Greg Bobkin
Silver Seagull
- May 22, 2012
- 16,524
The EV line is to be expected - China is SO far down the road with EVs, battery tech and everything else. Interesting to see how PHEVs hold firm in that period, I would expect them to drop like ICE.
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[Misc] Electric Cars
- Thread starter Giraffe
- Start date
schmunk
Well-used member
This makes no sense, either with the route (I-70 is roughly a straight line and hundreds of miles shorter, with sufficient charging provision en route) or the number of stops required. If this is genuine however, the theory he navigated to the wrong Las Vegas is compelling (and really stupid)...
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Brian Munich
teH lulZ
- Jul 7, 2008
- 429
Anyone with much experience of leasing EV through a salary sacrifice scheme and actually managing to benefit from the low BIK and subsequent income tax savings?
My new employer operates a scheme, but the lease company running it (Fleet Evolution) are charging such high prices that it isn't worth it, even with 42% tax/NI taken into account. I got a quote for an ID Buzz, and with their prices the effective net cost is actually £20 a month more expensive than leasing it privately!
Having done a quick Google, it sounds like this is a common feature of companies running EV leasing through salary sacrifice. It's really dissapointing that the tax incentives offered by the government to go electric are just being used to increase the margins of rip-off leasing companies.
My new employer operates a scheme, but the lease company running it (Fleet Evolution) are charging such high prices that it isn't worth it, even with 42% tax/NI taken into account. I got a quote for an ID Buzz, and with their prices the effective net cost is actually £20 a month more expensive than leasing it privately!
Having done a quick Google, it sounds like this is a common feature of companies running EV leasing through salary sacrifice. It's really dissapointing that the tax incentives offered by the government to go electric are just being used to increase the margins of rip-off leasing companies.
- May 8, 2018
- 11,002
I know a guy that uses golf club stock yardages to add distance context to discussions.
“He was about a 7 iron (150 yards) from me when I first saw him”
- Oct 12, 2022
- 2,875
You EV disciples looking for a sports EV may enjoy this.
Interesting review leaving me with the impression of all fur coat and no knickers
I came away from that review feeling like MG were a revised software interface, a fix for seating position, and some suspension tweaks away from having a real hit. Having seen them in the flesh, they have a lot more presence than an MX5 or SLC/Z4.
503BHP and a 3.2s 0-60 time mean it’s considerably faster than all the above, and the Boxster. I suspect the Boxster and the MX5 are better handling, but they’ve been through multiple iterations over decades, this is the Cyberster’s first attempt. I suspect MG will tweak things as required.
I’m not in the market for two seater sports cars, but if I wanted one, the Cyberster is the only choice out there for someone like me who isn’t going back to the combustion engine. For someone who isn’t going full “dab of oppo” like me, it looks fun.
- Nov 15, 2006
- 5,047
I agree, it looks like an excellent first itineration but I am struggling to accept having to do a pre flight procedure every single time I start the car, which also applies to ICE cars made after July 24, to turn off the nannying cars have to do these days. This is likely to put me off ever buying a new car again, let alone an EV.
I may be wrong but I fear the nannying will make drivers even less attentive than so many already are. I still struggle to get my head around using an Ipad screen for virtually all things when using a mobile phone whilst driving is (correctly) banned.
schmunk
Well-used member
I was going to look up our current prices, but it appears the ID Buzz has been (temporarily?) pulled from our choice.
When I last did a price-up, an ID Buzz Style 7 seat, boggo spec in the free paint colour, 3 years x 7,500 miles, insured and fully maintained, was about £800/month gross, so about £450/month net for a 40% taxpayer. My employer gives a full pass-back of the employer NI savings (included within this net)
That's with no upfront cost, insured in LEAFY Mid Sussex and fully maintained. Any additional options/spec would be added in full to the gross over the lease period, with the same tax/NI benefits -> net.
Greg Bobkin
Silver Seagull
- May 22, 2012
- 16,524
It's an odd car because there are many aspects of it that are stunning – as Vicky says in that video, it's RIDICULOUSLY fast – but other elements, such as the screen being hidden behind the steering wheel, are just daft oversights. Pretty much straight after it arrived, I got asked whether it was a Lambo – and that theme continued during the week – so the styling team have clearly done their job. But the menus, screens and overall interior packaging leaves a lot to be desired.
Like you say, Flounce, having to go through a load of menus to turn stuff off is a complete ballache – the manufacturers know that, but their hands are tied. Some of it makes sense, but a lot of the safety features could be seen as solutions to problems that don't exist. The hope is that the rules might be relaxed in the future, but I won't hold my breath...
Here are my Cyberster ramblings, in case anyone's interested.
Are you comparing apples?
My Sal Sac (through Ayvens, previously known as Leaseplan) includes insurance, servicing, tyres etc. And there's zero up-front deposit. My only direct costs are electricity and washer fluid.
Just looking at private lease costs for an ID.3 of the same spec as mine, and getting it as close as possible to a like-for-like comparison (3 years, 8000 miles, and a 1 month deposit) it's working out roughly £200 per month more expensive and still doesn't include insurance.
Brian Munich
teH lulZ
- Jul 7, 2008
- 429
Yes, absoultely like-for-like: Same spec, 36 months lease, 10K miles and maintenance included. The quote I had via the scheme was for a gross monthly salary sacrifice of £1382 giving an effective net cost of £904. This was in comparison to a private lease quote of £880 per month.
To be fair I'd forgotten that the insurance was included in the company scheme. However, I'm late 40s with a clean licence and 15+ years of no-claims, so this would probably only be worth an extra £70-80 per month. And if I left the company within the 3 year lease I'd have to take over the lease and be stuck paying £1382 out of my net income!
oof.
Have a feeling this might be an ID.Buzz issue rather than across the board? Or as you suggest, the specific leasing company is taking the mick.
ID.3 private is a little over £500 (36m, 8000m, 1 mth dep, maintenance but w/out insurance), sal sac a little over £300 net all-in. From memory the pre-tax quote wasn't too far removed from the quick search I did for a private quote, so not much (if any) mickey-taking going on. Edit: also, our scheme has a hand-back policy for if I leave the company.
Brian Munich
teH lulZ
- Jul 7, 2008
- 429
From a quick Google, it sounds like this company, amongst others, is known for profiteering off of the goverment's EV tax incentives, so I doubt it's particular to this make/model. It's good to know that there are companies that do enable the end user to get the lion's share of the benefit though. I doubt it'll have much influence in the corporate beast I'm currently employed by, but I'll provide some feedback to the appropriate dept.
nicko31
Well-known member
Reckons we'll be on 50% EV sales in 2 years.....
Anyone got an ID7??
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I have an ID3 ... love it (despite some quirks of the computer system I don't like, it's a lovely car).
Greg Bobkin
Silver Seagull
- May 22, 2012
- 16,524
Not any more, sadly – it went back this morning after I spent six months with one. I absolutely loved it on the whole – here are my thoughts (with a final one or two reports to be added...).
The biggest praise I can give it is that if I was offered the keys for any extended period of time to either an ID.7 or a BMW i5 (which 'my' ID.7 replaced), I would take the Volkswagen every time. The i5 might be better as a driver's car, but to live with, give me the comfort and ride quality of the ID.7.
Greg Bobkin
Silver Seagull
- May 22, 2012
- 16,524
Funnily enough, that has just replaced the ID.7. It's a huge improvement on the original ID.3, but I already know some things are going to be irritating!