Electric car or not?

[ABBAsnumberonefan]

I’m thinking of getting a bigger car and weighing up my options. What’s everyone’s opinion on electric cars? Is it worth investing in one now or do they still need a few more years to develop?

the prices of them are eye watering even on finance so I’m not sure if it’s worth it yet!!

@PinkSparklyPussyCat yes after reading the responses on here I think my best bet is to get a hybrid petrol car until I can afford to sell my house and move to one with a driveway I could charge an EV on

@Frazzled2207 I think if it's going to be your only car and you've got 2 kids and a dog, the Enyaq wins.

It obviously depends how often you'd all be in the car and how often with dog, crate, luggage etc but the Niro is definitely a mid size SUV. I know they're making the boot bigger but my concern would be that they squeeze the cabin size which is great at the moment, especially with growing kids.

The Enyaq is a proper family size SUV, large cabin and large boot.

I feel like I'm betraying my Niro now!

Agree entirely in terms of the actual car- we have unfortunately heard plenty of stories about software issues in the enyaq which is putting us off. (Meanwhile obviously the 7year warranty for a Kia is fantastic ).
That said we are also led to believe the newer enyaqs’ software is upgraded.
Hopefully you have had no issues?

@Frazzled2207 You could have a look at the Kia EV6, it’s quite low and swoopy but technically a crossover and bigger all round than the Niro.

There’s also an EV9 on the way but not until late ‘23 or early ‘24 and it’s Telluride sized so likely to be enormous.

Yep we have test driven the ev6, it’s good but in that category we prefer the (cheaper but similar Hyundai) Ioniq 5.

A friend of mine had got a lovely electric car that he can't drive for two years. It would suit me perfectly, but I can't afford to buy it off him. 😰

No we haven't had any issues with the Enyaq.

I think the software issues were on its initial release. I'm not sure it's an ongoing problem.

One thing that highlights the software stuff more is the updates are more visible for the Enyaq. With the Kia you have no idea that there even are updates unless you follow the Facebook groups or similar!

That’s good @mafsfan
definitely heard of people experiencing software quirks with some 2022 ones too but perhaps quirks are ok as long as they are quirks not actually serious problems.

just need to convince dh. He agrees the size is the best but he’s put off by the software issues also the simple fact that we have never had a Skoda nor has anyone else we know. 10 month lead time apparently but we’re not in a rush. Would be nice to have it for next summer.

would never buy an electric car, go for petrol or hybrid then at least you have back up if the battery dies

We've got an Enyaq. V happy with it. Got the dog grate for the boot and the rubber floor so not a problem with cleanliness. V easy car to drive. Brilliant for city driving, barely uses a charge.

We're in London and got it mainly because we're in the ULEZ but we can still get down to Bournemouth to see my family and back without charging. Dp regularly goes up to Birmingham.

The fast charging infrastructure has a long way to go for it to be totally predictable and reliable and if it wasn't for the ULEZ and living in a city, we wouldn't have got one.

I love my electric Audi, I’ve just gone back from
a mini break in the UK, charged it for free at the hotel and got back home with no fuel costs.

Why would the battery just die? Do you let your car completely run out of fuel before filling up?

Possibly the most ignorant thing I’ve read to day.

far more chance that an ICE car would
”die” than EV. More things to go wrong for starters.

Same debate about ‘ I can’t charge at home as live in a flat’. Do you currently have a petrol station in your flat then?

What make is it please?

What a ridiculous question 🙄. It takes me 5 minutes to fill up my car, not hours like charging an electric car.

Depends if you want to save hundreds of pounds per month or not.

Tesla Model 3

@PinkSparklyPussyCat - but it doesn’t take hours to charge an electric car on a public charger. 30mins whilst you pop into tescos using fast charger and it would be done. 30 mins whilst you stop at services for loo and drink on long journey. People aren’t stopping at service stations for 8hrs to charge their car

For example for vw id4

A level 2 240-volt outlet takes an estimated 7.5 hours ( that’s a normal plug at home) while the DC fast charging battery charges from 0 to 80% in just 38 minutes.

you also don’t have to charge all at once either, they same as you can choose not to fully fill car with petrol

Level 2 chargers aren’t the ‘normal plugs’ at home. They are the wall box chargers on your domestic AC power supply.

Charging using a 3pin plug in a domestic socket (not advised regularly as is a fire hazard due to being a high draw appliance) takes around 12+ hours for city models Cars with larger batteries and longer ranges will take longer.

@LynneBenfield - sorry that’s what I meant, a normal non fast charger. Most in say supermarket car park are fast chargers which will charge car in 30-60 mins rather than ‘hours’

That's all very well providing a charger is available. I'm never in the supermarket for 30 minutes let alone an hour and if I'm going to Cornwall for example (the furthest I would be driving) I wouldn't have to fill up with petrol and so would just stop to stop drivers. I can't see anything convenient about an electric car when you don't have a driveway.

On a shallower note, I haven't seen one I like the look of yet either!

@PinkSparklyPussyCat , I love my EV (I have the 2nd gen mini - just looks like a normal 3dr mini) but I totally agree with you that they are not a practical choice for those who do not have off road parking at home. Unless you are one of the lucky few with access to reliable lamppost chargers or charging at your place of work, so you can charge during the working day rather than overnight.

A few councils/local authorities are trialing pavement gulleys for EV charging cables (Oxford being one) to enable people without off-road parking to benefit from EV ownership without the health and safety risks of trailing cables energysavingtrust.org.uk/case-study/oxgul-e/

What type of car? Yea