Talk Morgan Forums Community Vehicle Talk (non-Morgan) car choices - whet would you do, and why?

SWMBO is up for a car change . Small hatch and the alternatives she likes are either a pure ICE car ( Mini) or a mild hybrid (Honda Jazz). We keep our cars for a long time - the one being replaced is a 2005 build, so I am wondering about the battery in the mild hybrid. On the other hand, SWMBO does drive to Bath, land of the uber woke eco freeks who likely wont let her in without at least some leccy in the drive train.

I dont have strong anti leccy car feelings - quite like the ones I have tried. So its really more a question of "is now the right time?"

I have an EV in addition to the Mog and had the usual "range anxiety" issues for a few months, but well over that now. Installed a charger at home, got an EV tariff and charging overnight is about 8p per kWh (which equates to 2p per mile). Charging elsewhere is another story, and is usually more expensive per mile than liquid fuel. Fortunately over 90% of my charging is at home, and it feels sort of good to have a 'filling station' on tap. Fast charging away from home is usually at a motorway service station, and the car can top up from 20% to 80% in the time it takes to order and drink a coffee.

I wouldn't change now, and I believe that prices are keen. Maybe also look at the Volvo EX30?

Until very recently I would have said to hold on a while but I think the time is probably right now to get a full EV. Everyone I know who has one loves it. The Mini would be good fun but not sure I wouldn't turn off the synthesised engine noise (if that's possible).

HO feels a hybrid would be better. The A class Merc hybrid has good reviews.

Surely the choice depends on how you intend to use the car.
Keep in mind that the range figures given for BEVs are under optimum conditions and tend to be much less in weather extremes.
I see BEVs as a viable option for someone who only wants to use the vehicle as a shopping trolly and never goes beyond about 30% of the range in distance.
If you use the car for even occasional touring, particularly in holiday periods a BEV is not the best choice. A plugin hybrid may be an option as the engine then works as a range extender. Short distances can be done on battery alone but, as a neighbour discovered he could not go very far on steep mountain roads on only battery power and it was not sufficiently powerful to give a satifying performance; but, of course, he may have chosen the wrong model.

Either full hybrid or pure ICE are good choices for touring and cars are available that have a satisfying performance and completely no range anxiety or waiting times (queues in holiday periods) to top up.

Personally the only BEV I am likely to buy will be a mobility scooter

Polo GTI or the train.......

Whilst not an answer to your immediate car replacement problem, we are starting to see very innovative answers emerging .For example Mercedes has developed a paint which is a solar collector, whilst early days yet, i in a sunny climate it is expected to recharge itself enough to cover all journeys up to about 8000 or so miles a year without issue.....With the advances in battery technology with sodium being a better solution , even a diamond battery has been developed with 1000 years of charge capability. I think the current range of lithium battery solutions will quickly be surpassed and even recharging technology is changing at a pace some now capable of 3 minute recharge, I would hold off going ICE at the moment. The next 5 years or so may see a revolution in the battery range and recharging capability which will make todays ICE obsolete by comparison. Also in a significant development in 2023, Lithium Americas Corporation announced the discovery of approximately 20-40 million metric tons of lithium located within a volcanic crater along the Nevada-Oregon border, the largest deposit in the world found so far, could see the cost of lithium batteries fall

I covered 230.000 km in 2 BEV's in less than 9 years. First Tesla Model S, at present BMWiX3, delivers in April 2021, and now already 100.000 km. No range anxiety. Home charger at 11 kW and good infrastructure in The Netherlands, but over the border it is improving! Charging speed is important, not only max speed but also the curve. The BMW was in Norway, Denmark, Germany, Austria and France. SWMBO has an ICE Mini Cooper, but we seldom need that because of range. I definitely would go for a BEV. In 2026 BMW New Generation!

I am not of the type to promote my choices on anything as best in order to justify anything I might buy into...

That typed and after much research mostly by my good lady, and my own more practical experiences, when we came to the end of our tether in terms of our bought new diesel Evoque reaching six years old until it had a brake sensor issue the resolution of which was a nightmare interms of breakdown recovery taking up most of a day, to then be told it would take the JLR dealership three weeks to get round to looking at it...thus the car had to be delivered to our home on the day it broke down and then to be uplifted by the breakdown company and delivered to the garage three weeks later,,,, What a palaver... Followed by another wheel sensor failure perhaps a month or so after it`s return....The dealership reconed perhaps seven weeks before they could look at it.... Resulted in thinking it was time for a change of vehicle.

At the time change was considered, Govt EV promotion had been on the go for a few years, and if it might help save the planet or not...? Though such was my good lady`s mileage being perhaps being circa 60 miles on any one day, and that my tin top could be used to fill in for any very rare and much longer journeys, and that installing a home charging facility would be no issue, EV seemed perhaps well worth considering especially as the majority of my good lady`s return journeys were down to 10 miles at most, during which the engine would hardly get up to ideal operating temps...?

We both put some time and effort into research and ultimately agreed on Tesla as it was not any sort of conversion of that which was based upon an anything in existing manufacturers line up, but something supposedly entirely new designed from the ground up, Musk having employed NASA employees facing or already made redundant to design all aspects of the software, in the hope of making it more reliable and user friendly. THAT did it for me, given it seemed to me the "advances" in ice demanded ever more sensors and software to add to the list of possible failures and dependence on dealerships to resolve them....?

Tesla software updates can be done at home, no dealership visits required...might be worth checking other manufacturers record on software updates to compare..?

As a confirmed fan of the air cooled Porsche, please look at my recent post on EV issues relative to Porsche, and using no more than logic (?) if you have read of my JLR experience above.... Yeah well...?

My tesla mod 3 is an ideal personal transportation device/shopping trolley, with a turn of performance to out accelerate many an iconic sports car, though that is NOT why it was bought.

It was bought in 2023, and from the time of ordering it the delivery was perhaps three months or less at a time when most vehicle manufacturers were struggling to supply new orders within a year..?

Since delivery in April 2023, it has covered 5484 miles without fault, and I charge it once a week, I guess my average weekly mileage is perhaps 20 or so miles... with a battery capacity for circa 260miles. I can charge it at home up to a max of circa 30 amps, though if I had to there is a charging lead supplied with the car to make use of a standard 13A household socket... Just looked at the tesla app on my phone, which also acts as a key... While my usage is low in terms of mileage, I can take a few miles of range out of the battery to defrost and bring the cars interior up to temp before I leave the house, which adds to the comforts the Tesla provides... though in frost it can be a bit of a pain to operate the flush fitting door handles...

As for your choice..... Well how much you might wish to convey your status can have some value on occasion, and quite how a Tesla might work in that regard id for you to decide, the fit and finish is not up to Porsche standards of old and even perhaps new in some regards but as a transport device/shopping trolley, it still works well for me....

I hope this rant might assist in any choices you might make

I've been looking at a Polo GTI as a runabout, nice car. Whilst we consider ourselves quite sociable people we only have 2 seater cars......a 4 seater may help from time to time.