EV options for a 128km roundtrip commute

rodneytrotter15

Folks, I'm wondering what are my options for a 128km commute (64km each way ) 124km of the commute is motorway, I don't want to have to charge in between. Prospective employer doesn't have EV charges although they may in the future. Hoping to sell the wife's car for €12k ish and put some money with it, preferably as little as possible but am prepared to put whatever is takes with it that will get me a car that will cover the commute winter and summer with no range anxiety. I'm thinking the only options are a Lear or I3 and appreciate any input.

Mickeroo

Ioniq would also eat that commute for breakfast all year round.

You're talking upwards of €20k for Ioniq, 40kwh leaf or I3.

rodneytrotter15

Was kind of hoping to be able to keep it under the €20k mark if possible. I guess they aren't any options for less than that without introducing some range anxiety. That said I wouldn't need to have any deviation on the commute numbers, 128km is the absolute max.

Gumbo

rodneytrotter15 wrote: »

Was kind of hoping to be able to keep it under the €20k mark if possible. I guess they aren't any options for less than that without introducing some range anxiety. That said I wouldn't need to have any deviation on the commute numbers, 128km is the absolute max.

Nissan Leaf 30kWh might be tight.
That's your only option under 20k.

BMW i3 is another option but you'd need the 94Ah version and tat only came in mid 2016 and prices are well north of 20k.

marketty

Have you considered a Renault Zoe? 0% HP finance available at the minute and good trade in deals because new model on the way. Doesn't have the space/spec of the leaf/ioniq, if that's important to you. Range would be fine.

Gumbo

marketty wrote: »

Have you considered a Renault Zoe? 0% HP finance available at the minute and good trade in deals because new model on the way. Doesn't have the space/spec of the leaf/ioniq, if that's important to you. Range would be fine.

Range fine but double the budget!

marketty

kceire wrote:

Range fine but double the budget!

True. Depends if the OP is willing to offset the fuel savings against the cost of finance. 220 quid a month would finance the purchase after trade in, assuming 12k trade in value. Just might be worth considering.

rodneytrotter15

marketty wrote: »

Have you considered a Renault Zoe? 0% HP finance available at the minute and good trade in deals because new model on the way. Doesn't have the space/spec of the leaf/ioniq, if that's important to you. Range would be fine.

No I couldn't do the Zoe ( no offence to anyone that drives one )....I'll take a look at the Ioniq in the UK to see how the prices look.

slave1

kceire wrote: »

Nissan Leaf 30kWh might be tight.
That's your only option under 20k.

BMW i3 is another option but you'd need the 94Ah version and tat only came in mid 2016 and prices are well north of 20k.

Leaf30 will not do that range in Winter at motorway speeds.
Either up your budget to an Ioniq or get an efficient ICE.
You won't get a cheap Ioniq from the UK, they are cheaper here new (with scrappage)

rodneytrotter15

I'm resurrecting this again. Looks like I'm now not changing jobs and my commute will be 86km (43 each each). All motorway bar the first 2km. Current employer has chargers and I can charge for free at work. That said I would like ability to make the 90km range in the summer as we have a small place on the coast that is only visited in the summer.

From re reading the posts it seems the Leaf 30 is the best option as the 90ah BMW would be a little saucy and I want to avoid paying €20k. I supposed the range extender BMW would work as well but I'd like to avoid any potential issues with the small engine. Is there anything in particular I should be looking for as regards a Leaf 30, fast charge ability etc ? I'm going to purchase from the UK and have it delivered....Would €15k all in get me what I need or am I way off the mark here?

krissovo

Hit carzone for EV’s in your price range and play with https://abetterrouteplanner.com/ for your commute using the car details. You can play around with the settings for speed and different battery packs. Its what I have been using to select my car(s) and by all accounts quite accurate.

unkel

rodneytrotter15 wrote: »

I'm resurrecting this again. Looks like I'm now not changing jobs and my commute will be 86km (43 each each). All motorway bar the first 2km. Current employer has chargers and I can charge for free at work. That said I would like ability to make the 90km range in the summer

Any second generation battery 24kWh Leaf can do 90km in summer unless it has a very badly degraded battery. Get yourself a 2014 L24 from about €9k-€10k

slave1

rodneytrotter15 wrote: »

... my commute will be 86km (43 each each). All motorway bar the first 2km....

unkel wrote: »

Any second generation battery 24kWh Leaf can do 90km in summer unless it has a very badly degraded battery. Get yourself a 2014 L24 from about €9k-€10k

But not at motorway speeds.....

unkel

He has work charging, so can drive like a maniac to get his 43km motorway commute. Max the Leaf can do is 144km/h anyway

For the few times a year he goes to his summer house, if I were him I wouldn't spend an extra €5k so I can do the trip at 120km/h instead of 100km/h

rodneytrotter15

rodneytrotter15 wrote: »

Folks, I'm wondering what are my options for a 128km commute (64km each way ) 124km of the commute is motorway, I don't want to have to charge in between. Prospective employer doesn't have EV charges although they may in the future. Hoping to sell the wife's car for €12k ish and put some money with it, preferably as little as possible but am prepared to put whatever is takes with it that will get me a car that will cover the commute winter and summer with no range anxiety. I'm thinking the only options are a Lear or I3 and appreciate any input.

A leaf 24 will do that no bother, get one from 142 + which will have the better battery, you will know this because the newer battery models have the dark interior and have a separate Heat + AC button, the older one only had AC button no heat, heat was controlled automatically with no possibility to turn it off without having climate off altogether.

Anyway with work charging it's the car to get, cheap 2nd hand then you can save up and buy a more expensive car with a lot more range and much faster charging in a couple of years.

i3 is a lot more fun but a lot more expensive 2nd hand but you might pick up an older 64 Ah with the Rex at a decent price, should get one for 15-18K at this stage from the U.K.

Rex is great for long trips, taking a 24 Kwh Leaf on long trips will be a pain. Rex eliminates range and charger anxiety, charge if you can/wand or fire up the Rex and continue, great when there are queues at charge points.

Work charge points fail sometimes so you need to have a backup plan, and be prepared if someone else or more get av then you could find yourself without charging or fighting over it causing the company to get rid of it altogether so get to know the fast charger locations on route because broken charge points will happen.

slave1

I know they've proven very dependable but a 2014 L24 battery warranty will elapse this year whereas a 2016 L30 battery is good until 2024....piece of mind etc.

rodneytrotter15

I should have €15k to spend based on rough estimate of what the current 2nd ICE is worth once sold. I don't mind putting a few quid with it if it makes sense in terms or future proofing....

Currently have an ABL charger at the side of the house that was installed just over 2 years ago as part of the government grand scheme when I bought a 330e ( since sold ) I'm assuming this will charge the Leaf no bother once I get the right cables ? Am I correct in saying the 6.6kw Leaf is required if you want to make use of the fast chargers ?

Mike9832

rodneytrotter15 wrote: »

I should have €15k to spend based on rough estimate of what the current 2nd ICE is worth once sold. I don't mind putting a few quid with it if it makes sense in terms or future proofing....

Currently have an ABL charger at the side of the house that was installed just over 2 years ago as part of the government grand scheme when I bought a 330e ( since sold ) I'm assuming this will charge the Leaf no bother once I get the right cables ? Am I correct in saying the 6.6kw Leaf is required if you want to make use of the fast chargers ?

Would a 18 or 19 Zoe 41kWh not make more sense?

Good few in the UK for €20,000 or so ( battery owned )

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201904036566890?sort=price-asc&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&price-from=18000&advertising-location=at_cars&make=RENAULT&radius=1500&postcode=m52ty&model=ZOE&year-from=2018&page=1

jprboy

rodneytrotter15 wrote: »

I should have €15k to spend based on rough estimate of what the current 2nd ICE is worth once sold. I don't mind putting a few quid with it if it makes sense in terms or future proofing....

Currently have an ABL charger at the side of the house that was installed just over 2 years ago as part of the government grand scheme when I bought a 330e ( since sold )
I'm assuming this will charge the Leaf no bother once I get the right cables ?
Yes
Am I correct in saying the 6.6kw Leaf is required if you want to make use of the fast chargers ?
No, that only applies to your home charge point or the public standard charge points. You need a fast charge port in the car to be able to use the fast charge points. Leaf should have a fast charge port but make sure to confirm that it does as not all of the older ones had them.

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