I’m a car owner and driver (though it will come as a shock to the Government that I am pleased where I get the chance to drive less and only want to get from A to B without any frills). The car dependent system depresses me and I’m looking for leaders to change the system for the better (not for vote chasers).

Anyway, this post is actually about buying our new family car. We’ve gone down for the moment to one car and it’s old so the question is – how to go electric. My problem is that cars don’t interest me as a citizen, washing one for me happens about two or three times a year when pushed. Browsing for a car is borderline depressing.

So I’d be grateful for top tips from those of you with experience and better insight.

Here is where we’ve got to so far in our brief:

No to a hybrid.

No to an SUV.

No to buying new.

We are a household of five – 2 adults, three children all getting bigger (15, 12 and 8).

We ideally need a decent third seat in the back but since all five of us are rarely in the car together this is perhaps not so critical.

We rarely now make longer journeys – mostly local in our rural part of Wiltshire. Perhaps a monthly 60-mile round trip. Perhaps a 130-mile round trip every 6-8 weeks.

We have a driveway so trickle charging overnight once or twice a week seems straightforward.

We want A-B reliability for as long as possible relative to the price we pay. Not interested in power or luxury or frills.

Questions:

Which of the following are things to weigh up most carefully: age of vehicle versus mileage versus range?

Are there makes/models that stand out as ‘good runners’?

Is there a sweet spot range on budget based on the above (starting with a reference point of £15k)?

Very grateful to fellow Linkediners for top tips 💚🤘

#electriccar#BEV#secondhand#carmarket#ZEV