EV GROUP TEST -BEST EV UNDER 45K

[69473]

Check out an interesting group test of family EV's under 45k.
Some interesting findings.

 

[Despicable]

Check out an interesting group test of family EV's under 45k.
Some interesting findings.

Thanks for that, Wondering star . A household near me has two EVs, one the Skoda and the other the Kia. The Kia's been on my wish list for some time, and still is, as I don't necessarily need the extra room the Skoda provides (although the dogs would disagree).

 

[Pausim]

I am not yet in the market for an EV or an SUV but it is interesting to see how the market is developing. With a better network of fast charging options I might look more seriously in 2 or 3 years time.

 

[69473]

Awaiting delivery of an Enyaq, unfortunately delayed firstly for micro chip shortage and now transportation issues.
Should hopefully arrive end of November all being well?

 

[Blue Knight]

I've just watched the whole video and after our very recent hunt for an EV I would concur that the Skoda Enyaq is the best on the market (things will change though as the technology develops month by month).

........but we made a huge mistake and bought a Hyundai Ioniq 5 Ultimate 73 instead with its huge bag of niggles.

In the end we only kept the Hyundai for a fortnight and then sold it back to the dealer as there were just too many issues to deal with.

Also, it's worthy of note that the charging infrastructure in the UK is still very much hit 'n' miss with so many charging points either temperamental or broken or where the associated apps don't work (according to the various forums).

It'll be interesting to see how the new offerings from Kia, Nissan and Toyota fare after their imminent release.

All I'll say is that I hope they're better than the Hyundai Ioniq 5 which we bought.

Well done to the OP - that was a good find.

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[Cheshirecat57]

The Kia did well…especially given the price point at thick end of 10k less than the Skoda if you spec the Skoda up to the eNiro level
I absolutely love mine and just had a real world “tank” full of kilowatts that have returned 296 miles with 8 miles left
Yes its ugly, but what a great stab of it Kia made some 2 years ahead of the market

I would think next year, a 3 year old eNiro , probably at mid £ twenties, with 4 years warranty left on the car and 5 years on the battery would be compelling for those with a lower budget

 

[Blue Knight]

The Kia did well…especially given the price point at thick end of 10k less than the Skoda if you spec the Skoda up to the eNiro level
I absolutely love mine and just had a real world “tank” full of kilowatts that have returned 296 miles with 8 miles left
Yes its ugly, but what a great stab of it Kia made some 2 years ahead of the market

I would think next year, a 3 year old eNiro , probably at mid £ twenties, with 4 years warranty left on the car and 5 years on the battery would be compelling for those with a lower budget

The only problem with the Skoda Enyaq is that you need to add a whole load of extra expensive packs to the spec if you want a vehicle with lots of gadgets.

Also, I would only ever go for the bigger battery so the Enyaq 80 has to be the one if it's going to beat the others on range.

.......so all in all and penny-for-penny the Kia is probably the best of the 10 by a bit.

Just my take though.

 

[funflair]

Just specced a Enyaq and got to £50k quite easily, same ish price as 3 Series BMW to be fair.

 

[EuroTrotters]

I quite fancy an ampera

 

[Blue Knight]

Just specced a Enyaq and got to £50k quite easily, same ish price as 3 Series BMW to be fair.

Yep, easily done Martin but if you were to start again with the Sportline 80X as a base vehicle then you'll easily achieve £60,000+ too.

However, the advertised range is 331 miles but that's recorded at the optimum outside temperature of c.23C.

Some of the owners in the US and Canade are now saying that you can remove 20% of the total battery capacity (if you operate at 0-4C without a heat source on the battery pack) and a further 15% will disappear if you use the heating and climate during the same cold spell, resulting in a potential range drop to 215+ miles.

That's a well spec'd 3-series for £50,000 so any potential purchaser will need to decide whether or not they want a BMW with a huge mileage range or a Skoda which has much less, plus the challenges of the not-so-good UK charging network, albeit it's getting better.

Big decisions eh

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[DiggerJon]

I was in the market for a new car early this year and looked long and hard at electric cars but lack of charging infrastructure and the need for a home charger at £££'s made me think again. I also wanted a relatively small car and none seemed to fit, so I finally went for a non-plug in hybrid - the Honda Jazz. So far I'm delighted with it. It carries more luggage more easily than my Jaguar XF ever did, it has more leg room in the back when needed (not often) and the "magic tip up" rear seats are so useful. My fully specced model is £000's cheaper than the smallest electric car and I can fill up at any petrol station in no time at all. I've had it since early May and have covered some 4500 miles and so far my average has been about 70 mpg of mixed driving which has included motorways. It is comfortable to drive, has enough performance for my needs and, so far. has had nothing go wrong with it at all. The only minor complaint is road noise from the strange tyre choice but you soon learn to live with it. Yes, I'm delighted with it and it is amazing how much of the time it runs on electric mode only. On a recent holiday in the Lake District and the north I was glad it was not electric as there would have been nowhere to charge it overnight and electric charging points were few and far between in country areas! Sorry if I hijacked this thread, but my comments are really based around "would I have and electric car - yet". Answer?? No!

 

[Tonks]

I was in the market for a new car early this year and looked long and hard at electric cars but lack of charging infrastructure and the need for a home charger at £££'s made me think again. I also wanted a relatively small car and none seemed to fit, so I finally went for a non-plug in hybrid - the Honda Jazz. So far I'm delighted with it. It carries more luggage more easily than my Jaguar XF ever did, it has more leg room in the back when needed (not often) and the "magic tip up" rear seats are so useful. My fully specced model is £000's cheaper than the smallest electric car and I can fill up at any petrol station in no time at all. I've had it since early May and have covered some 4500 miles and so far my average has been about 70 mpg of mixed driving which has included motorways. It is comfortable to drive, has enough performance for my needs and, so far. has had nothing go wrong with it at all. The only minor complaint is road noise from the strange tyre choice but you soon learn to live with it. Yes, I'm delighted with it and it is amazing how much of the time it runs on electric mode only. On a recent holiday in the Lake District and the north I was glad it was not electric as there would have been nowhere to charge it overnight and electric charging points were few and far between in country areas! Sorry if I hijacked this thread, but my comments are really based around "would I have and electric car - yet". Answer?? No!

I looked at and liked the Toyota Yaris hybrid. For me, in a semi-rural area, hybrids make far more sense than a full EV. But they're still mostly VERY expensive and at the moment I'm not ready to change so it's a bit of a moot point.
Meanwhile, my friend's hubby has just been given a Tesla as his latest company car, and as my friend's car came to the end of its lease at the same time they've gone fully family EV with an e-Up. She had a very nice Polo before. If it'd been me I'd've kept the Polo, and kept the flexibility of having a mixed fleet, but I'm going to be interested in how they get on with their two EVs.

 

[cmcardle75]

........but we made a huge mistake and bought a Hyundai Ioniq 5 Ultimate 73 instead with its huge bag of niggles.

In the end we only kept the Hyundai for a fortnight and then sold it back to the dealer as there were just too many issues to deal with.

What sort of issues were they? Quality control or design?

My Hyundai Kona has been pretty excellent. The only "niggles" I've had are software related, and not serious.

 

[Garratt]

The title of the post is a little misleading - it isn't the best EV under £45k but the best electric SUV under £45k. In my opinion, the best EV under £45k is the Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus. The Tesla Supercharger network makes travelling pretty much worry free - you aren't going to worry whether the rapid charger that is en-route to your destination is going to work or not.

 

[69473]

The group test was the best 'family' ev under 45k.
The Tesla 3 would automatically be ruled out as its a saloon, totally impractical compared to a hatchback. Nice as a executive saloon but not as a family hack.
First problem, no room for the dog!
An attraction to me is the Skoda's relatively low retail price for such a large car, the 60 model cleverly qualifies for the £2500 grant.
A massive plus is the ability to add extras i actually want and will use.
I speced a 60 with met paint, ecosuite leather, upgraded alloys, panoramic sunroof, rear side air bags, rear camera, 100kw charger and heat pump for under 40k.
If you can keep the purchase price under 40k it makes sense, would i pay 50 k for a Skoda probably not.
Range is not an issue, 200 miles is fine for me, the really long journeys will be taken in the van

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[DiggerJon]

Range is not an issue, 200 miles is fine for me, the really long journeys will be taken in the van

That’s what put me off; your EV is effectively for shorter range journeys only and so you have to have a fuel guzzling monster for “proper” journeys at far greater expense all round. EV benefits seem marginal to me until range and charging issues are sorted at a reasonable price. Oh, and let’s not get sucked into the use of rare earth resources and, and, and......

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Just an opinion everyone

I think the “ “Best” “ ( in double quotes deliberately) , “family” EV at the moment is the MG5 Estate
The exclusive model is easily getable at £26500 or £ lots less if you are NHS or similar

Is it as good as a Tesla…….nah
Is it half, yes half the price ……? hell yeh

Is the sat nav slow….yes takes 5 or 6 seconds to find a location as opposed to 2 seconds in other marks

7 year warranty
0% 0 deposit PCP available….so even if you can afford to pay in full….why would you if they will give you a Guaranteed future value ( so if this ev ‘fad’ turns out to be just that..just give it back)

And, they are like a Cathedral inside for your ‘family’ which is surely the original brief of the article

REALITY is that very few of the 10 cars in the test can actually be had for 45k in a realistic and acceptable spec……so a fully loaded car at a real £27k has to draw some attention, doesn’t it?

 

[Tigger-Tim]

Lovely graphics-led exploration of some of the EV green issues from the FT.

How green is your electric vehicle?

Why your EV’s environmental impact is not as minimal as you might have hoped — from the materials in the battery to the electricity that powers it

ig.ft.com

 

[69473]

Digger jon, i think you misunderstood, the longer journeys i refer to are when we holiday in our van(PVC) euro 6d as big as the Enyaq is i don't think its suitable for that.
The Ev will replace an old school diesel 4x4 auto which most days commutes twice a day to Cambridge , around 60 miles in total. It will either be charged at home, partly though solar or at work.
I dont anticipate needing to charge at charge stations on a regular basis but to cover that event I've specified a rapid charger.
Only time will tell if its the right decision for me, i agree for some Evs dont make sense.
What I would say is that in 2005 I purchaced a Toyota Prius hybrid and herd similar negative comments all of which turned out to be unfounded.
I should also point out that this purchase is not primarily made on environmental factors, it also makes financial sense.

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Lovely graphics-led exploration of some of the EV green issues from the FT.

How green is your electric vehicle?

Why your EV’s environmental impact is not as minimal as you might have hoped — from the materials in the battery to the electricity that powers it

ig.ft.com

Yes agreed, that's the case for the prosecution....

But this is a thread about comparisons between different EVs as opposed to the perceived or real rights and the perceived or real wrongs of the EV concept

A bit like a thread about Different Campsites in Croatia -
I just ignore those ( convenient button available) as Croatia is not for me....but I wouldn't dream of trying to "educate" fans of Croatia ( via a report from China) as to why they should be staying in UK

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[Tigger-Tim]

That’s what put me off; your EV is effectively for shorter range journeys only and so you have to have a fuel guzzling monster for “proper” journeys at far greater expense all round. EV benefits seem marginal to me until range and charging issues are sorted at a reasonable price. Oh, and let’s not get sucked into the use of rare earth resources and, and, and......

I agree that EVs are not a panacea.

When I was working, pure EVs had insufficient range for my daily commute.

Now I'm retired, I do so few miles, that I've decided that sticking with my petrol engined car is the greenest thing I can do.

I'm sure I'll switch at some point - but not for a while.

Edited to add: I'm absolutely not against EVs - and that's why I wanted to use one when I was working. But being environmentally conscious is not as simple as EV-good, ICE-bad. I doubt I'll buy another diesel or petrol car, but the best thing I can do the the environment right now is stick with my existing car.

 

[SpeedyDux]

"Under £45k" is still a helluva steep price for Joe Public. Early days for workshop skills at dealerships, and homogenised charging networks, so I will pass for now.

Not one for badge snobs, but a top spec facelift Dacia Duster family SUV with climate control, autobox, and toys is still only about £20k. Not that I need one of those, because I am still very satisfied after a year of fuel efficient hybrid driving.