Suggestions for small city car for the missus

b0rn2sk8 said:
It would be no different to the Spring you were looking at in terms of range and a far better place to sit.

If she wants to drive further away, you need to write the Spring off completely as its not suitable.

The depreciation on the MX-30 was horrible because it was a EV with 100 miles range priced like was a segment leading car. The RRP was something daft like £28k.

They are not bad cars, it’s just not 2015 anymore and you can’t get away with launching a car with 100 miles range when your competitors are hitting 200+.
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Spring has been discounted, thanks.

I'll have a look at the BMW i3.
 
adam cool dude said:
BMW i3 with the range extender.

These are super cheap now.
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Have to say that I wouldn't.
My understanding is that replacement batteries are a shed load of dosh, the range extender has reliability issues, and the carbon fibre body would concern me about it's ability to withstand knocks and more importantly, be viable to repair if damaged.
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
Have to say that I wouldn't.
My understanding is that replacement batteries are a shed load of dosh, the range extender has reliability issues, and the carbon fibre body would concern me about it's ability to withstand knocks and more importantly, be viable to repair if damaged.
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They don't seem to be super cheap anyway, but I don't know what threshold Adam had in mind when he said that.
 
Maybe the thread will go a bit easier if you post what you consider to be cheap/acceptable for the sort of age or mileage you'd be expecting in a used EV / PHEV / ICE car etc. rather than people suggesting what they think is cheap but that you don't agree is :p
 
Kenai said:
Maybe the thread will go a bit easier if you post what you consider to be cheap/acceptable for the sort of age or mileage you'd be expecting in a used EV / PHEV / ICE car etc. rather than people suggesting what they think is cheap but that you don't agree is :p
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Well it's a mini/supermini class so ain't expecting luxury motorway cruiser prices.

Have to admit a pretol is not going to be preferred unless it's cheap (because it doesn't feel a good use of money to go for petrol city car these days).

So for petrol I would say we'd be looking at older cars <£4k so there's limited risk if it borks.

For an EV we would want something newer because the tech has moved on fast over the past few years. 2021 on so 4 years old up to £10k and <30k miles.
 
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danlightbulb said:
For an EV we would want something newer because the tech has moved on fast over the past few years. 2021 on so 4 years old up to £10k and <30k miles.
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You're going to find that quite limiting then.

Putting 2021 onwards, sub 30,000 miles, sub £10,000, electric powertrain, no insurance write offs into Autotrader shows 224 cars nationally of all makes and models.

You're fishing in an extremely small pond with those requirements, before you even start to consider a lot of those are probably things like Nissan Leafs that you've ruled out as too big.

Edit - put the range in at 100 miles or over and that cuts you down to 145 cars nationally
 
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And what's the width requirement as you've poo-poo'd quite a few suggestions based on that already? How much space on your driveway is there?

For your budget a used petrol car make far more sense to me. The i10 mentioned above is a great shout. Can be had for a fraction of your £10k budget and maintenance will still be cheap, even if you count the additional tank of fuel you'd be buying a month over a financed EV.
 
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Kenai said:
You're going to find that quite limiting then.

Putting 2021 onwards, sub 30,000 miles, sub £10,000, electric powertrain, no insurance write offs into Autotrader shows 224 cars nationally of all makes and models.

You're fishing in an extremely small pond with those requirements, before you even start to consider a lot of those are probably things like Nissan Leafs that you've ruled out as too big.
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I see. So when people say some cars are 'super cheap' it's based on what criteria then because none can say £12k is super cheap.

An £80k Porsche for £25k is super cheap. A city runabout for £12k isn't unless it was £40k to start with.
 
GravyMonster said:
And what's the width requirement as you've poo-poo'd quite a few suggestions based on that already? How much space on your driveway is there?

For your budget a used petrol car make far more sense to me.
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I could squeeze an off the road 2m wide BMW e91 on there, just, with some back and forth maneuvering. Wouldnt want to squeeze into that space every day routinely.

Im thinking a small city car should be ok if the mirrors are foldable.
 
Rather than price alone, what are the value for money cars in that £10 to £12k bracket. If we're getting more of a better car with better reliability and features then we could pay a bit more. But I ain't paying £12k for a basic tin can.
 
danlightbulb said:
What price are you expecting me to see here?
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Around the 8-10k mark but she would be saving in fuel. 10k would be something 30-50k miles too with the range extender.

As the BMW has a range extender the battery tech means very little as the engine overcomes all the EV's short fallings and with your wife doing very little mileage she will never need it anyway but is a nice thing to have.

I just thought with the £400 a month she is planning to spend on a lease a 10 grand loan over two/three years would cost around the same.

I am not really a fan of EV's but seems like a perfect second car.

If you want super cheap and nothing to worry about then a first gen Aygo/C1/107, get the lowest mileage for your budget then forget about. Those are cockroach cars. (In a good way)
 
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danlightbulb said:
Rather than price alone, what are the value for money cars in that £10 to £12k bracket. If we're getting more of a better car with better reliability and features then we could pay a bit more. But I ain't paying £12k for a basic tin can.
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Keeping the size restriction vaguely in mind, you still don't really have an abundance of options

Fiat 500e (guessing this counts as tin can)
Mini Electric
Peugeot e-208
Renault Zoe
Corsa Electric


There's a couple of GWM Funky Cats available, maybe they'd take your fancy
 
Kenai said:
Keeping the size restriction vaguely in mind, you still don't really have an abundance of options

Fiat 500e (guessing this counts as tin can)
Mini Electric
Peugeot e-208
Renault Zoe
Corsa Electric


There's a couple of GWM Funky Cats available, maybe they'd take your fancy
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Renault Zoe looks ok to me. As long as it's reliable, still has battery warranty and is good condition I think she might like that one.

She'd probably like the Fiat but it's style over substance to me.

I will take her to see the Renault and see how it lands.
 
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danlightbulb said:
Ok I'm not seeing those prices unless they are for much higher mileage. The range extender is a hybrid then is it? I don't think we would go there, worst of both worlds.
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No range extender is an EV but the engine only kicks in when you are running out of charge and keeps the batteries charging basically taking all range anxiety out of the equation.

For 99% of driving you wouldn't even use it.

The only other car that can do this is the new Mazda Mx30 but it isn't as good as the I3 imo.
 
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