• Notice regarding image hosts and attachments. See here.

EV general discussion

So, whilst I was waiting for the Polestar 4 SUV Tusker pricing to become available I was looking around at other cars, with a few getting my attention:
  • MG S6 SUV : really good pricing on this with similar space to my iX and a decent quality interior and standard tech. This is the boring sensible choice, saving me £400 per month, which would please the other half :p Not sure I could live with the bland boring design though.
  • MG IM6 SUV : MG's higher end car, competing with the Tesla Model Y, but higher quality and loads of tech : Night vison, rear wheel steering, amazing looking quilted 'leather' seats, very fast DC charging (390kW) and the Performance version has 750bhp :eek: The one thing that put me off this is the DAB radio doesn't work in most of the UK!
  • Tesla Model Y RWD Premium : The default choice; good range and class leading efficiency but just boring, and it feels like every other car on the road is a Tesla, so despite being a good car, it's low down on my list.
I remembered a review on Pistonheads of the Smart #5 Brabus : https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/2025-smart-5-brabus--ph-review/50463
This has the space I need for our MTB's, I think it looks great, you don't see many on the roads, it has all the spec I need, my son will love the extra passenger display, and the power & charging is quick with 640bhp & 400kW DC charging (10 to 80% in 15 minutes). The downside is the efficiency isn't great, 2.8 to 3.2 miles per kWh, but the 100kWh battery means the real world range is still a decent 280 to 320 miles.

Also, Tusker has some arriving in stock in October, with the option Matt Atom Grey colour the price seems good value at £640 per month, so I ordered it :)


55522941197_7733f0237c_b.jpg


55523957271_6562048b7c_b.jpg


55523957266_1a979fe9a9_b.jpg


55522957307_642136255c_b.jpg
 
Last edited:
SDK^ said:
So, whilst I was waiting for the Polestar 4 SUV Tusker pricing to become available I was looking around at other cars, with a few getting my attention:
  • MG S6 SUV : really good pricing on this with similar space to my iX and a decent quality interior and standard tech. This is the boring sensible choice, saving me £400 per month, which would please the other half :p Not sure I could live with the bland boring design though.
  • MG IM6 SUV : MG's higher end car, competing with the Tesla Model Y, but higher quality and loads of tech : Night vison, rear wheel steering, amazing looking quilted 'leather' seats, very fast DC charging (390kW) and the Performance version has 750bhp :eek: The one thing that put me off this is the DAB radio doesn't work in most of the UK!
  • Tesla Model Y RWD Premium : The default choice; good range and class leading efficiency but just boring, and it feels like every other car on the road is a Tesla, so despite being a good car, it's low down on my list.
I remembered a review on Pistonheads of the Smart #5 Brabus : https://www.pistonheads.com/news/electric-vehicles/smart-5-brabus-launched-with-646hp/49713
This has the space I need for our MTB's, I think it looks great, you don't see many on the roads, it has all the spec I need, my son will love the extra passenger display, and the power & charging is quick with 640bhp & 400kW DC charging (10 to 80% in 15 minutes). The downside is the efficiency isn't great, 2.8 to 3.2 miles per kWh, but the 100kWh battery means the range is still a decent 280 to 320 miles.

Also, Tusker has some arriving in stock in October, with the option Matt Atom Grey colour the price seems good value at £640 per month, so I ordered it :)
Click to expand...
I have had my Smart #5 for just over a month now. It’s the pulse version with AWD and only 580bhp;). It has a few quirks to get used too, I test drove a model Y a few times and the huge turning circle put me off a bit. Probably get just over 3.3m/kw but for a car of its size and power I don’t reckon it’s to bad.
 
Last edited:
SDK^ said:
So, whilst I was waiting for the Polestar 4 SUV Tusker pricing to become available I was looking around at other cars, with a few getting my attention:
  • MG S6 SUV : really good pricing on this with similar space to my iX and a decent quality interior and standard tech. This is the boring sensible choice, saving me £400 per month, which would please the other half :p Not sure I could live with the bland boring design though.
  • MG IM6 SUV : MG's higher end car, competing with the Tesla Model Y, but higher quality and loads of tech : Night vison, rear wheel steering, amazing looking quilted 'leather' seats, very fast DC charging (390kW) and the Performance version has 750bhp :eek: The one thing that put me off this is the DAB radio doesn't work in most of the UK!
  • Tesla Model Y RWD Premium : The default choice; good range and class leading efficiency but just boring, and it feels like every other car on the road is a Tesla, so despite being a good car, it's low down on my list.
I remembered a review on Pistonheads of the Smart #5 Brabus : https://www.pistonheads.com/news/electric-vehicles/smart-5-brabus-launched-with-646hp/49713
This has the space I need for our MTB's, I think it looks great, you don't see many on the roads, it has all the spec I need, my son will love the extra passenger display, and the power & charging is quick with 640bhp & 400kW DC charging (10 to 80% in 15 minutes). The downside is the efficiency isn't great, 2.8 to 3.2 miles per kWh, but the 100kWh battery means the range is still a decent 280 to 320 miles.

Also, Tusker has some arriving in stock in October, with the option Matt Atom Grey colour the price seems good value at £640 per month, so I ordered it :)


55522941197_7733f0237c_b.jpg


55523957271_6562048b7c_b.jpg


55523957266_1a979fe9a9_b.jpg


55522957307_642136255c_b.jpg
Click to expand...
Will love to hear your thoughts. I have the Pulse. :) I had a chap come up to me when at the local tip, and he said "I thought Smart cars were meant to be small." ROFL.

I did my first ever public splash and dash the other day. Gave it 15 minutes on a 150kw charger at a co-op. Bloody brilliant. Think it took me from like 15% to nearly 60%. Cost about £25 though. But impressive stuff.

Enjoy!!
 
chanjy said:
The answer is nobody knows how big the i3 touring boot will be yet except BMW insiders.

A6 e-tron is a bit crap though, feels incredibly low rent and has depreciated like a stone so he may have a point that it could be compared to a new i3 touring.
Click to expand...
So... confession time.

After slating the Audi a few times I've only gone and put a deposit down on an A6 Avant :cry:

6 months old and was up for £37k, with another £2k from Audi finance. Was too good to miss.
 
Firegod said:
Will love to hear your thoughts. I have the Pulse. :) I had a chap come up to me when at the local tip, and he said "I thought Smart cars were meant to be small." ROFL.

I did my first ever public splash and dash the other day. Gave it 15 minutes on a 150kw charger at a co-op. Bloody brilliant. Think it took me from like 15% to nearly 60%. Cost about £25 though. But impressive stuff.

Enjoy!!
Click to expand...
Sounds good.
We will be doing more trips up to Fort William in Scotland next year, which is a 850 mile round trip- I can see the Ionity network has enough 350kW chargers on route, including one directly in FW :)
Subscribing to Ionity for £10.50 a month reduces the charging rate to 47p kWh, which means it costs less than filling up with fuel, about 14p a mile for #5 Brabus
 
Firegod said:
Will love to hear your thoughts. I have the Pulse. :) I had a chap come up to me when at the local tip, and he said "I thought Smart cars were meant to be small." ROFL.

I did my first ever public splash and dash the other day. Gave it 15 minutes on a 150kw charger at a co-op. Bloody brilliant. Think it took me from like 15% to nearly 60%. Cost about £25 though. But impressive stuff.

Enjoy!!
Click to expand...
I stopped at one of the many ionity chargers at Baldock services after 65 mile journey a few weeks ago. Didn’t set the battery for conditioning so just turned up at the charger on a hot day started at 47% stopped at 82% took just over 11 mins at an average of 201kw, what surprised me most was it was still pulling 201kw after 80%. I used to think my Ioniq 5 had good charging but the Smart makes it look like a Leaf!
 
david25 said:
ID Polo reviews from UK sources

https://www.youtube.com/volkswizard
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/volks...olo-2026-review-seriously-impressive-small-ev

But, long waits because of high demand
Click to expand...

I think some of the demand delay is due to the way VW slammed the brakes on their EV production ramp up, actually going backwards at one point. Marketing it as the sensible boring version of the Renault 5, but then you also have the Micra which is a great small car and probably as good as the Polo, and you can get the 52kWh version for £21.7k new.

It's a shame they didn't include the heat pump as standard as well, as this would have helped the efficiency in the cooler months of the year, small cars should be hitting 200Wh/m or less, but will wait to see what Bjorn gets out of it.
 
chanjy said:
So... confession time.

After slating the Audi a few times I've only gone and put a deposit down on an A6 Avant :cry:

6 months old and was up for £37k, with another £2k from Audi finance. Was too good to miss.
Click to expand...

I really wanted one but just too much of a stretch atm


Probably next car after the i4 in 3-5 years
 
SDK^ said:
So, whilst I was waiting for the Polestar 4 SUV Tusker pricing to become available I was looking around at other cars, with a few getting my attention:
  • MG S6 SUV : really good pricing on this with similar space to my iX and a decent quality interior and standard tech. This is the boring sensible choice, saving me £400 per month, which would please the other half :p Not sure I could live with the bland boring design though.
  • MG IM6 SUV : MG's higher end car, competing with the Tesla Model Y, but higher quality and loads of tech : Night vison, rear wheel steering, amazing looking quilted 'leather' seats, very fast DC charging (390kW) and the Performance version has 750bhp :eek: The one thing that put me off this is the DAB radio doesn't work in most of the UK!
  • Tesla Model Y RWD Premium : The default choice; good range and class leading efficiency but just boring, and it feels like every other car on the road is a Tesla, so despite being a good car, it's low down on my list.
I remembered a review on Pistonheads of the Smart #5 Brabus : https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/2025-smart-5-brabus--ph-review/50463
This has the space I need for our MTB's, I think it looks great, you don't see many on the roads, it has all the spec I need, my son will love the extra passenger display, and the power & charging is quick with 640bhp & 400kW DC charging (10 to 80% in 15 minutes). The downside is the efficiency isn't great, 2.8 to 3.2 miles per kWh, but the 100kWh battery means the real world range is still a decent 280 to 320 miles.

Also, Tusker has some arriving in stock in October, with the option Matt Atom Grey colour the price seems good value at £640 per month, so I ordered it :)


55522941197_7733f0237c_b.jpg


55523957271_6562048b7c_b.jpg


55523957266_1a979fe9a9_b.jpg


55522957307_642136255c_b.jpg
Click to expand...

Modern dashboards :( hopefully it's not as bad in reality
 
Interesting you mention about MTBs in the back with the Smart 5. I'll be looking at ditching the big 4x4 I have a the moment in the next 12 months for something electric, and one of the criteria being fitting 2 full suss bikes in the boot. I dont mind taking the wheels off.

Just wondering what other EV's you have looked at / considered / ruled out in that regard? (Just trying to save myself some of the donkey work !)
 
SDK^ said:
So, whilst I was waiting for the Polestar 4 SUV Tusker pricing to become available I was looking around at other cars, with a few getting my attention:
  • MG S6 SUV : really good pricing on this with similar space to my iX and a decent quality interior and standard tech. This is the boring sensible choice, saving me £400 per month, which would please the other half :p Not sure I could live with the bland boring design though.
  • MG IM6 SUV : MG's higher end car, competing with the Tesla Model Y, but higher quality and loads of tech : Night vison, rear wheel steering, amazing looking quilted 'leather' seats, very fast DC charging (390kW) and the Performance version has 750bhp :eek: The one thing that put me off this is the DAB radio doesn't work in most of the UK!
  • Tesla Model Y RWD Premium : The default choice; good range and class leading efficiency but just boring, and it feels like every other car on the road is a Tesla, so despite being a good car, it's low down on my list.
I remembered a review on Pistonheads of the Smart #5 Brabus : https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/2025-smart-5-brabus--ph-review/50463
This has the space I need for our MTB's, I think it looks great, you don't see many on the roads, it has all the spec I need, my son will love the extra passenger display, and the power & charging is quick with 640bhp & 400kW DC charging (10 to 80% in 15 minutes). The downside is the efficiency isn't great, 2.8 to 3.2 miles per kWh, but the 100kWh battery means the real world range is still a decent 280 to 320 miles.

Also, Tusker has some arriving in stock in October, with the option Matt Atom Grey colour the price seems good value at £640 per month, so I ordered it :)
Click to expand...
Happy to answer any questions, I have a #5 Brabus currently (silver, not matte) and the wife a MGS6. Only niggle has been the constant bongs and bings (easy to disable by double tapping the mapped favourites button).
 
I see Amazon are starting to take delivery of their Merc eArcros HGV's with the vast majority of their 200+ order heading to the UK. Be interesting to know just how much diesel they will displace every week, hopefully they'll publish something about it further down the line.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom