BKKBike09

Quite surprised by this from Devon & Somerset Fire Brigade - "Each year we help around 650 people whose vehicle has caught fire. Fires are most likely to start when you're driving which can be a terrifying experience." https://www.dsfire.gov.uk/safety/on-the-road/car-and-vehicle-fires Doesn't say how many of those are ICE/EV incidents, but seems like quite a lot however you cut it. I'd extrapolate that to mean that there's a risk of your car vehicle catching fire no matter what sort of energy powers it.

Unless MFP have the financial backers to mobilise and support long-term street protests, nothing much will happen. MFP / Pita have been naive in banging on about reform of Section 112. Students in Bangkok might like the sound of it, but many, many average Thai voters see it as inappropriate or worse.

If you're still interested in an Atto, this is a post of mine from the long thread about EVs in Thailand: The quick summary would be: Good External / interior styling (very subjective) Build quality (but see below) Comfort (but see below) Relaxing to drive Reasonably powerful (will get up to 150 kmh quite happily and quite quickly) Good range (at least 350-400 km) Panoramic glass roof (a big selling point for me) with sunshade Good interior space Both front seats electrically adjustable (but no memory settings) Built in dashcam GPS works pretty well (but no Thai language search option) Not So Good Suspension - way too soft and spongy (not an issue around town but not so good at any speed) as soon as decent aftermarket options available, I'm going to ditch the stock set up Build quality - well put together but the panel metal is the thinnest I've ever seen (already got two tiny dents in mine) Comfort - One-piece front seats mean no adjustable head restraints Tyres - cr*p Chinese no name; but fine for town driving Tech - too much of it that can't be permanently disabled Cruise control - fiddly to set, very hard to see speed set, only goes up/down in 5 kmh intervals AirCon - not always as cold as I think it should be No spare tyre

Try selling a 10-year old diesel car in UK these days and not taking a big hit.

That study is three years old - that's relevant because that means all the EVs included were using the older Lithium Ion (LI) battery tech. The newer Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries (LFP - a la BYD) have various advantages over the older tech, one of the key ones being that you can leave an LFP plugged in to charge up to 100% (ie leave it plugged in at night and go to bed) with no battery degradation. Also, LFP batteries will take many more charge/discharge cycles before degrading.

I've been driving an Atto 3 (the one with the bigger battery) since January. My view: it's a great car for commuting. It's also pretty good for round trips of up to around 300 km. 'Real range' as opposed to marketing guff is around 350-400 km (although you could probably squeeze up to 450 km if you drive slowly). It's well built and comfortable / relaxing to drive in town. The flat floor is great for rear seat passengers. Instant torque is quite satisfying. But I would only recommend if you can install your own AC charger (ie you live in a house, not a condo). I wouldn't buy an EV if I had to faff around finding places to charge. As to 'economy'. Charging it from say 20% to 90%, which is about 300 km of range, costs about THB 230 (42 kw/h x THB 5.5). Servicing is also free apart from consumables for 8 years, I think. Flip-side is that EVs are much more expensive than a similar spec ICE so unless you do A LOT of mileage it will take years to match the saving on fuel with the additional up front capital cost. Plus secondhand market for EVs is an unknown. The battery tech is moving fast / so many new brands and models coming out that in 5 years a second-hand Atto could be a tough sell, although at least its battery tech (Lithium Iron Phosphate) is a step up on most of the other brands/models currently available here.

Right click and new tab works for me too (on a Mac). Another thing I've noticed is that notifications now only say 'somebody' responded to a post. As you imply, I'm confident AN are hard at wotk on the case ...

It's THB 30 for a border pass. https://travel.trueid.net/detail/P0GprJoM9JO3 It's THB 1,400 for a Tourist Visa (either at Lao Embassy in BKK or on arrival in Nong Khai) https://www.travelclick.biz/visa_info_th.php?visa_id=31

Er. No.

So, I was right, locking the car and getting pump-food while actually filling up isn't something you can do with an ICEV, we agree. (That's enough, Ed.)

Ban Krud along to Bangsaphan Noi - between Prachuab and Chumporn. Some bits of Chumporn (Tung wua laen) are pretty relaxing. Or try Upper NE on the Mekong; somewhere between Nakorn Panom up around to Bueng Kan.

He's from the Amatayakul family so I'd guess has a life and a ton of assets in the USA. Any idea why there's suddenly a slew of renunciations? Since there aren't many obvious Western foreign family names in that list, doesn't look like it's Luuk Khrueng kids being made to pick. I assume all the countries - Austria, Singapore, Taiwan, S Korea etc - are ones that only allow single nationality. I'm surprised there aren't more Chinese (PRC) cases there. Coming soon, perhaps ...

"locking it and getting pump-food is something you can't do with an ICEV?" - not while you're actually at the pump filling your car up, which would be the comparison to make with an EV being charged. Say it takes 5 mins to fill up/pay, then you go and park and get some grub which takes you another 25-30 mins. How is that any different from plugging in an EV at a charger and leaving it there for 30-35 mins while you get a bite to eat etc? "Why not focus on the things that are great about EVs rather than pretending the relatively short range, and long "fuel" times are never inconvenient?" - I'm not 'pretending' about anything. If you read my posts in this thread you'll see I'm on the fence about EV practicality for regular long distance use. Having used an EV for 6 months now as a daily ride it's clear that, for my mainly urban use, I've saved time by not having to fill up with petrol every week or so. It's certainly more convenient in that respect than my ICE car.

If I'm going to be near car for a while I don't like to do that here in rainy season. Which I guess wasn't an issue in the Middle East (although I can see a sandstorm blasting fine sand into the interior through even a small window opening).

It's not available on the Thai models (at least not yet). The manual (copied from Aus/NZ version) actually has said it has it all along, but it never has. It would be very useful. I just did a 52 km trip that used 10.1 kw which would equate to a range of just over 300 km. Probably used so much power because it was on the highway and I had the a/c on full power coolest setting for 10 minutes before that to try and cool car down after 5 hours in the sun. Like an <deleted> oven inside. My office parking card actually deformed in the interior heat (clipped under the sun visor) despite me using one of those tinfoil type reflectors inside the car, held in place by the visors.

Maybe the owner was getting something to eat? Who knows? I agree that sitting at a charger for 30-40 mins sounds tedious but one of the good things about EVs is that you can lock them while charging and go find something to eat. Or, get a coffee and then sit in the car with the a/c on while charging and catch up on emails etc. The charging app will tell you how much the car has charged in real time so you don't need to keep going back to check.

If you did central Bangkok to central Chiang Mai in 7 hours including stops you must have hammered it. You should apply for a job as an interprovincial bus driver here. If I was going to do that in my EV I'd drive between 110-120 kmh and I'd aim to charge somewhere after about 250 km. I'd pre-book at a PTT station roughly that distance from start point. Have a coffee and let it charge for 30 mins or so. Then do the same after about another 250 km. At 110-120 kmh on the highway the BYD range is around 350 km. Total cost for charging - say 90 kWh ( 2 x 45 sessions) at THB 7.5 / kWh so THB 675. Time wise, I'd reckon on BKK-CM being around 8-9 hours including stops. Now, if I had to do it as quickly as possible, I'd take my petrol-powered car (2.0L Turbocharged) Then I'd be going quite a bit faster than 110-120 kmh. But it would take at least a full tank (50 litres plus) because it runs anything from 5-15 km/l. I prefer to use Benzine 95 which is around THB 45 / litre. So fuel cost of at least THB 2,250. Probably also have to factor in 2 or 3 THB 500 speeding tickets ...

I assume they do, in either English or Chinese. I've turned all that stuff off though. Audio volume / source / phone etc can all be changed through steering wheel buttons, which is what I like. The a/c is a bit of a pain because it's only adjustable through the touch screen, but it's pretty straightforward.

Book 'Em, Danno.

If you're not busy and it's only small spots, an old credit card, a hairdryer and elbow grease will work too.

How come your child is in an advanced maths programme anyway? And how well is he/she doing in the programme? IMHO people are either good at maths or not; tutoring helps with the basic stuff, but once it becomes more advanced it's hard to keep up. You don't say where you live or what your financial circumstances are but - as has been suggested - maybe look at other school options. If you're in Bangkok I'd look at some of the bi-lingual schools or a private Thai school, particularly say a Buddhist teachings based one like Thawsi (which is an excellent school). Your wife can save face with family and friends by telling them that your child is now at X or Y private school etc. The getting up early and going to bed late is par for the course. Personally I think subjecting small kids to a daily 2-hour school run is horrendous, but many parents accept it. Another option is to insist that your child take up an extracurricular activity that isn't learning-based. These days, having good grades from a good school isn't all that counts (although I have to concede that in Thailand it is still seen as very important, even if the person has no ability to think critically). Seems to me that your wife has latched on to a simplistic 'child is good at maths so must do maths'. But if it turns out that your child is good at ice skating or painting or whatever, she may well turn her focus to success in that.

If the casino (integrated resort) plans get off the ground and Pattaya is selected as a location, it will get a massive boost. Bangkok Airways is taking the lead on developing UTP and in fact recently (May) announced they're putting another USD 135 million into the development company. (https://weblink.set.or.th/dat/news/202305/1219NWS250520231853130099E.pdf) The Bangkok Airways owners (Prasarttong-Osoth family) are hugely influential so I'd suspect that they have the inside track on a lot of things. But right now, yes, UTP is pretty dead. I fly regularly in their airspace and you can almost hear the tumbleweed on the Approach freq. They've still got the decaying TG A-340's parked there, as well as a couple of A-380s and B747s.

How do you know she's at work all day? Serious question, not trolling. And during the day where is your son? Kindergarten? Could you look after him on your own and work at the same time? While you may be able to leave the apartment and take your son with you, you won't be able to leave Thailand without the consent of the mother. What's your immigration status? If it was me, I'd consult a lawyer about options. I'd also go to local police station and file a report about the abuse / violence. At the very least there is then a formal record of your allegations/concerns. Good luck.

Some random thoughts after 6 months / 7500 km of BYD Atto 3 ownership (the 'Extended Range' one). Generally-speaking I like the car and would recommend to anyone looking to buy an EV that doesn't cost too much and has reasonable performance and range. Build quality and materials are good and nothing has broken yet / started rattling / leaking etc. Around town (Bangkok) it's way more comfortable and relaxing to drive than my other car (a Scirocco). Only need to charge every week or so and I would say the published range estimate of 420 km is not unrealistic for urban driving. On the highway it's still comfortable and relaxing but wallows in corners and doesn't track very well on poor highway surfaces. I'm hoping it will be improved with better tyres and a suspension upgrade. However the instant torque is great for overtaking. At sustained speeds of 110-120 kmh the range goes down considerably. I just made a quick trip to Jomtien and back: started with 95% battery and got home showing 15% and range 78km. Trip was total 300 km so basically 40% battery to do 150 km. My sense of usable range for Atto 3 Extended Range at reasonable highway speeds (110-120) is 350 km; this also tallies with the average battery consumption figure of around 17-18 kwh/100km on the highway. Around town it's around 14-15. It's important to note that the range displayed is the 'theoretical' range, not real-time adjusted based on actual use. In some markets there's an option to select a real-time estimate, but not here. Dumb. I nearly alway leave the drive mode in Sport; I've tried highway trips using Normal and Eco and don't think it makes much difference to range/consumption. I would be nervous trying to do this (a 300 km trip) in the 100K cheaper 50kw Atto. I don't really see the point of buying this model: the more battery capacity in an EV the better. Plus I expect second-hand demand will be heavily focused on the bigger battery model, especially in a couple of years when even 60 kw will seem like 'entry-level'.

Come now. Who said this was about The Orange One? What about Bush vs Gore in 2000, an election that Gore likely won, but which had the Supreme Court decide (just) that it was Bush. Back on topic - looking more and more like Pita is going to be left out in the cold, so baht may weaken further.