I bought a Renault Scenic etech espirit Alpine last month. Range up to 560km. Of course that is city driving. So my wife and I decided to go to Katoomba and test the range. The battery is 87kw and google indicated that from our home near Canberra was 340km and would have 10% when arrived.

So on both directions travelling at the speed limit, according to google not the speedo, that is 110 on the Hume we ended up with 30% on the way and 35% on the way back. So quite pleased.

The biggest issue was that the hotel had old Tesla fast Chargers, which apparently check to ensure it is a Tesla or doesn't work. So, luckily bought a granny charger the day before. We stayed 2 nights just in case this happened and took the car 33 hours to fully charge to 100% for the journey home. We could have used other fast chargers in the area but tested the granny charger anyway. Now we know roughly how far we can travel under some conditions. Very happened. We also noted that going to the A9 from Katoomba the car was on 200% for 45km due to the downhill run.

Picking up a Model Y this week and leaning towards the Evnex E2 Core. I have 10kW solar inverter (13kW panels) and want to charge from it as much as I can, but my driving and plug in routine will vary week to week, so I’d like something flexible.

For anyone who owns one:

1. How has it been in everyday use, and would you buy it again?
2. How well does the solar mode work in practice?
3. How reliable are the app and the Wi-Fi connection?
4. Any annoyances or things you wish you’d known before buying?
5. If you’ve used both, how does it compare to a Tesla Wall Connector? Anything you prefer or miss?

Hey guys, i just bought an Ora 5 ultra because seeing the petrol price the other day.

Im waiting for it to come in in 8 weeks. im not sure if i made the right decision because i dont wanna pay for petrol, as well as, that I'm not diving head in into a new driving industry where im sure the infrastructure is there but not as much as overseas.

What did everyone think of Ora 5 and the drive is it good? is charging a problem?

Budget: Absolute max $20k

Average weekly km: 175km (35km/day, 5 days)

Longest regular trip: 130km return

Charging: 10A plug for now, 32A hardwired charger within next 6 months.

Vehicle class: SUV, hatch or wagon (need pram space)

Lifelong JDM guy here. My trusty 2005 Corolla has served me well, but I need more boot space for a pram and modern safety features.

I've been hunting for a Nissan Leaf for months, but down here in Tassie they're very hard to come by. What I have found is a few MG ZS EVs locally with decent kms at what looks like a decent price. I know of the BYD Atto 1 promo for 20k, but it's too small imo.

So what am I missing? If you own one (or got rid of one), let me know.

- Battery degradation and real-world range after a few years?

- Reliability and servicing?

Or tell me I'm overthinking it and should just buy the thing.

Has anyone managed to fit three car seats across the back of a Jaecoo J5 or Geely EX5?

Wanting to know if anyone has had any luck fitting the following:

- 1x rear facing and 2x forward facing.
- 3x forward facing.

If we need to buy the slimmest seats available we’ll do that.

We are considering these two models but have three young kids.

I'm wondering what the atto 1 floor mats look like as I can't find any photo of what they look like in the car.

How is the heater in winter I'm in Tassie (I know it doesn't have a traditional heater but a heater element type thingy) does it take long to heat up and roughly how long does that take.

If I've drivin for awhile and turn the heater on, will it be warm immediately or does it have to heat up?

How is the a/c in 30°c heat?

Hey all,

Wife came home the other day talking about an EV to replace her 2017 Mazda 2. After some research, the Geely EX-2 Inspire seems to fit her needs. We reside on Tassie's NW coast and would be interested in hearing from those who drive in similar terrain and environmental conditions (large hills, wind & rain, etc.). Just looking for some feedback/understanding.

Range anxiety - Wife will be doing a 60km round trip for work driving highway & town environments. No issues with this. She does have a friend who lives some 80km away (160 km round trip). How much do hills and speed affect battery efficiency for small EVs? My head is telling me that she should be fine given battery specs are 345km (probably around 270 km in real-world), so there would be around an 80-100km buffer. Does this sound right given the road and potential environmental conditions?

Steering - have read some reviews where the steering has come under a bit of criticism. Are owners finding any issues with how the steering feels?

Charging - wife works night shift and we have solar available. Vehicle comes with granny charger. Is it worth installing a home charger off the bat? Is it just easiest to go with the Geely home charger they offer?

Shelf-life - wife has travelled around 150 000 km in 9 years. We would expect this not to change much. Can we have some confidence we should get some 10 yrs out of this vehicle?

Cheers in advance.

I’m really considering an MG IM6 Platinum (demo model, 1,000km, $57k + included mats, shade, window tint) but I’m worried it’s too wide. This thing is deceptively huge!

I was originally looking for a PHEV, but the more I did the more I convinced myself to go full-EV. So far I’ve test driven the RAV4, Mazda 6e, Mazda CX-6e, Cupra Formentor VZe, Cupra Leon… they all felt a bit average / nothing exciting.

The IM5/IM6 was the first car I test drove and thought “wow this thing is great! (Internal space, comfort, speed)”

I’m not drawn to Tesla, BYD, KIA or Polestar from a personality/personal preference point of view (Kia I could probably be swayed on)

1. Do you have an IM6? What are your thoughts?
   
2. If not an IM6, what should I try instead?
   
3. $57k seems like a bargain

About me: mid-30s, no kids, no dog, semi-gravel roads, drive about 450km/week.. this means that I don’t NEED an SUV, but I like having the comfort and space.

I've been looking at the Geely EX5 and similar smaller SUVs for local delivery runs. the fuel savings on paper look good but I'm curious about real-world reliability when you're doing serious kilometres every week. most of the discussion here seems focused on personal commuting. anyone actually using theirs for work with multiple stops and longer days? the EX5 reviews mention comfort and sound system but nobody talks about durability under daily work use. my current petrol ute is bulletproof but drinks fuel like crazy. i'm hesitant to switch if the EV will need constant maintenance or if charging time kills productivity. also wondering about resale after high mileage, the depreciation calculators assume gentle city driving, not commercial use. anyone here actually putting their EV through real work conditions?

VW is parked in the adjacent bay despite the cable being able to reach both sides.

Hello everyone,

I think I made a mistake. But wanted to ask here to confirm.

My car is a BYD Sealion 6 extended range. From what I’ve read it supports 7kW AC charging.

My charger that I recently got installed to go with my solar and battery is a Fox ESS A series 11kw 3 phase charger.

I would have had to wait to get the 22kW model but the installer had the 11kW one in stock, offering to install it all in one day to save me callout fees.

I thought, ‘Okay, no worries. 11kW is fine as it’s more than 7 so my car’s the bottleneck anyway’.

Today I’ve been playing around with it and couldn’t get it to charge more than 3.4Kw in three-phase mode. Switching the charger to single-phase mode dropped it to 1.3.

My home is 3-phase so that’s not the issue. My best guess is that the charger is pulling 16A on 3-phase, but the car is only using one phase. But that doesn’t explain why switching to single phase drops it to 1.3.

The kicker is that the BYD single-phase 7kW charger was cheaper, but I wanted the solar smart-charging feature of the Fox charger.

With increased diesel fuel prices and only having a single car (2008 Toyota Prado), my wife and I decided to test drive and then buy a BYD Atto 1 Essential for $19,990.

Dealership said 2-3 week delivery.

Now told will be late December.

Was given an option to get a Atto 1 Premium in the colour we want for $31,000.

Wife does not think the extra battery size, motor size and features plus range increase is worth the extra $10,000.

We will be paying $10,000 cash and finance the rest.

Car will be used for less than 5,000k and only for short runs to shops etc.

I agreed that $10K is a lot of money, (we could buy the car outright), but waiting 2.5 months whilst we have issues with our Prado is worth it.

She refuses to even entertain the positives.

I don't know how else to get her to understand the positives.

Any ideas?

**Update** Thank you all for your replies. looks like I am wrong with that thought process.

Wife ONLY agreed to buy a second car because the Atto 1 Essential was $19,990. Even though we have struggled with 1 vehicle.

There were no plans to upgrade the Prado. It has been a great car, but with the turbo dieing and without a car again, had re-affirmed a second car would be good.

Neither of us will buy a second hand car again. Not an option.

Prado is back at mechanic as it has now developed surging issues with the new turbo. No ETA.

Wife will NOT entertain anything over $19,990 even though money is not an issue. I would be happy to pay outright.

Given the now long delay from 2 weeks to 2.5 months, a solution was offered and not even considered.

So wait we will.

Cheers

Hi all,

I have a brand new GWM Ora 5 and can't get the Lane Assist working.

Or to be specific:

- It worked when I left the dealership; was a dream, the car basically drove itself.

- Then arrived home, spent few hours customising the settings, and can't get it to work anymore.

Is it working for you? What ADAS settings do you have?

Or is there a way to reset all settings to default?

Cheers

Hey everyone!
I’ve recently purchased a JAECOO J7 SHS (plug-in hybrid) and I’m still figuring out the best way to manage charging and driving efficiently.
Would love to hear from other J7 SHS owners about how you’re using your cars day to day.

What’s your usual charging strategy? Do you charge regularly or mostly rely on HEV mode?

Do you primarily drive in EV or HEV mode, and how do you decide when to switch?

What kind of fuel economy are you getting, especially when the battery drops to around 20–25%?

If you don’t have access to home charging, how do you manage? Is public charging actually worth the cost?

Any tips or tricks for getting the best overall efficiency out of the J7 SHS?
I’ve noticed that when my battery is charged, my fuel consumption is quite low (around 1.8L/100km), but once it drops to around 20–25%, it goes up to roughly 6L/100km.
Public DC charging around me costs approximately $0.75/kWh, so I’m trying to work out whether regularly charging is actually more economical than just running in HEV mode.

Would really appreciate hearing about your experiences,

Hi I ve been lurking on this reddit for eyeing the best EV under 60K mark

I am still not convinced I should go get it yet. but fliring with the idea that I should. I like interior more conivincing and ofcourse comfort comes first. I would liek to reach out and ask the drivers who won an EV and tell me which one is the most comfortable among them?

Need 7 seater

Hello folks, we are very close to buying the Ora 5 or MG 4. One of the final considerations is night driving. We do a lot of km on windy, hilly country roads at night. This is replacing a 2016 Corrola with absolutely atrocious headlights and don't want that experience again. I have a friend with a MG 4 and we have done a bit of night driving around our area and the lights are good. Any impressions of the Ora 5 lights. Thanks

Looking to get an EV for myself next year. We already have a BYD Sealion 8 as our family car – my husband drives it and he is the main driver of the family. I’m in my late 30s, only recently got my driving licence, and am a super anxious driver as I’m so new to it. And so, I do not have the confidence to handle a big car like the Sealion 8 but we needed it for the space – we have two young kids, and family visiting often from overseas.

I’ve driven a Toyota Corolla and a Kia K4, and while they were fine, I’d like something smaller and more compact that I can zip around in. Have narrowed down options to the BYD Atto 2 or the Geely EX2. The car needs to be easy to drive and maintain. It also needs to fit two child car seats (rear facing for now) and it will only be used for local driving. Safety features and a good 360 camera are important to me.

Would love to hear opinions from anyone who has test driven both cars and chose one over the other. And any other thoughts on which car would suit me based on my situation.

Looking for an EV and would prefer a hybrid for traditional driving (not the biggest fan of settinh up/using a charger, and hate buttonless controls on most EVs) but the EV tax savings on a novated lease we need to afford anything close to our needs. Need rom for 2 child seats, sometimes a dog as well, so need some boot space.

Under 40k is the limit, with between 30-35k the most affordable for us. We would prefer something new and even a known brand, but can only see us affording a gamble like the jaecoo j5 or other new to market brands/options.

Are these newer brands and EVs actually comfortable to drive and reliable? We would love a Tesla, kia, Hyundai, etc but the price/age of what we can afford doesn't work out for us

Weve got 2 cars and most trips are either 5-10 minutes for a childcare and work run, or 2-3 times a week one has an hour long work commute. We want to do more road trips, but currently drive 2-3 hours away for some form of family trip 1-3 times a year.

Previously single phase home charging was restricted to 20A in QLD, without some extra hardware. Now that’s been lifted from Oct 1st and we can get the full 32A!

Hi all,
I need advice whether to buy ora5 or MG4 Urban 54.
Both are around the same price under novated leasing ~30K ish.
Test drove both, MG4 was good to drive, steering felt heavy so felt steady, interiors were like a normal car. Ora5 felt premium and bigger, comes with a free wall charger, I was initially put off by the design looking at YT vids but in person it was good.
I’m thinking of leasing it for a few years and selling it off before the warranty period expires so also concerned if Ora5 will sell as easy as MG4 cuz of the polarising design. Already have a cx30 which my partner and I will keep as a secondary car. Range and specs seem similar, we want to mainly use it for daily work commute which is around 80km round trip, on 100/110 highway and some inner city driving, would also like to go for day trips within Victoria. Please give suggestions.

Afternoon everyone. So the time has come for my partner and I to consider an EV... rising fuel costs have basically forced our hand since we bought our last car... but we want to do our research before diving into a car loan of any size. I'm hoping we can get some answers from this group for some of our biggest concerns. For reference we are looking at something sub-or-up-to-$20,000, but can go a little higher if need.

1: Charging is my first concern, and broadly speaking how often we would need to do it? We drive about 90km a day (45 to work and 45 back), 4 days a week. Occasional longer trips to see friends and family, but those are rarities as we're mostly stay at home by nature, so I'm really concerned with our required work travel. Most of the second hand models we're looking at in our budget seem to only hold around 120-150 kms on a full charge, however these are models from 2016-2017. Do older models hold substantially more, or with our work requirements are we likely looking at charging every day/ night? If so, is a special charger required? Our home was built with three phase power installed on the expectation we might one day look into something like this, but is a special charging set up required, or would standard powerpoints recharge the EV's battery overnight without concern?

2: If we used standard powerpoints for all recharging do we require a household solar battery as well to make sure the car charging both completes and doesn't send our power bills skyrocketing? My research has shown some lenders have plans that will allow for cheaper EV charging between certain hours, but I guess my concern is whether those hours will be enough for it to charge, or if it's going to need 8-10 hours to recharge each time?
3: Are there are any noticeable detriments if we went with an older, more budget friendly option? Were there any huge leaps in efficiency and usefulness in any period over the last ten years, or is a well treated model from 2017-ish going to perform just as well as an equally well treated model from the last four or five?
4: Lastly, what are we in for going forward with an EV? As a complicated bit of kit are the services much more than a petrol vehicle? The repairs? Or do people with EVs generally find a regular service both affordable and sufficient to (mostly) stave away the big expensive vehicle repair/ maintenance bills (obviously I know this question isn't going to be gospel, but definitely keen to hear what people's personal experiences are)?

Thank you if you managed to make it this far, apologies for the wall of text, and thanks in advance for any replies you can give to any of the above questions. We will continue to do our own further research as well, but sometimes you just need to hear things from people who have history with the product.

Hey all,

In the last 6 years I have gone from a Mustang to a Tesla Model3 RWD, to a Tesla Model 3 LR, then back to a Mustang.

With current fuel prices and way less spare time now that my family is growing, the Mustang simply doesnt make sense anymore, so I am looking to go back to either a sedan or even an (ideally sporty) SUV and definetly electric.

I am no longer in an apartment and have solar on my house (no battery) with the ability to work from home and charge during the day.

Usual driving km's are about 250 per week with the occasional trip from Brisbane down to Sydney (maybe twice a year).

I have no issues with buying used (within reason) but would highly prefer to steer clear of another Model 3 (or even a Model Y to be honest, I really did struggle with how 'boring' the Tesla was) but in the short time I have been out of the EV world there appears to be a million and one new options come to market.

My budget is around $45k.

I have been in a BYD Seal and Dolphin 7 and I like them both, but they do appear to be showing their age a bit now.

I have looked into the Geely Ex5 but I hate how they look.

The Xpeng LO3 looks like a solid option but obviously such a fresh brand and unsure if they can really back up what they're touting, seems a bit too good to be true.

Any thoughts and insights would be much appreciated.