[Gt6k]

Please drive the Zoe for more than a couple of hours before you buy one or just look at the list of faults trawled up every day on the Zoe pages of this forum. Yes its a good practical car on paper but I think it just about everything else is wrong with it.

 

[Dion Rust]

Please drive the Zoe for more than a couple of hours before you buy one or just look at the list of faults trawled up every day on the Zoe pages of this forum. Yes its a good practical car on paper but I think it just about everything else is wrong with it.

Here we go! 🙄 I assume you drive one? Anyway, out of the 3 that’s mentioned in the opening the i3 would be my choice if nothing else was available.

 

[Vertigo]

Remember too that the Mini is the only one that will easily beat it’s claimed WLTP range. And the elephant in the room, it’s the only cool brand EV.

I don't know if this is just me, but I've never found revival Minis remotely cool - quite the opposite. Great to drive though.

 

[jonsel]

The input so far has been great, thank you everyone!

Watching the EV Puzzle videos was really interesting for the Mini and Honda E comparison.

As for a Fiat 500 I appreciate i’s retro design but I’m not sure it’s quite me...

The ID3 I’d considered, although I’d read they’d seemed to cut a few corners on the interior quality and it didn’t hold up to the Golfs interior? The number of trim levels for the ID3 seems excessive too! I picked a mid-range trim and the monthly lease was coming in at £440-450ish, so around £100 a month more than the i3, Honda E and Mini...

I’ve sort of made peace with the fact that I’ll never use this car for the twice monthly 160 mile trip to Nottingham, the more research I’ve done it seems that even if I got an EV with a 200+ mile range running it at 70 mph for most of the journey would really damage the range.

I’m leaning towards the i3 but the Honda arrives on Tuesday and as a techie I’m really looking forward to experiencing it first-hand.

Not quite true on range at speed. Choose a Korean EV and get the range predicted on the GOM come summer or winter. Over 40k miles our Kona has never done less than 225 miles even in the depths of winter being flogged along the motorway.

 

[SomeHeadhunter]

Quick update

Unfortunately the Honda-E 24 hour test drive was cancelled due to the new lockdown.

I think I'm going to pull the trigger on the i3, I need to sort something for March when my currently vehicle goes back, so I'm running out of time and cant see me getting a test-drive in the Honda anythime soon!

On that note in term of chargers I spoke to my electrician who wired my house originally and he was recommending going for something simple like a QUBEV with a O-PEN device to negate an earth rod. A colleague has recommended the Zappi, although he does have solar and a powerwall...

Any thoughts on going for the cheaper 'dumb' charger route, maybe with an Ohme Smart Charging Cable if I want to make the most of Octopus Agile, or going for a smart charger like the Zappi?

 

[MarkyM]

Out of the 3 cars mentioned by the OP, I would stick with the i3.I am a Rex i3 owner for almost 4 years now. I would consider a non Rex i3 when changing later this year.
have driven the other 2. Mini was fun but hard riding, torque steering and cramped/impractical. The interior was boring. What’s the point of having a 180+bhp motor if when you use it you will struggle to get more than 60-80 miles range! The next MINI which will be a brand new ground up EV in 2021/22 will be great though, I am sure.

We are big Honda fans, having owned several, but the E was disappointing on test drive last summer. Perfect conditions and mostly urban driving and we got 3.1 mi/kWh. Terrible. It is too heavy. I thought the screens were gimmicks and ultimately pointless. And I love gadgets. Truly Pathetic Boot and no frunk. Rear bench seat also so split fold. Not punchy enough. If it had 170-180 bhp would have been more fun For its rear wheel drive set up but it felt a bit “meh “. Turning circle a giggle but hardly that much better than i3. Range in the real world, pathetic in 2021.

Why is nobody mentioning the Peugeot e208?! We have just bought one! GT spec is fully loaded. 50kwh battery. 100kw fast charging. Small car but 5 seater. Decent boot. And the biggie, it is brilliantly fun to drive. And the 3D i cockpit NOT a gimmick. Car Looks nice. Only supposedly 134 bhp but feels faster. (And remember , I am an i3 owner) And it is European small car of the year! We were concerned as “it’s French” and may be glitchy but over 1000 miles done in 4 weeks and all great so far. Early days but it is an EV, so less to go wrong. Oh yes it seems quite efficient also. 3.2-3.6 mi/kWh in these cold weather conditions. Available from £25k without all the toys and £30k fully loaded.

 

[SomeHeadhunter]

Hi all!

So I finally ordered my EV yesterday... the Mini Electric.

It was a really tough call, compounded by not being able to test drive due to lockdown, and I'm sure I've over-researched and over-thought the whole thing.

I ended up choosing the Mini for a few reasons, not least the price, availability and everything I read and heard seemed to suggest that the Mini had the advantage of performance, handling and efficiency. The i3 was a very close second but the leasing company who had stock were really pushing me to take delivery ASAP and something felt off.

Thank you everyone for your input!

Now to sort an EV home charge point...

 

[MarkyM]

OK. Wishing you happy driving! Will be fun and as it has the i3 running gear will be efficient in the real world unlike the Honda e, so come the summer months you should be getting comfortably over 100 miles in range. As long as you don't press the accelerator pedal too much which will be a discipline in itself as it is a fast little thing!

Did you manage to look at e208? My answer to you was a bit late in the day to be fair, but I honestly have no idea why it is rarely mentioned. Every car and youtube channel has Honda-e and Mini-e reviews and comparisons ad nauseum.
The Pug is the better all round car in terms of performance, spec, price and of course range!

 

[SomeHeadhunter]

Thanks @MarkyM

I had a quick look at the e208 online but never really considered it. I had a couple of Peugeots (106/206) years ago when I first started driving and back then they definitely had a few issues... I guess that early experience has put me off the brand. Short sighted of me I guess.

 

[MarkyM]

Fair enough. We all base our purchases on reviews and/or past experiences. Keep us all posted on your ownership experience. Our Peugeot dealer knew virtually NOTHING about the e-208, it was like we were talking to them in a foreign language, when we were at the buying stage (range, charging speed questions etc). We hope it will stay reliable as they have no experience of servicing or indeed fixing EVs at all. At least with Mini they will be serviced by Mini or BMW technicians who have a good few years head start. As long as they can retain their knowledgeable staff both front of house and the "mechanics". But many other car brands, like Peugeot, have the same issues with non EV knowledge or indeed motivation, it seems.

 

[Rooster-x]

I’ve sort of made peace with the fact that I’ll never use this car for the twice monthly 160 mile trip to Nottingham, the more research I’ve done it seems that even if I got an EV with a 200+ mile range running it at 70 mph for most of the journey would really damage the range.

Our ZE40 manages 160 mile trip to Nottingham with a 15 min 22kWh AC charge, on a good day its even managed it in one go but probably not for a first time EV driver, somthing to build up to as you gain more experience and confidence in how to max the range. Of course a ZE50 with CCS or without would make easy work even driving at higher 70mph motorway speeds, currently I'm doing it at 60mph. Of course having a free podpoint destination charger at a nearby Lidl helps a lot, benefit of an EV is it can be charging backup overnight while visiting relatives etc.. We manage to pop over four or five times a year even during a Pandemic!

 

[DrMagical]

Great choice. The range is as advertised (more according to several videos where it's been driven til empty), just make sure you take the GOM range with a pinch of salt as it is extremely pessimistic. You have chosen the coolest brand of car by a huge way and I'm sure you'll be impressed - the build quality is amazing and the interior is awesome.