Reply With Quote£15k could probably buy you a brand new VW UP GTI. Efficient, fun and free of electrofaff.
Hi.. Anyone run one of these? Seriously considering something like this for the next car - since retirement our motoring needs have changed dramatically. I am interested to hear about experiences with the range extender facility. As I understand it there's a small petrol engine fitted which provides power not to the wheels but to the battery only. I've been told that normal short journey travel (which 90% plus of our motoring will be) does not need the range extender to kick in and a normal recharging regime will be fine. However on a run where extra mileage is needed the range extender allows extra distance without recharging. Now my question is two parted: Firstly what, realistically, does the extender give in terms of extra miles and secondly I have been told that on a run it is best to have the extender running from the start, keeping the battery topped up to a degree, which will give a better overall range - is that correct? Pleased to hear from any experienced users out there.. I should point out that I will be looking at a used model in the approx 15K range, not a new vehicle and whilst I'm not going to rule out other vehicles I would want something of equal or better value in terms of performance, range, drivability etc.
Pleased to hear
Rob
£15k could probably buy you a brand new VW UP GTI. Efficient, fun and free of electrofaff.
Had 3 of these, all range extenders (which if you are travelling away from home you will need as the charging infrastructure isnt there - apart from Tesla, which is why I now have a Model 3)
The range extender is a whiny little bike engine so best to have that on when you are on the motorway so the noise is drowned out a little (feels like there is a bike somewhere about to overtake you but never does ;) )
Been just over a year since I had my last but there was some talk on the forums of the range extender packing up or needing some extra servicing if not used for a long time.
Same with any electric car the range plummets with the cold weather so its nice to have the safety/peace of mind that when you get to a charger its a) not working b) a diesel Astra parked in it c) a queue of people so you can top up a couple of quid in fuel to get to another charger or back home.
You can drive forever* by topping up and using the extender.
They are well built cars that are perfect if you dont plan on big trips (60+ miles, depending on how new the car/bigger battery) a doddle to drive, lots of gadgets and a nice place to be.
Get a nice flask if you are charging on slow public chargers, and a crossword book.
Failing that, you'll end up having to talk to the Mrs for 45 minutes.
*well, a long way at 65mph or so to not drain the battery.
Have got a Diesel Golf Estate at the moment and hadn't realised that you could get a new VW that cheap... definitely worth considering.Originally Posted by Justin Case
Rob
Confused, Alistair?
I think it’s nice to have you back!
If you can find one for that money: buy it. It's no longer produced and it's going will become an classic in the years to come!
I had an UP for 6 yrs (not the GTI, mind you) and it has never let me down. Fuel economy was brilliant, so was maintenance. An indy is the best way to go. I had my 60 hp chipped up to 75 hp with the original VAG software. Available for GTI's as well: stage 1 = 115 -> 135 hp. That doubles the hps in compare with the original 60 hp my UP had!
A few niggles: when buying a second hand UP, check for leaks in the footwell and make sure that the g/box oil and AC unit are properly filled. The windscreen de-mister isn't the best in its class and doesn't get better with the AC half-filled. Apart from that: buy one.
Menno
Last edited by thieuster; 31st December 2020 at 09:31.
I've run my i3 for a couple of years now and wouldn't want one without the Range Extender as it pretty much eliminates range anxiety. We took ours from the South Coast to North Wales in the summer and at one point it was showing that it would do almost 190 miles on a combination of battery and petrol. The range extender gives you 100 miles+ of extra range depending on what driving you're doing. It does about 50 mpg using the range extender, but only has a 10 litre tank.
We use Ecotricity for charging - they have nearly all the motorway charge points. The app lets you find charge points and tells them if they're in use or not. We did have one occasion where the charger we were planning to use was taken up just before we got there. But with the range extender we just pushed onto the next one - they were typically 20-30 miles apart. You can't activate the range extender until the battery has dropped to 75% charge, and it will automatically kick in at 6%. So in between those 2 points you can choose when to activate and I would advise against letting it drop to 6% as the range extender can't always keep up. We did find it kept up easily at about 60mph on the motorway and the noise isn't too intrusive.
Ordinarily we charge it at home on the standard slow 13amp charger overnight a couple of times a week. I did buy a Type 2 charge cable, but most public chargers have their own cables so I've never actually used it. The Ecotricity chargers at service stations charge it really quickly - typically we were charging from 20ish% to 90+% and that would take 30 mins or thereabouts.
Last edited by Caruso; 31st December 2020 at 19:52.
I believe that BMW discontinued the range extender version of the i3 around 2019 which is a shame.
They did when they upped the battery size by 33% which means it’s now twice the size of the original battery.
Styling-wise. Somehow, the newer cars in darker colours look a lot better than the early ones with the silver-and-blue accents. Red is also a fine choice. I love the interior but that's a personal thing, I suppose.
I have had one since August. Bought as a proof of concept that I can live with an electric car.
I have 2014 BEV and I think it’s fantastic. Was a strange change for me coming from a 4 year old 911 but it’s been a worthwhile exercise as we are now a Carbon neutral business.
I have a Polestar on order to replace it.
I’ve no experience with the REX version as they don’t qualify for the same Tax benefits as a company car but if you are running it privately the extra range it gives can only be a good thing.
I have one but the model is actually still in production. Production ceased for a while but the factory is making them again, albeit at a higher price. I don’t have any issues with the ride but after almost 3 years and 20k miles, I will probably change it for something completely idiotic like the Citroen Ami, if Citroen bring it to the UK.
Didn’t realise that, good to know.
The first model was 60ah (don’t know why they don’t use kwhr like everybody else). That came as BEV and REX, as did the mk2 which was 99ah. The latest version is 120ah with no REX version.
I really like these, seriously considered one myself and came very close to buying, I was mightily impressed but felt the skinny eco tyres lacked front end grip and it understeered more than I like. As a result I bought a Mini Cooper S with DCT, next car will be a Mini Electric, that was epic all round, apart from range.
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