[danyo72]

Hi my name is Daniel..I am a father of 3 young girls..we came to the decision to buy our first ev or plug in car..we are owners of another diesel big family car(vw transporter shuttle-taxi business car), we used to have a 20 years old skoda fabia with automatic gear as my wife doesn't like manual, but it broke down a few weeks ago and the repair is too expensive for the car value.the new car will be mainly used for school daily runs with my kids and occasionally for weekend trips up to 100mil per one way..our daily routine is morning round trip of 24 miles and 5 hr later exactly the same distance+- with extra 1-2 mile for shopping on return journey..we have a budget max £12000 cash..so far we haven't been able to decide between the vw-egolf,kia soul ev,and nissan leaf...We are considering to sell the car after 3-4 years and change it for a newer model, that's why we would like it to be still attractive for a buyer. Our fuel cost is £130 per month for the school runs without extra trips.Thank you kindly for your opinion..Daniel

 

[Neilew]

For the size of car you're looking for may I suggest an MG 5 estate. Plenty of room and boot space plus a 200 plus mile range. That should do your daily runs with only needing charging once a week (depends how far the 'runs' are).

 

[Neilew]

Our fuel cost is £130 per month for the school runs without extra trips.Thank you kindly for your opinion..Daniel

With whatever EV you choose you'll probably use a tenth of that cost in electricity. Even driven hard.

 

[Yachsman]

Hi my name is Daniel..I am a father of 3 young girls..we came to the decision to buy our first ev or plug in car..we are owners of another diesel big family car(vw transporter shuttle-taxi business car), we used to have a 20 years old skoda fabia with automatic gear as my wife doesn't like manual, but it broke down a few weeks ago and the repair is too expensive for the car value.the new car will be mainly used for school daily runs with my kids and occasionally for weekend trips up to 100mil per one way..our daily routine is morning round trip of 24 miles and 5 hr later exactly the same distance+- with extra 1-2 mile for shopping on return journey..we have a budget max £12000 cash..so far we haven't been able to decide between the vw-egolf,kia soul ev,and nissan leaf...We are considering to sell the car after 3-4 years and change it for a newer model, that's why we would like it to be still attractive for a buyer. Our fuel cost is £130 per month for the school runs without extra trips.Thank you kindly for your opinion..Daniel

Hello Daniel welcome to speakEV and hopefully yo EV world. Ill let others advise you on the most appropriate model for your families needs.
You budget maybe larger than you initially imaged due to the saving on fuel & road tax. For example, i bought my ev in September 2020 & have covered 2600 miles (covid limited) and spent a total of £37.67 on charging using the octopus go tariff & strictly speaking it should be less than that because I didnt switch to octopus until 6 weeks after I took delivery, meaning I paid 3 x the cost for the first 400+ miles.
So smiles all the way.

 

[danyo72]

For the size of car you're looking for may I suggest an MG 5 estate. Plenty of room and boot space plus a 200 plus mile range. That should do your daily runs with only needing charging once a week (depends how far the 'runs' are).

Helloo Neilew..thank you for your reply..we can stretch our budget to a max £15 000 the MG5 cost £25 000 for the standard model...

 

[danyo72]

Helloo Yachsman..thank you for your comment...my plan is to switch to octopus tariffs as soon as possible ..the 5p night rate is great..I hope they will keep that tariff for a while...Kind regards Daniel...

 

[freddym]

Helloo Yachsman..thank you for your comment...my plan is to switch to octopus tariffs as soon as possible ..the 5p night rate is great..I hope they will keep that tariff for a while...Kind regards Daniel...

You probably need to focus on your finances then choose the newest LEAF that comes within your cash purchase or monthly payment budget. You will be hard pushed to get a better value for money 5 seater.

 

[danyo72]

another thing that worries me is the charging speed on rapid charge and the choice of car with bulletproof charging abilities...some cars have both dc rapid charge (chademo)and type 2 connectors and for example, Egolf has just ccs connector...what is your experience with this type of connectors...thank you Daniel

 

[freddym]

another thing that worries me is the charging speed on rapid charge and the choice of car with bulletproof charging abilities...some cars have both dc rapid charge (chademo)and type 2 connectors and for example, Egolf has just ccs connector...what is your experience with this type of connectors...thank you Daniel

The Leaf will have DC Charging (Chademo protocol which is more reliable) and Type 1 or Type 2 AC charging. Type 1 or 2 is identical in reality. For your budget you should be able to find a LEAF with a 6.6kW onboard AC charger.

 

[danyo72]

You probably need to focus on your finances then choose the newest LEAF that comes within your cash purchase or monthly payment budget. You will be hard pushed to get a better value for money 5 seater.

Hello Freddym...thank you for your comment...you probably mean the 40kw ones?the 62kw version is out of my reach..regards Daniel

 

[Oli]

If you’re determined to buy used/cash then yes, the best Leaf or Zoe you can find for your money. The Zoe is surprisingly spacious and practical, despite being smaller. If you chose one of these be careful not to buy a car that doesn’t include the battery (unless you’re also budgeting a monthly battery lease of £50+). Most of the earlier cars came with battery lease. At £15k you are looking at some new-shape Leafs with the 40KWh battery if you shop about, and there’s plenty of choice of 40KWh Zoes.

Given how quickly things are moving on you might also want to consider leasing or a PCP. There are some excellent deals about if you keep your eye out on Leafs, Zoes and Hyundai Ionics.

 

[freddym]

another thing that worries me is the charging speed on rapid charge and the choice of car with bulletproof charging abilities...some cars have both dc rapid charge (chademo)and type 2 connectors and for example, Egolf has just ccs connector...what is your experience with this type of connectors...thank you Daniel

CCS is a COMBINED port/connector that has the DC pins and the AC pins all in one.

 

[Leonids]

Helloo Neilew..thank you for your reply..we can stretch our budget to a max £15 000 the MG5 cost £25 000 for the standard model...

You can pick them up for about £20k pre-registered. Still too much I know but you'll be saving loads in fuel. Also comes with a 7 year warranty, free breakdown cover (renewed yearly if serviced at MG) no MOTs for three years, no road tax...

 

[freddym]

You really want to do a lot of homework before considering a 12k ZOE. No DC cgarging. Too many weird things and amazingly poor quality in terms of aircon issues

 

[freddym]

Hello Freddym...thank you for your comment...you probably mean the 40kw ones?the 62kw version is out of my reach..regards Daniel

Yes, the 40kWh LEAF would become your main car and the diesel would languish...

 

[Jeremy Harris]

Have you thought about finance/PCP etc deals, rather than buying outright? Because the running costs are very low, this can make a lot of sense in your situation. You'll have at least £100 a month saving in fuel costs, for example.

As above, the MG looks to be a good option, and a top of the range MG 5 estate Exclusive, with a £2,000 down payment, is going to cost you about £330 per month over 4 years. Knock off the ~£100 a month fuel saving and the real cost is around £230 per month

If you can settle for the Excite model (which is pretty reasonably specced) then the cost per month comes down to under £290 over 4 years with a £2,000 deposit. Knock off the ~£100 a month fuel saving and you're looking at about £190 a month, which really has to be something of a bargain.

 

[danyo72]

Have you thought about finance/PCP etc deals, rather than buying outright? Because the running costs are very low, this can make a lot of sense in your situation. You'll have at least £100 a month saving in fuel costs, for example.

As above, the MG looks to be a good option, and a top of the range MG 5 estate Exclusive, with a £2,000 down payment, is going to cost you about £330 per month over 4 years. Knock off the ~£100 a month fuel saving and the real cost is around £230 per month

If you can settle for the Excite model (which is pretty reasonably specced) then the cost per month comes down to under £290 over 4 years with a £2,000 deposit. Knock off the ~£100 a month fuel saving and you're looking at about £190 a month, which really has to be something of a bargain.

I wish I can stretch my budget that high but the true is, I already take the car loan £10000 from M&S bank with just 2.9 interest for 6 years..so my £15000 budget included £10000 loan...

 

[Jeremy Harris]

I wish I can stretch my budget that high but the true is, I already take the car loan £10000 from M&S bank with just 2.9 interest for 6 years..so my £15000 budget included £10000 loan...

That's a shame, as, taking account of the fuel cost saving can really have a significant impact on monthly expenditure, and make some of the finance/lease deals look very good. For example, I'm guessing that your loan repayments may be around ~£140/month or thereabouts, so adding about another £100/month to that for the fuel saving, would give you around £240/month available, plus whatever saving you may make by not having to pay VED (EVs are zero rated for VED).

The low depreciation of EVs works in favour of low price lease deals in particular. A random web search found this MG ZS for £226.34/month, for example, with an initial payment of £2,037.06: Mg Motor Uk Hatchback 105kw Exclusive Ev 45kwh 5dr Auto For Lease

The mileage limit's a bit low at 5,000/year, but it's an example of deals that would look to be within your existing monthly expenditure, including the fuel saving, but not including the VED saving (not sure how much VED you're paying at the moment).

It might be worth having a think about whether early repayment of the loan could be an option, freeing up some monthly expenditure. I'm not usually a fan of lease or finance deals, but there are some situations, like yours, where the much reduced risk of opting for a lease deal, over buying a used EV, can make a fair bit of sense.

 

[Naturetech]

Hi Dan, I feel your pain - I live on a real-world budget too! Looking at your budget, I'd take a look at a Hyundai Ioniq, Kia Soul and Nissan Leaf. We don't know how big your children are, so it's essential that you look at the cars in the flesh before purchase. I'd discount Renault Zoes because on average, they aren’t as reliable as the 3 I suggested.
Ioniq: good car, decent cabin space, great boot space. They done a 28 kwh battery version, then one with a 38 kwh battery. Sadly it's over your budget though. The latter has a better range than it should! Reliable, with a good warranty.
Soul: later 30 kwh battery version is reliable, has good warranty but boot is small.
Leaf: old-shape 30 kwh version may lack the range you require. Boot is big but oddly-shaped. Interior very dated now. Generally a good, spacious car. Newer 40 kwh version looks fresher on the outside, but over your budget.
In essence, your budget won't go as far as you're wanting it to. Whatever you choose, there are often good deals to be had at dealerships when a new reg. plate begins.

 

[HandyAndy]

AT have one Ioniq 28 at £13,290, looks a decent one at first glance. These are about the most efficient EVs, so range-wise it's more like a 35 kWh in other EV bodyshells that aren't anything like as aerodynamic. Also charges really fast, around 65 kW up to 77% SOC. There's a pending battery recall/swap on some Hyundai EVs, but this model isn't affected. Worth a look. Lots of info on ioniqforum.com .