ON THE ROAD – IAN LYNAS ON LIVING WITH AN EV

There have been many milestones with the motor car and I have no doubt there are more to come. John Boyd Dunlop provided a major milestone as he developed the air-tube tyre. Born in Scotland, he moved to Ireland in 1867 and it was there that he fitted his son’s tricycle with pneumatic instead of solid rubber tyres, later patented in 1881. With his invention, he brought comfort to cyclist and motorist alike. In 1890 he sold his patent which led to the formation of the Dunlop Rubber Company. In October 1921 he died in Dublin.

Here in Ireland, the diesel engine has proved to be extremely popular and production started in 1933 with Citroen offering it as an option in their Rosalie. Three years later Mercedes-Benz brought the 260 D to market and now a number of manufacturers have forsaken the diesel engine or about to do so as the EV gains momentum. It may come as something of a surprise, but a full electric car (EV) is not really new. Thomas Parker produced the first in Wolverhampton in 1884; he was best known for electrifying the London Underground. Four years later Andreas Flocken can claim to have produced the first real EV.

My first experience of an EV came by chance, I was attending a Citroen launch and a small van had been brought over from France. When asked if I would like to drive it; I jumped at the opportunity and the down side it travelled less than ten kilometres until the warning light signalled battery flat. With each new EV that enters the market, range has been improved and will continue to get better as battery technology moves forward. Range anxiety has been a nightmare for some drivers, myself included, however with better range, this will be less of a worry. The other anxiety is charge anxiety, again I have experienced that, a lack of public charge points and there are parts of this country where the lack of charge facilities is very evident. Best advice if you are considering buying an EV, purchase a wall charger and look around as from time to time one can be part of the deal when buying a new EV.

I have test driven quite a number of EVs from various manufacturers; usually at a press launch where I get to spend a few hours behind the wheel. The real test comes when I can spend much more time behind the wheel and when I had a Kia EV9 on test for more than two weeks it permitted me to experience what it is really like to own and run such a vehicle. I can report no horror stories, this large EV from Kia served me well with a range of 538km (334m), not very short of the figure claimed by the manufacturer. My test vehicle was rear wheel drive and had around 200bhp with rest to 100kph (62mph ) in just over nine seconds. Also my test vehicle was in seven seat form which no doubt would be appealing to families and in keeping with the rest of the Kia line-up high levels of equipment and outstanding comfort. I consider it to be a brave move to bring to market an EV which in my book is premium and can take on the best of the German premium EVs; with the EV9 no matter which trim you decide on you get a lot for your money; yes like most EVs it comes with a hefty price tag; you pay for such comfort. Of course depending which ever market you are in trim levels differ; in the ROI Earth and GT-Line while in NI, Air, GT-Line and GT – Line S; I had the Air version. Summing up while I may not yet be on the verge of entering the EV club, I did enjoy my time which made me think a lot more about planning a trip. No shocks, altogether a pleasant experience and I will accept that owning an EV is not for everyone.

Ian Lynas