Does anyone has experience/recommendations with a (full) electric car for transporting harpsichords?
Currently I’m using the long version of the Peugeot Rifter. One of the nice things about this car is that all seats can be lowered and, this is important, also the passenger seat in front can be lowered completely. This results in plenty of room for harpsichord transportation. Even long Italians & Dulckens fit in it without blinking your eyes.
The same car exists in electric version but is very limited in range. The same goes for all cars in that category (Citroen Berlingo, Opel Combo, Renault Kangoo, VW Caddy, etc.).
I found some models with a longer range but was then buggered by the fact that the front passenger seat can’t be lowered.
I had a VW Touran with lowering front passenger seat, which digested a double easily enough- this seat might just be able to be refit into a Caddy which is a heightened Touran. Unless the design has changed so much for the e-version that even the seats are virtual… Good Luck! Harpsichord are still mostly real…
Does anyone has experience/recommendations with a (full) electric car for transporting harpsichords?
Currently I’m using the long version of the Peugeot Rifter. One of the nice things about this car is that all seats can be lowered and, this is important, also the passenger seat in front can be lowered completely. This results in plenty of room for harpsichord transportation. Even long Italians & Dulckens fit in it without blinking your eyes.
The same car exists in electric version but is very limited in range. The same goes for all cars in that category (Citroen Berlingo, Opel Combo, Renault Kangoo, VW Caddy, etc.).
I found some models with a longer range but was then buggered by the fact that the front passenger seat can’t be lowered.
Huh. There was a link to a page describing the Roland C-30 virtual harpsichord that got stripped. Don’t know why. I once had a predecessor to that, forget the model number. Got it cheap as a discontinued model. They did a fairly bad job of sampling - obviously didn’t even sample every note but only a few per octave and repitched the rest, and the touch was horrible. Eventually gave it away to a drummer friend who had no experience with the real thing.
My John Feldberg 2 maual revival harpsichord fits comfortably into the Tesla Model S with a little room to spare lengthwise. Admittedly the Feldberg, at 1850mm long, is a bit shorter than traditional harpsichords. The type of power source desn’t affect the available space. Our Honda Accord Tourer has no more capacity lengthwise. and is narrower at the back. The Tesla Model Y would probably have nearly as much capacity as the Model S, although the Model 3, which doesn’t have a fully opening tailgate could be a bit awkward for loading. I used the Honda to transport a square piano because it has a nore vertical tailgate and the framework stand fitted more easily. However, I don’t think the front seat can be fully lowered in any of these, which, as you say, does limit the length. I think we are rather limited for utility type vehicles electric with a big capacity and a decent range at the moment.
Regarding range, I’ve never had a problem including driving from UK to the south of France. However, Tesla’s are currently unique in having a dedicated Tesla charging infrastructure which is always available. Currewnt usable range after 90,000 miles and 10 years is 220 miles, but I never drive more than about 150 miles or 2 hours without being able to stop for a break and charge at a Tesla Supercharger. Pulic charging networks seem to be more of a problem, having fewer charging stands and not infrequently out of order. Many of the more affordanble cars you mention would be seriously range limited. However, there are a number of more reasonably priced makes, such as Kia, now offering decent range.
Indeed I want the combination passenger transport & light cargo vehicule. For this purpose the following cars are great: Peugeot Rifter, Citroen Berlingo, Opel Combo, Toyota Proace City verso.
They are like Swiss folding knife: with a minimum of effort you change your car from a passenger car into a llight cargo cargo. The harpsichord (240 cm) is then put in vertically. If necessary the passenger seat in front is lowered as well. In that way even long Dulckens fit without any problem.
On the plus side these cars are relatively cheap. The problem is that their electric version uses the same frame. That explains why only a battery of 50 Kw fits in these cars => very limited range.
I’m now looking at the VW ID BUZZ but this one is rather expensive.
The Mercedes eVito Tourer, which is available with a 90kWh battery and 8 seats, might be worth considering. No doubt rather expensive though. There is a review post on Quora.com from an owner. He seems to have ben able to drive from Germany to Portugal without too much fuss. > https://www.quora.com/search?q=Mercedes eVito Tourer
I was able to get my ZHI Italian easily into my Porsche 924S. The only downside was that I had to remove the spare wheel, and there was no room for a passenger… I could probably just about get my recorders into my current vehicle: Mazda MX5 Miata, though on a fine day with the roof down I might be able to carry more (perhaps a little clavichord) without being arrested!
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