Replacing the Insignia - Dillema

[Liam_92]

Afternoon All,

I have been debating changing my leggy Insignia (2014, 2.0 diesel and circa 160k on the clock) for a few months now but at a crossroads as what to replace it with.

Do about 18k miles a year but these are almost exclusively in two 100 mile trips to/from work a couple of times a week. We're a two car family and have an EV (iPace) as the family wagon, so my car is purely for eating motorway miles on the commute.

As we have one EV and Home Charger the obvious choice has been to look down the EV route but, as no charging is available at work, it ideally needs to be able to do 200miles all year round. This leaves you with Tesla M3LR as the standout option (at, let's say, a £22,000 cap).

If I go ICE and factor in fuel over the ownership period compared to the EV per mile rate on the overnight tariff, let's cap the budget at £16,000.

Adaptive Cruise is, I think, a must have, as well as an automatic gearbox. If ICE then it needs to be frugal, not necessarily concerned with excitement (the Insignia is the dull and frugal in equal measure).

Plus points for EV; preconditioning on those cold mornings is just a glorious option to have. Fuel cost is lower, though purchase (and insurance, especially if Tesla) are higher and VED is applicable from March.

PHEV - With the mileage being what it is, could that make sense? Would use the cheap overnight rate to top up the battery.

Stick with Diesel? Something like a Passat or Octavia seems to fit the bill, perhaps?

Open to suggestions, to be honest. I've been perusing the various car selling sites since the summer but with the insurance renewal coming up at the end of the winter period, it's time to start refining the search!

[Decky_Q]

If you asked what economical car for work commute only, the diesel insignia would be high on most lists.

Why not stick with it? For a work car I'd nearly always say stick with the devil you know and keep it going for another 50k miles. (Can always get a weekend car with the cash).

[Liam_92]

Decky_Q said:

If you asked what economical car for work commute only, the diesel insignia would be high on most lists.

Why not stick with it? For a work car I'd nearly always say stick with the devil you know and keep it going for another 50k miles. (Can always get a weekend car with the cash).

Definitely an option, for sure.

My driving force is actually that the Air Conditioning isn't working and I think to have it fixed may be more expensive than the car is worth.

I just about survived this summer but it was really unpleasant at times, and I don't fancy being in that position again.

Granted, air con aside, it's been a brilliant workhorse to date.

[7 5 7]

Just run in that, I would just keep it - cheaper to fix the A/C than get a new car (that you dont know....etc)

[Decky_Q]

Yeah an AC centre will find the leak and get it going again, probably a stone chip in the cooler, or an o ring, peanuts in the scheme of things.

[ZX10R NIN]

Doing 18k a year & mainly motorway miles I'd suggest sticking with a diesel.

Kia Stinger:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202411216...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409254...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202411015...

Insignia Elite Nav, these make a lot of sense as they come in well under budget too:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202407151...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412117...

GSI Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412016...

SRI VX Line Nav:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410044...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410285...

508, these are a very good car that often gets overlooked:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410285...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202408122...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202407191...

[this is my username]

Why don’t you use the ipace? Mine will do 200 miles year-round.

[LeeM135i]

EV would be a great choice for this, if only charging at home it will cost buttons to run.

If the Tesla M3 isn’t for you take a look at the Polestar 2, I have a LRDM performance and it will easily cover 200 miles to charge even in the current weather at 70ish motorway speed. There are probably others, we have mostly Tesla 3 and Y with a few EV6’s at work and everyone seems quite content.

[stevemcs]

If you can charge at home then EV must be the cheaper option. Or go hybrid and get a Corolla or Auris, we look after an Auris at work and it racks up just under 90k a year, its on 285k and is serviced every 10k, in that time its had tyres, brakes, rear socks, rear toe links and the EGR cleaned.

Any modern diesel with Euro 6 is going to hurt you at some point.

[Liam_92]

this is my username said:

Why don’t you use the ipace? Mine will do 200 miles year-round.

Sadly it has been limited to 72% charge due to a cell failure for some time now; diagnosed back in September but not due to be in for repair until the end of January.

As good a car as it is, I couldn't rely on it to do what I need to do.

[Liam_92]

LeeM135i said:

EV would be a great choice for this, if only charging at home it will cost buttons to run.

If the Tesla M3 isn’t for you take a look at the Polestar 2, I have a LRDM performance and it will easily cover 200 miles to charge even in the current weather at 70ish motorway speed. There are probably others, we have mostly Tesla 3 and Y with a few EV6’s at work and everyone seems quite content.

So, this has been my personal favoured plan for some time now. We already have the infrastructure at home so it seems like the natural choice.

As for the Polestar, I am a fan but is the winter range really sufficient? I'd be more than content with the LRSM FWD but would just want that reassurance that 200 miles in the thick end of winter is viable.

[dmsims]

77kWh ID3, well under budget

[Liam_92]

dmsims said:

77kWh ID3, well under budget

Maybe it is the iPace's somewhat woeful motorway efficiency that is influencing my judgement but I've always been on the fence on whether the P*2 FWD LRSM, ID.3 Pro (or anything else of that circa 77kWh size) would really do it on a biting cold day.

Clearly I can precondition for the outbound leg so maybe not so much of a penalty and, of course, I'd have charging options en-route if I end up in something of a pickle.

I could take or leave the Tesla; it was top of the list on ultimate range/efficiency alone but if the consensus is that others would do what I need, it certainly opens up the conversation.

[LeeM135i]

Liam_92 said:

LeeM135i said:

EV would be a great choice for this, if only charging at home it will cost buttons to run.

If the Tesla M3 isn’t for you take a look at the Polestar 2, I have a LRDM performance and it will easily cover 200 miles to charge even in the current weather at 70ish motorway speed. There are probably others, we have mostly Tesla 3 and Y with a few EV6’s at work and everyone seems quite content.

So, this has been my personal favoured plan for some time now. We already have the infrastructure at home so it seems like the natural choice.

As for the Polestar, I am a fan but is the winter range really sufficient? I'd be more than content with the LRSM FWD but would just want that reassurance that 200 miles in the thick end of winter is viable.

Genuinely not had any issues so far. Mine is a 2024 LRDM Performance so does have the bigger battery and more efficient motor(s). Had it for 3.5 months and covered 8,000 miles.

During the summer and taking it easy (60-65mph) I was using 24.5 kWh / 100 miles giving a theoretical 334 miles range.

Today I averaged 26.6 kWh / 100 miles so 308 miles theoretical max range.

Drove to Birmingham and back on Monday which is a 310 mile round trip and I plugged in for 10 mins while I had a pee and got a coffee as it said I would be 6% short to get home on a single charge, all but 10 miles of it was fast(ish) motorway M20, M26, M25, M40, M42.

With the 78kWh battery in the LRSM FWD you would need to average 39 kWh / 100 miles and I don't think I've seen mine get that bad even driving in the snow.

As an idea Hertz rent Polestar 2's, borrow one for a few days and give it a go.

Edited by LeeM135i on Wednesday 18th December 16:03

[snotrag]

Point of note - its all well and good stating that EV will be cheaper as it can be on charge everynight but - if you plug your new car in every night in order to eek out the 200 mile range you need.... when is the ipace going to get plugged in? Do the timings work?

[LeeM135i]

snotrag said:

Point of note - its all well and good stating that EV will be cheaper as it can be on charge everynight but - if you plug your new car in every night in order to eek out the 200 mile range you need.... when is the ipace going to get plugged in? Do the timings work?

Can't speak for Liam but we have 2x EV's and 1 charger. We charge my wife's car overnight once a week, usually on a Friday or Saturday night. My car is usually run full to near flat 3 or 4 times a week, she could probably eke out 2 weeks to a charge. If we have to have both cars fully charged we will just charge one during the day while working at home and hope Octopus gives us the cheap electricity rate during peak hours, which it usually does if not its still cheaper than petrol or diesel.

It's been far easier than we thought it would be, we originally planned to get a second 7kw charger installed but we haven't needed one. If it gets really desperate we can use a granny charger on the other car or take it to the Tesla supercharger up the road and pay 39p a KW to charge it which makes it 12p per mile for electricity to drive so not terrible.

[Liam_92]

snotrag said:

Point of note - its all well and good stating that EV will be cheaper as it can be on charge everynight but - if you plug your new car in every night in order to eek out the 200 mile range you need.... when is the ipace going to get plugged in? Do the timings work?

Really valid point but fortunately shouldn't an issue; the Jag only really does a few miles on the school run so doesn't need to be charged too frequently for it to ever be an issue as it should be able to be charged around my schedule.

I wasn't aware of the Hertz rental. I'll look in to that and see if I can get one sorted for a couple of days in the new year.

[ilikejam]

I'd probably look at Tesla or Polestar LR variants, but otherwise surely a diesel 3 series is the default answer?

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410225...


Or a 5
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202412036...