I’m waiting at the moment to buy one. I’m deeply in love with how the i3 looks and drives but our current car is too good and convenient to replace it.
What’s the inconvenience with electric you’re worried about?
China is now going to build a plant in Türkiye to avoid those import duties. We’ll see what the next move is. It’s more that France and Germany won’t let their entire industry go bust for capitalistic reasons. There is more in an industry than just money. It’s jobs, social security, society et cetera.
We’ve 4 kids, they don’t fit in most electric cars. Eldest one is going to uni now, so the need for the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso fades away in the next years. The Netherlands is a very small country, I don’t suffer from range anxiety and we can charge on our own premises - the 3 phase cables are in the ground already
Here’s your solution
There are loads of them in my place.
Did you know the vw van is a Dutch design?
Didn’t know. I should have said Ferdinand Porsche which did the Beetle for that idiot in Germany.
Yes…
PS. I am sure I have seen reference on YouTube to a precursor to the VW Van, made by another company using bought in Beetle engines… Will try to find it…
Why not a hybrid? Toyota Prius, or Hyundai ?
Er… how much for a decently appointed one? And a very limited range, I gather.
Better off talking to VW sales than me I’m afraid VW ID Buzz.
Just a rhetorical question. I know the answer
Kia EV9 suit you? It’s a 7 seater…
We made the move to EV last October and bought a Cupra Born. The Cupra is basically an ID3 but in my view more stylish and so far it’s been very responsive and quiet.
Another consideration of buying any EV regardless of make is running costs. Our annual mileage is around 10-12,000 miles a year and in our previous car, a Range Rover Evoque it cost about £200 per month in fuel plus hefty road tax and service charges.
We had a Zappi charger installed for just over £1000 and although that seemed expensive at the time, it is a one off cost.
95% of our charging is done at home and in the 9 months since we got it our monthly home charging bill is around £21 - 10% of what we were paying before. There are the times when we’ve had to charge it away from home and although this is much more expensive than home charging, it’s still cheaper than petrol/diesel.
We benefit from having an Electric Car tariff from our electricity supplier and charge it overnight at a rate of 7p a KwH currently (we also benefit by running the dishwasher/washing machine/hot water at the same time).
We also have solar panels and these also contribute to the home charging through the Zappi instead of sending unused generated electricity back to the grid.
Add to that the zero road tax and much reduced servicing, an EV is a no brainer for me.
Not that many, just 47 locations so far! Looking at the map I count 9 north of Birmingham, and only one in England north of Harrogate (at Berwick). Scotland gets 9 too. Maybe more will follow.
As suggested I have found ZapMap is the best app for finding charging stations. I tend to use it for route planning. A recent update of my EV6’s software makes it easier picking a charger en route though as it shows charger speed and recent usage in a clearer format than before, so easier to choose one that appears to be fast and functional. Integrates well with the satnav.
Bruce
Our neighbours have recently got one and they’re very pleased so far. I must admit I quite like the styling but I couldn’t help notice the resemblance between our lawn mower and the ID3 when cutting our lawn earlier today.
Both electric, sound similar…
Plus one on the Kona. We run a '71 plate, just ticking over 20k miles. It’s a great run around and more, though it doesn’t handle! We can charge it at home, and do so just with a 3 pin plug, a charge a week. I did look at the ID3 - decided against it due to a mixture of availability at the time, controls, interior room range and cost.
I bought it almost new, px ing a Fiesta for it that had actually appreciated over the 2 years I ran that! Unfortunately EV values have plummeted, and I’m in negative equity with the Kona now. Which is fine, being on a PCP, I’ll just hand it back at the end of that deal, but it is fairly shocking! I might buy another one at that time, hopefully as prices and depreciation rates stabilise. But by then I suspect a used Tesla model 3 would be doable, and I’d have a hard time not going for one of those.
But a lot more comfy in the ID3
That reminded me of something I saw back in the eighties!