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EV general discussion

Had a Suzuki e-Vitara as a loan car for a day the other week while I took my Sister's car in for an MOT. And I must say I rather liked driving it.

First time ever driving an EV.

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The dynamics were ok, not great, not terrible, just...ok. I guess I didn't mention them because there was nothing memorable about them. It was competent enough. I'd expect the Born to be better, it's a bit smaller?

It’s not just about the weight, but the steering feel and feedback. I also had an I-Pace that was heavier than the Seal I drove and the I-Pace was far superior in handling and feedback.

My wife’s iX2 is a fairly heavy crossover SUV style, with driving dynamics that are also very good.

Apologies I just thought if you felt the VRS had poor handling, why the Seal was a consideration given it is not renowned for its driver focused dynamics.
 
The Seal I’d tested a week before the Enyaq but even so, whilst the Seal wasn’t the best in dynamics, it wasn’t “wow this is bad” like the Enyaq felt. I could put up with it in the Seal but definitely not in the Enyaq, it felt considerably worse.
 
Had a Suzuki e-Vitara as a loan car for a day the other week while I took my Sister's car in for an MOT. And I must say I rather liked driving it.

First time ever driving an EV.

How come it's taken you this long to drive an EV? AS for the e-Vitara, looks like the baby of a Citeron and Kia.
 
The Seal I’d tested a week before the Enyaq but even so, whilst the Seal wasn’t the best in dynamics, it wasn’t “wow this is bad” like the Enyaq felt. I could put up with it in the Seal but definitely not in the Enyaq, it felt considerably worse.

Seal isn't a terrible car given the size and weight, and is a crazy amount of car for money. You can pick up a new Excellence for under £400 a month on PCH, on a 1+36 or buy a pre-reg for just under £35k, I think if you are buying on cost then the Seal can be forgiven a few of the less driving focused features, at least unlike BMW you don't have to add on the Sport, Comfort, Tech, Range, Vision, Smell, Entertainment, Wheel, Dynamics and Indicator packs just to get what you'd expect in a car that price.
 
Just a touch of a strawman there maybe :)

Not sure where you're seeing a strawman in what was obviously a very straightforward statement, but the point still stands. Mondern cars, with modern driving aids and the modern legislation they need to adhere to, are all competent vehicles that will handle and brake perfectly fine for normal road conditions.
 
Seal isn't a terrible car given the size and weight, and is a crazy amount of car for money. You can pick up a new Excellence for under £400 a month on PCH, on a 1+36 or buy a pre-reg for just under £35k, I think if you are buying on cost then the Seal can be forgiven a few of the less driving focused features, at least unlike BMW you don't have to add on the Sport, Comfort, Tech, Range, Vision, Smell, Entertainment, Wheel, Dynamics and Indicator packs just to get what you'd expect in a car that price.
Yep the Seal was comfy, has all the options as standard and all in all felt pretty solid and well put together. I do think it’s my fallback car if the i3 test drive (eventually) doesn’t work out or I can’t get an iX3 50 at the right price.
 
I don't know the specific prices...but if you're looking at the Seal, then others to consider are the (obviously) model 3, polestar 2, ioniq 6.

Say what you want about Musk, but the latest model 3 is pretty damn good. I test drove one, when I brought my model 3 for it's end-of-warranty servicing. The current model 3 is a much better car than its predecessor.
 
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Yes you are unlikely to get the old Morris Marina type handling on any modern car, but not all modern cars are created equal for handling.
you can't offset impact of a 30% increase in weight, like a human being can't for athletic results.


Makes me think of the first time I got in a Tesla, it was Uber did not know how to open the door :cry: :o
That's on my bucket list, like having tuneable ambiant lighting inside a car/handles (but GenZ have their needs)
read uber had had to send instructions to customers about to pick up an m3 ride.
Maybe the handles do contribute to overall weight savings though.


granny cables :- if you do monitor the charging rate any throttling due to plug/socket heating should be apparent

JLR news - so are trumps tarifs going to significantly impact electric range rover exports, reviews suggesting these are more like £200K though,
so more premium than 01
 
How come it's taken you this long to drive an EV? AS for the e-Vitara, looks like the baby of a Citeron and Kia.
Not sure why it's taken this long, wasn't interested in them I suppose so never looked to buy one.

However, I'm thinking about getting one of these, in the Ultra AllGrip version, for fun and giggles. :cool:
 
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Not sure where you're seeing a strawman in what was obviously a very straightforward statement, but the point still stands. Mondern cars, with modern driving aids and the modern legislation they need to adhere to, are all competent vehicles that will handle and brake perfectly fine for normal road conditions.

Because nobody was comparing modern EVs to a 1970s Morris Marina. They were comparing contemporary EVs.

Saying a BYD Seal is “no Taycan” but at least it’s not as bad a a Morris Marina, is pretty much approaching strawman territory.
 
Because nobody was comparing modern EVs to a 1970s Morris Marina. They were comparing contemporary EVs.

Saying a BYD Seal is “no Taycan” but at least it’s not as bad a a Morris Marina, is pretty much approaching strawman territory.

I think the point he’s making is that, the relative difference is tiny.


Yes, someone isn’t going to be comparing to a 1970s heap, but then in the 1970s the difference between cars was quite staggering. These days, it’s much smaller - more so now with electric drivetrains.



I’ve driven quite a few EVs and they broadly all feel the same to drive. Subtle differences in suspension and steering, but it really is quite small when you think about how many models there are.


Edit: I’ll add for the average person.
 
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I just saw your edit where you clarified for the average person and I agree.

But for those who like and know the difference between sporty and skittish, there is a very notable difference. The fact the original poster I was replying to saw a big difference between the Enyaq VRS and the rest in his list is testament to that fact.

The sporty feel, handling and driver feedback of my I-Pace was far beyond what a FWD Kona EV delivered. The gulf in handling was massive and I don’t just mean the performance. Before someone says different segment and price points, my Born is also noticeably better on driver feedback and handling than the Kona EV I had for 3 days and they are similar price segments.
 
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I’m sorry but the differences are not “tiny”. The fact the original poster I was replying to saw a big difference between the Enyaq VRS and the rest in his list is testament to that fact.

The sporty feel, handling and driver feedback of my I-Pace was far beyond what a FWD Kona EV delivered. The gulf in handling was massive and I don’t just mean the performance. Before someone says different segment and price points, my Born is also noticeably better on driver feedback and handling than the Kona EV I had for 3 days and they are similar price segments.

They are tiny when you compare the difference between what cars used to be like.


I’ve driven several EVs for extended periods of time, and they share a very similar driving profile.



A Taycan does not feel materially different to a Grandland EV in the way that an ICE Grandland does to a Panamera.



Is it different? Yes obviously. Steering has more feel, suspension more supple, brakes are better.



But it’s not even in the same league of difference compared to what it used to be like when picking between cars.


Every EV has a compromised ride which is, at best, obscured by better chassis setups. But it’s immediately obvious when you’re driving an EV regardless of which one it is.
 
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Then we have very different ideas of the difference between subtle and pronounced.
 
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They are tiny when you compare the difference between what cars used to be like.

I think due to the much better and more linear power delivery a low end car feels better than ever before, and hence why people talking about handling are likely thinking about doing 60MPH on a country B-road where the bad handling still shows in an EV, just not the lack of power as much (for a lot of cars) any more.
 
I think due to the much better and more linear power delivery a low end car feels better than ever before, and hence why people talking about handling are likely thinking about doing 60MPH on a country B-road where the bad handling still shows in an EV, just not the lack of power as much (for a lot of cars) any more.

Exactly, it’s like when people confuse skittish overly stiff handling with sporty and planted.
 
I think it looks quite cool! Are fabric dashboards a minefield? Not something I have heard to be overly problematic!
Me too, I'll take fabric over bland plastic and I'll take literally any material over "piano black". Now we just need manufacturers to move away from glossy glass screens and we can start to have cabins that function in the environment of a car again!
 
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