"Cheap" EV runaround... what would you get?

[Casss]

Just a musing at this point but any interesting insights here may prove useful in the near future as our vehicle needs change.

You have >25k for a used (or new / lease) BEV that will need to do mid-short journeys, and which will always be charged at home overnight. It should be decently reliable, and not soul-crushing to drive or own. Huge boot not required as it's a runaround - bang for buck is key.

The now discontinued BMW i3s 120ah and the new Fiat 500 look tempting to me to fulfil the above "brief".

What do you get and why?

 

[tonyj01]

BMW i3

Plenty of second hand examples, including range extenders, try a search on AutoTrader.

Its a nippy & comfortable car for that role, larger interior than you'd expect.

Rear doors are a pain in tight parking spaces, but for one driver, no problem. OTOH, those rear doors are good for babies and toddlers. Small boot space.


Tony

 

[pgkevet]

for anyone with a sense of humour - The Electric Tuk Tuk

 

[GRiLLA]

Nissan Leaf. bang for buck is pretty up there and if it's recent you can use B mode and get pretty much the same one pedal driving as a Tesla (otherwise it's a bit annoying to switch back and forth).

 

[Alan J]

Nissan Leaf. bang for buck is pretty up there and if it's recent you can use B mode and get pretty much the same one pedal driving as a Tesla (otherwise it's a bit annoying to switch back and forth).

Peugeot 208e or Mini Electric if a City Car.

 

[Lord Farquad]

Mini EV, it’s quick, fun to drive and built well. Great city car with 100-130 mile range. It’s small enough to work in an urban environment too.

 

[Toblerone]

Newer shape Nissan Leaf (2018 onwards), like this:

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£15k 130-150 miles on a 40kwh battery

Ideally you get a Tekna model with all the toys:

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The Battery does not have active cooling, but now summer is over thats not too much of an issue for us in the UK.
I’m considering one as a 2nd car.

Otherwise the eGolf is interesting:

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I don’t know as much about those and the one above only has 20kwh battery, so ~80miles. Think I’ll stick with the Leaf.

 

[yessuz]

check for Kia / Hyundai models, like eNiro, Ioniq etc.

 

[DeejUK]

Our ancient 2013 Renault Zoe does 80ish miles on a charge, and we use it for school runs and going around town. I think it's worth less than £10k second hand. Totally does the job, and way more energy-efficient than our Model X. Downsides are the heating/aircon are totally crap, and it doesn't like going above 60mph.

 

[Casss]

BMW i3

Plenty of second hand examples, including range extenders, try a search on AutoTrader.

Its a nippy & comfortable car for that role, larger interior than you'd expect.

Rear doors are a pain in tight parking spaces, but for one driver, no problem. OTOH, those rear doors are good for babies and toddlers. Small boot space.


Tony

Is the range extender worth having? Seems like extra maintenance and complexity over the standard battery only i3’s?

 

[GRiLLA]

What exactly is the range extender? Can’t find a straightforward answer..

REx is a small petrol motor that will kick in when the battery is low to keep the car moving. It doesn't drive the wheels, rather produces enough electricity to keep the car driving much further but with limited speed. It means your car isn't 100% electric, so you then get the thrill of paying the luxury car tax.

 

[DM206433]

Having driven one quite a bit, I'd get a Mini Electric. Great fun to drive with nippy performance, enough range for what you want, looks the best of the cars in this sort of price range (in my opinion). Something like this one would just about hit your budget.

 

[Casss]

REx is a small petrol motor that will kick in when the battery is low to keep the car moving. It doesn't drive the wheels, rather produces enough electricity to keep the car driving much further but with limited speed. It means your car isn't 100% electric, so you then get the thrill of paying the luxury car tax.

Sounds like the non range extender variant is the better option then as far as I3's go

 

[pdk42]

A note on the i3 - the standard model isn’t great at stability at motorway speeds, esp if there’s a strong wind or there are tramlines in the tarmac. The sport version, i3s, is much better in this regard, but it’s slightly less efficient.

 

[Doudeau]

I’d recommend the e208. I’ve had it for nearly 2 years and it’s my first choice for short trips around town. It’s good for 100 miles on motorway in winter and more like 180miles for town driving.

Put it in sport mode and it feels like a fun hot hatch and reminds me of the Fiesta XR2i I had in my early 20s without the overheating issues.

 

[pgkevet]

If only school runs and shopping then a plug-in hybrid used solely on leccy might fit. With the option of long ICE journeys while waiting 6 mths for a new windscreen for your tesla..

 

[Nick77]

If I had to make that choice it'd be a small hatchback like the Mini, BMW, or e208.

 

[pgh69]

Something a bit different - maybe consider the fiat 500e.

I bought my wife one last year and she absolutely loves it! I am also very impressed!!

Nippy, easy to park, decent range, fresh looking interior and very easy to drive (my only criticism is that one pedal driving is a little harsher than my m3p). I can swapped with her and drove it for 2 months due to it being easier to get in and out after an operation and loved it....and it has car play!!!!

 

[Mrklaw]

recent used e-golf. 100+ miles so fine for my wife's commute and runaround. My tesla can do any long trips so slow charging isn't an issue.

I'd be tempted by the fiat but my wife hates it. Golf would be welcomed as she currently drives a polo automatic so an easy swap, and the more 'traditional' ICE controls would make for an easy transition

 

[SpanishJ0n]

This all depends on what you mean by 'cheap'. Some of the cars mentioned above I would say do not fall into this category. I've been thinking of a 'cheap' car to buy for winter use, plus those local trips that involve parking in tightly packed car parks. So far the only ones I can think of are:

1. 24KWh Leaf with at least 10 out of the 12 bars remaining (£6K ish)
2. Renault Zoe battery owned, but they are rare and expensive (> £8K)
3. Chevrolet Spark petrol. Yes its ICE but its £3K ish and does around 60 mpg

Spanish