EV Discussion thread

michaels

Grumpy_chap said:

JKenH said:

Does it have to be new? You could do worse than the the original e-Niro 64kWh or Kona as their efficiency was legendary. Take it easy on the loud pedal and 300 miles is achievable in summer. I looked at both in late 2019 but waiting lists were about 9 months then 

Thanks Ken, and, no, it doesn't have to be new and probably won't be - I actually put a thread on the motoring forum considering options:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6438782/grumpys-new-car#latest

Funny you mention the e-Niro and Kona as I tried to see those when I was going to change cars pre-COVID and rang the respective local dealers in January 2020 but neither had cars, even for demonstrator purposes, until August / September and then COVID happened so nothing else did.

It was, perhaps, easier then as there were only really four EV's with a long range: TM3; i-PACE; Kona, e-Niro.  

We've been out today to look at Hyundai and Kia.  The Kona is defunct (new model later in the year sometime), the EV6 seems a bit posher than the IONIQ 5 and the Niro seems the most suited to our needs (but not as nice as the EV6).  Used Kona's and e-Niro's are available (Kona is a bit small really).  Overall, though, considering price as well, none of these options were knock-out better than the MGs so we'd revert to the MG4 or MG ZS.

It's is quite frustrating how many models are MPV / SUV styled - we really just want a regular hatchback / saloon car.

Going for anything other than a Tesla, and we will need to be satisfied as to the charging opportunities.  Obviously, with a long range battery, the need for charging away from home should be massively reduced but there still needs to be enough confidence that we'd be able to charge when needed in reasonable order.

JKenH said:

They are not particularly quick at charging though but if it is only occasionally then I do see that as an issue. I was always so relieved to get on a working charger that an extra 15 minutes wouldn’t matter to me.

I am quite comfortable that charging on long journeys should not be a major concern as I welcome the rest break anyway.  But the issue of "relieved to get on a working charger" is not how it should be.

Any reason for ruling out a Tesla, used M3 would seem to be well within your price range now.

WE drove our leaf 40 225 miles to Devon and back (Sat to Monday).  In theory one stop might be possible but we decided two shorter stops would work out quicker overall.  We selected Gridserve at Amesbury (8 chargers of which 4 have Chademo and 3 others on the same business park) and then Gridserve at Exeter services - possibly 10+ with 6 or so with Chademo.

Main annoyance was that at Amesbury there were only people charging on CCS but they had all chosen the chargers with both CCS and Chademo leaving CCS only chargers empty - luckily on the first visit on the way there someone was happy to move and on the second one came free within 5 minutes (the only occupied car on a CCS+Chademo refused to move to a CCS only).  We also found that on two of the Gridserve charge stops the first chademo unit did not start charge for us and we had to try another.

Way back we were contemplating a single stop at Amesbury (130 miles) but at our last reserve option (35 miles less, there is a gap in provision of 35 miles here) we were showing 2% left at Amesbury and had to make it up the big hills onto Salisbury plain so wimped out at Wincanton, here there were a total of 5 chargers at 3 different shops on a retail park, 4 were taken but the one at Morison's which is not pay by credit card was free (we paid via zap pay, we don't have any charger network apps/rfids).

Note these were all bank holiday weekend afternoons and the roads were rammed so I was pleasantly surprised that there was no issue with getting on a charger.  The traffic definitely delayed our trip more than the charging (about 40 mins total in each direction).

Grumpy_chap

michaels said:

Any reason for ruling out a Tesla, used M3 would seem to be well within your price range now.

Thank you for sharing your recent charging experience - that is really the level of facility that I am trying to understand - good or bad.

As for Tesla - I have not ruled out a Tesla, they are the default choice.  I was simply looking to challenge the default and understand whether there is anything that would be "better".  A "better" car / experience or "better" value.  

It is starting to become evidence that the choice will be Tesla or nothing as for EV.

I am also assessing the choice of EV vs another ICE.  £22k will get a fabulous ICE.  Used TM3LRs are from around £32k for similar age.  It is a big extra spend up front and I doubt the running cost savings will justify that so I'd then come down to how much I "want" an EV over ICE.  It is, in part, because of that extra capital for TM3 that I tried to explore alternative options.  Something like this would work, but not much saving against the TM3 (plus no supercharger access):
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301183364275

There were also notes in a recent thread not to consider an EV that has been on the forecourt for any length of time, plus someone said (possibly in this thread) to avoid TM3 before the end of this year.

1961Nick

The TM3LR (with the heat pump) is a genuine 300 mile range car or even further if you want to hypermile it. With that sort of range, the need for public charging should be infrequent, but within the supercharger network when required.

Reed_Richards

I'm beginning to think about buying an EV and had a test drive in an e-Corsa.  It's about the right size for me, seemed nice enough to drive, range would cover most of my journeys during the year, second hand models seem to be available and not too expensive.  But here they never even get a mention.  Am I too downmarket for this discussion thread?  

Grumpy_chap

1961Nick said:

The TM3LR (with the heat pump) is a genuine 300 mile range car or even further if you want to hypermile it. With that sort of range, the need for public charging should be infrequent, but within the supercharger network when required.

Yes, I am starting to think that it will have to be a TM3/Y LR or ICE.
It is hard to make the maths work for an EV and disappointing that there remains only one fully viable manufacturer.

michaels

Reed_Richards said:

I'm beginning to think about buying an EV and had a test drive in an e-Corsa.  It's about the right size for me, seemed nice enough to drive, range would cover most of my journeys during the year, second hand models seem to be available and not too expensive.  But here they never even get a mention.  Am I too downmarket for this discussion thread?  

There are a lot of cars with those same underpinnings.  I know people who have reported disappointment with a sub 100 mile range in cold wet weather but they seem ideal if they match your use case.  Not sure if the MG4 is generally preferred due to longer range and slightly larger for similar money.

Reed_Richards

michaels said:

Not sure if the MG4 is generally preferred due to longer range and slightly larger for similar money.

I also test-drove an MG4 and that was very nice indeed but it's too new for there to be any used models available.  My wife thought there was too much plastic on the bodywork. 

Spies

Maybe have a look over on speakev, some Stellantis cars have real issues with range for whatever reason. 

Grumpy_chap

Does anyone have any thoughts on this TM3?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304126204550

How will I know it is actually the LR version?
Is there any strategy to negotiate the price, or is the advertised price as good as it gets?
What is the best brand of charger?  Zappi?
What should I expect to pay for supply and install charger?
What information do I need to get an HPI report?  There is no "engine number"?
How do I assess battery state of health?

Reed_Richards

Grumpy_chap said:

How will I know it is actually the LR version?

I see it has managed to do 53,000 miles since 2020, is that a clue?