When are you going fully electric?

throwaway4372 said:
What happened to the Vauxhall Ampera? That seemed like a good solution, I strongly considered one when I bought my Astra but it cost quite a lot more so I didn't bother. Anyone know if there's a car like that now or upcoming?
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i looked into buying one but (before the HEVRA garage opened near me) i phone up vauxhall and my local dealers said they could not service or maintain it and suggested i drive 30 odd miles to one. for me it was not a car problem but a support issue. i still think they look tidy tho and were pretty advanced for their time. cheap to buy now as well.

as for similar cars... do you mean where the petrol motor charges the battery rather than runs the car? if so thre is the bmw i3 with a REX. they are only small tho (and you are looking at getting a 4 year old one if you want the REX).

its not exactly the same as the ampera can sometimes drive the wheels from the engine when at high speed, tho i believe this is generally quite rare.... the i3 the motor (a small 600cc 2 stroke motorbike engine) only ever charges the battery.
 
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I have an Ampera, best car I've owned out of 7 so far.

The 40 mile average peppy EV range is perfect as a daily for me and the engine is fine on a 350 mile round-trip cruise when i see my family quarterly.

I got a late 14' model for a steal back in May '22 for 5k. High miles for the age at 143k and I'm now on 184k without major fault.

Most gear on it is basic Vaxuhall insignia so is pretty cheap to fix.

Also the battery (liquid cooled) and hybrid system is rock solid or maybe I've just been lucky though American verions (Chevy Volt) have gone on to reach 400k.

Did crack a metal engine coolant pipe going over a speed bump but there are plenty being broken up now to get quick replacements, just need a good garage.

Other common faults I've fixed DIY are a new steering lock and a new charging socket costing me £100 a time for new parts.

The advantage is I can always flip over to the other engine at any time but it effectively is an EV with the same range as a knackered Nissan leaf which is more than enough for my daily commute without the range anxiety.

It has a 16kwh pack which is large even for moden PHEV standards though only 10Kwh is usable which still gets me 44 miles in summer but as low as 25 miles in winter if I go hog on the pre-heat and resistive cabin heater.

Awesome car the money. Probably get another one then maybe 38kwh Ioniqs will be in my price range.
 
CaneyJ said:
I have an Ampera, best car I've owned out of 7 so far.

The 40 mile average peppy EV range is perfect as a daily for me and the engine is fine on a 350 mile round-trip cruise when i see my family quarterly.

I got a late 14' model for a steal back in May '22 for 5k. High miles for the age at 143k and I'm now on 184k without major fault.

Most gear on it is basic Vaxuhall insignia so is pretty cheap to fix.

Also the battery (liquid cooled) and hybrid system is rock solid or maybe I've just been lucky though American verions (Chevy Volt) have gone on to reach 400k.

Did crack a metal engine coolant pipe going over a speed bump but there are plenty being broken up now to get quick replacements, just need a good garage.

Other common faults I've fixed DIY are a new steering lock and a new charging socket costing me £100 a time for new parts.

The advantage is I can always flip over to the other engine at any time but it effectively is an EV with the same range as a knackered Nissan leaf which is more than enough for my daily commute without the range anxiety.

It has a 16kwh pack which is large even for moden PHEV standards though only 10Kwh is usable which still gets me 44 miles in summer but as low as 25 miles in winter if I go hog on the pre-heat and resistive cabin heater.

Awesome car the money. Probably get another one then maybe 38kwh Ioniqs will be in my price range.
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Thanks for this info, I've been looking at these for the past couple of days and they look just the ticket as a stepping stone into an EV.

The only thing that put me off was scarcity of spare parts. I suspected it might be based on Insignia running gear, so thanks for confirming this.

I mentioned the Amperra to the Mrs, she's never heard of them and I didn't get good vibes.. Work to do!
 
Just having a bit of a shop-around for insurance, currently paying about £900, LV = £2200!!!!, guess they don't want to insure electric vehicles then, Tesco are £791.29!
 
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Having a test drive of an eGolf (2020) with 11k miles on it, which is listed at 12.6k locally.

Anything that I should be wary of going in, this would be our first EV and feels like a better deal than getting a similar car through my work scheme (which would be something like an MG4)
 
Does anyone have any idea how long these good ID7 lease deals might be around? I'm after a new car, preferably an electric estate, and they seem to fit the bill nicely... but I'm in the process of trying to move house at the moment and obviously don't want a) to install a charger at the house I'm selling, and b) to take on an extra financial commitment while the house stuff is in progress.
 
montymint said:
Having a test drive of an eGolf (2020) with 11k miles on it, which is listed at 12.6k locally.

Anything that I should be wary of going in, this would be our first EV and feels like a better deal than getting a similar car through my work scheme (which would be something like an MG4)
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The eGolf is a bit meh IMO, the small battery and fact it's not making the most of the interior space etc would make it a bit compromised..

However, plenty of early 2020/2021 ID.3's with the 58KWh battery with ~50k miles.. for £13k.. even if the battery is 90% (cars on there with 70k miles are at 88%, most of that would be lost in the first 10-20K miles) at that point, that's still a WLTP of 240 miles vs the best case 184 of the eGolf..
The '1st edition' ones are good, they came with better lights etc, although even the base spec 'Life' as adaptive cruise, heated seats etc.. but if you want full LED active lights etc, then you want a higher spec.

The ID.3 is a better proposition for the suspension, interior space, charging speeds, etc, and the batteries are proving reliable (bar that recall for faulty modules, but that is sorted at their expense!).
 
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arty said:
Does anyone have any idea how long these good ID7 lease deals might be around? I'm after a new car, preferably an electric estate, and they seem to fit the bill nicely... but I'm in the process of trying to move house at the moment and obviously don't want a) to install a charger at the house I'm selling, and b) to take on an extra financial commitment while the house stuff is in progress.
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I think there will be similar deals on and off for the next couple of years while manufacturers try to hit mandate targets. I don't think it's the end of the world to wait - it might not be an ID7 deal but there will be some good EV deals around continuously
 
Demon said:
The eGolf is a bit meh IMO, the small battery and fact it's not making the most of the interior space etc would make it a bit compromised..

However, plenty of early 2020/2021 ID.3's with the 58KWh battery with ~50k miles.. for £13k.. even if the battery is 90% (cars on there with 70k miles are at 88%, most of that would be lost in the first 10-20K miles) at that point, that's still a WLTP of 240 miles vs the best case 184 of the eGolf..
The '1st edition' ones are good, they came with better lights etc, although even the base spec 'Life' as adaptive cruise, heated seats etc.. but if you want full LED active lights etc, then you want a higher spec.

The ID.3 is a better proposition for the suspension, interior space, charging speeds, etc, and the batteries are proving reliable (bar that recall for faulty modules, but that is sorted at their expense!).
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I was put off by the ID3 as a colleagues has a faulty battery module, can't charge and is stuck in his garage awaiting either the end of his lease of for VW / Octopus to come pick it up for the recall.
 
montymint said:
I was put off by the ID3 as a colleagues has a faulty battery module, can't charge and is stuck in his garage awaiting either the end of his lease of for VW / Octopus to come pick it up for the recall.
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all cars can fail... it sucks but is what it is, i would not base the car off of 1 bad experience. your choice of course but 13k gets you a few decent options for an EV these days. at least keep that in mind when haggling on price. (not saying not to get the egolf, i dont know enough about it)
 
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Looking at changing my wifes little Honda Jazz hybrid for a full electric. Range less important as she does a maximum round trip of 50 miles and we have my PHEV for longer journeys. The car must have the ability and capacity to take a dog crate on the back set for a Cockapoo as she does at present or at a push the crate can go in a hatchback/SUV boot. Her preference is a car not much bigger than the Jazz she has.

The car will be kept for a minimum of 5 years

Budget £18.000 - £25,000 Under 20k is ideal

I shortlisted the following:

BMW i3 2022 with 22,000 miles at £18,000 - she likes this one but I'm concerned it will depreciate rapidly

Mini Electric 2022 21,000m £17,500 - she doesn't really like the Mini but would consider it in the absence of anything else

Honda E 2022 13,500m £17,500 - doesn't like the shape!!

Kona Electric 2023 300m £20,300 Might be to big!!

It's proving to be a nightmare to find a car that suits her needs in budget. I'm open to suggestions and any comments on the above choices
 
SexyGreyFox said:
Work colleague telling me about her next door neighbours new car which I'd never heard of.
It never came up on my searches because I had a bigger battery filter on but this looks quite impressive for granny driving - https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202407222025586?journey=FEATURED_LISTING_JOURNEY&sort=relevance&advertising-location=at_cars&fuel-type=Electric&make=GWM ORA&page=1&postcode=st3 2dj&fromsra
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i know you should never judge a book by its cover....................... but that car is not for me ;)
 
AnastieByte said:
Looking at changing my wifes little Honda Jazz hybrid for a full electric. Range less important as she does a maximum round trip of 50 miles and we have my PHEV for longer journeys. The car must have the ability and capacity to take a dog crate on the back set for a Cockapoo as she does at present or at a push the crate can go in a hatchback/SUV boot. Her preference is a car not much bigger than the Jazz she has.

The car will be kept for a minimum of 5 years

Budget £18.000 - £25,000 Under 20k is ideal

I shortlisted the following:

BMW i3 2022 with 22,000 miles at £18,000 - she likes this one but I'm concerned it will depreciate rapidly

Mini Electric 2022 21,000m £17,500 - she doesn't really like the Mini but would consider it in the absence of anything else

Honda E 2022 13,500m £17,500 - doesn't like the shape!!

Kona Electric 2023 300m £20,300 Might be to big!!

It's proving to be a nightmare to find a car that suits her needs in budget. I'm open to suggestions and any comments on the above choices
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This sounds exactly like my wife but as soon as she sat in the MG4 she said "This is it".
Horses for courses.
 
AnastieByte said:
Looking at changing my wifes little Honda Jazz hybrid for a full electric. Range less important as she does a maximum round trip of 50 miles and we have my PHEV for longer journeys. The car must have the ability and capacity to take a dog crate on the back set for a Cockapoo as she does at present or at a push the crate can go in a hatchback/SUV boot. Her preference is a car not much bigger than the Jazz she has.

The car will be kept for a minimum of 5 years

Budget £18.000 - £25,000 Under 20k is ideal

I shortlisted the following:

BMW i3 2022 with 22,000 miles at £18,000 - she likes this one but I'm concerned it will depreciate rapidly

Mini Electric 2022 21,000m £17,500 - she doesn't really like the Mini but would consider it in the absence of anything else

Honda E 2022 13,500m £17,500 - doesn't like the shape!!

Kona Electric 2023 300m £20,300 Might be to big!!

It's proving to be a nightmare to find a car that suits her needs in budget. I'm open to suggestions and any comments on the above choices
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the i3 is expensive for what it is if all you look at is the range and size........ but i must admit i really do like ours. personally i think it just may become a future classic just due to how unique it is...... however the boot is tiny! and the backseats, whilst they are more accessible than a 2 door car, they are still more of a pain than a proper 4/5 door vehicle so may not tick the dog crate box.

but for your wifes use, the facelifted leaf must surely be worth consideration, as well as the ID3, E 208 (as well as other cars on that platform essentially the same but personally i think the peugeot is the nicest looker), MG4 is a decent car......., in fact there are so so many.

mind you if the i3 is expensive for what it is, the honda E is ludicrous!. personally i would rule that right out esp as she does not like it anyway... you really have to love the design to want that car imo!.
 
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