The Electric Car Thread

For our use case it splits the difference between a mobility scooter and a car (I think my mil driving is terrible, not age related she is just terrible but the risk is reduced with a max 28mph).

Oops.
i3 must have got its wires crossed - poor guy had only had it a few days!
[img] [/img]

I understand a full UK driving license is required to drive one here.

I would gladly drive one and I hope this (obvs many variations of) is closer to the future of individual transport in cities etc as oppose to large multi tonne EV's produced by the usual planet killers, Audi, Land Rover, Mercedes, Ford etc.

Thanks molgrips, also looking at Ioniq due to CCS but the challenge I have is that I have no car at all currently, so need to find something available now. The range looks about the same, but the bigger battery ionics are a good bit more expensive than the leaf.

Thought about renting an EV on a monthly basis? It's what we're doing while we wait for our cars to be built and delivered.

www.on.to

Includes insurance, maintenance, recovery etc and also includes free leccy at Instavolt, BP and Shell chargers of any kind. 1000 mile limit per month but you can add mileage top ups. Monthly contract so just hand back once you found something.

Got a £50 quid voucher code off the 1st month if anyone interested in this route.

The range looks about the same, but the bigger battery ionics are a good bit more expensive than the leaf.

You are looking at buying? The range is better on the Ioniq by a bit, however Hyundais stand a good chance of being able to actually get that range, more so than other brands. We get more than the WTLP on urban or suburban driving, sometimes quite a bit more; but less on 70mph motorways. On A roads we get about the same as WTLP.

Was looking at buying / PCPing, however Larry Lambs idea of the monthly rental has just thrown me a big curveball. Currently feeling like being rushed into something, but that would buy the time to look at lease / PCP on new. Even though its more than a monthly payment on a purchase would be, it buys time for not much more than a weeks Fiat 500 rental has just cost me.

Larry - I would love to take you up on that voucher please.

I'm not quite sure how to message you though!

Thanks Molgrips - interesting to hear real world tales of range. Bumped into someone at lunch who has the exact leaf I was looking at - similar tales of better real world range in summer and slightly less (but not too bad) in winter.
The Chademo charger availability still worries me a bit. Going to try and get a drive in a Hyundai in the next couple of days

Looking at dropping £10k on a used Leaf soon

Anyone got fitted one of these bike rack only tow bars to a leaf? I see they are just a tow bar but with a lump on the ball as they are not type approved for towing.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283596438914

Any better EVs under £10k for bike people?

Larry – I would love to take you up on that voucher please.

The code is b3c6c

Anyone can use it for the 1st months rental.

If you go ahead, then I recommend getting some rental car hire excess insurance. The Onto excesses are £1000 per claim or £500 for windscreen.

https://www.insurance4carhire.com/product-options get the annual Europe insurance.

For £47 you can claim up to £6500 in a year. Just gives you peace of mind, we are probably going to have our EV with Onto for 4/5 months so it's worth it we think.

If Onto dont have the car you want, check everyday the stock is regularly updated and depends on when folk hand their cars back or they get new motors in the fleet.

interesting to hear real world tales of range

Yeah I haven't done it in winter yet. The WTLP range in the Ioniq corresponds to 4.8kWh going by the advertised battery size. On a wet windy day around 13C on motorway it ended up being about 4.4, that was the worst I've seen. I'll post back in 6 months 🙂

Hard to tell how much of a pain CHAdeMO will be longer term. Before Gridserve took over from Ecotricity it was an advantage, the old units all had the connector and were mostly reliable using it, while CCS was rarer and much less reliable. The initial phase of replacements has it the other way, so at most a third of connectors are CHAdeMO. Hopefully the next phases of expansion (6-12 more at each site) will keep up that sort of ratio.

Off the motorway and with other providers (Ionity apart) it’s pretty well catered for still. Instavolt, Osprey, MFG, Shell, BP and others are still putting CHAdeMO on every rapid, for now at least. The ratio of cars to chargers is much better for CHAdeMO than CCS today, and all of those are still rolling out aggressively. They’ll surely hit a point where they ratio it like Gridserve though.

I’ve just ordered a Leaf e+ regardless. I liked it more than the others I tried, the deals are really good (reviews compared to Model 3, but it’s cheaper now than most supermini EVs), spacious enough with a big boot for proper family car duties, really well built (in the UK too), and with 200+ real world miles of range it’ll be a rarity I need to rapid charge it anyway.

If you are going to get a home fast charger then consider one without a tethered lead because if you change car from CHAdeMO to a CCS later you won't have the phaff of changing a tethered lead. I went with a tethered CCS charger because I have no intention of ever buying a CHAdeMO equipped car.

You won’t have either at home unless you’re on a V2G trial with a special unit, home charging is usually AC. I think everything new including the Leaf uses type 2 for AC charging now. Old shape Leaf is type 1.

I think most people should get tethered type 2 these days unless you think you’re likely to charge a type 1 at some point (visitors, or maybe an old Leaf as a runabout), or might need the flexibility of using a longer lead to save shuffling cars about on the drive.

Kia eNiro arrived last Friday on a 3 year lease.
Not quite as well equipped as the (now departed) L&K Yeti but we were ready for a change and this has adaptive cruise control so I'm happy (i only tend to do the long motorway drives).

Fully expecting to see 200-250miles out of it.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 does look lovely

I was parked next to one yesterday. They are a lot larger in real life. This one was a dark matt grey. Very good looking car

I’ve been somewhat underwhelmed by the Ioniq 5 in the metal. The Mustang Mach E however is much nicer when it’s in front of you.

I don't fancy the Mach E interior though. Just whacking a huge tablet in the middle doesn't feel well designed to me.

Any reason, other than soul crushing dullness, why I shouldn't buy an MG5 EV long range?

Looks interesting. To me it could suit my mother in law who may be moving close by. Good for around town but not up to visiting us.

Do they do one with 4 mile range?

Oops.
i3 must have got its wires crossed – poor guy had only had it a few days!

Someone will be along soon to remind us that you're just scaremongering and this never ever happens in Europe and you're making it up and something about IC cars going on fire very regularly.

Any reason, other than soul crushing dullness, why I shouldn’t buy an MG5 EV long range?

Well, the outside is dated and dull but the interior's alright. The only other downside is 100kW charging which is quite slow for a big battery. Reviews also say it's a bit wallowy to drive although comfy. But in fairness, it doesn't look half bad for what is essentially the bottom of the market.

The Mustang Mach E however is much nicer when it’s in front of you.

That was top of my list, but the pesky dog put paid to that. Apparently it would be cruel to transport him in that silly little boot 🙄

You won’t have either at home unless you’re on a V2G trial with a special unit, home charging is usually AC. I think everything new including the Leaf uses type 2 for AC charging now. Old shape Leaf is type 1.

Yup you are quite right I forgot that CHAdeMO would never be used for home charging as CHAdeMO cars have a separate Type 2 socket.

Any reason, other than soul crushing dullness, why I shouldn’t buy an MG5 EV long range?

We test drove one. I'd agree it's pretty good considering it is as molgrips said essentially the bottom of the market. My minor negatives were: I wonder whether it's a little thirsty for what it is, but from an hour with it I couldn't say for sure. Also weak regen braking, so I felt it kind of misses out the "one pedal driving" thing, which I like but not everyone cares about. And as an estate it's at the small estate end of things in terms of boot space, IIRC.

Someone will be along soon to remind us that you’re just scaremongering and this never ever happens in Europe and you’re making it up and something about IC cars going on fire very regularly.

In the same way that others will be along to use it as an excuse for not buying an EV as they're not safe...

If recent events have taught us anything at all it's that clickbait media whips people up until tiny, almost insignificant problems are blown well out of proportion...

I wonder whether it’s a little thirsty for what it is, but from an hour with it I couldn’t say for sure

The review I saw said it was between 3.5 and 3.7 m/kWh in their test. Which isn't terrible but isn't great.

I don’t fancy the Mach E interior though. Just whacking a huge tablet in the middle doesn’t feel well designed to me.

This put me off a little too, but at least it has a proper dash with some instruments, some buttons and some manual control. It's not ALL through the tablet like a Model 3. It also (to my eyes) looks better integrated with the manual wheel control etc.

I'd need a weekend test drive to see if it would work for me.

In other news, there's a Passat-shaped saloon EV being tested by EV, expected in 2023. This would be cool.

My real sadness with EVs is that they will likely see off the Wagon (estate car). The large battery under the floor and the motors under the boot don't really lend themselves to a very svelte architecture with a low sill and a flat floor. Only the Taycan Sport Tourismo so far looks good.

The VW Aero B, Passat sized, was an estate as a concept car and I am really interested how this turns out. The saloon version looks quite large. I expect it to be expensive though with a price 10k above the ID.4. But I think we will see Estates especially considering how popular the MG 5 has been. And I will be testing the Euro MG 5 as soon as it is here early next year.

My ideal car just does not exist yet and I think I will have to wait for 2 or 3 years until it does:

1. Mid sided Estate (Octavia, Focus size)
2. AWD (Living in Austrian Alps with snowy steepish access to home)
3. Vehicle to Home/Grid (Once or twice a year we lose power for a day or two after a storm)
4. Tow Bar

Skoda has said they will produce and Electric Octavia in a few years so this would be perfect once they have the X version.

A low profile EV require a really long wheelbase in order to get the batteries between the wheels and the motors in front of and behind the battery pack. Otherwise you have to either stack the battery/the motors or both, which is why you end up with an increased height profile and a really high boot floor. The Taycan skateboard is a good example of how it can be done but it's 5M long and 2M wide.

mrchrispy
Full Member
Kia eNiro arrived last Friday on a 3 year lease.
Not quite as well equipped as the (now departed) L&K Yeti but we were ready for a change and this has adaptive cruise control so I’m happy (i only tend to do the long motorway drives).

Fully expecting to see 200-250miles out of it.

I've got the Soul same battery and drivetrain and I'm getting 260 at the moment but I'm not the most economical driver. A work colleague has the eNiro and drives a lot more sensible than me and the other week he got just over 300 on a charge. In winter with the heating on mine dropped down to 220/230 miles which is still more than enough for 99% of the journeys I do which is mainly a mix of country roads, dual carriageways, and occasional motorway.

My real sadness with EVs is that they will likely see off the Wagon (estate car). The large battery under the floor and the motors under the boot don’t really lend themselves to a very svelte architecture with a low sill and a flat floor. Only the Taycan Sport Tourismo so far looks good.

My hope is that with the flexibility of battery/motor packaging we get some variety of designs beyond skateboard style. Porsche have been talking about their "e-core" designs for electric sportscars, where you can't be putting batteries under seats because you want them really low. Motors can be compact (the VW ID.3 one can apparently fit in a sports bag), battery modules can go anywhere.

Trouble is, the estate is dying fast even in ICE form so this is likely to be a small niche to sell to. I don't like it, but the crossover SUV is now the default choice for most families.

Daffy
Full Member
My real sadness with EVs is that they will likely see off the Wagon (estate car). The large battery under the floor and the motors under the boot don’t really lend themselves to a very svelte architecture with a low sill and a flat floor.

Would they/could they not just stick the motors in the front & have it FWD only, to create more boot space, then spread the batteries out under the floor pan?
Or are all EVs going RWD/AWD?
I'd have thought the bit at the front where the engine used to be would be perfect for whacking a couple of motors, and they can't get rid of that area completely because it must be needed for crash safety (crumple zones etc.)

(I am not a car designer 🙂 )

The drive train is in the front where the engine normally goes and the other gubbins needed to make it go.

Kia eNiro arrived last Friday on a 3 year lease.
Not quite as well equipped as the (now departed) L&K Yeti but we were ready for a change and this has adaptive cruise control so I’m happy (i only tend to do the long motorway drives).

Fully expecting to see 200-250miles out of it.

I’ve got the Soul same battery and drivetrain and I’m getting 260 at the moment but I’m not the most economical driver. A work colleague has the eNiro and drives a lot more sensible than me and the other week he got just over 300 on a charge

Kia Soul here and we were generally seeing 290, since then we've ended up leaving it in ECO with regen set to level 3 and getting nearer 310.

My wife gets less MPG than me in an ICE car but very similar miles per KW in the Soul, assume is the recuperation of all the energy she used to waste accelerating harder. I am not slow but anticipate traffic very well and tend to eke a lot of MPG out of ICE cars, this just does not seem to matter so much in an EV.

Would they/could they not just stick the motors in the front & have it FWD only, to create more boot space, then spread the batteries out under the floor pan?
Or are all EVs going RWD/AWD?
I’d have thought the bit at the front where the engine used to be would be perfect for whacking a couple of motors, and they can’t get rid of that area completely because it must be needed for crash safety (crumple zones etc.)

(I am not a car designer 🙂 )

I'd have thought this very possible. My tesla has a deep storage compartment below boot floor at the back that goes down pretty low, like spare wheel compartment low, but it doesn't stretch far forward because of rear motor. Take out the rear motor and Bob's your uncle.

On pure "use of space" terms I reckon a tesla S or 3 layout without rear motor could be made into a low boot floor estate.

The review I saw said it was between 3.5 and 3.7 m/kWh in their test. Which isn’t terrible but isn’t great.

About the same as my experience. I just thought a car of that size ought to be at least 10% better, which is significant in range terms. For same driving (pretty slow, generally, summer, so good conditions for good consumption) it is pretty easy to achieve the same numbers in a big heavy Model S, which has worse consumption figures than cars from the likes of Hyundai that I'd see as more direct comparisons to the MG.

Would they/could they not just stick the motors in the front & have it FWD only, to create more boot space, then spread the batteries out under the floor pan?

Well some cars do - my Hyundai is front wheel drive and has motors in the front. But the actual motor is quite small - it also has an inverter, which is big, and other gubbins like the cabin fan, heat pump, A/C, brake vacuum pump, radiator (it still has one) and a load of stuff I don't recognise. And still quite a bit of spare space. But then, that car is also available with an ICE so has been designed with a large bonnet.

There's still plenty of need to put things somewhere other than motors, and as said you need crumple zones. Interesting discussion though. I don't know why they are making RWD EVs. Perhaps it's because they want to even out the weight distribution more. The Hyundai has pretty soft springs and is comfy, but it doesn't roll any more than a normal standard car and it turns in amazingly quickly because there's so little weight up front.

So no huge show-stoppers for the MG which is good to hear.

Dated exterior I can live with, slowish charging won't be a huge issue as I'll be charging overnight at home 99% of the time.

In terms of range V load carrying ability V price it seems the best option I've seen so far.

So that's one of the MG5 EV long ranges on order.

Had a half hour test drive in one this morning, didn't get chance to try it out on a motorway but for everything else it was a much nicer experience than I was expecting.

Just got to wait now till the end of the year now.

I’m in the process of deciding on an EV. My work has a salary sacrifice scheme, which is great for EVs as it brings the costs down. We are test driving an Ioniq5 next Friday.

Does anyone have a real world opinion of how much difference slowing from 70 to 60 on a motorway makes to range in an EV?

Slowing from 110kmh (normal mode) to 90kmm (mode eco) increases the range of a Zoé from 234km to 297km using the Renault calculator:

https://www.renault.fr/vehicules-electriques/zoe/batterie-recharge.html

The car won't do 110kmh in mode eco, eco runs up to about 100kmh beyond which the consumption goes up dramatically. Best to just join the convoy of trucks if you're doing a long distance. The time you'll save by driving faster will be lost when recharging, even on 50kW chargers. You need 150kW chargers and a car capable of using them to gain time driving faster.

Just back from a week on the west coast of Scotland with my e-tron.
1. Fully loaded and driving to the speed limit up the A9 (dual and single carriageway) sections the range turned out better than predicted.
2. I used charge place Scotland stations in Dingwall, Gairloch, Torridon and Laggan (on the way home) without any real drama although some needed a couple of attempts to start the charge.
3. As the weather cooled I cranked up the heating and used the heated seats without any apparent significant affect on range.
4. It’s a biggish motor, but the effortless delivery of smooth power meant navigating the single track roads with passing places was pretty painless - I did chuckle at how many lambos, porsches and mclarens I saw driving the NC500. Can’t be much fun on those rough roads especially in the older motors without an auto box and heavy clutch.
Verdict - easy to live with comfortable family wagon.
I need to try it with the tow bar rack and roof rails next.

ID4 - had it for nearly three weeks - rwd Life pro performance with heat pump and towbar (woopi).

Pros:
200-300 mile range (about to find about the real range - driving to near Oban from Newcastle). Charging infrastructure past Glasgow towards Oban is going to be tested!

Nice and tight handling (Vs the Ioniq which was really wallowy)

Nice ooompfh off the line

Roomy interior

Good enough boot (100x100cm roughly?) And quite tall boot.
Roof rails - exist!

Good visibility forward and side. Still can't properly judge the front or wheels (stub nose and height seem to mess with my depth perception?)

Cons:
Rear view when reversing without camera is poop.

Lane keep assist is more like a "I'll stop you if you try to run off the road" and ,"I'll quite often annoy the heck out of you" on B-roads with poor incomplete markings.

Cruise control is good, but it has stupidly sped up thinking the speed limit is suddenly 60 when it's actually 30/50. Weird.

Are you talking the IONIQ, or the new out IONIQ 5?

the range turned out better than predicted.

Same with the Zoé, it seems to me their calculators are very pesimistic. If you set the calculator I linked at 50kmh it says 377km when the WLTP mixed figure is 395km and trundling around at up to 70kmh I get over 200km out of half the battery in Summer, extrapolating would give 430km.

Does anyone have a real world opinion of how much difference slowing from 70 to 60 on a motorway makes to range in an EV?

No but:

70 is 1.16667 times more than 60. or resistance is proportional to the square of speed so, pretending you're only doing work against air resistance you'd go from say 4.5m/kWh at 70 to 6.2 at 60. However there's a lot of other factors. But I'd imagine you'd be easily in the 5.5 range in my car. Driving at 60 on motorways is not a great idea though, cos it's only slightly faster than lorries and you end up overtaking them and clogging the middle lane. Better to drive at 58 or so. This is how fast I drive with the caravan and it's not that bad, but I wouldn't do it to save range unless I had to. I'd just stop and recharge.

However I once was faced with the prospect of having to recharge about 20 miles from home. So for the last 40 miles or so I slowed to 65 and it gained me enough range to get home so saved about 15 mins.

Dantsw13: Ioniq 5 sorry. It was so wallowy I actually felt a bit wary, nearing sea sick - and I never get sea sick! It was super wallowy in corners but even driving it on decent a-roads at speed made it wallow like mad. I really wanted to like it but that and lack of roof bars killed the dream. I'd be interested to hear if anyone else had the same sensation or if this was a dud car/under inflated tyres.

I’ll let you know after Friday. None of the YT reviews suggest it as an issue.

I’m not a “progress maker” so don’t see it as an issue for me anyhow.

Quite a few reviews have called out the Ioniq5 for wallowing, I'm another one who wanted to love it based on the looks and tech. As above though, that plus lack of roof rails or a factory tow bar made the Enyaq an easy decision for my next company car.

It was so wallowy I actually felt a bit wary, nearing sea sick – and I never get sea sick!

I was watching a review of the BMW i4 the other day ( Matt Watson - carwow) and both the guys in the car talked about feeling sick when they were the passenger , but it went away when they were driving. Mind you he did keep sticking his foot down a lot.

Just been reading about the Kia EV6. Same underlying car as the Ioniq 5 but it's a 'sportier' setup which might mean it's just more suitable for UK A roads. Worth a look. It's uglier though but not too bad.

Uglier? The EV6 looks better than the Ioniq5 IMO.

EV6 is considerably more expensive on my work scheme.

Enyaq is my reserve option if I don’t like the Ioniq 5

Hyundai really should consider putting some stiffer springs on the Ioniq 5 then if it's going to be a problem in the UK. There's a lot riding on all these cars for the manufacturers.

EV6 is considerably more expensive on my work scheme.

Yeah, Ioniq 5s are around for far less money than say, iD4s on lease deals.

Oh - and there is a factory towbar option on the ioniq 5. You had me worried there!!!

I’m quite torn between the Enyaq & Ioniq 5. I was hoping for a polestar, but both that & the Mach-E are very expensive through my work.

Apologies, thought I'd read there wasn't. Roof rails are a deal breaker for me though, plus I want the bigger boot. Also heard a few reports the seats in the Ioniq5 aren't the best, I've ordered the Sportline Enyaq as a company car, seats are supposed to be great

I do think many car manufacturers have forgotten what buyers really want.

Skoda do seem the masters of little practical details.

The Ioniq5 has a lot of “Oh, that’s cool….” stuff which I may well never use. For example my wife’s XC40 can park itself, but I never use it.

The only thing I wish the Skoda had was slightly faster charging. My commute (8 per month) is 130 mile round trip, and my longest regular drive is sailing - a 260 round trip but only every other month. For me a smaller battery Skoda/Hyundai with the option of a fast charge ionity blast will be fine. 100KWh charging is a bit slow…

100KWh charging is a bit slow…

Mmmm I think you need to either really consider how long you drive without stopping or get an EV and try it.

In my e-Tron, I get about 2.5 miles per kw and capacity is 100kw to an hour to brim it from flat for 200+ miles.
No one should be driving for more than a couple of hours without a break of some sort, so it's not really an issue. Yes, you can swap drivers, but how often would you not be willing to take a 40 min break somewhere?

Having said that Porsche's 300kw + charging speeds are impressive.

The ioniq5 is 350kw charging as standard , which an ionity will provide. On the Enyaq 60, standard is 50Kwh charging, with 100 a paid upgrade.

My 260 mile round trip his 2:20 each way and I stop for a coffee /leg stretch. I’d rather get enough charge whilst I wee & get a coffee, than have to wait longer.
The ioniq will give me enough in 10 mins to get home at 70mph, whereas with the skoda, after 20 mins I will have to come home at 60.

Not a deal breaker but a consideration.

I’m a big fan of the Enyaq.

Whatever money I save on the monthly lease payments will go straight into my mortgage overpayments, so I want to get it right. For that reason the Leafe+ is still in consideration too.

Most of my driving will be covered with home charging.

The topic of an EV came up last night now that winter is setting in and we are likely to be facing a commute into town (75km each way) in the middle part of next year. An EV is the obvious choice as the house has a place for a charge point and we now have some charging infrastructure in town to rely on.

The thing is, we use a trailer a fair bit for towing crap to the HWRC from the house and would really like a tow bar. ID4 has that option, but it arguably more car than we need (and really expensive over here)

Are there any other options for cars that have good range _and_ a tow bar? I keep coming back to the eNiro, but I don't think this is rated for towing.

Enyaq.

My 260 mile round trip his 2:20 each way and I stop for a coffee /leg stretch. I’d rather get enough charge whilst I wee & get a coffee, than have to wait longer.

Are there no charging options at the destination?

I'm a big petrolhead and I still have zero interest in EV's. A few people have told me I need to drive one.

Although a couple of recent rides through Aderley Edge suggests that the Taycan is selling well.

I'd say out of about 60/70 cars in the housing development where I live, there are 3 EV's and maybe 2/3 hybrids.

I'm also a petrolhead and really like the new technology; it's now a huge step change away from the milkfloat Nissan Leafs of 10 years ago.

EVs can be seen as additional driving options rather than ICE replacements; it means there's now a wider range of driving dynamics available which can be chosen to enjoy, or not.

The Polestar 2 has taken us to the Highlands and back in great comfort (3 x 30 minute stops over 600 miles each way), then afterwards I adjusted the Ohlins dampers to suit having fun on local roads. It's no Lotus Elise or Integrale for tactility but it's certainly more engaging than my RS6 was, and that was also a great car in its own way.

Give one a go!

There is a single Tesla destination charger in the Marina Carpark, which always seems in use.

Why did being a petrolhead become a thing? Because cars go fast, which is fun. All the other stuff about oily smells, gear changing and noise is just by association with speed and thrills. EVs still deliver thrills and speed. I'm looking at family cars that can tow a caravan and they are faster than the supercars of my youth. Difficult to complain about that.

I’m a big petrolhead and I still have zero interest in EV’s. A few people have told me I need to drive one.

I used to be a petrolhead but since changing to an EV I've completely lost interest in the internal combustion engine. Just appears noisy, inefficient, overly complicated and obsolete to me now.

I reckon if you got inside a Taycan or even the Polestar you'd change your mind.

The thing is, we use a trailer a fair bit for towing crap to the HWRC from the house and would really like a tow bar.

Quite a few that can tow smaller trailers.

https://electrictowcars.co.uk/electric-tow-cars/

Why did being a petrolhead become a thing? Because cars go fast, which is fun. All the other stuff about oily smells, gear changing and noise is just by association with speed and thrills

You really do come out with some crackers.

You really do come out with some crackers.

Go on..?

There is a single Tesla destination charger in the Marina Carpark, which always seems in use.

🙁 That's rubbish

Speaking of performance (if that is your thing) I'll try and find you the vide of the Tesla Model X beating an Alfa 4c in a drag race whilst towing an Alfa 4c on a trailer.

Edit: here it is:

Sorry about the quality.

I am not an EV owner. I am not a petrolhead, but I have owned enough cars that have a bit of performance to know that this is next level performance.

I mean, daaaaaamn:

I’m a big petrolhead and I still have zero interest in EV’s. A few people have told me I need to drive one.

A friend of mine is something of a petrolhead. Time came to replace his BMW and made a bit of an impulse purchase of a Tesla Model 3 as they had one ready to go. He liked it for a couple of months - he's now bought a 911 and hates the Tesla (but still uses it as a runaround - and yes his business is doing very well!).

I like the idea of an electric car and will undoubtedly have one at some time, but it's hard to get past the experience of driving this the other day!
[img] [/img]

No bike rack, and would be crap on local potholed roads.

No bike rack, and would be dreadful on local potholed roads.

Why did being a petrolhead become a thing? Because cars go fast, which is fun. All the other stuff about oily smells, gear changing and noise is just by association with speed and thrills. EVs still deliver thrills and speed. I’m looking at family cars that can tow a caravan and they are faster than the supercars of my youth. Difficult to complain about that.

Just being fast isn't enough. It's about the interaction of speed, traction, feedback and actually being able to use it relatively safely on a road. A mate has an electric xc40 which is objectively fast (4.9s to 60) but it's still dull to drive outside of the acceleration.

Hyundai really should consider putting some stiffer springs on the Ioniq 5 then if it’s going to be a problem in the UK

Can't agree with this after testing one myself - coming from a BMW 5 then a GTD golf on large low profile wheels it is softer, but tbh that's no bad thing given the state of the roads around here. Opportunity for spirited driving in modern life is limited to maybe once or twice a month (and I live on the edge of countryside with great - but poorly surfaced roads).

Modern cars have been continually going down the track of sportier suspension and tyres for decades in order to garner good reviews from journalists who by definition like to press on more than the average. I love driving, but don't think that fidgety hard ride for the 95% of journeys in UK when you're just getting from A-B in traffic justifies the compromise if you only have 1 car. Of course in dreamland I'd also have a sporty little number in the garage for weekend fun.

Never felt that the I5 was overly wallowy and the looks, size in the back and fast charging rates more than compensated in my decision making.

My work has a salary sacrifice scheme, which is great for EVs as it brings the costs down

@dantsw13 how does that work? We're looking at "sustainable" benefit options just now and incentives to buy EV are high up on people's lists.