HR-V is essentially a jacked up Jazz but with better engines and a panormaic roof option. DTEC EX available now for pennies compared to new - they tanked just like the CR-Z.

New Jazz is better than the old and better kit but i'd be surprised if they hold value any better.

Not buying yourself seems the safer option or taking one that's a year old when it has already fallen most of the way down the cliff of depreciation.

 

I had a Leaf from work for a couple of days a couple of winters ago, lights and heating?made the range disappear, just as well it was downhill almost all the way, no wonder we sold very very few. Styling undoubtedly didn’t help though.

 

So i drove one today

Good first impressions, it goes well, is quiet and has a refined ride i'd not experienced in such a small car before. On the A46 at 70 it was not in its element but it was doable and quiet enough
handles well, very flat through corners, felt grippy
the gadgets it has seem top notch but that is to a bloke who drives 20 year old hacks
anti crash shit, blind spot warning, lane departure warning and stuffs

battery is pretty baad. this one was at 97% and 274 miles and 63% and 309 miles when i had done, mixed urban with one blast at c70 officer. so, it lost 34% in 35 miles, climate on blast the entire way and it's leds doing stuff, all screens telling me stuff i didnt care about

i think plan on 100 miles if you drive like you want to, that makes it about £4.26 per 100 miles, at £5.15 a gallon that is about 121 mpge so better than an M3

in summary it is what they say, a premium feel supermini with a range suited to 99% of my use



it will cost you or I about £17k to have one for 3 years on PCP, about £695 for servicing in that time, £695 for a bike rack adaptor but i dont think that is everything in that pic
it will cost you **** all to run in that time

after that, up to you. it could be shagged like your phone and you may wanna hand it back, in best case you may have some skin left in it, maybe £3-£5k to buy some newer tech, worst case it's cost as much to run as a ropey owd 170mph BMW v8

 

My test drive a la Miss Daisy - a couple of traffic light drag races (the BMW 330 was fish tailing ) - windows open no aircon managed to deplete the battery from 92% to 76% driving 30 miles while reducing range by 20 miles. Which makes me hopeful of getting from NR20 3QG to Sevenoaks to visit the grands on one charge, provided I do a steady 65mph on the M25 and no red mist moments

 

Generally, the cut-off is about 60 after which the drag kills you battery reserves.

 

65 on the M25 in the non speed regulated sections dumps you amongst the HGV / LGV / white van stuff. So you either sit in with that and pootle / die of boredom or flatten the battery in the hustle and bustle of lanes 2 3 and sometimes 4.

These things are for local pottering only.

 

Yeah, I can see the point of them for that. Especially if the alternative is some vibratey, three-pot on-off-jerk thing that passes for a modern ICE.

I cannot help feeling that for a little more rent, you could get something far more capable. I did recently see a cancelled-order M340i Touring for a just bit more money, and a straight-six is nearly as good as an induction motor.

Yes, that's apples and orangutans, but the point stands.

 

One of those you'd still want in 3 years time and it wouldnt be the Honda which will doubtless need new batteries and have been replaced by a model with 3x the range making yours worth even less

 

The unknown is depreciation. Early leaf is worth peanuts but their battery was truly awful. And they are nissan. And hideous. And cheap shyte.

A 340i is gonna cost you big-time on fuel, I did some maths on my BM which admittedly has stupid high tax (which I expect to ramp up to cover the cost of Rishi's splurge) and also high maint costs as it is old.

I​ reckon an E will cost sub £1k a year incl service, £0 road tax, 100-150mpge for 10k ish miles

My BM will cost nearly £3k in fuel alone. The 340 won't be far off that I imagine

 

With e cars remember to factor in lights, wipers, and heating in the cooler! months for range, the Leaf we had at work was a joke in winter.