So the lease on the golf GTE finishes this summer, so a replacement is needed. Having lived with the hybrid for 3 years, I'm keen to go full electric, providing we can get a range of circa 150 - 200 miles. The Kia e-niro looks ideal, but waiting lists are a year to purchase. (The lease company can provide 1 at the end of the golf term, but I'll be spanking about 17k + VAT for 3 years, which seems a bit steep).
Leaf may be a possibility, but is a bit small for a family of 4 + dog. Does anybody have any experience of living with a Tesla Model S ? I quite like the idea of a second hand one, but I imagine maintenance costs / repairs are a tad expensive.
Do you realise the leaf is actually bigger than the eniro?, Just.
If you buy a used car direct from Tesla then they will come with a warranty and some peace of mind. I think the issue for me might be you might have to travel a distance to have official sevice and repairs, you'd have to look into it. BTW pre orders for the UK model 3 open on 1st May I believe.
VW ID pre orders open on 8 May, not sure of car size tho.
Are the basic ipace and / or etron outside your budget?
Most stuff is coming in 2020 the choice is limited at the mo.
I didn't realise that BA. Ipace and etron too much. I am tempted to put an order in for a model 3. Cant see me loosing much on it, even if I only keep it for a short period. Tesla just have such good charging infrastructure already in place.
My company installs EV charge points so we see a lot of EV cars. The Tesla is nice and has a useable range but it's too much money and some of them have lots of issues they need to go back for. The Leaf is good but to get a useable range you'll need the soon to be here 64kw version. The i3 again a nice car and very clever but range is the issue again. I drove the Kia e-niro today and that was the best for range and price, it had a genuine 260 mile range and drove great. I'd have bought one today if they had one but as you've said the waiting list is 18months.
Personally I'd wait for an e-niro or the Hyundai equivalent but I'd also wait till they are readily available so you don't pay list price. Buy a big car for family duties and a leaf for commuting if that's what you need it for 🙂
Yep, I'm not sure if it's exterior dimensions, interior volume or both, but leaf, eniro then Kona in order of size.
The RHD model 3 is due to land on these shores June / July, but that will be cars for people who put down 1st day reservations and choose the premium packages when building their car ie the most expensive 1st. People going for the basic model 3 and who didn't take out 1st day reservations, will be way down the list. I believe 1st day reservations in the UK started about 2-3 years ago and £1k deposit. The reviews of the model 3 are very good.
By the end of 2020 there will be loads out at med size price, Seat elborn (looks good), VW ID Neo and Crozz (both look good), MG eZS ev (looks like it might be reasonable price and size SUV goes on sale in autumn), something from Skoda I think. There's quite a lot of new names from China as well, model 3 copies and mid size SUVs, not sure when they'll be in UK tho, if at all.
Used Model S prices are finally softening and I'd expect them to drop some more - the big price cut on new S and X back in March has started to correct nearly-new prices and pushed the rest down too. Plenty of owners of older ones have been tempted to order a newer one so there should be better supply of used soon as well.
https://tesla-info.com/UK/inventory.html tracks cars on all the selling sites.
They seem pretty reliable for the most part, things like door handles have known fixes now. Some early ones had motor issues but all should have had warranty fixes by now - I think for UK cars they'll still be under a powertrain warranty even if the rest of the car isn't. I think they're a solid bet for a very roomy family car with plenty of range and the best rapid charging provision.
Leaf is roomier than a Golf, big boot too.
https://www.evezy.co.uk/ may be worth considering (30 day rolling contract, all-inclusive electric car rental) to tide you over until waiting lists come down or new things like the Model 3 become available.
Our GTE goes back in January so was thinking along similar lines but have a petrol MPV on the way over from Japan for family / big distances / lots of stuff, and will likely get an early Zoe or Leaf for the mundane everyday trips.
Can you purchase your Golf?
I have a BMW 330e which I purchased 2.5 yrs in to a lease. There just wasn’t anything of a reasonable size that was affordable
Recently speaking to a bloke who has a Tesla on lease. He can’t wait for the lease to finish as he has no end of problems
Test drive and order placed for an e-niro this morning. - Seams a really nice car. 12 months wait, although the salesman advised 'should' be nearer 8. - We'll see. More legroom, headroom and bigger boot than golf GTE.
Why did you not fancy the Nissan Leaf, as it's supposed to be bigger?.
Leaf seemed pretty small to me, felt a bit cramped in the back (although I'm 6ft so assuming you'll have kids in the back then not so bad), can't see you having kids + dog + luggage in one for a day trip though.
Not sure what the answer to the OPs question is though - Tesla for me are just too much of a price premium still although I'm hoping the model 3 is £30k I have a feeling it will be more like £40k (they haven't released pricing yet have they?)
The eGolf seems dull performance-wise
The yet-be-be-launched Kia Soul EV might be an interesting option but not sure how roomy it will be inside
Unless the Model 3 is £30k I'll probably go with a self-charging hybrid next and wait 3 years for things to improve before tying myself in with a home charger and paying a premium for owning an EV right now.
Read reports that the leaf rapid charging plug type is being forced out. - Not sure how true this is. 7 year warranty on the Kia seems a good deal.
"SELF_CHARGING HYBRID" arrgghh!!
This is marketing talk that seems to be taking over, it's not new, the old Prius was a "self charging hybrid"
The battery doesn't magically charge it's self and it doesn't whip out it's cable and plug it's self in. They all use a combination of the fossil fuel engine and re-gen braking.
Sorry I spend too long watching fully charged video's on youtube!!!
Any real world experience of the Zoe for a city commuter. Free recharging at work, 9 or 13 mile commute each way, and have a SUV and saloon car as well - SUV new-ish, saloon 17 years old ?
The second hand Zoe's seem very cheap, and around £70 a month battery rental would half the fuel bill.
Model S 3 years old 78k no issues big family car that can take full suss 650b with wheels on with back seats down
I've had a Zoé for coming up to two years. The battery rental and electricty used is similar to the fuel bill for an equivalent petrol Clio for the mileages done by most people. If you expect to half your fuel bill you have a very heavy right foot and a thirsty car. Check how much the battery rental is for your annual mileage.
Second-hand Zoés are cheap but they didn't cost much to start with. I paid 16 000e for a 40kWh vesion. So far so good. Test drive one and make up your own mind.
Tesla for me are just too much of a price premium still although I’m hoping the model 3 is £30k I have a feeling it will be more like £40k (they haven’t released pricing yet have they?)
This is quoted from The Guardian article on 26 April,
"Pricing in the UK has yet to be formally announced but Musk said in March that he expected the Model 3 to start at about £33,000."
Test drive and order placed for an e-niro this morning.
Good choice, excellent cars (slightly biased as Wife works for Kia UK)...
The Golf ID can be ordered from next week.
We love our Zoe; it was bought as a second car, but since we've had it it gets used for basically everything, even the longer journeys, as it's just much nicer to drive and a lot cheaper per mile too.
Being able to preheat and defrost before you've gone outside in winter is also truly awesome.
Any vivaro sized vans on the horizon? Looking to purchase in a couple of years.
Tesla Model 3 ordering and prices are now live on the UK website. Delivery in June apparently.
“Pricing in the UK has yet to be formally announced but Musk said in March that he expected the Model 3 to start at about £33,000.”
£38k for the standard.
About the same price as a BMW 3 series of similar performance and specification, but the Tesla will cost a lot less to run.
About the same price as a BMW 3 series of similar performance and specification, but the Tesla will cost a lot less to run.
Yup. It also gets the government grant too.
So starting at £34500
No, it's definitely £38k starting price.
Musk will have included gov grant in his statement, is my point.
Musk will have included gov grant in his statement, is my point.
I'm not so sure myself is my point.
I enjoyed Paton's video above. Looks like they're doing interesting things, but I couldn't help but laugh when matey said 'there's so much more space in these old cars, because, err' and tailed off. Helpfully the presenter didn't say 'because there's none of that safety shit in here?’. Lol.
Not actually heard of the VW ID stuff before, looks interesting.
Slightly disappointed in the Tesla 3 pricing, I guess the good thing with them is apart from the performance packs there's not a whole lot of options to jack up the price (is it just me that thinks everyone else charging for car mats is a piss take? :p ). The self-driving option is a bit steep but not actually too much of a premium to add on later
Not actually heard of the VW ID stuff before, looks interesting.
It is but we'll see if they are close their price promise too.
Model 3 is over 40k
Model 3 is over 40k
Not according to the Tesla site they're £38.9k
Nope - 44k including luxury car tax. Then minus the PICG its 40.5k
Tesla model 3 starts at 38.9k for the 2wd version before any discounts or grants. Tesla's are tempting as they work well, but they are early adopters of the new technology and don't have the experience and I can't help thinking that as the mainstream manufacturers start releasing their models they will quickly overtake Tesla, so although I fancy a Model 3 and will probably be getting one next year, I wouldn't want to get too invested in it or Tesla, so will probably look to lease...I think Tesla will be overtaken very quickly and will fall into decline rapidly over the coming years as the main manufactures who actually know how to mass produce good cars come into play. Tesla so far have had a free reign with no real competition and with some stiff competition coming they'll struggle. I certainly wouldn't be considering buying a used Tesla.
Tesla’s are tempting as they work well, but they are early adopters of the new technology and don’t have the experience
WTF! Tesla have more experience than any other EV manufacturers in the West, followed by Nissan and Renault. Things are progressing fast and it seems to me that Tesla, Nissan and Renault are still at the top of their game in their respective sectors. The Zoé and Leaf keep leap-frogging each other in terms of range and appeal to slightly different parts of the mass market, the Leaf having a bit more accomodation. The new Leaf+ and Zoé 2 (for later this year) both have about 400km of real range from proven, reliable platforms that are a delight to drive.
About the same price as a BMW 3 series of similar performance and specification
Well might manage same 0-60. However less range, crap to drive, poor build quality and quality of materials, ugly interior, very very expensive if you crash it.
Apart from that, yes similar I guess
There's car building experience and EV technology experience though - Tesla clearly still have issues with the former. Also, from what I've read, their technical infrastructure and processes are a shambles - if they've not improved on what's been leaked (regarding the dev processes, security processes etc.) then it seems more luck than judgement there's not been a major issue encountered already (like every car getting bricked by a dodgy update or a security vulnerability allowing remote control to some extent). The build quality of the cars is notoriously poor compared with modern major manufacturers. The one thing Tesla has is the technology and that advantage is fast disappearing. Pretty sure if the value of the company wasn't so over-inflated they'd have been acquired by a mainstream manufacturer long ago.
drive, poor build quality and quality of materials, ugly interior, very very expensive if you crash it.
Yup that describes BMWs.
Yawn.
38,900 PLUS 1,600 (lux tax)
= 40,500
WTF! Tesla have more experience than any other EV manufacturers in the West, followed by Nissan and Renault
Experience of what? Customer care? Mainstream manufacture at scale across multiple continents? They have one factory. Whilst I liked the 3 I sat in in the US, their Heathrow site is 200 m from work and frankly, the Mini showroom across the road looks more impressive.
I personally think they will be the MySpace and Yahoo of the electric vehicle world and will struggle with scale. When Toyota decide to do electric, with all their Hybrid experience, manufacturing excllence and locations, then the market will react.