EV for commute

ba_barabus

Hi guys,

I'm investigating the possibility of purchasing an EV as I have a new job starting. The commute is 150km round trip on the motorway or 130ish if I used National routes and avoid tolls.

I will need about 50km there after for collecting kids and doing a bit of shopping after work etc etc

Locally, I have a good Nissan dealer and Peugeot dealer. Near the new workplace I'd have access to a good Renault and Kia dealer also. I have no interest in anything from the VAG Group.

I'd also very much consider the usual hybrid, diesel and phev options but I'm struggling to work out which would be the most cost effective. I did think used 2019ish Leaf 40kwh but I've been told it would barely do it in winter and wouldn't leave any room for error

Any other suggestions

eagerv

I know of a person doing similar in an Ioniq 28kWh, but very tight for anything after the commute. I personally would look for something like a Kona, or Niro if going older.

ba_barabus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120692514#Comment_120692514

My MIL has a Kona 64kwh which I think is great, would the smaller battery cover my range? Ev6 is cool but I've little intention of going new, I should have said as the prices are off the wall.

...Ghost...

The Leaf would indeed be tight for that unless you got the overprice 62kWh version.

PHEV would be pointless. They are arguably only useful for small regular journeys and the longer trips use petrol.

What is your budget?

Realistically, you will be looking at 30k+ for a model to cover your range comfortably with some left over. The best value at the moment is a model 3, which can be got used 2019 for around the 30k. Real range about 350. New model is 42k, give or take....range is about 450. I'm getting close to 500km in a charge now, with a 70km round commute on national, back roads and motorway mix. 2022 model.

eagerv

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120692548#Comment_120692548

Don't think there were many of the smaller battery ones around. I think the Ioniq 38kWh would be another contender. All depends how much you want to spend. And practicalities. I would imagine an earlier Tesla M3 would be available soon for under €30K, seeing they are 40K new atm. Best for performance and efficiency imo.

the_amazing_raisin

If you're willing to forgive VW for whatever they did to earn your ire there's a few used ID.3s going that'll cover your driving easily enough

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/volkswagen-id-3-pro-150-kw-id-3-life-58kwh-5dr-au/34029063

innrain

Kona 64kWh will do you two days of commute in a single charge. The 2019s have new battery due to recall so might be a better option than the later versions. Unfortunately only 7kW AC charging, no ACC, overall poor speccd compared to post 2021 EVs except BZ. 25k ish on DD, and I've seen one today for 21k

mailforkev

Peugeot e208s or Opel Corsas must be available for low/mid 20s at this stage.

ba_barabus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120693620#Comment_120693620

Would be a nice should, always like the E208. Would it have the range in the real world?

mailforkev

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120694276#Comment_120694276

Those Stellantis cars have a 50kWh (gross) battery so I would think they'd easily cover what you need.

https://ev-database.org/car/1583/Peugeot-e-208

https://ev-database.org/car/1585/Opel-Corsa-e

zg3409

As suggested 40kWh might be a bit tight at times, particularly with an all motorway commute. In addition if it's your only car it's handy to have the range for weekend trips etc.

The Hyundai kona 64kWh model is around 28,000 used if ready to jump, but it's very small in back seats and boot.

The Kia Niro 64kWh is a bit bigger but not massive and around 30,000 used.

These both have reliably 300km winter and often 400km summer ranges. They are not the quickest to charge on longer trips but great range for the price. Known to be quite reliable.

I think anything with a smaller battery than 60kW is just bad bang for money and a bit obsolete for the price.

If you own your own home and have a driveway so can get a home charger it makes great financial sense. Fuel savings and increased reliability will add up.

Main downside of full EV ownerships is on trips beyond range (say 150km from home) is that you need to public charge to make it back. Public chargers can be busy with 1+ hour queues at peak times and there is not enough. I expect the situation to get worse over the next year. Depending on where you are going there may be more or less chargers and time of day impacts how busy they are. Around Dublin city there is only around 1/3 enough chargers for peak times with all chargers near the Airport busy with taxis 24/7.

jprboy

I have a 2019 Hyundai Ioniq 28 kWh with 97,000 km on the clock and I'm getting up to 220 km from a full charge right now - mainly regional roads with some motorway. Deep winter I get approx 180 km.

My daily commute is 170 km and at this time of the year I always have enough left for further driving in the evening after getting home.

Any chance you will be able to charge at work, OP? If so get an Ioniq, no contest!

I suspect I may not be a million miles from you so PM me if you would like to have a look at the Ioniq and try it out.

And, no, I'm not selling!

Best car I've ever had and I plan to keep it indefinitely.

unkel

A 64kWh Kona with an asking price of just €21k sold in the last day or two on DoneDeal. Would be ideal for your driving range requirements with ease.

If you don't mind taking it handy and avoiding the tolls / motorways as you suggest as an option, an Ioniq 28kWh would do that 180km for you even in winter. And for a lot less money. There have been one or two for sale for around €13k, which is super value for money. Almost all people who have ever owned one (me included) will tell you it's a great car for the money

redmagic68

Hi,

not to hijack @ba_barabus ’s thread but could I get some input on the following scenario.

Looking for an ev that will allow for my daily commute. 120km total. Mostly motorway with 20km on secondary road and a tiny bit of urban traffic. No at work charging option.

we live rurally so it would be all home charging and have a decent solar set up which if possible I’d like the ev to supplement especially in the summer where the car won’t be away from the house as much. Some day time solar charging may be possible but most days the car will be gone from 7:45 to 16:30, so mostly on grid night time charging.

Occasional trips to limerick city one way 320km and to another small town with very little charging infrastructure (one slow charge point)

I would like to have 2-3 days range for winter driving just incase there was a power cut or something else probably over cautious and a tow bar would be a requirement (rural baby we all need them)

I’ve no preconception regarding old or new but ideal budget would be around 25k but would go new perhaps to 60k with finance if people felt that was a better option.

I would have concerns about after sales support, servicing , battery life and replacement cost of batteries as well as ease to deal with issues and repairs as they arrive. (Would pay a little more for proper service).

I don’t have any preconceived ideas so open to all makes models and I’m coming from a point of almost complete ignorance outside of the sales stuff online as to the pit falls or otherwise.

Currently thinking Tesla model 3 long range but read the build quality can be hit and miss and do they have a repair infrastructure in ireland if required?

we would still have an ICE second car so I know that could be used for the longer range stuff or in a charging emergency but I’d much prefer to find an ev that satisfies the above then replace the ice with a second down the road.

also willing to wait if there’s something better on the horizon than what’s currently available.

any input is welcome.

Redfox25

Go test drive the Tesla model 3 LR.

The tm3 rwd would do the commute too.

Can I suggest downloading a betterroute planner and play with that a bit.

redmagic68

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120701371#Comment_120701371

why why the route planner?

Larbre34

MG4.

The perfect commuter car. Range is fine for you, very roomy, good spec, excellent warranty. For 28k theres no reason to spend more money on anything else.

Paul Kiernan

If you want to stay within your 25k budget the ioniq will tick most boxes. Most people on here prefer the 28kwh (pre 2020) model but the 38kwh (post 2020) has much nicer interior, better range and bluelink app support. Batteries on the 38kwh are not as good and DC charging is much slower. Betteries on the older 28kwh were bombproof. Your only issue is the 320km to Limerick as both cars will need a charge and the 38kwh will be much slower to charge but should still do it in under an hour.

Redfox25

You can plug in the car you are thinking of getting and add plans for your usual routes.

Sounds more complicated than it is but is fairly accurate and will help you decide on a car.

Re build quality, there are alot of reports of issues for earlier cars, the one you would get will be made in China and will likely be spot on from day 1.

Good luck with the search.

joe1303l

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120701514#Comment_120701514

A 2020 e-Golf Executive with small mileage would be a good choice on a €25K budget. Nothing to touch it for build quality. Plenty available with 12month VW approved used warranty.

ba_barabus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120701483#Comment_120701483

I've a friend waiting since Nov 2021 for his MG to arrive, they convinced him to switch to a 4 in January with the promise it would arrive sooner.....it has not.

The Ioniq looks good to be honest and the cheaper price is attractive. Do the batteries lose much life over the years?

Am I working out the cost per range right by multipling the unit charge x kwh of the battery size?

ba_barabus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120696874#Comment_120696874

I've no idea if I can charge at work but I'd be highly doubtful I can.

I'm lucky however in that I have my own driveway and therefore can have a connection installed and also I do have ICE motoring alternatives. My OH drives a Rav4 and I also have some cars available if needed. This would strictly be a communter vehicle. Main priority is range and comfort.

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120701430#Comment_120701430

You can put in different models of car and plan a few routes to see what charging stops will be needed

If you're willing to stretch the budget a bit, there's a few ID.3s going for around €28k (I linked one above)

In terms of second hand cars, things to be aware of are the car and battery warranty. For example VW have a 3 years warranty on the car, but the battery is under warranty to 8 years or 160,000km (whichever is first)

Most cars have some ability to give a battery health report, either from the car itself or by using an OBD11 reader. Might be worth asking the seller is they can provide battery health data or would be okay with you plugging in an OBD reader to check for yourself. You can pick up a reader for under €20 online and there's apps for most phones that will decode the data coming from the reader

If that doesn't work, you can ask the seller to charge the car to 100% and take a photo of the estimated range and average consumption. You can work out the available battery capacity from that, or compare the range to a resource like EV database to see if there's been any major degradation

In general I wouldn't be too concerned about an EV that's only a few years old. The Leafs from 2011 are getting to the end of their useful range, but pretty much everything newer than that still has plenty of available battery capacity

unkel

@ba_barabus - "The Ioniq looks good to be honest and the cheaper price is attractive. Do the batteries lose much life over the years?"

No, not really. The car has a 31kWh battery, of which only 28kWh is usable. But unlike any other EV I am aware of, this buffer is decreased over time, allowing you to still use 28kWh of the battery that after a good few years no longer has 31kWh (as all batteries degrade). So you won't see any drop in range until the car has done over 100k km or so. I'd get a low mileage one, the battery will then be covered by Hyundai warranty too until it's 8 years old

It's the most efficient EV ever made and very aerodynamic, so don't be fooled by the 28kWh battery available. Its range puts some cars with 40-50% more battery capacity to shame on motorways. Go test drive one though. I know you like your cars and the Ioniq is very comfortable to be in, but it's not a driver's car and the interior is cheap. If you like something a bit nicer, the eGolf would be a better option, but a lot more expensive for the same range, nearly Tesla money.