EV general discussion

Thanks bud, Shock as my council are not on it. its sent details to them but this should be a mandatory acceptance for councils to accept gullys.
They certainly should be doing all they can to support people if the only options going forward are plug in vehicles.

Arguably they should be doing all they can to support EV transition anyway to clean up the local air quality.
 
With the Mrs' Corsa VXR not really being up to the job with two growing kids. She wants something else, and has some specific criteria, no diesels, must be fast (sub 6 to 60 she says), must have 4 door, fit 4 adults comfortably with bags etc..
She has a short commute during the week or 6 miles each way, then some longer drives on the weekend.

When I bought my 330e, an electric car was totally off the cards, as we do occasional longer trips, usually where there is no charging and having the main car not really suitable for those trips was never going to work...

However, now she is keen to change hers, and we already have a "proper" car with the 330e, could a little long range model 3 be a good idea?

Looking to buy outright with 15k budget we were initially looking at circa 2020 330e saloons, Audi A5, Golf GTI, Merc C class hybrids and things, and then this popped up as a recommended option.

It got me thinking, with a plug in hybrid already on the drive, her short commute, a 7kw type 2 charger at home, and a granny charger available, surely this might be half decent idea?

For your critera, an EV is a great option. Dare I say it the long range model 3 may even be overkill.

You may be better off getting a slightly newer standard range, 22 plate models are dipping down to 15k now and it has a larger 60kwh battery (306 miles WLTP), latest infortainment processor and heat pump etc. and it still does 0-60 in ~6 seconds - RWD only.

The only thing of note missing from the standard rage is its sound system isn't as good as the long range (less speakers, no sub) but its still good enough and some footwell and puddle lights if that bothers you.

Models sold prior to December 2021 on a 71 plate had a smaller 55kwh battery, December 21 have the 60kwh battery but the older Intel based infortainment, it then switched to the newer AMD infotainment around Feb/Mar 22.

Model 3/Y is a well proven and reliable platform these days, it's also well understood and supported by a rapidly growing selection 3rd party specialists unlike many other EV's. It's downsides are firm suspension and its generally a weak point on the car, particularly older OEM bushes which wear out quickly. Parts are widely available for this and the work can be done by anyone.

Personally I wouldn’t go near a Tesla. Politics aside, there are some inherent risks which I wouldn’t fancy taking on:

- Parts availability
- Dealer support lacking
- Poor controls / driver display info

Just picking up on these comments:
-The parts thing isn't an issue and hasn't been for years now but yes some time ago it was an issue for accident repair.

-Plenty of dealers in the south but the north is much more sparce. As you are looking at an out of warranty car, you probs wouldn't take it back to Tesla anyway (labour is £££ like most first party service centres). The exception is if it suffered a high voltage failiure that would still be covered under the battery and motor warranty. As mentioned, plenty of 3rd parties deal with Tesla these days.

-The last point is very much personal and down to you, some will get on with it, some will not.

My recommendation though? Get out and try stuff.

This for sure, although I am surprised you recomended a VAG product after your experience!

Tesla is a bit marmite as are many other cars and the suspension is stiff which a lot of people will not like. Something to check with whatever you do go for is whether the battery AND motor is covered under the warranty, some manufacturers only cover the battery.
 
2022 model 3 long range AWD owner here - mine has the ryzen and heat pump. bought my used specimen 5-ish months ago.
my previous car was a bmw 440i gran coupe with all the bells and whistles.

can fully recommend the model 3 swasticar
i don't really miss my 440i (except the sound as it had the m performance kit lol)
my old 440i also had the adaptive dampers - the model 3 ride is less refined and stiffer in comparison, but it's not horrendous by any means

also as mentioned above, tesla covers the drivetrain (battery and motors) whereas some manufacturers only cover the bare legal minimum (battery only)
 
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Thanks bud, Shock as my council are not on it. its sent details to them but this should be a mandatory acceptance for councils to accept gullys.

There are others as well, so check if they are that list. Gul-E, Charge Gully, Green Mole and Pavecross
 
She is coming from a Corsa VXR with the optional performance pack, if the suspension is harder than that, I will eat Feek's hat :D

If she fancies something a bit bigger but still fast, and comfy, you can't go far wrong with an Ioniq 5 AWD. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512278811120? certainly worth a test drive if you are shopping round. Also has bonus like V2L and massive hatch boot.

You can likely find something with a lower cost as well, just a quick glance.
 
I think he forgot the lol insurance costs for model3 which suggest they are crashed frequently or have expensive repairs as MrR said
Paul, insure your BMW I4 EDRIVE35 SPORT from £414.59
Paul, insure your TESLA MODEL-3 STANDARD RANGE PLUS from £858.02
 
~500L boot space is OK, about the same as my Qashqai, wouldn't say massive but adequate for a family - I'd probably lean towards larger if you have pushchairs as well as bags, etc. to accommodate.
 
Does the Octopus 6 hour thing start at the end of the month ? Not had anything else about it.

No, it appears to have been delayed slightly because they're not ready, still no confirmed date, as per post from Phil Steele (Octopus) on social media:

Hi all, A quick update on the IOG 6-hour windows change. The end of January timeframe I gave was a rough date. We’re taking a little extra time to get it right, so for now, you don’t need to do a thing, just keep using your tech as normal and we’ll give you a shout (with plenty notice) when the updates are ready.
Feel free to ping me either here or I respond to most emails sent to agile @ octopus . energy if preferred. Phil
 
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