Anyone been tempted to return to ICE for one last hurrah?
Discussion
^ That is a shame.
It seems there is a market for i3 type vehicles with just a *little* more range than a Mini or Honda e will give. Unfortunately, while there a chip/battery shortage there is a more lucrative market for upmarket vehicles with a bigger profit margin. Until that balance changes, I suspect that small BEVs with decent ranges will remain scarce.
Oi, Honda! Give us a Honda e with more range and people will pay you handsomely for the privilege!
It seems there is a market for i3 type vehicles with just a *little* more range than a Mini or Honda e will give. Unfortunately, while there a chip/battery shortage there is a more lucrative market for upmarket vehicles with a bigger profit margin. Until that balance changes, I suspect that small BEVs with decent ranges will remain scarce.
Oi, Honda! Give us a Honda e with more range and people will pay you handsomely for the privilege! SWoll said:
Best value performance EV for the minute is the Polestar 2. For < 50k you can order a new AWD LR with the performance upgrade to 480bhp, 0-60 of 4 seconds and 12 second 1/4 mile..
I always thought the Polestar was quite an expensive EV, but you are 100%, given all the price increases with every other EV, a Polestar right now looks really good value. Its a real shame the single motor version isn't RWD, at £45K its really good value. 
SWoll said:
Best value performance EV for the minute is the Polestar 2. For < 50k you can order a new AWD LR with the performance upgrade to 480bhp, 0-60 of 4 seconds and 12 second 1/4 mile..
That is an excellent point I hadn’t considered. One tiny thing is the sunroof doesn’t open (opening sunroof is one of my must haves), but I thought it would be priced closer to the Model 3!Will book a test drive.
blearyeyedboy said:
^ That is a shame.
It seems there is a market for i3 type vehicles with just a *little* more range than a Mini or Honda e will give. Unfortunately, while there a chip/battery shortage there is a more lucrative market for upmarket vehicles with a bigger profit margin. Until that balance changes, I suspect that small BEVs with decent ranges will remain scarce.
Oi, Honda! Give us a Honda e with more range and people will pay you handsomely for the privilege!
Honestly I think it’s my weirdly specific criteria which are meaning I’m struggling (as outlined below):It seems there is a market for i3 type vehicles with just a *little* more range than a Mini or Honda e will give. Unfortunately, while there a chip/battery shortage there is a more lucrative market for upmarket vehicles with a bigger profit margin. Until that balance changes, I suspect that small BEVs with decent ranges will remain scarce.
Oi, Honda! Give us a Honda e with more range and people will pay you handsomely for the privilege! Must haves:
Physical buttons for climate controls OR separate screen as per e-tron / Q7
OPENING panoramic sunroof
Upgraded sound system
CarPlay
Seat memory
Keyless entry
Adaptive cruise control
Blind spot monitoring
Reversing camera / F/R parking sensors
(If staying electric) real world range over 150 miles at 80mph in winter
RWD or AWD
Strong wants:
None of those touch sensitive steering wheel buttons as per ID3, Q4
Button on steering wheel to fast forward tracks (I’m aware this is a bit crazy but not being able to do it on the i3 has been annoying!)
Rotary controller for central screen (like on the i3)
Multicolored interior lighting
Air suspension
Not to have to deal with BMW again!
Being real and having test drove the iX3, Q3, Q4 e-tron, a normal Q5, EQA, GLC and GLE I’m thinking the best option is a Q5 TFSIe or an SQ5. The iX3 has such a nice logically laid out interior, everything feels solid, and it meets all but 2 of my criteria - but my experience with the 2 dealers near me have been such a turnoff I’m 90% sure I wouldn’t go for one.
It's odd that my list is opposite from others
Must Not haves:
OPENING panoramic sunroof
Keyless entry
Blind spot monitoring
Must have,
Carplay
Light/Heating controls
Leg and head room
Get in and out of car without bumping my head (currently that discounts anything VW)
Strong wants:
Air suspension
Must Not haves:
OPENING panoramic sunroof
Keyless entry
Blind spot monitoring
Must have,
Carplay
Light/Heating controls
Leg and head room
Get in and out of car without bumping my head (currently that discounts anything VW)
Strong wants:
Air suspension
SWoll said:
DMZ said:
To the original question, I think ICE is superior so yes… I think EVs are probably minimally 2-3 years away from being good enough. I don’t mean stuff like range and charging but as an experience and in terms of packaging. We have an EV in the household so can use it but not something I do day to day. I think I’m actually gradually losing interest in EVs. I can’t think of one that interests me. There is a certain sameness about them and once you have done the whole “this is different from ICE” then you’ve kind of done it. The generic blob look is not that appealing either tbh. I’m sure in time manufacturers will figure this out or I will forget about how cars used to drive and what they looked like (and sounded like).
Not really understanding your point. EV's come in many shapes and sizes and from a packaging perspective are far superior to ICE in most cases. I also don't get the "all the same" argument. We've had 3 now and they've all been utterly different in the way they are operated and how they drive. As a day to day drivetrain I don't miss ICE in the slightest. What I do miss is not having a car I'd grab the keys to just to drive for the sake of it. That's where they fall down for me at present, although not driven a Taycan yet.
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