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Post by racingteatray on Nov 29, 2020 16:57:40 GMT
...with my wife when it comes to cars.
Yesterday, we had to go somewhere locally so took the Fiat and after a couple of minutes driving, during which she had already admired an R8 that lives near our house, my wife surprised me by saying "you know I'm a bit bored of this car now. I think it is about time to change it". Cue various discussions mostly revolving around the new electric Fiat 500 or her fond hope that someone might make a small electric SUV that she likes and doesn't cost £30k+.
I pointed out that there is an electric version of the Mini but she wasn't having any of it. She's convinced herself they are overpriced and that she doesn't like them.
And then today we went and met my best man and his wife and two small sons in the park (six of us - very law-abiding) as one of them is my godson and it's his birthday this coming week so I needed to hand over a card and present. They are the "buy cars new and keep them until they die" type, and have, for years and years, had a brace of Audis (a 2010 A6 Allroad 3.0 TDi and a 2005 A3 Sportback 2.0T quattro). Turns out that with ULEZ looming, it was time to change both cars, so they've just replaced the Allroad with a smart 69-plate F-Pace 3.0d, and are currently working out what electric car to buy replace the A3, with an ID3 being the favoured choice at present. So, unusually, our respective wives apparently spent a goodly amount of time while we were in the park talking about the merits of various types of electric cars.
This seems like progress.
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Post by michael on Nov 29, 2020 17:07:44 GMT
I don’t know what it is about electric cars and women. One of Louisa’s friends was over earlier in the year and declared she was ‘into cars’ ever since she got a Model X. Shortly after Louisa sent me a link to a Nissan Leaf which was met with the derision it deserved.
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Post by Martin on Nov 29, 2020 17:52:04 GMT
Too much talk and not enough action!
Thankfully Lindsay has zero interest in electric cars, her current ‘want’ is a Boxster GTS 4.0.
Assume you’re joking when you say law-abiding, as the current rule is only two people can meet outside....
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Post by racingteatray on Nov 29, 2020 18:11:50 GMT
Too much talk and not enough action! Thankfully Lindsay has zero interest in electric cars, her current ‘want’ is a Boxster GTS 4.0. Assume you’re joking when you say law-abiding, as the current rule is only two people can meet outside.... Yes...no sign of that being adhered to anywhere in London. Hordes of people everywhere. But it's easily gamed. Effectively I walked with my friend, our wives walked separately together, and the kids ran around chasing squirrels etc. |
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Post by racingteatray on Nov 29, 2020 18:24:24 GMT
I think the electric 500 idea might be the answer. It's not available yet, so by the time it is she'll have warmed up to idea.
I mean I also like the Honda E and I imagine she will too, but it's pricey (a whisker under £30k) and has a pitiful range of just 125 miles. By comparison, the boggo version of the electric 500, which has a similar range at 115 miles, costs "just" £19,995. And if you fork out £3.5k more for the ritzier version, it comes with a very decent 199 mile range.
Besides, having had a look at small electric SUVs, the choice is really pretty unexciting and pricey to boot. I sort of half like the Mazda MX30 but not sure she will. I know she likes the XC40 but an electric XC40 is a £60k car. £60k!!!!! Apart from that, it's various distinctly turgid Korean options and, around here, if you going to have one of those, you might as well just have it available on call with a driver via an App on your phone.
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Post by cbeaks1 on Nov 29, 2020 20:52:32 GMT
£37k for a Mach-E after the £3k bung.
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Post by michael on Nov 29, 2020 22:17:25 GMT
I think MG make an electric SUV but typhoid would probably be better.
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Post by Big Blue on Nov 29, 2020 23:23:48 GMT
Yes...no sign of that being adhered to anywhere in London. Hordes of people everywhere. Regent Street St James' this evening. Totally deserted.....  Lights were nice:    W2.1 was adamant she didn't want a car that she plugged in like a mobile phone. I'm still on course for one.... |
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Post by racingteatray on Nov 29, 2020 23:44:27 GMT
£37k for a Mach-E after the £3k bung. Huge though. We want a smallish car we can nip around central London in. We have my car for longer trips out of town. |
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Post by Sav on Nov 30, 2020 0:53:23 GMT
Wrong thread!
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Post by PG on Nov 30, 2020 10:40:41 GMT
The Fiat 500E sounds like a relative "bargain" compared to its nearest rivals. I definitely go for the bigger range version. Even the Renault Zoe is £28 / £25k and in style / coolness terms it isn't a rival at all.
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Post by PetrolEd on Nov 30, 2020 10:53:19 GMT
If I was you, I'd deffo go electric 500. Electric makes 100% sense in the city and anymore performance is just a waste.
I'd keep your car and then put the savings from upgrading that into a third weekend car.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2020 10:54:28 GMT
I don't think he has space for a third iirc.
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Post by Alex on Nov 30, 2020 11:41:47 GMT
Theres definitely a market for smallish electric SUVs that are from a European maker. In theory your brief could be met by the elecric Hyundai Kona or Kia Soul. Good cars as they are, I suspect either suggestion will by as palatable to your wife as a dog turd sandwich.
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Post by johnc on Nov 30, 2020 11:58:52 GMT
Have you had a look at this?
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Post by racingteatray on Nov 30, 2020 13:25:12 GMT
I don't think he has space for a third iirc. Actually we do - our house has a lot of parking by any standards let alone inner London standards. Between the allocated space at the front of the house and the rear driveway, we actually have enough off-street parking for three cars, plus we are also eligible for an on-street parking permit which hitherto we've never bothered with, even though for the current 500 it costs just £60/annum. |
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Post by Tim on Nov 30, 2020 19:34:22 GMT
Have you had a look at this? What's the summary? |
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Post by ChrisM on Nov 30, 2020 20:57:38 GMT
^
Summary is that some electric cars will actually travel further than the published range, others won't.
Most will become immobilised when their batteries run out, but they do give you warnings which you should bey, when charge is getting low.
Some breakdown services are equipped to deal with electric cars whose batteries have expired, by giving you a small charge that should be sufficient to get you to the nearest charging point.
The overall range is, in general terms, crap compared to a diesel or petrol car and you need to plan journeys of any reasonable length with care, and trust to luck when trying to find conveniently placed, working chargers
The Honda is a true city car as far as range goes, not much over 120 miles
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Post by racingteatray on Nov 30, 2020 22:31:09 GMT
I watched it. Barring that I find the presenter really quite annoying, it was interesting. I actually thought the 20rsa twins both looked nice - particularly the Corsa - possibly due to lower expectations but I thought it nicer than the 208, which I like externally but whose dashboard looks a bit fugly.
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Post by johnc on Dec 1, 2020 8:02:54 GMT
My daughter had a couple of lessons in a new Corsa and she really likes it. However she prefers her Mini. I reckon for a city car, range isn't the most important feature as long as you can charge it at night. It's more a matter of getting something you like the look of, which also has the toys and quality of materials you are looking for v how much it costs. I don't see discounts on small electric cars being widely available in the next few years though.
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Post by racingteatray on Dec 1, 2020 8:40:16 GMT
One of the things we both really like about our current 500 is the interior. As ours is white, it has a slab of white painted plastic across the dash, plus my wife picked the "Ivory Ambience" meaning that all the controls and switchgear, including the steering wheel are either a cream-coloured plastic or leather, which is far nicer than it sounds. Combined with jaunty red fabric seats, it all works well and is just a refreshing change from the usual sober sea of black. Makes you smile. I cannot see why other makers of small cars don't follow suit.
The MINI dashboard might be interestingly styled, but it's still a jumble of different shades of black and dark grey.
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Post by PG on Dec 1, 2020 9:24:12 GMT
I think the market to be in fairly soon will be small 3kva generators. Carry one with you in the back of your small electric car and it becomes the ultimate range extender.  |
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Post by michael on Dec 1, 2020 10:01:11 GMT
My in-laws had a new Corsa hire car for a week. They hated it mainly as it was so low to the ground compared to their Kodiak. I'm also told it felt cheap.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2020 10:15:36 GMT
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Post by cbeaks1 on Dec 2, 2020 10:46:33 GMT
If I was you, I'd deffo go electric 500. Electric makes 100% sense in the city and anymore performance is just a waste. I'd keep your car and then put the savings from upgrading that into a third weekend car. Jonny Smith has a 500 e review on The Late Brake Show on YouTube Edited to add - clearly the embargo is off now- 500e is frickin everywhere. |
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Post by racingteatray on Dec 2, 2020 11:49:27 GMT
In normal circumstances I would want a REx but in London the exemption from the congestion charge (which is now 7 days a week including evenings) only applies to pure electric vehicles.
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Post by michael on Dec 2, 2020 13:39:03 GMT
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Post by racingteatray on Dec 2, 2020 15:56:41 GMT
Thanks. I sent that to la signora. |
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Post by alf on Dec 2, 2020 17:08:43 GMT
Just point her away from i3's. They may seem a decent combo of full electricness and also a BMW but they are very very old school electric tech. The whole platform is being thrown away and replaced by totally new electric cars sharing nothing. One of the guys that works for me was in BMW corporate fleet sales before he came here and spent some time dissuading his own partner from getting one!
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Post by Alex on Dec 2, 2020 19:58:57 GMT
Thanks. I sent that to la signora. Jonny Smith's put out a review today too: |
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