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Which would you choose?

  • VW ID.3 Tour Pro S 77kwh

    Votes: 22 67%
  • Hyundai Kona Ultimate 64kwh

    Votes: 10 30%
  • Citroen eC4 Shine Plus 50kwh

    Votes: 1 3%

Which EV?

6.6K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  DumfriesDik  
#1 ·
If we ignore the prices for now, which vehicle would you choose and why?
 
#2 ·
I would personally go for the Kona. It's the car that I recently picked and found it to be a great all rounder. Super efficient paired with a big battery makes for huge range and not a lot of worry for plugging it in so often. When you do it can charge at a reasonable 80kW. Not especially fast. But not too slow either. The car is pretty comfortable, and especially if you pick the ultimate it's absolutely packed with features like the head-up-display, heated and cooled leather seats, and one of the best adaptive cruise control systems I have ever tried.

The ID.3 is a nice car, but without spending a lot of money you are going to end up with a car that feels quite basic. These cars are also absolutely riddled with software bugs which still don't seem to have been totally fixed yet. Finally the super long lead times to get one are very off-putting.

The Citroen C4 is a good option if you already have had French cars and decide you like them. That includes all their quirks. It's quite nice to drive, has a fair range of features and is very comfortable. But you are going to have a SIGNIFICANTLY shorter range especially in winter, and software is going to leave a little to be desired. The infotainment is a pain in the ass unless you're plugging your phone in, and the features like blind spot assist simply don't work anywhere near as well as that of the Kona for example.

They all have their own place, depending on your own preferences and budget. But the Hyundai is the best all round, in my opinion.
 
#4 ·
I'd not really want any, but if it was forced on me I'd go for the VW for no other reason its got the biggest battery. I wouldn't pick the Kona as too many issues coming out the woodwork now. And I wouldn't pick the Citroen as its only 50kWh and you can buy better range for similar money.
 
#6 ·
I'd definitely choose the ID.3 - bigger battery/range, the Tour trim already has most of the toys you'll probably want, and it's been designed as EV from the ground up. The software issues are mostly sorted (or will soon be) from what I've been reading in the dedicated sub-forum here.
 
#7 ·
For me it would be the Kia EV6 or Hyundai Ioniq 5 - the 800v battery technology and rapid charge speeds on suitable chargers make it much more appealing for anyone who travels a lot and therefore needs regular rapid charging. Charging from low to 80% in 20 mins or less means I’d only need the time for a comfort break or coffee before being able to continue, rather than the 40-50 minutes it takes my e-Niro.
 
#8 ·
For me it would be the Kia EV6 or Hyundai Ioniq 5
Unfortunately OP Is a Motability customer, and neither of these cars are available on the scheme. That's the reason for the specific range of cars that have been shortlisted.

Citroen C4 Shine Plus - £695 Advance Payment
Hyundai Kona Ultimate - £999 Advance Payment
VW ID.3 Tour - £1549 Advance Payment

Considering their other requirement of being able to easily fit a wheelchair in the trunk, there's not tons of choice that comes at a reasonable price. The recently added MG5 Long Range (61kWh) Exclusive at £1299 Advance isn't terrible and is the only other car I can think of that would fit the requirements, but then when put alongside the likes of the Kona you're paying more for a car with less features and less range. Unless you need an estate it's quite hard to recommend.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Of those it would be a close call between the ID.3 and the Kona. Features, range and cost being important to consider/compare. Bear in mind that the ID.3 Tour is a 4-seater if that's a deal breaker for you, also some people find the haptic buttons of the ID.3 vs "real" buttons in other cars annoying.

FWIW we have a different trim ID.3 and like it. However the features I like (haptic buttons, minimalist interface) are like marmite to other people, who prefer the Kona which is more conventional.

Both cars are good cars and you should get decent range of if them though.
 
#12 ·
Sit in all 3, especially the top 2 in the range list
I got my Kona to replace a Golf [ GTE ] - the boot about the same but the read seat legroom etc is not as good as I was expecting. ID3 wasn't available at the time for me to sit in.

Not sure about ID3 77 range, my Kona has been showing 318 on 100% battery for a few months, and seems to drop 1:1 even on long (300mile) trips, although wet motorways at 70.01mph will kill both cars' max range.

Note the nose recharging point is def a plus for me about the Kona---reading so much about people having fun with the by-front-door charge sockets.

I found several £0 deposit lease deals, I had no cash I was coming from a closing company car scheme.
I haven't read up on the ID3 App reliability , I use remote preheat a lot in Nov-Mar time frames, and the VW one I had with the Golf was quite poor in working every time.
 
#14 ·
Out of those 3 I'd go with the Kona however you're only a couple of grand away from a Tesla Model 3 which I think would be a better choice.

If you were going for a mid-spec of each of those cars I'd say just go for whichever one you like most, (probably Kona or ID3) but as you're going for top-spec, you are so close, I'd say save a tiny bit more and get a car that you will love.
 
#15 ·
I looked through the options on motability, and I've not bothered and gone my own way, yeah I know not everyone can afford/want to do that, but I got an iX3 (well will do in Nov) as wheelchair friendly and large enough for most things, easy to get in and out of.

I'm lucky don't need the wheelchair all the time though.

El

BEV's choice on the scheme isn't great though.
 
#17 ·
I looked through the options on motability, and I've not bothered and gone my own way, yeah I know not everyone can afford/want to do that, but I got an iX3 (well will do in Nov) as wheelchair friendly and large enough for most things, easy to get in and out of.

I'm lucky don't need the wheelchair all the time though.

El

BEV's choice on the scheme isn't great though.
Come on, it's almost double the cost of the 3 cars the OP listed.
 
#16 ·
The cars available on Motability are limited but I am pleased that these three are at least on the scheme and give some sort of choice. I have taken your advice/opinions and just looked at the Kona and ID.3. The range of the eC4 just wasn't enough in the end.

The wheelchair didn't fit in the Kona boot by a country mile, so by default the decision is to get an ID.3. Order will be placed 5th next month (November 2021) and I will open a book for when I will take delivery. Let us hope it will be in 2022.
 
#21 ·
I have been off and more likely on the scheme since its inception, which is more years than I care to remember. And during that time the scheme has evolved to meet the challenges. With EV cars becoming the new norm, it is another challenge that they will have to deal with. And with reserves of £2.5 billion, yes you read that right, they should be able to make bit of an impact. Lucky for me, I don't need a large car anymore and I have a nice Sunday drive in the garage (although not sure for how much longer!). I hope Motability start installing home charge points for customers regardless if they order an EV or not. It will need to be done, so they should start sooner rather than later.