New job 10-20k miles, ICE or EV
Discussion
Hi all,
I'm in a situation where I've just got a new job, nicely increased my salary (hence the car change) but part of this will be a decent amount of driving. I'm based in the north, will be doing trips 2-3 days a week down to probably Birmingham at the lowest, Newcastle at the highest points but probably 200 mile round trips on average, with some trains here and there but only if the end destination is nearby.
I am torn between do I get an EV or ICE, as this would be my first EV. I can get a charger installed and have a driveway, I'm on Octopus so would leverage their cheap overnight rates but I'm unsure which route to go down in all honesty.
I'd like to spend between 15-30k, but I want the majority of reasonable depreciation to be gone, so probably something 3-5 years old as the mileage I'm doing will likely tank the value and I don't like the idea of just wasting money for a newer car. unless an absolute steal on a lease shows up. I seem to have missed the Tesla M3 one. I don't mind something older, in the 2012-2020 range if it's a relatively simple enough car to work on.
If I go for ICE, it would ideally not be a hybrid as out of warranty the complicated drivetrain bothers me. I like the idea of larger displacement, big fan of 6cyl BMWs, big diesels etc as torque means more to me than top end.
I imagine for EV I'll be needing 300 miles of real world range, I like the look of the i4 and the M3LR.
In terms of requirements, radar cruise, very comfy seats, ideally heated steering wheel and ventilated seats, parking cameras, all things of that nature but radar cruise and seats being mandatory. I don't want a bus, something easy enough to park in a multistorey (think XC60 over a 90) and looks like I'm not 60 years old.
I went to go see a 2022 Lexus RX, was underwhelmed by the interior that looks 15 years old but it was high quality. The Volvos put me off as I love a D5 but all the modern 2.0 units seems underwhelming when lugging around a big SUV.
I know the requirements are very specific, and I'm open to other thoughts. Annoyingly I'm a huge petrolhead and I'd love to have an S3 or Cayman to do the miles but I'm just doing 70mph half the time, spending a fortune to service and keep it going when I'll just have a weekend car once I'm established in my new job and know the routine income.
I'm in a situation where I've just got a new job, nicely increased my salary (hence the car change) but part of this will be a decent amount of driving. I'm based in the north, will be doing trips 2-3 days a week down to probably Birmingham at the lowest, Newcastle at the highest points but probably 200 mile round trips on average, with some trains here and there but only if the end destination is nearby.
I am torn between do I get an EV or ICE, as this would be my first EV. I can get a charger installed and have a driveway, I'm on Octopus so would leverage their cheap overnight rates but I'm unsure which route to go down in all honesty.
I'd like to spend between 15-30k, but I want the majority of reasonable depreciation to be gone, so probably something 3-5 years old as the mileage I'm doing will likely tank the value and I don't like the idea of just wasting money for a newer car. unless an absolute steal on a lease shows up. I seem to have missed the Tesla M3 one. I don't mind something older, in the 2012-2020 range if it's a relatively simple enough car to work on.
If I go for ICE, it would ideally not be a hybrid as out of warranty the complicated drivetrain bothers me. I like the idea of larger displacement, big fan of 6cyl BMWs, big diesels etc as torque means more to me than top end.
I imagine for EV I'll be needing 300 miles of real world range, I like the look of the i4 and the M3LR.
In terms of requirements, radar cruise, very comfy seats, ideally heated steering wheel and ventilated seats, parking cameras, all things of that nature but radar cruise and seats being mandatory. I don't want a bus, something easy enough to park in a multistorey (think XC60 over a 90) and looks like I'm not 60 years old.
I went to go see a 2022 Lexus RX, was underwhelmed by the interior that looks 15 years old but it was high quality. The Volvos put me off as I love a D5 but all the modern 2.0 units seems underwhelming when lugging around a big SUV.
I know the requirements are very specific, and I'm open to other thoughts. Annoyingly I'm a huge petrolhead and I'd love to have an S3 or Cayman to do the miles but I'm just doing 70mph half the time, spending a fortune to service and keep it going when I'll just have a weekend car once I'm established in my new job and know the routine income.
Even though they are awful cars if you need to rely on a charging network then Tesla, not sure on comfort though, the seats feel like they are made out of the foam they make soft footballs from.
If charging isn’t an issue then bmw or Hyundai
If you cannot charge at the destination then I’d go hybrid, or good old diesel. Having said that something like a Kuga hybrid can do high 50’s
If charging isn’t an issue then bmw or Hyundai
If you cannot charge at the destination then I’d go hybrid, or good old diesel. Having said that something like a Kuga hybrid can do high 50’s
I do 20k a year in a Model Y LR (2022). Live North Yorks but have customers across England. Absolute breeze in an EV.
Real world motorway range in mine is about 230/240 miles but I always stop a few times on a longer trip for the loo, food and emails / meetings so having a stop & charge at the same time genuinely isn't a concern.
Ignore the incoming Tesla hate.
Real world motorway range in mine is about 230/240 miles but I always stop a few times on a longer trip for the loo, food and emails / meetings so having a stop & charge at the same time genuinely isn't a concern.
Ignore the incoming Tesla hate.
I do like the idea of a Tesla, the supercharging network seems so useful to have and since I expense the mileage it's almost like recouping money back considering maintenance is so cheap. If the warranty is 6 years and the battery is 8 up to 100k, would you feel comfortable buying from a user dealer as long as it's say, a 22/23 plate with 50k miles.
Usually I avoid dealers like the plague and opt for private selling, and I'd still probably do this but I'm assuming since there are so few things to look at on these outside of interior quality, suspension/bushes and tyres there's less risk in buying second hand?
I really want someone to convince me an 840d or A8 is the route to go, but I can't help but think £10 to charge at home for 200 miles vs £50 at the pump, and in reality has most of what I'm asking for here, minus the 'luxury' seats but the ones I've sat in as Taxis seem sufficient enough and no major wear even nearing 200k.
Usually I avoid dealers like the plague and opt for private selling, and I'd still probably do this but I'm assuming since there are so few things to look at on these outside of interior quality, suspension/bushes and tyres there's less risk in buying second hand?
I really want someone to convince me an 840d or A8 is the route to go, but I can't help but think £10 to charge at home for 200 miles vs £50 at the pump, and in reality has most of what I'm asking for here, minus the 'luxury' seats but the ones I've sat in as Taxis seem sufficient enough and no major wear even nearing 200k.
Jalo1548 said:
I do like the idea of a Tesla, the supercharging network seems so useful to have and since I expense the mileage it's almost like recouping money back considering maintenance is so cheap. If the warranty is 6 years and the battery is 8 up to 100k, would you feel comfortable buying from a user dealer as long as it's say, a 22/23 plate with 50k miles.
Usually I avoid dealers like the plague and opt for private selling, and I'd still probably do this but I'm assuming since there are so few things to look at on these outside of interior quality, suspension/bushes and tyres there's less risk in buying second hand?
I really want someone to convince me an 840d or A8 is the route to go, but I can't help but think £10 to charge at home for 200 miles vs £50 at the pump, and in reality has most of what I'm asking for here, minus the 'luxury' seats but the ones I've sat in as Taxis seem sufficient enough and no major wear even nearing 200k.
Yep, go <50k miles and get an inspection before the warranty ends as the suspension isn't of great quality. In terms of the seats, I find the Model Y / 3 seats fine. My Wife has the Model 3 standard and those seats aren't as good (half fake leader / half fabric). Usually I avoid dealers like the plague and opt for private selling, and I'd still probably do this but I'm assuming since there are so few things to look at on these outside of interior quality, suspension/bushes and tyres there's less risk in buying second hand?
I really want someone to convince me an 840d or A8 is the route to go, but I can't help but think £10 to charge at home for 200 miles vs £50 at the pump, and in reality has most of what I'm asking for here, minus the 'luxury' seats but the ones I've sat in as Taxis seem sufficient enough and no major wear even nearing 200k.
An EV won't only be cheaper but smoother and quieter, and you'll be easing off down your street in your warm car while your neighbour's still scraping the ice off his diesel's windscreen.
Then get a weekend car alongside, something like a Boxster, MX-5 or MR-2 that'll be worth driving for the sake of it.
You might consider a Polestar 2 Long Range (facelift); very good and widely adjustable seats with the Plus pack most have; good radar cruise; heated wheel. Ventilated seats only with the rare Nappa pack, not too big. The range won't be as good as a Model 3 but not far off and probably good enough.
If you're doing long business trips across the north of England in all seasons, you might consider the benefit of a dual-motor EV, probably give you that bit more capability for relatively little extra outlay, albeit with a small range penalty. Of course tyres are the primary factor in snow and ice, but paired with AWD is ideal.
Jalo1548 said:
Hi all,
I'm in a situation where I've just got a new job, nicely increased my salary (hence the car change) but part of this will be a decent amount of driving. I'm based in the north, will be doing trips 2-3 days a week down to probably Birmingham at the lowest, Newcastle at the highest points but probably 200 mile round trips on average, with some trains here and there but only if the end destination is nearby.
I am torn between do I get an EV or ICE, as this would be my first EV. I can get a charger installed and have a driveway, I'm on Octopus so would leverage their cheap overnight rates but I'm unsure which route to go down in all honesty.
I'd like to spend between 15-30k, but I want the majority of reasonable depreciation to be gone, so probably something 3-5 years old as the mileage I'm doing will likely tank the value and I don't like the idea of just wasting money for a newer car. unless an absolute steal on a lease shows up. I seem to have missed the Tesla M3 one. I don't mind something older, in the 2012-2020 range if it's a relatively simple enough car to work on.
If I go for ICE, it would ideally not be a hybrid as out of warranty the complicated drivetrain bothers me. I like the idea of larger displacement, big fan of 6cyl BMWs, big diesels etc as torque means more to me than top end.
I imagine for EV I'll be needing 300 miles of real world range, I like the look of the i4 and the M3LR.
In terms of requirements, radar cruise, very comfy seats, ideally heated steering wheel and ventilated seats, parking cameras, all things of that nature but radar cruise and seats being mandatory. I don't want a bus, something easy enough to park in a multistorey (think XC60 over a 90) and looks like I'm not 60 years old.
I went to go see a 2022 Lexus RX, was underwhelmed by the interior that looks 15 years old but it was high quality. The Volvos put me off as I love a D5 but all the modern 2.0 units seems underwhelming when lugging around a big SUV.
I know the requirements are very specific, and I'm open to other thoughts. Annoyingly I'm a huge petrolhead and I'd love to have an S3 or Cayman to do the miles but I'm just doing 70mph half the time, spending a fortune to service and keep it going when I'll just have a weekend car once I'm established in my new job and know the routine income.
We'd a similar situation, 180 mile return trip to Dublin from here in NI up to 3 times a week.I'm in a situation where I've just got a new job, nicely increased my salary (hence the car change) but part of this will be a decent amount of driving. I'm based in the north, will be doing trips 2-3 days a week down to probably Birmingham at the lowest, Newcastle at the highest points but probably 200 mile round trips on average, with some trains here and there but only if the end destination is nearby.
I am torn between do I get an EV or ICE, as this would be my first EV. I can get a charger installed and have a driveway, I'm on Octopus so would leverage their cheap overnight rates but I'm unsure which route to go down in all honesty.
I'd like to spend between 15-30k, but I want the majority of reasonable depreciation to be gone, so probably something 3-5 years old as the mileage I'm doing will likely tank the value and I don't like the idea of just wasting money for a newer car. unless an absolute steal on a lease shows up. I seem to have missed the Tesla M3 one. I don't mind something older, in the 2012-2020 range if it's a relatively simple enough car to work on.
If I go for ICE, it would ideally not be a hybrid as out of warranty the complicated drivetrain bothers me. I like the idea of larger displacement, big fan of 6cyl BMWs, big diesels etc as torque means more to me than top end.
I imagine for EV I'll be needing 300 miles of real world range, I like the look of the i4 and the M3LR.
In terms of requirements, radar cruise, very comfy seats, ideally heated steering wheel and ventilated seats, parking cameras, all things of that nature but radar cruise and seats being mandatory. I don't want a bus, something easy enough to park in a multistorey (think XC60 over a 90) and looks like I'm not 60 years old.
I went to go see a 2022 Lexus RX, was underwhelmed by the interior that looks 15 years old but it was high quality. The Volvos put me off as I love a D5 but all the modern 2.0 units seems underwhelming when lugging around a big SUV.
I know the requirements are very specific, and I'm open to other thoughts. Annoyingly I'm a huge petrolhead and I'd love to have an S3 or Cayman to do the miles but I'm just doing 70mph half the time, spending a fortune to service and keep it going when I'll just have a weekend car once I'm established in my new job and know the routine income.
We went M3 Premium LR on Sal Sac. Brilliant car for the commute.
Its in the 19 inch wheel option and is showing a range at 100% of 367 miles. Granted that Will drop for the winter but still well within a full commute.
Really great for commuting, instant torque, AI, great sound system, heated / cooled seats. Really excellent.
I would go Model 3. Well within your range, super efficient and plenty of Tesla chargers about. The day to day savings are huge, even more so when depreciation buying used is much less of a "cost." If you can get one under 60k I am sure you get Tesla warranty too which can be handy for suspension bits, bushes etc which I think are the main things to look for on them.
I have a much lower range Renault 5 which will be on track to do around 20k a year. Went for this just because I loved the design over anything else but Model 3 would have been my next choice despite very different sizes. This is mainly made up of biggish commutes of 130 miles but still well within the range and charged each night at home. On bigger 250-300 mile work days I have had zero issues with public chargers (Tesla and Ionity). Tracked everything and done 7.5k so far. 89% home charged for £105 and 11% public charged also bang on £105. £210 to do 7.5k miles... With a 300 mile range I would likely never need a public charger and the total cost would have been £120! I've saved approximately £1,522 in petrol already and not even half a year in.
If you are able to claim business mileage at 55p as a personal car you are absolutely quids in. I have a 200 mile drive for work tomorrow and will claim £110. If I slowed to 60 I could likely do there and back all on the home charge but the car park I am going to has slow chargers anyway. Going to stick in £5 worth (20%) of charge will give me the buffer I need to get home with 10-20%. Total cost tomorrow will be around £8 for a £110 expenses claim. All this extra money goes towards making my DC5 Integra Type R "free" to run now.
I didn't want to like the EV as much as I do (forced via work) but for day to day driving it honestly can't be beaten. Plus saves all the enjoyable drives for our fun petrol cars rather than boring motorway commutes. I experienced that with my C63. Incredible daily car but 18mpg soon gets old when you aren't even using the performance stuck on the M1. Miss the sound a lot though...
I have a much lower range Renault 5 which will be on track to do around 20k a year. Went for this just because I loved the design over anything else but Model 3 would have been my next choice despite very different sizes. This is mainly made up of biggish commutes of 130 miles but still well within the range and charged each night at home. On bigger 250-300 mile work days I have had zero issues with public chargers (Tesla and Ionity). Tracked everything and done 7.5k so far. 89% home charged for £105 and 11% public charged also bang on £105. £210 to do 7.5k miles... With a 300 mile range I would likely never need a public charger and the total cost would have been £120! I've saved approximately £1,522 in petrol already and not even half a year in.
If you are able to claim business mileage at 55p as a personal car you are absolutely quids in. I have a 200 mile drive for work tomorrow and will claim £110. If I slowed to 60 I could likely do there and back all on the home charge but the car park I am going to has slow chargers anyway. Going to stick in £5 worth (20%) of charge will give me the buffer I need to get home with 10-20%. Total cost tomorrow will be around £8 for a £110 expenses claim. All this extra money goes towards making my DC5 Integra Type R "free" to run now.
I didn't want to like the EV as much as I do (forced via work) but for day to day driving it honestly can't be beaten. Plus saves all the enjoyable drives for our fun petrol cars rather than boring motorway commutes. I experienced that with my C63. Incredible daily car but 18mpg soon gets old when you aren't even using the performance stuck on the M1. Miss the sound a lot though...
Edited by Goatwidcoat on Wednesday 9th September 12:32
_Rodders_ said:
Rob 131 Sport said:
BMW 3, 4 or 5 Series.
Audi A4, A5 or A6
Mercedes C or E Class
Picking the bunch would be an Audi A6 50 3.0 TDI Quattro.
Or you could fuel an EV for the whole year just on the cost of the 20k yearly service on the Audi. Audi A4, A5 or A6
Mercedes C or E Class
Picking the bunch would be an Audi A6 50 3.0 TDI Quattro.
In 1993 at age 20, I bought an immaculate full historied low mileage BMW 320i SE. I kept it for 4 and a half years putting on over 80k miles. It averaged 26 MPG and specialist maintenance wasn’t cheap.
I could have bought a much newer Ford Orion Diesel Force same money. Which would you rather have.
In this scenario the Audi will bring years of pleasure and from a financial perspective will hold its price better.
Rob 131 Sport said:
_Rodders_ said:
Rob 131 Sport said:
BMW 3, 4 or 5 Series.
Audi A4, A5 or A6
Mercedes C or E Class
Picking the bunch would be an Audi A6 50 3.0 TDI Quattro.
Or you could fuel an EV for the whole year just on the cost of the 20k yearly service on the Audi. Audi A4, A5 or A6
Mercedes C or E Class
Picking the bunch would be an Audi A6 50 3.0 TDI Quattro.
In 1993 at age 20, I bought an immaculate full historied low mileage BMW 320i SE. I kept it for 4 and a half years putting on over 80k miles. It averaged 26 MPG and specialist maintenance wasn t cheap.
I could have bought a much newer Ford Orion Diesel Force same money. Which would you rather have.
In this scenario the Audi will bring years of pleasure and from a financial perspective will hold its price better.
I do a weekly 200 mile round trip for work and use a Skoda Enyaq, which we bought used.
Looked at Tesla but needed a Y (kids and dog) and couldn't justtify the uplift in price from the Enyaq. Model 3 was too small.
Teslas are great, charging network especially but we've done 13k miles in 10 months in the Skoda and literally never had to publicly charge. I also really don't get on with Tesla interiors having spent more time in my parents '26 plate Model 3, YMMV.
Looked at Tesla but needed a Y (kids and dog) and couldn't justtify the uplift in price from the Enyaq. Model 3 was too small.
Teslas are great, charging network especially but we've done 13k miles in 10 months in the Skoda and literally never had to publicly charge. I also really don't get on with Tesla interiors having spent more time in my parents '26 plate Model 3, YMMV.
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