New commute

[Cbo2002]

Going to be doing a round trip of a 130 miles 4 times a week now for work. Unsure if it’s times to make the switch to an EV.

Looking for something that its a comfy drive but also do the usual family load carrying duties at the weekend. My current thinking is Skoda Superb estate or 330e.

Budget 25k max but thinking EV would be a better option as charging is available at work but just a bit blinkered and drawn to what I know.

[this is my username]

VW id.3 is surprisingly large inside - it might work for family duties depending on what that means. 130 miles is no problem with the 55kWh battery.

VW id.4 is big inside (lots of space for family stuff) and the 77kWh one would give you plenty of range.

Both easily available within your budget.

[abzmike]

An EV would work, but you'll need to keep a close eye on charging times to make sure you stay on 5 cheap hours at home overnight, and still get enough topup - Assuming you can't charge at work, or planning to use public chargers.

[twing]

this is my username said:

VW id.3 is surprisingly large inside - it might work for family duties depending on what that means. 130 miles is no problem with the 55kWh battery.

VW id.4 is big inside (lots of space for family stuff) and the 77kWh one would give you plenty of range.

Both easily available within your budget.

My ID4 is getting 280 out of a full charge. It's huge inside and boot is massive. Hateful thing to drive and without a home charger it's a pain in the arse, especially as some has snipped all of the cables off my only local fast chargers

[this is my username]

twing said:

My ID4 is getting 280 out of a full charge. It's huge inside and boot is massive. Hateful thing to drive and without a home charger it's a pain in the arse, especially as some has snipped all of the cables off my only local fast chargers

For context - you are talking about a car that you never wanted and decided would be a pain before you even got hold of it - so I guess that could count as a glowing review under the circumstances!

[twing]

this is my username said:

For context - you are talking about a car that you never wanted and decided would be a pain before you even got hold of it - so I guess that could count as a glowing review under the circumstances!

Touchee

[this is my username]

this is my username said:

VW id.3 is surprisingly large inside - it might work for family duties depending on what that means. 130 miles is no problem with the 55kWh battery.

VW id.4 is big inside (lots of space for family stuff) and the 77kWh one would give you plenty of range.

Both easily available within your budget.

I guess what I was trying to say is that an EV would do the job very well - as long as you have home or work charging. I have a 90-mile round trip daily commute which my id.3 handles really well. Other EVs are available!

For £25k there is a big choice out there, though you could spend a lot less and still get an EV that would do the job really well. For peace of mind buy approved used from a main dealer and get a warranty with it - for example, VW Approved Used gives you a 2-year unlimited mileage warranty if you take the PCP (which you can withdraw from straight away).

[Mammasaid]

abzmike said:

An EV would work, but you'll need to keep a close eye on charging times to make sure you stay on 5 cheap hours at home overnight, and still get enough topup - Assuming you can't charge at work, or planning to use public chargers.

Not an issue in Octopus Intelligent Go, all charging is at off-peak rate, even outside of the off-peak hours, if you let Octopus control the charging.

[Saudade]

Have you done a commute this long before? Honestly an EV wouldn't cut it for me assuming it is mostly motorway and you actually like making progress.

You want something you can fill up once a week with penalty of torque and effortless pace. Doing 25k+ miles a year a diesel may actually make sense for you.

You also don't want warning bongs etc. going off for 65 miles home if you can avoid it.

Mercedes, Audi, Lexus etc. is what I would shopping for.

[AddyT.]

Saudade said:

Have you done a commute this long before? Honestly an EV wouldn't cut it for me assuming it is mostly motorway and you actually like making progress.

You want something you can fill up once a week with penalty of torque and effortless pace. Doing 25k+ miles a year a diesel may actually make sense for you.

You also don't want warning bongs etc. going off for 65 miles home if you can avoid it.

Mercedes, Audi, Lexus etc. is what I would shopping for.

+1

Mercedes E Class all day long.

[Silenoz]

I've got an imminent change of job that puts me in the same situation, compounded by the fact that my current car is on salary sacrifice through my current employment and will go back when I leave. It's a BMW iX3 and I've had it for just under 2 years. Whilst I've enjoyed having it and can see the benefits of an EV, the increase in my commuting mileage meant that any EV I looked at to replace it needed a WLTP range of 350+ miles which narrows the choice. So I've decided to go (back to) a hybrid petrol as this gives some of the EV benefits without any range anxiety. Hopefully this means only 1 fill up per week, whereas I'd calculated that if I'd stayed in a similar range EV to the BMW I'd be charging it every night.

[Cw4578]

I do a similar commute in a diesel 2 litre velar. It’s a comfy car and by the end of the week it’s still quite tiring. I would say a 2 litre diesel would be good such as 320d/ 520d/ e class. Good ranges which should last a week between fill ups. It’s hard to say what would have better residual value between those above or an ev. Depends how long you plan to keep it as those miles rack up quickly.

[SuperTee]

Any electric with a useable battery of 75kw+ would do this comute comfortably with plenty spare to do any other pottering about needed on the same day.

Used to do the same in a Q4. If you can destination charge for free it makes it even better.

You'd get over the range anxiety pretty quickly and the fuel cost savings will make you wonder what the fuss was ever about.
The only frustration you'll find is the annoyance with each extra electric car that appears in your works car park that you have to share the free charging with ?

Edit to add: that commute used to cost c£23 a day at 40mpg in a 1.6 petrol. The Q4 cost me c£3.50 using the octopus overnight rate. Add in free charging and you're winning.

Edited by SuperTee on Saturday 4th October 06:04

[plfrench]

Saudade said:

Have you done a commute this long before? Honestly an EV wouldn't cut it for me assuming it is mostly motorway and you actually like making progress.

You want something you can fill up once a week with penalty of torque and effortless pace. Doing 25k+ miles a year a diesel may actually make sense for you.

You also don't want warning bongs etc. going off for 65 miles home if you can avoid it.

Mercedes, Audi, Lexus etc. is what I would shopping for.

This is exactly where EVs excel… only benefit a Diesel would have for this use case would be if charging was a problem from a convenience perspective and it sounds like the OP can charge at work.

I chose to early terminate an E350d to get into an ID3 because I found the effortless nature of EVs so appealing and just nicer to drive on a daily basis. 46k miles and just over two years in, haven’t regretted it one bit.

[TheDrownedApe]

plfrench said:

Saudade said:

Have you done a commute this long before? Honestly an EV wouldn't cut it for me assuming it is mostly motorway and you actually like making progress.

You want something you can fill up once a week with penalty of torque and effortless pace. Doing 25k+ miles a year a diesel may actually make sense for you.

You also don't want warning bongs etc. going off for 65 miles home if you can avoid it.

Mercedes, Audi, Lexus etc. is what I would shopping for.

This is exactly where EVs excel only benefit a Diesel would have for this use case would be if charging was a problem from a convenience perspective and it sounds like the OP can charge at work.

I chose to early terminate an E350d to get into an ID3 because I found the effortless nature of EVs so appealing and just nicer to drive on a daily basis. 46k miles and just over two years in, haven t regretted it one bit.

Yeah utterly bizarre post from Sau. Thought EVs were the best for effortless, then the weird warning bongs they refer too. If ever an anti-ev post.

OP any 50kwh EV will do this journey and as you need a family car too then they tend to have a bigger battery. As you will likely be buying used look to those with 5 year warranty for a little extra.

Edited by TheDrownedApe on Saturday 4th October 07:51

[sawman]

EVs are perfect for dreary commutes on A roads and dual carriageways.
With 130 round trip you will probably need to charge every night or alternate nights depending on capacity. We have a volvo xc40 and a toyota bz4x - neither of which are the last word in range, with their approx 70kwh batteries, i would have to charge those every night for that commute.
When i first got the volvo i was a bit sniffy about it, thinking it didnt really do anything a petrol version wouldnt. This is still the case, but it costs pennies to run and i can defrost it whilst having my breakfast and get into a nice warm car!
With the toyota we needed a 2nd car which could do light towing and this was the cheapest on the sal sacrifice scheme. It looks ace, is comfortable has a decent music system but is utterly soulless

[Saudade]

TheDrownedApe said:

plfrench said:

Saudade said:

Have you done a commute this long before? Honestly an EV wouldn't cut it for me assuming it is mostly motorway and you actually like making progress.

You want something you can fill up once a week with penalty of torque and effortless pace. Doing 25k+ miles a year a diesel may actually make sense for you.

You also don't want warning bongs etc. going off for 65 miles home if you can avoid it.

Mercedes, Audi, Lexus etc. is what I would shopping for.

This is exactly where EVs excel only benefit a Diesel would have for this use case would be if charging was a problem from a convenience perspective and it sounds like the OP can charge at work.

I chose to early terminate an E350d to get into an ID3 because I found the effortless nature of EVs so appealing and just nicer to drive on a daily basis. 46k miles and just over two years in, haven t regretted it one bit.

Yeah utterly bizarre post from Sau. Thought EVs were the best for effortless, then the weird warning bongs they refer too. If ever an anti-ev post.

OP any 50kwh EV will do this journey and as you need a family car too then they tend to have a bigger battery. As you will likely be buying used look to those with 5 year warranty for a little extra.

Edited by TheDrownedApe on Saturday 4th October 07:51

BMW 540i (g30)

60 - 100 kph 2.6 s
80 - 120 kph 3.2 s
Est. 100 - 140 kph 4.4 s

Interior noise
Noise @ 50 kph 55 dB
Noise @ 80 kph 62 dB
Noise @ 100 kph 62 dB
Noise @ 130 kph 67 dB
Noise @ 160 kph 71 dB


VW ID4 Pro (was mentioned above)

60 - 100 kph 4.5 s
80 - 120 kph 5.4 s
Est. 100 - 140 kph 8.8 s

Interior noise
Noise @ 50 kph 55 dB
Noise @ 80 kph 62 dB
Noise @ 100 kph 63 dB
Noise @ 130 kph 68 dB
Noise @ 160 kph 72 dB

[plfrench]

Saudade said:

BMW 540i (g30)

60 - 100 kph 2.6 s
80 - 120 kph 3.2 s
Est. 100 - 140 kph 4.4 s

Interior noise
Noise @ 50 kph 55 dB
Noise @ 80 kph 62 dB
Noise @ 100 kph 62 dB
Noise @ 130 kph 67 dB
Noise @ 160 kph 71 dB


VW ID4 Pro (was mentioned above)

60 - 100 kph 4.5 s
80 - 120 kph 5.4 s
Est. 100 - 140 kph 8.8 s

Interior noise
Noise @ 50 kph 55 dB
Noise @ 80 kph 62 dB
Noise @ 100 kph 63 dB
Noise @ 130 kph 68 dB
Noise @ 160 kph 72 dB

Yes, in raw terms, flat out a more powerful ICE will clearly be quicker than an entry level EV, but you’re completely missing the effortless part. The ICE makes a song and dance about giving that maximum performance. The EV doesn’t. For daily use where effortless-ness is a key priority, then EV is unbeatable in my opinion.

[this is my username]

I'm not sure that comparing the performance of a family-oriented SUV with a high performance saloon adds much to the debate?

I only mentioned the id.3 / id.4 at the start of the thread as I've recently swapped my previous high-performance EV for an id.3 and I actually prefer the id.3 for the day-to-day grunt job of a long(ish) distance commute. I looked at the id.4 as well and it is mahoosive inside.

I can't speak for other ev models, but, for example, a Tesla has no scheduled maintenance required, and the VW id range only requires a service every 2 years regardless of mileage. 130 miles per day / 4 days per week / 45 weeks per year is over 23k miles - so a typical ICE would require a service every 10 months or so. It's both a cost and time saving.

[the-photographer]

Hybrid like a Corolla? Unfortunately the new Prius is over budget, both will have diesel like economy