A question for the EV owners or knowledgeable ones. Current world situation is making me think more of a full EV as my next car, rather than a PHEV which I always thought it would be.
I have been keeping an eye on the market from a distance but would be curious to find out from the "in the knows" as to where the EV market has settled with respect to reliability. When it happens, it would be an SUV / MPV style that I would be looking at.
I mind reading an interview with the Ford boss who admitted their EV technology was way behind competitors. I have read that Stellantis EVS have many issues.
Chinese are seen by some as being the best battery technology, with some allowing constant 100% recharges, but from the PHEV groups I am in I see that parts availability etc is still a huge problem. Not sure if MG falls into this as they are a bit more established over here.
My current car is BMW X1 and I love it and they do an EV version - how are BMW EVs?
Wouldn't want a Tesla as their "SUV" is ugly IMHO (and saw something recently where they have removed existing features remotely on cars?)
I read the previous thread about leasing / PCP / buying with interest, my next car is probably the one that is going to take me into retirement so currently feel this would want to be purchased as opposed to always having a monthly payment under lease, therefore longer term reliability would be key.
Would appreciate any thoughts.
|
Teslas are probably still the best EVs with the added benefit of their charging infrastructure (if that's important to you), so long as you can live with their looks and more importantly the baggage with their owner? We have one at work and it's been fine.
Wife has had an Alfa Romeo Junior EV (on lease as a company car) for over a year now. It has been faultess, and we have never needed to charge it away from home. One of the attractions of the Alfa was that it had a 'normal' car dashboard. Yes there are screens instead of physical dials but the climate controls are proper buttons, and there is no oversized iPad screen dominating the centre of the car (and nothing else). The front seats are great but it's a bit tight in the rear. It is also fun to drive.
I would still be nervous of buying a new EV outright - lease is still the way to go. Second-hand possibly, if the price is low enough. From what I can see parts availability is still an issue for Chinese cars, and you often hear of them being written off for small bumps to save on car hire charges while the slow boat from China brings new parts. Someone on here was saying one of the Chinese manufacturers was disassembling new cars in order to get parts!
|
yeah I read that about the cars being dismantled but from what I see in the Chinese PHEV groups (BYD, Chery. Jaecoo) that is not filtering down yet to dealers and availability.
If I was buying it would be under a year old with huge discount on RRP. Must admit at this moment in time, a BMW iX1 would be top of my wishlist but getting one with the right packages for me (sunroof, HUD, sound upgrade) will narrow my choice somewhat.
I did have one for a day as a courtesy car and its probably the fastest accelerating car I have ever driven. Though thats not my normal driving style!
|
Or maybe I could go back in time, when we had 3 of the "new" Renault Scenics at the time and get an e-Scenic. Renault are lauded for the Renault 5 and 4 EVs so maybe the Scenic is good as well!
Though it wasn't that long ago that French cars = electrical horrors!
|
The current iX1 is probably the best looking new BMW around, the rest have gone pig ugly.
Year old your discount is probably around 25% over new list.
There is however no way I would invest £30k plus in an EV for the long term. The battery and drive train are unproven long term reliable (except Tesla), Technology is constantly improving, killing resale values of older ones.
My next car will be leased.
|
>>The current iX1 is probably the best looking new BMW around, the rest have gone pig ugly.
Year old your discount is probably around 25% over new list.
There is however no way I would invest £30k plus in an EV for the long term. The battery and drive train are unproven long term reliable (except Tesla), Technology is constantly improving, killing resale values of older ones.
My next car will be leased.
Interesting points, I wonder at what point, if at all, that EV technology will be proven long term reliable. I guess the EV technology that is now reaching 10 years old has been superceded several times in that period. In the last 3 years we have seen all the Chinese EVs (exc MG) appear and cars like Renault 5 be met with wild acclaim across the reviews and media.
I like the idea of lease but of course, no option to buy whereas with a PCP you have the option of handing car back if technology has progressed, or paying to keep it if you are happy with it. Of course much of the time comes down to what deals are available at the time you are looking to change.
I might do some comparisons on an iX1 lease / PCP / purchase to see if I can draw any conclusions.
|
The ability to charge to 100% is battery chemistry, not car manufacturer, related.
If it’s NMC battery equipped, it’ll go further per Kg of battery. Charge it to 100% if you’re going to use it that day/next day for a long journey.
If it’s the newer LFP chemistry it’ll be slightly down on energy density but will need charging to 100% periodically. They’re not as precious as NMC and will happily cope with many more charge/discharge cycles.
Tesla use both chemistries, as do KIA, Renault use NMC, the Chinese brands I’ve dealt with tend to use LFP.
Interestingly, Toyota and Suzuki use BYD LFP batteries for the Urban Cruiser/e Vitara.
|
>> The ability to charge to 100% is battery chemistry, not car manufacturer, related.
Its so much more than chemistry. Its cooling tech, its charging/balancing/electronic wizzardry tech that makes a complete useable EV with consistent charging and range.
|
>>Wouldn't want a Tesla as their "SUV" is ugly
My daughter has a new Model Y. Once you accept it's an appliance it is very impressive. Big inside, huge long boot. They have done one long trip with it, Cambridge to Stirling at Christmas. Presumably using an app, she planned the journey up. She entered the %charge she wanted to arrive with and it told her where to stop. Pulled up to the charger, the flap opened ready, and she just plugged it in - no other interaction needed at that point, presumably the Tesla charging point communicated with the car and the account is all set up. They didn't plan on the way back and made the mistake of stopping at Scotch Corner where the car park was full with massive queues so it didn't go quite so smoothly but IME Scotch Corner is always like that so I never stop there!
I did observe at the time that 2 or 3 year old examples were less than half the price but apparently there was a update in 2024ish and the newer cars are much better, quite how I didn't ask. They intend to keep it for 10 years+ as they did their last car so they aren't too worried about early years depreciation.
I say it's an appliance only because it is so minimalist inside. All black and basically no buttons. I'm not a fan of screens for things like heater controls and radio but she seems to have adapted to it very well. They charge at home of course on Octopus.
|
"Wouldn't want a Tesla as their "SUV" is ugly IMHO"
It's only a car, you aren't marrying it!! :-)
In my chat with "Claude" yesterday he mentioned leasing 2nd hand EVs. The fast moving technology along with the 1st year depreciation (common access all car types) made me think maybe leasing wouldn't be a bad option, were I to ever want to change again. For the amount I use the car, I'm OK with the MG, and with a tad under 6 years of my 7 year warranty remaining I'll likely be somewhere near the end of my motoring life if I hang onto this one till then.
|
‘ Or maybe I could go back in time, when we had 3 of the "new" Renault Scenics at the time and get an e-Scenic. Renault are lauded for the Renault 5 and 4 EVs so maybe the Scenic is good as well!’
As much as I adore the R4 and (particularly) the R5, Scenic is probably the best car in the Renault range.
Comfortable, big battery, Google infotainment system, it’s an ace thing.
|
I changed car (outright purchase) about 18 months ago and went petrol. It was a close run thing with electric but fairly frequent longer trips needing recharging, spares availability and rapidly evolving technology impacting depreciation were the issues.
Were I changing now I would probably go EV on a lease. This shifts some of the risks on to the lessor. Range anxiety is largely history as simple observation shows this is not a constraint bar busy bank holidays etc.
Personally I would not base selection on the detailed spec - this can exclude otherwise very good cars for want of a gizmo.
Once the basics have been covered - size, reliability. range, performance etc - the choice will largely depend on price and deals available.
|
Nissan Leafs have proven reliable over the 15 years or so they've been about. Yes, batteries degrade but that is obsolete technology and current models don't suffer anything like as badly. I have a 2023 Leaf, after having had a 2015 and a 2017 model. No complaints.
KIA and Hyundai cars are already showing hundreds of thousands of mile examples with minimal battery degradation.
I just made the decision to electrify the other car in our household too, and picked up a 72 plate VW ID5 to replace a petrol Skoda Superb, on Approved Used from a VW dealer, for £20k with 19k miles on the clock. No evidence of battery degradation on it. I did this on the same reasoning the OP is mentioning - sick to death of worrying about global petrol/diesel supplies and prices. Balls to them.
I shall drive this EV to the bottom of France and back twice this summer. Bring it on.
|
>> I shall drive this EV to the bottom of France and back twice this summer.
>> Bring it on.
>>
Whilst one can (indeed I did in my youth) drive to the south of France in one go if sharing the driving, it is sensibly a 2-day journey iuf there's only one driver. How long do you anticipate the trip would take in the ID5?
|
I'd avoid the mg4, uncomfortable really poor seats with a poor active cruise control.
Acts too soon, steering wheel feels like it's been shaken about. Decent range though and cheap i believe.
|
What about the MGZS and HS fully electric?
Is that a characteristic for all the MG's?
|
|
I've driven an mg hs, petrol, again not very comfortable and the Active CC wasn't very good. What the rest are like i don't know.
|
|
From what I've seen looking round MG's in car parks etc the paint finish is awful, never driven one but they wouldn't be for me along with most other Chinese brands some of which are laughably ugly.
|
I have a VW ID3. Now nearly four years old. I know everyone tends to be biased towards the car they drive but to my mind the ID 3 is still one of the best medium size EVs out there. Roomy, well built, efficient- 4.2 miles per KWh and a reasonable real world range of 220:miles in summer.
Definitely worth a look if buying on the secondhand market
I’m still a little wary of actually buying an unknown Chinese brand.
|
|
The original ID3 was criticised for not being very VW inside and with some other shortcomings. A bit rushed to market. Is yours the "MK2"?
|
No, the Mk1. When released it seemed to attract a lot of criticism by reviewers for what were mostly minor issues or matters of taste. Admittedly the software had some glitches but these have now been resolved by over the air updates.
No issues in four years of driving. Driven as far as Edinburgh and Bruges and no problems with range comfort or performance. For anyone who doesn’t want something the size of a truck it’s an ideal family car in the same way as the Gof was that I previously owned.
|
I have nothing to compare it against but both of my MG5s have been OK, very occasionally I've had a false alarm when on cruise around town.
Not noticed anything bad about the paintwork either, except where I've reversed into things :-)
|
>>very occasionally I've had a false alarm when on cruise around town
Only an idiot would use cruise control around town.
|
>> Only an idiot would use cruise control around town.
Not sure what the actual risk is as CC is disengaged as soon as you breathe on the brake pedal.
Won't be useable urban stop/start traffic obviously but I use mine in 20/30 limits where traffic is free flowing.
|
Why wouldn't you use it around town? I use it all the time, keeps me legal, particularly on those long straight roads which used to be NSL but are now 30... Also it made it easier to keep legal in those 20mph limit areas in Wales.
Maybe I ought to say only an idiot wouldn't use it :-)
|
I use my adaptive cruise all the time when I'm on the A30 in Godforsaken Cornwall, but I wouldn't dream of using it in when I go through Launceston 4 times a week.
I also wonder how I would get on with one pedal driving (regen braking) I'd give that ago but I don't like the idea of it.
|
I found them too intrusive so wouldn't use it in town if it's a faff cross country. It'd be all over the place, reacting to things that don't need reacting too.
I found it easier to switch it off and drive, there maybe be better systems in other cars from I've driven though.
|
|
Twice my adaptive cruise has given me cause to reach for the Valium - both times on the A30 when someone was turning orf said A road onto a sideroad and my car deciding to put the anchors on due to the sonar detecting it, even though the car wasn't in front of me anymore.
|
>> >> I shall drive this EV to the bottom of France and back twice this
>> summer.
>> >> Bring it on
I drove to Andorra from Dieppe September 2024 in my Vitara. Thought i’d try using DFDS from Newhaven, staying the previous night with friends @ Crowborough.
Early afternoon Dieppe arrival..very cheap crossing with ‘old folks’ discount, but it took me 2.5 days to reach my hotel in Andorra. Unlucky with the weather on day 1, two overnights, food, fuel all added up, but overall an enjoyable experience. More so if I had someone to share the driving allowing me to watch the world go by.
Since then I’ve reverted to BF sailings to Spain…quite enjoy the 2 night crossing from portsmouth, but using the 1 night Plymouth crossing to Santander next month whilst en route to Vallee d’Aspe in the French Pyrenees.
I admire, if that’s the word, anyone travelling long distances on holiday in an EV. I do remember pulling up behind an MG Roadster EV on a col viewpoint in the Spanish Pyrenees..was on Austrian plates.
|
>>
>> I admire, if that’s the word, anyone travelling long distances on holiday in an EV.
>> I do remember pulling up behind an MG Roadster EV on a col viewpoint in
>> the Spanish Pyrenees..was on Austrian plates.
>>
I’ve taken my i5 to Tuscany twice, and France on a couple of additional occasions. Haven’t encountered any particular issues. The easiest comparison is Tuscany, which I’ previously done during Covid in a petrol e class Mercedes. That trip involved overnight stops in Dijon, Beaune and Bourg St Maurice, as it was summer and I went over the alps. A fuel / coffee or lunch stop was also needed / taken each day. I’ve done the same trip in the i5, and bar one additional 10 minute ‘volt and bolt’ (as an alternative to splash and dash) to get from Calais to Dijon, and the same to get from Bourg to Tuscany it was pretty much the same routine, other than I’d charge overnight at the hotel (free at the ibis in Beaune!).
Leave the hotel mid morning. Stop for a coffee/snack after 3ish hours driving (petrol or EV), but charge or fill up the car. Actually slightly more efficient in an EV because you could charge and eat at the same time, whereas in the Merc I’d have a coffee and a baguette and then fill the car. Get to the hotel. Park the car. Or park and charge. Then repeat the next day. If the objective was to get there as quickly as possible you’d be able to lose one of the overnights by driving longer each day, and in that case the i5 *might* have taken an hour or so longer as I reckon you’d probably need 3 additional stops to offset that and the lost overnight charge.
To one of the OPs original questions about BMW EVs, what BMW have done, I think, is make a car that feels like a BMW to drive and use but powered by an electric motor. Whereas the Tesla I had before it, was a very good EV, just not a particularly competent or enjoyable car to own or drive. The ride was a bit jiggly, the handling numb, the autowipers rubbish, the headlights lacked any of the functionality present in the European brands and the parking sensors / self parking abysmal. I believe the recent facelift of the model 3 has addressed some of these, but I haven’t driven one. It was a pretty efficient car, though as the battery was smaller than the i5 its real world range was actually fractionally worse. The i5 is, according to itself, averaging around 3.5 miles/Kwh (approaching 40k miles now) whereas the Tesla averaged not far off 4, albeit only over 20k miles and without 5,000 miles of European driving.
Of all the EVs I have driven the BMWs seem the most car like, and if the timing works out then an i3 touring is very high up on the list of cars to replace the i5. Though, I test drove an Audi A6 e-tron last week and it was by far the best driving Audi I’ve experienced (maybe because it was RWD!) and so if they make a smaller (A4?) one then I’d like to test drive that too. As an aside, the test drive I’d booked for an A6 e-tron ‘performance’ (biggest battery, mid range power, RWD) wasn’t actually available and so the car I actually drove was an S6 which obviously has the most power, biggest battery and is Quattro. It was also well north of £100k…so roughly 50% more than the car I’d gone there to drive. Car dealers never change… ;)
|
>> Whilst one can (indeed I did in my youth) drive to the south of France
>> in one go if sharing the driving, it is sensibly a 2-day journey iuf there's
>> only one driver. How long do you anticipate the trip would take in the ID5?
>>
I've got one drive to Lyon I'm doing on my own, 7am ferry, plan to arrive early evening including 3 stops for rest, sustenance, ablutions and charging.
The second trip is to Avignon, and will indeed be spread over 2 days with 2 drivers sharing (overnight somewhere around Macon I expect).
Hope that passes the safety test.
|
>> I've got one drive to Lyon I'm doing on my own, 7am ferry, plan to
>> arrive early evening including 3 stops for rest, sustenance, ablutions and charging.
We regarded Grenoble or nearby as being far enough in one day albeit with kids.
Towed the 'van twice from Caen, off the overnight ferry, to Le Mont Dore. Cream crackered at the end of it. That's 650km which I'm surprised is less than Inverness to home at a whisker short of 500miles.
I'm increasingly less confident of Mrs B's driving when towing and end up doing it all.
Last time back from Inverness we had just three stops. Two very short for a wee and water, longer one at Tebay to stock up on lamb, goat and rabbit!!
|
"I'm increasingly less confident of Mrs B's driving "
Do you dare tell her?
Mine is quite happy to criticise and overreact and do sharp intakes of breath at the slightest misjudgement or infringement when I'm driving but when I eventually dare to mention that she's too close to the kerb or going too slowly or whatever she doesn't like it one bit!!
|
>> Mine is quite happy to criticise and overreact and do sharp intakes of breath at
>> the slightest misjudgement or infringement when I'm driving.
That's a thread of it's own!!
When we first started doing long distance drives together we were very much a duo with the person in the passenger seat helping with observing potential hazards like bunching or somebody behaving in a way one would hope they didn't weaving between lanes that sort of thing.
It was delivered rather in the IAM style of having a commentary going or the sort of pace/tone between pilot flying and pilot monitoring on an aircraft.
Latterly she's got much more nervous in the passenger seat. I might be on the M1 closing on something ahead but I've also got a gap in the next lane I'm planning to slip to for an overtake.
The sharp intake thing is, I'm constantly telling her, more likely to cause an accident than avert one. She's often head down with her tablet but will go head up with a change of momentum, just coming off the throttle at which point she almost squeals. I'm on the hazard and am either sorting an overtake or have already got the brake covered.
I can't get her to stop it; she's just got more nervous with age she says.
There's a wider issue with cognisance of what's going on around her, not just driving but generally. Other family members have picked this up too. Stuff like how the day is ordered and who will be there and when at family gatherings. Both cars need new tyres, one booked at F1 the other at Halfords; just doesn't grasp it.
Boiler trouble recently, pump and scale issue, means we were using the immersion for hot water. Asked me time and time agian if the pump issue affects the immersion.
Coming back from family in Wrexham the sat nave sent her via the A41 rather than usual A5/M54 etc. She didn't notice and was dismissive when I noticed on Whatsapp she was off normal route.
She's been, at family insitence, to the GP - her Mother and Grandfather both suffered from dementia - but the simple test he does is coming back as tickety boo.
My sister who works in NHS mental health suggests there are options for me/kids to expand on concerns but I've yet to manage it.
OK Locally shopping but longer distance default is I drive.
|
We're clunking a bit I think both physically and mentally at 73 and 77 but I do wonder how one separates genuine ailments from simple ageing.
Doctors used to say "it's just your age" but they don't seem to say that any more. Have they been told not to I wonder?
|
|
Sorry to hear that Bromps, it's no fun getting old. You really ought to do something though. However my (older) sis was taken to a top man in Harley St when they thought there was a problem, which there was, but AIUI disappointingly there seems to be not much they can do in many cases. 3 or 4 years on from that she has now had to go into full time care.
|
>>but the simple test he does is coming back as tickety boo.
Try this one: Name as many animals as possible in 60 seconds.
14+ is ok, 20+ is very good.
<14 is associated with a high risk of developing or having dementia (>80%)
|
Leo, Pooh, Tony, Tigger, TC, Nelly, Mickey and Minnie, Pluto, Roland, Ed, Skippy, Shergar, Flipper.
There, 14, not bad eh? :-)
|
"Two very short for a wee and water"
That won't be necessary soon:
BBC News - Chinese carmaker patents voice-controlled 'in-vehicle toilet'
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1l92yv4mydo
|
|
That's a pants idea, it stinks.
|
>>I just made the decision to electrify the other car in our household too, and picked up a 72 plate VW ID5 to replace a petrol Skoda Superb, on Approved Used from a VW dealer, for £20k with 19k miles on the clock. No evidence of battery degradation on it. I did this on the same reasoning the OP is mentioning - sick to death of worrying about global petrol/diesel supplies and prices. Balls to them.
Followed an ID4 yesterday - looked like a nice chunky SUV that I would like. I like a high back SUV for the dog in the boot as opposed to a "fastback" style like id5 has.
But wasnt there issues with the ID, something really basic I seem to mind, was it something to do with the apple car play or the media system or something? Probably rectified by now to be fair.
|
|
some of them are unbelievable savings - I like the top of the range Scenic - the techno esprit - very few second hand ones yet but they are offering a new one for 10K off list price!
|
Indeed. Manufacturers are heavily incentivised to shift EV metal so there is an argument that it is a great time to buy new.
The flip-side is my 6 month old Ioniq 6's WBAC value is currently about £20,000 (despite me paying £29,000 for it against it's £50k RRP)
EV values have been all over the place in the past decade - certainly saw lots of used EVs disappear from the local MG dealer's forecourt in the last month (cheers Agent Orange!) while the ICE cars have hung around.
PHEV popularity has rocketed in the past year but a large amount of those are the Chinese ones. The Chery triplets inc Omoda and Jaecoo, MG and BYD. All of these have useful 60-90 mile EV range along with plenty of grunt and decent warranties.
|
Yeah my daughter got a BYD Seal udmi with about 50 mile electric range which absolutely suits her perfectly to pretty much run exclusively on EV all the time. I fully expected my next car to be a similar range PHEV but with the situation in Gulf I am now thinking maybe full EV with a decent range, like the Scenic, may well be the answer instead.
But also seeing loads of folk saying dont buy an EV and just lease as it will be outdated in 3 years time.
|
>>But also seeing loads of folk saying don't buy an EV and just lease as it will be outdated in 3 years time.
I think we're reaching a point where this is far less true than it was.
The difference between 2026 EVs (Ioniq 5 84kWh) and 2023 ones (Ioniq 5 73kWh) isn't as wide a gulf as between 2023 (MG ZS 73kWh) and 2020 (MG ZS 44kWh) for example.
But a sweet lease deal can make good sense with less risk than a purchase.
www.leaseloco.com/car-leasing/electric-car-leasing
|
The real bargains in leasing are if you “buy the deal” and not the car. i.e don’t get hung up on a particular make, model or spec but broaden you outlook and find the cheap deals. For example you can lease a Frontera ev at the moment fo £199 per month. Probably nobody’s dream car but at that price?
Personally of if I buying something different I’d be looking at a 2/3 year old second hand vehicle.
|
I think the Frontera EV has been as low as £125/m, although this one is a bit more.
tinyurl.com/preview/24bh25eu
Last edited by: sooty123 on Fri 17 Apr 26 at 22:03
|
I just took back a Frontera EV rental in Portugal. Nothing much wrong with it except on a number of different chargers the best I could get was 21k charging which is pretty slow. I believe the car is capable of more but neither I nor the rental company could explain why I couldn't get it. Also it was new, and black, and whenever it rains there you also get a dollop of sand on the car so it looked grubby fairly soon.
Probably I've mentioned it in another thread but if EV driving in Portugal you'll need an app to pay at most chargers - it wasn't so dissimilar here a few years back - you can't just rock up and wave your cc. I have Electroverse and that worked fine.
|
Surprised myself by considering an EV, my 2019 Vitara worth around £10k, depreciating about £1k a year. Annual service & MOT £200…last years major service with iridium plugs was £280.
Because of my two 7/8 week annual road trips I cover far more miles overseas than in the UK, and often have no idea where i’ll be staying the night.. hotel, campsite, even camping wild, until early evening, so i’d be worried about charging an EV .
Once I get too old for such trips I’ll probably go down the EV route.
|
It seems Rachel Reeves proposed EV tax of 3p/mile from April 2028 will be a very blunt instrument based around mileage at each MOT. No idea how they propose to collect their tax on vehicles less than three years old.
However, if you do more miles in Europe than the UK, you’ll still get charged 3p/mile for those continental miles too.
.*********
|
>>Frontera EV leasing is around £5,500 over 2yrs, 5k miles per year.
>>Buy outright for under £18k.
"It’s the 44kWh battery pack which gives the Vauxhall Frontera Electric its especially attractive starting price but it’s important to note that the official driving ranges for this choice are modest with a best of 189 miles.
This could mean that during the wintery months when battery energy storage is less dense, you could be looking at a realistic range of below 150 miles".
|
>> "It’s the 44kWh battery pack which gives the Vauxhall Frontera Electric its especially attractive starting
>> price but it’s important to note that the official driving ranges for this choice are
>> modest with a best of 189 miles.
>>
>> This could mean that during the wintery months when battery energy storage is less dense,
>> you could be looking at a realistic range of below 150 miles".
>>
You should cite the source when quoting.
"Below" is doing a lot of work there - relalistically 100 miles would be about it.
|
>>You should cite the source when quoting.
HJ.
|
The longer range 54kWh pack is around 2 grand more.
Worth ~30 more winter or ~40 more summer miles.
|
Even at that range £125 per month is astonishingly cheap. If you have a 25 mile each way commute or you need a vehicle to take the kids to school and get the shopping that’s a huge bargain. Under warranty too. Can’t really go wrong at that sort of money.
|
The average UK miles is ~7500 pa - about 150 pw.
A comfortable range before anxiety sets in may be as low as 120 in winter. This means charge once or twice per week - no great hardship if you have off road charging.
As a second car it would work well for most for commuting, school run, shopping, social.
As a main car there may be occassions when a longer journey would need a little forethought to ensure charging en-route. But to pay an etra £1-200 per month for the privilege of not having to stop for a charge twice a year seems daft or disproportionate.
As an aside, I do wonder how many of those who consistently deride EV choices because of range anxiety routinely drive 200++ miles (3-5 hours) without need for personal waste disposal and refuelling. A fairly empty argument in my view!!
|
"drive 200++ miles (3-5 hours) without need for personal waste disposal"
Those days are long gone LOL
You're right, I use public chargers probably less than 10 times a year.
However when going somewhere new I do still research charger locations* as I imagine you can easily get caught out (e.g. off to Tenby later this year for a few days and chargers are fewer and further between than around here).
Also I have been known to stop to charge when still on 40 or 50%. If I know I'll need 30% more to get back home I may as well do it somewhere easy (often known) rather than wait till nearly empty.
Just need to think a bit differently.
* and I now know to also check that I will be able to initiate charging, especially abroad, with my current apps/cards, as that was a problem in Portugal - needed an app (Octopus Electroverse worked well).
Last edited by: smokie on Sun 19 Apr 26 at 08:49
|
>>EV values have been all over the place in the past decade - certainly saw lots of used EVs disappear from the local MG dealer's forecourt in the last month (cheers Agent Orange!) while the ICE cars have hung around.
Just a random note, when looking for a car with my friend recently we went to Frasers of Falkirk MG. What a fantastic, pleasant "old school" customer experience compared with Arnold, Evans Halshaw and Motorpoint!
Motorpoint no longer advertise prices on the screen, you need to scan a QR code on the screen to then let you get the car price and details. Clever in one respect but infuriating on the other when you are shopping with someone on a limited budget and you just want to visually scan the cars to see what is within the price bracket and what isnt.
Unfortunately against all my advice, she bought a used MG ZS 1.0 litre from Evans Halshaw and its already been back twice.
|
>> Motorpoint no longer advertise prices on the screen, you need to scan a QR code
>> on the screen to then let you get the car price and details.
Marshall Skoda in Northampton do the same. Rather spoiled my fun on a while you wait MoT as I'd left my phone at home.
|
|
I am ashamed to admit I couldnt tell you the last time I left my phone anywhere. It pretty much lives in my pocket when not being used.
|
>> I am ashamed to admit I couldnt tell you the last time I left my
>> phone anywhere. It pretty much lives in my pocket when not being used.
>>
Same here. Fortunately have an iPad for when the phone is charging. I normally listen to a podcast or two before going to sleep so my phone resides under the pillow at night.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Wed 22 Apr 26 at 08:35
|
>> I am ashamed to admit I couldnt tell you the last time I left my
>> phone anywhere. It pretty much lives in my pocket when not being used.
It should live in a holster clipped to my belt.
However, when I was working I needed it multiple times per day for 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) with various CAB apps. It was then on a stand on my desk inviting me to forget to pick it up.
Same now as my habit is to log into internet banking every morning and that often demands 2FA.
|
>>it should live in a holster clipped to my belt.
I remember the days of my Nokia 3210 and the like that I kept in a holster on my belt to make sure everyone knew you had a mobile phone!
|
>> >> I am ashamed to admit I couldnt tell you the last time I left
>> my
>> >> phone anywhere. It pretty much lives in my pocket when not being used.
>>
>> It should live in a holster clipped to my belt.
>>
>>
Can you still buy them for phones. Is it not uncomfortable?
|
>> Can you still buy them for phones. Is it not uncomfortable?
Not at all.
Used a belt clip of one sort or another pretty much as long as I've had a mobile. My fist in 1996 was a Motorola MR 20. Civil Service colleagues used to rag me about looking like an IT tech as they apparently carried theirs that way.
The one I have now is similar to this:
www.amazon.co.uk/ykooe-Mobile-Holster-iPhone-Samsung-Black/dp/B0C8SFC7WT/?th=1
The mini carabiner is a useful touch as it stops the whole shebang dropping down the side of a car seat or wherever.
I almost never wear trousers or shorts without a belt. My default for both a Rohan Bags which pretty much require a belt as there's no stiffener in the waistband.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Wed 22 Apr 26 at 10:36
|
>> >> Can you still buy them for phones. Is it not uncomfortable?
>>
>> Not at all.
>>
>
I had no idea you could still buy them. I can't remember the last time i saw anyone wearing one, 20 years perhaps.
|
>> I had no idea you could still buy them. I can't remember the last time
>> i saw anyone wearing one, 20 years perhaps.
My son in law uses one but we've known him since birth - Mothers at school together - and it's entirely possible some osmotic process has occurred.
I've found getting them the right size to be a snug fit for the phone a bit hit/miss. There are fancy leather ones too but I'm quite happy with nylon or whatever it is.
|
>> My son in law uses one but we've known him since birth - Mothers at
>> school together - and it's entirely possible some osmotic process has occurred.
>>
>> I've found getting them the right size to be a snug fit for the phone
>> a bit hit/miss. There are fancy leather ones too but I'm quite happy with nylon
>> or whatever it is.
>>
I wonder what other 90s fashion items there is still a niche market for? Clip on sunglasses ?
Last edited by: sooty123 on Wed 22 Apr 26 at 14:42
|
>>I wonder what other 90s fashion items there is still a niche market for? Clip on sunglasses ?
cough cough
Do magnetic clip on sunglasses count?? (interestingly which, when worn driving, completely removes the heads up display in my car)
|
>> Do magnetic clip on sunglasses count?? (interestingly which, when worn driving, completely removes the heads
>> up display in my car)
Your shades are probably polarized, the two cancel each other out.
|
>> Your shades are probably polarized, the two cancel each other out.
Are polarised sunglasses still a thing?
Remember them being odd with toughened glass in Dad's seventies cars.
|
>> >> Your shades are probably polarized, the two cancel each other out.
>>
>> Are polarised sunglasses still a thing?
>>
>> Remember them being odd with toughened glass in Dad's seventies cars.
>>
In Southern Spain they still seem fairly popular, particularly amongst the 50+.
Reason - tunnels on autoroutes and many main roads are common because of the terrain. Go into a poorly lit tunnel from bright sunlight with fully darkened polychromatic lense and vision is reduced to b***** all.
The ability to simply flip up the lenses to remove the tint which may filter out 50-80% of the light seems a good idea.
|
>> Reason - tunnels on autoroutes and many main roads are common because of the terrain.
>> Go into a poorly lit tunnel from bright sunlight with fully darkened polychromatic lense and
>> vision is reduced to b***** all.
I had that problem when driving in Madeira, even without sunglasses. Many of the old tunnels had no lighting, some weren't straight (so you couldn't see the other end) and they all seemed to drip water!
|
>> Your shades are probably polarized, the two cancel each other out.
Yeah possibly. Interestingly the prescription sunglasses I also have, I can see the HUD fine with them.
|
>> I wonder what other 90s fashion items there is still a niche market for? Clip
>> on sunglasses ?
They worked well before I could afford photochromics.
|
>> They worked well before I could afford photochromics.
>>
Hate photochromics. never at the right shade at the right time, specially driving. Dont need them now, I have a set of rayban clubmasters in the car, with mirrored green lenses, put on and take off when needed.
|
>> Hate photochromics. never at the right shade at the right time, specially driving. Dont need
>> them now, I have a set of rayban clubmasters in the car, with mirrored green
>> lenses, put on and take off when needed.
Funny old world how different people see the same thing so differently.
99% of the time I find my photochromics have enough tint when driving. Occasionally, perhaps heading into a setting sun, I use a pair of prescription sunglasses but as they're single vision they mugger up reading the speedo etc.
They did bother me years ago as a walker where they'd massively darken while I was trying to follow a compass in Cat IIIC conditions on a mountain top!!
|
To "keep an eye" on my internet banking I've set a loud chi-ching* on each notification in all of my finance apps (where possible, which I think is 100%). So (usually) the second a transaction or other activity prompts a notification it is hard to miss - and I'm more than slightly deaf!
Usually happens before I've even left the desk after paying!!
* useful free sounds here if anyone is sad enough to want any pixabay.com/sound-effects/search/
(I have a long term project to make the phone even more useful - latest fun thing is I have the ability to adjust stuff like message volume, which I can combine with sending notifications as spoken messages - haven't yet thought of many useful entries for it so so far have "the doorbell has rung", a few time based messages (e.g. reminder to turn off any heavy electric usage devices before 4pm deadline, and vocal reminders of certain calendar events. Oh, also that the house alarm has triggered.)
Last edited by: smokie on Wed 22 Apr 26 at 10:19
|
every time I read one of your smart/techy posts Smokie it stresses me to have all that automation and prompts going on in my life!
My 94 year old dad has Alexa device in every room of his house, in his halls, as well as robot hoover, smart ceiling lights and smart plugs. And ring doorbells.
Virgin sent him a new router which I installed yesterday and then had to start changing wifi on all his devices. I dont have Alexa or ring myself, but the system made it b***** hard work to change everything. Its all controlled in the Alexa app so you would think there would be a setting to change the wifi on all devices at once but no theres not.
Got the main stuff done but the plugs , lights and ring can wait till I have more patience - ring wanted me to remove the doorbell and scan the QR code on the back of it to change wifi ffs!
|
>> Virgin sent him a new router which I installed yesterday and then had to start
>> changing wifi on all his devices.
Had a similar router issue when we moved to full fibre. Solved it by changing the router access code to match the old one.
|
|
Yes that’s the way to sort it. I’m always surprised that people don’t change the code from the difficult to remember string of digits and letters provided to something more easily retained in the memory
|
my brother suggested this to me as I was half way through the process and when I tried accessing the hub from my phone with the signon and password it gave me, it kind of froze and it wasnt really giving me the option of doing anything and by that time i was spitting the dummy out
|
>> Got the main stuff done but the plugs , lights and ring can wait till
>> I have more patience - ring wanted me to remove the doorbell and scan the
>> QR code on the back of it to change wifi ffs!
Its easy peasy,. You just rename the SSIDs, change the ip address of your new router to the exact same name and same IP as the old router Reboot all the home automation stuff and bingo.
Assumes of course you made a note of the router settings before it was turned off. :>
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 22 Apr 26 at 12:18
|
>>
>> Assumes of course you made a note of the router settings before it was turned
>> off. :>
>>
...and also that your new router/ISP let you change both the SSID and password to the same as previous.
Done that for years when changing, with a password that was OK for years (but not particularly secure by today's standards/demands).
Virgin routers expect a password rather more complex than that, and won't allow the change.
Don't ask me how I know....
|
>> Followed an ID4 yesterday - looked like a nice chunky SUV that I would like.
>> I like a high back SUV for the dog in the boot as opposed to
>> a "fastback" style like id5 has.
>>
>> But wasnt there issues with the ID, something really basic I seem to mind, was
>> it something to do with the apple car play or the media system or something?
>> Probably rectified by now to be fair.
>>
I preferred the ID5 as it looks less SUV-like, and counterintuitively I believe it has a larger boot capacity. No problem with my dog cage. Also 6'3" son has plenty of leg and headroom in the back.
They were also a bit cheaper than the 4s, and my local main dealer had a few to choose from second hand (mine is 72 reg, 20k miles), but no 4s. I chose a white one for those who car, the others were black and that dreadful flat battleship grey.
There were internet grumbles about unintuitive infotainment menus in all VW EVs, and I do have to say it's far from the best interface I've seen. The car doesn't seem to want to comply with the timed charging schedules I set for example. Which I can work around buy using the timer on my charger instead. I have grown accustomed to the system already and it's fine overall, bar the charging thing which I can't explain.
Build quality isn't all that great either I have to say, the interior is a bit creaky over the bumps. And some of the rim on the outside (i.e. scuttle panel joins) are pretty flimsy.
Overall I'm happy though, it rides nicely and and is a quiet, relaxing and comfy drive on the motorways. Would prefer some more under-buttock support on the driver's seat however. Which was one of my gripes about my Superb, too. Sadly my Nissan Leaf has far, far better seats, but it's not got the long distance abilities sadly. Would like to swap the front seats between the cars...
I am getting a real world average of 4 mpkwh, even on motorway runs in and out of that London with cruise set to an indicated 70. So real world 308 miles even including motorway runs. I have seen 6.2 mpkwh returned on a local journey of 6 miles.
|
Oh, and I'm minded to switch off the predictive setting on the cruise control, I was on the M4 and it "saw" a 30mph sign on a road alongside at Datchet over the weekend, and slammed on the brakes in an attempt to take me from 70 to 30. I immediately realised what had happened as I'd seen the sign and though "I wonder if...", so stabbed the accelerator to over-ride the system. It also detected some 50 limits whilst I was on the M25, which were entirely imaginary.
It can operate with good old fashioned adaptive cruise only, so I think I'll go with that plus eyeballs.
|
>> Oh, and I'm minded to switch off the predictive setting on the cruise control, I
>> was on the M4 and it "saw" a 30mph sign on a road alongside at
>> Datchet
We had a hire car on Tenerife earlier in the year that 'saw' signs. It didn't slam on the brakes but the audio alert got very antsy.
Sometimes it was slip road signage but it seemed to assume a low limit through M/way junctions.
|
>>The car doesn't seem to want to comply with the timed charging schedules I set for example. Which I can work around buy using the timer on my charger instead. I have grown accustomed to the system already and it's fine overall, bar the charging thing which I can't explain.
This seems to be a common theme in EV owner FB groups that I delve into - conflicts between car / electricity supplier and charger company - probably one of these things that once you find out which one controls the others then it will be fine for ever more. Would be very annoying putting the car on full charge for a big journey the next day and wake up to find it hasn't charged!
|
>>I preferred the ID5 as it looks less SUV-like, and counterintuitively I believe it has a larger boot capacity. No problem with my dog cage. Also 6'3" son has plenty of leg and headroom in the back.
Just checked and the ID5 has slightly bigger boot size according to the autotrader dimensions - didnt realise the ID7 was over a foot longer - nearer to 5m!
My current X1 is about 4.5m and I am happy with the space etc that gives, nearer to the ID5.
|
Weirdly whilst scrolling Autotrader I realised that the Ford Explorer doesn't have a heated windscreen?
All these years of being almost unique selling point for Ford and their electric car doesn't have it?
|
|
I wonder if it’s got a cabin pre-heater. Even so, having had a heated windscreen, I would prefer to have it as an option.
|
|
Kind of redundant with cabin heating and a significant drain on battery.
|
Heated screens used to be highly desirable when the alternative was a 5 minutes plus warm up on a cold morning assisted by a low speed fan directing luke warm air towards the windscreen.
Current car starts providing warm air within 2 minutes on a blast detting. Air con reduces humidity to the point that any ice and mist on screen is gone in 2 minutes.
Heated screen, particularly in the namby pamby South West of the country is hardly worth ;paying extra for.
|
dunno what car you have Terry but thats certainly not the case on my diesel BMW or my wife's petrol Beetle.
In fact I dont know anyone that has a car that a frozen windscreen is fully defrosted in and out in 2 mins
|
Diesels, of course, take somewhat longer to deliver decent heating via normal coolant "exchange" than petrols.
My diesel Mondeo had the luxury of a (standard) supplementary PTC heater that delivered warmth from "engine-on". That was pretty effective at thawing the windscreen quickly on frosty mornings (and also meant that the first few miles weren't quite as chilly as they might have been!)
|
>> In fact I dont know anyone that has a car that a frozen windscreen is fully defrosted in and out in 2 mins
All of my EVs could do it, and all but the MK1 ZS could do it from a tap of my phone screen while I have a cuppa.
Resistive electric heating FTW (other than the range gobbling thing...)
|
|
I just stay in if it's like that :-)
|
>> I just stay in if it's like that :-)
I forget I'm one of the youngsters on this site (nearer 50 than 60) though have been semi-retired some the end of 2021 - 5 day weekends are nice!
|
|
Get back to F/T to keep earning my pension. My triple lock won't pay for itself y'know!! :-)
|
>> I forget I'm one of the youngsters on this site (nearer 50 than 60)
Good Lord, I'm (just) nearer 60 than 50. I thought I was an extreme yoof in these parts.
No retirement in sight for another 4 years though.
|
I assume the principal way in which an EV is heated is through largely conventional resistive heating - although the more up market may have heat pumps to increase efficiency.
This being the case, an EV does not need a heated windscreen when the vehicle already has the capacity produce hot air on start up for general cabin heating.
|
>> Air con reduces humidity to the point that any ice and mist on screen is gone in
>> 2 minutes.
>>
I must have the poverty spec, as my aircon doesn't do that for the outside of the screen.
Must be why Volvo fit a heated screen. ;-)
|
|
surely not any more of a drain than heated seats / steering wheel / rear window.
|
|
Not more but additional to those things. Pre heating the cabin will clear all the windows in five minutes. You just don’t need a heated screen any more
|
>> Weirdly whilst scrolling Autotrader I realised that the Ford Explorer doesn't have a heated windscreen?
>> All these years of being almost unique selling point for Ford and their electric car
>> doesn't have it?
>>
Perhaps because it is more VW than Ford?
|
|
My VW ID5 has a heated windscreen, so it's odd the Explorer doesn't, given they were Ford things originally and this is a common platform.
|
The VW climate screens also reflect the sun to help keep the cabin cooler - it was a £300 option which I wish I had had om my GTI.
|
|
Is the only difference between ID4 and ID5 is that one is an SUV and the other is a "hatch"? Everything else identical?
|
Pretty much, yes. Apart from the slightly bigger boot capacity in an ID5 as previously mentioned.
Couple of miles more range in an ID5 I think too, because of lower drag.
|
|
Reminds me - I was surprised to see the lower range in my newer MG5 EV compared to the pre-facelift. Cos it has larger wheels, so they say... getting on for 10% less I think.
|
EVs - good / who to avoid - Boxsterboy
