Small EV, alternatives to Smart ForTwo

[dave-the-diver]

We need to change my daughters Smart Fortwo Diesel due as it is not ULEZ compliant.

She does tiny milage, back and forward to college, approx. 10 miles a day and very rarely goes much further.

A Smart Fortwo electric seems an obvious choice. She not a very confident driver, so I like the idea of keeping the car as small as possible, and also fairly similar to the car she is used to.

However, the very limited range bothers me a little (80 miles ish) though in practice, for her current usage, not really an issue.

I can get an ex-demonstrator for approx. £15k.

Are there any other tiny EV's I should be looking at?

Anyone got real world experience of an electric Fortwo?

Thanks

David

[Tophatron]

There's not much in the supermini category, but I would recommend the Fiat 500e. It's slightly bigger than the fortwo at 3.6m long but still a small car overall and very easy to maneuver about town.

I'd recommend the bigger battery version which should still be in budget (just):

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307280...

I've got one (in La Prima trim) and find it an excellent EV.

The Smart Fortwo EQ is a neat little car but it's pretty compromised overall (range, no rapid charge etc).

[andy43]

I’d just get a compliant petrol, smart or vw up sized. It’ll be thousands cheaper to buy, potentially 10 grand cheaper. Shame about her existing smart though - we’ve had two petrols and they were great little things.
I can’t understand why something so small and economical would incur the wrath of khan but there you go, that’s the green blob for you. On another thread a Londoner has bought a 7 litre classic Chevy Camaro as that’s ULEZ compliant

[Silvanus]

andy43 said:

I’d just get a compliant petrol, smart or vw up sized. It’ll be thousands cheaper to buy, potentially 10 grand cheaper. Shame about her existing smart though - we’ve had two petrols and they were great little things.
I can’t understand why something so small and economical would incur the wrath of khan but there you go, that’s the green blob for you. On another thread a Londoner has bought a 7 litre classic Chevy Camaro as that’s ULEZ compliant

Small ulez compliant petrol city car makes sense, plus some advanced driving lessons with the money saved to cure the nervousness

Edited by Silvanus on Monday 31st July 11:11

[SWoll]

Not quite so tiny but the BMW i3 is a fantastic EV which is incredibly easy to operate, great around town and in 120ah guise will do between 130-180 miles dependent on weather conditions.

Your £15k should get you into a low mileage 2019/20 example, and having run on for 12 monhs and 20k miles previously I can highly recommend. We've had a number of EV's since the i3 and are considering another in future.

[MOBB]

Seat Mii electrics are starting around £10k now for used, which imo is a bargain - I had one on a cheap lease deal for 2 years and it was perfect, decent range, fun to drive etc.

[andy43]

Silvanus said:

andy43 said:

I’d just get a compliant petrol, smart or vw up sized. It’ll be thousands cheaper to buy, potentially 10 grand cheaper. Shame about her existing smart though - we’ve had two petrols and they were great little things.
I can’t understand why something so small and economical would incur the wrath of khan but there you go, that’s the green blob for you. On another thread a Londoner has bought a 7 litre classic Chevy Camaro as that’s ULEZ compliant

Small compliment petrol city car makes sense, plus some advanced driving lessons with the money saved to cure the nervousness

Going back to our Smarts - my wife’s first car was a smart. She changed to a Yaris as we were expecting twins. Drove it home, onto the drive… straight into the bay window on the front of the house.
“Well, it’s bigger isn’t it?”
Stick with a smart car.

[Pica-Pica]

My personal view is stick with (or buy) a small petrol car that is ULEZ compliant. Plenty about, small EVs are just too expensive.

[Fastlane]

VW eUp/ Seat Mii Electric / Skoda Citigo Electric with the 36.8kwh battery will do 100-150 miles. They always seem to get good reviews too.

Prices seem to be £10-£15k for low mileage cars.

[dave-the-diver]

Tophatron said:

There's not much in the supermini category, but I would recommend the Fiat 500e. It's slightly bigger than the fortwo at 3.6m long but still a small car overall and very easy to maneuver about town.

I'd recommend the bigger battery version which should still be in budget (just):

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202307280...

Good shout, I think.

Does that one really have 3 black and one red seat?


Hypothetical questions:
How long will current “compliant” cars stay compliant? Pay per mile seems likely in the future, and will pure EV be exempt / cheaper.

David

[Nomme de Plum]

SWoll said:

Not quite so tiny but the BMW i3 is a fantastic EV which is incredibly easy to operate, great around town and in 120ah guise will do between 130-180 miles dependent on weather conditions.

Your £15k should get you into a low mileage 2019/20 example, and having run on for 12 monhs and 20k miles previously I can highly recommend. We've had a number of EV's since the i3 and are considering another in future.

I concur the i3 would be a great choice and has a reasonably high driving position and much more space than then the Smart.

I owned a Smart years ago and found it not a pleasant drive with an appalling gearbox. Perhaps the newer ICE ones are better. The EV version should have no such gearbox issues.

I suppose if really small was considered a benefit then the Renault Twizzy could be a consideration although personally i would discount its as too small and limited.

[Jazoli]

Renault Zoe's are cheap now, and small.

[andy43]

dave-the-diver said:

Hypothetical questions:
How long will current “compliant” cars stay compliant? Pay per mile seems likely in the future, and will pure EV be exempt / cheaper.
David

They'll be compliant as long as enough money keeps rolling in. £12.50 to kick out whatever crap you fancy for 24 hours colud be considered a bargain compared to 15 grand upfront on an EV.
Once we've got a decent percentage of EVs they'll switch to road charging.
Honestly, for that sort of use save ten grand and buy a petrol supermini.

[Tophatron]

dave-the-diver said:

Good shout, I think.

Does that one really have 3 black and one red seat?


Hypothetical questions:
How long will current “compliant” cars stay compliant? Pay per mile seems likely in the future, and will pure EV be exempt / cheaper.

David

It was an option on the (RED) model, they don't all have it (which is good or bad depending on your taste ).

In general I'd say an EV is a good choice for the use case. Price parity between the 500e/500 petrol and even the Seat Mii is pretty much already here for second hand ones, and general running costs (fuel/servicing) should be cheaper.

On a off topic note, I presume you've had the same username for a while? If so you have a (great) video game named after you https://youtu.be/p85VHMpE0to

[mids]

I've previously owned an i3 and an e-up. I'd opt for the VW every day of the week.

[dave-the-diver]

Thanks to all.

Zoe and Yorkshire VW added to list to investigate further.

David

[Duke Caboom]

mids said:

I've previously owned an i3 and an e-up. I'd opt for the VW every day of the week.

Sorry to hijack but why - I'm leaning the other way but haven't driven either. Much longer commute than the OP's daughter though. (32 miles each way)

[page3]

I had a play with one of these yesterday. It was a hoot, although I suspect the reality of living with its limitations would soon kick in.

[mids]

Duke Caboom said:

mids said:

I've previously owned an i3 and an e-up. I'd opt for the VW every day of the week.

Sorry to hijack but why - I'm leaning the other way but haven't driven either. Much longer commute than the OP's daughter though. (32 miles each way)

Plenty of reasons (bearing in mind that I'm comparing an early MY14 i3 with a MY20 e-up with the 2nd gen battery pack)

• RELIABILITY : e-up was reliable and had zero niggles in 2 years whereas the i3 was the most unreliable car I've ever owned. It was so bad that BMW paid me compensation for how many times it had to be booked in for work. All sorts of issues, charging failures, wonky door hinges, failed motor mounts, LIM replaced twice, etc. I'm sure owners of later i3's will tell you this is better now. I'd happily own an e-up out of warranty (in fact I gave my e-up to my elderly mum and have no concerns about that) whereas there's no way I'd own an i3 out of warranty.
• RANGE : e-up had more than double the range (yes, newer i3's are improved).
• EFFICIENCY : e-up was significantly more efficient therefore cheaper to run (easy to get > 6 m/kWh, see 'The Lowly Mii' thread for other owner's experiences).
• REAR DOORS : e-up has normal doors not those silly ones on the i3 where rear passengers can't get out without assistance from front passengers (and be an utter pain in confined spaces).
• LOOKS : e-up is a more inconspicuous car if you value that.
• DRIVING : e-up is a lot of fun to drive, maybe call this category a draw but it's better than you'd expect and doesn't suffer from the cross wind jitteriness of the i3.
• COST : e-up was £167 a month, the i3 was more than double. Just not worth the difference IMO

The main negative of the e-up is slow DC charging. For the OP this wouldn't be a problem but if you're looking to do a lot of long distance trips I wouldn't be considering an e-up (nor an i3).

[dave-the-diver]

Once again, thanks for all the input.

Did a bit of window shopping yesterday and came away quite impressed with the Zoe.

What should I be looking for on the specs.?

R135 is the more powerful motor?

52kWh is the bigger battery?

Are there options on (fast) chargers.

Is GT line to top spec in terms of toys?

David