If you'd be wanting to do long distances once or twice a year but are adamant on getting an EV then I'd suggest either take the train or hire a car. 

I'm under the impression you want a 'small' car and EV so basically forget long distance because of the natural size of EV and its Small battery. Yes perfect for short trips but nothing more unless you really want to stop at a charger station twice or more for hours on end.

Sorry to sound blunt but I only speak common sense. 

Or:

https://www.tesla.com/en_gb/model3#:~:text=Go up to 390 miles (WLTP) on a,with updated exterior styling optimised for maximum aerodynamics.

But hiring a different car/using the train (if not on strike) is not  a bad idea. A colleague of mine did just that for years, after reasoning that a small car met his family's needs most of the time.

An honest review of the lexus. Says it all. 

 

I see Toyota's lithium ion battery pack is due to arrive in production cars in 2026. This is claimed to give up to 497 miles range (funny figure, why not claim a round 500??)**. Presumably the same technology will find its way into Lexus cars. 

(**Edit - they must have translated it from 800km)

11 hours ago, iantt said:

An honest review of the lexus. Says it all. 

Seems like a nice car, if pricey. Miles per kwh looks pretty poor though, then there's the Chademo issue:

https://www.greencarfuture.com/electric/is-chademo-dead

 

Actually a very good video from arguably one of the best EV reviewer.

Looks are objective and I personally love the look of the UX. 

I'd never recommend the EV only version of the car but most definitely the hybrid version absolutely. 

5 hours ago, tazzman600 said:

Actually a very good video from arguably one of the best EV reviewer.

Looks are objective and I personally love the look of the UX. 

I'd never recommend the EV only version of the car but most definitely the hybrid version absolutely. 

The hybrid UX would cost me an extra couple of grand advance payment over what the 300e cost. At that money £4 or 5 grand I’d be going for an audi Q4. It’s a high spec one too. 🧐 

The UX hybrid isn’t even the premium plus one. It’s a non starter for me. 

16 hours ago, iantt said:

An honest review of the lexus. Says it all. 

 

I’ll get round to watching it. Is it slating the UX? 
I’ve got another to watch comparing the UX with a BMW EV can’t remember which one. 

Alex. I don't know what you found funny about a recent post of mine.

If you don't want info from someone whose had Lexus hybrids and done 10's of thousands of miles in them and had the UXe as a courtesy car then please do let me know and I'll keep out of this thread.

2 minutes ago, tazzman600 said:

Alex. I don't know what you found funny about a recent post of mine.

If you don't want info from someone whose had Lexus hybrids and done 10's of thousands of miles in them and had the UXe as a courtesy car then please do let me know and I'll keep out of this thread.

Stop getting so wound up over an emoji. You've been like that on other threads. Take a chill pill.🤣🤣🤣🤣

I wasn't wound up. There's no one on this forum anymore who can wind me up.

A laugh reaction to a sensible post surprised me and made me query the emoji.

So Ian get off your high horse. You may be just a few years older than me but I'm much more experienced in life than you 😁

4 hours ago, tazzman600 said:

please do let me know and I'll keep out of this thread.

Don’t be daft, I appreciate your input. I think you’ve had a little sensitive moment there. Lol 😎 ✌️ 

17 minutes ago, tazzman600 said:

I'm much more experienced in life than you 😁

Everyone on here is pretty much anonymous, you don’t know what life experience another members has or has not. 
Anyway back to the motors. The CHAdeMO is a deal breaker, maybe they’ll change to CCS soon. I’ve looked at Hyundai kona ev. but their quality isn’t great especially compared to Lexus. 

2 minutes ago, Alex.S said:

The CHAdeMO is a deal breaker, maybe they’ll change to CCS soon.

In North America the Tesla connector has now been established as the standard that manufactures will now use. It will replace both CHAdeMO and CCS (and any other versions that maybe out there).

 

2 minutes ago, unofix said:

In North America the Tesla connector has now been established as the standard that manufactures will now use. It will replace both CHAdeMO and CCS (and any other versions that maybe out there).

 

But as it stands CCS is the predominant method in Western Europe, it’ll take some time to change to Tesla cables just like it’s taken years to phase out CHAdeMO, CCS will be with us for a good few years I think. It’s a 3 year lease for me so it shouldn’t be an issue 🧐 

cheers for the link I’ll have a look later. 

Looks like someone is working on the focus…… 

Got the focus back yesterday 😃 Turns out the dealership sourced a new gearbox and got a gearbox specialist company to fit it. Knowing Motability it’s probably been sent over from the factory in Germany. As usual I didn’t see the invoice, I’ve googled trying to find how much it’d cost , getting all sorts different prices. Anyone got an idea? Anyway new gearbox at 58k miles. I wasn’t expecting that.  Btw it drives a lot better than a 2021 Skoda. Better car all round apart from mpg. 

Turns out whilst most manufacturers have lowered their advance payments as of January 1st 2024 Ford have added £500 on the AP for an STLX. Pretty much ruled that option out. Not many EV fans on here, I’m trying to get the highest spec car for an affordable AP. EVs have the best deals across the board. A Cupra Born (pimped id3 basically) zero AP for a V1 , it’s fairly well equipped. The Born top spec V3 is £2.1k 

Tempting but nearest dealership isn’t nearby. Looked at Audi Q4 reviews, decent car fairly big SUV , 2 options both £4k for some reason, ones clearly higher spec but same price 🤔 Also Audi have apparently gone back from the whole touchscreen for everything to buttons and dials. I’ve taken screenshots the lower spec option is insurance group 31 the other 20 something. 🤔 

As the end of lease is getting closer times going even quicker! I think it’ll be an EV simply because they’re cheaper and higher spec than the ICE equivalents. Cupra Born might be a winner, Cupra apparently have just knocked £3k off them which I think means they’ve lots of stock they can’t sell. They’ve limited which factory orders they’ll accept. I’m thinking I’ll get a factory order with the bigger battery as that’s an option. VAG have had a lot of issues with infotainment across all VW group but seems it’s been resolved somewhat. Lovely looking , car interior too. The desert island blue focus is still a cracking looking car and still drives almost like new. Much better than that Skoda I had. I’ll test drive a 4.5 focus but it’d need to be pretty special, the STLX is now top spec I think , ticks lots of boxes but it’s not got 230bhp ! 

1 hour ago, Alex.S said:

Cupra apparently have just knocked £3k off them which I think means they’ve lots of stock they can’t sell. They’ve limited which factory orders they’ll accept. I’m thinking I’ll get a factory order with the bigger battery as that’s an option. VAG have had a lot of issues with infotainment across all VW group but seems it’s been resolved somewhat.

I understand the Born is getting a similar infotainment revamp to the Golf - bigger screen, backlit temperature sliders etc, plus a new version with 322 bhp and a slightly bigger battery. So they might be clearing the existing versions.

I quite like the look of the Born myself - not that many changes from the ID3 but it seems to add up to a more attractive package.

1 hour ago, Alex.S said:

As the end of lease is getting closer times going even quicker! I think it’ll be an EV simply because they’re cheaper and higher spec than the ICE equivalents. Cupra Born might be a winner, Cupra apparently have just knocked £3k off them which I think means they’ve lots of stock they can’t sell. They’ve limited which factory orders they’ll accept. I’m thinking I’ll get a factory order with the bigger battery as that’s an option. VAG have had a lot of issues with infotainment across all VW group but seems it’s been resolved somewhat. Lovely looking , car interior too. The desert island blue focus is still a cracking looking car and still drives almost like new. Much better than that Skoda I had. I’ll test drive a 4.5 focus but it’d need to be pretty special, the STLX is now top spec I think , ticks lots of boxes but it’s not got 230bhp ! 

The petrol luddites on here will have something to say no doubt. Prepare to be reported for even mentioning the words electric vehicle. 

Have you tried the born yet? 

Just now, iantt said:

The petrol luddites on here will have something to say no doubt. Prepare to be reported for even mentioning the words electric vehicle. 

Have you tried the born yet? 

I’ve not. The dealership is other side of the city. I’ve researched a bit on YouTube. The test drive may just be a formality. YouTube reviews consensus seems to be they’re fun to drive, brakes , suspension and handling all sounds good. Sounds like they’re keen to sell stock whereas I want a newer factory order. 

1 hour ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

plus a new version with 322 bhp and a slightly bigger battery.

Yeah Borns are V1 V2 and V3 with two battery options. The 322bhp I think they’re calling a VZ , a proper hot hatch. Out of reach for me. 

My konas only 200hp but that's more than enough for front wheel drive. The acceleration for a run of the mill small SUV type vehicle is outstanding. I don't get bored of flooring it up to the legal speed limits.( Quietly🤣🤣🤣) 

18 minutes ago, iantt said:

The acceleration for a run of the mill small SUV type vehicle is outstanding. 

Yes, whatever your views on EVs, that's one aspect that I've found impressive when being left in the dust!

Not an SUV fan though, and always preferred smaller cars, so quite interested to see what upcoming "supermini - size" EVs like the new Renault 5 turn out to be like.