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

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

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, 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.

Interesting thread! We will be looking to put our current pcp back in and get a new one in the next 12 month's...

How much does it cost to install a charging point at home? And what is the cost comparison? I currently have a 1ltr turbo and costs me 55quid to fill up.. I get around 270miles out of that. I drive daily, both tiny journeys in my village but reguarly do. 50 mile round trip to work 4 times a week...

There's 4 of us and a dog. So boot space needed..

Help! Never even considered electric before now.

I have had my i3 for nearly 3 years. I absolutely bloody love it. Goes like the clappers.
Had absolutely zero issues with it - one service and that's it. Nothing has needed doing, not even the brakes.
It is a beast in snow too with winter tyres on. We live rurally and it has been fab.
I do 15,000 mile a year and it costs me about £20 to charge a month on Economy 7.

I looked at the Kona but it was too plastic for me and the finance deal was actually terrible so it made it far too expensive for that standard of car.

The e-208 is out soon and looks fabulous - I am tempted to chip in the i3 for one. www.peugeot.co.uk/showroom/new-208/e-208/

The VW Neo is also a possibility for me next.

Hybrids are a shit. A proper EV is the way to go.

@Isohungy
My first charging point was £99 with the grant. We moved and I had a nicer looking one put in for £199 but that was vanity!

Car costs £20 a month for electricity at home on economy 7 (charged at night on its timer) - I commute 15,000 miles a year.

I only charge publicly on odd occasions when I do long drives - costs about £6-£7 for a fast charge. I live in rural East Mids and have driven to London and back for £14 with free parking in Westminster.

My i3 has no road tax either.

I wanted to hate it but after an extended test drive I didn't want to give it back. It's a life changer!

DD hired a Zoe for an extended test drive last month. I did say at the time whilst it would be great for her work journeys and in the area she lives, she comes home (150 miles) a couple of times a month and added to that journey the local charging network here is actually quite poor.

She found exactly what I had said, ended up stopping to charge half way here and had to plan her journeys here very carefully because of the lack of chargers. She's now looking at hybrid.

@foxyfemke We have the Ioniq and found it to be amazing. We have a charge point at home which cost £99 with the grant. DH can get 1020 miles out of a tank of petrol with it. Admit I wasn't keen until I saw it in person and drove it. It's a lovely car and the sport mode gives it a bit of extra power when needed.

@Blobby10 I can confirm you can get a bugaboo bee buggy + a mid sized food shop on the boot even with the reduced size due to the battery

@Blobby10 - love the GTE mode it's a really fun ride but DH and I are currently competing to get the most mpg on our regular long trip by tracking each other's trips on the app. Yes we are quite competitive & I'm winning!

Fiat 500 electric is out in the US already. Think I read it's due out here in next year. Mini too.

I've just got a Smart ForTwo - I wanted a tiny city car. Loving it, and loving the electric.

Dh will probably go for electric next in a couple of years though wants a larger car as it'll be the main car.

Friend has the Tesla X. I was really disappointed in it. Especially for the money.

I know there's no Leaf love on this thread, but my range is 150 miles, which is a bit better than 80. I only do city driving though, so I don't really care. I occasionally burn up the boy racers who have been driving right up my arse in 20 mph zones. When I get to a 30 stretch, oh, the pure joy of tearing away from them at the lights... So childish. So enjoyable.

We had an i3 for 2 years and I loved it.

We gave it back to BMW in December as the range was only 140ish miles max - we didn't want to buy it outright as manufacturers are coming up with longer range EVs all the time, so it's likely that the second hand value of our i3 would have plummeted.

We wanted to buy either the Hyundai kona or the Kia e Niro to replace it, but both are on over a year lead time at the moment as they can't make the batteries quickly enough

We will definitely get another EV as soon as we can, though - currently considering putting down a deposit on the new VW later this year, without even seeing it in the flesh, let alone test driving it, just to make sure we don't miss out!

I'm such a sheep. The excitement in your posts make me reslly want one now 😂

Our pcp is 230 pm. It doesn't look like I can get an electric car for the same tho

We have a Toyota Auris. It's a hybrid but it doesn't plug in so you just drive it. The MPG it gets is phenomenal. Sometimes 65 mpg when the weather is warm. Less when it's cooler.

We very much wanted pure electric cars, not hybrids.

Have hybrids got any better with their electric range though?

@wonkylegs love the competitive nature that these cars seem to generate

I do love Tesla’s. Most of my journeys are over 150 mile return journeys so they are not for me at the moment.

To be fair Tesla cars do have long ranges. The person I know who has one regularly travels lengthy journeys up, town and across the country a few times a week.

I just wasn't keen - looked like every other 'middle age man' type car. I know lots like them and those styles though / just personal choice on car looks.
Dd did like the up and over doors though.

Do you need a special charging socket or can you just plug it in to an existing outside socket?

I want one now..

You can plug in at home on a normal 3 pin plug ut it takes ages to charge, but will charge overnight. I had to do this whilst I waited for home charger installation.
A home charger charges mine from empty in 3-4hrs.

I also use the normal plug to charge when I visit family overnight. Handy but not good long term.

Yep, 3 pin plug is possible but very slow! I get max of 6 miles per hour for a 75kw battery. So would take approx 33 hours to charge to full. We do it when away, but we have a charger at home which does it in 4 hours. You can get grants for them which make them cheaper to install. We’re getting one that works with our solar array to use any excess solar to charge the car which will be great.

I was quoted 176 miles before charging by Tesla

Have hybrids got any better with their electric range though?

The Ioniq does around 30/35 miles on battery alone but if driven sympathetically will charge the battery as it goes so adds to fuel economy.
Helpfully DH works 25 miles away and his bosses are installing charge points so shortly he will be able to get to work and back on full electric.

Taking the plunge - just bought a Leaf! Very excited