Work had just released a new EV car scheme to us with some option that are even making me consider it. I've little interest in EVs tbh other than as potentially cheap transport so I have little knowledge of the cars or the tech these days.
However we're getting offered salary sacrifice on EVs plus 4000 free chargin miles plus ev rates (it's with octopus so 5p kwh ev rate over night). Little 'un about to start school full time needing a daily commute of about 75mi a day total (cripes never noticed it was that much).

Currently using some fairly petrol heavy cars so 32mpg ish.

So couple of questions - any decent cost calculators online to see if it's worth it? I've looked at a few and they are terrible

Need some direction re cars, looking for <40k, I guess about 200mi range (couple of days + spare), 5 seats that will take adults in the back, comfortable and not made of the same plastic that toys on kids magazines are made from.
Octopus doesn't have all that many brands tbh. Not too bother about looks, it's a dishwasher on wheels after all.

@Ootohere @wyx087 and @lol-lol are your one's for this I believe
If I missed any out apologies.

@wyx087 or @lol-lol for this. I am not a business user in Scotland.

I am replacing a Diesel Estate with a MINI 5 door petrol & just using the MINI Electric i have for local use and home charging. When the MINI Electric goes back i will get a PHEV.

Public Charging is far too expensive now unless using Tesla Superchargers.

2023 cars for me from now on, i loath the new standard safety tech from 2024 into this year.

We're not paying at all for cars right now so it making the choice a bit harder. We keep what we have and only pay fuel service (JCW so parts are a bit eyewatering) or start to cough 300-500 for a lease car but have little to pay for fuel.

JCW probably worth £16-17k on Motorway.

9 minutes ago, Aspman said:

Work had just released a new EV car scheme to us with some option that are even making me consider it. I've little interest in EVs tbh other than as potentially cheap transport so I have little knowledge of the cars or the tech these days.
However we're getting offered salary sacrifice on EVs plus 4000 free chargin miles plus ev rates (it's with octopus so 5p kwh ev rate over night). Little 'un about to start school full time needing a daily commute of about 75mi a day total (cripes never noticed it was that much).

Currently using some fairly petrol heavy cars so 32mpg ish.

So couple of questions - any decent cost calculators online to see if it's worth it? I've looked at a few and they are terrible

Need some direction re cars, looking for <40k, I guess about 200mi range (couple of days + spare), 5 seats that will take adults in the back, comfortable and not made of the same plastic that toys on kids magazines are made from.
Octopus doesn't have all that many brands tbh. Not too bother about looks, it's a dishwasher on wheels after all.

Very much of personal taste as there is so much choice out there now but there is so much choice there is something to suit most people I reckon.

The Renault Scenic I have was European Car of the Year last year ie 2024. The rear passenger space is very roomy and one has 4 USB C. Renault UK reduced the price of the Techno and Alpine version to under £40k to avoid the Expensive Car Supplement. Range 300 miles or so even in winter.

Most nice EVs, with plenty of rear space are over £40k RRP. Struggling to think of any other in the same league as the Scenic. It is front wheel drive and "only" 220hp. Charging up to 150 KW though it does dip when that hits 50%.

Running costs are low with both energy, servicing and even insurance all relatively low.

Out of all the EV,s i have been sitting in or tried driving my favourites have been Polestars. Tried 3 flavours.

Comfortable..Lovely to drive.

No Polestar options, the Volvos are 500-1100 a month. If we were doing it would be way down the price range or we're as well to keep what we have and pay the petrol.

Or we might just look for a 1.9td Polo 😁

I suppose first and foremost question for you, can you charge at home? Have driveway?

I suppose you can charge at home when you mentioned 5p/kWh overnight. (keep in mind cheapest Octopus EV tariff is 7p/kWh)

There's so many choices of EV out there these days, it'll be personal taste.

In general, German premium brands are inefficient and built on modified ICE platform. VW ID range/Skoda El**/Renault are pretty good, using EV platforms. Korean/Chinese cars are very good EV's but stuff feels low quality. Forget Japanese and try to avoid Stellantis.

Why not list a few of the options you like and we can direct you to informative reviews to help you narrow your searches.

Edited 2 June, 20251 yr by wyx087

1 hour ago, wyx087 said:

I suppose first and foremost question for you, can you charge at home? Have driveway?

I suppose you can charge at home when you mentioned 5p/kWh overnight. (keep in mind cheapest Octopus EV tariff is 7p/kWh)

There's so many choices of EV out there these days, it'll be personal taste.

In general, German premium brands are inefficient and built on modified ICE platform. VW ID range/Skoda El**/Renault are pretty good, using EV platforms. Korean/Chinese cars are very good EV's but stuff feels low quality. Forget Japanese and try to avoid Stellantis.

Why not list a few of the options you like and we can direct you to informative reviews to help you narrow your searches.

Ok 7p a kWh I didn't have the number to hand.

What do I like, honestly, basically nothing. I very much do not like modern cars at all right now. The except would be the new Renault 5 but whether that functions as a usable vehicle would need testing. the majority of the rest I find pretty hideous. The few I've been in I found the interiors cheap and scratchy. Acceptable if you are in a basic car, not so acceptable in a £50k bmw.

Mrs already going cold on the idea through the day, I think she thought it was a free car not £500 a month.

An example of the current deal is a salary sacrifice Reanult 5, on at £350 a month (scottish taxes would actually make it a little cheaper) with 6000 miles charging rebate, free charger installation. 12k a year for 4 year, no deposit/up front payment thing they do with lease.

43 minutes ago, Aspman said:

Ok 7p a kWh I didn't have the number to hand.

What do I like, honestly, basically nothing. I very much do not like modern cars at all right now. The except would be the new Renault 5 but whether that functions as a usable vehicle would need testing. the majority of the rest I find pretty hideous. The few I've been in I found the interiors cheap and scratchy. Acceptable if you are in a basic car, not so acceptable in a £50k bmw.

Mrs already going cold on the idea through the day, I think she thought it was a free car not £500 a month.

An example of the current deal is a salary sacrifice Reanult 5, on at £350 a month (scottish taxes would actually make it a little cheaper) with 6000 miles charging rebate, free charger installation. 12k a year for 4 year, no deposit/up front payment thing they do with lease.

I found the R5 very nice to drive and the 150 hp version felt quicker than my 170 hp Scenic.

Back seats not really big enough for Adults on long journeys and especially when those adults are closer to 6'6'' in some memfer of my family than they are to 6' !

Rumours that Expensive Car Supplement trigger level will be raised.

@Aspman thankfully i called into Brechin to try again the R5 while on my way to roadtest an Alpine A290 GTS.

Cramped and uncomfortable for me.

As for the MINI Aceman that was just horrible, just the position of the door handle to get out of it was enough for me to say no nay never.

Are you going to check out a Skoda Karoq or Enyaq?

1 hour ago, Ootohere said:

@Aspman thankfully i called into Brechin to try again the R5 while on my way to roadtest an Alpine A290 GTS.

Cramped and uncomfortable for me.

As for the MINI Aceman that was just horrible, just the position of the door handle to get out of it was enough for me to say no nay never.

Are you going to check out a Skoda Karoq or Enyaq?

The Mrs is a bit of a badge snob, she loves her minis. I actually think the Enyaq is one of the less offensive cars.
We need to do the sums I think.

From a Skoda point of view, I think only one of the Enyaqs creeps below £40K?
if you don't mind a smaller boot, Elroqs give you more choice including a bigger battery option. I believe rear seat space in the Elroq is similar to the Enyaq.

75 mile a day commute adds up in service costs and fuel - I used to do a big commute in a Fabia 1.9TD so the aforementioned Polo 1.9TD sounds spot-on!

However it's still worth adding up what you pay in fuel per year, as it takes a lot of fuel savings to offset a cost of a new car, and even cheap rate overnight electricity starts to add up if you're using over 20 kWh per working day.

Edited 2 June, 20251 yr by DavidY

20 kWh @ 6.7 pence =£1.34, giving you 70 miles maybe. (3.5 miles a kWh.)

30 kWh £2.01, 105 miles. Eon Next 7 hours @ 6.7 pence a kWh.

Edited 2 June, 20251 yr by Ootohere

Put it this way, there's roughly 10p/mile saving vs economical diesel of slightly smaller size (that number come from Skoda Octavia 2.0 TDI vs Tesla Model Y AWD).

So 75 miles a day, 5 days a week, ~4 weeks a month = 1500 miles. That's roughly £150 saving straight away.

Not accounting for free electricity in the lease agreement.

Of course there's no cost advantage compared to used cars. But would people do the same savings maths buying brand new ICE vehicle?

A comparable used EV to an use ICE vehicle would be something like Leaf/Zoe. Buy for similar price, only use it to do the commute, fully use the battery daily for maximum saving. I did this for ~3 years before COVID.

Comparable ICE vehicle would be an ICE car of similar size to Renault 5, but for £150 less per month on lease due to additional fuel cost. Which car would you prefer?

For non badge snobs just want cheap reliable transport for maybe up to an 80 mile a day commute.

& then day off transport.

13 hours ago, Aspman said:

The Mrs is a bit of a badge snob, she loves her minis. I actually think the Enyaq is one of the less offensive cars.
We need to do the sums I think.

Just ordered, my son actually, a new electric mini, the E rathervthan the SE so the small 36 kwh battery. Lighter than the SE with the 49 kwh battery and elreports say better dynamically for it.

O to 60 in 7 seconds with its 181 hp motor and 290 Nm of torque. Range is still quite low and as we took out the test car it wad showing 105 miles of range with about 80% charge but probably being driven in Gocart / sport setting mostly during tests.

Just a hoot to drive and much lad will have the option of driving the Scenic or the ZE50 Zoe if he needs a 250 / 200 mile range car.

British Racing Green, level 1 pack so head up display, adaptive lighting, heated seats etc. Due off the boat from Great Wall Motors in August. Be glad when they are made here in the Midlands ie next year as will be BMW MINI to avoid those EU, US Anti Dumping Duties !!

I've had my Cupra Born for just over a week now so it's early days but here's a bit of info that might help.

It's a V2 59kWh with a couple of extra option packs added that I think gives it a P11D value of just under £40k - I got it mainly because it was about the cheapest car on Octopus salary sacrifice that I found palatable.

Home charger installation was easy and free although I've only used it twice due to doing most charging at work.

It's a small battery but based on my motorway driving so far (bear in mind this is summer and cruising at 70-75mph) I am getting about 3.5 miles/kWh which gives you a summer motorway range of around 200 miles. This is fine for my usage as I have a diesel for long trips but obviously if this will be your only car then it's important to consider range/charging speed/cost etc if you ever venture more than 100 miles from home.

Car seems overall good quality and surprisingly roomy in the back (no transmission tunnel helps). It apparently has the same legroom as a BMW 5 series and I can well believe that.

Boot is OK but nothing special, probably similar to a VW Golf.

Looks wise is down to personal opinion of course but I certainly think it looks a lot nicer/more interesting than an ID3 which is more or less the same car.

In terms of driving it's been good so far, very quiet (which in many ways I'm not so keen on) but smooth and punchy.

It's also nice to not have to be so concerned about driving efficiently as the 'fuel' cost is so low.

Mine has the Pilot pack which means it pretty much drives itself on the motorway - very relaxing.

The feature which I'm most looking forward to using is pre-heating in winter as it's the thing I miss most in my Superb (my previous Volvo XC60 had it). You can also pre-cool it down in summer which I have used a couple of times but it's not as important as pre-heating in my opinion.

Any questions then be free to ask!

Wow, £150 per month lease, 1500 miles per month, ~£150 per month fuel saving.

Did the Mrs say want a free car?

4 hours ago, Ootohere said:

For non badge snobs just want cheap reliable transport for maybe up to an 80 mile a day commute.

& then day off transport.

Spring Extreme 65 felt surpringly nippy.

Did roll quite a bit in higher speed corners and the front seats were terrible but can maybe be sorted with a add on longer seat cushion or changing the front seat for a much better corsa or similar seat which apparently fits.

Very cheap motoring and not a bad spec.

Edited 3 June, 20251 yr by lol-lol

So we'd kind-of dismissed this and were back to thinking that maybe a small derv would be the right thing for us.
However I had a call booked with the Octopus EV person to go through the options etc.

So mostly fluff but in the end got quoted on a VW ID3 (can't recall spec but can dig it up).

Quote was £317 per month dalary sacrifice for 3yr at 12k a year.
This included = maintenance, insurance, road tax, tyres at 20k or 2mm, free charger at home, and 6000mi energy credit.
Deal also included discount rate with Octopus at 6p kWh overnight.

The Clubman will use more than £400 a month in fuel. Plus it's an expensive bugger to run for everything else as well. It should sell for about £17k though.
Seems almost too good to be true and I need to double check there isn't a £10k deposit or something.

10 hours ago, Aspman said:

Seems almost too good to be true and I need to double check there isn't a £10k deposit or something.

It does a bit but it is potentially true if you're in the 62% tax bracket. My car is on Octopus EV too and if I punch a wage of £110k for example into our configurator then I am getting a similar price on a low spec ID3.

There won't be any deposit.

If you are in that tax bracket then it is more or less a complete no brainer to do it as long as you can live with an EV.

I'm enjoying mine so far but I have the Superb as backup for long journeys etc (we do these quite frequently) - I wouldn't countenance an EV as my only car at this stage but many will find it works for them if they never/rarely do long journeys.

Awesome result. What's the Octopus 6p/kWh tariff called? I guess it is only offered to Octopus EV lease customers.

A few gotchas to watch out: electricity day time tariff doesn't sky rocket, over mileage price, deposit as you pointed out.

Also keep in mind BIK is increasing quite quickly next 3 years if that affects you.

5 minutes ago, wyx087 said:

What's the Octopus 6p/kWh tariff called? I guess it is only offered to Octopus EV lease customers.

It's Intelligent Go but Octopus EV owners get 1p kW/h discount on the cheap rate.

I haven't signed up to it as I'm on Tomato at the moment which seems even better (though looking like they might go bust any day now)!

But I've only charged the car twice at home so far as I can do nearly all my charging at work.

It works well though - and my charger is outputting 7.5-7.7 kW which is more than I was expecting. My dad says his typically only gives about 6.9 kW. Small differences really but quite interesting to see the variation.

9 minutes ago, wyx087 said:

Also keep in mind BIK is increasing quite quickly next 3 years if that affects you.

The BIK amount is generally already factored in to the quote you get on Octopus.

16 minutes ago, Dieselgate said:

My dad says his typically only gives about 6.9 kW. Small differences really but quite interesting to see the variation.

Probably caused by a difference in voltage between your properties. Around here we have 248-250V as a rule, very close to the maximum allowed by the regulators so my charger often gives 7.8kW and never under 7.5kW (should be 7.3kW at 230V)