Advice on Cheap, Reliable, Big Booted Hybrid or EV for <€15k, if possible...

blobert

Hello,

My sister in law and husband have recently had twins (so they are likely to be lugging a lot of baby/toddler stuff for a couple of years)

They live in Dublin and do fairly minimal driving here but one of them is from rural Donegal (circa 300-350km drive) so they go there every month or two.

They bought a 2016 Mazda CX5 Diesel automatic (one only has auto licence) last year but have had problems with in on said trip to Donegal last 2 times they have gone (I had to come collect them in Louth with crying babies) so scared of making trip again.

They are looking for somthing reliable, automatic, as much space as possible with a max budget of €15k which might be a tough ask. I would prefer to get them somthing cheaper if possible. Some options I was looking at:

(1) Outlander PHEV: Is decent for space, they could do most Dublin driving on all electric and be able to power on to Donegal. I've had 2 of these before and liked them. Problem is price, nothing for <15k other than pre facelift mega mileage models so don't think it's an option.

(2) Prius Plus: I had one of these also previously I brought in from Japan and liked it, good value in comparison to others and lot of space. Problem is brother in law as an aversion to Priuses (but weirdly is ok with other Toyota hybrids) so that is ruled out.

(3) Auris Estate Hybrid: Might be able to get one closer to 10k. Not as big as Prius + but decent boot space.

(4) Corolla Touring Hybrid: Looks good but too expensive, more like €20k

(5) Honda Shuttle: Might be a good option, I could probably get a good one from Japan for <10k Here's an irish one
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/162-honda-shuttle-automatic-hybrid-new-nct-and-tax/37731323
Decent space and bassicialy a stretched Honda Jazz, so should be reliable.

While I'd love for them to go EV I don't think it's an option. They would like to be able to do the Donegal trip at any time of year without having to stop for charging and I don't think that's quite possible mid winter (according to ABRP) even with the likes of a 64kw E-Niro (which is probably still out of reach unless you went for a mega mileage one). I'm also wary of pushing them into more like 20k cars when they will be taking out a loan for anything above 10k and when they don't use the car much.

I'd be more inclined for them to get somthing cheap (like the Honda) with bigger storage now and maybe go EV in another 2 years when they won't need as much space and there probably will be better options.

Anyway, any help/advice/any options I'm missing would be much appreciated!

Red Silurian

What year would they be looking for?

Alkers

I have seen the facelift outlander phev as low as 10k. They're a nice motor but they're heavy on fuel when the battery is empty - would they be ok with that for the long Donegal spin?

blobert

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122541837#Comment_122541837

Thanks, I don't think the year would matter too much, would ideally prefer lower mileage of about 100,000km or less

blobert

Thanks, I think they could live with the high fuel costs for the longer trips, it's only likely to be once every month or two and would be offset by running on electricity for most of the rest of their usage.

With the 10k ones, where have you seen them for that price? I'm guessing they are higher mileage ones, I've seen ones with really high mileage. Ideally would prefer something around 100,000km or less, facelift model and with leather seats which again is probably asking too much for the budget.

zg3409

Where in Donegal and can they charge overnight at the destination? Do egal town has a mini hub and 5 minutes down the road in laghy is 2 units.

Leterkenny has a good few options too.

Inishowen and routes through NI are not good.

If their commute is minimal driving then there may be no cost savings going EV. Outlander is very fuel hungry and has short EV only range.

I would suggest petrol small engines for local use and take the hit on Donegal trips. Hardly worth the hassle going full EV.

blobert

Thanks, I thinks it's Ballyliffen in Donegal and they can charge overnight there.

Agreed full Ev may not be needed in terms of price savings, I'm just a big fan of them having had one for about 12 years at this stage. But I suspect it's not an option here in terms of price/range so petrol/hybrid might be better option.

Because they need automatic I was leaning towards a hybrid as opposed to non hybrid petrol auto (was under impression hybridcwould be most reliable/frugal petrol autos) though open to all options.

Thanks again

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122542104#Comment_122542104

There's a few leafs for the 15k mark and a few ID3s if they can stretch to 17k all with relatively sizeable boots

Top of the range on boot size would be the MG5 but they start about 20k

Alkers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122542115#Comment_122542115

100k km is only 60k miles, that's a very restrictive filter to be putting on a search for a second hand vehicle. The 10k outlanders will have more mileage that that, but remember the mileage is shared across the electric and ice motors.

User1998

Just as a side note the trade in value of that diesel Mazda will be absolutely terrible

the_amazing_raisin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122542725#Comment_122542725

I can say from experience that a Leaf boot will fit a double buggy, but not much else

When you add two travel cots, nappy bag, food bag plus about a billion spare clothes for the little ones it'll be a squeeze

blobert

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122542725#Comment_122542725

Thanks, I don't think any EV likely to be in the 15k price range will be able to do ~ 350km in middle of winter to get to rural Donegal so it's probably a non runner. They are not keen on having to worry about chargers if they have twins in the back and I don't blame them so would have to be able to make the trip in one go.

blobert

double post

blobert

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122542934#Comment_122542934

I have in my head the figure of 100k km as getting into big mileage cars. Maybe this is out of date but the fact the lower mileage cars seem to have a substantial premium means they seem to have increased value.

blobert

The Mazda has a big 500+ litre boot and can be filled to the roof also to get more stuff in. They had it completely jam packed for a recent trip. I came to rescue them in a Tesla Model Y when they had car troubles and could barely get the amount of stuff they had in (and the Tesla has loads of space)

My wife has a leaf and it's way smaller, but the leaf is also not going to cut it in terms of being able to get to Donegal in one go in mid winter.

blobert

Just as a side note the trade in value of that diesel Mazda will be absolutely terrible

I think they will try to sell it privately and I think you're right. It's a 2015 model I think and they paid around 15k for it a year ago. I believe they may have got some sort of loan for it also.

It's also >100,000 miles I think which is part the reason they are looking for somthing lower mileage in the hope of it being more reliable.

I was pushing them towards the Prius + or similar at the time but they didn't listen to me, went for somthing that looked nicer!

tabby aspreme

If the Mazda has the 2.2 litre diesel engine it will be hard to sell as they give a lot of trouble, even at very low mileage, probably one of the worst diesel engines ever made

User1998

I’d imagine they will be loosing about €10,000 in the space of a year. Not ideal.

https://www.donedeal.ie/view/35422946

blobert

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122543803#Comment_122543803

Yikes, I think the bulk of it was paid for with a loan so not good.

As far as I know theirs is the fanciest one like this, but probably still 5k cheaper than when bought:

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2015-mazda-cx-5-auto-2-2-skyactiv-nct-02-26/37734011

Have all diesels tanked in value?

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122543830#Comment_122543830

Diesels have been holding their value quite well. Just normal depreciation, nothing crazy. I think they may have just overpaid slightly for the CX-5, but it is an automatic so will command a slight premium.

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122543557#Comment_122543557

Yes that's probably true, maybe posting this on the EV thread wasn't your best idea in fairness

blobert

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122544056#Comment_122544056

It's the EV and Hybrid Forum?

Though to be fair I think most of the discussion is EV related

pah

Bit left field?

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/nissan-serena-2-0-litre-hybrid/36523963

fits

We have twins. I’d recommend getting something g with sliding doors and a big boot if they can get it. No ev on market currently will suit them for that budget.

Sliding doors not necessary but defo a help.

fits

I love those jap import vans like the Serena. Really practical.

joe1303l

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122546814#Comment_122546814

They don’t look the best for taking a tight bend in a hurry…

accensi0n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122546958#Comment_122546958

Doubt someone with twins in the car is going to be speeding around tight bends..