Potential New Owner Questions

[JonSpain]

Hello everyone. I am potentially going to be buying a new LR Trophy in the UK. I live between Spain and the UK and really like the look of the MG4. I do however have one or two questions that I would really appreciate answers to please. I fly in to the UK and then drive to various locations across England and Wales where I work from.

1. I don't have a fixed place to live. I stay in different places with no exposure to home charging. How practical / economical would it be run the car off public charging points? (Where I am in Spain all charge points are currently free but my fat old diesel is still cheap to run.) There seems to be more and more reports in the Murdoch type press about how expensive charging is etc. I generally take anything in the Times/Telegraph/ Sun/DM with a pinch of salt but would still like opinions.
2. I am sometimes out of the UK for a month or more at a time with the car being parked outside a friends home near the airport. How likely am I to return to a car unable to start? I really don't want to be calling the AA at 2am to come and start me in a small residential close.
3. I am looking at the MG4, Citroen C5X ICE and Skoda Superb ICE. In my position, which would you think a better buy?

I am sure more questions will pop up before I buy next month. Look forward to your opinions!

 

[Mark Hewitt]

1. Not really at all. Public charging in the UK is really expensive. More expensive than the equivalent petrol. Total nightmare wouldn't recommend it. Fine for holidays where you can justify the cost as unusual, but not day to day.

Don't have answers to the rest.

 

[siteguru]

1. If your local charge points are free to use then it's a no-brainer. But if you're in the UK most of the time then an EV probably isn't for you yet.

On that basis an ICE or hybrid is probably the best option.

 

[Ian Key]

Unfortunately an EV isn't right for everyone at the moment and you are one of those. I agree with @siteguru an ICE or hybrid would suit you better.

Another thing to consider is the depreciation of an EV at the moment. It would probably be cheaper to rent a car when you're over here.

 

[JonSpain]

Unfortunately an EV isn't right for everyone at the moment and you are one of those. I agree with @siteguru an ICE or hybrid would suit you better.

Another thing to consider is the depreciation of an EV at the moment. It would probably be cheaper to rent a car when you're over here.

I am a king of cheap rentals having done so for years in Spain. ? Unfortunately I need a car of my own to leave stuff in while I'm away. I think I'm going to pass on an EV for now thanks to the advice so far. I might still buy an MG but an ICE one.

 

[tsedge]

Hello everyone. I am potentially going to be buying a new LR Trophy in the UK. I live between Spain and the UK and really like the look of the MG4. I do however have one or two questions that I would really appreciate answers to please. I fly in to the UK and then drive to various locations across England and Wales where I work from.

1. I don't have a fixed place to live. I stay in different places with no exposure to home charging. How practical / economical would it be run the car off public charging points? (Where I am in Spain all charge points are currently free but my fat old diesel is still cheap to run.) There seems to be more and more reports in the Murdoch type press about how expensive charging is etc. I generally take anything in the Times/Telegraph/ Sun/DM with a pinch of salt but would still like opinions.
2. I am sometimes out of the UK for a month or more at a time with the car being parked outside a friends home near the airport. How likely am I to return to a car unable to start? I really don't want to be calling the AA at 2am to come and start me in a small residential close.
3. I am looking at the MG4, Citroen C5X ICE and Skoda Superb ICE. In my position, which would you think a better buy?

I am sure more questions will pop up before I buy next month. Look forward to your opinions!

1. On charging: practical, yes, there are Type 2 charge points all over the place and if staying in hotels / B&Bs you could chose ones with chargers present. On price: no, they are never free, but you could become a member of relevant schemes (eg Tesla) and then get it for around 40-50p/kWh.

There are increasing Rapid chargers on motorways and main routes, so depending where you travel / how much, this could work. But the prices can be higher for these, up to 75-80p/kWh, again you could stick to Tesla's which are cheaper IF that works for where you are going to be.

2. Leaving the car for a long period of time is not an issue. Up to a month you should return with the same SoC. Over a month it recommends you disconnect the 12V battery, so you'd need to leave it somewhere secure. However, people have left their MG4s for longer than a month without issue.

3. I don't know the other cars, so can't advise. I would recommend you look at the mileage you are doing, where you are likely to be and where you could charge and for how much. Then see what makes sense.

 

[Caramaddy]

If you are always doing long trips, 100 miles or more each day, then a small diesel would work out cheaper. For short journeys, I would not recommend a diesel, as the DPF will clog up. What you choose will depend on the type of journeys you will be doing and the storage you need in the car.

The SKODA Superb estate is very capacious. If your driving trips are mixed stick with a petrol model.

Just my thoughts.