EV to replace a Fiesta ST
Discussion
Having a bit of a reality check lately, I've always bought cars in their more sporty guise even if they aren't sporty cars - specifically the Fiesta ST Line and Fiesta ST, the ST Line obviously got the more agressive styling, but then most of the drawbacks too - lower profile tyres, noisier ride and so on - then I moved onto the ST which I bought from new, absolutely awesome car, and I'd like to be in little else when being able to throw it around country roads, but day to day it's not particularly comfortable to live with
I've been looking at EV replacements recently, and am pretty close to making the same mistake - I made a thread about the EV6 GT or a BYD Seal, both manage 0-60 in under 4 seconds, and in the EV6' case has the big, lower profile tires, less comfortable ride - and much lower range
Whilst I love my cars, I find myself spending less time just driving for fun, so I need to give my head a bit of a wobble - and likely buy something sensible, but I don't want it to be too slow.
So, I think I'm looking at some of the other options available to me - not too sure on whether buy or lease is the answer, but I'm relatively comfortable losing ~4k a year either way, so either a 3 year lease or a £30k car that is likely to be worth ~18k in 3 years
Say ~6-7 seconds to 60, 300 mile range and objectively decent looking, with a decent sized boot for the odd Ikea trip.
I like the looks of the Enyaq, the EV6, EV3, the Explorer looks alright, can't quite make my mind up on the Polestar, but the Polestar 2 seems insane value for money
I don't want to consider Tesla, appreciate they are likely excellent cars, and don't begrudge anyone owning them - but I don't want one.
I've been looking at EV replacements recently, and am pretty close to making the same mistake - I made a thread about the EV6 GT or a BYD Seal, both manage 0-60 in under 4 seconds, and in the EV6' case has the big, lower profile tires, less comfortable ride - and much lower range
Whilst I love my cars, I find myself spending less time just driving for fun, so I need to give my head a bit of a wobble - and likely buy something sensible, but I don't want it to be too slow.
So, I think I'm looking at some of the other options available to me - not too sure on whether buy or lease is the answer, but I'm relatively comfortable losing ~4k a year either way, so either a 3 year lease or a £30k car that is likely to be worth ~18k in 3 years
Say ~6-7 seconds to 60, 300 mile range and objectively decent looking, with a decent sized boot for the odd Ikea trip.
I like the looks of the Enyaq, the EV6, EV3, the Explorer looks alright, can't quite make my mind up on the Polestar, but the Polestar 2 seems insane value for money
I don't want to consider Tesla, appreciate they are likely excellent cars, and don't begrudge anyone owning them - but I don't want one.
Which ST do you have?
I had a mk7.5 ST3 for 4 years as a daily. Great car but as you say not the most comfortable day to day. So I bought an mx5 instead!
I've had the mazda for almost 2 years and still like it a lot. It is a bit hard to live with through winter and I have found myself eyeing up EVs as a potential next purchase. Not too much that floats my boat yet as I like smaller cars. Do quite like the R5 though.
If I were going EV now I would probably lease, just to test the water. It seems a safe option and lack of fuel cost ofsets the monthly payments.
How about an Alpine A290?
It doesn't have the 300 mile range you're after but I'd question if it's really necessary, especially if you can charge at home.
I had a mk7.5 ST3 for 4 years as a daily. Great car but as you say not the most comfortable day to day. So I bought an mx5 instead!
I've had the mazda for almost 2 years and still like it a lot. It is a bit hard to live with through winter and I have found myself eyeing up EVs as a potential next purchase. Not too much that floats my boat yet as I like smaller cars. Do quite like the R5 though.
If I were going EV now I would probably lease, just to test the water. It seems a safe option and lack of fuel cost ofsets the monthly payments.
How about an Alpine A290?
It doesn't have the 300 mile range you're after but I'd question if it's really necessary, especially if you can charge at home.
ChrisH72 said:
Which ST do you have?
I had a mk7.5 ST3 for 4 years as a daily. Great car but as you say not the most comfortable day to day. So I bought an mx5 instead!
I've had the mazda for almost 2 years and still like it a lot. It is a bit hard to live with through winter and I have found myself eyeing up EVs as a potential next purchase. Not too much that floats my boat yet as I like smaller cars. Do quite like the R5 though.
If I were going EV now I would probably lease, just to test the water. It seems a safe option and lack of fuel cost ofsets the monthly payments.
How about an Alpine A290?
It doesn't have the 300 mile range you're after but I'd question if it's really necessary, especially if you can charge at home.
I have one of the latest ST Editions, the bright blue ones - think technically MK8 - lovely looking carI had a mk7.5 ST3 for 4 years as a daily. Great car but as you say not the most comfortable day to day. So I bought an mx5 instead!
I've had the mazda for almost 2 years and still like it a lot. It is a bit hard to live with through winter and I have found myself eyeing up EVs as a potential next purchase. Not too much that floats my boat yet as I like smaller cars. Do quite like the R5 though.
If I were going EV now I would probably lease, just to test the water. It seems a safe option and lack of fuel cost ofsets the monthly payments.
How about an Alpine A290?
It doesn't have the 300 mile range you're after but I'd question if it's really necessary, especially if you can charge at home.
I do like the look of the Alpine and the R5, but I think it might be a bit small potentially - a bit of extra space might be needed now, appreciate I didn't explicitly call out sizes
Quattr04. said:
Enyaq hands down is a excellent car, you might squeeze 300 miles from the 85 and they look smart in the sport line trim but without too much of a harsh ride
It s miles ahead of a Q4 for example
The Enyaq does surprise me every time I see one, considering the other cars based off the same platform, I think it looks a lot nicer than the ID4 for exampleIt s miles ahead of a Q4 for example
Ah yes, I hadn't spotted that you want a bigger car. Seems to be a good few options out there.
I don't think I'd sell the mx5 yet but I did put it into WBAC last week and was pleasantly surprised. 18250 offered which is only 2k less than I paid a couple of years ago. I'd guess your ST is still worth a decent amount.
My man maths tells me that if I sold up and put the money in my isa it would earn me 70-80 quid a month. Then I'd be saving a similar amount in fuel and maintenance. So the first 150 a month on an EV lease is more ore less covered anyway.
Depreciation would worry me buying an EV outright just now.
I don't think I'd sell the mx5 yet but I did put it into WBAC last week and was pleasantly surprised. 18250 offered which is only 2k less than I paid a couple of years ago. I'd guess your ST is still worth a decent amount.
My man maths tells me that if I sold up and put the money in my isa it would earn me 70-80 quid a month. Then I'd be saving a similar amount in fuel and maintenance. So the first 150 a month on an EV lease is more ore less covered anyway.
Depreciation would worry me buying an EV outright just now.
Interesting that you've included the EV3 in your list - we've got one and we love it, but it's so comfortable I would almost describe it as 'wafty' as well as being almost silent and immensely practical (it replaced a CX5, being smaller on the outside but with more room on the inside). It's a refreshing change to have a car with smaller wheels and hence more flexible sidewalls (it's the Air LR variant).
0-60 is apparently somewhere around 7 seconds but like most EVs it feels far faster than that.
As for looks - well, it's distinctive, I'll give it that.
Without being able to see into your head it's impossible to know whether to recommend it - I'm 61 and while I don't drive any slower than I used to I'd rather do it in comfort (one of my favourite past cars was a bug-eye Scorpio 2.9 estate - again, quiet and comfortable without being too slow, with looks best ignored).
0-60 is apparently somewhere around 7 seconds but like most EVs it feels far faster than that.
As for looks - well, it's distinctive, I'll give it that.
Without being able to see into your head it's impossible to know whether to recommend it - I'm 61 and while I don't drive any slower than I used to I'd rather do it in comfort (one of my favourite past cars was a bug-eye Scorpio 2.9 estate - again, quiet and comfortable without being too slow, with looks best ignored).
If you were looking to buy outright there are some good used options too.
I think the Megane e tech looks nice.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025121285...
£15k is fairly safe depreciation wise. After 3 years it can't be worth much less than £10k surely.
I think the Megane e tech looks nice.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2025121285...
£15k is fairly safe depreciation wise. After 3 years it can't be worth much less than £10k surely.
On the specifics, I have a Polestar 2 LRDM, the ride is somewhat firm so worth a careful test drive before you buy. I've got used to it, partly as the seats are very good, but objectively it's one of the car's few weak points (along with being not so big inside, although I have managed a Billy when solo in the car). Overall I really like it, and it hits the spot of being overall comfortable and easy to drive without being slow or too dull.
More generally; real range can vary by a factor of two between best case (25C / 30mph) and worst (0C / 70+mph). Importantly WLTP is best-case, and most owners care about long trips so closer to worst case.
There are lots of cars with a "WLTP" range of 300 miles, but many fewer with a true winter motorway range of that. So if that's a hard requirement it'll probably direct what EV you go for.
My pre-facelift PS2 did 185 miles on 96% of the battery (1 deg C / 70mph), the facelift models are a good chunk better and may approach 300. Autocar are talking of a real 100 miles range in the A290; I think the R5 is better. https://ev-database.org/uk is a good guide.
By putting Fiesta in the thread title you'll likely get lots of small EV suggestions, appreciate you're looking a size larger.
On the VW front I'd consider a Cupra Born and (if looking new) the Skoda Elroq seems to have good reviews (a shorter Enyaq).
More generally; real range can vary by a factor of two between best case (25C / 30mph) and worst (0C / 70+mph). Importantly WLTP is best-case, and most owners care about long trips so closer to worst case.
There are lots of cars with a "WLTP" range of 300 miles, but many fewer with a true winter motorway range of that. So if that's a hard requirement it'll probably direct what EV you go for.
My pre-facelift PS2 did 185 miles on 96% of the battery (1 deg C / 70mph), the facelift models are a good chunk better and may approach 300. Autocar are talking of a real 100 miles range in the A290; I think the R5 is better. https://ev-database.org/uk is a good guide.
By putting Fiesta in the thread title you'll likely get lots of small EV suggestions, appreciate you're looking a size larger.
On the VW front I'd consider a Cupra Born and (if looking new) the Skoda Elroq seems to have good reviews (a shorter Enyaq).
revilo87 said:
Having a bit of a reality check lately, I've always bought cars in their more sporty guise even if they aren't sporty cars - specifically the Fiesta ST Line and Fiesta ST, the ST Line obviously got the more agressive styling, but then most of the drawbacks too - lower profile tyres, noisier ride and so on - then I moved onto the ST which I bought from new, absolutely awesome car, and I'd like to be in little else when being able to throw it around country roads, but day to day it's not particularly comfortable to live with
I’m considering a Fiesta/Puma ST at the moment.What was it about your Fiesta ST that you found not particularly comfortable to live with day to day? Firm ride, noise, lack of space?
Thanks.
CarlosFandango11 said:
I m considering a Fiesta/Puma ST at the moment.
What was it about your Fiesta ST that you found not particularly comfortable to live with day to day? Firm ride, noise, lack of space?
Thanks.
Honestly I'll start by saying I absolutely love the car, and don't regret buying it at all - have had four trouble free years driving it.What was it about your Fiesta ST that you found not particularly comfortable to live with day to day? Firm ride, noise, lack of space?
Thanks.
Space wise it's actually pretty great for its size, there are only a few times id wished it was bigger, for the likes of IKEA trips etc.
As for the main pro, let me just say the driving position is incredible, it's really hard to explain without sounding a bit cringe worthy, but it feels like the car is moulded around you, especially with the LSD, it's fun to drive even at lower speeds too
It isn't too fun on long drives, the bucket seats are super comfortable for short journeys but don't feel too great on much longer trips - it is quite firm and the ride noise with the low profile tires isn't great, most of my trips were less than 30-40 miles each way and not usually on motorways, but I found it a bit tiring to drive outside of those
My eyes got opened by a hire car with work recently, not one I'd buy, a vauxhall mokka (not a great place to be imo) but the chunkier tires, the softer suspension and whatnot actually made me think sportiness isn't everything to me, and a lot can be said for that extra comfort.
I think the Puma might be in a nice spot despite being quite similar, but if you go for a test drive just take the immediate fun to the back of your mind and think if you'd like it for a 2 hour motorway slog or whatever
I love my Fiesta though, I just think I could easily live with something that is effortless to drive, stuff like radar cruise control help a lot with that
I didn't really have any issue with my ST3 in daily use. Only criticism would be the jiggly ride and comfort on longer drives. But that's just the nature of a small hot hatch and they're not designed to be mile munchers.
The mx5 is a lot more compromised but again it's not meant to be a comfy daily. At the age of 53 I'm starting to think a bit more comfort would be good, especially given the traffic and awful state of the roads nowadays. But I'm sure I would miss the fun factor if I had something more mainstream.
The mx5 is a lot more compromised but again it's not meant to be a comfy daily. At the age of 53 I'm starting to think a bit more comfort would be good, especially given the traffic and awful state of the roads nowadays. But I'm sure I would miss the fun factor if I had something more mainstream.
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