|
Post by Alanović on Apr 3, 2024 11:30:50 GMT
Those with 2/3 cars but no EV are the ones missing out
|
|
|
Post by EspadaIII on Apr 3, 2024 11:53:19 GMT
We do but my only 'spare' car is the 19 year old Punto; not a car I would willingly drive anything other than locally unless it was my only option.
|
|
WDB
Full Member
Posts: 7,352
|
Post by WDB on Apr 3, 2024 12:48:17 GMT
Those with 2/3 cars but no EV are the ones missing out None so blind…😈 Justly or otherwise, new technologies tend to be adopted first by those who can afford them, either the absolute cost or the (perceived) need for an old-tech security blanket. We’re a fortunate bunch anyway, live in multi-adult households and can afford multiple vehicles, so we offer fertile ground. Well, you’d think so anyway.
|
|
WDB
Full Member
Posts: 7,352
|
Post by WDB on Apr 3, 2024 14:47:08 GMT
I am still surprised how cheap some iPaces are on Auto Trader. And other cars like the original e-tron. Cheap is why I keep coming back to the iPace and thinking ‘could I?’ And it’s why that Reading Etron caught my eye - both these days give you a lot of comfortable EV for a relatively modest amount of money. The iPace is the harder one to disregard, because it’s fundamentally so good. I’ve no doubt I could enjoy having one and that we’d make some memorable trips in it. In 2018 it was the only Jaguar I’d ever genuinely wanted — and sadly, it still is, because JLR has failed to develop its EV range after such a stunning start. And there are far too many reports of failures that take cars off the road for weeks for want of parts or software fixes. That’s Tesla territory, not for the likes of us. You can find bad anecdotes about anything, of course, but there’s a pattern with the iPace, which is a shame. And the Etron looks good on paper — if you can convince yourself that you’ll be the one who cracks the mystery of getting decent efficiency out of it. And it has space and — in the right colour — some style too. But I didn’t like the interior of the one I looked at, and I just don’t think there’s enough to lift it above BMW’s big EVs, even if (or perhaps because) they lose their value less rapidly.
|
|
WDB
Full Member
Posts: 7,352
|
Post by WDB on Apr 9, 2024 14:39:13 GMT
I parked the i3 next to an Etron Sportback at the weekend. Close up, the Audi looks less svelte and more armadillo-like, the sloping tail doing less to disguise its height than I’d expected.
Meanwhile, the new car sales incentives are mounting. BMW’s ‘finance contribution’ now amounts to 10 percent of the list price on an iX3 or an iX 40, putting them only about £4K apart. The sybarite is taking note. He really sees no point in a new iX3, with only four colours and two options to select; finding a used one to taste is easy. A new iX has its appeal, though: he could have the silver-grey exterior with the smallest wheels, blue microfibre interior and (and this is interesting) no ugly-kids glass. Everything else is standard anyway, except the towbar — although a fair number of used ones have that. The B&W audio and the electrochromic glass roof might be fun but not for another £8k. Still £63k (ow!) but would set us up for six years or more.
Or just look for the best used option, save £20k and have the option of a Neue Klasse iX3 in a couple of years when a slightly smaller car will do.
|
|
|
Post by EspadaIII on Apr 9, 2024 14:46:30 GMT
I feel that you may be doing some research for me. Not that I am keen on a BMW but useful that in 12 months time I can make an informed decision about buying the I5, keeping it another year on lease or some other option which may include buying an alternative.
If I chose an alternative, ideally I would prefer an I5 which was 10% smaller but had 10% better range... which I think brings me to the I6. I wonder how long I need before I have to make a decision?
|
|
|
Post by Humph on Apr 9, 2024 15:02:13 GMT
While on our bike ride yesterday, amongst many other things, my wife and I were talking about some of the cars we’ve had over the years. Some of them were pretty good by the standards of their time, others were just utilitarian things and some were distress purchases bought when anything would have to do. The common thread of the conversation though was that we’ve had some of our best life adventures when using the “worst” cars. Which is potentially disappointing given the costs we have incurred in buying into the supposedly “better” ones! Someone could produce a chart I guess relating promise to reality on the subject. 🤔
|
|
WDB
Full Member
Posts: 7,352
|
Post by WDB on Apr 9, 2024 15:06:25 GMT
...in 12 months time I can make an informed decision about buying the I5, keeping it another year on lease or some other option which may include buying an alternative. If I chose an alternative, ideally I would prefer an I5 which was 10% smaller but had 10% better range... I think we're both facing family transitions that will affect how we use our cars, and how much car we need. I may be a little closer to mine as my youngest child is a little older than yours. But that younger child seemed a bit taken aback the other day when his brother left for his final term in Southampton and it dawned on him that the next time he leaves here, it will be to Cambridge and for good. I think they regard each other as allies in managing clueless and delinquent parents, and this will feel like breaking up the band. Boy2 has decided on a legal career, and so another two years of study, after which our need for long journeys with full loads will diminish. But the long journeys will continue, and I do like my comforts. 12 months may not be the optimal timeframe - although there's no such thing anyway but the option to add another year to your business lease might be a good one. I think a lot of major makers will launch new 'proper' EVs in 2025-26. The innovation from Korea continues to outpace everything else. Kia has an EV4 coming, I think - although wouldn't the EV6 fit much of what you described? I felt I needed more space but for any family shorter than mine, it ought to be excellent. And there will be loads of lightly-used ones about by then. ...we’ve had some of our best life adventures when using the “worst” cars. I think we can all relate to that. Any journey - any experience - is what we bring to it and what we make of it. The equipment is just table stakes - if the car goes at all, it's fast enough. See also cameras, sports equipment, shoes... (OK, maybe not shoes.)
|
|
|
Post by Humph on Apr 9, 2024 15:43:25 GMT
Yeah, I’ve certainly been guilty in the past of thinking I could buy happiness in the form of material goods. I suspect many people are. It took me a while, but eventually it came to me that actually happiness is free. The rest is indeed just packaging.
|
|
Rob
Full Member
Posts: 2,721
|
Post by Rob on Apr 9, 2024 17:07:19 GMT
There will be many good deals coming up on EVs because the manufacturers have targets to hit. Fail to hit the target and there are huge fines. Hence why a pre-reg Citroen e-C4 can be had from £19,000 at the moment. That is a car on delivery miles on a 24 plate. It's basically been reduced by what would happen if you got a new one I suppose and it's value plummets immediately when sold.
|
|
bpg
Full Member
Posts: 2,731
|
Post by bpg on Apr 9, 2024 17:40:41 GMT
What's a B&W audio ? Is that MONO in old money, as in black and white or has the sybarite gone full lock and stock for some upmarket consumer electronics badge in a tin box, Bert u. Villies Ow-dee-oh!
Don't answer, I know Bowers und Vilkins. A bit like having Bang & Olufsen in my Ford. 😂😂😂 They're all at it.
|
|
WDB
Full Member
Posts: 7,352
|
Post by WDB on Apr 9, 2024 18:51:46 GMT
They are. It’s five thousand pounds. Five Thousand Pounds. I’ve spent that much and probably more on my home audio rig, but gradually — and that won’t disappear next time I change my car. The standard Harmon Kardon offering will do; the one in the i3 isn’t fantastic but it’s better than the unbranded one in the non-Pro iX3 (which I’d have for the smaller wheels and unblackened grille) and I imagine the iX has room for some more amplification. Audi offers Sonos in the Q4 and B&O in the Q8; haven’t tried either. The Meridian in the iPace is the best I’ve heard, partly because it gets such a quiet environment to play in. There will be many good deals coming up on EVs because the manufacturers have targets to hit. Fail to hit the target and there are huge fines. Yes. We predicted this last September when Sunak lost his nerve and backed down on 2030. You'll recall that I came quite close then to signing for a £64,000 iX3 M-Sport Pro, a car I could now buy Approved Used for about £45,000. It now appears the new prices are beginning to adjust to the reality of the used market.
|
|
|
Post by Humph on Apr 9, 2024 18:52:58 GMT
My car has a Harman Kardon system in it. Which is strangely difficult to say in polite circles if you’re prone to Spoonerisms. Sounds alright though.
|
|
bpg
Full Member
Posts: 2,731
|
Post by bpg on Apr 9, 2024 19:06:11 GMT
£5k for a sound system that still has to compete with tyre and wind noise or, spend it on a custom fit fridge and ice machine, some crystal, your favourite tipple and retire to the rear seat.
Whether you can persuade Mrs WDB into a chauffeurs outfit is up to you or your offspring may take the offer of driving practice with a full licence.
|
|
Rob
Full Member
Posts: 2,721
|
Post by Rob on Apr 9, 2024 21:25:29 GMT
>> The standard Harmon Kardon offering will do
The Samsung sound system then. Well they own the parent company... the same parent company that owns other brands like JBL.
|
|