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Here’s the starting point for me deciding what my next car will be. I’ve some set criteria:
Electric – if you don’t like them, good for you but this will be my 4th, I’m not going back now.
Comfortable seats – Both myself and my wife have spinal issues, sitting on the wrong chairs can be incredibly painful and rather quickly too. I’d hate to have a car that I can only drive locally because after half an hour I can’t actually get out of the damn thing. Heating and Cooling seats would be good, heated is essential though, it’s amazing how that can help the back.
Electric tailgate – again with the back issues, stretching up to pull a boot door down, especially if the gas struts put up some resistance, is a problem.
HUD – I’ve gotten used to it now, I can’t remember the last time I looked at the dash to see how fast I’m going.
Wireless Apple Carplay – Pretty much all I listen to is on the phone, it’s either music or audio books but I rarely listen to the radio as it’s usually crap down here.
As you can imagine the current selection is rather lengthy. I’ve barely began whittling them down so here we go, in no particular order:
Ioniq 5
Enyaq
Elroq
Capri (I know but it’s not a bad car)
Grandland
Scenic
Mach E
Ariya
Budget depends on just how much I can save, which means it won’t be excessive, so that will drop a lot off the list. Currently to replace what I have, thanks to the model changes, would cost something around £6.5k, which isn’t happening. If I could save that in 3 years, I’d be much richer than I am in reality.
Front runners based on budget and equipment are either of the Skodas and the Scenic at the moment. I don’t care about the Elroq dropping off the scheme next quarter, it’ll be back before it matters to me. I’m still hoping the EV3 comes onto scheme and sticks around, that’d be a nice option, although I expect KIA pricing will put it higher than the Fords.
I’ve learnt some lessons from my last search, so the infamous spreadsheet is being updated each quarter, with a new tab holding the new quarter’s pricing and leaving previous quarters for reference. I’m hoping this may provide some interesting insights once the car is chosen, looking at where prices and models have come/gone.
I’ll update as I start to whittle out some options and as new quarters add a new perspective on the search. If there’s anything anyone wishes to add, I’m always open to opinions.
I'm Autistic, if I say something you find offensive, please let me know, I can guarantee it was unintentional.
I'll try to give my honest opinion but am always open to learning.Mark
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Much prefer German car manufacturers / Tesla build & interiors.
Tesla build quality is often critised and its interiors pair well with the Nothing phone.
Yes, I also read early Tesla build quality has been criticised when I was looking into a new car. I had watched reviews like lots of people by my 2024 car that was built at Giga Berlin is great build quality. Standard of interior is good, fit and finish is on par with BMW, Audi I have previously owned. And the layout of the interior when you actually live with it is great. I didn’t think I was going to be a fan but absolutely love the screen and just how everything works. Far superior to the wife’s Ioniq 5 that is overwhelming with the amount of buttons.
Much prefer German car manufacturers / Tesla build & interiors.
Tesla build quality is often critised and its interiors pair well with the Nothing phone.
Yes, I also read early Tesla build quality has been criticised when I was looking into a new car. I had watched reviews like lots of people by my 2024 car that was built at Giga Berlin is great build quality. Standard of interior is good, fit and finish is on par with BMW, Audi I have previously owned. And the layout of the interior when you actually live with it is great. I didn’t think I was going to be a fan but absolutely love the screen and just how everything works. Far superior to the wife’s Ioniq 5 that is overwhelming with the amount of buttons.
Tesla build quality has definitely come on since first launched where the fit an finish was often quite poor. In fact I remember a member of an EV forum taking a video as he went around the Model S he’d just bought and you could fit a finger in between some panels and barely a nail on the other side. He literally wobbled the dash by hand it was so flimsy and all this in a car that, with the right battery and motor options went up to £100k at the time. They’ve definitely improved from that.
However, the Teslas are not and never will be on scheme without a complete rethink of their dealer network.
The Enyaq is confusing me greatly. The SEL with the Plus Pack is £1,999 and the almost identical Edition which has very little more and even most of that isn’t of any use (different 19″ wheels, trim colours and a memory function for window trims, whatever that means) at £4,499 or more. That’s an extra £2,500 for nothing really.
I'm Autistic, if I say something you find offensive, please let me know, I can guarantee it was unintentional.
I'll try to give my honest opinion but am always open to learning.Mark
Tesla build quality has definitely come on since first launched where the fit an finish was often quite poor. In fact I remember a member of an EV forum taking a video as he went around the Model S he’d just bought and you could fit a finger in between some panels and barely a nail on the other side. He literally wobbled the dash by hand it was so flimsy and all this in a car that, with the right battery and motor options went up to £100k at the time. They’ve definitely improved from that.
I believe Tesla brought back the indicator stalk if that counts😂 Though I’m not a fan of 99% screen based functions and too mimilistic for me, which I think has been my problem with alot of EV’s.
I popped into JLR couple of days ago to look at the RR Velar, which I like as much as the X3 however, they are also a BYD dealer so popped over to have a look, given I have always like the Seal. Theres a slight refreshed one out now but they had some 2025 ex demo’s and managers var up for sale. What really peaked my interest was the AWD Excellence 3.8s with 4k miles on clock for £33,995 and room for negotiation, how much depended on whether I traded my 220d or not. Other than its still on my my enough said:-)
Do you need to have a sit down, mate? You’re talking about EV ownership again.
It’s strange that some BYD dealerships are tied to more premium brands, our local one is on the same site as the Mercedes dealership. I do like the Seal but I’d have problems on a bad day getting in/out. I like the Sealion 7 too which would jump on my list if it came on to the scheme at a reasonable price.
I'm Autistic, if I say something you find offensive, please let me know, I can guarantee it was unintentional.
I'll try to give my honest opinion but am always open to learning.Mark
Due to power issues for my wife’s work I had to drop her off to work not too far from the local Jaecoo/Omoda dealership. I seized the opportunity to have a look around both the electric versions they offer.
I can’t believe they designed a car this way. The Jaecoo E5 looks quite substantial from the outside and the boot isn’t small but for some reason they’ve built a centre console that’s just huge. In order to fit this monstrosity in, the seats are significantly thinner than the seats in the I5 and they feel squeezed in. Having got in the car I was convinced shutting the door may have damaged a rib or two. So extracted myself. For those of significantly lower BMIs it’s not a bad car. I also looked in the 7, which was simply much bigger. It’s got a few quirks, including a gear stick that looks like a mini transformer mid change, but I’ve definitely seen worse on offer.
Just another couple of cars removed from the maybe list, no longer needing them to get serious with the EV pricing.
I'm Autistic, if I say something you find offensive, please let me know, I can guarantee it was unintentional.
I'll try to give my honest opinion but am always open to learning.Mark
@kezo, I could have sworn I replied.
Anyhoo.
The Omoda 9 was there but they had appointments all day and were busy preparing for them. I had a look around it and the seats were a different league from the others they had around. The boot looked capable but, for some stupid reason they put a pet cage complete with a stuffed cat and cat carrier inside which completely ruined gauging capacity.
The sales guy who spared me the seconds required to unlock the Jaecoo E5 said the 9 was too powerful for the scheme but 460bhp didn’t seem higher than a few EVs on the scheme already.
Does Motability now have a power limit to reduce insurance costs? That’ll rule the IMs out of contention though.
I'm Autistic, if I say something you find offensive, please let me know, I can guarantee it was unintentional.
I'll try to give my honest opinion but am always open to learning.Mark
There were dealers who started to show an AP for the Omoda 9 (which can be seen on threads on here), so I doubt that came from nowhere. That said, having a dealer that can barely be bothered, whils’t also being condescending doesn’t tell you much either!
In reality, the 9 is really no quicker than the i5 AWD we had on the scheme, so for what reason, I dunner know mate.
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