EV Discussion thread

NedS

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82024687#Comment_82024687

We were having a nosey round an Omoda / Jaecoo dealership last week, and were struck by the Jaecoo 8 at around £43k for their top of the range 7 seater luxury model. The quality of finish on offer was remarkable for the price. It's a PHEV with a 1.5L petrol engine and a 34kWh battery giving a combined 428 PS and quoted 84 mile electric only range.

The only problem is it's HUGE. Fine if you never need to park it anywhere other than your driveway. It's a LOT of car for the money for anyone after a large 7 seater SUV.

I don't know if I should start a separate thread to discuss, but in the next 6 months we will be in the market for an nearly new low mileage/ex-demonstrator car, and we've kind of decided on a Skoda Octavia estate 2.0L diesel. Why not EV? I cannot see anything else that comes close to competing on practicality and value for money at SEL spec. We don't even do high mileage (maybe 8K miles per year and falling) and an EV or hybrid would probably suit us fine, but I just don't see anything that I would buy nearly new for around £25k. My main issue with EV is we plan this to be more or less our last car purchase and to drive it into the ground, and I'm simply not convinced how an EV will hold up in 15-20 years time. If it were a 3 year lease, I wouldn't hesitate.

But I'm more than happy to be persuaded otherwise by the more knowledgeable EV folks here (we've looked at Skoda and Kia EV ranges, and a Sportage and not seen anything that comes close to an Octavia estate for us).

Netexporter

I believe there is an EV Octavia estate coming, but it will be even further off to bag a ex-demonstrator.becomes available. Having previously had 2 Octavia estates, I'd have loved to be able to get an electric one. The only other estate available at reasonable price, at the time, was the MG5. I picked up an 18 month old, but with high (20k) mileage (but not an ex-taxi, so full warranty) for a keen price. It has been pretty much flawless. Still gets the full range (and more in summer) and it could easily last longer than me. Not quite as refined as the Octavia but still has the same level of practicality.

There's more estate choice now, but I haven't driven any of them, so can't offer much help. Don't bother with Audis, they still don't seem to have cracked the efficiency thing, although you can pick used ones up at huge discounts. because of that. Probably worth it if you will mostly be charging at home, though.

JKenH

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82025730#Comment_82025730

The Skoda sounds like a sensible choice it it meets your needs. At 8000 miles p.a. I would go for the petrol rather than the diesel. I have a Golf estate and love it.

However, if you are going to keep your next car forever, you don’t need to worry about depreciation which is the Achilles heel of EVs. You will save on fuel and long term an EV should be a cheaper option. What none of us know is how EVs will hold up long term. There are stories of both EVs and ICE cars lasting several hundred 100,000 miles. The oldest EVs in any numbers in UK roads, Nissan Leafs, are not doing so well battery wise once they are outside the 8 year battery warranty period. Technology moves on and newer cars should be better but none are 15 years old so it’s a bit of a guess..

Another issue is servicing. While you may be told EVs don’t need servicing I suspect most manufacturers will require you to have them serviced at least annually to maintain warranty coverage. Will your local garage be prepared to service your EV?

For comparable car size EVs are heavier and their tyres, reportedly, don’t last as long but that may be offset by less brake wear, although the lack of use of the brakes can also cause corrosion of the discs and one may outweigh the other.

EVs are particularly prone to 12v battery issues but you can probably get round tha5 with a compact battery booster pack. My son is on his third 12 v battery in his 6 year old Leaf.

There have been reports in the past that EVs can be more expensive to insure but you can easily check that for yourself by getting quotes before you buy.

Finally, if like me, you are getting on in years, public charging may not be for you (I have had bad experience and find it quite stressful compared to refuelling) but then again you might never need it if you don’t travel very far.

Exiled_Tyke

Another article knocking PHEVs. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jun/06/uk-weaken-ev-rules-co2-impact-phevs

Surely the answer to problem of PHEV owners treating them as pure ICE vehicles is to increase the company car tax to encourage those to move to pure EVs whilst allowing the more running-cost conscious personal owners to benefit from a more efficient version of ICE vehicle?

PHEVs do need phasing out long term but I continue to meet PHEV drivers (another this week) who aren't ready to go all the way yet. Interestingly (for me at least) my students this week were discussing their cars and the consensus that none of them wanted to go back to driving a manual gearbox car. (They have automatics and hybrids). I share their views. Maybe a driver (sorry for the pun) towards EVs will be the desire to not have to learn to use a clutch!!

michaels

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82025771#Comment_82025771

Do you have data to back up your leaf battery there, either traction or 12v?

Our personal experience (11 years, 110k miles) is that neither of those are true.

Tyres, yes they last shorter, brakes no issues or spending at all. Suspension components do fail, may be the weight, may just be the roads are much worse with potholes and speed bumps.

JKenH

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82026077#Comment_82026077

I agree. I see no reason to incentivise PHEVs with tax breaks. The tax disproportionately benefits higher rate tax payers. You could, though, say the same about BIK and SalSac benefits of BEVs.

The real climate benefits of drivers switching to PHEVs and BEVs is felt the further they are driven, i.e. the more fossil fuel usage they displace. Just buying a massive BEV and using it for the school run and shopping will save the high rate taxpayer a lot of tax but it won’t help save the planet that much. On the other hand getting higher mileage car drivers out of their diesels and petrol hybrids into BEVs will significantly reduce emissions.

Instead of the flat rate 3p/mile on BEV drivers mileage due to come in in 2028(?), charge the first 5k miles at 0p/mile and give a credit of 3p a mile (tax free) on any mileage above that. At the same time do away with the SalSac and BIK advantages which, as I have said above, disproportionately benefits higher rate higher rate taxpayers and in the case of SalSac only benefits drivers whose employers sign up to such schemes. (Why would you buy/lease a BEV if your neighbour who belongs to a SalSac scheme gets 40% tax (and NI?) relief and you don’t.)

Targeting the reliefs at miles driven in BEVs rather than giving tax relief on BEV “ownership” would also significantly encourage the take up of secondhand BEVs, particularly for those driving higher mileages.

silvercar

To really encourage take up of EVs, they could change the speed limit in areas where they have 'reduced speed limit to reduce emissions' so they apply to non EV cars only. (looking at the M4 between Newport and Cardiff which annoys me every time I see it - speed limit of 50mph to reduce emissions). Perfectly possible as we have lorries with a lower speed limit than cars, so should be possible to have EVs with one limit and everything else another.

JKenH

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82026115#Comment_82026115

Only my son’s experience with his current (my old) 40kWh Leaf (12v) and his previous (my previous) 30kWh Leaf which was losing range. Nissan did some sort of BMS reset on the 30kWh which restored battery bars and helped with range a bit but I don’t think it was a long term solution and he moved it on soon after the reset as he took over the 40kWh one . I think the mileage was only around 37,000 on the 30kWh one. I think the 30kWh model has had more problems with the traction battery than older 24kWh cars.

Martyn1981

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82026154#Comment_82026154

That has actually been mentioned, a few years ago, but only in a friendly off-hand comment by a politician. As you say, Cardiff to Newport and a long stretch of the M4 on the English side of the bridge, stating it's for emissions. Ironically there is similar down by Port Talbot where all the steel works are.

Won't be easy to apply, and only I assume on roads with 3 or more lanes, where the same type of rules applied to lorries and large coaches (and car towing anything) apply, and aren't allowed in the outer lane.

Imagine the 'fun' comments from ICEV drivers if these 'truck rules' including a 60mph speed limit were applied to all ICEV cars on all dual carraigeways and motorways. But 70-80mph allowed for BEV's. 🤐

JKenH

I found these photos that my son WhatsApp’d to me of before and after the Nissan BMS reset on the 30kWh Leaf. This is data from LeafSpy of 100% charge before and after. The mileage was about 40k. The battery capacity increased from 21.9kWh to 25.5kWh. LeafSpy was showing 75.79% SoH before and 87.48% after the reset and it had been reinstated to 12 bars on the dash but we know the Leaf loses its first bar at 87% SoH so moved it on straight away. My son was able to sell it for £11,500 (I had paid £13k in November 2019). I had sold him my 40kWh for £17k in October 2022.