The Car thread

[Parafox]

Looking at a 2017 Peugeot 2008 GT line. as a replacement for my ageing Audi A6.

 

The GT line is said to be top of the range in it's class. I've read they're a bit underpowered, (the one I'm looking at is a 1.6 diesel). And the so called "i-Cockpit" seems to be a thing that is not best liked.

 

Any one here has/had one?

[tom27111]

3 minutes ago, Parafox said:

Looking at a 2017 Peugeot 2008 GT line. as a replacement for my ageing Audi A6.

 

The GT line is said to be top of the range in it's class. I've read they're a bit underpowered, (the one I'm looking at is a 1.6 diesel). And the so called "i-Cockpit" seems to be a thing that is not best liked.

 

Any one here has/had one?

 

I worked for Peugeot!

 

The icockpit does take a bit of getting used to. The idea is that you look at the display over the flat top steering wheel, as oppose to through it.

 

It's a bit marmite, some love it, some hate it.

 

The GT line is a good spec. From memory you'll have the panoramic roof, reverse camera, heated seats...

 

As regards to being under powered, not sure about the diesel, but the petrol came in 2 versions. Same engine size but different bhp. The lower one was definitely underpowered. 

 

The newer shaped one is a much nicer car. Probably first released as a 68 or 19 plate?

 

I don't know your budget, but if you can shop around and stretch to one of those, I'd definitely recommend it. Even if it isn't a GT Line, the Allure Premium version came with a decent spec 

 

[fox_favourite]

40 minutes ago, tom27111 said:

 

What are your typical journeys like?

 

If you regularly drive distances of over 50 miles, I wouldn't go near a hybrid. Fuel consumption is horrendous. 

 

I've never owned an EV, so can't comment on insurance, but servicing is basically "is the battery still there?" Even some manufacturers I've worked for wouldn't sell service plans as they didn't really know what a service would consist of.

 

I've done a couple of long journeys in EV's and charging is easy. Typically, you'll get to 80% charge in around half an hour, but it isn't cheap on motorway service stations, much like everything else!

 

I think the AA or RAC have come out lately and said charging costs you roughly the same as fuel now anyway.

 

Plus EV's won't be tax exempt soon, can't remember the exact date.

 

The government grants have now stopped as a deposit contribution too. Originally they were 5k! They gradually came down and have now completely stopped. Same with the grant for a home charger, although I believe there's some kind of loophole if you rent your home, rather than owning it.

 

With current car prices, I'd imagine you'll be in a good position regarding your current PCP, hopefully plenty of equity there.

 

@Milo might be able to offer some advice, he's just gone to an EV.

Cheers, that's a good reply. So I average 25ish miles a day with work. I have a wife and 2 kids, so take to events/days out but mainly in Leicestershire. The in laws live about 60.miles away, but we go about once a month or so. We have one holiday a year to the east coast, it was trips like that which concerns me.

[fox_favourite]

2 hours ago, Tommy G said:

Transition to EV was easy for me, but the charging point is at the office 10 mins away which is where I charge it 95% of the time as FOC. My range is 200 miles, I very rarely drive 200 miles in one go, so I've never had range anxiety as such, there are good apps separatey and built into the car to show you where charging stations are. Cost wise they are expensive to buy, mine is a company car so the tax is really favourable. Insurance is about £1,200 a year and restricted to over 30s, but again this is company paid for. 

 

I'd take the leap but it will be all down to your budget and appetite to change.  

Insurance seems expensive. I pay about £300pa for me diesel SUV to insure it as business. 

 

I'll do about 25miles per day. 

[The Bear]

FWIW servicing on the Tesla is:

 

Checking the coolant for the battery. 

Checking the charging ports/cables. 

Clean and re-greasing of brake calipers and pins. 

Check brake discs for rust. 

 

And that's pretty much it. Tesla used to say every 2 years, but now are telling drivers to wait at least 3. You can find local places who offer an EV service with all the above checks, so you don't even have to go main dealer. 

 

As long as you keep using your brakes every now and then to stop them seizing or rusting then you will barely have to do anything. Obviously as the car gets older the suspension arms and such like will come into play as well. 

Edited 10 July 2023 by The Bear

[The Bear]

I do all my charging via public chargers. I have a local one which is nice and fast which costs 40p per kW which is quite reasonable compared to most. Overall costs will depend on the size of the battery. My Tesla is 75kW, and going from 10% to 90% costs me £30 and takes around 45 mins. 

 

If you can have a charger at home then the costs drop significantly dependent on your supplier. A home installation will cost between £600-1000 depending which charger you go for. 

 

If you download ZapMap that will show you every single public charger near you or where you plan to charge. The costs and any conditions for parking whilst charging. It's pretty up to date as users update it themselves. 

[fox_favourite]

4 minutes ago, The Bear said:

FWIW servicing on the Tesla is:

 

Checking the coolant for the battery. 

Checking the charging ports/cables. 

Clean and re-greasing of brake calipers and pins. 

Check brake discs for rust. 

 

And that's pretty much it. Tesla used to say every 2 years, but now are telling drivers to wait at least 3. You can find local places who offer an EV service with all the above checks, so you don't even have to go main dealer. 

 

As long as you keep using your brakes every now and then to stop them seizing or rusting then you will barely have to do anything. Obviously as the car gets older the suspension arms and such like will come into play as well. 

That's interesting. I always wondered what the service entails. So for warranty purposes, you don't have to get it checked. I know Kia, you have to go to them for service to keep their warranty, but not sure for EV. 

[tom27111]

1 minute ago, fox_favourite said:

Insurance seems expensive. I pay about £300pa for me diesel SUV to insure it as business. 

 

I'll do about 25miles per day. 

 

At 25 miles a day, a pHEV could definitely be worth considering then.

 

Most will say a range of 30 miles, but real world, it's closer to 20. 

 

The ice engine will kick in if you put your foot down and accelerate hard, then drop out again and just use the battery.

 

But the extra weight you carry around with the battery, I'm still not that convinced about them.

 

Especially as you'd need a home charger installed, just for the 20 miles electric range used everyday.

 

I still think pHEV's are a bit of a box ticking exercise by manufacturers to show they're  trying to move away from ICE.

 

Some could see it as the best of both worlds, but it could also be seen as the worst of both...you have to charge to get the benefits, but still fuel it up too. Although you don't HAVE to charge it as you would an EV, the fuel consumption on long trips considerably rises.

 

I've said this before, but when I was last in car sales, my demo was a Jeep Renegade pHEV. 

 

I drove up to Anfield to watch us play and I genuinely had to fully fill the tank TWICE to get me there and back.

 

Had I taken our 118d BMW, it wouldn't have even cost me 40 quid.

[fox_favourite]

1 minute ago, The Bear said:

I do all my charging via public chargers. I have a local one which is nice and fast which costs 40p per kW which is quite reasonable compared to most. Overall costs will depend on the size of the battery. My Tesla is 75kW, and going from 10% to 90% costs me £30 and takes around 45 mins. 

 

If you can have a charger at home then the costs drop significantly dependent on your supplier. A home installation will cost between £600-1000 depending which charger you go for. 

 

If you download ZapMap that will show you every single public charger near you or where you plan to charge. The costs and any conditions for parking whilst charging. It's pretty up to date as users update it themselves. 

There isn't any schemes to help with payment for the home installation? I'm guessing that boat has sailed. 

[tom27111]

1 minute ago, fox_favourite said:

There isn't any schemes to help with payment for the home installation? I'm guessing that boat has sailed. 

 

Not anymore from the government. But if you're buying brand new, some dealers are chucking them in for free.

 

I've heard the radio advert that Mini will install one through PodPoint, who are the biggest company in the UK at the minute for home chargers.

[shen]

13 minutes ago, The Bear said:

FWIW servicing on the Tesla is:

 

Checking the coolant for the battery. 

Checking the charging ports/cables. 

Clean and re-greasing of brake calipers and pins. 

Check brake discs for rust. 

 

And that's pretty much it. Tesla used to say every 2 years, but now are telling drivers to wait at least 3. You can find local places who offer an EV service with all the above checks, so you don't even have to go main dealer. 

 

As long as you keep using your brakes every now and then to stop them seizing or rusting then you will barely have to do anything. Obviously as the car gets older the suspension arms and such like will come into play as well. 

Don't they check the cabin A/C? I thought that was a thing for EVs.

[The Bear]

2 minutes ago, fox_favourite said:

There isn't any schemes to help with payment for the home installation? I'm guessing that boat has sailed. 

Yes the government grant of £350 for charger installation has ended as of April 2023. 

[The Bear]

Just now, shen said:

Don't they check the cabin A/C? I thought that was a thing for EVs.

Er not sure about the A/C. There's a cabin filter which you can change yourself under the dash as well. 

[Leeds Fox]

26 minutes ago, fox_favourite said:

There isn't any schemes to help with payment for the home installation? I'm guessing that boat has sailed. 

Not for home chargers, but you could try and convince your employer to have a couple installed. They’d be able to claim back a significant amount through a Gov scheme. Charging can be managed via a back office so the individuals are charged (meaning little cost to the company), and it’d work out a hell of a lot cheaper than using public EVCPs.

 

If you need any advice, give me a shout. I’ll point you in the right direction. Although it’s on the installer to claim the grant back on behalf of the client.

[Bellend Sebastian]

3 hours ago, Tommy G said:

I agree it was just tongue in cheek, very reliable cars.

I know, but it's true there's something a bit inherently dull about them, and I don't even know why they get singled out because, let's face it, there are loads of cars that are a bit meh 

[Grebfromgrebland]

On 09/07/2023 at 17:24, The Bear said:

If you do lots of short journeys and also go on regular long trips, then hybrid is your best bet currently. 

I would say that if you do more than 250 miles in a day regularly then a hybrid is ok but otherwise it's got to be electric all the way.

 

If you have a driveway is a no brainer.

 

 

Edited 10 July 2023 by Grebfromgrebland

[tom27111]

51 minutes ago, Grebfromgrebland said:

I would say that if you do more than 250 miles in a day regularly then a hybrid is ok but otherwise it's got to be electric all the way.

 

If you have a driveway is a no brainer.

 

 

 

You'd be insane to do 20 to 30 miles on electric and another 220 on fuel. It'd cost you a fortune.

 

A hybrid is only really decent if you're doing short distances in a big city.

 

Diesel all the way for that amount of travel. Although, to be fair, if you've got half an hour to spare I'd rather do it in an EV instead of a hybrid. 

 

Drove a Tesla from Northampton to Kilmarnock. After some advice from @The Bear it was so easy. 

 

I stopped 3 times. The last time was to make sure it had some charge for the customer.

 

I'd have stopped to fill up more in a hybrid.

Edited 10 July 2023 by tom27111

[Grebfromgrebland]

I think I made my point rather clumsily. Personally I think EVs a the best option for all journeys. The 250 mile reference was mainly because I'm fed up hearing people moan at the prospect of charging 20-30 mins on their journey.

 

 

Edited 10 July 2023 by Grebfromgrebland

[tom27111]

2 minutes ago, Grebfromgrebland said:

I think I made my point rather clumsily. Personally I think EVs a the best option for all journeys. The 250 mile reference was mainly because I'm fed up hearing people moan at the prospect of charging 20-30 mins on their journey.

 

 

 

Ah, got you.

 

I'm coming round to the idea of EV's, but still think the infrastructure is behind in this country.

 

As someone who drives all day everyday, I can tell you that you need a break every 2 to 3 hours, so EV's really aren't that inconvenient. 

 

If you're driving over 200 miles in 1 session, no matter how good you are at driving, or how alert you think you are, you aren't.

 

Plus at my age, I need a pee every couple of hours anyway 

[The Bear]

7 minutes ago, Grebfromgrebland said:

I think I made my point rather clumsily. Personally I think EVs a the best option for all journeys. The 250 mile reference was mainly because I'm fed up hearing people moan at the prospect of charging 20-30 mins on their journey.

 

 

I went to Thorpe Park last year. Started with a 90% charge, stopped at Oxford on the way there for 30 mins while I had a coffee and something to eat. That gave me enough charge (80%) to get back home from that point as well without stopping again. I was right down to 5% when I got home but I made it no probs. 

Edited 10 July 2023 by The Bear

[Grebfromgrebland]

Sounds like you should get an ev next really.

 

I don't know what routes you drive but the infrastructure is generally good enough with a little bit of thinking ahead.

 

Plus there's the simplicity of the drive, instant torque, 2p per mile, pre heat and pre cool and never visiting a petrol station.

 

I have 2 EVs one for me and the mrs and we haven't looked back.

[Milo]

I stuck 150 miles of range into mine last night and it cost me £1.70. 
 

Also, I think Arnold Clark are giving away home chargers with any EV purchased. 
 

[UniFox21]

Currently driving a Kia Picanto X line whilst mines in the garage. 

 

All the tech in the world inside which is great, but really not a fan with how the things drives. Rear mirror shaking at around 40, drive position feels so squashed and for some reason it's a 5 door 

[dsr-burnley]

11 hours ago, tom27111 said:

 

Ah, got you.

 

I'm coming round to the idea of EV's, but still think the infrastructure is behind in this country.

 

As someone who drives all day everyday, I can tell you that you need a break every 2 to 3 hours, so EV's really aren't that inconvenient. 

 

If you're driving over 200 miles in 1 session, no matter how good you are at driving, or how alert you think you are, you aren't.

 

Plus at my age, I need a pee every couple of hours anyway 

Of course, some families have two drivers so they could (pre-electric) just swap seats and still get their breaks. 

 

Or they might be driving over 200 miles to a place that doesn't have chargers.  Eg, a football match or a racecourse, or a family or friends house.  I know from my brother-in-law's experience that having to wait half an hour or more on the way home when you have two rested drivers but a car with no fuel, is a pain.

[The Bear]

If you are going to a residential property then you have the option of the three pin plug to charge. With the owners permission of course. Teslas come with a three pin charging cable as standard. 

 

It's slow, around 2-3kW/h but will add significant range over several hours or overnight.