New Car Dilemma EV or ICE

[s-x-i]

We are starting to think about a possible change of car for my better half as going into next year we will need more space as he current F56 MINI will sadly have to go.

The dilemma I am having is whether to go EV or stick with Petrol power.

Main Criteria
Age 2018 or newer
Price Max £14-15k (not interested in PCP)
Other 5 Door, Decent sized boot, SUV Style preferred (not my decision!), preferably nothing Stellantis .

Firstly, from briefly looking at what is available within the above parameters, what an utterly grim section of the market. So many uninspiring cars and most in a really poor state. I presume with these types of cars most people just don t care that much about them.

In terms of usage, an EV would be ideal, mostly short journeys and we already have a home charger. My main concern is about long terms reliability/residuals and the worry about buying an EV from 2020/21 will just be redundant technology in 3-5 years time given the promised progression of battery technology.

Whereas a petrol-powered car is a know quantity which, with the right maintenance, can just keep going.

Shortlist at present include the MINI Countryman (Petrol) and Kia Soul (EV).

Comments welcome.

Edited by s-x-i on Tuesday 25th November 18:28

[ZX10R NIN]

There's no wrong answer just get the car your OH likes the best

CX-30 Sport Lux:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202510247...

GT:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202510207...

MX-30:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202510167...

Kuga Vignale h:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202511248...

ST Line X:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202509236...

1.6h Arkana:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202510287...

S Cross:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202508115...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202511127...

I know you said no Stelantis but the 1.6T h drivetrain is well proven:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202511037...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202510167...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202511117...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202501158...

[ChocolateFrog]

If you can park and charge off road and most journeys will be within the range of the EV then it would be an absolute no brainer for me.

I wouldn't worry about reliability anymore than I would for a similar age ICE car with the likelihood it'll probably be better.

[pti]

Similar criteria and budget here recently. We bought a 21 plate Enyaq 80 with ~50k miles.

It's replacing a Honda eny1 and is a far better car.

Even if it's worth nothing in 5 years (it won't be), it's still incredibly cheap and comfortable motoring.

[Quattr04.]

The EVs you’ll be looking at won’t be redundant tech, people will always need and want cheap used cars, even the original Nissan leaf still has its place for people who do tiny miles and charge at home, and the BMW i3 is still really popular

If you get a 2020 car even at 10 years old its going to be fine for a bulk of people 3rd hand, still have 150-200 miles of range and still charge at the same rate it does today

Battery tech will be fancier and charge faster but people who don’t have much to spend will have to wait for those cars to be in the used market

Used EVs don’t get worse, demand drops off for new models which are outdated

[andrew-6xade]

EV all day long (apart from when it needs charging)

[Dog Biscuit]

ID3?

[Russet Grange]

Quattr04. said:

The EVs you ll be looking at won t be redundant tech, people will always need and want cheap used cars, even the original Nissan leaf still has its place for people who do tiny miles and charge at home.

Too true. Our 2014 Leaf, which we've owned from new, is just brilliant. Range not great by modern standards but 87,000 miles driven says it all.There might be all sorts of clever technology in current EVs, but fundamentally they have a battery and an electric motor.

[V 02]

OK so its not an SUV but Tesla Model 3 2021 or newer.

Still THE best EV used, even if youre not an Elon fan, and I'm definitely not.

Otherwise, Kia eNiro or Hyundai Kona , an EV with no fuss. ID4 is good if in budget, Enyaq too.