Bangkokhatter

2 hours ago, carlyai said:

Hi. I have a 2013 2WD Honda CRV which we've enjoyed for a few years. Only thing wrong is that it's a little underpowered. 

My fault as I couldn't see the value (then) of buying the AWD CRV just to get a bigger engine and leather seats +.

So this time I wanted to buy the AWD 2025 Honda CRV, but then I compared it with the BYD Sealion 7 and price drop for the Bangkok Motor Show, the Sealion 7 seemed the right buy. 

The internal space is about the same as the Honda CRV.

We've had it for about 5 months and love it.

Very easy to drive and long trips are easy and not as tiring as before.

What I notice more now is the black smoke coming from a these badly tuned diesels and the stained roads from black smoke.

Apart from the Sealion7 being a great car to drive, wifey and I are happy not to be causing any of that horrible black pollution.

There is 'range anxiousness', probably because it's a new driving experience. Not that difficult to plan your charging stops, but long weekends in the Pattaya area was a problem finding working and vehicle free chargers.

Am surprised you found Pattaya area a problem, i would have thought charger coverage in the more urban areas to be ok.

4 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

 

Please do report back - it seems you have a very open mind so I would be keen to know your impressions.

I don't own an EV but I did use one for three days and it converted me, no way would I buy another petrol car so when the time comes to change I will be going EV.

My friend has always been pretty negative on them and he drives a diesel (ugh!) Everest. To be fair it's nice inside and has lots of space for him and his family but to me it's filthy (and I have driven it on numerous occasions). We talk cars a lot but he never really believed me about how good EVs are to drive and to live with.

 

He recently drove a friend's Aion Y which is pretty basic but it converted him immediately to the extent he went straight to a BYD dealership to check out the Sealion 7, then got home and listed his Everest for sale.

As has been said many many times on here EVs aren't for everyone, ie. if you do long trips every week or you can't charge at home. Anyway, let us know what you decide when the time comes.

I do have an open mind, i enjoy driving the CRV, however this new lease will be for 4 years so maybe its time to go full electric.

No comments yet on the DEEPAL but it does seem the BYD is a popular choice.

Am sure the charging aspect will be a PIA at first but like most change in life you learn to adapt.

1 hour ago, Bandersnatch said:

 

I own 2 BYDs a BYD Seal AWD and an M6. I have driven the BYD Sealion 7 AWD which is basically an SUV version of the Seal. When I drive to BKK which is a 900km round trip, the car is fully charged when I leave home and empty when I return as I charge from my my off-grid solar system for free.

 

I do 2 x 20ish minute charges, one on the way down and one on the way back. I always charge at BYD dealerships as they have fast 150kW chargers and plug and charge - you plug the car in and it starts charging. You have 24 hours to pay. The BYD app lets you see which chargers are free. Cost about ฿300 each time.

 

 

How far is the closest Deepal dealership from you?

 

Honda CRVs seem pretty expensive to me considering their lackluster performance 9.81 seconds 0-100 compared to 4.5 for the Sealion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your reply.

Price is not an issue as work will be paying and it will be a lease car for 4 years so no reason to worry about sell on price.

Have all 3 dealerships within 10km of home or work so no issues there.

The fuel savings are substantial though, a recent round trip to Issan cost around 4,500THB.

How are the regular software updates, i must admit i am pretty simple really and just like to get in the car and drive and not have to worry or read up on the latest updates.

I will do as you suggest and test drive the 2 EV's, will be my first time.

Time for a new company car and HQ are pushing us towards full electric, although they will accept a Hybrid for the next couple of years.

My choices are the BYD Sealion 7 AWD, Deepal S07 or the CRV E:HEV.

Currently driving the CRV AWD, I like it, a bit vanilla for some but its comfortable for the family, nice to drive and service from Honda has been great. Looking at the Hybrid version, looks nice (apart from limited colour choice) but the battery part only has a range of 50 odd km which i find a bit pointless.

So is it time to go full electric? have read most of this thread and it reads pretty much how you would expect with each devotee defending their corner, however i am pretty ambivalent in regards to the ICE-v-BEV debate and just looking for personal opinions from owners on the 3 cars mentioned above.

I don't really have range concerns as longer journeys just require a bit more planning but i would like an idea of how much it costs for a 300Km trip for example (estimate is fine) and how simple it is to charge up at the service stations for example.

Thank in advance.

End of last year year i did the renewal and had similar problems.

Did the usual application at VFS, provide all documents and walked away with signed tick sheet, expecting a wait of a few weeks. Then i get an email from HMPO saying i did not submit 2 x passport photo's.  Explaining to them it would be impossible for me to send in the application at VFS without the photo's was ignored and it took an extra month and more expense to send new ones.

It's annoying and no point complaining as both parties would just blame the other for the loss of photo's.

Hope you didn't give him too much, you can't have much left.

5 hours ago, black tabby12345 said:

 

Do you really feel like that?

That is something I haven't really felt.

There are always someone who doesn't like  Different People from outside, in any countries, for various reasons.

 

But general anti-alien sentiment here, is something which looks totally alien to me.

I have been here for nearly 2 decades by now though.

 

I wonder if you are in the area with more foreigner-related troubles (e.g. some part of Pattaya or Phuket)?

If so, what you feel might be more or less understandable though.

 

I have been in Chiang Mai, since the beginning of my settlement.

If I share the same impression with you(feeling xenophobia), I wouldn't stay here for this long...

No i live and work on the outskirts of Bangkok for almost as long as you have been here.

I don't personally worry about their xenophobia, it doesn't affect me really and i tend to enjoy living here for the most part.

That does not however change my view that many  Thais are xenephobic, although i do agree it is more present in the tourist areas.

3 hours ago, black tabby12345 said:

The editors should  clarify the nationalities  when they cover some troublesome aliens.

 

Otherwise, it simply stirs up general  Anti-Foreigners sentiments among the population.

And it is unfair and dangerous; potentially increasing Xenophobia among Thai people.

 

Pretty much like Sweeping Statement; mixing the good and bad altogether.

Gentlemen and Riff Raffs must be separated.

 

Not all foreign travelers/expats are behaving in the same way.

Some are law abiding and good mannered.

Some others  cause stupid problems by their lack of courtesy and consideration to the others.

 

So it is appropriate to single out the origins of the unruly ones instead.

 

Some deserves to be hated.

Some deserves to be favored.

Depending on their level of conscience and etiquette exercised.

How will identifying nationalities help the situation?

For every sad sack British guy making a fool of himself there are probably another ten perfect gentlemen going about their daily business causing no ill will to anyone. The same can be said for any nationality here.

Many Thais are generally xenephobic and would not care the actual nationality, to them we are all foreigners.

The problem as always is lack of enforcement.

17 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

They are still available.

When read your OP, I just assumed your niece had a visa exempt entry.

 

Anyway 9 months....that changes things. 

Some border runs are now bit more involved in that without a border run company they are requiring 1-2 night stay. (That's not an issue for Niece as she plans to stay few days 

Some border crossings even asking for nonsense such as flight out of Thailand and accommodation details. 

She should be aware that for each 60 day stamp visa exempt that can be extended by 30 days. 

If in the future she plans another 9 month stay then a METV is better option and allows for trips out of Thailand using airports.

 

Thanks for your reply.

Am still waiting for her to confirm if she has visa exempt or actual visa (she is easily confused 🙂 )

I have told her some boarder crossings may be difficult, generally she should be ok as she is not doing boarder bounces to enable her to return to Thailand, she will be spending time in other countries.

Thank you both for your replies, she plans to travel around the region for about 9 months, mostly doing land border crossings, i have told her to expect some issues at some point during her travels.

I must admit i was confused when she told me she had an actual 60 day tourist visa, i thought these were null and void after the visa exempt extension was changed to 60 days.

I have a niece who is currently travelling around the islands down South and needs to extend her 60 day tourist visa in a couple of weeks.

Anybody know if it's possible to do this by visiting Langkawi for a couple of days and then returning?

Any other suggestions also welcome.

Your problem is nobody takes you seriously.

Constantly denying you are a reincarnated Bob, and absolutely nobody on this forum believes you.

Of course there is nothing wrong in coming back from the dead, just admit it.

Last year the big stage was set up on the beach area around Central which avoids the mass crowds going through walking Street.

I am not 100% certain where the fireworks were let off but their were thousands of people on the beach, with plenty of chairs to sit and vendors selling drinks etc. Much safer than previous years. If you head for the Northern end of the beach it's not so crowded.

However, yes it's a big beach which could handle the thousands of people but as we all know the roads cannot. It was absolutely gridlocked with both cars and people on Beach road(pedestrians only), second road and all in between for a couple of hours after, best solution is book a Hotel within a KM of the beach and walk.

It's a good firework display and worth going, just plan a bit ahead and book Hotels early.

There is absolutely no reason to waste money on a lawyer to obtain a divorce where both parties are in agreement.

As others have said just turn up at the Amphur with your wife, they will have a chat and then the agreement gets recorded on the form of which you can get a copy.

I will add if you don't speak or read Thai you will need to bring along someone who does because you are required to understand what is written on the document.

Looks much better and fills the screen far more than before.

Just waiting for the up arrow to come back and my week will be complete.

11 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

 

My other half corrects you and says it can be used in both instances of male and female nicknames.

really, well my other half corrects yours😏 and says it is mostly used for females, did you miss the part where i said usually ??

bizarre most of you assume the girl has run off with a 35 year old man, granted the story does not actually mention the gender but Na is generally a females nickname.