Bas V
pfm Member
A quick search indicates that the model S is the most unreliable car on the market. Sorry, I’ll have to pass on that one then.
Cars: Audi, BMW, Mercedes
- Thread starter Bas V
- Start date
A quick search indicates that the model S is the most unreliable car on the market. Sorry, I’ll have to pass on that one then.
SteveG
pfm Member
The only way an EV would work for me at the moment would be a (relatively) cheap one as an additional/3rd car as a town runabout. There are cars getting close to matching my general needs now but they are all either:
- Very expensive
- Expensive and fairly boring
I'm interesting in moving to EV at some point but have done the sums and it's still be a really expensive (and relatively impractical) option for me compared to sticking with a petrol car.
cutting42
Arrived at B4 Hacker Ergo
1 / I haven't recommended my car. Far from it.
2 / JD Power says otherwise. And besides, it's not just about reliability but what support you get when it does go wrong. My A5 has been pretty poor but Audi's support under warranty has been faultless.
3 / This but I'd modify it with 'and what you can afford to run'.
They were meant to be slightly tongue in cheek generic comments, always an exception but you liked Saab's so I forgive anything you say ;-)
1/ OK, I maybe could say recommend a car they have owned, their current might be less favoured
2/ JD power and all reliability surveys reviews are Bolloux, a tiny representation of the market, they exist to promote their own services and misrepresent the picture, a bit like internet polls, mainly people with strong opinions respond. I have owned cars that exist at the top and the bottom of those lists and could not tell them apart on reliability. Dealer performace is down to the local franchise owner and often down to chance, I have had hideous Audi experiences but amazing BMW experiences, I have a best mate with exactly the opposite opinion with the same garages - go figure.
3/ Affordability goes without saying but most of us don't need advice on that.
4/ You didn't mention EV but others did, EV is the future, despite their current inability ability to drive 700 miles non stop people keep trotting out arguments about range. If you want to drive 300 miles a day and live in a flat. It's probably not for you ... yet but it will get there or maybe HFCEV is best, who knows.
As an aside andnot really relevant to this thread I drove to Manchester from London on Wed and came back yesterday. 317 miles claimed range when I left and got to my hotel with 112 miles left after a average M1/6 typical 3.5hr journey of 180 miles or so. Similar usage on the return journey. Passed about half a dozen supercharger locations en route and charged (for free) at the hotel overnight, had the choice of free charging at my place of work as well but did not need it. This was the most accurate range I have seen from the car on a long journey. I would have been very happy driving another 80 miles or so before looking for charging giving a real world range of 260 miles. It is a lot worse if you drive fast, This was M1/6 so lots of 50 and 60 sections which really helped the range. My regular trips to Norfolk - 200 miles round trip are nearly all at proper motorways speeds and I tend to use a supercharger on the way home so I don't get home empty in case I want to go out later.
NeilR
pfm Member
just a general comment regarding range, I think it is a bit of a red herring that puts off potential EV purchasers. As long as the car can do around 200 motorway miles then it really should be enough. More recent cars can charge very rapidly from 10-80% in less than 30 minutes. people with range anxiety really need to ask themselves how often they drive in excess of 200 miles with their current cars without taking a 30 minute break? Never I bet.
Also the charging infrastructure is improving all of the time and so it is becoming a bit of a non issue to be honest.
why not check out some YouTube videos from Bjorn Nyland or Kris Rifa where they regularly do 1000+ km EV road trips in remarkably short times. It will make you feel a lot more relaxed about the issue.
a comment re the cost, EVs are on the cusp of becoming financially viable, but we decided to spend the extra money to do what is right for the environment and for future generations. Sometimes money is not the most important criterion. Of course, not everyone is in this fortunate position.
cutting42
Arrived at B4 Hacker Ergo
Tesla service is actually brilliant, super polite and efficient with the best booking system I have ever experienced. My issue is that the closest to me is horrible to get to (Heathrow or Brent Cross) but they did pay for a free taxi (Tesla) to take me home and pick me up.
Your comment about reliability needs investigating as there were two reliability reports, one that put the Model 3 at the top and another the early model S at the bottom. I have also seem others that rate them poorly but when you dig into it, mostly they are delivery issues, panel gaps, cameras not working etc, all stuff that gets fixed early on.
With so little to go wrong with them mechanically they should be far more reliable that any other car but that does not make them simple cars, plenty of elctric stull, AC, Heating etc. I have had mine since Dec and apart from a factory recall and a slow puncture (Screw) I have not had any issues but early days.
Seeker_UK
Feelin' nearly faded as my jeans
What about 150 miles w/out a break and not having a charger at the destination?
I'm away from home long enough, adding another 30+ minutes at a M-Way service station to an already long and boring trip. No ta.
NeilR
pfm Member
probably not worth going for the Tesla. What about a c class plug in hybrid? There should be a some 3 year old examples about in your price range?
SteveG
pfm Member
Most of the current EV's won't do 200 miles at normal motorway speeds, but even if they did it likely wouldn't be enough (without severe range anxiety) for my use case which is a very hilly & windy 130 to 170 mile route that I do twice a week which (going by relative fuel consumption) I suspect is a lot tougher than 200 motorway miles. There is also very little charging infrastructure on route, with big gaps especially on the 2nd half of the route when I'm heading north.
SteveG
pfm Member
On my route there are no motorway services so even if you do find a charging point it'd be a case of sitting in the car and waiting for it to charge.
Seeker_UK
Feelin' nearly faded as my jeans
And then there's the effect of Winter as well.
Hills are possibly better for EV range than a motorway - you get a fair bit of re-gen on the downward parts of the journey.
Bas V
pfm Member
Yes please, the C350e is on top of my list. But I have read some very negative comments about these too.
NeilR
pfm Member
Steve, don’t forget EVs are at their worst for range on the motorway. On A roads at lower speeds they are generally a lot better.
On hilly routes, don’t forget that they regenerate the battery on the downhills so it won’t be as bad as you think. I think you would be pleasantly surprised if you could try that route with an EV.
On hilly routes, don’t forget that they regenerate the battery on the downhills so it won’t be as bad as you think. I think you would be pleasantly surprised if you could try that route with an EV.
SteveG
pfm Member
On the way north there are no downwards parts!
SteveG
pfm Member
If you drive at lower speeds on the motorways that is!
Might be ok on the way south, not so much on the way north give the destination is the highest village in the Highlands!
NeilR
pfm Member
do you stay overnight at your destination? It’s also possible to use a regular mains plug in granny charger at 2.4kWh. Might be enough if you can leave it for 18-24 hours.
Seeker_UK
Feelin' nearly faded as my jeans
Yes I do but the hotels I use do not have chargers. Even if I could persuade them to let me run a 13A from one of their sockets, I'm only there for 11 hours max.
NeilR
pfm Member
give it time, all hotels will have chargers soon.
Seeker_UK
Feelin' nearly faded as my jeans
When they do, and I can be guaranteed enough access to one to charge my car, I'll reconsider. Until then, an ICE car with 600 miles range between 5 minute 'recharges' is the only solution for my situation.
NeilR
pfm Member
you can read horror stories on the web about every car. I frequent the huge german motor talk c class forum, I don’t read many posts about problems with the hybrid W205.