Why? The average journey length in the UK easily fits within the range of any electric vehicle on the road at this moment in time. Heck most based on that average of 8ish miles per day won’t need to charge for several weeks. https://www.nimblefins.co.uk/largest-car-insurance-companies/average-car-journey-uk
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Who has or is planning to get an electric car / EV Talk
- Thread starter PracticalMac
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Tesla’s are also horrendously expensive and unless you spend upwards of £100k, you’re only going to get a model S or a model 3 with tiny boots. When I change my car my top budget is about £25k which gives you very little choice of EV’s.
I think those that switch back to ICE are the exception not the norm.
Yes the first gen cars are not as good as those coming out, but I don’t miss petrol at all.
The boots aren’t tiny. Remember there is one each end! 😜
The boots aren’t tiny. Remember there is one each end!
My cousin has a Model S and he can’t use it with 2 kids for weekends away. The box in the front is about big enough for 2 shopping bags and the rear is shallow. I need more space than that for my uses.
Each to there own. Not a Tesla fan either but the boots look pretty big to me. But then I’m not hauling kids on weekends away.
Really? We’ve just been on a three week holiday and could easily fit all our gear in. And a Polestar is way smaller than a model S. But there is so much choice available of electric cars there really is something for everyone. The Skoda is nice and practical as well for a young family or a Kia EV5 etc.
In the US, the equivalent of £25k would not get you a bigger (new) car than a Tesla.
But you're right, they're not the cheapest cars available. But in the US, the average new car price is $48K, and a Model 3 is $49K.
Also, I've taken my family of 4 on multi-day road trips across the US, and the Model 3 had plenty of room for our luggage, etc. The front trunk/boot is actually one of my favorite features. Works especially well when you need to get drive-through or take-out of smelly food
I must disgree with you on those points. The ICEV efficiency is barely impacted by the relatively small battery and is much better than regular ICEVs. Similarly, the EV efficiency is minimally impacted as the gas engines in hybrids are usually smaller and lighter. In either case the efficiency tradeoff is for greater flexibility when power sources are uncertain. Hybrids, in spite of the ’extra’ components, are usually more reliant than regular ICEVs. The gas engine is used much less often and within a less stressful rpm range. The failure points for Hybrids are similar to EVs, electronics, HVAC & suspension.
In the US, the equivalent of £25k would not get you a bigger (new) car than a Tesla.
But you're right, they're not the cheapest cars available. But in the US, the average new car price is $48K, and a Model 3 is $49K.
Also, I've taken my family of 4 on multi-day road trips across the US, and the Model 3 had plenty of room for our luggage, etc. The front trunk/boot is actually one of my favorite features. Works especially well when you need to get drive-through or take-out of smelly food
It’s considerably lower in the UK. Latest figures suggest the average car price here in £12k-£28k ($14k-$32k). You do see a lot of high end cars on our roads but a high percentage of these are leased.
I couldn’t get by with a Model 3 in all honesty. We often have breaks away with 3 cases, food, bedding and scooters for the kids. There’s no way I’d get that in a hatchback. Car companies need to start releasing large SUV’s around the £30k-£40k range in order for depreciation and affordability for average people. It’s not realistic the way it is sadly yet we’ve got a deadline hanging over us where by 2030 no fuel powered cars will be made or sold new. We need options and fast. A 2014 Tesla with 120k miles goes for between £20k and £25k here. It just doesn’t seem realistic yet.
For anyone living in a single-family house (i.e. you have access to charging) and if your travel patterns just take you to standard populated areas (i.e. you're not spending a month exploring Wyoming), you're getting zero benefit from the ICE engine. You're paying more in fueling costs, and you still have all the maintenance associated with ICE.
In the 2.5 years I've owned my Tesla, my maintenance costs have been $35. That was to replace my cabin air filters.
I'm surprised to read that new car prices are that cheap in the UK. You can't really buy a new car for <$20K USD, and something that is $30K is in very high demand so choices are limited.
We have plenty of large SUVs where I live in Texas. But if your budget is £30K-£40K equivalent, you'll be buying used.
The Model 3 has an additional trunk under the rear trunk.
Those two... plus the front trunk... gives the Model 3 quite a lot of cargo area. I was surprised when I saw one in person!
Those two... plus the front trunk... gives the Model 3 quite a lot of cargo area. I was surprised when I saw one in person!
Last edited:
New cars aren’t that cheap unless you buy a Dacia or something like that. I think he is talking about second hand cars. And even then that doesn’t really get the size he is suggesting unless you talk about some seriously old or undesirable cars. It’s like comparing apples and oranges. A mid sized ICE or hybrid SUV is also north of £40K for an entry level spec.
That looks like a Model Y?The Model 3 has an additional trunk under the rear trunk.
Those two... plus the front trunk... gives the Model 3 quite a lot of cargo area. I was surprised when I saw one in person!
View attachment 2045976
But you're right, the Model 3 has a sub-rear area, too.
I figured as much. $35K USD is basically the starting point for something "not terrible", and will go up significantly more if you need something with more interior space than a Tesla Model 3/Y.
Not trying to say that a Model 3/Y is cheap. Rather, if you're used to shopping a mid-range BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Acura, Lexus, then the prices are equivalent. If you're shopping a lower-end Honda, Nissan or Dodge, then sure Tesla will seem pricey.
Exactly a Nissan Xtrail also breaks £40K in a hybrid form and you have a tiny little under powered drive train for that. I find that whilst not cheap most EVs are actually good value for money compared to comparable models.
Also the 2030 UK deadline is only for new cars. Existing ICE cars can still be bought and sold if someone prefers an older £12K car. But by then there is nearly 20 years of Tesla, 15 years of Jaguar and at least 12 years of everything else on the secondhand market in case someone is after a cheap used vehicle.
New cars aren’t necessarily in that price bracket, that’s the average cost for bought cars. Most of the new cars here are put though leases, company car schemes and rental companies before coming to the used car market. My Peugeot 3008 was £38k new, but I paid £25k for it when it was 3 years old, I’d never buy new. There is plenty of choice in the £20k to £40k budgets, not hybrid or EV’s though yet. The most common cars on British roads are BMW’s, Vauxhalls, and Fords and all of these make cars sub £40k. Ford, Vauxhall, Citroen, Peugeot tend to make new cars in the sub £30k categories too.
I really would like a Tesla but the problem is they're a bit out of my price range. They might start at around $40k but when you throw in a few options it easily pushes them over $60k. I could get a fairly nice but not luxury car for 40k with plenty of options. I'm not knocking Tesla because it's what they cost due to the tech.
I keep looking online for electric vehicles under $40k the only thing with any kind of range I could find is the Nissan Leaf or Chevy Bolt. Both seem to be going for about $37k. It's probably way over MSRP but it's the market
It seems electric vehicles are in what I would call the early adopter stage. I'm waiting for them to get more mainstream where most car companies have a model for under 40k with a 200+ mile range. Maybe by then the price will go down closer to what a hybrid costs. I would love to see a Prius or Corolla EV.
I keep looking online for electric vehicles under $40k the only thing with any kind of range I could find is the Nissan Leaf or Chevy Bolt. Both seem to be going for about $37k. It's probably way over MSRP but it's the market
It seems electric vehicles are in what I would call the early adopter stage. I'm waiting for them to get more mainstream where most car companies have a model for under 40k with a 200+ mile range. Maybe by then the price will go down closer to what a hybrid costs. I would love to see a Prius or Corolla EV.
As long as EV demand remains high (and I expect that to continue, especially with the new credits starting in Jan 2023), then I don't expect prices to drop to <$40K. The manufacturers get much more margin by building out the higher-spec, higher trim models. Since they're still capacity strained on the volume/units they can produce, they need to make the average selling price as high as possible in order to maximize profits.
Indeed. And Ofcourse with recent legislation in the US it’s removed a big 7.5K incentive for many vehicles. So cost even more. But those in the market will still buy anyway. They can’t make enough compared to the demand.
Wait what? You drive a tiny Peugeot 3008 and find a Tesla model S too small? That doesn’t make any sense.
I can’t see everybody’s posts but the advice you were given then about ‘seriously old and undesirable cars’ in the lower budgets is false and misleading. There are plenty of 3 and 4 year old large SUV’s in the sub £30k budgets. My last 2 cars have been Honda CR-V’s (2015 and 2018 models) and both were under £25k. I’ve owned a 2012 BMW 520D which was 2 years old and cost £23k and I had a 2016 Mercedes C-Class prior to lockdown which was £24k. Plenty of choice in the average budget and the price range that covers the biggest of the secondhand markets.
By 2030 hopefully we’ll see Tesla’s and others come down in price and the older models will be competitive in the market. You need a serious car loan at the moment and debt like that is the last thing people need to be getting into further.
Not until the 'fill up time' is addressed.
How does one address this?
Imagine that the new Ford F150 Lightning had a 20kw generator in the hood (instead of having a frunk). That's about 26hp and good for 100A of charging at 240V.
Imagine now that the little engine was multi-fuel and could run on propane or gasoline.
When does the ICE run? It can run on long trips, sporadically even. Leave the house at 100% charge, make your 600 mile trip with out ever stopping for a million hours to recharge, just charge on the go. Then charge overnight at your destination.
It should also solve the towing issue, which immediately kills EV range.
The RAV4 Prime is what I call the first generation of the above format.
How does one address this?
Imagine that the new Ford F150 Lightning had a 20kw generator in the hood (instead of having a frunk). That's about 26hp and good for 100A of charging at 240V.
Imagine now that the little engine was multi-fuel and could run on propane or gasoline.
When does the ICE run? It can run on long trips, sporadically even. Leave the house at 100% charge, make your 600 mile trip with out ever stopping for a million hours to recharge, just charge on the go. Then charge overnight at your destination.
It should also solve the towing issue, which immediately kills EV range.
The RAV4 Prime is what I call the first generation of the above format.