EV Choice for EV Newbies
Discussion
Hi All
With the well mentioned BIK being 0% on EVs from April we have decided to take advantage of one of the great offers from my wife's NHS salary sacrifice scheme. We have checked and the impact on her pension over 2 years in minimal.
The two options we have are the Audi E-Tron 50 Technik or Tesla Model 3 Performance. The Tesla works out to cost £85 more a month than the Audi, and with having two children (one of them 8 months old) we do require a larger car, one point to the Audi!
What I'm trying to understand from current EV users is how beneficial having the Tesla Supercharger network is over the standard Ecotricity and similar chargers. The real-world range of the Tesla is obviously larger, and we do 90% of our miles locally, but I don't want to be caught out when we do need to go longer distances (certainly with the low range of the E-Tron 50)
Ive also noticed that the cost per mile of the Tesla is almost half that of the E-Tron. I'm presuming this is down to the miles per KW/h being so low on the Audi. Is this something to really factor in? I'm not expecting anyone to make our decision
but real-world feedback on some of the daily issues with EV living would be great to hear.
My minds telling me to stick with the Audi and pocket the change, but the thought of having the Model 3s party trick acceleration is hard to ignore.
With the well mentioned BIK being 0% on EVs from April we have decided to take advantage of one of the great offers from my wife's NHS salary sacrifice scheme. We have checked and the impact on her pension over 2 years in minimal.
The two options we have are the Audi E-Tron 50 Technik or Tesla Model 3 Performance. The Tesla works out to cost £85 more a month than the Audi, and with having two children (one of them 8 months old) we do require a larger car, one point to the Audi!
What I'm trying to understand from current EV users is how beneficial having the Tesla Supercharger network is over the standard Ecotricity and similar chargers. The real-world range of the Tesla is obviously larger, and we do 90% of our miles locally, but I don't want to be caught out when we do need to go longer distances (certainly with the low range of the E-Tron 50)
Ive also noticed that the cost per mile of the Tesla is almost half that of the E-Tron. I'm presuming this is down to the miles per KW/h being so low on the Audi. Is this something to really factor in? I'm not expecting anyone to make our decision
but real-world feedback on some of the daily issues with EV living would be great to hear.My minds telling me to stick with the Audi and pocket the change, but the thought of having the Model 3s party trick acceleration is hard to ignore.
Watch Harry's Garage when he tests the Jaguar I-pace. It's a good illustration of the advantage of the Supercharger network:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEyfCcAbtKU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEyfCcAbtKU
RicksAlfas said:
Watch Harry's Garage when he tests the Jaguar I-pace. It's a good illustration of the advantage of the Supercharger network:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEyfCcAbtKU
I did catch this the other day which did make me start thinking about the advantages of the Tesla network. Harry was slightly unprepared in a sense of pre-registering, but still, it seemed a real faf! Motorway journeys would only account for less than 5% of our trips in this car, so it would be minimal.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEyfCcAbtKU
At the moment, the size, price, and actually having a speedo in front of our faces is putting the E-Tron in the lead. With Insurance, Maitianence all being included, the true cost of the car is only £30 a month more than a super cheap Kia Xceed lease! Seems a no brainer really!
I believe the government has mandated that all new public chargers can be used with chip and pin and some of the service providers are working on retrofitting it to existing chargers so hopefully the ridiculously disjointed nature of the network will change fairly quickly over the next year or two.
RicksAlfas said:
Watch Harry's Garage when he tests the Jaguar I-pace. It's a good illustration of the advantage of the Supercharger network:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEyfCcAbtKU
Although bear in mind that:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEyfCcAbtKU
a) he didn't need to charge at all
b) that Hammersmith site was on free vend to test the 150kw chargers, hence the queue. Back to paid and more normal demand now
c) the Polar charger in High Wycombe was working fine, but the card he presented wasn't valid and he couldn't be bothered to set up the app
From a long journey / charging point of view, it depends on your approach to trips like that. Need to get there as fast as possible? Tesla undoubtedly have the better experience today - more bays, faster than many alternatives and lots of them in the motorway services. Plus you can use any of the other CCS chargers if you wanted to.
Bit more easy going and don't mind some longer stops for kids to stretch their legs or eat properly? It's not that bad in the e-tron. There are more 150kw chargers popping up all the time, although it's fair to say that most are 50kW and as the e-tron isn't that efficient, you'll put on about 120 miles of range per hour of charging on those.
Worth having a play with https://abetterrouteplanner.com for your longer journeys and see what the difference is - although for something like London to Edinburgh there's about an hour between the two.
I'm not a big fan of SUVs but for everyday family use the Audi would be way better. The Model 3 is very low (even by low, non-SUV standards), and smaller saloon boot is a pain with pushchairs and all the other stuff you take for overnights with young kids.
sjg said:
Although bear in mind that:
a) he didn't need to charge at all
b) that Hammersmith site was on free vend to test the 150kw chargers, hence the queue. Back to paid and more normal demand now
c) the Polar charger in High Wycombe was working fine, but the card he presented wasn't valid and he couldn't be bothered to set up the app
From a long journey / charging point of view, it depends on your approach to trips like that. Need to get there as fast as possible? Tesla undoubtedly have the better experience today - more bays, faster than many alternatives and lots of them in the motorway services. Plus you can use any of the other CCS chargers if you wanted to.
Bit more easy going and don't mind some longer stops for kids to stretch their legs or eat properly? It's not that bad in the e-tron. There are more 150kw chargers popping up all the time, although it's fair to say that most are 50kW and as the e-tron isn't that efficient, you'll put on about 120 miles of range per hour of charging on those.
Worth having a play with https://abetterrouteplanner.com for your longer journeys and see what the difference is - although for something like London to Edinburgh there's about an hour between the two.
I'm not a big fan of SUVs but for everyday family use the Audi would be way better. The Model 3 is very low (even by low, non-SUV standards), and smaller saloon boot is a pain with pushchairs and all the other stuff you take for overnights with young kids.
Great reply tbh, basically what I came to say!a) he didn't need to charge at all
b) that Hammersmith site was on free vend to test the 150kw chargers, hence the queue. Back to paid and more normal demand now
c) the Polar charger in High Wycombe was working fine, but the card he presented wasn't valid and he couldn't be bothered to set up the app
From a long journey / charging point of view, it depends on your approach to trips like that. Need to get there as fast as possible? Tesla undoubtedly have the better experience today - more bays, faster than many alternatives and lots of them in the motorway services. Plus you can use any of the other CCS chargers if you wanted to.
Bit more easy going and don't mind some longer stops for kids to stretch their legs or eat properly? It's not that bad in the e-tron. There are more 150kw chargers popping up all the time, although it's fair to say that most are 50kW and as the e-tron isn't that efficient, you'll put on about 120 miles of range per hour of charging on those.
Worth having a play with https://abetterrouteplanner.com for your longer journeys and see what the difference is - although for something like London to Edinburgh there's about an hour between the two.
I'm not a big fan of SUVs but for everyday family use the Audi would be way better. The Model 3 is very low (even by low, non-SUV standards), and smaller saloon boot is a pain with pushchairs and all the other stuff you take for overnights with young kids.
sjg said:
Although bear in mind that:
a) he didn't need to charge at all
b) that Hammersmith site was on free vend to test the 150kw chargers, hence the queue. Back to paid and more normal demand now
c) the Polar charger in High Wycombe was working fine, but the card he presented wasn't valid and he couldn't be bothered to set up the app
From a long journey / charging point of view, it depends on your approach to trips like that. Need to get there as fast as possible? Tesla undoubtedly have the better experience today - more bays, faster than many alternatives and lots of them in the motorway services. Plus you can use any of the other CCS chargers if you wanted to.
Bit more easy going and don't mind some longer stops for kids to stretch their legs or eat properly? It's not that bad in the e-tron. There are more 150kw chargers popping up all the time, although it's fair to say that most are 50kW and as the e-tron isn't that efficient, you'll put on about 120 miles of range per hour of charging on those.
Worth having a play with https://abetterrouteplanner.com for your longer journeys and see what the difference is - although for something like London to Edinburgh there's about an hour between the two.
I'm not a big fan of SUVs but for everyday family use the Audi would be way better. The Model 3 is very low (even by low, non-SUV standards), and smaller saloon boot is a pain with pushchairs and all the other stuff you take for overnights with young kids.
Excellent reply, and along our train of thought. It's official that the Audi has won, and have just completed the order form. Ill jump into the E-Tron thread once its been delivered. a) he didn't need to charge at all
b) that Hammersmith site was on free vend to test the 150kw chargers, hence the queue. Back to paid and more normal demand now
c) the Polar charger in High Wycombe was working fine, but the card he presented wasn't valid and he couldn't be bothered to set up the app
From a long journey / charging point of view, it depends on your approach to trips like that. Need to get there as fast as possible? Tesla undoubtedly have the better experience today - more bays, faster than many alternatives and lots of them in the motorway services. Plus you can use any of the other CCS chargers if you wanted to.
Bit more easy going and don't mind some longer stops for kids to stretch their legs or eat properly? It's not that bad in the e-tron. There are more 150kw chargers popping up all the time, although it's fair to say that most are 50kW and as the e-tron isn't that efficient, you'll put on about 120 miles of range per hour of charging on those.
Worth having a play with https://abetterrouteplanner.com for your longer journeys and see what the difference is - although for something like London to Edinburgh there's about an hour between the two.
I'm not a big fan of SUVs but for everyday family use the Audi would be way better. The Model 3 is very low (even by low, non-SUV standards), and smaller saloon boot is a pain with pushchairs and all the other stuff you take for overnights with young kids.
I lived with a 335D when my first child was born and it was a nuisance with all the kit you have to take for an afternoon out. The E-Tron is replacing an X5 so it feels more like for like. I can't discount the car that works for us better 95% of the time for the small times we do a long journey.
RicksAlfas said:
I thought the NHS had some great deals on the Jag? Or is it just one area?
Are you able to charge at home?
All the Jag deals have gone, unfortunately. Part of the deal is a home charger being installed which only costs £8 a month on top of the cars monthly and includes installation. Its a Pod Point I believe. So yes most of our charging will take part at home, and moving onto Octopus Go to benefit from the low KW/h rate. Are you able to charge at home?
Really excited about the proposition of running an electric car, especially at this reduced cost.
The Mp said:
All the Jag deals have gone, unfortunately. Part of the deal is a home charger being installed which only costs £8 a month on top of the cars monthly and includes installation. Its a Pod Point I believe. So yes most of our charging will take part at home, and moving onto Octopus Go to benefit from the low KW/h rate.
Really excited about the proposition of running an electric car, especially at this reduced cost.
Make sure you spend the saving responsibly, no air travel, no or no more children, no fast fashion, no meat, no bigger house....Really excited about the proposition of running an electric car, especially at this reduced cost.
Poor old planet, no one buys EVs to save it do they?
granada203028 said:
Make sure you spend the saving responsibly, no air travel, no or no more children, no fast fashion, no meat, no bigger house....
Poor old planet, no one buys EVs to save it do they?
A long way down my list of reasons definitely, although not adding to generally shocking air quality by spewing out fumes whilst driving around town near schools etc. is quite a good feeling.Poor old planet, no one buys EVs to save it do they?
I do get frustrated with people doing the "first journey in an EV, I have no idea what Im doing and going to tell the world this is what EV ownership is like" - just makes them look like idiots.
That said, long distance travel can be good and bad in any EV depending where you go. I visit friends in Brighton and its a PIA as the infrastructure is poor down there, Wales is another dead zone, as are parts of Cumbria, but on the fliup side I happily toured scotland a few years ago using their general rapid chargers which weren't dedicated to Tesla. Tesla does make it easier in places but its changing fast.
That said, long distance travel can be good and bad in any EV depending where you go. I visit friends in Brighton and its a PIA as the infrastructure is poor down there, Wales is another dead zone, as are parts of Cumbria, but on the fliup side I happily toured scotland a few years ago using their general rapid chargers which weren't dedicated to Tesla. Tesla does make it easier in places but its changing fast.
Definitely try the Model 3 before buying. You may find it is too small, it's very very low and cramped inside. Might be a problem for you or if you have young children who need strapping in.
The Audi is going to be more comfortable and quieter, it's just that it's the most inefficient EV on the market by some margin so the range is relatively poor.
However, as someone who has owned a Leaf 24 and relied on Ecotricity I can tell you it's not that bad. Especially now that you have other networks available like Ionity. My advice is to check out A Better Route Planner (http://abetterrouteplanner.com/) and try a few test journeys, see what it recommends. Keep in mind that even if it says you need to spend an hour charging on a long journey how long would you have stopped for anyway and how much time are you saving the rest of the year by charging at home?
Zap Map is also useful for looking at charger coverage.
The Audi is going to be more comfortable and quieter, it's just that it's the most inefficient EV on the market by some margin so the range is relatively poor.
However, as someone who has owned a Leaf 24 and relied on Ecotricity I can tell you it's not that bad. Especially now that you have other networks available like Ionity. My advice is to check out A Better Route Planner (http://abetterrouteplanner.com/) and try a few test journeys, see what it recommends. Keep in mind that even if it says you need to spend an hour charging on a long journey how long would you have stopped for anyway and how much time are you saving the rest of the year by charging at home?
Zap Map is also useful for looking at charger coverage.
kuro68k said:
Definitely try the Model 3 before buying. You may find it is too small, it's very very low and cramped inside. Might be a problem for you or if you have young children who need strapping in.
The Audi is going to be more comfortable and quieter, it's just that it's the most inefficient EV on the market by some margin so the range is relatively poor.
However, as someone who has owned a Leaf 24 and relied on Ecotricity I can tell you it's not that bad. Especially now that you have other networks available like Ionity. My advice is to check out A Better Route Planner (http://abetterrouteplanner.com/) and try a few test journeys, see what it recommends. Keep in mind that even if it says you need to spend an hour charging on a long journey how long would you have stopped for anyway and how much time are you saving the rest of the year by charging at home?
Zap Map is also useful for looking at charger coverage.
From the OP yesterday:The Audi is going to be more comfortable and quieter, it's just that it's the most inefficient EV on the market by some margin so the range is relatively poor.
However, as someone who has owned a Leaf 24 and relied on Ecotricity I can tell you it's not that bad. Especially now that you have other networks available like Ionity. My advice is to check out A Better Route Planner (http://abetterrouteplanner.com/) and try a few test journeys, see what it recommends. Keep in mind that even if it says you need to spend an hour charging on a long journey how long would you have stopped for anyway and how much time are you saving the rest of the year by charging at home?
Zap Map is also useful for looking at charger coverage.
“It's official that the Audi has won, and have just completed the order form. Ill jump into the E-Tron thread once its been delivered.”
kuro68k said:
Definitely try the Model 3 before buying. You may find it is too small, it's very very low and cramped inside. Might be a problem for you or if you have young children who need strapping in.
Cramped inside?I'm 6.4", my kids are both approaching 6 foot and we can happily fit the entire family in + daughters equally tall boyfriend with no issues at all. The boot is also cavernous with the extra underfloor space offered and can take multiple suitcases.
It's more practical than the 5 series we had previously, especially with the lack of centre tunnel. I agree it is quite low though, especially if you're coming from an SUV/Crossover.
The Mp said:
All the Jag deals have gone, unfortunately. Part of the deal is a home charger being installed which only costs £8 a month on top of the cars monthly and includes installation. Its a Pod Point I believe. So yes most of our charging will take part at home, and moving onto Octopus Go to benefit from the low KW/h rate.
Really excited about the proposition of running an electric car, especially at this reduced cost.
If you're not already with Octopus, start the change asap as it can take a while to swap providers and then get the correct smart meter installed for the Go tariff.Really excited about the proposition of running an electric car, especially at this reduced cost.
Here's my referall to start you off with a £50 credit if you need it :-)
http://share.octopus.energy/ivory-snail-551
SWoll said:
Cramped inside?
I'm 6.4", my kids are both approaching 6 foot and we can happily fit the entire family in + daughters equally tall boyfriend with no issues at all. The boot is also cavernous with the extra underfloor space offered and can take multiple suitcases.
It's more practical than the 5 series we had previously, especially with the lack of centre tunnel. I agree it is quite low though, especially if you're coming from an SUV/Crossover.
low it is but small no way, its bigger inside than the A6 and E Class I had and there is actually more room for the driver than the model SI'm 6.4", my kids are both approaching 6 foot and we can happily fit the entire family in + daughters equally tall boyfriend with no issues at all. The boot is also cavernous with the extra underfloor space offered and can take multiple suitcases.
It's more practical than the 5 series we had previously, especially with the lack of centre tunnel. I agree it is quite low though, especially if you're coming from an SUV/Crossover.
SWoll said:
I'm 6.4", my kids are both approaching 6 foot and we can happily fit the entire family in + daughters equally tall boyfriend with no issues at all.
Good for you I guess. I find it very awkward to get in and out of and move around in, mostly because it is so low and the floor is relatively high. There is a fairly high lip to the door frame too.In particular when I get in my knees come up and hit the steering wheel, even with the seat in the lowest position and the wheel in the highest. I'm only 6 foot.
I’ve driven both, and done a review on my magazine’s channel (can’t say publicly on here, but happy to answer PM’s) and although they were the more expensive trims, I have to agree on the range efficiency of the Audi. It pretty much lost 3 miles for every mile I covered. Of the 3 SUV EVs I’ve tested, I rate The I-Pace first, Mercedes EQC second, Audi e-Tron third. The Audi is well built and refined, but I found it less comfortable than the Mercedes, and way behind the Jag dynamically.
The Tesla Model 3 is a very impressive car, and I did a few long trips in it, with the benefit being the Tesla Supercharging Network.
Given the balance, if you don’t need the Audi’s size, then the Tesla is the better car.
The Tesla Model 3 is a very impressive car, and I did a few long trips in it, with the benefit being the Tesla Supercharging Network.
Given the balance, if you don’t need the Audi’s size, then the Tesla is the better car.
MrB. said:
I’ve driven both, and done a review on my magazine’s channel (can’t say publicly on here, but happy to answer PM’s) and although they were the more expensive trims, I have to agree on the range efficiency of the Audi. It pretty much lost 3 miles for every mile I covered. Of the 3 SUV EVs I’ve tested, I rate The I-Pace first, Mercedes EQC second, Audi e-Tron third. The Audi is well built and refined, but I found it less comfortable than the Mercedes, and way behind the Jag dynamically.
The Tesla Model 3 is a very impressive car, and I did a few long trips in it, with the benefit being the Tesla Supercharging Network.
Given the balance, if you don’t need the Audi’s size, then the Tesla is the better car.
The E-Tron has now been ordered and secured. Ultimately we need the size of the vehicle and as we rarely do long journeys it does suit our needs. The Tesla Model 3 is a very impressive car, and I did a few long trips in it, with the benefit being the Tesla Supercharging Network.
Given the balance, if you don’t need the Audi’s size, then the Tesla is the better car.
The main reason the E-Tron has won is purely down to cost as well. Its costing £308 p/m Inc VAT, Fully Maintained, Insurance for 5 people, No Deposit and including a Pod Point installed at our house FOC. It's just such a cheap way to try electric motoring in something that is comfortable and will swallow pushchairs, scooters and go-karts! Moving onto Octopus Go and charging it so cheaply we are going from 18p Per mile down to 2p per mile!
Taking into account the maintenance, fuel-saving, insurance etc... the E-Tron costs £30 a month more than a cheap Kia Xceed deal!! Crazy really for a 60k car.
superpp said:
If you're not already with Octopus, start the change asap as it can take a while to swap providers and then get the correct smart meter installed for the Go tariff.
Here's my referall to start you off with a £50 credit if you need it :-)
http://share.octopus.energy/ivory-snail-551
Im about to make the move to Octopus this week so ill make sure I use your referral code Here's my referall to start you off with a £50 credit if you need it :-)
http://share.octopus.energy/ivory-snail-551
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