Family-size electric

Actually that’s a good point Dixi. I’m not sure how the motor trade typically structures remuneration packages, but in many industries sales people get a pretty basic salary that is significantly enhanced by commission.

And, if the business is operating on borrowed money, banks are usually far more interested in the rate of cash flow than anything else.

If deals are not being done due to restricted supplies, then commission is not being earned, and money is not moving through the business.

I wondered the same thing about sales activities. In previous sales-related jobs, I've had extra incentives that weren't directly related to simple volume of sales. For example, I've had a target of running a certain number of 'discovery workshops' or business-development meetings in the course of the year. I suspect my BMW man may have something similar, as a way of keeping well-disposed customers like me up to date even when they're not actively buying. I think he's also told me at some point that he doesn't actually get paid individually by the sale, but that the whole sales team benefits when sales happen. Given that more demos will mean more sales, eventually if not today, then it makes sense to keep them going.

I'm probably overstating it by saying the i3 is always trying to recuperate - the driving modes vary the aggressiveness of regen; Sport has least, but makes the throttle too hair-trigger fierce for most situations - but it certainly doesn't have a pure roll-on mode as I found in the iX3 (and the Enyaq). In the i3, I generally appreciate its one-pedal style and it's only at motorway speed that I feel a slight conflict with the way I prefer to drive. And the i3S is a better motorway car than the old i3 was. But the iX3 is a very good motorway car, regardless of power source.

And availability: my dealer has secured one build slot, to be delivered in October, for a fully-loaded model in Macho Loser Black, so I don't want that. He has no plans to sell the 71-plate white demo car until he can get another, so that's not an option either. (And this one was the first BMW I'd tried without the Harman-Kardon audio option, which I now know is worth the extra.) So if I do want one, I'll be shopping Approved Used, and those are typically year-old cars at prices boosted by scarcity to almost the (nominal) new price.

If I were to go that way - and I might - then I'd have to get past my feelings about tall cars. I passed a CLS SB like mine on the M3 and it looked quite diminutive from my vantage point. There's really no need for this thing to be so bulky, and the same powertrain and attributes in something shaped more like a 5 Touring (or an iPace) would be so much more appealing - to me. But I think that battle may be over - "No demand for them, sir" - and perhaps this is what a car to carry four adults has to look like now. I still prefer the styling and style of the Jaguar - not something I'd have said 20 years ago!

Big ‘so what?’ from me. I have a good short-to-middle-distance EV, and my diesel CLS won’t emit appreciably more CO₂ on a 200-mile trip. Maybe if it’s to be the sole car in a household, but there are plenty of uncompromised EVs now that can do that job.

The PHEV is 2017’s interim measure (and I did nearly buy one then) not the answer to much in 2022.

Ah, progress.  1st Gen Nissan Leaf, 24kwh battery with 50kw DC charging, real world range up to 100 miles (I know because I had one).

How much for a 300e?  Will be hard to make the argument for one versus even a KIA EV6, I expect.  Hybrid is over.

Since you put it like that, the Nissan Leaf is all the car anyone will ever need. Choice ? Why ? Everything costs more.
The Nissan Leaf is UK built, bonus. I give you the UKs Trabant.

Actually, thinking about it, it's a bit too sneery. I think I shall withdraw.