Luckypants

Press launch today for Skoda Epiq

250 will be fine. My ID.3 seems to have genuine 350 mile range in current weather (not had it in winter yet) and I hardly seem to charge it. I barely think about public charging now - it'll be a shock when we go on holiday 😁

Now if they would make an electric Octavia estate..... that would be my sweet spot.

Here's an example https://youtu.be/Fxxtv93ZZYo?si=L_DZcEFPlaIaOpyh

Already been reviewed by a number of Youtubers a few months ago. It looks pretty good. I'll be interested how it compares in size to the ID.3 Neo, as I'm thinking this could be the next car based on the boot space.

The Epiq is due out in September I think, based on the same platform as the VW Polo, ID Cross and Cupra Raval. Its not a proper small car being about the size of the Kamiq and certainly not sub-20K. https://youtu.be/3g3kDltISmY?si=CIU4aEBExRXlTTuy

"Community Projects' - they're a laugh. The local worthies get an office in the garden (now converted to a holiday let) but the ordinary locals get bugger all. We got £700 to plant daffodils approaching the village. My suggestion of free electricity for all in the 'benefit area' was laughed it by the developers but seems pretty fair to all IMO.

Having generation on the doorstep seems to have no bearing. Most of Scotland has generation nearby yet they have the highest standing charges in UK. I have about 200MW windfarm 3 miles up the road, second highest standing charges in UK. Yet those places in the South with no generation nearby have very much lower standing charges. Those furthest from generation should be paying most for the grid upgrades to carry power south not the least.

They should try living in North Wales or Scotland then! Actually my standing charges came down 1p a day to 68.7p

My Intelligent Octopus Go tariff has reduced to 5.2p overnight & smart charging and 28.83p peak. With the new ID.3 on the drive giving 3.9 m/kWh average so far I'm looking at less than 2p/mile on fuel costs.

The exclamation mark is normally next to the defective sensor. If they all show as defective (have an exclamation mark), there may be a bigger issue. The clean sensor message is just the default when a sensor is not sensing...

Does it not show you on the pictogram of sensors when in parking mode?

No, I was so outraged by the £300 odd increase that the guy couldn't explain I just told them not to renew and that I'm taking my business elsewhere. They didn't even try to improve the offer. The policy was due for renewal 2 days after the new car arrives so I already had a a renewal quote which I had negotiated down.

Well that failed at the first hurdle. My current insurer suddenly wanted £640 to insure the ID.3! Told them to foxtrot oscar. A quick confused.com later and the ID.3 is insured for £331 and the Citigo for £130. No longer on a multi-car policy but saved over £300 on the new quote for the ID.3 and Citigo from my existing insurer. I guess LV don't want my business.

My time with the ID.4 has come to an end. It has been a very good car and has lovely to ride around in. I thought I'd give the final costs for charging. The vast majority has been home charging, the first 3.5 years at Octopus Tracker rates (generally 2-3p below SVR) and the pst 18 months on Intelligent Octopus Go 7p/kWh. There were some free charges in the first 6 months of ownership as Tesco and Aldi offered free charging back then. Paid for public charging has been while away from home, usually on holiday - notably 3k miles around France in 2023. Since getting the IOG tariff my cost has averaged 2.95p/mile. The overall cost per mile for 63908 miles has been 5.09p/mile. Insurance comparable to previous Karoq, £390 last year and £452 for next year. Maintenance has been relatively cheap. First service was £280 at VW, second service was £180 at my local independent. 3x MOTs @ the going rate, no failures or warnings given. The car has been relatively expensive on tyres, due to having to replace 6(!) for punctures/pothole damage. Only two have been replaced due to wearing out. (and one of those got a thorn in the sidewall 10k miles later!). Basically I've found the car cheaper to run overall than the Karoq was and has repaid the slightly higher monthly cost of purchase with lower bills. I'll be keeping the same track on the costs of the ID.3 that will replace it, which I expect will be even lower due to lower insurance, better efficiency and lower monthly payments.

Basically what I've done with the ID.4 since its been out of manufacturers warranty. My man is EV / HV qualified and as he said himself, the EV bit of the service is just looking at stuff. He was able to download the VW service schedule to ensure it was a service up to their standard. PS. My brake fluid was changed at 4 years, but Ian said it was actually still in spec.

I'll concede Monmouth is in Wales 🙃 And was about to point that out https://www.gridserve.com/pressroom/watts-occurring-gridserve-celebrates-st-davids-day-with-extension-of-ev-charging-hub-at-roadchef-magor-services/

It is probably not necessary to have the dealer reset it, your garage probably just needs the right software tool. My local garage was able to correctly reset my service indicator on my ID.4 as part of the service - not an Enyaq I grant you but basically the same MEB software running the car. HTH

None of the above is in Wales 🤣 There are Tesla open to all chargers at the bottom of the A449. Wales is a great deal more than the area around Cardiff.

Really? Perhaps we don't have a hub on every corner like in the S/E. of England but I've never struggled to find a working charger when needed. Mid-Wales is a bit sparse I'll grant you, but most modern EVs have sufficient range to overcome this. On a recent trip to Cardiff from N. Wales I was able to charge at one of 34 chargers in the multi-storey I parked at in Cardiff for a reasonable 45p, making the round trip in horrible weather a non-stop event. On my route I passed at least 10 charging hubs I could have used if needed. Our preferred stop (for dinner) on the way home had two 160kW Instavolts.....

Make sure Plug and Charge is activated in the car and/or app. This is whats needed on my VW ID.4

Clearly EV drivers are no different to other drivers... and just jump in and go without even the most basic checks. My tyres are checked monthly for wear and even then I got caught out by excessive wear on the inner edge of NSF tyre. Spotted it before it failed and found the tyre had been damaged in a pot hole, but still missed by monthly check. How many drivers go months without checking stuff?

Not to worry, its been quietly washing itself for 9 months. 😇