EVs... no one wants them!

Not in the circumstances described. Not a chance. Traffic lights and straight lines my money would be on the EV but that isn't why you buy a GRY.

It's possible to really hussle a Model 3 along. It's quite grippy. I've had the back end squirm slightly on corner exit when really pushing on and it was quite progressive.

Something properly agile like a Clio 200 or Yaris GR would definitely be quicker round some tight and twisty corners.

In the same way as a Clio 200 or Yaris GR would do the same to most road cars like 335i BMWs or Merc E350s.

I tried other EVs, namely the Kona and Niro (older models) and they felt like pretty ordinary SUVs to drive, albeit with 7 secs to 60mph.

But the Model 3 felt closest to a fast BMW to me with the low driving position with legs nearly out straight. Not dissimilar to the M2 that i had a couple of years ago.

But it's no hot hatch that's for sure.

Of course it is, But the paragraph I was replying to said

" No one can now not understand why replacing both oil and gas as the primary energy fuels is simply not even up for debate as there is no defence to leaving the U.K. economy and the financial security of its people unnecessarily exposed to the global pricing of oil and gas. "

IE Energy not electricity. Even with 100% non fossil electricity we would still be exposed tp global oil and gas prices.

Talking of EV's, can anyone explain to me why it appears that half of the model 3s listed on eBay have been write offs in the past?

Have to say, if I was looking for a car and had somewhere to charge it a £20K non crashed Tesla Model 3 would be high on the list.

I think there’s definitely been an issue with insurance companies writing them off for far less damage than you’d expect, along with a shortage of parts which meant huge delays in repairs and hire car costs. This has fed into high insurance costs.

Whether this remains an ongoing issue I don’t know.

Deluded EV owners chasing Toyotas and Caterhams through bends and understeering off the road. Happens all the time. Give 'em five seconds 0-60 and they think they're driving a Red Bull.

I've owned about 1/2 doz caterhams over the years, all of which have been race cars. Some MX5 track cars. Several renaultsport clios, including a lightly track prepped 200. Couple of Elises.

And currently have a Model 3.

I would say that there's no way on earth a Model 3 is getting close to a Caterham on track. Ever. Unless you're talking about somewhere fast like Silverstone or Thruxton, and your Caterham only has 100bhp. Or the Caterham driver is lacking in talent/bravery.

Even something like a Clio 200 would show a Model 3 a clean pair of heels on most tracks.

Model 3 is a fairly capable road car, in the same way that a 440i coupe is a fairly capable road car. But it's no track weapon.

Yes it might be reasonably quick on a certain day, with certain (wet) weather, but it's no track car.

I could see a Model 3 keeping up with a fairly quickly driven GR Yaris on the road, maybe if neither were pushing too hard, but nothing more than that. Given a set of twisties my money would be on the Yaris (or anything else more focused) disappearing sharpish.

Capable cars, yes, but let's not kid ourselves.

I once overtook a 205 1.9 GTI in my 405 diesel and thought a) i was a driving god, b) my diesel taxi lookalike was actually a BTCC car. Neither was true. The 205 driver was probably chilling listening to classic FM. I suspect the same is happening here

Wasn't a Model 3 but I was once equal parts amused and horrified by a Tesla owner who obviously having taken great offence at my solidly beating him[1] in the TLGP (off a set of lights on a motorway roundabout) proceeded to absolutely hare past me and take the take the exit corner onto the motorway *way* too fast and lose the back end. Very much only saved by the stability control from stuffing it into a barrier.

Anyway, back to the why so many written off, I suspect that is going back to the insurance companies being overly risk averse. Allegedly they're very "keen" to write off EV's with even a smidge of a *hint* of battery damage because there is no easy way to check and so the only option is to replace the battery at great cost. If that's the reason then they've probably not had the battery swapped. 99% of them are probably absolutely fine but _personally_ if I was in the market for a Model 3 I would be putting them into a far higher risk category, wouldn't risk it and would be looking for a non-write off.


[1] I wasn't trying to beat him, that's just how I always launch off the lights! Not my fault he was asleep and a bruised ego.

Because eBay is where you sell cars that have been written off. Of the roughly 1000 model 3s on autotrader, 18 have an insurance cat marker.