Electric car (choice of)

The place to discuss everything else..
Post Reply
Fairynuff
Posts: 466
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2018 6:19 pm

Post by Fairynuff »

It looks like my much loved Macan is soon going to loved by someone else this week and I must choose a replacement. I have spec’d a new Macan S (£65,223) but must give some consideration to going electric. Help me with some objective positive / negative observations on the below options:

Tessla Model 3 £51,090
BMW iX3 M Sport Pro £59,030
Audi Q4 e-tron Vorsprung 50 e-tron Quattro £61,503

Dannyp
Posts: 159
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2021 8:11 am

Post by Dannyp »

I've had the same question in mind.
I don't know about specific models - but my instinct is to stick for now with the pinnacle of ICE design - rather than the infancy of electric design?
Electric cars are improving at such a rate that I fear anything I might buy now will plummet in value and appeal as range and charging times improve dramatically in the next couple of years?
New User
Posts: 206
Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2021 4:38 pm
Location: West Sussex

Post by New User »

Was debating this same choice but not convinced timing is right. For me it was between iPace and Tesla 3LR but I decided on a Macan S. If you must have an EV then the Tesla is the best EV in this price range to live with and you are not an early adopter. If you want an EV SUV then be prepared for a depreciation disaster at this price level. I would have gone for the Tesla with the posh interior upgrade but been very unemotional about it and not tried to pretend it was anything other than well sorted all rounder until someone came up with a better architecture.

I still believe the best answer for the next 5 years is a small EV for local trips and a spacious ICE for long range trips. I think legislation will kill off the ICEs before genuine customer demand does and before the EV infrastructure is properly ready. When the Macan turns up then I may think about swapping our Diesel X3 for a Polo/Golf sized EV next.
Col Lamb
Posts: 9323
Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2015 8:38 pm
Location: Lancashire

Post by Col Lamb »

I would forget the BMW for a couple of years, let others be the beta testers.

Audi have been at EV for a while but Tesla are the experienced manufacturer.

The Jag iPace has been out for a while now, long enough for the bugs to be ironed out and after having looked at and sat in one the build quality was better than the F Pace that I test drove so maybe this is one to consider.

Realistically it will probably be 2024 when Macan EV’s are available for no doubt many buyers have already given their OPC’s a Letter of Intent.
Col
Macan Turbo
Air, 20” wheels, ACC, Pano, SurCam, 14w, LEDs, PS+, Int Light Pack, Heated seats and Steering, spare wheel, SC, Privacy glass, PDK gear, SD mirrors, Met Black, rear airbags
Deleted User 4436

Post by Deleted User 4436 »

I tested a few. In my opinion Teslsa are the only real player in this market. Better range, better performance and better charging network than anyone else. Cons are; if you stick with a 3 then the California Hippy Community interior and build quality issues. If you go with any Tesla you have major nannying issues.

Must say though, I found the customer service to be better than my experience with Porsche so far.

Btw, Audi Q4 etron felt cheap and nasty and was very slow
Mabmaot
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2021 5:11 pm

Post by Mabmaot »

Having similar thoughts myself....

We do 60 miles a day of 2 x school runs which make an EV attractive from a running costs pov. Also as will be mainly local use then charging infrastructure not a critical concern.

And running it through my company is attractive from a tax point of view; both for the company and very low BIK.

If the Tesla Model Y was out, then I would have a short list of 1. But having driven the ipace and Q4 it's close between these 2. The I-pace is attractive as they have subsidised lease rates and it's quick. But I've had poor experiences of quality and dealer service from JLR.

The Audi I like the styling but unless I go for the 50 Quattro, it's not particularly exciting to drive.

Suspect it might come down to availability as ideally need to do it before the end of 2021 for tax efficiency.
'16 Macan S Jet Black

Other Current:
Audi S4 Convertible
Land Rover Discovery 4 (dogs, mountain bikes etc)
VW Golf Convertible

Past:
Land Rover Discovery 5
Various BMWs
Various Audis
User avatar
Nuclear Nick
Posts: 3814
Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2016 3:42 pm
Location: Bristol

Post by Nuclear Nick »

The base Taycan is close to your price range but when I tested a Cross Turismo for 24 hours recently my experience of public charging was abysmal and put me off completely. Unless you can be absolutely confident your use case will be met by home charging alone I’d give it a miss for another five years at least.

Tesla have far and away the best charging network in the wild and the long range versions do decent miles. But then you have to accept Tesla design and iffy build quality and reliability, according to most reliable sources ie not current owners!
Nick

Defender 90 V8

991.2 C2 GTS

Macan Turbo - sold

BMW K1300S, BMW R1250 GSA
cc3
Posts: 121
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2020 1:28 pm

Post by cc3 »

I run a Mini electric to keep the miles down on the GTS. Just back today from a 160 mile trip. Mini range is about 130 miles in warm weather but like all electric cars it drops at least 10% in winter. So I knew I would have to stop and charge today. Picked a Tesco as thought get a bit of shopping and a coffee. 4 chargers one of which a 50 kw fast charger. Only the fast charger free which I thought was odd. Plug it in and get error message. Long wait on the allocated service line phone number so give up. A 7kw charger in next bay now free to move there and charge. Spend an hour charging during which time the cars in the other two working bays don’t move so their owners have gone shopping in town, who knows when they will return. Other people queue and give up waiting to charge especially when like me they can’t get the 50 kw to work. In my view electric is fine if you charge at home and do shorter journeys anything else where you need to use the public network forget it’s just too much hassle. My experience 30% of chargers out of action many that do charge are too slowly at only 7kw. It’s a bit like having a shortage of petrol every time you do a long journey, will the electric station be working and how long will I have to queue !!
Deleted User 4436

Post by Deleted User 4436 »

cc3 wrote: Mon Oct 04, 2021 5:55 pm I run a Mini electric to keep the miles down on the GTS. Just back today from a 160 mile trip. Mini range is about 130 miles in warm weather but like all electric cars it drops at least 10% in winter. So I knew I would have to stop and charge today. Picked a Tesco as thought get a bit of shopping and a coffee. 4 chargers one of which a 50 kw fast charger. Only the fast charger free which I thought was odd. Plug it in and get error message. Long wait on the allocated service line phone number so give up. A 7kw charger in next bay now free to move there and charge. Spend an hour charging during which time the cars in the other two working bays don’t move so their owners have gone shopping in town, who knows when they will return. Other people queue and give up waiting to charge especially when like me they can’t get the 50 kw to work. In my view electric is fine if you charge at home and do shorter journeys anything else where you need to use the public network forget it’s just too much hassle. My experience 30% of chargers out of action many that do charge are too slowly at only 7kw. It’s a bit like having a shortage of petrol every time you do a long journey, will the electric station be working and how long will I have to queue !!
this will ring a few bells with you ( not a fan of Smee but the content is interesting )

Paul1970
Posts: 314
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2018 5:31 pm

Post by Paul1970 »

I too have been faced with the electric dilemma having sold my Macan GTS early this year in anticipation of a (yet to arrive) Cayenne GTS.
A lot has happened this year in terms of the green movement, fuel crisis etc that has made me wonder if I even want the gas guzzling Cayenne GTS.
I’ve been running an electric Peugeot E-2008 all year and an E-mini for the last couple of months.
The first thing to say is living in London with lots of short and inefficient journeys, electric makes a lot of sense. I can charge at home and even with the very short mini range it isn’t a problem. The cars drive nicely and the mini is like a bullet. Even the Peugeot genuinely isn’t a bad vehicle to live with.
However I have a once or twice a week 90 mile round trip to Bletchley and this is where my issues arise. The Peugeot has a 188 range (or so it tells me when I’m fully charged). In the summer I was getting there and back no problem (I even made it to Silverstone and back on 1 charge for a Porsche day) but now the weather has changed it is noticeable that the range has dropped and if I want to deviate rather than go directly there and back then it’s squeaky bum time. Getting home with 20 miles left on the range concerns me. But what really causes me an issue is that if you are driving at 70 + on a motorway the range plummets and I’ll never get there and back. So you have to potter along at 60ish to preserve the range if you don’t want to recharge at the destination which I hate, especially when I have lorries overtaking me. It just doesn’t feel like safe driving, and bursts of acceleration depletes the range very quickly.
Which brings me to my next issue. There is a large retail estate near my work with 2 chargers only. And you can only park on the estate for 3 hours. So if you get there and none are available what do you do? Wait and eat up your 3 hour limit whilst you’re not charging? And how do you know when it becomes free for use if you don’t sit watching it? So it’s a bit pointless.
And the chargers are generally 7.5kwh so it’s a slow process as well if you want to fully charge.
The other thing is that the massive increase in electric cars is going to put more pressure on the limited number of chargers out there.
Lastly, having run a Macan GTS, the difference in the build and internal quality of that compared to the quality of most other cars (especially Tesla’s) is massive. For me anything else just feels like a step down and, more importantly, I know that I will not have the feeling of joy and pride that I had every time I stepped into my Macan.
So, I await my Cayenne GTS. It will need plenty of refuelling for sure, but once we’re past this little fuel crisis there’s no real risk there. And I’ll always have my electric vehicles to fall back on. Perfect!
Porsche Cayenne GTS, Quarzite Grey) (Nov 21) (Mine :D )
E-Mini (Oct 21) (Hers)
VW ID3 (May 23 local runaround) (Ours)
Porsche Macan GTS, Sapphire Blue, 2018 (sold :cry: )
Post Reply

  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post