Which used electric car?

[this is my username]

I'd really like to move to an electric car. Last year we had a solar plus battery install at home and have been surprised by how well it has performed. The next logical step in reducing our carbon footprint would be to move to an electric car.

My daily commute is a 90-mile round trip which is about 20% fast A-road and 80% dual-carriageway. On the dual-carriageway I normally drive at an indicated 74mph which gives 70mph on the GPS. I need to be able to do this 100% of the time. I would like to be able to get to/from a secondary location which is a 150-mile round trip from home, again on dual-carriageway / motorway. I drive about 25k miles a year and usually keep my cars until they expire.

My expectation is that almost all charging will be done at home, with only occasional public charging for longer journeys. I'm already on an "electric car" tariff to charge my home battery up overnight. I don't have any access to charging at work or at the secondary location.

My eye has been caught by the BMW i3. The price for 120Ah BEV models has come down to about £17k, and at that price I can just about make the numbers work on fuel savings alone.

Is there anything else I should consider at that price-point? Used MG5s can be had for that money, but I would like something that makes me smile when I leave the house and the quirky looks of the i3 would do that as long as it does the job I need it to do.

My existing vehicle should still have a couple of years life in it (currently at 150k miles, hopefully it will make 200k as the long-distance commute is fairly easy on my cars) so the alternative is to wait and see what the EV landscape looks like in a couple of years.

[page3]

For that price I think you may have to revise expectations on range.

Left field option would be a Hyundai Ioniq Electric. 38 kWh battery and almost magically efficient, not too affected by cold or speed. An often ignored and underrated car, although also not especially exciting.

[SWoll]

You'll not manage a 150 mile round trip all year round in a 120ah i3 I'm afraid. In the summer yes but in the winter you're looking at closer to 130 IME. I also wouldn't recommend it for the kind of usage you describe. It's a city car first and foremost, and a brilliant one at that.

Used Model 3 SR+ are starting to creep very close to £20k and would be a far better companions for 25k miles per year being both more comfortable and far superior from a range perspective. I'd hold out for one of those personally.

[ZX10R NIN]

In order to meet your requirements all year round you'll really need to up your budget to around 25k:

Model 3 SR:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303095...

Mokka e:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303105...

Maybe a PHEV might be a better fit for your usage:

Volvo D6 SE Lux:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303064...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302234...

D5:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303014...

330e:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209159...

Passat GTE:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302254...

[this is my username]

Thanks all. Sounds like I have some more thinking to do!

[courty]

My daughter has an i3. It is a good little car for local journeys, (actually it is not small of course, it's a lot wider and taller and only slightly shorter than my wife's Alfa 156 which is/was a medium sized saloon). It doesn't have much of a range in the real world especially in winter months, about 80 miles, but it also has a petrol engine (sounds like a lawn mower) that acts as an electricity generator if need be, extends the range by +- 70 miles (tank takes 2 gallons). It is a bit left field though...very strange tyre size for example....£170 each, 155 section, basically Morris Minor width on SUV sized wheels.

[georgeyboy12345]

ZX10R NIN said:

In order to meet your requirements all year round you'll really need to up your budget to around 25k:

Model 3 SR:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303095...

This.

I wouldn't bother with PHEVs though.

Here's a nice (non base spec white) Model 3 SR from a dealer
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301022...

[SWoll]

georgeyboy12345 said:

ZX10R NIN said:

In order to meet your requirements all year round you'll really need to up your budget to around 25k:

Model 3 SR:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303095...

This.

I wouldn't bother with PHEVs though.

Here's a nice (non base spec white) Model 3 SR from a dealer
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301022...

£1500 more for a car with 25k more miles because it has blue paint? You'd have to really hate white to pay that?

courty said:

My daughter has an i3. It is a good little car for local journeys, (actually it is not small of course, it's a lot wider and taller and only slightly shorter than my wife's Alfa 156 which is/was a medium sized saloon).

A lot wider and slightly shorter? I think you might have your adjectives the wrong way around.

It's 20mm wider and 440mm shorter.

Edited by SWoll on Sunday 12th March 21:27

[ZX10R NIN]

georgeyboy12345 said:

This.

I wouldn't bother with PHEVs though.

Here's a nice (non base spec white) Model 3 SR from a dealer
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301022...

I thought you loved your PHEV?

[ZX10R NIN]

this is my username said:

Thanks all. Sounds like I have some more thinking to do!

I will say that your usage is great for a diesel, before you say about your carbon footprint remember going fully electric makes your exhaust emissions green less so the car itself.

If you want to make a difference get the drivetrain that suits YOUR usage not one that suits an agenda.

[PGNSagaris]

this is my username said:

I'd really like to move to an electric car. Last year we had a solar plus battery install at home and have been surprised by how well it has performed. The next logical step in reducing our carbon footprint would be to move to an electric car.

My daily commute is a 90-mile round trip which is about 20% fast A-road and 80% dual-carriageway. On the dual-carriageway I normally drive at an indicated 74mph which gives 70mph on the GPS. I need to be able to do this 100% of the time. I would like to be able to get to/from a secondary location which is a 150-mile round trip from home, again on dual-carriageway / motorway. I drive about 25k miles a year and usually keep my cars until they expire.

My expectation is that almost all charging will be done at home, with only occasional public charging for longer journeys. I'm already on an "electric car" tariff to charge my home battery up overnight. I don't have any access to charging at work or at the secondary location.

My eye has been caught by the BMW i3. The price for 120Ah BEV models has come down to about £17k, and at that price I can just about make the numbers work on fuel savings alone.

Is there anything else I should consider at that price-point? Used MG5s can be had for that money, but I would like something that makes me smile when I leave the house and the quirky looks of the i3 would do that as long as it does the job I need it to do.

My existing vehicle should still have a couple of years life in it (currently at 150k miles, hopefully it will make 200k as the long-distance commute is fairly easy on my cars) so the alternative is to wait and see what the EV landscape looks like in a couple of years.

I have an i3 and for your scenario I’d not be able recommend it. Motorway range is appalling.

Model 3 is the answer I’d say.

[georgeyboy12345]

ZX10R NIN said:

georgeyboy12345 said:

This.

I wouldn't bother with PHEVs though.

Here's a nice (non base spec white) Model 3 SR from a dealer
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301022...

I thought you loved your PHEV?

I do, but I don’t really think it suits OP’s usage with the amount of miles he covers in a day.

[ColdoRS]

yep, as others have pointed out, a used Model 3 is the answer here (with some budget creep, of course).

As it stands, for £20-25k you can pick up an early (2019/20) Tesla Model 3 SR. Cheapest one I can see online is £19,990 with 100k miles but for another £2k you start to see them with 50k miles on, another £1k and we're getting towards 40k miles, which is nothing.

Tesla will eat up those journeys no problem and as I'm sure you are aware, the Tesla Supercharger network is incredible - don't fool yourself that you won't be charging out and about, it will happen and even if it doesn't, it's nice to be able to charge rapidly, in lots of locations with no hassle or queueing, for a last minute trip or if you get caught out or decide to spend an extra night away somewhere etc...

Model 3, nothing else comes close in your position!

[Chipper]

Have a look on Tesla uk site. A family member had just purchased a red ( i think thats an option ) 2020 model 3 Long Range with 44000 miles for £25000.

[SWoll]

Chipper said:

Have a look on Tesla uk site. A family member had just purchased a red ( i think thats an option ) 2020 model 3 Long Range with 44000 miles for £25000.

He doesn't need an LR if his longest trip is 150 miles.

At the moment the cheapest used Model 3 on the Tesla website is £27.5k for a 2019 RWD. The cheapest LR is a 2019 for £30k, 2020 cars are at least £32k.

[raspy]

ZX10R NIN said:

In order to meet your requirements all year round you'll really need to up your budget to around 25k:

Model 3 SR:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303095...

Mokka e:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303105...

Mokka e is truly awful at motorway speeds and is not a good recommendation for the OP.

I had one last summer and it got 112 miles of range at 70mph, even with AC off. It's best around town where it will easily exceed the quoted 200 miles range.

[Maracus]

SWoll said:

Chipper said:

Have a look on Tesla uk site. A family member had just purchased a red ( i think thats an option ) 2020 model 3 Long Range with 44000 miles for £25000.

He doesn't need an LR if his longest trip is 150 miles.

At the moment the cheapest used Model 3 on the Tesla website is £27.5k for a 2019 RWD. The cheapest LR is a 2019 for £30k, 2020 cars are at least £32k.

In the coldest parts of the winter, then 150 miles is the maximum you will see on a motorway run with a 2020 Standard Range (pre LFP). If you're not wanting to top up the battery then I would certainly go for the LR.