Which car for us

[Ciaran]

I'm selling my E90 330i and want to change to electric or hybrid. Budget is around £15k. It will be mostly used for driving about the town but the odd journey to Dublin or Donegal (130 miles) could be required - hence the hybrid option.

I really like the styling of the i3 but open to other suggestions. There are so many different choices I'd be interested to hear what you have bought and how you have gotten on with your purchase.

Edit
I should say we've an XC90 for other family duties.

Thanks

Edited by Ciaran on Tuesday 21st July 15:13

[jjwilde]

The Zoe40 would be the cheapest one which would easily do the 130mile trip.

[SWoll]

The Zoe 40 would likely struggle to manage that trip in the winter months I'd suggest?

We had an i3 for 12 months before getting our Model 3 and thought it was a great little car, especially around town. £15k should get you a nice 2015 Rex with lowish miles and preferably pro navigation (bigger screen, better graphics etc.)

[aestetix1]

Depends if you mind charging on those trips. If you don't do them often then that might be okay, take a nice break for half an hour and enjoy the big savings.

Otherwise a Leaf 40 might be possible if you buy privately with a bit of haggling, otherwise you will probably get stuck with a hybrid if you don't like the Zoe 40.

By the way both the Leaf 40 and Zoe 40 will do 130 miles even in winter. You might need to slow down a little but it's Ireland so many people don't drive right at the speed limit anyway, it's not like the UK.

[Ciaran]

Thanks

I've also mulled over the Leaf - the 30kwh one can be had locally for around £12k which seems reasonable.

Trouble is getting to drive an i3 over here - not too many of them and if I was buying I'd have to buy in England and take it home (which I don't mind).

[so called]

Obviously, if you got an i3Rex, you wouldn't need to stop to charge but probably a fuel stop in the winter months.
I had a 2016 i3REX and used it for a daily 100 mile commute. I've since traded in for a i3S.

While the S model is a little quicker, they are both great fun to drive with interesting rear wheel drive characteristics.
I would recommend that you should have a test drive to appreciate the characteristics and ride comfort level.

[superpp]

I'd say Leaf 30 is the best in this budget range, but try to stretch/haggle for a 40kWh.
If you go for the Zoe, you have battery rentals on top. Not many bought outright and demand a premium.

[jjwilde]

SWoll said:

The Zoe 40 would likely struggle to manage that trip in the winter months I'd suggest?

The Zoe will do it in winter but the Leaf40 won't (unless you're willing to turn off the heat and drive slowly).

The Zoe40 (I have one) goes quite a bit further than the Leaf40 (my sister has one).

[aestetix1]

jjwilde said:

The Zoe will do it in winter but the Leaf40 won't (unless you're willing to turn off the heat and drive slowly).

The Leaf 40 will do it with the heater on. Bjorn managed it just fine with the heating on in -3C Norwegian winter.

[sjg]

Ioniq EV is dropping to that price now. Early ones are past 3 years old so seeing more pop up on autotrader. "Only" 28kWh but that's usable battery and they are very efficient, both aerodynamically and the powertrain - real world 110 miles at 70mph in winter with heating etc on. Slow down a bit (or some traffic), warmer months, or do a quick charge and that's an easy trip. CCS charging (so Ionity etc are available to you) and they charge at 70+kW on a suitable charger so a quick stop can get you a useful amount of extra range.

Decent boot, plenty of rear passenger room, really well specced (base EV is the mid spec - heated seats/wheel, carplay, adaptive cruise, etc).

We lease an eGolf at the moment (probably similar real world range - bigger battery but less efficient) - buying a 28kWh Ioniq will likely be what we do when it goes back.

[Ciaran]

Thought I'd update this, I ended up going for a 2015 i3 60Ah Rex . Thanks everyone.