e golf

Plomber

Going to try one of these tomorrow, have tried a leaf ( seat v uncomfortable for me ) and an i3 (lovely but too small). Don't like renaults.

Beyond the price is there any reason these are not popular? Any view on new vs second hand?

We're currently paying far too much road tax ( 2004 530d , 2002 530i estate), far too much on maintaining the 530d and do mostly local ( less than 5k km pa on each), cycle a good bit. Intend to keep the 530i as the estate is useful, it's been very reliable and it's worth nothing.

Thanks

TBi

From what i hear the dealers aren't too eager to try to sell the e golf, which is probably why they haven't sold well.

Should be a nice car though. The i3 is quite spacious (apart from the boot) with probably more space inside than the golf.

Bigus

I'd suggest ,Re try the BMW I 3 but over an extended test drive such as a whole weekend or at least overnight .

stesaurus

The e golf is smaller than the i3. The i3 only has four seats but has pretty much the same space as a standard 3 series. It's very deceptive in appearance

stesaurus

I think with the golf it doesn't sell well as the Leaf does most things better and is still cheaper.

BoatMad

Plomber wrote: »

Going to try one of these tomorrow, have tried a leaf ( seat v uncomfortable for me ) and an i3 (lovely but too small). Don't like renaults.

Beyond the price is there any reason these are not popular? Any view on new vs second hand?

We're currently paying far too much road tax ( 2004 530d , 2002 530i estate), far too much on maintaining the 530d and do mostly local ( less than 5k km pa on each), cycle a good bit. Intend to keep the 530i as the estate is useful, it's been very reliable and it's worth nothing.

Thanks

5k pa , ( miles ! ) , jeepers I've 4200 km on the leaf after 3 weeks !!!

Plomber

Thanks to all who replied. I'll let you know how I get on.

NIMAN

Please do.

stesaurus

There's a young lad on the FB group with a black E-golf around the south Dublin area. Might be worth checking with him to see his thoughts.
A big thing I forgot to mention is CCS charging that the i3 and E-golf use. They are few and far between here. It will eventually be all CCS as that's the european standard now but that will take time to change.
Have a look at the charging maps to see the difference between CCS and chademo

737max

i3 is not bigger than a golf or leaf. I was in back seat of one for one kilometer and it was too cramped for me even on that short drive. boot is small too.
it is lovely though in its own eccentric way. very fast too.
Zoe is very nice for what it is and deserves a test drive.

Plomber

Ok so I said I'd report back having driven the car.

Good authoritative drive, got up to 130kph quickly, regen modes good for stop/start, great seats and driving position. Felt like you were v much in control of where you wanted to be in the cut & thrust of traffic. Leaf felt less confident in this regard. Quieter than the i3 with three across seating in the back ( for the kids) and an OK boot.

Not so good, the value differential vs the Leaf in particular but we're working on that with the sales guy (who was good). Minor thing is the charge point on the side rather than in the nose, and also no parking sensors ( why are these not standard , Leaf the same)

Asked above if anyone had a view on new ( probably PCP) vs second hand (prob cash), would be interested as we have that choice? I'm guessing if we intend to change in 3 years PCP is good, if we intend to keep for 6-8years second hand for cash.

Thanks

stesaurus

Maybe have a look at a 330e? With the grants available it makes it very affordable. You only do low mileage anyway so could probably get away with driving mainly in EV mode.

peposhi

If I were you I would not spend money on a new car if only 5k driven per annum... A second hand 141 or 142, low millage i3 or Leaf(preferably) fits perfectly the purpose. And it would save you tons on money ... why is the Leaf seat uncomfortable for you? You could easily get it re - upholstered to your liking for a fraction of the money you could save by buying second hand.

Bigus

peposhi wrote: »

If I were you I would not spend money on a new car if only 5k driven per annum... A second hand 141 or 142, low millage i3 or Leaf(preferably) fits perfectly the purpose. And it would save you tons on money ... why is the Leaf seat uncomfortable for you? You could easily get it re - upholstered to your liking for a fraction of the money you could save by buying second hand.

In fairness it's more than the seat I'd say a golf is always and has always been a better place to sit then it's class rivals.

Plomber

Peposhi ..I think your argument is logical re a car that has a year or two of depreciation baked in.. However , it's good to treat yourself sometimes?

re the seat am a bit cricked from running out of talent on a motorbike in my younger days and more recently being knocked off my bike on the way to work ( I flew gracefully but didn't land well). A firm seat seems to work best these days. I won't rule the Leaf as its more for my better half than me but will chip away on the Golf and see where I get.

Thanks all for the very useful input. I'll update when I have bought something.

A 2nd hand I3 would be a lot better than an over priced E-Golf, unless of course you prefer the Golf then that's a different matter, but the I3 would be a lot more fun and a lot better interior than the Leaf and probably better again than the Golf.

Remember the E-Golf and I3 use the CCS fast charging standard which isn't as common as the ChaDeMo for the leaf. But at your mileage that probably won't be an issue.

I bet you'll also find yourself driving it a lot more than 5 K miles a year.

peposhi

Plomber wrote: »

Peposhi ..I think your argument is logical re a car that has a year or two of depreciation baked in.. However , it's good to treat yourself sometimes?

re the seat am a bit cricked from running out of talent on a motorbike in my younger days and more recently being knocked off my bike on the way to work ( I flew gracefully but didn't land well). A firm seat seems to work best these days. I won't rule the Leaf as its more for my better half than me but will chip away on the Golf and see where I get.

Thanks all for the very useful input. I'll update when I have bought something.

of course you can treat yourself do we not all (well not all but...) work our bums off to get to a stage we could treat ourselves nicely...

I'd still re-upholster a Leaf though :P.

NIMAN

Deleted User wrote: »

A 2nd hand I3 would be a lot better than an over priced E-Golf, unless of course you prefer the Golf then that's a different matter, but the I3 would be a lot more fun and a lot better interior than the Leaf and probably better again than the Golf.

No 2nd hand i3 on CarsIreland and only 4 on CarZone.

2nd hand prices are shocking on them too. From €28000 on a 141 to €38000 on a 141 REx.

Any wonder the Leaf is the main EV seller with those prices.

peposhi

I would actually love an i3 for myself since my wife occupied the Leaf. REX version though, not a BEV

jerryg

NIMAN wrote: »

No 2nd hand i3 on CarsIreland and only 4 on CarZone.

2nd hand prices are shocking on them too. From €28000 on a 141 to €38000 on a 141 REx.

Any wonder the Leaf is the main EV seller with those prices.

Niman have a look at Autotrader and trovit i3s are coming down in price because I presume of the new model coming in July.I have to agree that the choice in Ireland is dire and when I spoke to a salesperson in Joe Duffy he says BMW Ireland have more stock and are not releasing them they obviously have too much money!I will make the trip to the UK before the end of the year.

peposhi

peposhi wrote: »

I would actually love an i3 for myself since my wife occupied the Leaf. REX version though, not a BEV

They're supposed to be increasing the battery Kwh this Summer sometime, might even have more than the Leaf 30 kwh , don't think I would have the Rex if that was the case.

forumdedum

s.welstead wrote: »

Maybe have a look at a 330e? With the grants available it makes it very affordable. You only do low mileage anyway so could probably get away with driving mainly in EV mode.

I was told that the VW Passat GTE automatically goes into petrol mode when the car reaches 90km, not great with a fair bit of 100kmph driving. Does the 330e do something similar?

forumdedum

forumdedum wrote: »

I was told that the VW Passat GTE automatically goes into petrol mode when the car reaches 90km, not great with a fair bit of 100kmph driving. Does the 330e do something similar?

I am not aware of this but the GTE has a tiny battery that it really wouldn't be a bad Idea to use the engine at higher speeds and use the battery at slower speeds and in town/city where the ICE is not very efficient, an ICE isn't efficient anyway but it's a lot less in town.

Plug ins cost too much, you'd be better off with a proper Ev with a much larger battery, 300 Km range electrics including E-Golf are due in 2018. I'm sure the Passat will get a proper EV drivetrain around then too.

A lot of people in the U.S that got the Plug in Prius had wished they got the Leaf at the time because they loved the EV drive so much.

cros13

forumdedum wrote: »

I was told that the VW Passat GTE automatically goes into petrol mode when the car reaches 90km, not great with a fair bit of 100kmph driving. Does the 330e do something similar?

The 330e can reach 120km/h in edrive mode.When in this mode it does not automatically start the combustion engine... it just caps your speed.