Which electric car to buy?

[philipcon]

I think I have decided that the perfect complement to our Cali ocean is to have an electric car for the everyday journeys we make. I wondered if I might pick you collective brains on the following questions that I am pondering.

1. Should I go for the VW ID3, Hyundai Kona or Kia E Niro? Any thoughts or experiences of these cars?

2. What's the best way of going about buying a new car? is it best to go with the cheapest Carwow/drive the deal quotes or are there advantages of going direct through dealers? How do you go about getting a good price?

3. Any other tips you have?

Thank you in anticipation.

 

[blondebier]

3. BIK rates are very low currently so if you're employed or run your own business I'd lease one.

It's a bit of a no brainer VS buying one.

The depreciation on some electric cars is eye watering.

 

[Camperfamily]

BMW i3. And lease, as above

 

[Lambeth Cali]

ID3 from Drive the Deal I think start at £27k. I think VW are trying to get top selling car in Europe so heavy discounting.
The Harry’s Garage review was a game changer.
The Kona doesn’t ride well. The Niro is too taxi like.
I know it’s a hybrid but I would be very tempted by a 2 yr old BMW 530E.

 

[2haw]

Last drive the deal email stated 22% discount off a ID3. Head to your local dealer and gently mention that and see what discount they can offer?




I’d look at the Skoda Enyaq, based on the VW ID4 but I think it looks a bit nicer.

 

[soulstyledevon]

If you really want to make a difference to the environment. Don’t buy a new/second car.
Have you thought about a bicycle for the shorter trips. 38% of journeys are under 2 miles and a whopping 68% under 5 miles…
The Cali will handle anything else.

 

[Haves1979]

Make sure you do your research before buying, as an electric car does take some getting used to. Our Zoe arrived with neither a mains 3 pin hook up or the 'free' home charger we thought we qualified for. As it happens we've made do with public chargers made easier by the council installing to fast chargers about 5 minutes away. We are averaging about 200 miles a fortnight in it, which is a one charge over this period.

We now love the Reanault Zoe we chose, proper nippy little city car. I'd not have one if it was out only car, but has proved a great pairing with the California.

 

[Legin]

I looked at this in quite some detail when I could get an ID3 for £24k. The nicest car was the 208 electric but in the end no amount of man maths would make sense on any of them. In a nutshell EV is really for local driving so points to the cheaper end as the best place. To save you working it out the ID3 58kw looks the best buy through DTD.
I kept my more useful 50mpg A3 TFSI sold the cali and bought a 450 hp 911 instead.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

How about the Citroen Ami? £17 per month rental or £5000 to buy. Great for City use and short runs.

 

[kurienp]

decided that the perfect complement to our Cali ocean is to have an electric car

In the same boat and looking at the best car to complement our Cali as well.

Currently have a EcoBoost Fiesta which is a great little car, but daughter starts work and needs a good car. If she buys the Fiesta from us, then we will need a second car and this may be our opportunity.

Started looking at ID3 .. but not impressed with the software part of it ... at least yet. Same issue with the ID4
Tesla - not greatly impressed with the build quality after driving German cars
Kona electric - not sure ...
Peugeot/MG ... etc. etc. - debateable build quality and handling characteristics.

... will need to read up a bit more reviews before going for one ...

or else, just get a petrol VW T-ROC/T-CROSS ... as we have bicycles for in town travel and anything further than that, may just use a small petrol.

Currently tending towards the T-ROC.

 

[WelshGas]

Smart car Electric?

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We have a Smart car, petrol and 5 yrs old. Ideal compliment to the California. The E version will replace it when the time is right.

 

[andyinluton]

As we are in the process of re-jigging the fleet, we have been evaluating electric cars as well. We concluded that for us the mini worked out as the best deal.
We also thought that given BMWs experience with the i3 & i8 they should know what they are doing by now.
Residuals wise we also thought that the mini would be one of the safest bets literally just because they are minis.

 

[RodCouncil]

Tesla model 3 here, best car I've had hands down, supercharger network makes long distance touring here in Sweden so easy.

 

[RodCouncil]

ID3 from Drive the Deal I think start at £27k. I think VW are trying to get top selling car in Europe so heavy discounting.
The Harry’s Garage review was a game changer.
The Kona doesn’t ride well. The Niro is too taxi like.
I know it’s a hybrid but I would be very tempted by a 2 yr old BMW 530E.

VW are trying to offload all the IDs they force the dealers to take on so they can boost volumes and dodge emissions fines, some things never change.

 

[danvan]

We've just bought a Tesla Model 3 to go alongside the Cali (having sold the old diesel Volvo). Buying was simple (the price is-what-it-is, ordering took about 5 mins) and having had it a month it does exactly what you'd expect.

 

[Haves1979]

This is the thread I started back in 2019:

Rejigging cars

Thinking about rejigging our cars and wondering on peoples thoughts. Currently have a 2012 3 series tourer as the wifes daily, the 96 t4 westy I've been using as a 2nd car and an s1 Elise as a toy. The elise more of less never gets used, so debating chopping all 3 for a newer cali and leasing an...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[mike5im5]

Agree with so many comments here. The California (long distance vehicle) and small electric car (for short run arounds) such a great combination.

We have a slightly oddball choice but absolutely love it. The Honda E. We drove everything and to be honest, it's a case of test driving first and not looking at stats sometimes. The honda is such a lovely place to be, not the fastest, most practical, best value or range. However given we have a beach on the driveway range has never been an issue at all. The price is higher than some of it's competitors but the standard spec (heated seat, 360 birdeye view camera, car play, lane assist, laser cruise control, dual touch screens) is far higher. I actually thought before hand the i3 might be a practical choise but the rear doors, windows and seats just not practical for kids. We got a great PCP deal with trade in and government grant for our 11 year old lexus hybrid. So costs us £190 a month.

As I said, it's a niche choice (much like the Cali) so wouldn't expect anyone to agree.. but it's been perfect for us. Even have a multimac in the back so 3 kids perfectly comfortable and we're using it far more than we thought we would for the whole family.

Of course no where near as cool as the California though!

 

[Rob1972]

Kona owner here. Best car I've ever had and third EV I've owned. The only downside of the Kona is the small boot but everything else is brilliant. Much prefer it over the Leaf 40KWh I had previously and it has nearly double the range.

I bought through CarWow as I got a very good offer.

 

[blondebier]

A couple of other points you may wish to consider:

1) Cost VS Petrol/Diesel equivalent - As you've suggested the car would be used for "everyday journeys" - would this mean that the mileage would be quite low? You might find that a small car with an efficient petrol engine might be a cheaper way of getting around.

2) Reliability - EVs are supposed to have less servicing requirements and therefore should be more reliable that their petrol/diesel counterparts. EVs are brimming with “cutting edge” technology that has not had the same amount of real world testing as well established cars. You may well find yourself acting as a beta tester for the manufacturer. Some people don’t mind being guinea pigs, but something to think about.

 

[Bobthebus]

We have the Cali + egolf combination.

Cali = workhorse, holidays, long trips.

VW egolf with winter pack for most day to day driving, ferrying the kids about, going to work and back. Well built, joy to drive; smooth, fast, quiet, relaxing. Other half and I squabble over who gets it for the day for all the above reasons (we love the Cali too - of course!) Decent range for most of our journeys, charge it once or twice a week. Done 14k over 18months, I've had to check the tyres and do the washer fluid - nothing else, not had a service yet. VW connect app is a bit slow and flakey but useful for preheating in the winter.

Tax efficient (I'm self employed) when buying new, but now replaced by ID3, and no plans to produce in MK8 golf range. Glad I got it when I did, - I'll probably buy it outright at the end of the PCP.

 

[westfalia]

Honda looks the coolest small EV, to me that is.

 

[blondebier]

Honda looks the coolest small EV, to me that is.

View attachment 81180

I used to think so too, until I saw this one...

The price though

 

[westfalia]

I used to think so too, until I saw this one...

The price though

The Fiat EV doesn't look much different to the normal
Polar bear killer, so for that I have to cast it aside, also
knowing Fiats reliability with electric, it wouldn't be top of my
list.

 

[66tim99]

Agree with so many comments here. The California (long distance vehicle) and small electric car (for short run arounds) such a great combination.

We have a slightly oddball choice but absolutely love it. The Honda E. We drove everything and to be honest, it's a case of test driving first and not looking at stats sometimes. The honda is such a lovely place to be, not the fastest, most practical, best value or range. However given we have a beach on the driveway range has never been an issue at all. The price is higher than some of it's competitors but the standard spec (heated seat, 360 birdeye view camera, car play, lane assist, laser cruise control, dual touch screens) is far higher. I actually thought before hand the i3 might be a practical choise but the rear doors, windows and seats just not practical for kids. We got a great PCP deal with trade in and government grant for our 11 year old lexus hybrid. So costs us £190 a month.

As I said, it's a niche choice (much like the Cali) so wouldn't expect anyone to agree.. but it's been perfect for us. Even have a multimac in the back so 3 kids perfectly comfortable and we're using it far more than we thought we would for the whole family.

Of course no where near as cool as the California though!

View attachment 81150

I think it is as cool as a Cali, it’s got a real personality, seems high quality ‘does what it says on the tin’ and puts a smile on my face when I see one. (Remind you of anything?)

 

[Wurzzle]

We have a Zoe 65 plate. Do 12K a year in it. Battery State of health is still at 98%
Charge off peak with octopus Go = 1p/mile. If you live in Scotland the energy saving trust are offering £28k interest free loan up to 6 years for the purchase of an E.V.
They were also offering to help with charger installation. With grants from the Scottish EST and UK EV scheme we got out wallbox installed for £100, saving £900.
Just ordered an ID3 Family spec with alloys and metallic paint for £31k.
Zoe will become the kids car.
Cali Ocean for long runs holidays. E.V. for everything else. Certainly wouldn't go back to an I.C.E. for our everyday vehicle.