Recommend an EV for neighbour please

mobfromcork

Folks,
I'm new enough to EVs, have a 2015 24kw Leaf since December as our 2nd car and is working out great so far. Our neighbour who has driven diesel cars for years was asking me today about the pros and cons of EVs. I've some idea of a few options but wouldn't have the depth of knowledge of others here. He is exploring the possibility of getting an EV or a PHEV.
He usually buys a new mid-sized diesel car every 2 years or so for in and around 20k as far as I know. He is a retired active man in his 70s, drives around 200 - 400km per week (will have to double check that) mainly sub 20km journeys but can make a few of them in a day. Having a hitch is important to him, not for any huge weight but he tows a few bits around in his trailer quite often. Bimonthly trip of 160Km. Rural dweller and mainly local roads rather than motorway.
He is very hesitant to spend 35-40k plus on a 64kw car given that he is retired.

Any advice on an EV that might tow? Or a plug-in hybrid maybe? Options that might be available to him next year possibly - he has been driving a Peugeot 2008 for the last two years. Sorry I can't be more specific about some of the details but will try and clarify tomorrow.

Lumen

Outlander PHEV, Model 3 (barely), X, etron, EQC.

liamog

Lumen wrote: »

Outlander PHEV, Model 3 (barely), X, etron, EQC.

The only one of those remotely in price range for OPs neighbour would be the Outlander.

Lumen

liamog wrote: »

The only one of those remotely in price range for OPs neighbour would be the Outlander.

Yes, but the list of towing EVs is so short I thought I may as well include them all. :pac:

mobfromcork

Thanks for replies. I reckoned the Outlander was the only one that might fit the bill for him realistically. There's a few on Auto trader that might fit the bill and a good few imports in dealers in Dublin. He's be going back a few years to get one with lowish mileage and under budget though. I'll chat to him again tomorrow.
Thanks again for the advice.
Mark

krissovo

The age profile and the use case could easily be my father in law, he is almost perfect for a EV or even a PHEV but it nearly sent him to a early grave just using my Leaf for a week.

New dials to monitor in the dash, understanding the different ranges in weather, when to plug in, when to re-fuel, what charger does what. In a test drive of my Leaf he left it abandoned at charging station and got a cab home and will not get back in one again as a driver.

He is in a hybrid now and happy he is saving a bob. Having a neighbor who is making the transition could be a bit of a commitment for you to. I spent hours talking to my father in law explaining the differences, and then when he had the car at least 4 phone calls a day.

mobfromcork

Ha, that's a very good response. My dad (who is in his late 60s) got a 24kw Leaf earlier on this year as it was perfect for the majority of his motoring needs. Having never driven an EV before he flew to the UK alone and drove it home in January. I got a fair few phone calls en route that night! He's managing it fine now but they have my mam's back-up petrol car for longer journeys whereas my neighbour would only have 1 car.
While I see the benefits of EVs in loads of ways, I think in some cases they might be too big a transition/undertaking at times. The larger capacity ones are out of the price range of a lot of people and the smaller ones need more planning for sure.
He seems to have a very negative attitude towards Toyota style 'self-charging' hybrids for some reason. I think a few of his friends own them and weren't too impressed.

DrPhilG

My dad was 81 when I got my first EV, and he came with me to Leeds for the road trip collection.

He was actually very keen (mainly due to the cost savings) but he would never have coped with public charging.