seconds. The 85 Kwh pack gives you a 0-60 in 5.6.  With the performance option that drops down to 4.4 seconds.  The Signature label  doesn’t necessarily enhance performance, but they are limited edition and available mid-2012, a few months earlier than the non-Signature class.  They also carry about a $30,000-$50,000 premium over the base model.

All of the Model S classes will feature a 17-inch touch screen monitor which will contain media, GPS, and communications.  The 200 watt stereo system will have radio, satellite radio, and USB ports.  No CD player though, that’s so 20th century.

If you opt for the Signature series, you get the Tech Package standard, which includes xenon lights, keyless entry, LED foglamps, turn by turn navigation, power rear liftgate, back camera, rear USB ports, homelink, and electrochromatic side mirrors.  A premium stereo system is also standard in the Signature class, and 1,000 bucks otherwise.

All Model S cars plug directly into 110 and 240 volt outlets with the Universal Mobile Connector and adapters. The High Power Wall Connector, which installs in your garage, enables cars equipped with Twin Chargers to charge twice as fast as cars equipped with a Single Charger.  Cars equipped with a 60 or 85 kWh battery can use Tesla’s network of Supercharger stations.

Hope this helps clarify the many options and models of the Model S.  For more information, visit Tesla’s Specifications page.

BYD Auto, BYD e6

Will the BYD E6 Finally Become a Reality?

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BYD Auto has been a hot topic for green geeks and business savvy investors for the past few years.  We started writing about them in 2008, pronouncing them the “sleeping giant” of China. There was strong interest from investors like Warren Buffet, and Portland, Oregon wanted to establish a BYD headquarters in their city. Several setbacks and slow starts later, BYD is still very much in a morning stupor.

The good news is in the technical details of BYD’s E6 crossover.  BYD’s Fe battery gives the E6 a range of 186 miles per charge and the vehicle’s top speed of 87 MPH makes it highway capable.  BYD touts their Fe lithium iron phosphate battery as fully recyclable and quick charging.  they claim the battery can be fully charged in as little at 40 minutes.  Field testing of their all-electric crossover E6 began in 2010, and sales to the general public in China have only just begun in October of 2011.    Lackluster sales and lack of a charging infrastructure have delayed BYD’s electric takeover in the United States.  In January 2011 BYD announced that the American version will be more powerful than the Chinese version, and it will have a 60 kwh battery pack with a 160 kW electric motor, capable of reaching 60 MPH in less than 8 seconds.  The Chinese company plans to be able to sell the e in America for $35,000, before any government incentives.

BYD e6 Specifications graphic:

Unfortunately for excited electric car fans in America, BYD announced last October that there will be an 18 month delay of retail sales in the United States due to inadequate charging infrastructure. So it doesn’t look like we will see the all-electric e6 or range extended hybrid F3DM and F6DM until at least 2013. These types of setbacks are all too common in revolutionary industries such as electric vehicle manufacturing. It will take time for BYD to integrate but I’m confident they will do so in the future.

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Lola-Drayson B12/69EV: The First Electric Le Mans Supercar

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Lola and Drayson Racing are working together to create the first all-electric Le Mans race car. Their primary goal, however, is to showcase the electric vehicle’s potential in single lap time trial results. They intend to charge the car through inductive charging and there is no word on any quick stop methods of recharging necessary to compete in longer races.

The electric Le Mans Prototype (LMP) will have 850 horsepower and reach top speeds of over 200 mph. Power for the all electric drivetrain is stored in a new generation of highly advanced Lithium Nanophosphate® battery cells made exclusively by A123 Systems. Each wheel will be powered by four axial flux Oxford YASA motors. The car will have a single gear, which is common for electric vehicles.  On the exterior, the car will look like any of the other LMP, but the team hopes the electric drivetrain will prove superior in single lap time trials.

For more info, check out the Lola Group Q&A.