Really? A vehicle with a 60 mile range in the winter isn't much good. Let alone the environment impact of using such a vehicle. :confused:
Great for spring/summer use, £5 a charge, about 150ish miles. And they appeal to the geek in me. I'd have to take it to pieces just to see how it works.
Obviously, I wouldn't sell the Hippo.
If I had the cash I'd buy an old dead K series and convert it. 4 motors using the new Bosch controller, instant torque, big lift kit, how much fun would that be off road.
Mike
 
It’s a VW eUP! The range is under 100 miles, but my wife’s work isn’t that far from us and she has a work scheme that allows her to charge the car for free. The only cost to us at the moment is the not insignificant depreciation. At least we bought an ex-demonstrator...

Personally I’m saving the planet by keeping my 20 year-old fossil-fuelled cars going ;) At least until the London Mayor taxes them off the road :mad:
 
Great for spring/summer use, £5 a charge, about 150ish miles. And they appeal to the geek in me. I'd have to take it to pieces just to see how it works.
Obviously, I wouldn't sell the Hippo.
If I had the cash I'd buy an old dead K series and convert it. 4 motors using the new Bosch controller, instant torque, big lift kit, how much fun would that be off road.
Mike

I'd be tempted to convert a perfect condition FL1 to all electric. However that would only make sense if I could charge the batteries for free.
 
That’d be a great idea: if you can protect the battery packs somehow, the underside offers a fair amount of useable space for the batteries either side of the prop shaft - and of course repacking the fuel tank :)
 
That’d be a great idea: if you can protect the battery packs somehow, the underside offers a fair amount of useable space for the batteries either side of the prop shaft - and of course repacking the fuel tank :)
The thought has crossed my mind. There's plenty of room underneath for batteries and other stuff. A Tesla motor would work just fine and is tiny compared to the petrol engine. It's also water cooled which would keep the heater warm when needed. It's very possible to do these days, just very expensive.
 
But it’ll start getting cheaper :D

True. There's a whole commuity of people happy to spen quite large amounts of money converting existing petrol/ diesel vehicles to electric power. With modern designs and electronics, it's easier than ever to achieve all electric power.
 
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I'd be tempted to convert a perfect condition FL1 to all electric. However that would only make sense if I could charge the batteries for free.
I'd love to take a K series and convert it to hybrid by replacing the VCU with a motor to drive the rear wheels only.

Edit: Even better a V6. :p
 
Maybe but at least it would have more than 50 mile range. ;)
My thinking is you could use the leccy as a boost button, a bit like F1. :)
So long as it is as good as the boost button on the Knight Industries Two Thousand... ;)

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Today I used the Freelander to drive home from work in some actual snow. It's been ages since we'v seen any reasonable quantities down here, so it made a refreshing change. :D
 
So long as it is as good as the boost button on the Knight Industries Two Thousand... ;)

b918ed1f5c031a62308c2df770a4f349.jpg
Anything you can do:p
07369c8ddddb395664690abda8639df0--a-hill-fun-time.jpg
I drove my first freelander in my first snow today and while it did slip a tiny bit once it was funny to see the guy in his new bmw wheel spinning all over the place in the same spot, through my rear view mirror
 
Anything you can do:pView attachment 143510 I drove my first freelander in my first snow today and while it did slip a tiny bit once it was funny to see the guy in his new bmw wheel spinning all over the place in the same spot, through my rear view mirror
I drove mine in the snow today too, even deliberately stopped at a drift at the bottom of a hill then powered through it with no problems. :D
 
Just took mine out tonight. I can report my 4 wheel drive system still works as does my hill decent.
I love the hills round here, especially when it snows:)
Mike
 
Battery failed today so checked my receipt and notice I still had a week to go on my 3 year Guarantee. Yippee I say but I had to replace the blooming battery in this howling freezing wind and dodging a slippy pathway while carrying the replacement battery.
 
Removed the tailgate handle - no rust! Cleaned it thoroughly, replaced the broken springs, larded the whole shebang with a liberal layer of waxoyl, reassembled it, wiped away the waxoyl which squidged out of the edges and squirted loads more - you guessed - waxoyl inside the door. Replaced the foam sheet and door card and by a bloody miracle the thing works perfectly. Even the Doris was impressed.
 
Well I spent the afternoon replacing the whole tail gate window regulator. I just bought the whole thing because I could not be bothered with all that replacing cable rubbish. It would have been easier if I had cut all the cables before hand instead of trying to force down the window to get at the window clamp bolts........... but you learn ;)
 
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