The trend is to make town centres pedestrian zones only and reduce speed limits to 20mph.

With ever increasing congestion combined with the above I can't see a £30K plus electric car holding any real advantage over a £10K ice hatch

As Raps alluded to above, it's only a question of time before the tax hole has to be plugged (ha ha), and that will take care of any tax/charging benefits

I can see a big disposal tax down the line as well

 

theres already more than one advantage

£0 tax
>150mpg equiv (not seen quoted figures yet, this is conservative - believe it approaches 200 in the uk)
can use bus lanes
0 CO2 emissions
no oil changes so servicing costs tumble

if you're stupid enough to drive in london you can pickup lezzas or something

comparing a used car is spurious, not like for like. comparing it to a 26k fiesta st its the same price, slower, much cheaper to run and much cleaner

still might get the Tesla 3 though

 

The e Advance is £28.7K. Hack-facts are made up on the spot...

It's very nicely-specced for an urban gadabout, but I fear it may be perceived as too expensive.

Proof is in the driving, I suppose. I take Pete's point about a comparable ICE, but they tend to be a bit NVHy at that end of the market, largely due to the three-pot trend. You'd pay a lot more for an i3 in similar trim.

 

a Tesla 3 is 36k.. bigger, double the range, more performance

but more issues https://www.autoblog.com/2019/02/21/...Z5b5AVwhPVDuPI

if only Honda made a Model 3 eh..

 

...in the fullness of time. Whether we'll get it's another matter.

Bigger problem will probably be the ID3, which is probably lower quality but bigger (C-segment) & not a lot more, if the VAGes are to be believed. Look how Golfs sell.

Well, maybe Tesla 3 does the Astra, to mis-quote The White Stripes.

 

didnt evern mention it

 

I had a look at an i3 the other day

I don't care how good it is - it didn't have one interesting aspect to it

It looks like a noddy car and a young woman was driving it

Women and old people are the target market I guess

With a few given to some preachy film stars

 

it has a carbon tub the i3, that's where the interest ends for me, incredibly harsh ride for such a mainstream product not to mention those tyres.. quick off the mark though, had one try to traffic light gp me in the M3. not quick enough but for a sh#tbox...

those of us who are interested should compare the e with the Mini E as a rival

the E is slightly more pricey vs the Mini
has a dedicated e platform vs reusing an ICE shell
has attention to detail such as the wing mirror cameras to reduce drag.. the mini has yellow mirrors
the E has very low drag vs a blanked off Cooper S intake on the bonnet to 'denote performance' whilst creating drag presumably
in the mini the batteries from an i3 are in the trans tunnel and the motor up front vs in the rear for the E which gives a tiny turning circle (and we all know rwd is better )

i appreciate a bit of retro styling and attention to detail.. the E wins for me so far

i liked the merc concept too though

 

Hacks ignore Honda shocker...

i3 is being phased out - it was really a research vehicle like the Jaguar Ian Paice. File it with the A2 under 'heroic failures'.

Some mfrs. are stuffing EV stuff into a modified plank (BMW/JLR) whereas others (Honda/VAG) are doing bespoke planks.

Oddly, Renault are talking about an electrified Kwid, if you want bargain-basement. Pifco springs to mind...

 

lots of hacks blow smoke up Renno's arse but ime they are built like airfix

mate had a 172, it was the most fragile car i have ever experienced. made a caterham feel high quality.

and the Zoe looks like a vajazle