When are you going fully electric?

ICDP · 14 Nov 2021 at 08:36

Buddy said:
The Niro has great reviews. Shame it looks very errr plain. Also the prices used are around 33k. Which is ok but then you think just pay an extra 10k and get a Tesla.

Are you seriously so deluded you think someone can just drop £10,000 extra on a car just cus Tesla? Why is there this mythical status assigned to Tesla's that they are some luxury pinnacle of motoring?. Maybe people would like to save the £10K and get a car with decent practicality, better build quality and an interior that wasn't designed by a 5 year old kid?

If Tesla was the only EV option we had, I would still be driving a dirty diesel.

oweneades · 14 Nov 2021 at 09:30

welshboy said:
I’m just on the trigger too, just deciding what colour , the black looks good but space grey is few weeks till release

I went with the black option as we are going to changing out our front windows for dark grey ones next year. There was no option for a space grey when I ordered so must be new?

DarrenM343 · 14 Nov 2021 at 09:43

Journey said:
What's the standard spec on an i3 like? Do you get heated seats, steering wheel etc.? When did they do the face lift with the much better/upgraded Infotaiment?

Face lift was 2018 I think, not sure when during the year. Heated seats are standard but not heated wheel. Not even sure if that's an option. DAB radio and and folding mirrors standard, at least on the latest model. I'd definitely recommend the leather interior. Mine has the standard grey seats and the driver seat already showing some minor fading on edge due to wear. I think the first owner might have been a shorty.
Really like the i3, so much so, I've been tempted to enquire about a new i3S forever unique edition, given it's held its value well since I bought it. Big downside with a new one - I don't like the pedestrian warning sound that's now standard. Mine is a 2020 model so doesn't have that rubbish. Doubt I will switch to a new one but i3 does everything well for me. Compact, relatively lightweight, decent range(for me), SUV-like for helping elderly parents, can turn on a penny. Can even fit my Brompton flat in the boot without folding down the rear seats, so it's out of view

bimbleuk · 14 Nov 2021 at 09:44

ICDP said:
Are you seriously so deluded you think someone can just drop £10,000 extra on a car just cus Tesla? Why is there this mythical status assigned to Tesla's that they are some luxury pinnacle of motoring?. Maybe people would like to save the £10K and get a car with decent practicality, better build quality and an interior that wasn't designed by a 5 year old kid?

If Tesla was the only EV option we had, I would still be driving a dirty diesel.

The equivalent EVs coming out now with upgrades are similar price anyway so it's not just Tesla being the only option but for me it was the best all round EV that had performance and enough practicality for my needs.

After owning a 2015 i3 for a year it gave me confidence that an EV would work for me. So I pre-ordered a new car which I'd always thought I would never do and a Tesla at the time seemed to be the best future proofed option.

jpaul · 14 Nov 2021 at 10:40

i3s has the torque vectoring versus its predecessor(&kona) - heated steering wheel or seat are a minor requirement in comparison, people were putting wider profile tyres on them as a worakround
(brexit bonus ? used konas in europe - more like 22K regularly https://4-rad.de/gebrauchtwagen/ )

ICDP · 14 Nov 2021 at 11:27

bimbleuk said:
The equivalent EVs coming out now with upgrades are similar price anyway so it's not just Tesla being the only option but for me it was the best all round EV that had performance and enough practicality for my needs.

After owning a 2015 i3 for a year it gave me confidence that an EV would work for me. So I pre-ordered a new car which I'd always thought I would never do and a Tesla at the time seemed to be the best future proofed option.

The poster I was replying to wasn't talking about similar priced EVs. They were very specific that the E-Niro costs £33K so just put the extra £10,000 as if £10K extra for a Tesla was somehow getting you a lot more car. In fact you are paying £10K more for a car with less practicality and less range.

No rational person with a £30K budget just thinks, "sure breaking my budget by 33% is no big deal". If they had £43K to spend in the first place, they aren't looking at a cheaper car anyway.

andicole0 · 14 Nov 2021 at 11:37

A friend of mine has been unable to source a new EV due to shortages. They looked at 3 manufacturers, I understand, now they have given up looking. Back to their old diesel

Journey · 14 Nov 2021 at 11:40

andicole0 said:
A friend of mine has been unable to source a new EV due to shortages. They looked at 3 manufacturers, I understand, now they have given up looking. Back to their old diesel

Currently you could have just said, a friend of mine was looking for a new car, but couldn't find one, so went back to their old one. I have found that BEV's are easier to source with leadtimes shorter that a lot of ICE vehicles.

ICDP · 14 Nov 2021 at 11:40

andicole0 said:
A friend of mine has been unable to source a new EV due to shortages. They looked at 3 manufacturers, I understand, now they have given up looking. Back to their old diesel

This is the exact same for ICE cars as well. The only BEVs you can get within a decent timescale are Polestar 2, XC40 Recharge, Tesla and I think the Ioniq 5. Maybe look at those?

Russinating · 14 Nov 2021 at 11:55

andicole0 said:
A friend of mine has been unable to source a new EV due to shortages. They looked at 3 manufacturers, I understand, now they have given up looking. Back to their old diesel

Try getting a new diesel van and then complain. Shortage is nothing to do with EVs, if anything you can get them much quicker (Tesla M3s shipping in Feb for example).

Buddy · 14 Nov 2021 at 12:38

ICDP said:
Are you seriously so deluded you think someone can just drop £10,000 extra on a car just cus Tesla? Why is there this mythical status assigned to Tesla's that they are some luxury pinnacle of motoring?. Maybe people would like to save the £10K and get a car with decent practicality, better build quality and an interior that wasn't designed by a 5 year old kid?

If Tesla was the only EV option we had, I would still be driving a dirty diesel.

Relax my man. Was talking personally, balancing my own options. Really need to go out for some test drives and see if there's much between them.

welshboy · 14 Nov 2021 at 20:08

oweneades said:
I went with the black option as we are going to changing out our front windows for dark grey ones next year. There was no option for a space grey when I ordered so must be new?

According to the FB group it’s due for release end of month. There also going to release covers separate for around £105.

Greebo · 15 Nov 2021 at 09:23

Journey said:
Currently you could have just said, a friend of mine was looking for a new car, but couldn't find one, so went back to their old one. I have found that BEV's are easier to source with leadtimes shorter that a lot of ICE vehicles.

Correct. manufacturers are keeping all their meagre supply of chips for their Ev cars or the top of the range ICE/hybrid cars. For example, if you want a hybrid Merc it can be up to a years waiting but only 3 months if you want a Merc EV.

chanjy · 17 Nov 2021 at 07:27

Yay an estate EV. No doubt it’ll be extremely expensive though, would love for it to trickle down to a normal price point

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/audi-rs6-e-tron-due-600bhp-ev-performance-estate

Nikumba · 17 Nov 2021 at 07:49

chanjy said:
Yay an estate EV. No doubt it’ll be extremely expensive though, would love for it to trickle down to a normal price point

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/audi-rs6-e-tron-due-600bhp-ev-performance-estate

Looks nice, MG do an estate EV, but does say the A6-E would launch at the same time

b0rn2sk8 · 17 Nov 2021 at 08:00

Those shopping German are not likely to want the MG though!

SDK^ · 17 Nov 2021 at 08:12

chanjy said:
Yay an estate EV. No doubt it’ll be extremely expensive though, would love for it to trickle down to a normal price point

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/audi-rs6-e-tron-due-600bhp-ev-performance-estate

Just looks and reads like another sponsored article about a concept, which is potentially due some time in the future.

Freefaller · 17 Nov 2021 at 09:48

For people in the know I have a question.

Can current infrastructure cope with 30m+ electric cars? I know this is a false challenge as there will never be 30m EVs in a short time frame, and by the time everyone has gone to electric the infrastructure will hopefully be addressed. (I also don't believe electric to be the future, I think it's a stepping stone to something more sustainable.).

From my albeit limited knowledge, the grid / power stations wouldn't be able to cope with 30m+ cars being electric as it stands.

I'm still contemplating an EV - but they're still prohibitively expensive for our lifestyle, and the extra wiring needed to the house is another pain to consider.

uncle_rufus · 17 Nov 2021 at 09:53

Freefaller said:
From my albeit limited knowledge, the grid / power stations wouldn't be able to cope with 30m+ cars being electric as it stands

My Dad is an Electrical Engineer and is very critical of this all the time - there is just no way to support it or even come close (if it changed overnight, which as you say, it won't)

steve5424 · 17 Nov 2021 at 10:01

We've still got years until the sale of ICE vehicles are stopped and in that time the infrastructure will only grow.

Many new houses are fitted with a few solar panels so I'm sure that will help a tiny bit.