Mastodawn

#EV drivers of the #fediverse I'm hoping you can help me out. Our family is hoping to be buying an EV in the next few months and have narrowed our options to 4 (based on paper specs, online reviews, and budget)

- Ford #MachE
- Volkswagen ID.4
- Toyota BZ
- Chevy Equinox EV

One of the things I noticed with at least two of them (the BZ and the Equinox) is that the phone app to allow you to precondition the car prior to departure requires a subscription. Do the other 2 (the MachE and the ID.4) also require a payed subscription or is it an included permanent feature?

Also I'd like to hear from owners about whether or not they would purchase their car again or if they wish they'd gone with a different one.

Thanks

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C++ Wage Slave

@RantingCanuck

This will be of limited relevance, because we bought an #MG4, but I'm extremely pleased with it and glad we chose it. It's so much easier and more fun to drive than any ICE car I've ever driven. For our lifestyle — where we rarely drive more than about 200km between charges — range isn't an issue. For the model we bought, the practical range, if you really baby the car, is about 400km. On the few occasions when we've needed more, it's not been hard to find a charger, although the prices of commercial chargers — hiked up until you're paying as much per mile as petrol drivers do — really wrankle when I can charge for 7p/kWh at home.

If you regularly drive hundreds of kilometres a day, range will be more of an issue for you. Think about where you'll charge and how long it will take.

The MG4 isn't perfect. It could do with more physical buttons and fewer features buried in menus. The display really ought to brighten and dim with outside lighting conditions. But the Trophy model is still pretty damned good.

My brother in law recently wrote off my wife's petrol car. We're not going to replace it. She hardly drove it, because she'd already taken up permanent residence in my #EV. 😄

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thefathippy Mar 7

@CppGuy

II have an XPower, & agree. Not perfect, but good.

I can't comment on those EVs, but have no regrets. I just bought the small EV that best met my needs from a limited choice. Buying one with a silly 0-100 time was a bonus, if rarely used. I'm not going back, but I will go forward—newer EVs are even better.

I charge at home at ~7kW, but originally used tge OEM 1.4kW granny. Too slow to maximise my solar, but fine if you don't drive far.

Things I'd look for

Full one pedal driving. Complete stop. I love this.

Fast, responsive, intuitive software. OTA updates.

A good "3D" camera system on a big screen.

Good nannies. Not too bingy. Also, the ability to turn off nannies & have it remember the driver's settings.

Good warranty.

RWD or AWD.

Right size/performance/range/etc for me.

A heads up display might be cool.

Relative luxury & build quality.

No subscription options 🤢

@RantingCanuck

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C++ Wage Slave Mar 7

@thefathippy @RantingCanuck

That's a good list of requirements. The MG4 Trophy has most of it, including one-pedal driving, 3D camera, good warranty (at least in the UK), RWD, decent build quality, and no subscription options. The software can be slightly sluggish when you're starting up the car, and it doesn't remember all the options I set, so I have to do a few seconds of poking and prodding before I drive off. The lane-keeping assist was homicidal when I first bought the car, but a software update (issued during the car's first service) has toned it down, and I now leave it enabled.

And I have to say, having 200bhp (150kWh) under your right foot, and electric torque from a standstill, is a lot of fun. 🙂 Fortunately, I'm old enough to use it responsibly.