Cheap starter car for EV newbie
Discussion
Thinking about a trial EV experiment as a city/shopping runabout (with occasional 60-70 mile round trip capability ideally). Used not new.
Prime requirements - fairly cheap to buy (it's a trial chiefly because charging at home is going to be tricky) but also good resale prospects as I may not own it for very long. Either it works out (in which case will probably upgrade) or it doesn't (in which case will sell and replace with small ICE).
What are the good options? Leaf? Zoe? i3?
Prime requirements - fairly cheap to buy (it's a trial chiefly because charging at home is going to be tricky) but also good resale prospects as I may not own it for very long. Either it works out (in which case will probably upgrade) or it doesn't (in which case will sell and replace with small ICE).
What are the good options? Leaf? Zoe? i3?
Don t laugh, but the electric corsa is actually pretty good, and can be had nearly new for about £10k. E-208 is identical underneath but usually a couple of quid more. Looks nicer though in my opinion.
Much better range than the mini, and there s not much else I would consider a cheap starter tbh. The leaf isn t really any use. No exposure to the I3 but I think they’re just a bit old school now. The newer tech tends to be much better I think.
Personally, for me, stay away from the MG s, there really quite naff all round. The Niro is a good option but most have been taxi s so be careful what you look at.
Much better range than the mini, and there s not much else I would consider a cheap starter tbh. The leaf isn t really any use. No exposure to the I3 but I think they’re just a bit old school now. The newer tech tends to be much better I think.
Personally, for me, stay away from the MG s, there really quite naff all round. The Niro is a good option but most have been taxi s so be careful what you look at.
Edited by PovertyPrince on Thursday 18th December 08:18
t on them though isn’t it? SWoll said:
Forgetting about the car for a minute, what is it that makes charging at home "tricky"?
That's going to be the major factor in you keeping the car or not.
Agreed. Owning an EV and having to charge in the wild, is a non starter really. If you’re really just wanting to try it out, maybe find a cheap lease deal on an entry level car,or buy something like the Dacia perhaps.That's going to be the major factor in you keeping the car or not.
_Hoppers said:
i3 - Carbon fiber shell, aluminum chassis, probably the quickest small EV, fun to drive, most reliable EV according to Autocar, what more do you need 
This is the answer.If I needed an EV shopping car, I wouldn't look past an i3.
They're interesting, reliable and fun.
Agree with other comments on charging 'trickiness' though. Although, a colleague ran a VW ID5 for nearly a year using public charging at their local pub. Depends on your setup.
dontlookdown said:
Thinking about a trial EV experiment as a city/shopping runabout (with occasional 60-70 mile round trip capability ideally). Used not new.
Prime requirements - fairly cheap to buy (it's a trial chiefly because charging at home is going to be tricky) but also good resale prospects as I may not own it for very long. Either it works out (in which case will probably upgrade) or it doesn't (in which case will sell and replace with small ICE).
What are the good options? Leaf? Zoe? i3?
Depends on budget and what makes something good Prime requirements - fairly cheap to buy (it's a trial chiefly because charging at home is going to be tricky) but also good resale prospects as I may not own it for very long. Either it works out (in which case will probably upgrade) or it doesn't (in which case will sell and replace with small ICE).
What are the good options? Leaf? Zoe? i3?
We bought a (very cheap!) 2016 Leaf Tekna back in March and it's a lot of car for the money which will comfortably carry 5 adults with lots of tech. It's been reliable and the only thing it's had is a pre-emptive change of the original 12V battery which is apparently a weak point of these and £60 today is cheaper than pacifying wifey if she gets stranded somewhere. EV experience with it is pretty good - it's not going to set the world on fire with its performance, but it's certainly "zippy" and responsive to drive, especially compared to equivalent 100bhp ICE cars. Winter range is currently around 85 miles and summer is 95 miles (mostly round town driving) but battery degradation is pretty much guaranteed and worse than other brands. We only ever granny charge it at home on an EV cheap-rate tariff. For public charging, it uses the less common CHAdeMO system. If remote heating/cooling is of interest, you'll need to invest in an aftermarket solution for first-gen Leafs as 3G network is being deco'd. We went OVMS for around £200.
Not sure on resale as we bought it to run til it dies but they seem plentiful on Autotrader and the good condition ones (especially battery!) seem to be snapped up.
Since we bought it, there is a bit more choice on the market and i3 would probably be top of my list as something a bit more fun to drive, and the Mk2 Leaf at the top of my wife's because it's less ugly than the Mk1 and has a slightly bigger battery.
Chris
sixor8 said:
In a readers car thread, a chap has bought a Leapmotor 03 and is using public chargers only. 
Each to their own, but you couldn't pay me to do that.Today will be my first public charging encounter in almost 6 months. 250+ mile round trip and our car showing 190 miles at 100% this morning. Sure it'll be fine but never enjoy the experience, or getting rinsed for 80p kWh.. Going to cost me £40 for what would usually cost about a fiver at home.
SWoll said:
Each to their own, but you couldn't pay me to do that.
Today will be my first public charging encounter in almost 6 months. 250+ mile round trip and our car showing 190 miles at 100% this morning. Sure it'll be fine but never enjoy the experience, or getting rinsed for 80p kWh.. Going to cost me £40 for what would usually cost about a fiver at home.
No need to spend that much, just do the maths and charge enough to get home. That's 50 kWh you're budgeting for, but I know what you mean about public charging.Today will be my first public charging encounter in almost 6 months. 250+ mile round trip and our car showing 190 miles at 100% this morning. Sure it'll be fine but never enjoy the experience, or getting rinsed for 80p kWh.. Going to cost me £40 for what would usually cost about a fiver at home.
Allow an extra 20 miles though is my recommendation. I do that in my eNy1 and the excess buffer often gets eaten into if I need extra heating or drive it a bit harder. 1% on arrival home was the lowest.
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