Tesla drivers…

I thought my next car would be an EV. I'm retired so wouldn't be able to do anything but a private buy.
Started to look for one around the size of my current car a Mazda CX 5 which I will part x when it's 2 yr old.
The prices are horrendous. I mainly use mine for carting my golf gear to and fro and a few trips to Leeds to visit the young un. So I thought ok I will try a smaller car. Even a Clio EV was just over £40,000.
Think I will have to stay with petrol.
 
I'm supposed to be getting a Volvo XC90 Hybrid next month, which I ordered in March last year and the delivery kept getting pushed. It's queued for production now, so fingers crossed it'll arrive by the end of February.
Would be interested in how you find it, as me and my wife are looking at a 2019 T8 Hybrid right now.
 
Would be interested in how you find it, as me and my wife are looking at a 2019 T8 Hybrid right now.

I'm probably not the best person to speak to, as I know next to nothing about cars.

The test drive involved me checking how big the boot was (the problem with my current car) and asking if it had Apple Play. I took it on a 5 minute test drive as my wife had to get to a eyebrow appointment and was balancing the demands of an active 1 year old back at the dealership, and I had absolutely no idea what I should be looking for, and so decided it'll do me and signed on the line.

I think the sales lady was shocked and it was probably the quickest sale she's ever made.
 
Last edited:
My company have a salary sacrifice scheme for ULEVs including Hybrids and EVs. I want to order one (my old VW Golf is getting long in the tooth), but I'm kind of torn about which to choose. I work in Cumbria and drive across there every week, but may well be getting a place to live more permanently over there, but would still be coming back to this side of the Pennines regularly. I'm thinking Hybrid is the way to go. I do like the look of the Golf GTE. Even these plug-in hybrids need charging at a station or home, but that shouldn't be a massive issue with there being charging stations where I work. The other issue is, most cars on the scheme have a lead time of a year or more!
I had a GTE and now have an EV BMW. The GTE was great but the electric range was really small. Was ok for me because I could charge at work so could charge at home and work which meant my commute cost was really low but the days I couldn't get on the charger at work meant I was using petrol on the way home and it wasn't particularly efficient. The major issue with it was that the boot was tiny because it has a battery and a fuel tank which takes up half the boot space. I loved the car to drive though, was a fun drive. For long journeys it wasn't great because it was mostly petrol and it had a small petrol range which meant a re-fuel on a 250+ mile drive. You are guaranteed to find a petrol pump though so was never a problem.

My car now is fully EV and it is a completely different car so hard to compare but it's much less hassle than a hybrid for 95% of the time. I plug it in less often, just at home really. Only long journeys where I need a charge are an issue but even then there is only a problem about 10% of the time (that problem being no charger where you want one or where you stop). It's not as fun to drive because it's a big SUV but it's as quick as the GTE and it's nicer/more comfortable to drive but I'd expect the same anyway whether it was ICE, hybrid or EV because it's a much more expensive car.
 
Drove a Skoda Enyaq today. Loved it. Spacious as hell. Kitted up nicely.

Bought a Skoda Superb 1.4 TSI instead. It was £33,000 cheaper. Picking it up next week. Straight swap with my current Octavia and only an extra tenner a month to finance than I'm currently paying with 8,000 less miles on it.

I couldn’t bear to give money to Musk so went for the Enyaq 80.
Took forever to arrive but its a nice car - it goes backwards, forwards and round corners all at the right time so far.….but I am paying attention at the moment.

Best feature - small brolly in the side of the door as you open it.
 
The Mrs got a q4 etron yesterday only to be told our charging point in the garage since we bought the house isn't compatible. I think we have a type 1 podpoint tethered charger. Not sure what to do or who to ask . can I get an adapter for end of the charger or does the cable need replacing is it something I can upgrade to a type 2 Or is it worth biting the bullet and getting a brand new charger installed.
 
The Mrs got a q4 etron yesterday only to be told our charging point in the garage since we bought the house isn't compatible. I think we have a type 1 podpoint tethered charger. Not sure what to do or who to ask . can I get an adapter for end of the charger or does the cable need replacing is it something I can upgrade to a type 2 Or is it worth biting the bullet and getting a brand new charger installed.
I think type one is chademo, mainly for asian cars, but all european cars run on type 2/ CCS, Tesla's run on this too. I can see chademo getting wiped out by CCS, and asian manufacturers switching to CCS, or their exports will need to be CCS. It's like the VHS v Beetamax thing, there's no point in having two options, one will win.

This link below might work, but to be honest, I wouldn't risk it. https://evcables.co.uk/products/typ...HPfGDl0K1RJ6_Kc5M9_gjbaZQYLHE0SsaAszbEALw_wcB

If I was you I would order a type 2 charger box, and sell the type 1 on ebay or something. Maybe see if you can find someone with an asian EV who can test it, and maybe video that or take some pics of it working, so you have some evidence before selling etc. Or maybe sell it with it connected to the house, and your buyer can test it, then get it removed later? The electric supply cable to the box won't need changin, so you're already most of the way there. To be honest I'd probably switch it over myself, but would advise anyone else to use an electrician.

I had a charger box on my last house, but on this one I just fitted a commando socket, and the cable thing which came from the car does the middle bit, and I get 7kW charging, which is the best you can get from a single phase supply (which most houses have). Don't really see much point in using the wall boxes, and the extra cost, as the features are largely pointless now (unless you have solar/ battery storage etc), as most cars can do their own charging schedules etc.

Here's some info on commando sockets:
 
Had a model 3 long range for nearly a year, initially loved it, stupid acceleration, lots of silly toys and really enjoyed the semi self drive on the motorway - I do 15k miles a year.

Once I’d gotten used to it I just felt a bit meh, the charging is a pain if you want to do a long journey quickly.

Then someone ran into the side of me in a car park and while it was in the body shop I got given a C class Merc to drive by the insurance company. It felt like stepping back in time, it was awful, noisy, too many fiddly controls and I quickly wanted the Tesla bavk

Now I love it again and I’m not sure I could go back to driving an ICE. It’s currently costing me the same as a ICE to run or maybe only slightly cheaper but the driving experience is just soooo much better

And no I don’t get range anxiety but I only really do motorway journeys from London to Wales and the superchargers at membury and Sarn are fine, plus there is a electric rapid charger near where I with
 
interesting take. Personally I find driving a tesla good fun, I mean it's got great acceleration, not sure what it lacks other than engine noise to lose the 'soul' of driving. What exactly is it missing that loses the soul?
I have driven a tesla s and it was quick of the mark, but it was awful to drive when compared with a drivers car. It wasn't because it was electric, it was all the driver aids interferring with the experience.

Much prefer my RX8, other than the engine rebuilds, the 20 mpg and the occasional flooding, oh and the tiny boot, oh and the 200 quid spark plugs and the 6 monthly servicing. Other than that, its brill!
 
Back
Top