Category Archives: Electric Cars

News and reviews of the latest electric cars (full electrics and plug-in hybrids).

Battery Degradation Study Shows That EV Batteries Last Much Longer Than Initial Estimates

April 13, 2023Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, OpinionRepost

Many people think EV batteries wear out as fast as phone batteries, but they couldn’t be further from the truth. Once considered among the worst, even Nissan Leaf’s batteries can endure for decades without significant degradation. This is one reason why EV battery replacements are quite unusual.

Electric vehicles’ value is usually affected by preconceptions about electric cars, the most important being the supposedly limited lifecycle of the high-voltage battery. This also hinders EV adoption because nobody wants to buy a car that will lose its value over time. The bad news is that many scary stories have made many people believe that EV batteries are fragile and expensive to replace. The good news is that they last a lot longer than critics claim, as evidenced in a recent study.

The high-voltage battery is the most expensive component of an electric vehicle, and it’s understandable why people are afraid they’d be ruined if anything goes wrong. The fact that one of the first widely available electric cars, the Nissan Leaf, wasn’t very good at retaining battery charge helped spread uncertainty about EV batteries. Nissan admitted that the first Leaf batteries used flawed battery chemistry and changed the formula. After that, Nissan Leaf’s batteries have proved among the most enduring in the market, showing almost no degradation.

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Here are 10 of the longest-range electric cars you can buy in 2023

April 12, 2023Electric Cars, Mercedes, News, Reviews and Comment, TeslaRepost

The EVs that’ll make range anxiety a thing of the past

WHAT IS IT?

The Tesla Model 3 is an American four-door saloon car with rear- or -four-wheel drive, seating for five people at a pinch, and a touchscreen inside. Sure, it’s all-electric, but it hardly sounds A Verified Big Deal, does it? But the Tesla Model 3 is one of the most important big deals of the 21st Century so far.

This is Tesla’s affordable entry-level car, designed to take on the best-selling likes of the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, and Mercedes C-Class, not to mention their slow-off-the-mark electric cousins. And thanks to Tesla’s viral, household name status and the ambition of the car’s features, the Model 3 has become a phenomenon.

HOW AFFORDABLE ARE WE TALKING?

It sits below the Model S saloon in the range, and in standard guise is priced from £48,490. That gets you rear-wheel drive, and a claimed 305 miles of range between visits to a public Supercharger, or your home wallbox.

Above that in the ‘3’ pecking order lie two all-wheel drive versions: the Long Range (good for up to 374 miles), and the Performance, which sacrifices a few miles of range but will outrun a Lamborghini Huracán up to the national speed limit.

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Every brand’s cheapest electric car on a lease deal

April 11, 2023BMW, Electric Cars, Leasing a new car, News, Reviews and Comment, VolkswagenRepost

Think all electric cars are expensive? Prepare to think again, because we’ve gathered leasing deals starting from just £313 per month on models from Audi to Volvo…

Tempted by a new electric car? One way of getting one on your driveway could be with a lease deal.

Sometimes called personal contract hire or personal leasing, leasing is one of the most affordable ways to access a new car. The way it works is similar to other forms of car financing, because you pay for the car with a deposit and regular monthly payments.

Contracts usually last for three or four years, with a pre-agreed annual mileage limit. Unlike Personal Contract Purchase (PCP), there’s no option to buy the car at the end of the term. In effect, this means you’re renting the car, but the benefit of this is that the monthly payments are generally lower than with other forms of financing.

BMW i8 in Sophisto Grey (Image: T. Larkum)

So, in this instance we name every brand’s cheapest electric car that’s currently available through What Car? Leasing. Our list includes a wide range of models, including small electric cars to electric SUVs, although some manufacturers are excluded due to a limited number of deals available.

In each case, you can follow the links to learn more about our leasing deals or read our full What Car? review on the car.

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Tesco celebrates installation of 600th EV charger

April 7, 2023Away From Home, Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

Tesco, Pod Point and Volkswagen are celebrating the installation of the 600^th electric vehicle (EV) charger as part of their partnership.

Installed at Tesco’s Kirkwall superstore on the remote Scottish island of Orkney, the charger marks the culmination of the programme that has seen 2,500 EV charging bays installed at stores across the UK.

The trio of companies launched the charging network in 2019 and have since provided 43,218kWh of energy.

“It is with great pride we announce that we have hit our target of providing EV charging at 600 stores across the UK,” said Jason Tarry, Tesco CEO UK & ROI.

“From Orkney all the way to Southampton customers now have the option to make sustainable choices and we’re giving them somewhere easy and convenient to charge while they shop with us.”

In March 2022, the companies hit the 500^th installation milestone for the network. Having grown over the last year, it now includes 129 rapid chargers.

The network includes 7kW, 22kW and 50kW charging units, as well as Pod Point now installing the retailer’s first set of 75kW charging units as part of the next phase of rollout.

From this month, there will be 75kW chargepoints available to shoppers at Tesco Cheshunt, Osterley, Shrewsbury, Ashby De La Zouch and York Extra stores, as well as at the Newark New Ollerton Superstore.

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Electric Cars: From then to now

April 6, 2023Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

EVs have faced an uphill battle since the 1800s, yet they’re only proliferating today. So, how did we get here?

Electric vehicles might just be entering the mainstream now, but the technology has been around for centuries.

Battery-powered EVs are poised to be the main transportation powertrain in the next decade or so, yet it took some failed attempts that were downplayed by regulators, automakers, oil giants, lobbyists, and governments.

When EVs were popular

In the early 1800s, a few forward-thinking European and American entrepreneurs invented an electric motor, using non-rechargeable batteries, to power a car or ‘horseless carriage.

By the turn of the 20th century, EVs had started gaining traction with buyers, thanks to their ease-of-use, no smelly pollutants, and quiet driving compared to steam- or gasoline-powered cars. These qualities made early EVs especially favoured among women.

Incredibly, between 1900 to 1912, EVs accounted for one-third of vehicles on US roads, according to the US Department of Energy.

Inventors such as Thomas Edison – who created the incandescent light bulb and motion picture camera – vowed to improve battery technology, and the founder of ultra-luxury car brand Rolls-Royce, Charles Rolls, even declared EVs the future of motoring.

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Best used electric cars in UK: top 10 second-hand EVs for sale in 2023 – including Tesla, Kia, BMW, VW models

April 5, 2023Electric Cars, Kia, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

From small EVs to electric SUVs there’s now a used electric car with a price and range to suit most drivers

The surge towards electric cars is gathering pace as every week seesms to bring the announcement of another new EV from a major brand.

In 2022 sales jumped by 40% compared with the previous year and EVs overtook diesel models to become the second best-selling powertrain after petrol for the first time.

Kia Niro PHEV, Plug In Hybrid, Geneva Motorshow 2017 (Image: Kia)

Despite concerns around public charging costs, the prospect of low running costs and cleaner motoring is attracting drivers. At the same time, a growing number of low-emissions zones threaten financial penalties for those sticking with older and more polluting vehicles mean the market has exploded.

But with EVs still more expensive than their petrol or diesel counterparts, not everyone can afford a brand new electric car. Thankfully, the boom in the new car market is now trickling down to the second-hand segment and there are now plenty of good used EVs for buyers to consider.

As with any used car, it pays to do your research to make sure the car is right for you – think about range and charging. Also check the car thoroughly for faults and examine its history before handing over any cash.

Many of the cars on our list lack the big batteries and impressive range of the newest models but they are all still a great way to make the switch to all-electric motoring, whatever type of car you need.

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Inside the industry: Is it finally time to make electric cars slower?

April 4, 2023Electric Cars, Model X, News, Reviews and Comment, TeslaRepost

The Tesla Model S Plaid beats the original Ford Focus RS from 0-60mph by 4.41sec

The car industry has scored plenty of own goals over the years, but it’s hard to fathom why it’s so comfortable with the idea of pleading forgiveness rather than seeking permission when it comes to electric cars’ acceleration times.

For context, the Mk1 Ford Focus RS took 6.4sec to race from 0-60mph, the Mk2 5.9sec and the Mk3 4.7sec. They were each era-defining hot hatchbacks, and while their legendary status is down to far more than their straight-line pace, I can’t recall anyone arguing that any of them was too slow in a drag race. Yet today the industry is awash with family SUVs (and occasionally hatches) that will comfortably match or beat those numbers.

Tesla showroom in Milton Keynes (Image: T. Larkum)

This list is by no means exhaustive, but standouts include the Volkswagen ID 4 (6.2sec),

The ‘affordable’ electric cars with the longest ranges: Ten EVs on sale in Britain for less than £40k that go the furthest on a full charge

March 31, 2023Electric Cars, MG, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, VolkswagenRepost

These are the electric cars on sale in Britain today that evade VED ‘premium tax’ rates for motors over £40k
These less expensive EVs offer fully-charged official battery ranges of between 239 and 300 miles

The term ‘affordable’ is a relative one. What might be within one person’s budget might not be attainable for others.

Some will argue – and perhaps rightfully so – that no electric car on sale in Britain today falls into the ‘affordable’ bracket.

That was particularly highlighted in our recent report on the EVs with the longest quoted ranges, many of which cost in excess of £100,000. That’s not what you call battery-powered motoring for the masses!

But there are some models that are far less expensive and that will go plenty far enough on a fully-charged battery to last a week (the average weekly UK passenger car mileage is 131 miles, according to the latest figures).

We’ve set a price ceiling of £40,000 for the EVs that can make it into this countdown. This is the ‘premium tax’ benchmark for Vehicle Excise Duty, with owners of all new motors over this amount forced to pay an extra £355 per year in car tax for the first five years at the standard rate.

Here are 10 EVs that avoid this premium tax sting and can travel the longest distances between charges based on their ‘official’ claims…

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Vauxhall Corsa Electric review

March 30, 2023Corsa-e, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Opinion, VauxhallRepost

Vauxhall’s electric supermini offers brisk performance and over 200 miles of range, but some rivals are better value for money

It might not be the most exciting electric car we’ve tested, but the Vauxhall Corsa Electric (formerly the Vauxhall Corsa-e) is still one of the best small electric cars around. Certain buyers will appreciate how ‘normal’ it looks and feels – ideal for anyone who’s nervous about driving an EV for the first time – while others will be charmed by the circa 200-mile real-world range and rock-bottom running costs. However, the electric Corsa’s price tag has now ballooned to the point where rivals offer much better value for money.

About the Vauxhall Corsa Electric

The Vauxhall Corsa is one of Britain’s motoring institutions, and the latest version of the best-selling supermini is the best and perhaps the most important yet. Not only does the sixth-generation Corsa share its platform with the Peugeot 208, like its French sister car there’s also a fully electric variant. While the Peugeot e-208 has kept its name, Vauxhall’s equivalent was Corsa-e at launch but now has been rather unimaginatively renamed the Corsa Electric.

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These are the cheapest new EVs you can currently buy

March 29, 2023Buying a new car, Electric Cars, Fiat, MG, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, VolkswagenRepost

New EVs are still by-and-large expensive products, but we look at the most affordable models currently available

If Volkswagen sticks to its promise, the ID.2 will arrive as the cheapest new electric car on the market, and tap into the relatively untapped affordable end of the segment, as EV manufacturers have so far been largely prioritising more expensive models that help them generate more money.

Ahead of the Volkswagen ID.2’s arrival, we have a look at the most affordable new EVs that can be bought today.

The entry-level MG4 is still able to travel 218 miles on a charge. (MG)

Volkswagen ID 4 (Image: Volkswagen.co.uk)

MG is now one of the key players in the electric car segment, with its affordable EVs really resonating with buyers that want to go electric, but without having to splash vast amounts of cash

Its new MG4 is also currently the UK’s most affordable EV, with a starting price of £26,995. That buys the entry-level model, equipped with a 51kWh battery that’s able to achieve a credible claimed 218 miles from a charge. It’s also good to drive, well-equipped and offers attractive styling too. MG’s current offers mean you can get behind the wheel for £269 per month over a four-year deal, with a £6,000 deposit.

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