Nissan might have been first to launch a mass-produced electric vehicle (it’s my Leaf, if you’re wondering) but the almighty Volkswagen Group is readying its own EVs. In 2013 electric versions of the Golf and Up will go on sale, and I tested a prototype of the latter in Germany last week; the pair share the same motor, but the smaller e-Up has a little less power than the e-Golf.
The 60kW electric motor sits in the nose of the Up, and the lithium-ion batteries are stored beneath the seats. That means less room for back-row passengers’ feet, but no reduction in boot space. It’s over 200kg heavier than the three-cylinder petrol Up, but with an instantaneous 155lb ft it’s pretty perky from low speeds. The Up’s a charming car already, and despite the loss of the characterful 1.0-litre triple, the sweet looks, high quality interior and great visibility make the e-Up an excellent little city car.
But it’s all very well turning up, testing an EV, and then going home again; it’s another story when you have to live with it day-to-day. As I keep discovering with the Leaf, life with an electric car isn’t easy. And it would be the same with the e-Up. A quick charge system can juice the Up in 30 minutes, claims Volkswagen, but have you ever seen one? And a regular household plug will still take around five-and-a-half hours to replenish the 18.7kWh battery. Plus the VW e-Up's range is only 80 miles; the Leaf’s claimed range is 109 miles, but in reality it’s about 60 to 70. I doubt the e-Up would go the distance, either.
Here’s the reality. In order to get from CAR HQ in Peterborough to VW HQ in Wolfsburg, I had to take a flight from London Heathrow to Hanover. And I couldn’t drive to LHR in the Leaf because it wouldn’t make it there on one charge.
Up versus Leaf? The Nissan is quicker, bigger and more spacious, but as both are ultimately limited by their range, it’s the Up that feels more right for nipping around urban environments. Problem is, besides blacks cabs clogging up their particulate filters, how many cars live solely in cities? Most of us do more suburban stuff, like our lives in and around Peterborough, and the e-Up would struggle like the Leaf.
I promise some positivity next time – we’ll talk about why getting behind the wheel is a calming and relaxing experience.
By Ben Pulman
Our Leaf's big journey – 19 January 2012
I’ve haven’t exactly ventured far and wide in my Leaf since it arrived five months ago; I doubt it’s ever been further than 20 miles from the CAR office. So, my challenge this month (which I created and subsequently accepted) was to drive to Silverstone, and then back again too. Hardly an Everest expedition or the crossing of the Alps on elephant I’ll admit, but not exactly easy either.
Unable to charge the Leaf up at my house, and with places to go and things to do at the weekend, I picked the fully charged Leaf up from work on Sunday night and gently drove home. And next morning I gently cruised to Silverstone, never once exceeding the speed limit and rejoicing at every traffic jam that meant I could crawl along rather than draining the battery at 60mph. When I left work the Leaf was proclaiming a 103-mile range; when I got to Silverstone, after 54.3 miles, it was down to just 21 miles.
The Leaf’s telematics system didn’t think there were any charging points at Silverstone, but a helpful Twitter follower had sent me a link to a website that lists all the public plug-in spots around the UK. Confident I could charge my car, I pulled into Silverstone’s public car park and up to a ChargeMaster tower. And read: ‘Please hold RFID card on target above for 2 seconds’. Ah…
I’ll admit to not doing any research before this epic trip, but if you’re out and about in your combustion-engined car you expect to be able to pull into a petrol station and refuel. And if you’re caught short in an EV and suddenly need to juice up, I expected the same. Granted you’ll spend a little more time than you would on the forecourt, but I hoped to park up, call a parking-esque service on my mobile, give them my credit card details, receive a pin in return that would led me recharge, and then get a bill on my monthly statement. No chance.
Abandoning that, I drove round to Porsche’s Silverstone Experience Centre, introduced the instructors to The Future, and pleaded with them to plug it in around back near the bins. They duly obliged, and I left the Leaf to fill up while Ben Barry and I thrashed 911s to (ahem) assess the Porsche Sport Driving School’s Warm-Up course. Three hours later our rigorous test had finished, so we had lunch, and then the other Ben went home. (Not entirely convinced by the Leaf, he’d come separately in our Infiniti M; honestly, you just can’t be environmentally friendly if you’ve got to have chase car for every long journey.)
Not surprisingly, Porsche weren’t forthcoming with a GT3 RS 4.0 for the night, so I hung around for another three hours before I reckoned there was enough charge to get back. And I couldn’t do any work during this time as my four-year old laptop with its four-year old battery can’t survive for more than five minutes without being plugged in; Greg Fountain has subsequently suggested internal combustion-engined Macs for the team.
Time to leave, with the Leaf showing a 73-mile range. Into Eco mode and it claimed 80 miles, and then 90 by the time I was off Silverstone’s perimeter road. And back at the office, having averaged 45mph, not because of traffic but because I dared not go any faster? A 28-mile range. That’s 111.2 miles in a day, with half of it spent re-charging. I think I’ll stick to the local commuting.
The Porsche Sport Driving School’s Warm-Up course is £395 for three hours of tuition in your own car; a 911 Carrera S can be hired for £230
By Ben Pulman
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