Suggestions for small city car for the missus

Thanks but think the range extender idea is extra hassle we don't need. Still needs servicing like a petrol, still needs fuel, carrying around extra weight for 99% of the time. Think I'll rule that one out but take a look at the i3 EV though looks a bit expensive.
 
It seems clear that you just want an EV, which is absolutely fine, but you seem to be trying to justify it financially via maintenance and fuel costs etc. when comparing a £4k ICE car to a £10k+ EV, which is just bananas.
 
GravyMonster said:
It seems clear that you just want an EV, which is absolutely fine, but you seem to be trying to justify it financially via maintenance and fuel costs etc. when comparing a £4k ICE car to a £10k+ EV, which is just bananas.
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I think it's just a belief that a petrol car is less relevant today than it was previously and so worth less in my mind.

Her petrol costs on 5k miles a year would be about £50 a month compared to <£10 on electric so there is a difference there.

And servicing a petrol engine, timing chains, spark plugs, clutches, other moving parts etc is going to be more expensive and require more maintenance than an EV.

So having had an EV now I think they are much better really, hence not seeing much value in spending £10k on a newer petrol car now.

That's why I'm saying the choice is between a newer EV or a much older/cheaper petrol. A new petrol really doesn't seem worth it.
 
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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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This is why I said look at the 10-11k Mini's it's an electric version of the mini they had been around for a long time, so loads of support for repair and parts availability, and the battery and drive train on the 2021 model is going to be until 2029. Nice cars, nice spec, already deprecated.
 
Journey said:
This is why I said look at the 10-11k Mini's it's an electric version of the mini they had been around for a long time, so loads of support for repair and parts availability, and the battery and drive train on the 2021 model is going to be until 2029. Nice cars, nice spec, already deprecated.
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Will take another look at it. Just so bloated aren't they. Mini by name only.
 
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danlightbulb said:
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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If you go the Zoe route it's worth checking if it has CCS charging or not, basically check both covers open in the charging port, if only the top one opens then it only has AC charging. if the bottom cover has + + on it then it can't open and you are AC only. It's worth getting one with CCS as it makes long journeys easier to plan for.

Spec wise, check if it has heated seats and steering wheel. you're looking for the buttons for the seats in the centre console.

Trim levels, go gtline, techno or iconic, the range names are all over the place though, easiest thing to check is for the heated seats, large centre screen. Depending on journeys are you looking at the 52kWh variant?

Handy tip, if you see one you like the look of and can see the number plate put it into the 'my renualt' app and you can get all the specs of it in the app.
 
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OldKitMan said:
If you go the Zoe route it's worth checking if it has CCS charging or not, basically check both covers open in the charging port, if only the top one opens then it only has AC charging. if the bottom cover has + + on it then it can't open and you are AC only. It's worth getting one with CCS as it makes long journeys easier to plan for.

Spec wise, check if it has heated seats and steering wheel. you're looking for the buttons for the seats in the centre console.

Trim levels, go gtline, techno or iconic, the range names are all over the place though, easiest thing to check is for the heated seats, large centre screen. Depending on journeys are you looking at the 52kWh variant?

Handy tip, if you see one you like the look of and can see the number plate put it into the 'my renualt' app and you can get all the specs of it in the app.
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This one for example seems to have everything you say above except for heated seats...

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danlightbulb said:
This one for example seems to have everything you say above except for heated seats...

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!
www.autotrader.co.uk www.autotrader.co.uk
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it would be worth checking in advance either by the my renault app - under technical data it should show what charging it has - eg, 50kW DC Rapid Charge (CCS)

Renault made it so complicated with their naming, they use rapid charge and boost charge, so to be 100% certain - get a photo of the charging port to be 100% sure,

This one has CCS in the pictures if you click on it:

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!
www.autotrader.co.uk www.autotrader.co.uk

Depending on how quickly you want one you could likely get one with heated seats and steering wheel if you keep a watch on new adverts on Autotrader.
 
OldKitMan said:
it would be worth checking in advance either by the my renault app - under technical data it should show what charging it has - eg, 50kW DC Rapid Charge (CCS)

Renault made it so complicated with their naming, they use rapid charge and boost charge, so to be 100% certain - get a photo of the charging port to be 100% sure,

This one has CCS in the pictures if you click on it:

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!
www.autotrader.co.uk www.autotrader.co.uk

Depending on how quickly you want one you could likely get one with heated seats and steering wheel if you keep a watch on new adverts on Autotrader.
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Do you consider that one you posted a good price?
 
danlightbulb said:
Do you consider that one you posted a good price?
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it's ok:

Auto Trader UK - New and Used Cars For Sale

Find your next car with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used cars. Over 400,000 cars online. Simple, easy, quick!
www.autotrader.co.uk www.autotrader.co.uk

This one's a bit more expensive but it's the run out model, you can tell due to the different 'E' on the boot in ZOE. It's got the 'auto park' - think it should have CCS as well.

Might be worth taking a look at 2022+ zoe techno and iconic models. Also, check it's been serviced on schedule to maintain the warranties. I'll try and take a look later and see if I can spot anything particularly good.
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
For electric, have a scan at a Mazda MX30. They were given bad reviews because of poor range (circa 100 miles in real world driving). The implications being that they suffered from awful depreciation, and can be picked up for decent money now. The range won't be an issue for short journeys and they're actually quite a pleasant thing to be in, unlike a Zoe.

For petrol, Suzuki Swift or Toyota Auris. Nobody even remembers what the Auris is, which again means bad depreciation, and that they're often cheaper than the Yaris.
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Didn't some of them come with range extenders?
 
Kenai said:
The 'hybrid' is the range extender EV version
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I am surprised these range extender cars are not more popular. They are in my opinion the perfect car for people transitioning to EV's until the battery tech gets there.

BMW nailed it with I3 and I8 to some regard yet nobody bought them.
 
Kenai said:
The 'hybrid' is the range extender EV version
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That it is, gosh the Mazda website is awful.

adam cool dude said:
I am surprised these range extender cars are not more popular. They are in my opinion the perfect car for people transitioning to EV's until the battery tech gets there.

BMW nailed it with I3 and I8 to some regard yet nobody bought them.
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In reality, if you can make the most of a PHEV by being on electric for the vast majority of driving, a full EV is probably suitable. PHEV's may be the 'best of both worlds' but they are also the worst of both worlds being both expensive (if not more expensive than an EV now) and typically have two half baked drive trains and require more servicing etc. etc.

The battery tech has more than been there for 6+ years at this point for passenger cars and the main issue has just been fleshing out the model range at reasonable prices which takes a lot of time. They've only really been able to produce PHEV's with large batteries because the prices have dropped. The same price drop is what also enabled EV's to launch at their now very competitive price points.

I doubt BMW made any money on the i3 or i8. The i3 range extender version got binned off really quickly in its product lifecycle because few people actually used it. Once they upped the battery size, it got dropped as an option. The range extender was also unreliable and there the cause of a lot of issues - part of being the worst of both worlds.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
I doubt BMW made any money on the i3 or i8. The i3 range extender version got binned off really quickly in its product lifecycle because few people actually used it. Once they upped the battery size, it got dropped as an option. The range extender was also unreliable and there the cause of a lot of issues - part of being the worst of both worlds.
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These chaps offer an upgrade battery to the i3, extending the range to 200 miles :eek:

www.theautopian.com

Some Geniuses Are Swapping 200-Mile Battery Packs Into BMW i3s, Creating A Potential 'Forever Car' - The Autopian

BMW sold over 250,000 i3s between 2013 and 2022, and with those cars having carbon fiber bodies and aluminum frames that don’t rust; plastic and carbon fiber panels that don’t dent; and interiors that hold up to abuse, there are naturally many i3s still on the road, looking good. The issue is...
www.theautopian.com www.theautopian.com
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
That it is, gosh the Mazda website is awful.


In reality, if you can make the most of a PHEV by being on electric for the vast majority of driving, a full EV is probably suitable. PHEV's may be the 'best of both worlds' but they are also the worst of both worlds being both expensive (if not more expensive than an EV now) and typically have two half baked drive trains and require more servicing etc. etc.

The battery tech has more than been there for 6+ years at this point for passenger cars and the main issue has just been fleshing out the model range at reasonable prices which takes a lot of time. They've only really been able to produce PHEV's with large batteries because the prices have dropped. The same price drop is what also enabled EV's to launch at their now very competitive price points.

I doubt BMW made any money on the i3 or i8. The i3 range extender version got binned off really quickly in its product lifecycle because few people actually used it. Once they upped the battery size, it got dropped as an option. The range extender was also unreliable and there the cause of a lot of issues - part of being the worst of both worlds.
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For me though you never have that range anxiety though which is an important attribute to have in a car. I am never forced into "stopping" for electricity if I need it at a services and can just rely on the ICE when you get stuck to get you home. It gives you complete freedom for those cases when you need to make a long journey.

I understand I am a minority here but a range extender large estate would most likely be my dream "daily".
 
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I had an Aygo for a while and it was the perfect little local runaround. Cost beans to run and they don't ever seem to go wrong.
 
danlightbulb said:
Thanks but think the range extender idea is extra hassle we don't need. Still needs servicing like a petrol, still needs fuel, carrying around extra weight for 99% of the time. Think I'll rule that one out but take a look at the i3 EV though looks a bit expensive.
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I’m not sure an i3 is the best pick for someone returning to driving after a while. They are PDQ with even the lightest press of the throttle and need a lot steering correction at carriageway speeds especially with cross winds. It’s quite a harsh learning curve even for an experienced driver. Plus at 5k miles PA, it’s questionable if an EV makes much sense at all. An MX-5 might be worth considering.
 
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