Low cost runner for the school run and wife's commute

[Fiisch]

Our current second runabout is a Citroen DS3 Racing which I love, however I'm amazed to find it's not the most reliable car I've ever owned and we're looking to exploit the solar panels on our roof and try and reduce our bills by switching one of the cars to an EV. We live in a fairly rural area, and so a lot of our runs are 40-50 mile round trips (e.g.: kids' school is 10 miles away, wife's work 15 miles away etc.).

My wife doesn't want something too leggy, and we have a budget of up to £15k. Obvious choice seems to be a lightly used Nissan Leaf. Decent specced models with under 30k miles can be had easily within budget. We already have a much larger (Skoda Superb) family car, so this would only be used for shortish hops.

Any pitfalls to be aware of / any other cars to consider? Is buying a lightly used Leaf a more cost-effective option than an equivalent lease? Looking to save as much money on this car as possible to put towards a Subaru Impreza as a garage queen..!

[MadRob69]

Well depending on whether yourself or your wife is a Teacher/police/army/NHS/Firefighter there are places that do discounts. You should have a look into those.

As for the type of EV that is within that price range and decent performance I reckon these will do you nicely:

Chevrolet Bolt EV

Hyundai Kona Electric

Hope that helps!

I forgot to add this link to some of the discount car sellers myself, friends and family have all used:

http://www.motorsourcegroup.com/

Actually I think this will be a useful link for everyone so I'll post in General Gas as well!

Edited by MadRob69 on Saturday 8th July 19:25

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say a plug in hybrid may be a better option.

Leaf wise you'll get a 2021 model still within its warranty which you can extend:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304276...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302144...

Ioniq Premium SE:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304206...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303074...

[nd0000]

You'd get a BMW i3 94Ah BEV for that money. Bit more premium than the Leaf and smaller inside. Depends if you see the weirdness of the styling as a plus!

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303205...

[Fiisch]

ZX10R NIN said:

I'd say a plug in hybrid may be a better option.

Leaf wise you'll get a 2021 model still within its warranty which you can extend:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304276...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302144...

Ioniq Premium SE:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202304206...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303074...

Thank you- the Leaf on 3.5k miles seems a steal at that price I'll be phoning in the morning!

I hadn't realised Ioniq was full electric - interesting curveball, and perhaps a touch bigger than the Leaf.

Why do you think plug in hybrid preferable to a budget EV? I've always considered plug-in hybrid as the worst of all worlds - the weight of the battery + minimal range on electric power only, added to reduced economy for the petrol engine...

[GreatGranny]

Personally I would got for the i3 purely for the design over the Leaf.

I ran a Leaf from new for 90k miles over 3 years and it was 100% reliable only needing a new set of tyres in that time.

Fortunate I was sat inside and didn't have to look at it

However, there was a tinge of envy every time I saw an i3 (they were too expensive when I was looking in 2015).

[ZX10R NIN]

Fiisch said:

Thank you- the Leaf on 3.5k miles seems a steal at that price I'll be phoning in the morning!

I hadn't realised Ioniq was full electric - interesting curveball, and perhaps a touch bigger than the Leaf.

Why do you think plug in hybrid preferable to a budget EV? I've always considered plug-in hybrid as the worst of all worlds - the weight of the battery + minimal range on electric power only, added to reduced economy for the petrol engine...

It depends on your usage but if your wife can commute on the EV then you still have the flexibility if the need for longer runs.

[georgeyboy12345]

Leaf is a good shout
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301052...


Also consider

Peugeot e208 - they look great in yellow, my neighbour has one
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305237...

Or its cousin the Vauxhall Corsa e
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202305167...


Renault Zoe
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303135...