Family-size electric

Not sure I follow, BPG. Do you mean the Kia will always require a touch on the pedal to stop it completely? (That’s pretty much the case with the i3, incidentally.) What I think I noticed today was that that touch had to be a little earlier and a little firmer than I’m used to. No biggie — sort of thing I’d stop noticing after a week.

I suspect I may have kept too many safety catches on today. Eco mode, apparently, limits it to one motor and 288 horses. It still felt lively but it does make me a little regretful that I didn’t plan a bit more carefully. Maybe an excuse for a return visit.

i-Pedal i think it is called, is one-pedal driving but i don't really like the concept. There are several modes of regeneration in the i5 and I suspect the EV6. Not only are there the usual modes of increasing braking but also automatic modes which sense a car in front, slow you down but only to about 6mph from which point you take over the braking to a standstill or hope that the car in front moves off.

I now have the oppostunity to test drive the i6 but it is premature as I have two years of the lease left. By that time other models will have appeared and in reality what I want whilst a dog owner is an EV6 based or i6 based estate.

I revisited the iX3 today. You should all know by now my tendency to fall for the merits of the most recent thing I tried, so perhaps it's too soon to write this. But I still liked it. Unlike yesterday, I had a full hour and I was alone in the car. Much better than way. I took it up the M40 to Stokenchurch, then a back-road route through Marlow and back to base.
All still present and likeable.

Yes. Only today's car was black - or so I thought. But, in a Father Ted moment that disproves for ever the old stereotypes about the German sense of humour, it turns out to be very, very, very, very, very, very very dark blue. But it makes the bonnet fade out of view and consciousness, which is a good thing. Like yesterday's EV6, it has ridges in it that do just enough to remind me that there's more there than I can see, but the sheer expanse of it didn't obtrude as it did last year.   
Returning to the dealer, I had to do a long reverse and a back-and-forth shuffle to manoeuvre it into a space. That would have been quicker and simpler in the i3, and not just because of its size, but it wasn't hard and I didn't hit anything.

Not as quick as the EV6 GT, but how much do I care about that. It felt about as brisk as the GT in safety-catch mode. This car is really to be more about cruising than blasting - and it's still sub-7s, so it's hardly slow. It feels similar to the torque-surge acceleration of the CLS - although from much lower down. In five years with the 350 I've not spent much time - or even any time - pining for something faster, so I don't think I would in this.

This was the Pro model, with 20-in wheels against last year's 19s. If there's a difference (apart from tyre prices) I didn't feel it. Still smooth enough, and the adaptive (but not adjustable) damping is very good at suppressing jiggles on fast roads and corner-to-corner rocking on rough town ones. The EV6 can do this too, but the GT is definitely firmer. I'm not sure it would have been as comfortable over today's route.

This one had a lovely 'Oyster' leather interior, which is the one I'd specify if I was buying. (BMW is a bit behind the trend away from leather, but this was similar to my 325's interior, which I really liked.) And you can get one now - as long as you don't want Oyster inside white. I'd have the mid-blue or possibly the grey; it's too big a car for white, and the near-black isn't for me. And I'd pay the extra for Pro over M Sport for the HK audio system, which I know, now I've heard both, is a distinct improvement over the standard one.

Space-wise it's good rather than great, but the boot is very usable and the back seat beats the EV6 for cushion height and foot space, if not for outright volume. I can get in there and could ride behind me for an hour or two, which is good enough for this car.

Apart from the rather large amount it would cost me to have one, I'm struggling to find a major disadvantage beyond the looks. It does look like a suburban mummywagon - which, in a way, it is. I could ask what the height is for, because even under the standard glass roof, I can set the seat quite high and have plenty of headroom, as does everyone behind me. But that's how they make 'em. The headroom gives me postural options on long drives, which probably matters more than the looks - and it really drives much better than the shape suggests. I didn't dream it - it is a seriously nice car.

And I didn't dream the efficiency last time either; my hour averaged 39mph and 3.6 miles / kWh, which means a 100kW charger could add 90 miles (to the base 250 or so) in 15 minutes. The EV6 might beat that with a faster charger but the iPace won't - that might manage 70 miles in the same time. The slippery i4 would beat both, of course, but we'd have to leave two of the party behind.

Incidentally, the Hyundai dealer rang me yesterday to follow up our conversation over the I6. I told him that that wasn't going to make my list because of the compromised rear seat and boot - but that the I5 still might, whereupon he offered me a longer drive next week. So we'll see. I can match at least some of today's route while the iX3 is still fresh in my mind, so it should make a good comparison.

I was shown yesterday a list of 20 or so iX3s in the UK ready for sale. The specification choice has been radically simplified. No three-page build sheets any more; it’s plain M Sport or Pro. There are only four colours and the only factory option is a towbar — which, perhaps inconveniently, I would want. The dealers each have specific cars allocated to them and arrange swaps when one dealer has a car that another’s customer wants. So I could have one reasonably quickly, quite unlike last year’s situation.

Price? Well, yes, they all seem expensive — but doesn’t everything these days? I’m taking the view that if I can afford one of the list, I can afford a bit more for the one I decide I want. And I need to do something because, comfortable and capable as it still is, a ten-year-old fossil car isn’t going to be viable or socially acceptable for much longer.

I mentioned my last-seen bias but revisiting the iX3 has revived my initial misgivings from last year about the EV6: that the back seat is too compromised to be useful in a big car. On Thursday I tried it after the I6, which is frankly awful in that respect. (And I’d been in the undersized Polestar 2 before that.) The EV6 is at least tolerable but probably wouldn’t be for long.

If it was getting regular four-up use, I’d have to go for the Enyaq, and I should probably revisit that next — or after next weeks’s longer I5 trip. But the iPace and the iX3 both have rear seats that adults don’t have to radically adapt themselves to, and enough space to be usable for my purposes. As, of course, does the I5, so how good that is to really drive, rather than just trundle as I have so far, will be a big test.

Got to weigh up the frequency of four seat usage Vs tech age.

If there's some value left in a Euro V diesel then now might be a time to jump. How much to completely write-off the value of the CLS Vs jumping into a compromised EV now Vs what will be available in the last three years of this decade. How will your capital depreciate between now and then or appreciate if suitably invested...Lots to ponder.

Didn’t find that function in this week’s Kia — but then it didn’t occur me to look for it.

The iX3 manages without paddles. The sideways D-B shift with the console selector is a bit clunky by comparison but in practice it’s plenty good enough. D for motorways, B for towns, whichever you prefer in between. I tended towards B on country roads too, being used to the i3’s style.

I have been meaning to write down a list of things that I find irritating about the I5 and the steering wheel adjustment is on the list but not high up. The driving position is almost Italian but not enough to make it a deal breaker for me and I like the seats. However I am more Korean in stature than Western Europe.

Is there a perfect car? Well as everyone has different requirements the answer will be no. I suppose included in the reasons for getting the I5 over other cars that were available were: -

I liked the internal and external design
I really wanted the high speed charging - which has been of benefit on the fw long trips I have done
I don't like the Tesla overly minimalist lask of sensible fixed buttons for climate and mirrors
I didn't want the unreliable VAG Infotainment system and climate buttons which are not back lit at night
The range and performance suited me very well as did the space.
I wanted the monthly lease cost to be under £500 + VAT for a 3 + 35 deal with 8,000 miles pa.
The ease of use of the I5 infotainment system on the test drive won me over as well.

But no car is perfect for everyone. With hindsight, the infotainment system is a bit of a stretch at times for my short arms but I am not touching it constantly. I like the ride of the I5 and most of my driving is not on roads that create the conditions for bounce. It is either urban roads or motorways for me.

I am impressed at the level of detail you are going into in choosing your next car...