Battery Vehicle Society

noticed you can get dc powered revas for less than £3000 .question is is it a worthwhile proposition .

pros and cons. will need a new battery pack how much.also can it be upgraded or is it not worth it.

thinking i could get one to start tinkering with.opinions please.

You should check eBay. Last week a DC Reva with brand new battery pack and new motor brushes went for 1500 - that is probably less than the battery pack cost !!!

There are alot on eBay at the moment.

Don't bother with the REVA so called g-wiz, they are poor road vehicles, with poor suspension, awkward driving position, drum brakes all round, lead acid batteries that don't last anything like they should probably due to faulty watering arrangement! can't get at the electrics without removing the rear seats, couldn't even get a wiring diagram for the one I owned for just over a year! and as for that lot at GOINGREEN they're just not interested! get yourself a good working CITROEN BERLINGO ELECTRIQUE or PEUGEOT PARTNER superb vehicles with power brakes, steering, normal cushy suspension (for a van) and it looks "NORMAL" with good quality reliable electronics, only limitation is range the best I have achieved is 45 miles and then the on board computer cut the speed down to 25 mph, but for seven year old batteries I find that acceptable.
So there we are don't touch the REVA not even with a large barge pole (word has it that if it weren't for a certain newspaper the importers would go bankrupt)


REMEMBER THERE ARE MORE 13 AMP SOCKETS THAN THERE ARE PETROL STATIONS

cheers for the advice.guess i will stick with my daewoo matiz conversion.

What's wrong with your Matiz? It looked really smart, and a better car than the gwiz to begin with. Why were you looking elsewhere?

just thought they looked a bargain.but realise there cheap for a reason.just pissed off with my second set of batteries not lasting on the matiz.will keep off the road over winter until my enthusiam returns.

I have to disagree with a lot in this post, I own & love a G-Wiz it was my first step into EV ownership & you have to speak as you find.

Poor Suspension, Awkward driving position. Totally disagree! its a bouncy ride, but not poor. its something I quite like about the car. the driving position (I'm a short arse!) is far more comfy for me than the main family car!

The watering system is great, making watering of the leads EASY! Mines never failed! & you only need to get to the electrics if something fails so its no big deal undoing the two bolts that hold the back seat in! & in nearly two years nothings failed on mine! I only took my seats out to wire in a computer I put in!
I've contacted Goingreen a couple of times for a brake cylinder & a trim part & both times they've been more than happy to do mail order, something I can't imagine my local ford dealership being interested in doing!

Being so small its surprisingly nippy round town! you can nip in & out of gaps & traffic you wouldn't dare to in a bigger car!

However yes the drum brakes aren't ideal! but you get used to them!

Lee

Well all I can say is, you pays your money and you takes your choice, the REVA so called G- WIZ is an absolutely awful vehicle, of course it is a quadricycle not a proper car because it would not pass the safety tests required for motor cars,
All I can say is I was not impressed with the one I owned for a year! now then try a drive if you can in a CITROEN BERLINGO ELECTRIQUE and you'l see what I mean, the vehicle LOOKS normal you wouldn't give it a second glance! but drive it and OH BOY!!! I promise you YOU WILL WANT ONE, cheers HARRY MORRIS

Perhaps a little bit of a balanced perspective is required here. I can fully understand the enthusiasm for the Berlingo, but let's face it, it is an antiquated, unreliable, very expensive and unsupported vehicle. One quick glance at the posts here detailing the myriad of Berlingo problems and the very few posts here regarding Reva problems (and let's not forget Berlingo's are soundly outnumbered by Revas - my guess by at least 2:1) and the true picture has to be that Revas are generally more reliable.

Sure they are simple, a bit agricultural, but hey, they work, they don't break down the way all these Berlingo's seem to and best of all they are much, much cheaper!

I'm a great fan of PSA products (SWMBO drives a C3 and I've owned about 5 PSA vehicles over the years), but I'd never buy an old Berlingo Electrique, with all the inherent support problems that arise from antique technology that's not supported by the manufacturer.

The Reva is what it is; a cheap and cheerful, Indian made, EV that is basic, but is supported to a better extent in the UK than something like the old Berlingo. That's self-evident from reading this forum.

Jeremy

Totally agree Jeremy, although do remember that apart from here theres not really anywhere else to chat about berlingos to my knowledge and so we will find more problems talked about here with Berlingos.

I like the Reva and if I didnt have a Berlingo I'd have a G-wiz, they are as you say cheap and cheerful, saw a 2004 model go for just over £1000 the other day, looked like it might have needed some new batts but for someone to get into EV's they are great, the Berlingo is a fantastic vehicle but.........when something goes wrong, its a mare and not for the faint hearted.

ChrisB