Cheaper end of the EV market

[crofty1984]

Hi all, I've been thinking about getting back into an EV.
I have a pretty limited budget of about £7500. (£2k from savings and a loan for the rest at about £100 a month). Basically trying to buy and insure/tax it for the price of the fuel savings if I don't commute in the Boxster.

I'm looking for a range comfortably in excess of 200 miles in the hope that in winter I'll get close to 170 miles.

So far what's cropping up mainly seems to be 52kwh Renault Zoe's which looks to have a reasonable amount of choice. Higher mileage MG5 long ranges. With the occasional rough Kona/Niro.
Don't know if anyone has experience with these or can advise other options?

I intend to keep it a few years and appreciate I'll be out of warranty so I need to be mindful of that.

[P675]

For me it would be the MG5 or Ioniq over the Zoe, Niro/Kona is superior if budget stretch would allow.

[kambites]

Be aware that some Renault Zoes, even the later 52kWh ones, don't actually support DC charging.

From what I've read, the MG5 seems worthy if entirely dull sort of vehicle. The Kia and Hyundai options are certainly a step above if you can stretch to them.

The original hatchback Ioniq in 38kWh guise might be worth a look. I think the official range is 193 miles so slightly under your 200 but they have a reputation for getting very close to their official figures.

Also the higher capacity Leafs, maybe?

Edited by kambites on Tuesday 9th June 15:10

[_Rodders_]

I'm planning on doing similar at the start of next year but I'll be looking at Model S's on Copart.

A lightly damaged one will provide way more car than a Zoe. You could even go Model 3.

[Skodillac]

Nissan Leaf 62kwh?

[crofty1984]

Interesting, I'd not thought about the leaf really. I am swaying towards upping my budget slightly and getting an MG5. You can find them at 7.5k but they're mostly either the shorter range one or high mileage ex-taxis.

[Skodillac]

I'm on my third Leaf, can't fault them for reliability and practicality. The biggest downsides are that the batteries wear a bit more than more modern EVs, but still not enough to worry about in your case I'd think. Also public charging is slower and less easy to find as it's Chademo on DC at 50kw, rather than te more common and faster CCS.

If those downsides don't bother you, they are great bargains.

[georgeyboy12345]

My firsf thought was Nissan Leafs. The Chademo thing would put me off though if you need to charge away from home a lot, though adapters to CCS are now available.

Also what about a Vauxhall Corsa e?

[raspy]

georgeyboy12345 said:

My firsf thought was Nissan Leafs. The Chademo thing would put me off though if you need to charge away from home a lot, though adapters to CCS are now available.

Also what about a Vauxhall Corsa e?

Terrible suggestion, especially for winter.

[HughG]

My Zoe ZE50 would do about 160 on the motorway at 70mph in the winter, with the heating on eco, so coat and gloves, or driving slower needed. That was on the 16” wheels, bigger would obviously impact the range more.

[Danm1les]

Most of the cars in that range are going to have smaller batteries, and probably not get anywhere near the miles you need. I have had 3 EV's, an i3S that was great, then a 2017 Kia Soul, which we still have, and a Model 3 stadnard range. My model 3 was £10k, 90,000 miles roughly when I got it and it will do 200 miles on a charge.

Things like the Corsa E are very much a bad EV, and I would not go near them. If you can get up to £10k-ish there is a lot more options for you, Kia/Hyundai etc.

[sixor8]

georgeyboy12345 said:

My firsf thought was Nissan Leafs. The Chademo thing would put me off though if you need to charge away from home a lot, though adapters to CCS are now available.

Also what about a Vauxhall Corsa e?

The Mk2 has the CCS connector too, but only for AC charging. It doesn't have the 2 large pins at the bottom. It means you can use a wide variety of chargers, but not the ultrafast DC ones.

The Peugeot e-208 is basically the same as the e-Corsa but seems to be a few £k more 2nd hand.

[DD3566]

I've got nothing but good things to say about my 2022 Zoe, it's been a brilliant little car. Ours is a GT Line + Rapid Charge so has all the options, but can only charge at a maximum of 50 kWhr, but I charge at work or home so has never been an issue. Predicted mixed Urban/60mph road summer range at the moment is around 200-210 miles without me driving deliberately "eco", in the winter it can get down to 150-160 miles. I could probably push the range higher if I tried to drive economically and didn't use the heating or A/C, but as it has a heat pump it probably doesn't make much of a difference.

It'll happily sit at 80 mph on the motorway if you need, doesn't feel out of place or like you're asking the car to do something it doesn't want to. 135 BHP is enough for day to day driving, it'll surprise cars off the line as the 0-30 mph acceleration is pretty rapid. The seats can get a tad uncomfortable on longer drives, which is the only real negative I can think of. The Renault infotainment is rubbish, but I use apple car play which gets around the issue. It's a surprisingly fun car to throw around, reminds me in some ways of the MK1 Fabia VRS with the PD130 diesel lump. Tonnes of torque in a small package can make for a fun little car

[confused_buyer]

sixor8 said:

The Mk2 has the CCS connector too, but only for AC charging. It doesn't have the 2 large pins at the bottom. It means you can use a wide variety of chargers, but not the ultrafast DC ones.

The Peugeot e-208 is basically the same as the e-Corsa but seems to be a few £k more 2nd hand.

To be specific the Mk 2 Leaf (which is actually a heavy facelift of the Mk 1) has a more common Type 2 connector for AC (the Mk 1 has a Type 1 but a £30 adaptor can turn it into a Type 2) but both have the same chademo DC fast charge port, neither have CCS.