Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

[wheelnut]

I don't believe you

And yes, I'm beginning to think the tyres are going to be the most expensive part of this experiment

They are. A combo of regen braking, ridiculous acceleration and the weight takes its toll. Think 12k miles. And mine are 255/35 - 21

On the plus side brake pads and disks last forever and the servicing and fuel costs are negligible.

[Silly Car]

It looks like I may be entering the world of electric / hybrid later this year / early next as work are introducing a new salary sacrifice car scheme where electric or hybrid (in excess of 70 mile battery range) are the only options. I can keep pocketing the car allowance / mileage allowance and choose whatever I like but I won't get the gross buying power of the salary sacrifice scheme.

What options are there that meet the following:

Estate
Hybrid with in excess of 70 mile battery range

I've looked at a BMW 330E Estate but the battery mileage is too low.

Lease costs will be at a corporate rate and based on circa 150+ staff on the scheme so the expectation is a reasonable discount against retail lease costs...

[Taipan]

It looks like I may be entering the world of electric / hybrid later this year / early next as work are introducing a new salary sacrifice car scheme where electric or hybrid (in excess of 70 mile battery range) are the only options. I can keep pocketing the car allowance / mileage allowance and choose whatever I like but I won't get the gross buying power of the salary sacrifice scheme.

What options are there that meet the following:

Estate
Hybrid with in excess of 70 mile battery range

I've looked at a BMW 330E Estate but the battery mileage is too low.

Lease costs will be at a corporate rate and based on circa 150+ staff on the scheme so the expectation is a reasonable discount against retail lease costs...

@Docca has a leccy bimmer which he loves, but I dont know which one it is. He did really well with it on a euro trip though!

[KungFooBob]

It looks like I may be entering the world of electric / hybrid later this year / early next as work are introducing a new salary sacrifice car scheme where electric or hybrid (in excess of 70 mile battery range) are the only options. I can keep pocketing the car allowance / mileage allowance and choose whatever I like but I won't get the gross buying power of the salary sacrifice scheme.

What options are there that meet the following:

Estate
Hybrid with in excess of 70 mile battery range

I've looked at a BMW 330E Estate but the battery mileage is too low.

Lease costs will be at a corporate rate and based on circa 150+ staff on the scheme so the expectation is a reasonable discount against retail lease costs...

IIRC the MY2025 330e gets around 60miles (the hybrid battery doubled in size for the 2025 model). If you need the estate shape, albeit not an estate, but a sporty looking SUV, the Polestar 3 might work (for pure leccy).

As PHEVs go, the current model 330e is considered the hybrid to beat.

For a non-plugin hybrid it seems the business world loves a Corolla estate, they must be good on BIK as I see loads of (obviously) company cars for sales reps and field engineers. Might be a bit low rent for a high flyer tho'

[Silly Car]

It looks like I may be entering the world of electric / hybrid later this year / early next as work are introducing a new salary sacrifice car scheme where electric or hybrid (in excess of 70 mile battery range) are the only options. I can keep pocketing the car allowance / mileage allowance and choose whatever I like but I won't get the gross buying power of the salary sacrifice scheme.

What options are there that meet the following:

Estate
Hybrid with in excess of 70 mile battery range

I've looked at a BMW 330E Estate but the battery mileage is too low.

Lease costs will be at a corporate rate and based on circa 150+ staff on the scheme so the expectation is a reasonable discount against retail lease costs...

IIRC the MY2025 330e gets around 60miles (the hybrid battery doubled in size for the 2025 model). If you need the estate shape, albeit not an estate, but a sporty looking SUV, the Polestar 3 might work (for pure leccy).

As PHEVs go, the current model 330e is considered the hybrid to beat.

For a non-plugin hybrid it seems the business world loves a Corolla estate, they must be good on BIK as I see loads of (obviously) company cars for sales reps and field engineers. Might be a bit low rent for a high flyer tho'

The 330E is at the top of my list of cars but I think the battery range will be a no, I am awaiting full details of the new scheme / list of cars but that won't arrive for a while as work are still sorting the details.

In fairness, if it is cheap motoring and I still have a toy in the garage, I would likely be happy with whatever I can get within budget, ultra low CO2 would help with any benefit in kind tax. It's strange, the current fleet of company cars is a mix of BMWs and Tesla but I reckon the full EV BMWs and Teslas will disappear from the car park when it comes to monthly contributions, given the retail price of them...

[KungFooBob]

I got a 530e tourer (it was black and looked like a hearse) hire car when the wife's X2 went in for some warranty work (and she decided she would rather drive my derv S90 than the 530, go figure).

They didn't provide a cable so I couldn't charge it enough for full leccy mode. It re-gen'ed enough that it would use the leccy for up to 20-30mph pulling away before switching to petrol.

I drove it like Miss Daisy and it still came up 20mpg short of my D4 Ovlov. I guess if work are paying milage that doesn't really matter.

[Silly Car]

Mileage is paid at a fixed rate per mile, therefore efficiency comes into it. I'd have to pay for the fuel / charging and then claim for business miles only. You pay less tax on the benefit that way.

In reality, I should be using the SLC for work as it does nigh on double the MPG than the 520D but I can imagine I'd get a few comments turning up in a convertible... Difference in mileage it down to having xdrive on the BMW. The previous one was much more frugal.

[KungFooBob]

I'm trying to work out where I can get £35k cheap enough to buy this without digging into the cash I've set aside to pay my mortgage off in November.

https://finder.porsche.com/gb/en-GB/det ... er=closest

[MyLittleStudPony]

I'm trying to work out where I can get £35k cheap enough to buy this without digging into the cash I've set aside to pay my mortgage off in November.

https://finder.porsche.com/gb/en-GB/det ... er=closest

That looks mint! Don't worry about all that mortgage bollocks, get it bought.

[KungFooBob]

I'm trying to work out where I can get £35k cheap enough to buy this without digging into the cash I've set aside to pay my mortgage off in November.

https://finder.porsche.com/gb/en-GB/det ... er=closest

That looks mint! Don't worry about all that mortgage bollocks, get it bought.

It's depreciated £80k in three years, can't get much cheaper, right?

[Mussels]

I'm trying to work out where I can get £35k cheap enough to buy this without digging into the cash I've set aside to pay my mortgage off in November.

https://finder.porsche.com/gb/en-GB/det ... er=closest

Just after I think that's an attractive idea I realise it's bigger and heavier than the large estate car I have now, a powerful motor won't make up for that.

[KungFooBob]

I'm trying to work out where I can get £35k cheap enough to buy this without digging into the cash I've set aside to pay my mortgage off in November.

https://finder.porsche.com/gb/en-GB/det ... er=closest

Just after I think that's an attractive idea I realise it's bigger and heavier than the large estate car I have now, a powerful motor won't make up for that.

Read the reviews. 2.2t apparently can be engineered to feel quite spritely especially with 500+ bhp on tap.

[Mussels]

I'm trying to work out where I can get £35k cheap enough to buy this without digging into the cash I've set aside to pay my mortgage off in November.

https://finder.porsche.com/gb/en-GB/det ... er=closest

Just after I think that's an attractive idea I realise it's bigger and heavier than the large estate car I have now, a powerful motor won't make up for that.

Read the reviews. 2.2t apparently can be engineered to feel quite spritely especially with 500+ bhp on tap.

A big motor might make it quick but it will still be cumbersome on the dainty roads round my way, I'd much prefer a similar but smaller car even if it's slower.
Main roads are big enough but they are so crowded overtaking is pretty pointless.

[Saga Lout]

I'm trying to work out where I can get £35k cheap enough to buy this without digging into the cash I've set aside to pay my mortgage off in November.

https://finder.porsche.com/gb/en-GB/det ... er=closest

That looks mint! Don't worry about all that mortgage bollocks, get it bought.

It's depreciated £80k in three years, can't get much cheaper, right?

As they say in the small print of all those financial adverts: Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.

Then in even smaller print: But it is the way to bet

The Taycan has been plagued by problems with many factory recalls. A month or so ago Porsche told its dealers to stop selling used Taycans because of a battery problem. Even if I wanted an EV, which I don't, I'd stay well clear of the Taycan. If you decide to buy it, do your research first.

[KungFooBob]

That looks mint! Don't worry about all that mortgage bollocks, get it bought.

It's depreciated £80k in three years, can't get much cheaper, right?

As they say in the small print of all those financial adverts: Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.

Then in even smaller print: But it is the way to bet

The Taycan has been plagued by problems with many factory recalls. A month or so ago Porsche told its dealers to stop selling used Taycans because of a battery problem. Even if I wanted an EV, which I don't, I'd stay well clear of the Taycan. If you decide to buy it, do your research first.

I've done ALOT of research.

I'd only ever buy an approved used one, they come with two years warranty. Also, most of the issues have been fixed under recalls. They're pretty reliable these days.

[Taipan]

Its the same for all top end marques. Only buy a Porsche from a Porsche dealers with a Porsche warranty. Job Jobbed.

[wheelnut]

It looks like I may be entering the world of electric / hybrid later this year / early next as work are introducing a new salary sacrifice car scheme where electric or hybrid (in excess of 70 mile battery range) are the only options. I can keep pocketing the car allowance / mileage allowance and choose whatever I like but I won't get the gross buying power of the salary sacrifice scheme.

What options are there that meet the following:

Estate
Hybrid with in excess of 70 mile battery range

I've looked at a BMW 330E Estate but the battery mileage is too low.

Lease costs will be at a corporate rate and based on circa 150+ staff on the scheme so the expectation is a reasonable discount against retail lease costs...

In the tradition of recommending what you have, I went for the Ford Explorer. It’s AWD, does about 230-250 real world miles on a full charge and takes about 20 mins to go from 20 to 80% on a fast charger. Sat nav and other tech seems well thought out and works well. Only slight irritation is the haptic buttons on the steering wheel.

Pretty happy with it overall.

[Mr. Dazzle]

There isn't a BMW i4 estate (I thought there was, I just checked) but there is an i5 estate. IIRC Docca has an i5 saloon. They're quite spendy though.

Any particular reason it has to be Hybrid and not full EV by the way? This thread alone should show you how many people have gone all in and not regretted it. Apart from whoever it is with the old Nissan Leaf

[Silly Car]

There isn't a BMW i4 estate (I thought there was, I just checked) but there is an i5 estate. IIRC Docca has an i5 saloon. They're quite spendy though.

Any particular reason it has to be Hybrid and not full EV by the way? This thread alone should show you how many people have gone all in and not regretted it. Apart from whoever it is with the old Nissan Leaf

I’m not reading 207 pages of the usual mingmong pingpong to find out the considered view. It is much more in keeping to ask the same question as has been answered time and time again!

4 series is a hatchback model, even the X version looks like a hatchback.

Reason for hybrid, none really other than they tend to be based around the same models that have ICE which I’m more familiar with. I’m more than prepared to go full EV but looking on the BMW website, the full EVs are significantly more expensive, IIRC the i5 racks in between £75k and £100k which translates into a lot per month.

It appears the new car scheme will allow new and nearly new which will open up the options a bit.

[Taipan]

Had a bit of a run around in mine today. Mainly motorway use (cruise control 70mph) but about 16 of the 76 miles was through town and that used 38% of the battery. Seemed reasonable to me but as it wasnt fully charged to start with it took us down to 34% on teh battery and my wife was getting range anxiety!