Which EV would you consider buying?
Discussion
I have to admit that I have some reservations about EVs but I don't want to make this thread all about that. Regardless of my feelings, it very much looks like the future of personal mobility is electric, so if you were going to take the plunge on an EV, then which one would you buy?
It has to be said for the day-to-day stuff and for most people, an EV, especially in an urban environment makes a lot of sense. Our cities will be cleaner, quieter and more pleasant and you're not going to be flushing away all that money on petrol/diesel every week on a commute which for most people probably isn't that fun. You can recharge every night, leave with a full charge every morning and potentially save thousands of pounds per year on fuel. Although one wonders when the bubble will burst and the cost of electricity, road tax and possibly tolling on most roads will come in so that the government can claw back millions in lost revenue on petrol/diesel and road tax!
To be fair, I have yet to drive an EV but I'm still struggling to lust after one, even something really fast and high-end like a Taycan. Obviously, EVs are very quick off the mark and roll-on performance is impressive but my interest in cars beyond a certain level of performance has never been about pure speed. The cars that I really aspire to all have very characterful, tuneful engines and the way that they deliver their power/noise is what really excites me. The V10 in a R8/Hurracan, V12 in a Ferrari, V8 in a Mustang/AMG Mercedes, supercharged V8 in the high performance Jaguars, even the straight six in an M140i or the high-revving VTEC 4-pot in an S2000. Would I take any of those cars out for a blast just for the hell of it? Of course I would. Would I take my EV out for a blast just for fun? I'm not so sure and then I might still want an ICE-powered vehicle for longer journeys when stopping for long periods of time to charge isn't so practical. If I'm being honest though, I probably haven't owned a car for 6+ years with a really amazing ICE engine, so range anxiety aside, I don't think that any of the last 7 or so cars in our household would have been any the worse for being electric, apart from the enjoyment of interacting with a manual gearbox.
Nevertheless, I have been trying to embrace the future and try and find out a bit more about EVs. I have a few friends who work in the automotive industry who are super enthusiastic and owned a few including Nissan Leafs, BMW i3s and a Hyundai Ioniq. I find it difficult to get excited about any of those cars though, although the i3 is quite cool. For the money, would I take one over an equivalently-priced ICE-powered hot hatch though? Probably not. Teslas also do nothing for me. The powertrain and what they have achieved from an engineering perspective are impressive but the cars look like bland bars of soap, the big monitor parked on the dash looks awful and on the ones that I've seen up close, the panel gaps are pretty inconsistent.
I guess that if I was wealthy, of the current crop, I would probably go with the Jaguar i-Pace (however, whereas I don't dislike the styling, it doesn't look very Jag-like to me).
although, if it stays true to the concept, the Audi e-tron GT is possibly the first EV that I might consider to be truly desirable.
I'm much more excited about the lower end of the EV market though to be honest. Stuff like the e-tron/i-Pace give you more range simply by way of a bigger battery and that's why they're quite expensive. However, by my understanding, whereas the big battery is the equivalent of the big fuel tank, it doesn't necessarily mean that those cars are more efficient. My friend tells me that the metric to focus on for efficiency is the miles/kWh (electric equivalent of mpg I guess). Something like the i-Pace for instance claims a range from its 90kWh battery of 310 miles but that equates to only 3.4 miles/kWh. If you do longer journeys then the range might mean more to you but in comparison, the Renault Zoe gets 247 miles from 40kWh or 6.2 miles/kWh, so considerably more efficient i.e. cheaper to run, quicker to charge full etc.
The new Volvo XC40 Recharge supposedly offers a 250 mile range from 78kWh but is down towards the bottom of the pack in terms of efficiency and at 50k isn't going to be cheap.
I really like my Golf and would have an e-Golf but it's a little slower than mine, less well equipped and only available as a hatch. For me right now the EV that I would actually consider buying is the new Peugeot e-208. It offers a bit more range than the e-Golf (200+ miles), it's a bit quicker and a bit cheaper too, was designed from the beginning for an electric powertrain and to my eyes looks pretty cool too.
So, whether or not you're a fan/early adopter of EVs or a little more sceptical like me, which of the numerous EVs currently on offer would you consider buying?
It has to be said for the day-to-day stuff and for most people, an EV, especially in an urban environment makes a lot of sense. Our cities will be cleaner, quieter and more pleasant and you're not going to be flushing away all that money on petrol/diesel every week on a commute which for most people probably isn't that fun. You can recharge every night, leave with a full charge every morning and potentially save thousands of pounds per year on fuel. Although one wonders when the bubble will burst and the cost of electricity, road tax and possibly tolling on most roads will come in so that the government can claw back millions in lost revenue on petrol/diesel and road tax!
To be fair, I have yet to drive an EV but I'm still struggling to lust after one, even something really fast and high-end like a Taycan. Obviously, EVs are very quick off the mark and roll-on performance is impressive but my interest in cars beyond a certain level of performance has never been about pure speed. The cars that I really aspire to all have very characterful, tuneful engines and the way that they deliver their power/noise is what really excites me. The V10 in a R8/Hurracan, V12 in a Ferrari, V8 in a Mustang/AMG Mercedes, supercharged V8 in the high performance Jaguars, even the straight six in an M140i or the high-revving VTEC 4-pot in an S2000. Would I take any of those cars out for a blast just for the hell of it? Of course I would. Would I take my EV out for a blast just for fun? I'm not so sure and then I might still want an ICE-powered vehicle for longer journeys when stopping for long periods of time to charge isn't so practical. If I'm being honest though, I probably haven't owned a car for 6+ years with a really amazing ICE engine, so range anxiety aside, I don't think that any of the last 7 or so cars in our household would have been any the worse for being electric, apart from the enjoyment of interacting with a manual gearbox.
Nevertheless, I have been trying to embrace the future and try and find out a bit more about EVs. I have a few friends who work in the automotive industry who are super enthusiastic and owned a few including Nissan Leafs, BMW i3s and a Hyundai Ioniq. I find it difficult to get excited about any of those cars though, although the i3 is quite cool. For the money, would I take one over an equivalently-priced ICE-powered hot hatch though? Probably not. Teslas also do nothing for me. The powertrain and what they have achieved from an engineering perspective are impressive but the cars look like bland bars of soap, the big monitor parked on the dash looks awful and on the ones that I've seen up close, the panel gaps are pretty inconsistent.
I guess that if I was wealthy, of the current crop, I would probably go with the Jaguar i-Pace (however, whereas I don't dislike the styling, it doesn't look very Jag-like to me).
although, if it stays true to the concept, the Audi e-tron GT is possibly the first EV that I might consider to be truly desirable.
I'm much more excited about the lower end of the EV market though to be honest. Stuff like the e-tron/i-Pace give you more range simply by way of a bigger battery and that's why they're quite expensive. However, by my understanding, whereas the big battery is the equivalent of the big fuel tank, it doesn't necessarily mean that those cars are more efficient. My friend tells me that the metric to focus on for efficiency is the miles/kWh (electric equivalent of mpg I guess). Something like the i-Pace for instance claims a range from its 90kWh battery of 310 miles but that equates to only 3.4 miles/kWh. If you do longer journeys then the range might mean more to you but in comparison, the Renault Zoe gets 247 miles from 40kWh or 6.2 miles/kWh, so considerably more efficient i.e. cheaper to run, quicker to charge full etc.
The new Volvo XC40 Recharge supposedly offers a 250 mile range from 78kWh but is down towards the bottom of the pack in terms of efficiency and at 50k isn't going to be cheap.
I really like my Golf and would have an e-Golf but it's a little slower than mine, less well equipped and only available as a hatch. For me right now the EV that I would actually consider buying is the new Peugeot e-208. It offers a bit more range than the e-Golf (200+ miles), it's a bit quicker and a bit cheaper too, was designed from the beginning for an electric powertrain and to my eyes looks pretty cool too.
So, whether or not you're a fan/early adopter of EVs or a little more sceptical like me, which of the numerous EVs currently on offer would you consider buying?
Edited by white_goodman on Tuesday 12th November 21:15
Krikkit said:
For me, I'd consider the VW ID3, Taycan, and the iPace.
All of them are the right level of maturity that they look like properly finished products without just being a battery drivetrain shoved into a normal car.
I'd add the Leaf to that, but it's bloody hideous.
Yes, forgot about the id.3. Will probably be a more impressive EV than the e-Golf. By my understanding, the new mk8 Golf has recently been announced and will remain petrol/diesel/mild hybrid? No e-Golf version and the id.3 will be the equivalent Golf-sized EV, so an addition to the Golf rather than a replacement?All of them are the right level of maturity that they look like properly finished products without just being a battery drivetrain shoved into a normal car.
I'd add the Leaf to that, but it's bloody hideous.
king mint, but I'd expect many £60000 motors to be mint.We had a Model X P100D for 18 months. We don't still have it. So I probably wouldn't buy another Tesla. 
In fact, the only thing I would say that wasn't an issue with it was the fact it was an EV. That element just works. As a second car there was literally no range anxiety, just a full 250 mile 'tank' every morning.
In fact, the only thing I would say that wasn't an issue with it was the fact it was an EV. That element just works. As a second car there was literally no range anxiety, just a full 250 mile 'tank' every morning.
I could probably be quite happy with a Ioniq 38kWh and a Kona/eNiro 60kWh as the household daily drivers. That would take significant investment and a long waiting list which I'm not keen on just yet.
I think we'll be looking at a 40kWh EV in the next 12-24 months to supplement the Ampera. That will probably be driven to into the ground before I consider spending more on a 60-75kWh car. As tempting as the M3 is, I can't get past the lack of hatch back.
I think we'll be looking at a 40kWh EV in the next 12-24 months to supplement the Ampera. That will probably be driven to into the ground before I consider spending more on a 60-75kWh car. As tempting as the M3 is, I can't get past the lack of hatch back.
white_goodman said:
Where the majority of people who read it are already EV converts....
I don't think you've spent much time in that forum...
parabolica said:
I still like the look of the Honda E, although it's production form is somewhat softer than the concept. I'm currently pondering a new daily as I'm back to having a commute, but I'm not sure the scottish highlands are quite ready for a fully electric vehicle yet.
Charge Place Scotland has better coverage than any rural area in the UK, certainly putting Wales to shame.I'd imagine that a 3-pin socket is easier to find than an open petrol station on a Sunday, and a 60kWh car would cover the distances with ease.
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