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The Car Thread: Mark III

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    The only thing holding me back from pulling the trigger on a Model 3 P is the depreciation on a brand-spanking new EV. Now that I'm finally in the position to make the move I'm feeling frightfully cautious.

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      Originally posted by dataDave View Post
      The only thing holding me back from pulling the trigger on a Model 3 P is the depreciation on a brand-spanking new EV. Now that I'm finally in the position to make the move I'm feeling frightfully cautious.
      I was ready a long term study on a taxi driver using a Tesla as his only vehicle. Over the course of 200,000 miles driven in California the car had only suffered a 0.4% degradation in battery capacity, 1 motor needed rewinding, plus usual wearable and consumables any car would need, tires, breaks etc. Overall the car proved far more reliable than a combustion engine car and much cheaper to run daily.

      So i don't think buying a second hand one would see you much worse off unlike buying a high mileage Scoob, Evo etc.

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        the depreciation on a new car is gonna be crazy whatever.
        What are the waiting lists for the model 3 like now?

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          EU passes law mandating all sorts of tech for 2022 including GPS guided speed limiters... that are overridden by pressing down on the accelerator hard

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            The headlines for this are very misleading - the EU hasn't passed any such law. A committee has voted in favour of a proposal.

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              Presumably it's considered a slam dunk, wouldn't surprise given the copyright one has passed showing there's not much grasp of how things work in practice

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                Originally posted by MartyG View Post
                The headlines for this are very misleading - the EU hasn't passed any such law. A committee has voted in favour of a proposal.
                The stories in the press relating to this today show a lack of understanding regarding how the EU works.

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                  RIght then.

                  My Skoda is still in the dealers. THey need to strip it completely and check ALL the wiring.

                  In happier news I've had the new list of company cars. I need help.

                  The list is pretty good but I've got to make a choice between sensible (low tax) and remembering that I spend a lot of time in the car so comfort is essential.

                  The list of my choices (whittled down from a list of 21):

                  Lexus UX250h F-Sport Hybrid - Looks lovely, loads of tech but small boot. But, I have wanted a Japanese car for ages. Available in black / red with black / red leather seats. £120 taxable BIK a month

                  BMW 320 2019 model 2.0L Saloon - Hmm, nice. Available in white / black. £155 taxable BIK a month.

                  BMW 420i M Sport - The car I've wanted for about 3 years but the taxable BIK is £178 a month!! Only available in white.

                  Volvo V60 - Sensible and safe. £165 taxable BIK a month.

                  There're some others but these are the ones that made me go "ooh".

                  HELP!!!

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                    Originally posted by teddymeow View Post
                    loads of tech but small boot.
                    The small boot is something all modern cars suffer from, especially in that category. Sure it's great to give backseaters more legroom, but at times it's hard to fit luggage for two.

                    BTW, what are the ownsership costs for the cars you listed? If you plan to keep the car for a long time, this might be a major factor in the decision.

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                      Originally posted by briareos_kerensky View Post
                      The small boot is something all modern cars suffer from, especially in that category. Sure it's great to give backseaters more legroom, but at times it's hard to fit luggage for two.

                      BTW, what are the ownsership costs for the cars you listed? If you plan to keep the car for a long time, this might be a major factor in the decision.
                      It's a company car so I pay an additional £120 of tax every month as it is a perk of the job.

                      All fuel, tyres, servicing, breakdown cover etc is paid for by work.

                      After 4 years I get a new one.

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                        Originally posted by teddymeow View Post
                        It's a company car so I pay an additional £120 of tax every month as it is a perk of the job.

                        All fuel, tyres, servicing, breakdown cover etc is paid for by work.

                        After 4 years I get a new one.
                        In that case

                        BMW 420i M Sport

                        Hands down.

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                          Originally posted by fishbowlhead View Post
                          In that case

                          BMW 420i M Sport

                          Hands down.
                          The 4 series is £180 a month!!

                          Just been to a Lexus dealer and, by God, it's a gorgeous thing. Ordered!!

                          Comment


                            Originally posted by teddymeow View Post
                            The 4 series is £180 a month!!
                            That’s not my problem teddy. I don’t want excuses I just want results! 😁

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                              Well then.

                              I've had confirmation that my work have ordered my car from Lexus.

                              No idea on lead time.

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                                I went to the Frankfurt motor show on Sunday and saw a lot of cracking cars. And a few howlers. Went to the ridiculously opulent Mercedes Area first. The theme was very much electrification with electric concepts and the Formula E car on display. The EQS previewing the next gen S class was gorgeous the interior is inspired by yachts with lovely polished black wood and chrome. The single seater electric racecar concept, the EQ Silver Arrow, was stunning with amazing thin copper spoke wheels.

                                Onto Lamborghini next who had the Urus and Sian on display. The Sian is a typically wild and low slung wedge just as you would want from a Lambo. Copper wheels on that one too.

                                Then it was on to the Porsche stand. Where the new all electric Taycan was on display. Wow. It’s a really good looking car in the metal. The preview videos with the dark blue model earlier that week didn’t do it any justice. The blue model at the show looked fantastic. It genuinely looks like a four door 911. The interior is cracking too. Lots of screens, you can even add one for the front seat passenger to play with, but well integrated with tasteful typefaces and graphics. My favourite car at the show.

                                Swung by SEAT next to see the el-born but it was just tucked away in the far corner of the stand. I guess with VWs launch of the ID3 they weren’t allowed to say much about it. Shame as it’s a cracking looking machine. SEAT did have an all electric concept which of course was a SUV but previews their future corporate look which is rather smart.

                                Next up VW who were launching the ID electric car brand so had loads of ID3s to look around plus a handful of concepts which have been shown before. The ID3 is top of the list for the car I’ll be replacing my vRS with so I wanted good look at it. It’s like a happier Golf in some respects. Still has enough VW design language in it to look familiar and it’s friendly enough to have wide appeal. The interior is stepping things on with just a couple of screens and a very clean uncluttered look. Not sure about have a white steering wheel and trim but the more conventional black very looked very good. The ID3 could be the tipping point for electric cars in Europe IMHO. It’s the size of a Golf with the interior space of a Passat. Rear wheel drive (Woohoo!), even weight distribution, peak torque from stall and faster off the line than a GTi. Available with 148 or 201bhp and up to 342 miles range on a charge. My bladder will give out before the battery will!

                                The Skôda stand was basically pushing the current range some of which have been updated to PHEVs. The Superb estate is a very handsome thing indeed. It’ll be interesting to see what their ID3 / el-born equivalent will be like.

                                Round at Honda it was all about the Honda e urban electric car. This little car is still so appealing and looked great in dark grey. The interior is very pleasant albeit not roomy enough for a 186cm driver like me to carry passengers. The camera system that replaces the conventional wing mirrors is brilliant. The images are clear and bright won’t get dirty of raindrops obscuring you view rearwards. Great job there Honda. The only disappointing things about the e are the price and range. More expensive than the ID3, e208 / Corsa cousins or even the electric MINI. And the range is just over 130 miles. Its still on my list though.

                                The Vauxhall stand wasn’t too exciting but they did have a fully race prepped version of the electric Corsa for rallying. Coming in at about 48k that’s cheap for a manufacturer supplied racing car.

                                BMW. Dear Mr Hooydonk that 4 series concept was stunning. Until you look at the front which is hideous. This grille madness needs to stop.
                                The MINI stand was promoting the electric MINI heavily. I don’t like the look of the modern MINIs but they’re well screwed together and drive well. And they’ve priced the electric MINI Cooper S slightly cheaper than the petrol equivalent which is surprising.

                                Byton had a stand with a rather stylish electric SUV called the M-Byte. Lovely lines somewhat reminiscent of a McCallum Jaguar and a great interior. One to watch I think.

                                No Volvo stand but they did have the Polestar 2 there. It’s a performance electric saloon based on the S90. Very smart. Clean Scandinavian design and a high quality interior.

                                The Ford stand was screaming Go Electric in huge letters time and again. Shame you don’t actually have an electric car to show eh? They are going to be using the VW group MEB platform for their electric efforts but there won’t be anything to show for a while yet. So all they really had was some mild hybrids (48v) and a PHEV van.

                                Audi had a few electric concept cars including a mad futuristic off-roader with drones for headlights and gigantic tyres. Their S and RS models on display were very popular.

                                Outside we queued for yonks to go on the off-road driving experience. Basically a load of SUVs doing things their owners wouldn’t dream of using them for. The route was largely the same for all the vehicles but there was an 80% incline and descent for the really capable models. Only the Merc G Wagen, Ford Ranger Raptor, Audi Q7 and e-tron could tackle that section. So we went round in the Raptor. That 80% is crazy steep. And we came to a complete stop going up the way! Very impressive. Pointing down over the other side I was so glad I had a seatbelt on.

                                So that’s another huge load of marketing money blown by the car companies pushing their environmentally friendly agenda while selling loads of largely pointless SUVs. There was a group of climate activists out front of the Messe but it all seemed quite peaceful. I did see a graffiti covered X3 yesterday though. I suppose any of these groups will attract extremists though.

                                If anyone is thinking about going to the next motor show in Frankfurt in 2021 I reckon it’s day trip material. 2 hour flight from Edinburgh and about 10 minutes on the train to the Messe. Easy. Show tickets were only 14€.

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