Just went for a testdrive in the Opel Ampera today . Not bad drives like a normal automatic only silent . Things i liked best i almost never needed the brake pedal In L mode it slows down as if you would normal use the brake brake lightly, so if you get off the gas 30 meter befor a intersection you almost stand still when your there . and the battery gets charged in that distance . Acceleraion is not like a sportscar you can feal the car is heavy but it climes constantly fast no gear changes or anything and you got to whatch the odometer . This car has got 8000km on the clock and has used 1,8 liter petrol for the total distance. Rest was all done with electric from the mains power .
splinter67,
Aug 15, 2:07pm
How did it Handle! Do you think it will suitNZ driving conditions!
intrade,
Aug 15, 2:15pm
yea be perfect for nz handles like a normal car opel signum is what it compairs to You dont know that its electric and you dont start it you just press the brake and hit the on button and the aircon is on and off you go. 60km is the range fully electric downhill it regains loads of power back , its not as fast as my tdi but the power is there just like on powerfull diesel right from low down with no noise one has to look at the speedometer often , the horn is a bit a wirdo sound and you should use it to allert people who have not noticed you , only used it once on a cyclist.
intrade,
Aug 15, 2:16pm
downside is no towing things no roofloads and only 4 seats plenty space for passangers and in rear huge boot also folds down like big hatch coupe mix plus is also its got the worlds highest savety rating for crash as it was improofed to protect the battery bank under rear middle of car also benefits passangers
drsr,
Aug 15, 2:23pm
Eighty-five thousand dollars though, even more than the Aussie price.
intrade,
Aug 15, 2:27pm
it should be i just used the calculator base model 62.000$ 65 grandAs usuall they try to rip off nz just like they do with food prices.
splinter67,
Aug 15, 2:29pm
I get more interested every time I hear about these cars anyidea on battery life and maintenance
splinter67,
Aug 15, 2:34pm
I wonder what the government will do will they charge road users for these type of cars when they become popular
intrade,
Aug 15, 2:37pm
battery live 10 year guarantee from GM and it should be at 80% in 10 years so plenty live left after its a litium ion battery electric range is 60km over this the generator kicks in and i did not hear the engine only felt it a wee bit when it stopped. as we tested all functions otherwise the engine would never hav engaged.Also the computer demands the engine starts for 10 minutes from time to time if it was used to liitle to clean it self from moisture , The biggest problem would be having old fuel in the tank but it knows that also and demands you use it up after some months so best only have 10 bux fuel in the tank its got a 30 liter fueltank for its 1,4 petrol generator.
intrade,
Aug 15, 2:42pm
under the bonnet it has a 1.4 petrol engine looks like a normal car flanged to a gearbox but the gearbox is the generator and right within is the electric motor . service cost should be low only general savety check special training is required due to high voltage and the high voltage is all orange cables brake cleaning will be the lagest maintainance item. generator is hardly used so servicing that is probably every 50,000km
splinter67,
Aug 15, 2:46pm
With the price of petrol back at $2.19 for 91 the savings in fuel costs will out weigh the cost of the car And bugger if you actualy have to use the excess petrol in your tank That would rip your undies having to take mum and the kids for a sunday drive like dad used to when we where kids
intrade,
Aug 15, 2:46pm
i was doing 120kph no problem on the motorway it can go to 160 i was told no problem, drives like a normal automatic car with normal automatic shifter leaver just has L for extra compensation when slowing to generate maximum power back and its all top in my opinion and i call things crap if they are not top ;)
drsr,
Aug 15, 2:47pm
They already have to pay the same RUCs as diesel vehicles ($37.71 per 1000k). At the moment there's a special exemption in place until next year.
intrade,
Aug 15, 2:48pm
you have to plug it in there is the standard option normal 240 mains power cord takes 8h if i recall right would have to look it up. as optional extra for 900$nz you get the dedicated charger thingy that charges it in 4h from flat to full at no harm to the live of the battery i was told.
drsr,
Aug 15, 2:48pm
The computer monitors how much the petrol engine has been used and flags the service interval accordingly, but it still asks for an oil change every 12 months regardless of use (though someone will probably figure out how to reset this without changing the oil).
splinter67,
Aug 15, 2:52pm
Thanks for that still going to be a cheap form of transport untill they over tax it as they do
intrade,
Aug 15, 2:55pm
here you get a 3 year exemption from road registration there is no ruc diesel is 1.90 and petrol 185 for 98octane so thats +20% 228$ diesel and 98 is 2.22$ the 3 year exemption is for the highest euro 5 emission standard. they dont know if they should class it as electric vehicle or what, the dealer told me
splinter67,
Aug 15, 2:58pm
If you where a real greenie (which I'm not) you could set up a solar charging system at home and only have to pay for rucs
intrade,
Aug 15, 3:00pm
i am no geenie the dealer said you can apply to have a special power plan where you pay more for the power and the money is ten given to the people who produce green power wind solar etc Dealer also said i was the first person that he spoke to that knows about the GM ev1 he said they so far sold 15 of these ampera
elect70,
Aug 15, 9:03pm
But what is thecostof full recharge, add that toRUC & seewhat resultingrunning cost is !
drsr,
Aug 15, 9:59pm
A full recharge is around 8kWh (they only use part of the battery pack capacity to extend the life) which costs about $2, or less if you have lower night rates and charge it at night.
chebry,
Aug 15, 10:31pm
Why the cheap RUCs my 1100kg Citroen diesel is $52.00 /1000 kms
nzeva,
Aug 15, 10:32pm
So you're driving this in Europe somewhere! We'll have the Holden Volt in NZ, will be way expensive though.just a rich boys toy! It should be registered as a normal petrol car as it's a hybrid like a Prius.or plug-in hybrid if you want to be technical. Either way it should have $290 petrol rego, not the expensive $490 diesel rego pure Electric Vehicles pay and no RUC's anyway. Pure EV's have a RUC exemption until 2013 when it will be reviewed.
Oh those might be the 2009 rates, from the above link (although it says updated 2012 so I dunno).
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