Soldato
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You started it
I ended up with a Siemens IQ500 as I didn't want an ancient segment display on it.When are you going fully electric?
- Thread starter Ricochet J
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You started it
I ended up with a Siemens IQ500 as I didn't want an ancient segment display on it.confirmation bias comes into these blind decisions ... build up pre-conception of the product virtues from reviews which you then objectively confirm,
with the help of cognitive dissonance, to fill in the gaps. ... but for me I'd want to physically drive it around a corner though
saw an EQA bev youtube - liked the innovative touch/track pad for the tablet screen on the arm-rest, this may reduce the distration of reaching to the tablet, definitely keeps fingerprints down too; would be nice if you could transfer to operate from right hand though.
with the help of cognitive dissonance, to fill in the gaps. ... but for me I'd want to physically drive it around a corner though
saw an EQA bev youtube - liked the innovative touch/track pad for the tablet screen on the arm-rest, this may reduce the distration of reaching to the tablet, definitely keeps fingerprints down too; would be nice if you could transfer to operate from right hand though.
Caporegime
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Well not exactly.
I also joined a Facebook group of owners and a forum of owners and so am well aware of all the issues people have had, but it's either been software related (which has now been updated) or recall work that won't apply as mine was built after it was resolved.
The early adopter beta test is pretty much over
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Judging by the latest firmware I'd say the beta test is still very much alive
But all the BEVs are a bit ‘early adopter’. Tesla pushes out updates regularly, Mercedes isn’t all that stable, Renault has issues, Hyundai/Kia seem to think you want to go to the dealer every 3 months for a recall and VAG is apparently trying to revive the phrase “VW Buggy” with its current range. Polestar at least has OTA and they had the class not to deliver some cars while they updated them so the customer would experience less inconvenience after delivery.
You just get used to it, sadly. Like turning up to an Ecotricity charger and finding out it doesn’t work anyway...
You just get used to it, sadly. Like turning up to an Ecotricity charger and finding out it doesn’t work anyway...
Because in truth there are no really awful cars any more. They’re all at least adequate. And although there are people who really agonise over what they drive, most folks aren’t that bothered and just crack on.
That's true, but the company car tax benefits do make a big impact, too.
There's no way I would have spent £60k on a car without seeing it, but given it's a company car and costs me almost nothing, I did.
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And presumably don't spend loads of their time posting about cars on the internet either to be fair, so I'm not sure that one works for this lot.
I more interested in the technology than the car, this is a technology based forum with a part for vehicles to post in.
We are not all in in love with vehicles, but lots of people have them as part of their daily lives, but I guess we shouldn't talk about them unless we obsess over every minute detail.
We are not all in in love with vehicles, but lots of people have them as part of their daily lives, but I guess we shouldn't talk about them unless we obsess over every minute detail.
But I don’t think they are that bothered. If your choice is an almost free Jaguar iPace, an almost free Polestar 2 or an almost free Tesla Model 3 Long Range what difference does it make? Saloon vs. hatch is probably going to be the deciding factor for most folks. I love cars. I truly love cars. And I’m driving a Hyundai Kona. Because it was available. And you know what? It’s fine. Would I have considered on if it wasn’t effectively free? Hell no! But once I actually sat in it, it was fine. And now I’ll happily drone on for hours about batteries and range and - well, dull stuff.
Electric propulsion is going to really shake a lot of things up. My next door neighbour (formerly a die-hard Volvo XC90 driver) has just taken delivery of a Kia e-Niro because (in his words) “It’s perfectly adequate”. Less car, more washing machine.
The same difference as when you could choose a 320d, A4 2.0TDI or a C220d for near enough the same cost to you as a company car driver - they're all good but how do you know if you might prefer one to another without looking at them?
Soldato
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Cos your BMW experience has made you obsessed with warranty and the protection it offers
Where free discussion on simply choosing an EV car and getting on with it doesn't register as sensible with your risk adverse mindset 
Truth be told - a traditional car nut would also spend a lot more time under the bonnet tinkering and fixing; as long as very SPECIFIC processes are observed as policed by Dis86...
Soldato
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The same difference as when you could choose a 320d, A4 2.0TDI or a C220d for near enough the same cost to you as a company car driver - they're all good but how do you know if you might prefer one to another without looking at them?
Office cred and brand apathy... little else.
I agree with this but to be fair I did exclude company car drivers from the beginning of my point for that reason. They are sometimes lucky they even have a choice, in 5 years of company cars my sister just got stuff out of the redistribution pool every time
The same difference as when you could choose a 320d, A4 2.0TDI or a C220d for near enough the same cost to you as a company car driver - they're all good but how do you know if you might prefer one to another without looking at them?
But I generally didn’t bother. I just ticked the box that said ‘allroad’ and another one turned up. When A6s started to be cheaper than A4s (no idea why) I had those instead. I didn’t even pick the colour of my last 3 - it was literally what was cheapest from the leasing company. I knew an Audi would fit me, so I got another Audi.
Look at all the threads on here where people ask for a recommendation. And they get recommended whatever someone thinks. These days (and I mean from about 2000 onwards) cars are generally reliable and they’re all very similar within their groups. If you’ve driven a Mercedes, most Mercedes drive like that. If you’ve driven an Audi, they all pretty much drive the same. If you’ve driven a Peugeot/Citroen, you know what you’re getting from that. Seats and contact points tend to be same across brands.
And there really are very few duffers. I had a Dacia Duster for 8 weeks on a contract in Portugal and it was great. Nissan Qashqai - loved it when I had one in loan from a Bodyshop. I’ve had all sorts to drive and other than a Chrysler that I had in the USA recently, I honestly can’t remember the last time I drove a car and was glad to give the keys back.
I can't even pick up a hire car without a quick look round and a specific request for the one I most want to drive
Again the 'no car is rubbish' arguement misses the fact that everyone has different opinions. The BMW X5 is an excellent car. Find me a single bad review. But like I said above I'd be very keen to avoid driving one again..
I'm not sure this is the same thing though. As a car enthusiast I too enjoy driving all sorts - no car is too rubbish for me to want a go in. But thats very different from deciding which car I want to spend 5 figures in cash on driving around for the next 3 years. Very different indeed.
Which is why I'm specifically exempting company car drivers from my thoughts - I've never had a company car, I know those who have so I have some insight into the thought processes but it's not something I've ever been involved with personally. And it feels like a fundamentally different process to deciding which car to sink your own money into.
Depending on just how many YouTube videos you watch an actual test drive might even take less time - and be far more useful. The better all cars get the more it's going to be objective personal preference that sets them apart rather than clear and obvious 'This car is garbage'. This makes a test drive and a good look around even more important, no?
Again the 'no car is rubbish' arguement misses the fact that everyone has different opinions. The BMW X5 is an excellent car. Find me a single bad review. But like I said above I'd be very keen to avoid driving one again..
WJA96 said:
I'm not sure this is the same thing though. As a car enthusiast I too enjoy driving all sorts - no car is too rubbish for me to want a go in. But thats very different from deciding which car I want to spend 5 figures in cash on driving around for the next 3 years. Very different indeed.
Which is why I'm specifically exempting company car drivers from my thoughts - I've never had a company car, I know those who have so I have some insight into the thought processes but it's not something I've ever been involved with personally. And it feels like a fundamentally different process to deciding which car to sink your own money into.
Depending on just how many YouTube videos you watch an actual test drive might even take less time - and be far more useful. The better all cars get the more it's going to be objective personal preference that sets them apart rather than clear and obvious 'This car is garbage'. This makes a test drive and a good look around even more important, no?
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I can't even pick up a hire car without a quick look round and a specific request for the one I most want to drive
Again the 'no car is rubbish' arguement misses the fact that everyone has different opinions. The BMW X5 is an excellent car. Find me a single bad review. But like I said above I'd be very keen to avoid driving one again..
I think you’re pretty much at the extreme end of the spectrum.
I agree it is all very subjective and I had ‘milestone’ cars - SLK 55 for example - so I could say I’d had a naturally aspirated V8 but in truth that was a great engine in need of better traction from the chassis. It wasn’t a very good car. My username has 96 in it because I’m the worlds biggest SAAB 96 V4 enthusiast. When I first started driving (40 years ago) I had a full tool kit in the boot and spare parts because cars used to break down. A lot. That just doesn’t happen now. And there were vast differences in engineering philosophy between car brands. Citroen has proper clear blue water between itself and other car brands. Mercedes genuinely pushed the motor car forwards every time an S-class was released. SAAB and Volvo had crash-resistance and SAAB was front-wheel drive because they believed it was better.
These days everything is just bought off the shelf from a sub-contractor. Need a gearbox? ZF or Aisin? Need a fuel injection system? Bosch or Marelli? Need a navigation package? Continental with Nvidia. Headlamps may be different shapes but inside the technology is all from Cibie/Valeo or OSRAM.
Modern cars are all so similar I genuinely don’t think it makes a vast difference what anyone gets these days.
Caporegime
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This will be my first company car, and it's through my own company so I could have chosen whatever I wanted within reason - I didn't want to waste silly money though as during the Pandemic my E class has been mainly sitting on my drive not doing much.
By the Merc was a PCH anyway, and was a stock vehicle so it seemed like a decent deal at the time (£400 a month with full spec Premium Plus + Mercedes drive assist). It's cost me 10K to drive a £54,000 estate for 2 years.
If I had bought one what would the depreciation be now? Not far off I imagine.
Unfortunately when I was looking at another PCH, the deals were no where near as good as 2 years ago - I'd be paying £150 a month more for a average spec A6 Avant for instance.
But the deals on EV's were good - primarily for Business Contract Hire. The Polestar 2 is about the same as what I was paying for the Mercedes, but the business will get 50% of the VAT back and I can pay myself less and the car comes out of company profits, so slightly less corporation tax.
1% BIK as of April 2021 is nothing, so it's Win/Win.
By the Merc was a PCH anyway, and was a stock vehicle so it seemed like a decent deal at the time (£400 a month with full spec Premium Plus + Mercedes drive assist). It's cost me 10K to drive a £54,000 estate for 2 years.
If I had bought one what would the depreciation be now? Not far off I imagine.
Unfortunately when I was looking at another PCH, the deals were no where near as good as 2 years ago - I'd be paying £150 a month more for a average spec A6 Avant for instance.
But the deals on EV's were good - primarily for Business Contract Hire. The Polestar 2 is about the same as what I was paying for the Mercedes, but the business will get 50% of the VAT back and I can pay myself less and the car comes out of company profits, so slightly less corporation tax.
1% BIK as of April 2021 is nothing, so it's Win/Win.
OK yes on the technology side, but the ergonomics seat comfort, cabin space, visibility, rear visibility, are difficult to appraise,
polestar 2 very much a case in point , I forget, its just 5cm taller than an m3, but has the appearance of an suv, so if I thought I'd purchased a saloon and an suv/cross turned up I'd be shocked; manufacturers, their specs, reviews, are not open on these points.
(... without mentioning weight and handling criteria )