EV vs Hybrid vs Petrol up to £13k

[Misanthroper]

I’m wondering which way to go, I have up to £13k to spend on a car once my current leased car goes back in May, and I’m thinking EV, but at this price range the battery warranty is near its end and I’m worried value will drop off a cliff once it passes that.

My journeys are short in general, maybe 15 to 20 miles, total of maybe 3000 miles a year max, and there are some nice petrol 1 series beemers at this price, but then my concern is the market shifting away from petrol as 2030 approaches (I want to keep the car 4 years ideally) and the market just drops out.

Hybrid wise there’s the Golf GTE hybrid which looks good, and various Hyundais and Kia’s, EV wise ID3, Cupra Borns, and even older polestar 2’s are in budget, but again all approaching battery warranty end mileage or age.

I know this isn’t an investment, but equally don’t want to be left with something worth nothing after 4 years, any advice?

Just to add, a £5k banger is also an option given the low mileage, but repair bills put me off.

[bennno]

Given your usage profile a 2 year old Aygo X perhaps?

It’d still have 8 years of Toyota warranty remaining, they hold their value well, they do daft mpg.

[Sir Bagalot]

£13K?

Check out how much 3 year old VW ID3's are selling for

[keo]

My Mrs has a 1.5 hybrid Yaris we paid slightly more than £13k for it but it is a launch edition. You should get a good one for your budget and they are great little cars.

[stevemcs]

If you want hybrid and reliable don’t waste money on a golf, buy a Corolla. If you can charge from home then buy a cheap ev

[Jamescrs]

Probably a hybrid Toyota of some description is a good idea, not the most exciting thing but there will always be a demand for them, for the next 10 years at least I would guess and Toyota extend the warranty every year if you service at a main dealer

[Condi]

If you can charge at home the running costs of an EV will be better than even a very high mpg city car. If you cant change at home then get a petrol/hybrid.

[Evanivitch]

Any desire for something fun to drive or is this purely a financial decision?

Kia Soul, warranty til 2029 and plenty of miles for your use. Excessively large battery for your needs. Decent equipment.

Or various Niros.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512128...

[Misanthroper]

Thanks for the thoughts so far, I wouldn’t mind something fun and even looked at a Kia Stinger, the 2.0 turbo which is coming in around the right price, but then the thought of paying more insurance etc when I use it so rarely is hard to justify, but then again as I use it so rarely maybe it makes sense to have something a bit fun.

I’ll probably go ID3, Born, or Ioniq 5 which just fall into budget, but very undecided, there’s far too much choice these days!!

[p4cks]

I had a Golf GTE, Corolla Hybrid and now got a Long Range Tesla Model 3. If you can charge from home then the savings are phenominal - I do approximately 30K a year and the 'fuel' spend is a third of what it was at the petrol station.

[RizzoTheRat]

stevemcs said:

If you want hybrid and reliable don't waste money on a golf, buy a Corolla. If you can charge from home then buy a cheap ev

The OP's budget would get a <5 year old Corolla, potentially with several years Toyota warranty on it (not sure when they started doing the 10 year warranty if main dealer serviced deal they do now).

If you don't need that big a car, the Yaris will easily do 60+ MPG.

However if you can charge at home, electric make loads of sense for the mileages you quote. You'd get a decent Kona or Nero for that budget, I think it's a 5 year warranty on the Hyundai and 7 on the Kia so potential to get one with a couple of years left.

If you're concerned about doing occasional longer journeys, and can stomach the image, there's a few plug in Prius in your price range too, with I think around 25 miles electric range.

None are the most exciting cars but they're unlikely to let you down.

[ZX10R NIN]

Misanthroper said:

I m wondering which way to go, I have up to £13k to spend on a car once my current leased car goes back in May, and I m thinking EV, but at this price range the battery warranty is near its end and I m worried value will drop off a cliff once it passes that.

My journeys are short in general, maybe 15 to 20 miles, total of maybe 3000 miles a year max, and there are some nice petrol 1 series beemers at this price, but then my concern is the market shifting away from petrol as 2030 approaches (I want to keep the car 4 years ideally) and the market just drops out.

Hybrid wise there s the Golf GTE hybrid which looks good, and various Hyundais and Kia s, EV wise ID3, Cupra Borns, and even older polestar 2 s are in budget, but again all approaching battery warranty end mileage or age.

I know this isn t an investment, but equally don t want to be left with something worth nothing after 4 years, any advice?

Just to add, a £5k banger is also an option given the low mileage, but repair bills put me off.

The matket won't be shifting from petrols anytime soon so go & get yourself a nice 135i:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202601169...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202601089...

You won't lose a lot depreciation wise as these will still be sought after & your's will be a very low mileage example.

M235i:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202507264...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202601209...