Corsa E 48 test drive

Author
Discussion

Bobtherallyfan

Original Poster:

1,262 posts

77 months

Thursday 22nd October 2020
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Great idea to let people try an EV for 48 hours....if only all manufacturers did this it might help some of us petrol heads see what the EV is all about in real conditions.

Mikebentley

6,038 posts

139 months

Friday 23rd October 2020
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Got mine booked for Monday and can’t wait. Metallic Orange Elite Nav, picking up 08:45 till drop off 08:45 Wednesday. Going to be doing 120 miles per day for two days for work to see if it can work.

Really excited to try EV for the first time. If it does the job and work picks up it might be enough to make me go EV. I still think the e - 208 though in GT trim is a nicer looking product.

Mikebentley

6,038 posts

139 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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Thread bump....just me then?

SWoll

18,207 posts

257 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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I don't really understand what it is you are hoping to learn driving an electric Corsa for 48 hrs TBH? It's about as tepid as an EV gets from a drivetrain standpoint and doesn't provide any of the advantages in packaging or performance that are the real benefits of moving to EV?

30 minutes on mixed roads should be enough, and if you really want to experience public fast charging add another 15-30 minutes to that of sitting around waiting.

oop north

1,592 posts

127 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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Seems very sensible to try one for a couple of days to see if the range is enough / how it works for you if you haven’t had an EV before. For those of us who have already had an ev then maybe short drives would be enough. Though I think that could be a mistake as when I first drove the iPace for 20 minutes I wasn’t impressed. But half a day at Oulton Park and doing slaloms and going round the track made me want one

HTP99

22,443 posts

139 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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oop north said:
Seems very sensible to try one for a couple of days to see if the range is enough / how it works for you if you haven’t had an EV before. For those of us who have already had an ev then maybe short drives would be enough. Though I think that could be a mistake as when I first drove the iPace for 20 minutes I wasn’t impressed. But half a day at Oulton Park and doing slaloms and going round the track made me want one
You can tell if the range is enough by driving an ICE car, your daily mileage won't change form electric to petrol.

Apart from charging it, how will owning an electric car work differently to a petrol car, you can work out where the charge points are located, how they operate, how you pay for them etc, without having to use an electric car to do so, they will still be there in the same place when you buy an electric car, personally my view is, if you are unable to have a chargepoint installed at home or there isn't one at your place of work that you definitely will have access to, then you shouldn't entertain an electric car until the charging infrastructure is improved.

As for how fun they drive, the vast, vast majority of people won't actually care, a 20-30 minute drive will be sufficient for most people to decide if they like the way it drives and if it is comfy for them.

SWoll

18,207 posts

257 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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oop north said:
Seems very sensible to try one for a couple of days to see if the range is enough / how it works for you if you haven’t had an EV before. For those of us who have already had an ev then maybe short drives would be enough. Though I think that could be a mistake as when I first drove the iPace for 20 minutes I wasn’t impressed. But half a day at Oulton Park and doing slaloms and going round the track made me want one
Would you not know if 150-200 miles of range is enough for you or if you are able to charge it well before driving the car? What are you going to learn?

TBH the comment was more related to the Corsa being possibly the worst example of an EV you could choose as an introduction for a petrolhead as per the OP.


HTP99

22,443 posts

139 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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Does the Corsa E come with a 3 pin charge lead, if not will the 48hr test drive ones come with one, the vast majority of these 48hr test drives will be to people who don't have a charge point already at home.

I can see many being trailered back to the dealership with no charge in them.

Mikebentley

6,038 posts

139 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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In answer to Swoll,

I have never been in an electric vehicle if you don’t count the 1960s Smiths electric milk floats I drove at 12 yrs old. My usage of one is going to be instead of my Transit Connect Van that I never use for carrying stuff but it does have a nice open cab that gives me plenty of working space for writing etc. I need reliably 150 miles range summer or winter and have a driveway for maybe 6 cars with a double garage. I would likely never need to charge away from home. I am also personally in a dilemma whether to lease another car or buy a small car for work and need to have a plan by Feb 2021.
The opportunity to try an EV for 48hrs with no commitment will let me test my theory that
a) I can get away with a smaller car for work.
b) The new cheaper full EVs offer enough driving entertainment and toys for me to justify the £30k cost against my operating costs whilst not overly restricting me.

Good luck to those that can afford to blindly pay £50k for a Tesla or £30k+ for an EV without the need to drive one for more than 30mins but that isn’t me. If I commit to one it will be for 3/4 years minimum so I need to know what it is like for the whole cycle of a working day with lots of different roads etc. I have had lots of experience of ICE from Reliant Robins to XK140 and can pretty much get a feel for one quickly. EV is new to me and I would expect such a vocal advocate as Swoll on here to be encouraging people to try it whatever flavour it is.

Mikebentley

6,038 posts

139 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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SWoll said:
I don't really understand what it is you are hoping to learn driving an electric Corsa for 48 hrs TBH? It's about as tepid as an EV gets from a drivetrain standpoint and doesn't provide any of the advantages in packaging or performance that are the real benefits of moving to EV?

30 minutes on mixed roads should be enough, and if you really want to experience public fast charging add another 15-30 minutes to that of sitting around waiting.
Not interested in Ludicrous warp speed etc. Want a car that does what it promises. I can get my kicks from anyone of my three classic cars. This needs to be efficient, reasonable toys and reliable range.

Mikebentley

6,038 posts

139 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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In terms of packaging the Corsa e shares its underpinnings with the 208e and I think the Pug is a much more neatly packaged product. I think Vauxhall have not got a chance of selling the Corsa if anyone looked at the Peugeot as well in comparison. Then there is the MG EV with prices circa £20k. Choices for those not in the Tesla market are coming fast.

granada203028

1,482 posts

196 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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SWoll said:
I don't really understand what it is you are hoping to learn driving an electric Corsa for 48 hrs TBH? It's about as tepid as an EV gets from a drivetrain standpoint and doesn't provide any of the advantages in packaging or performance that are the real benefits of moving to EV?

30 minutes on mixed roads should be enough, and if you really want to experience public fast charging add another 15-30 minutes to that of sitting around waiting.
Having one over night is a good idea to get the whole experience of charging at home particularly now winter is coming. Try an early morning cold start etc.

HTP99

22,443 posts

139 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
quotequote all
granada203028 said:
SWoll said:
I don't really understand what it is you are hoping to learn driving an electric Corsa for 48 hrs TBH? It's about as tepid as an EV gets from a drivetrain standpoint and doesn't provide any of the advantages in packaging or performance that are the real benefits of moving to EV?

30 minutes on mixed roads should be enough, and if you really want to experience public fast charging add another 15-30 minutes to that of sitting around waiting.
Having one over night is a good idea to get the whole experience of charging at home particularly now winter is coming. Try an early morning cold start etc.
You have a charge point at home?

Mikebentley

6,038 posts

139 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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They are supplying the plug in lead so whilst not as quick as a dedicated charging station will still be able to charge overnight for day two.

Order66

6,726 posts

248 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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HTP99 said:
You have a charge point at home?
You can charge off a 3-pin plug. I do. An overnight charge will provide plenty range for normal day to day stuff. Most people won't drain the battery completely every day, meaning most days you will start with a full charge, even with 2kw charging.

RetroWheels

3,384 posts

270 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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Heard the radio Ads over the last few day's .. then saw this thread , so had a look at the Vauxhall website.

Now, maybe it's me (and feel free to f£ck me right off - i'm old school and tend to buy cars not lease them) but £27 to £30k ? !!! .

30 second's on ebay reveals a Dealer 2020 10 mile 1.2 petrol for £13800 (£13000 ?).

Again, maybe it's me , but i was genuinely shocked at the price, but with Dealer contributions and lease plans it may be a bargain ?

Happy to be educated.


MuscleSedan

1,541 posts

174 months

Saturday 24th October 2020
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RetroWheels said:
Now, maybe it's me (and feel free to f£ck me right off - i'm old school and tend to buy cars not lease them) but £27 to £30k ? !!! .

30 second's on ebay reveals a Dealer 2020 10 mile 1.2 petrol for £13800 (£13000 ?).
EV take up is surely going to be seriously slow if a Corsa is £30k. What are the advantages to the consumer over a small engined petrol to consider paying the huge price difference ?

Cupramax

10,469 posts

251 months

Sunday 25th October 2020
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MuscleSedan said:
RetroWheels said:
Now, maybe it's me (and feel free to f£ck me right off - i'm old school and tend to buy cars not lease them) but £27 to £30k ? !!! .

30 second's on ebay reveals a Dealer 2020 10 mile 1.2 petrol for £13800 (£13000 ?).
EV take up is surely going to be seriously slow if a Corsa is £30k. What are the advantages to the consumer over a small engined petrol to consider paying the huge price difference ?
None other than cheap fuel and no road tax, no amount of mileage is going to make an EV financially viable alternative at the moment while you can get the same car for half the price with a small petrol motor.

928

221 posts

176 months

Sunday 25th October 2020
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MuscleSedan said:
EV take up is surely going to be seriously slow if a Corsa is £30k. What are the advantages to the consumer over a small engined petrol to consider paying the huge price difference ?
Check the same ebay for delivery miles e208s, 24k. Still a big gap but not 50%

Mikebentley

6,038 posts

139 months

Sunday 25th October 2020
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That’s where I was thinking pre reg or ex demo e 208. There’s a PHer just purchased the MG EV SUV that are £20 k new so watching his thread. I do about £250 in diesel each month and lease my van £276 so trying to save some money if possible. If I can get a reliable 150 range then I will only ever need to charge at home.