[DumfriesDik]

I have had the VW ID3 for six months now and here are my thoughts, with some numbers thrown in at the end.

It is the quickest car I have ever had on the scheme and the best for driving, it has a magic carpet feel about it, a real joy to drive. Pre-conditioning works really well. We drive normally, have the air con at 22c and use the heated seats. Most of our journeys are typically less than 5 miles a day. We don’t do hypermiling. We don’t have range anxiety or charger anxiety as for us, public charging has been simple and convenient.

I don’t like the software, it’s far too complicated and too many bugs. Despite being a very comfortable car once in, the (dis)embarkation is not easy for me due to sports like bolsters on the seats.

I like some of the stuff journalists don’t. For example, I like the haptic buttons and having only two electric window buttons. I completely agree that VW dropped a ball when deciding not to illuminate the heater controls and the voice control isn’t worth having.

Finally, and nothing to do with the car, I can never remember if it is kW or kWh so I have agreed with my wife that we can use the two interchangeably and know what we mean. I can Google it, I just can not remember it, c’est la vie.

Charging up at home is brilliant and not to be underestimated, however,  I am not on a smart tariff but the Octopus Tracker tariff which makes the cost of charging difficult to work out, however, I will return to this later. Public charging has not always been straight forwards but we have always managed a charge. We did a rapid charge on a visit to the rugby in Edinburgh and a fast charge on another visit to the central belt whilst we had lunch. They were both simple, available and reliable, despite us being inexperienced.

All in all, I would suggest that if you are considering an EV take one for a test drive. I know they are not for everyone (just yet) but if you can change your mindset, and your electric tariff(!), they may well be a good solution.

The Numbers.

I have done about 6000 miles in the six months, and we have to make some assumptions as you would with any car. Assumption 1: average consumption is 3.7m/kWh. Assumption 2: A full tank is 58kWh.

Here are the approximate costs for those 6000 miles at different rates:

Public charging @ 80p.kW = £1300
@ 20p/kW = £325
@ 17.5p/kW = £284
@ 15p/kW = £215
Intelligent Octopus @ 7.5p/kW = £162

I suspect my average rate is 17.5p so fuel has cost me less than £300. Public charging has been negligible.

A full tank will take you 215 miles and a full charge at home will cost:

@20p = £12
@17.5p £10
@15p = £9
@Todays Tracker rate of 8.1p = £5
@Octiopus IO 7.5p = £4

My previous car was a petrol Mazda CX5 auto and 6000 miles @33mpg (£1.50p/ltr) would have cost £1241 or nearly £1000 more. Yikes, even when you put lipstick on a pig, it’s still a pig.

Finally, can I head off any ICE breakers. Most EV drivers have had ICE cars so we know what they are like. Thank you.

Seasons greetings to you all.

Skoda Enyaq Race Blue

Topic

[kezo]

Personlly I’m not a fan of haptic buttons, especially when using them whils’t driving. The window switches I guess you get use to them fairly quickly and become second nature after a day or two, as you would in the likes of the ioniq 6.

3.7 miles per kWh is good however, the range wouldn;t be enough for me, given the lack of decent chargers on the routes I take. It works for you, which is the main thing.

Nice write up though 🙂

Merry Christmas.

[DumfriesDik]

kezo wrote:

3.7 miles per kWh is good

It’s what I am seeing on a 40 mile trip just now and it goes up to over 4 miles in summer which again effects the range and cost dramatically.

Plenty of nice non-BEV cars out there to choose from @kezo, what matters is you find a car that works for you.

I hope you survived yesterday okay!

Skoda Enyaq Race Blue

[kezo]

Yeh had good day yesterday, a bit OTT at times and the sprouts are starting to work ? I hope your day went well 🙂

I have an open mind at the moment mate and will see what Q1 brings. You should be pleased with 4 miles kWh in summer.

[DumfriesDik]

I’m currently waiting to visit a friend in Wales, 250 miles down the road in the new year. I do have a diesel option, but we shall be going in the BEV. I don’t have any range or charger anxiety about doing this trip, but time will tell if I am either the master or the fool! Just waiting for the friends to move in now!

What would be your ideal car in Q1. Aside from dirt cheap of course! I wish the ID3 was a touch larger and I still have 2.5 years left on the lease yet I’m looking already!!

Skoda Enyaq Race Blue

[kezo]

I’ll be interested to see how your trip to Wales goes, as range especially in winter is my biggest barrier with frequent longer journeys. Do remember in many areas its now 20mph and maybe quicker to park your car at the border and wal . I know this because I bloody live their however its not yet being enforced by go safe money making vans!

If the BYD Seal were to join, preferably in awd guise or the EV6 is at a realistic AP, I may take the plunge, like yo I have use of another car. TBHI nearly went for the Ioniq 6 but finding parking spaces in our small town 5m in length can be difficult, plus we take the daughter Blackpool every year etc. Failing that PHEV or Hybrid.

Its a shame mate that your brilliantly written thread has been ignored by EV enthusiasts or anyone looking for an ID in particular.

[Phaedra]

I found it very informative, so a big thanks to DumfriesDik 🙂

For myself I’m not worried about range, well over 90% of my round trips will be local and under 20 miles with a once a month trip of 55 miles.  I’ll also do 6 to 8 “long” round trips of 125 miles throughout the year.  I think my longest possible trip would be Manchester Airport which is about 150 miles each way so a charge coming home may be needed.

So almost 100% of my charging will be at home with Octopus, a saving of about £2500 over the 3 years compared to my current petrol usage.

Please excuse spelling/typos. Apart from being a clot it turns out I had one on my cerebellum that's now causing various problems!

[Author]

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