Now Delivered! Company Car - Outlander GX4hs

[Neverfuel]

Not sure if this is the right thread to ask ... but as I have asked so many questions about my new car ...

I know I need to order a free Ecotricity card, and a PodPod Point card is £12 a year. Are there any other cards I need to buy? My wife can jiggle her day about to go charge at the local Sainsbury's once a week.

I also need a cable thingy for PodPoint chargers, and would prefer to go for a 32Amp version to future proof for my next car when this one's lease expires.

I got a 32Amp home charger installed last year, I know the Outlander will be 16Amp at best though due to my solar panels will probably charge via 13Amp socket to make the most of my solar energy.

Questions are:

1) Do I need to order any further charging cards?
2) What length cable is best to get?
3) What colour cable is best? Red or Black?
4) Are cables much of a muchness or is one brand better than another?
5) What should be my guide price for a cable?

Many thanks!

Order the Ecotricity card once you get your reg number. Forget other cables and cards until you establish your pattern of usage. It costs a lot and you will have to gain a lot of free charges to recoup the cost. Ecotricity is free at motorway services and IKEA stores - try that out first. The car will only charge up to 80% which equals 20 miles or so, but will take 22 - 26 mins to charge based on the remaining SOC. You could end up spending more on coffee than the equivalent cost of petrol, or card subscription, for that matter. Be patient, your car will be here soon

 

[SolarBoy]

Not sure if this is the right thread to ask ... but as I have asked so many questions about my new car ...

I know I need to order a free Ecotricity card, and a PodPod Point card is £12 a year. Are there any other cards I need to buy? My wife can jiggle her day about to go charge at the local Sainsbury's once a week.

I also need a cable thingy for PodPoint chargers, and would prefer to go for a 32Amp version to future proof for my next car when this one's lease expires.

I got a 32Amp home charger installed last year, I know the Outlander will be 16Amp at best though due to my solar panels will probably charge via 13Amp socket to make the most of my solar energy.

Questions are:

1) Do I need to order any further charging cards?
2) What length cable is best to get?
3) What colour cable is best? Red or Black?
4) Are cables much of a muchness or is one brand better than another?
5) What should be my guide price for a cable?

Many thanks!

Order the Ecotricity card once you get your reg number. Forget other cables and cards until you establish your pattern of usage. It costs a lot and you will have to gain a lot of free charges to recoup the cost. Ecotricity is free at motorway services and IKEA stores - try that out first. The car will only charge up to 80% which equals 20 miles or so, but will take 22 - 26 mins to charge based on the remaining SOC. You could end up spending more on coffee than the equivalent cost of petrol, or card subscription, for that matter. Be patient, your car will be here soon

Haha.

I have trained the Mrs already, she is picking up bread and milk from Sainbury's, and do the rest of the shop in town and make use of the 3 hours free parking. We can recharge at home for free via Solar but whilst it is being recharged elsewhere my electricity will go to run the house.

I hope the cable (whatever is recommended) will see us though for the next 20 or so years, so looking at the long term?

 

[Neverfuel]

Try it first - the infrastructure will change a lot in the next few years, a £200 investment in a particular cable will take 300 - 400 FREE charges to recoup the cost, that's a lot of charges. And there is no guarantee that the charging points will remain free of cost.

 

[SolarBoy]

Try it first - the infrastructure will change a lot in the next few years, a £200 investment in a particular cable will take 300 - 400 FREE charges to recoup the cost, that's a lot of charges. And there is no guarantee that the charging points will remain free of cost.

Hi Neverfuel

I am looking at the cable as a lifetime purchase, I am not fussed about getting my money back

 

[StevePHEV]

I ordered my ecotricity card without the reg number, and it still arrived next day in the post! Just need the car now!

 

[maby]

Try it first - the infrastructure will change a lot in the next few years, a £200 investment in a particular cable will take 300 - 400 FREE charges to recoup the cost, that's a lot of charges. And there is no guarantee that the charging points will remain free of cost.

I'll second that! Unless you have an untethered charge point at home and need the cable for that, the economics of purchasing a cable are highly questionable. Quite apart from the question mark over how much longer the majority of public charging points will continue to be free, you really need to think carefully about how often you are likely to use a public charger. The rapid chargers all come with tethered cables and can put a useful amount of charge into your battery in 20 minutes. You only really need the cable to use fast chargers - and they take more than three hours to recharge your battery. If you are commuting into town and staying there all day, then it may make sense, but the amount of charge that you will get into the car in an hour while you pop to the shops really will be worth pennies - it takes a very long time to recoup the cost of the cable.

 

[SolarBoy]

Try it first - the infrastructure will change a lot in the next few years, a £200 investment in a particular cable will take 300 - 400 FREE charges to recoup the cost, that's a lot of charges. And there is no guarantee that the charging points will remain free of cost.

I'll second that! Unless you have an untethered charge point at home and need the cable for that, the economics of purchasing a cable are highly questionable. Quite apart from the question mark over how much longer the majority of public charging points will continue to be free, you really need to think carefully about how often you are likely to use a public charger. The rapid chargers all come with tethered cables and can put a useful amount of charge into your battery in 20 minutes. You only really need the cable to use fast chargers - and they take more than three hours to recharge your battery. If you are commuting into town and staying there all day, then it may make sense, but the amount of charge that you will get into the car in an hour while you pop to the shops really will be worth pennies - it takes a very long time to recoup the cost of the cable.

Yes I agree it'll take a long time to recoup the cost.

Recouping the cost is not a concern.

Have just spent £10k on Solar Panels, it's going to take time to recoup the cost there as well

After the Outlander I'll likely have a fully electric car, I can continue to use the cable after my 4 year lease is up.

So I have narrowed the specifications to a coiled, 32Amp cable (yes I know the Outlander only charges at 16Amps) with a bag. Not sure of colour yet, probably black rather than anything fancy.

If folks have suggestions on the best supplier to get one of these, I'm all ears. Thank you

 

[DazzyB]

All good advice above but in my case I got a cable for £126.

https://evconnectors.com/j1772-to-62196-2-32-amp-plugs-and-cable-dsi-dsiec-ev32p&currency=GBP&language=en?gclid=CJ689vidnMkCFUHGGwodxPEJYw

I'm lucky that I have a free CYC point in the office car park so it will pay for itself in about 10 weeks.

 

[maby]

Yes I agree it'll take a long time to recoup the cost.

Recouping the cost is not a concern.

Have just spent £10k on Solar Panels, it's going to take time to recoup the cost there as well

After the Outlander I'll likely have a fully electric car, I can continue to use the cable after my 4 year lease is up.

So I have narrowed the specifications to a coiled, 32Amp cable (yes I know the Outlander only charges at 16Amps) with a bag. Not sure of colour yet, probably black rather than anything fancy.

If folks have suggestions on the best supplier to get one of these, I'm all ears. Thank you

Go for orange or some other bright colour - the cable is going to be laying across the ground and a trip hazard. You risk both being sued by the owners of broken noses and a repair bill for the car when the socket is damaged by the cable being ripped out.

 

[Neverfuel]

Yes I agree it'll take a long time to recoup the cost.

Recouping the cost is not a concern.

Have just spent £10k on Solar Panels, it's going to take time to recoup the cost there as well

After the Outlander I'll likely have a fully electric car, I can continue to use the cable after my 4 year lease is up.

So I have narrowed the specifications to a coiled, 32Amp cable (yes I know the Outlander only charges at 16Amps) with a bag. Not sure of colour yet, probably black rather than anything fancy.

If folks have suggestions on the best supplier to get one of these, I'm all ears. Thank you

Go for orange or some other bright colour - the cable is going to be laying across the ground and a trip hazard. You risk both being sued by the owners of broken noses and a repair bill for the car when the socket is damaged by the cable being ripped out.

For the same reason - you should consider a straight cable as you may have to trail it over walkways to reach from a charger at some point.

 

[SolarBoy]

Thank you folks, for the link and the advice. So red and flat is its.

Last question ... what length, 3m or 5m?

I think 3m would be enough?

 

[greendwarf]

Thank you folks, for the link and the advice. So red and flat is its.

Last question ... what length, 3m or 5m?

I think 3m would be enough?

I'd go for the longer one - I had the problem of trying to charge in a one-way street where the charge pillar was on the left-hand side of the road and at the front of the bay (designed for those cars that charge through the nose, I assume). Even diagonally under the car the 3m cable wouldn't reach.

 

[Neverfuel]

The longer the better, if the post has been ICEd a 5m cable will hopefully still reach if you get close enough to the bay.

 

[SolarBoy]

Good news: Thank you for the help with the cable, red, and long, non-curly it is.

Bad news: Lease company have said end of January for delivery at the earliest ... :evil:

 

[Barnfather]

Good news: Thank you for the help with the cable, red, and long, non-curly it is.

Bad news: Lease company have said end of January for delivery at the earliest ... :evil:

'at the earliest' sounds a bit ominous!

My GX4 is not due til end February, I'm hoping the long wait means no annoying delays against that timescale!

 

[SolarBoy]

My words 'at earliest' ... the date has moved out 3 times already! :evil:

Tax on my own car will expire which means additional expense :evil:

 

[StevePHEV]

I am in the same boat with my car and the MOT. The further it slips the closer it gets to needed an MOT. Ahh!

 

[lg1726]

My words 'at earliest' ... the date has moved out 3 times already! :evil:

Tax on my own car will expire which means additional expense :evil:

At least you can now get a refund on unused car tax when you sell you current car!

 

[alanjohnnorman]

Mitssupplier

Hi Neil - do you know if the GH4HS can have 2 additional front sensors fitted for the parking sensors circuit as the only two are extreme left and right and a dealer suggested its possible but wondered how it would integrate with the overall system as I park near some central posts that the existing sensors cannot pick up. Its quite important if I can get this extra?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Alan

 

[greendwarf]

My words 'at earliest' ... the date has moved out 3 times already! :evil:

Tax on my own car will expire which means additional expense :evil:

At least you can now get a refund on unused car tax when you sell you current car!

You always could and it is still only unused whole months. What is different is that because it doesn't transfer with the vehicle, you get a lower price for the car and the buyer has to buy tax for the whole month the "crooks" at the DVLA get the tax paid twice :twisted: