Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

I'm taking the plunge and buying an electric car this year. Cheerlead me on please.

46 replies

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 18/03/2019 17:26

Tell me I'm right, because I'm second guessing myself and wondering if I should get a hybrid.

I quite like the BMW i3 but the DC hate it. The other one that I like the look of is the Hyundai Kona, but I've never owned a Hyundai before. Are they a bit plastic-y? I know that they are very different cars but I either want a very small car or a high-up, small SUV type, I'm really not very keen on mid-sized saloons or hatchbacks which rules out the Prius and the Leaf. The DC want a Tesla Model X which is a lovely car but OMFG the price, €108K in Ireland, Shock and reliability is not great apparently.

I wish there was an electric Fiat 500, I loved my old Fiat 500 and still hold a bit of a grudge against DS for growing too tall to be comfortable in the back. Mind you, he hasn't got any shorter so it would still be an issue.

OP posts:
WeaselKingHenry · 18/03/2019 18:26

This article might help

www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars/electric-cars/86169/best-electric-cars-on-sale

Original poster
BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 18/03/2019 18:54

Thanks Weasel. That's a pretty good list. One of the interesting ones (the Kia Nova) isn't available in Ireland yet, but I want a July reg so it might be available by then. I'll do a short list of the right size/right price ones and start test driving.

OP posts:
Legofriday · 18/03/2019 18:59

I suppose you hate the look of the Kia Soul? It's a good price usually and it's a small suv. What about the Niro? Looks suv ish too, although I've not seen a real life version.

I have a new style leaf and I love it so much!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Cars & vehicles
Original poster
BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 18/03/2019 19:21

Kia Niro - not Kia Nova, doh! Both the Niro and the Soul are due to be available here sometime, but not yet. I'll phone a dealer and ask them when, if it's more than a month or two away then it's not worth waiting.

OP posts:
BaaBaaBaaMoo · 18/03/2019 20:25

Not electric buy dh got a new Toyota Rav 4 hybrid a few weeks ago.
So far so good. In Ireland now too so appreciate how expensive cars are!

widgetbeana · 18/03/2019 21:01

We have a Hyundai Ioniq (precursor to Kona). It is amazing! So many extras included at base price (not so with the BMW or Toyota). Hyundai have been really helpful and the car is excellent.

Not at all plasticy. The front looks a bit different simply because we are so used to cars having grills.

flitwit99 · 18/03/2019 21:08

We've had an electric car for about 4 years, we're on our second one now. We have a Renault Zoe which is like a Renault Clio. It's a bit of a squash when 5 of us are in it but for me driving around by myself or just with a couple of kids it's brilliant. We are members of a city car club so if we need to go further afield we can hire a bigger car.

I love everything about it apart from how it has to go back to the main dealership for any work needing doing. Garages have to be specially qualified to work on electric cars and there are pretty much no smaller independent garages who are. I'm sure that will change over time though.

Never had any problems charging it at home, usually always manage to charge it out and about, occasionally a charging point will be busy, but there are usually others nearby. Last week the one at our local Ikea (where you can deduct the cost of charging from your Ikea bill) was broken but in our experience that is really really unusual.

When we looked at the BMW i3 it only had 2 seats in the back. We didn't realise that till we'd trailed 30 miles out to the nearest showroom that had one. We have 3 kids, so that ruled it out for us straight away.

Original poster
BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 18/03/2019 21:21

That's a good point about repairs and servicing flitwit99, I will make a not to ask where the car would need to go to for repairs. At least Irelands is small so it shouldn't be too far away, plus it's very Dublin-centric and I'm in Dublin so at worst the car would probably on have to cross the city.

Good to hear about the Ionic widget, you do get a lot included. My brother was telling me that they don't build them to order, they just make them all the same high-spec and then ship them.

OP posts:
Flyingsouthwiththeswallows · 18/03/2019 21:29

Inam also going through this decision process, but am probably going Hybrid.

I am worried about how the UK could generate enough Electricity to charge an increasing number of Electrical vehicles, when we are already being warned that we will hit a generating brick wall in a few years as old power stations are decommisioned.

crummyusername · 18/03/2019 21:33

Plug in hybrid is the way to go! Can run on full electric for everyday short journeys but you have petrol as a backup or for longer. We have Mitsubishi Outlander which I love - electric range not that long but covers most of our journeys.

Jojoanna · 18/03/2019 21:33

I had a Renault Zoe and I loved it . Such a great car never any problem charging so easy to drive !

Original poster
BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 18/03/2019 21:39

I've read a few articles that suggest that plug in hybrids are not that great to drive as they are heavier than either fuel or electric versions crummyusername. I do like a nippy car and don't like heavy things that wallow around corners. There is a plug in hybrid version of the Kia Niro and it will do up to 58 km on a full charge before kicking over to the engine. I divided my annual milage by 365 and I do less than 30 km per day on average so I would hardly ever use the fuel.

OP posts:
Doublechocolatetiffin · 18/03/2019 21:41

Do it, once you’ve moved over to the fully electric car world you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it before. I’ve heard great things about the Kia Niro if you can get one. The current Leaf should be avoided imo as they haven’t got a fan system to cool the battery which severely limits how much you can charge it. Tesla has the best charging infrastructure, although I don’t know what it’s like in Ireland. They can have a few issues but they are brilliant cars. The electric car market is very exciting right now, just look for long range and check how quickly you can charge.

Personally I don’t think a hybrid is as good as you have a lot of car to maintain. An engine and an electric car - both to go wrong! At least with fully electric there aren’t that many moving parts so maintenance is much less.

Dowser · 18/03/2019 21:48

Friend just got a leaf...she absolutely loves it...but the 80 miles per charge would do my head in
I’d be so worried I’d run out of power.

cloudjumper · 18/03/2019 21:54

We're in the exact same position, looking for an electric car. Have you looked at the eGolf? We tested it yesterday, it's very nice, if a bit boring - all they did was take N automatic Golf and replace the engine with a battery. But it's a very solid car.
We feel, though, that you get more for your money with a Leaf, so that's what we'll go with. They are the most advanced on the market, everyone else is only on 1st generation electric.
Both Huyndai and Kia told me that there is a 12-month wait for their electric car because the upcoming stocks are almost already sold out before they are even released.

Original poster
BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 18/03/2019 21:55

80 miles per charge seems very low, all the ones that I've been considering have been over 400 km per charge (about 250 miles).

OP posts:
Doublechocolatetiffin · 18/03/2019 22:01

Do ask questions about charging the Leaf, they haven’t got active cooling on the battery so you are limited to rapid charging it once per day. It means it’s great as a short distance car, but don’t get one if you want to travel long distances in it.

Original poster
BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 18/03/2019 22:03

The Leaf doesn't really appeal to me anyway. Tiny or SUV would be my preference.

OP posts:
wonkylegs · 18/03/2019 22:10

I have the plug in hybrid VW Golf GTE - I seriously love it.
If the full electric one had a slightly better range I would have one.
Mines on a 3 year lease deal so everything's included and it has its first service recently and that caused a lot of head scratching when I booked it in as they haven't done many but turned out it wasn't a problem.
It's performance is fab both in terms of mileage and the fact that it's a seriously good car to drive especially in full electric mode. Because I end up doing a lot of small journeys and my local town has good charging points (free ones) I do the majority of my journeys fully electric.
I think the problem is that charging can be patchy, although my local town is fab we visit a local city quite a bit and they also have free charging but it's often not working in lots of places. When I visit my parents their town has 1 charging point and I've never seen it empty so I've never been able to use it.
The only time I was wary of the extra weight from the batteries / fuel tank was when I drove it in snow over ice and it was harder than any other car I've driven in those circumstances as the back end slid around a lot more but it just needed to be handled a bit more carefully.

Tiggles · 19/03/2019 00:12

I had a Zoe before I went car-less. Most amazing car I have ever owned and would buy another in a heartbeat if I ever need a car.
Electric cars rock!

MyKingdomForBrie · 19/03/2019 00:14

I have the i3 and I love it but it's short on boot space and has no centre back seat (at least not with my car seats in it doesn't!) why don't dc like it? I'd be more concerned about the opinion of the driver I have to admit!

MadameJosephine · 19/03/2019 00:25

I’ve had an electric car for 5 years and I’ll never go back to petrol. I had a petrol courtesy car a while back and I couldn’t get over how noisy the engine was, it had been so long since I’d driven one!

I had a leaf for 3 years but now drive an i3 and I love it. It doesn’t have a massive boot, the leaf’s was much better but there’s only me and DD so I don’t need to worry too much about that. It’s really nippy and I can get up to 150 miles out of a single charge depending on driving conditions/weather.

Doublechocolatetiffin · 19/03/2019 07:18

Tesla has just reduced the price of their cars by quite a chunk. If you can afford it, it’s the best out there (imo) If you like nippy cars it will blow your mind Grin you do have to go into Tesla ownership with your eyes open, knowing that there will be niggles and things to fix, but overall the cars are amazing and I certainly cannot think of any other car I’d rather have (bar the Rivian, but that’s not going to be available for years yet). Driving a petrol or diesel after driving electric is like going back to the dark ages. It’s sooooooo slow and there are just so many annoying buttons!!

foxyfemke · 19/03/2019 08:59

Interesting thread! We're considering getting a private lease on the Hyundai Ioniq. We're hoping to test drive both the full electric and hybrid versions soon.

Blobby10 · 19/03/2019 09:58

I have the Golf GTE plug in hybrid and LOVE it! When not in electric mode I put it in GTE mode and OMG the acceleration is fab! Its such fun to drive Grin. It only has a 28 mile range on the electric which does depend on what else you have on in the car - heating and air con drain the miles! But with careful driving the most miles I have got out of one tank of fuel (40 litres) is 736 miles. That's plugging it in at home and then at work, driving steadily - no motorways!

There's enough room in the back for two adults to sit comfortably, the boot is a bit small due to the battery storage but its still OK although I've not got prams or anything to fit in there!