North American e-car firm Miles Electric Vehicles has finally unveiled its first motor - the Coda EV saloon. Or, to be exact, it's rebranded itself Coda Automotive and named its first car after itself.
Miles_Coda_01 Miles EV's Coda Automotive's first EV - the Coda
The Coda EV saloon is to be built in China by Hafai Motors and …
OK, so it is ugly, but no more ugly than the majority of euro-boxes nowadays, and the performance is very similar to the average family saloon, excepting range. It would definately look good enough to be used as a second family car for taxiing the kids around in and doing the shopping, most of which tasks only require a range of well less than a hundred miles a day on mainly urban roads so the 80mph limit is no big loss. A bit of style tweaking - especially the awful nose - and it could replace the dozens of cheap Korean and Jap imports on UK roads quite easily.
The Porsche input is interesting - was this just consulting work or is there a real VAG commitment to this project? If it's a success, could we see a VW-badged variant in Europe?
Looks nice. About what you'd expect from a family saloon, but, once again, the price is well high. I know this is new tech and all that, but we're in a flippin' recession. Surely cheaper options could be employed.
And there appears to be a petrol cap*. Can't they hide it to make it look even more electrical-powered?
*Yes, I know it's probably where you plug it in, but, come on.....
2) This has to be easily accessible without rooting around underneath it.
3) It has to covered up when not in use to prevent shite getting into the connections.
4) Said cover has to open and close for charging purposes and latch closed to stop little johnny shoving glue in the socket.
Exactly why wouldn't it look remarkably similar to and be in pretty much the same place as the fuel filler flap on a normal car? I can't think of another way of doing it myself.
If you look at pics of the upcoming Prius PHEV (plug-in hybrid) pilot it's got two identical flaps. One in the usual place for the existing fuel filler and one on the continental* side for the plug.
*Yes, RHD cars *should* have the fuel filler on the left like Jap cars do, so you can pour in a tinfull at the side of the road without being run over and get out of the car to fill up under normal circumstances without clobbering the driver's door on the pump. The reason that having this on the right has become more common is that most vehicles available in Blighty were designed as LHD and converted later. Hence the MINI Clubman (an allegedly British car) ending up with its "Club door" (opposite the filler) on the wrong bloody side for its "native" market.
Alun Taylor - did the company not give out recharging info or did you neglect to include it in your article? Or did the Evil Editor strike again? I'd really like to know how heavy an extension cord I'll need to recharge this vehicle from my neighbor's patio outlet. At night. But not a rainy night.
Let me fix that....prices will START at $45,000. Now I don't care how much tax writeoff or goverment handout you get. That's not even close to my $15,000 Corolla and unless Consumer Reports puts it above the Honda and Toyota in reliability, I won't be even THINKING about taking a chance on one of them. I might LOOK at one (sitting at the side of the road), but that's about as far as that goes....
Fairly aware that you can re-charge batteries, thanks. But £27k for something that does 120miles tops at a stretch? Get lost. I occasionally make ruddy long car journeys and I'm not stopping every hundred miles for a few hours while my car gets its breath back.
And you can bleat "but it's for the city" as much as you like. I don't buy one car for my city journeys and another for long haul - I buy a car, and then use it however the hell I like. EVs are going to have to greatly increase their range before the ordinary punter buys them.
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Miles EV unveils first e-car
North American e-car firm Miles Electric Vehicles has finally unveiled its first motor - the Coda EV saloon. Or, to be exact, it's rebranded itself Coda Automotive and named its first car after itself. Miles_Coda_01 Miles EV's Coda Automotive's first EV - the Coda The Coda EV saloon is to be built in China by Hafai Motors and …
This topic is closed for new posts.
Posted Thursday 4th June 2009 11:49 GMT
Matt Bryant
Workable option? #
OK, so it is ugly, but no more ugly than the majority of euro-boxes nowadays, and the performance is very similar to the average family saloon, excepting range. It would definately look good enough to be used as a second family car for taxiing the kids around in and doing the shopping, most of which tasks only require a range of well less than a hundred miles a day on mainly urban roads so the 80mph limit is no big loss. A bit of style tweaking - especially the awful nose - and it could replace the dozens of cheap Korean and Jap imports on UK roads quite easily.
The Porsche input is interesting - was this just consulting work or is there a real VAG commitment to this project? If it's a success, could we see a VW-badged variant in Europe?
Posted Thursday 4th June 2009 11:49 GMT
Greg
£27k for 120 miles? #
Sod off.
Posted Thursday 4th June 2009 11:49 GMT
Anonymous Coward
I see a renault lawsuit in the making #
This logo can be mistaken for Renault from one angle too many.
Open lawyer-bay doors, arm lawyers, LAUNCH!!!
Posted Thursday 4th June 2009 11:49 GMT
Luis Ogando
I Like It, But... #
Looks nice. About what you'd expect from a family saloon, but, once again, the price is well high. I know this is new tech and all that, but we're in a flippin' recession. Surely cheaper options could be employed.
And there appears to be a petrol cap*. Can't they hide it to make it look even more electrical-powered?
*Yes, I know it's probably where you plug it in, but, come on.....
Posted Thursday 4th June 2009 13:04 GMT
TeeCee
Petrol cap? #
1) You need somewhere to plug it in.
2) This has to be easily accessible without rooting around underneath it.
3) It has to covered up when not in use to prevent shite getting into the connections.
4) Said cover has to open and close for charging purposes and latch closed to stop little johnny shoving glue in the socket.
Exactly why wouldn't it look remarkably similar to and be in pretty much the same place as the fuel filler flap on a normal car? I can't think of another way of doing it myself.
If you look at pics of the upcoming Prius PHEV (plug-in hybrid) pilot it's got two identical flaps. One in the usual place for the existing fuel filler and one on the continental* side for the plug.
*Yes, RHD cars *should* have the fuel filler on the left like Jap cars do, so you can pour in a tinfull at the side of the road without being run over and get out of the car to fill up under normal circumstances without clobbering the driver's door on the pump. The reason that having this on the right has become more common is that most vehicles available in Blighty were designed as LHD and converted later. Hence the MINI Clubman (an allegedly British car) ending up with its "Club door" (opposite the filler) on the wrong bloody side for its "native" market.
Posted Thursday 4th June 2009 13:04 GMT
Al Napp
@ greg #
Umm - I think you can re-charge it
Posted Thursday 4th June 2009 13:04 GMT
Anonymous Coward
It is a GM Vectra or GM Astra as sold in Brasil... #
... with new front grill and trunk design. Move along, nothing to see here.
BTW, even Astra and Vectra are european Opel's designs, they are not "true" GMs.
Not too imaginative then, huh?
Posted Thursday 4th June 2009 13:51 GMT
Monty Cantsin
@ Greg #
In all fairness, the battery is rechargeable. They haven't produced a single-use electric car.
Posted Thursday 4th June 2009 15:03 GMT
Anonymous Coward
Good name #
The coda is the little bit at the end of a piece of music. Just about sums up its range.
Posted Thursday 4th June 2009 16:19 GMT
Alan Esworthy
recharging? #
Alun Taylor - did the company not give out recharging info or did you neglect to include it in your article? Or did the Evil Editor strike again? I'd really like to know how heavy an extension cord I'll need to recharge this vehicle from my neighbor's patio outlet. At night. But not a rainy night.
Posted Thursday 4th June 2009 16:19 GMT
Anonymous Coward
Prices will start at $45,000 #
Let me fix that....prices will START at $45,000. Now I don't care how much tax writeoff or goverment handout you get. That's not even close to my $15,000 Corolla and unless Consumer Reports puts it above the Honda and Toyota in reliability, I won't be even THINKING about taking a chance on one of them. I might LOOK at one (sitting at the side of the road), but that's about as far as that goes....
Posted Thursday 4th June 2009 23:32 GMT
Anonymous Coward
$45K in US$??? #
NO WAY!
Posted Friday 5th June 2009 10:59 GMT
DRendar
Battery Pack Warranty #
"Its lithium-ion battery pack will come from Chinese company Lishen and carry an eight-year/100,000 mile warranty."
And precisely what do they guarantee the range to be after it's done 8Years / 100,000 miles?
Anyone know of a Lithium Ion Battery that has lasted more than 2 or 3 years and even had 50% of it's original capacity?
Do they consider the battery to be "working" and therefore not eligible for replacement if you can get to the end of your road?
Posted Friday 5th June 2009 17:09 GMT
Greg
@Al, Monty #
Fairly aware that you can re-charge batteries, thanks. But £27k for something that does 120miles tops at a stretch? Get lost. I occasionally make ruddy long car journeys and I'm not stopping every hundred miles for a few hours while my car gets its breath back.
And you can bleat "but it's for the city" as much as you like. I don't buy one car for my city journeys and another for long haul - I buy a car, and then use it however the hell I like. EVs are going to have to greatly increase their range before the ordinary punter buys them.
This topic is closed for new posts.