What electric car for 140 mile daily commute?

[goldar]

It's currently costing me £100 for a full tank, which gets less than 300 miles. This lasts a couple of days. A V8 just isn't the right engine for the stop-start nature of the m25.

My employer is paying me £0.35 per mile to use my personal vehicle. 140 miles a day works out to £980 per month (assuming I travel 5 days a week).
I'm thinking I could make this work to my advantage if I bought an electric car... Sell it on in 6 months to a year with minimal loss.

Now then, how much (or how little) do I need to spend on an electric car to perform this daily commute of 140 miles? I don't want a tiny crapbox that leaves me aching after every trip. And I like heated seats, active cruise, rain sensitive wipers etc. But equally, I don't want to finance £60k.

Answers on a postcard.

[Brett748]

Kia or Skoda EV?

[randlemarcus]

Does the employer still pay petrol rates for an EV?

[loofer]

Other critical questions are, do you have easy access to charger at work and could you also install one at home?

What’s likely requirement of car being used once you return home each day?

[goldar]

Yes, they are paying a standard rate of £0.35 regardless of engine.

I don't have a charger at work (yet), but I know there's a charging point nearby. I will be planning on having one installed at home. I do go out occasionally after I arrive home, but not usually. There is another car I could use as a runaround if mine was charging.

[loofer]

goldar said:

Yes, they are paying a standard rate of £0.35 regardless of engine.

I don't have a charger at work (yet), but I know there's a charging point nearby. I will be planning on having one installed at home. I do go out occasionally after I arrive home, but not usually. There is another car I could use as a runaround if mine was charging.

Ok so not so much as a reccomendation of car make model but you want to be looking at one that can easily do 180 miles on motorway and in winter. So at least 50kwh battery I should think.

At home that would take almost 9 hours to charge from empty.

[georgeyboy12345]

I know you said no crapboxes, but have a go of a Corsa - they are surprisingly refined and feel very nippy, at least at lower speeds.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208239...


MG 5
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209069...


Nissan Leaf
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208158...


Hyundai Kona
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208108...


Or what about this old Tesla Model S 85 with free Supercharging?
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208229...

[goldar]

Very interesting. The Tesla appeals to me the most, I had no idea they had come down to that price point now.

Let's say I set my budget to £20k. There's minimal in the way of mile munching electric cars at that price point. I imagine i'd have to go for a hybrid of some sort. Where would your money be?

[georgeyboy12345]

Those Teslas could be had for around £25k pre pandemic in 2019/2020!

Perhaps a diesel would be better for the mileages you are doing?

Here are some hybrids

Infiniti Q70 3.5h V6
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208178...


Lexus GS450h
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110088...


Or stay with a V8 and go hybrid too with this super wafty & luxurious LS600h - fuel economy might not be much better than your current car though!
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208168...

[GreatGranny]

With £20k and a required range of approx. 180 miles you're pretty much limited to this for an EV.

Zoe 80kwh

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208118...

Or plug in hybrid

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208218...

[Bendo]

goldar said:

Very interesting. The Tesla appeals to me the most, I had no idea they had come down to that price point now.

Come down? They have gone up a lot, pre pandemic they were about 23K. They have gone up and will likely keep going up for a while, free superchargeing will be a great selling point one these for a while to come, especially if electric costs remain high.

[ZX10R NIN]

goldar said:

It's currently costing me £100 for a full tank, which gets less than 300 miles. This lasts a couple of days. A V8 just isn't the right engine for the stop-start nature of the m25.

My employer is paying me £0.35 per mile to use my personal vehicle. 140 miles a day works out to £980 per month (assuming I travel 5 days a week).
I'm thinking I could make this work to my advantage if I bought an electric car... Sell it on in 6 months to a year with minimal loss.

Now then, how much (or how little) do I need to spend on an electric car to perform this daily commute of 140 miles? I don't want a tiny crapbox that leaves me aching after every trip. And I like heated seats, active cruise, rain sensitive wipers etc. But equally, I don't want to finance £60k.

Answers on a postcard.

Someone has already linked to the Infiniti hybrid which makes sense as it has active cruise heated/air cooled seats etc is a good shout, I'll be honest & say that getting a low mileage diesel makes the most sense.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208178...

S90 D5:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209019...

V90 D4:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206287...

[hepy]

goldar said:

Yes, they are paying a standard rate of £0.35 regardless of engine.

I don't have a charger at work (yet), but I know there's a charging point nearby. I will be planning on having one installed at home. I do go out occasionally after I arrive home, but not usually. There is another car I could use as a runaround if mine was charging.

HMRC rates were 45p a mile for the first 10k miles, so you will be able to claim a tax rebate for the 10p difference - sorry nothing to do with EV's but thought it might help.

100% get a charger installed and get yourself on a electricity deal that offers lower cost over night charging, like Octopus Go, that will help keep costs down. Needing 150 miles of charge, should take around 6 hours, so get 4 hours at a cheape rate will make a difference.