I have an i3 and my wife is looking for a new EV sometime in the next year or so. She currently owns an old RAV which is overdue for replacement but she loves the high driving position. Not being up to date with new vehicles available or coming soon I would appreciate some recommendations for a small EV with a good, high, driving position (small SUV?). Range is not important as we charge at home and her journeys are usually less than 20 miles. Thanks.
Recommendation for new EV
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I had same constraint - partner wanted high driving position with decent field of view - also didn't like too much clutter around rear view mirror.
After sitting/test driving most of what was around - (including leaf, e-niro, peugeot e208, mini ) the short list with acceptable high adjustment were as follows - with her reasons for declining:
BMW i3 - good position/view but rear doors impractical for school run
(+ niggling feel of unsafe as back seat passengers cannot let themselves out)
Kona - felt bonnet was too intrusive into view!
MG ZS EV - great
Peugeot e2008 - high enough but futuristic dash offputting
New Soul - immediate bond - would have been MG otherwise.
After sitting/test driving most of what was around - (including leaf, e-niro, peugeot e208, mini ) the short list with acceptable high adjustment were as follows - with her reasons for declining:
BMW i3 - good position/view but rear doors impractical for school run
(+ niggling feel of unsafe as back seat passengers cannot let themselves out)
Kona - felt bonnet was too intrusive into view!
MG ZS EV - great
Peugeot e2008 - high enough but futuristic dash offputting
New Soul - immediate bond - would have been MG otherwise.
Already been said but ZS EV cheap but quite cheerful some good deals on new ones right now and there are a few appearing secondhand.
Kia soul might be also a good option I've not driven one personally but they seem to get good reviews from people who have owned them.
Kia soul might be also a good option I've not driven one personally but they seem to get good reviews from people who have owned them.
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On what planet do you live - think £25k new for lowest spec !!
Plenty of offers out there I've seen pre reg ZS Excites for £20k and there are good trade in offers at the moment
yeah 17k is too low. just put it on carwow out of interest and got an offer of 23k within 1 hour without haggling or anything. So with patience, you can probably buy it for 21-22k (new 1st owner, not prereg)
We bought an MG ZS EV because of its RAV like feel. We also have a RAV in NZ (won’t be seeing it for a while!) They are good value for money and perfect for a school run etc. They are the 3rd most popular ev at the moment and a major proportion of MG uk sales. Software bugs have been fixed in the initial batches but given that thousands are being driven around now MG should have sorted all by now. An updated model is expected late summer next year so there should be bargains to be had by then. MG or SAIC make the second most evs in the world after Tesla. They lent 100 to the NHS in March wonder if any came back? Apart from an easy drive the radio is great sounding, better than my top spec Passat. Take one for a test drive... my dealer also had a Kona I couldn’t justify the extra cash to myself even though I have it in the bank!
You can buy the ZS EV for £19,995 (Excite) and £21,995 (Exclusive) - in white, metallic is extra - brand new. You’ll need to shop around though, not all dealers are doing them for that price. Autotrader is your friend, be prepared to travel. Those are cash prices, finance is a little bit more complicated.
Pre-reg takes a few hundred off (you might get the metallic paint for “free”). Properly second hand doesn’t really seem worth the saving at the moment.
Pre-reg takes a few hundred off (you might get the metallic paint for “free”). Properly second hand doesn’t really seem worth the saving at the moment.
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4,392 Posts
One oddity about the MG that no other EV has, afaik, is that IF you're using cruise control, it does NOT regen when slowing!!! Seems they raided the ICE car parts bin and the cruise control module doesn't understand electrons, so applies the disc brakes instead! Worth checking with the dealers, maybe this is fixed now? And may be irrelevant to your driving anyway.
I noticed that the MG doesn’t have a timer built in for charging which would mean I couldn’t use off-peak electricity (my Chargemaster doesn’t have any selectable functions). I might have to persuade madam to take the i3 so I can by another BMW EV or maybe the new VW.
£10,000+ pays for a lot of peak electricity!
Is your Chargemaster unit tethered or not? If not, an Ohme type 2 cable would overcome this issue.
If you trawl around the forums you might find a solution to add a Sonoff programable wi fi timer to your charger.
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752 Posts
Wife test drove the Pug E2008 a few weeks back, and i have previously had an BMW I3. the E2008 has a decent highish driving position, slightly higher than an I3, i would check that out. Was nice to drive too.
Not sure if this is a pre reg offer or not but I saw this ZS EV Excite for just under £19k on autotrader https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classi...=Used&sort=datedesc&fuel-type=Electric&page=1
I'd agree with most people above that an MG ZS EV would probably suit well. Definitely a small SUV and has a high driving position. We did a 5-min non nonsense video review if it helps:
And if she wants to try it for a few months, we offer it on subscription from £429pm (including comprehensive insurance, servicing & maintenance, breakdown cover, carbon offset etc): https://elmodrive.com/electric-cars/91383b58-24a1-440b-8509-1317e56709a0
Happy to help if you/she have any questions!
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