You get 40 Miles to the charge and a charge costs about 40p per charge. One charge allows for approximately 40 miles of driving at up to 40mph.
Electricity is less than 1p a mile (equivalent to around 600 miles per gallon!)
-- Info from G-Wiz's website.
So basically if its short distance commuting and going from A-B this thing is cheap as chips. But if your planning to drive down to the Vendeé forget it, unless you want to stop at someones house every 40 miles and ask for an extension cable!
Gee Whiz it's the G-Wiz
· By: Drivers.com staff
· Date: 2006-07-02
Comments (18) Join conversation
The G-Wiz, an electrically powered mini car similar to the Mercedes Smart Car, is making a splash in London, England. More than 500 of the vehicles have been sold to commuters wanting to take advantage of the vehicle's congestion tax-exempt status and special privileges in the city's down-town core.
Electric vehicles are exempt from the congestion charge of £8 sterling (about US$15) a day which non-residents pay for the privilege of driving in the British Metropolis's downtown core area. Drivers of electric vehicles also get an exemption from the annual vehicle road tax and use on-street parking free (a perk of up to £40 (about US $72).
One major chain of parking lots even offers more than 90% off annual fees and free recharging to drivers of electric vehicles.
The G-Wiz was designed in California but is built by Reva Electric Car Company of Bangalore, India. It was introduced in London in late 2004 at £7,799 (about US$14,000), with a simplified version available for less than £7,000.
With all the savings in fuel, taxes and parking charges, a G-Wiz owner can recover the entire purchase cost of the car within 12 months, according to Keith Johnston, founder of GoinGreen, (a company founded in 2003 to distribute electric vehicles in London).
A recent report put the average speed of a car in London at just 7 mph.
Comments
Matt, on Wednesday, 25. October 2006 at 04:48 AM
tim, on Thursday, 08. March 2007 at 03:53 PM
who killed the electric car?
most homes have 2 cars, why cant one be electric for short distances and the other a petrol car? I drive a 7 mile round trip each day to catch my bus to work, a g-wix would be ideal for me, for longer journeys (which i rarely make I could hire a normal car). also in theory electric cars need less maintenance, i.e. no spark plugs, oil , filters, etc etc. imagine a world where citys have clean air. also battery technology is improving all the time. imagine never having to go to a petrol station again ,just plug your car in at home. ok electricity does not grow on trees, but any polution caused by coal power stations is usually localised to a remote area, meaning that our cities where people live can have clean air again tlumsdonATyahoo.com
Bugsy, on Monday, 09. April 2007 at 07:52 AM
Sounds like a positively fabby idea. Perfect for hopping around the clogged arteries of London - in an ideal world people should have an electric car as a second car for short journeys when you've forgotten the milk (again) as tim suggested
John, Bracknell, on Sunday, 15. April 2007 at 04:33 PM
I was surprised how much room there was in the Gee-wiz and it is perfect for smooth town roads. Those pesky road humps can trouble this little car. It is a shame that humps are multiplying like acne.
If I lived in London it would be on my wish list.
Dan, on Monday, 16. April 2007 at 11:46 AM
I'm a great believer in little golf-cart-like vehicles to shuttle around neighbourhoods, maybe even a taxis. wonder if the G-Wiz would fill this slot? I'm thinking rides to grocery shops, subway (tube)stations, etc.
Sally-ann McCole, on Wednesday, 09. May 2007 at 01:24 PM
Im in love with the Gee-Wiz !
Dan, on Wednesday, 09. May 2007 at 02:57 PM
Anyone know someone who has a Gee Wiz. I'd like to get a users view on it.
Robin, on Friday, 08. June 2007 at 04:00 PM
The whole conceipt seems a way forward, especially for short local trips, even for those of us who live out in the country. But the purchase price is fairly high. I would be very happy to consider a vehicle with a lower but functional specification. An A to B "box" which keeps out the rain! Any ideas?
Seán, on Tuesday, 12. June 2007 at 07:25 AM
If you could rip out the batteries and electric motor and drop in a motorbike engine it might be usable.
Leigh, Washington US, on Sunday, 02. December 2007 at 02:13 PM
I really like the idea of a car that is able to run on battery power for short distances and has a petrol or biofuel engine as well so that you don't have to look for a charge every 40 miles. The alternative power source would also recharge the batteries. They say that the Chevy Volt (presently only a concept car) will be able to do this. Release date sometime after 2010??
kev, on Wednesday, 02. January 2008 at 01:02 PM
what they fail to tell you is its 0-40 in around a mile.
New owner, on Saturday, 05. January 2008 at 12:38 PM
But 0-5 faster than a Ferarri and no girl has ever refused a lift home in my Gee-Wiz.
However, 10% import duty and 17.5% UK VAT makes Gee-Wiz circa 1/3 too expensive - anyone have friends in high places who can help to lobby EU?
(email: hardwick@orange.fr)
(Ps: Westminster City Council is arranging to install a re-charging point outside my Gym by 31.03.08- Thanks!)
Andrew, on Tuesday, 15. January 2008 at 03:35 PM
The price is still not low enough for the average person. If we want to see real change, there has to a be a point where electric becomes affordable before it's too late for the environment.
i hate g wiz, on Tuesday, 26. February 2008 at 05:06 PM
they are crap cause u can't turn eany thing on without running the battery down and they are not safe
Jim, on Friday, 07. March 2008 at 02:30 PM
50MPH?
Probably hippies who made it. The range is also very poor.
STOP the sale of this disaster,or section the people stupid enough to buy it.
Chris, on Friday, 01. August 2008 at 08:16 AM
When I argued the case for electric cars during a Talk Radio phone-in some 20 years ago, the host made the point that the power generators would create more carbon providing the extra electricity needed for the cars to re-charge.
george glover, Oz., on Thursday, 07. August 2008 at 05:56 AM
They might make sense in the British climate, but not in Australia. Nobody is going to sit in Melbourne traffic in 42 degree heat without an airconditioner.
Just get a motorcycle , ferrari performance and hyundai economy at the same time!
richard, on Sunday, 17. August 2008 at 10:35 AM
i am a 13 year old boy and i think you shiuld be able to drive a g wiz as a child because i am fed up of using the bus but i think it would be good if they did a hybrid version but i have been on the goingreen/gwiz website and everything is an optional extra even the radio is an optional extra but i think it is quite perky it is so simple to drive what about a petrol gwiz with lets say a 0.2 litre engine with 20 or so bhp
