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Lots of great info – thanks 🙂
I would need to get a wheelchair in the boot without the rear seats folding, that’s a deal breaker really but the wheelchair does fold and fold again so its possible.
The sliding controls on the screen really put me off and I’ve seen quite a few bad reviews about the software interface being a bit laggy etc but I think I will drop into the FB Group – thanks for that advice.
I wish I could get 15p /kw on electricity – will check out OVO but I was with one of the suppliers that went bust recently and am currently paying on average 50% more and all the deals seemed to have been pulled now, so saving some money on an EV running costs would help.
The Ariya is available in Norway with prices coming in around £40k and increasing (I think).
Its worth keeping an eye on Suzuki now they are in partnership with Toyota – the Suzuki Across basically being a Toyota Rav4 – so the new Suzuki Vitara which is apparently larger and totally redesigned internally and externaly might be worthwhile?
The Nissan e-power train on the Qashqai will soon be available (now thats an interesting concept with the engine powering the electric motor only).
There is also a new Kia Niro coming soon.
The boot on the Honda HR-V is about 320 litres – that’s incredibly small and makes it a total none starter for me – try getting a wheelchair in that. Really don’t understand such a small boot size.
I think I am going to try and sit and wait a little longer and see how things develop. I figure that the reason I am maybe seeing a lot of “negative” reviews on youtube is becuase people with problems tend to “shout the loudest” whereas those that do not have problems tend to just get on and enjoy the car.
I think the ID3 77kwh tourer pro is one of the best offers available on Motability at just under £1500 AP – thats incredible for a 77kwh battery and the spec you get plus you get a free 7kwh home charger fitted and paid for … I am tempted.
I’m glad someone else is going to take some flak for a post! In a previous post I did I mentioned that ethics (and morals, as they are inseperable from ethics) are behind charities – at least when they are first set up. Charities are set up to “help” people. The very word, “charity”, denotes giving to others to help them – morals and ethics underpin charities and give them their focus and drive. Very often, some charities become very big and they can lose touch with their initial ethics and morals that underpin them, they can become very business oriented because of the large sums of money involved and the wage bill becomes astronimical and they start to lose touch with the “grass roots” – and very often you will see other smaller charities grow as people turn to the more localised, personal, smaller charities. It’s difficult when you become a succesful charity and somehow you need to keep in touch with the people that you help and stay humble.
Having said all that, having one large organisation should have more clout, power and persuasion and so I would be concerned with Motability being broken up and of having more smaller “motabilities”. I am more for Motability being more representative. If you have a car on Motability then you are a member and as a member of a charity you should have some voting rights. I do not know the structure of Motability but they should have members participation in decisions and the direction and some form of annual voting for those members on key issues – maybe issues raised by members. So I would look for encouraging more member participation.
As a charity, Motability should always be looking at its spending and of justifying what it spends and why and this is why their should be some member input as its difficult to critique yourself.
Charities are very much about ethics and morals. With regards diesel cars – they are Dinosaurs and I think that many manufacturers will dump these types of engines on Motability and Motability will willingly accept them – which I do not think that they should due to the greater environmental concerns that we are now facing, in fact I would say that Motability should have a policy of scrapping all diesel cars on the scheme within 2 years – probably another unpopular opinion 🙂
@DBtruth – possibly, maybe I am being cynical 🙂 I have benefitted from cars being “dumped” but by this I am referring to cars that had been on motability for some time and a newer model was coming out, hence the AP was drastically reduced to “get rid” of old stock/models.
I remember Mitsubishi doing the same with the Outlander PHEV – but the PHEV was on motability for some time and when Mitsubishi announced their departure from Europe and the UK Markets it was an odds-on bet that the PHEV on motability would be reduced – and it was, and it was a great lease for some on the scheme at a really good low AP.
I am specifically talking about the two models I mentioned which have not been on motability all of this year yet suddenly appear on the scheme. Again, I am not suggesting that the cars are bad, or that diesel is bad, I just think that they are offloading diesels as their prioirty and focus is elsewhere, in which case the AP’s should be considerably lower. Personally, I think it is unethical to do such a thing as motability is a charity and I think a lot of these cars will be stock cars, already produced, and possibly manufactured some time ago and so I would recommend anyone interested in the two models I mention clarify whether they are “stock” cars and find out their manufacture date as this could at least give you some negotiation room on the very high AP.
I do see it as “dumping” cars, (after 5 cars on the motability scheme this is what I see it as) at least some manufacturers have the “honesty” to reduce the AP accordingly and not use covid or “shortages” as an excuse to ask £3k+ AP’s to get rid of diesel engines, probably many of which will be stock cars, sat in a car park somewhere – at least reduce the AP accordingly!
@PraxxtorCruel – I do like the Sportage a lot, probably design wise just a little more than the Tucson. I didn’t know there was a plug-in Sportage (PHEV)? The main issue for me though is AWD and I noticed that the Sportage HEV (non-plug in) only comes with 2 wheel drive.
Interestingly Suzuki and Toyota have teamed up with the strong possibility of some suzuki models being based on the Rav4 – a new redesigned and styled (and larger) suzuki vitara is due by the end of October 2021 so it will be interesting to see what this looks like.
@Plato, it’s possibly not a “new” car, ie. made to order at the factory but instead could be a stock car. You should have had an order number or tracking number. There is not necessarily anything wrong with a “stock car” but it can be a disappointment if you where expecting one “made to order” so to speak. I would make sure you check the mileage before giving your PIN and give the car a really good looking over, take your time and dont be rushed. If you’re not happy don’t be afraid to tell the dealer why and if they can’t resolve it then just leave.
How many miles a new car should have is debatable, personally, for me, it should be less than 5 miles, certainly less than 10 miles. All the new cars we have had on motability have had a mileage less than 10 and I think most have had less than 5 miles. The “stock car” that we where misled with had a mileage of 55 miles and it just did not feel or smell like a new car.
Thanks for your views and thoughts, guess it’s gonna have to be a “wait and see”, I’m just pleased that they have actually put it on motability … for now!
Nissan Qashqai.
I would hazzard a quess (from my experience of several cars) that a boot of at least 400L would be needed depending on the shape of the boot and the type of wheelchair.
@AndyDStone – I bow to your far superior fantastic knowledge oh great one, clearly I am not worthy oh masterful all-seeing one of the car world, please forgive me and accept my humble grovelling apologies for my truly pathetic contribution to this topic. I stand in awe and wonder of you and your expertise on this subject (and no doubt all other car related subjects).
Having researched them both (although only ever been a passenegr in the Volvo) I would go for the Peugeot 3008 all the time, for me it “beats” the Volvo in nearly every way – and you have 4 wheel drive which is a greatly undervalued safety feature in cars (I am sure 4 wheel drive has saved me a few times).
One other factor to consider might be the proximity of the dealership, you can’t beat having a dealer nearby when it comes to servicing and any other issues that might arise.
One minor thing to keep in mind is that by extending an extra year or two might affect the good condition “bonus” you get back by about £100 or so.
I am in the same situation and have called motability about this and they have confirmed on two occasions that you can get another car anytime during the extended lease.
@Oscarmax – the hyundai Ioniq 5 can tow 1600kg, of course it is not available on the scheme right now (in fact a private buyer will be lucky to get hold of a model when it does become available in the UK) – so there is some hope 🙂
A different option … extend your lease another year (if you can), there will be a lot more options at the end of this year, for the sake of waiting an extra few months.
@Richard – please keep us informed. I have plenty of time before choosing, just going through all the options and this one has caught my eye, looks fantastic.
From past experience I would be concerned, if they had an order number then why not just give you it or leave it at reception? Be careful they do not try and fob you off with an “in-stock” car (nothing wrong with those unless you are expecting a brand new factory made car to order 🙂 )
I was told by someone at Motability about 3 months ago that I could buy the car at the end of the lease and that this would be VAT free. I would be given a quote by the relevant team.
I think there is an opposite side to this, that EV’s can make you less efficient in your driving – for some at least. Firstly, you are paying less to charge your car than fill it with petrol (unless you get stuck on certain motorway service stations and then you may pay just as much as petrol – as per a few YouTube reviews on certain networks). Due to this feeling that you are “saving” money and the quick response from many EV’s I expect that for many the “fun” factor will be too much to ignore; pulling away quickly at lights and roundabouts and accelerating quickly and driving fast because when you get home you can just recharge – if you have a home charger. So many EV’s may not be driven as economically as they can be.
I am more interested in the “MPG” of EV’s on a motorway, actually driving at 70mph and how that affects the range, again I have seen a few reviews on Youtube (by respected reviewers who are actually using the EV in the real world) that have found if they started with a 200 mile range and travelled on a motorway at a regular 70mph (which I admit is hard these days!) then there range would fall twice as quick, ie, for every 5 miles they did they would lose 10 miles of range; or the “better” EV’s might lose 7 miles for every 5 miles travelled. So you can start out with a 250 mile range, and travel at 70mph on a motorway to find that after 100 miles you only have 50-70 miles left and then need to think about recharging and where you are going to charge. This is a problem given the unstructured nature of the Recharging system – which should be nationally planned to encourage drivers to take up EV’s and not left to the haphazzard “free” market that typically confuses so that it can “overcharge”.
This reminds me of the “warranty” scam – that your “rights” are covered only under the “car warranty” / agreement, which is incorrect as it ignores Consumer Law which has precedence.
There is the Equality Act of 2010 which protects disabled people against discrimination, one form of discrimination is in the area of “services” ie car dealerships. You are discriminated against in services if you are treated less favourably than others. It is worth looking into this act and worth mentioning it to Dealerships in a polite way, for example, “are you aware of the 2010 Equality Act which aims to prevent discrimination against disabled people?” – if you believe you are being treated unfairly and discriminated against then mention this act and state that you will report them. It’s a bit like being fobbed off about a broken electrical item that you buy and then you mention the Consumer Rights Act and all of a sudden get a refund or a replacement. Don’t be fobbed-off and don’t accept it, but be polite in the way you go about it, see it as educating cars dealerships and letting them know that there is legislation in place that they have to be aware of and follow.
Well over 100,000 people have lost their motability car under the new PIP rules, this high figure alone should have been enough for changes to be made to PIP as this would have meant that the predecessors to PIP (DVLA) was one of the most incompetent bodies ever in this country – or could it be that PIP has just got its “rules” wrong and that the people that support it just don’t care as they are so heartless and uncaring about the thousands of lives that they have ruined (and the countless deaths that their policies have caused).
It is no wonder that Motability want to increase their numbers again as I would assume that more members means more power to Motability? I just had a quick look at the advert and it is in conjuntion with Vauxhall – a “British” car manufacturer (a car company that at least still makes cars in this country) and so I guess it benefits the UK as a whole. Maybe their could be some extra discounted scheme purely for cars manufactured in this country – although that would really limit the choices perhaps!
The advert will of course give angst to those ignorant people who still seem to think that a motability car is free. I remember taking the tough decision to get rid of my car before we went onto the scheme, knowing that we would be spending thousands each year with nothing to show for it and once you are on the scheme it is difficult to get off it as you no longer have a car to trade or sell.
Countless times I have done the sums to look at coming off the scheme but the initial cost of having to buy a reliable car (and pay for that somehow) makes it practically impossible to come off the scheme, so I can understand why people might be reluctant to join.
Maybe there should actually be more help for those that want to get off the scheme? I know that you can purchase your car after your 3 year lease (apparently VAT free according to my previous calls to Motability), however, I guess this might lead to even lower numbers on Motability?
I just hope that they are monitoring the response to the advert but I think it could maybe show how out of touch Motability is with the real financial difficulties that many disabled people are having and that given the chance maybe more would like the help to purchase a car and get off the scheme?
