Great video - I've been driving my Cupra Born (V2) for just over 2 years(20,000 miles) on a salary sacrifice scheme via my employer. I absolutely love it & would never go back to an ICE car. As you describe, the smoothness of the drive is the stand out feature of an EV, both acceleration & deceleration. My car recently had to be taken down to Southampton (from Norfolk) to have a small battery fault fixed - and during this time, i was supplied with a Mercedes A200 petrol car. While this was a perfectly good car, it felt so slow & unresponsive. It had a 7 speed automatic gearbox, but when you approach a roundabout or junction you have to use the brakes, as just lifting off the accelerator just won't slow the car down enough. We did lots of dual-carriage way driving, with plenty of roundabouts & even lifting off about half a mile before, wouldn't get the car slowed down enough. The acceleration was so varied, depending on what gear the car was currently in, and how much you pressed your foot down, waiting for the gear change down & then rev like mad , before changing up again seemed so bizarre. The only thing that lets down the Born, is the software - it is very laggy, sometimes the infotainment screen just remains blank, so you need to stop the car, turn off & on again to get it restart. Lack of backlit controls is such a basic design flaw its laughable.It would also regularly reset the colour I had set for our ambient lighting to, for no reason. Software updates have to be done via the dealer - no OTA updates.
That's good to know. Interesting to hear about the software, I'll have to ask Dave about his experiences in the V3. I guess those updates can be done at an annual service? Not ideal, as you say.
Just got my first EV and absolutely delighted. I was looking at private leases or options through work but eventually bought one second hand outright. 2021 Hyundai Ioniq Electric with 19,000 miles. Under £11k which I thought was great value because most around that amount are too small. It's not got a huge battery or range (about 180 miles with regen) but we only need it for local journeys. If we go any distance as a family it's probably going to be holiday or camping and we'll need the storage and comfort of our S-Max. If we replace that in 8-10 years it'll probably be for one with 600+ mile range. Our charger is coming next week then it's onto Octopus Intelligent and our off-peak rate (95% of our usage) drops from 13p to 7p. That's something people don't talk about enough, the drop in domestic electricity costs.
Very much like this video! Test drove this one today, and its not the fastest EV, but it feels nice. Good to see that you also enjoy this car. Based on today’s results, my gf is getting this one as well 😊
Great video and good to hear thr view from Dave as a first time EV owner. As a two year Born owner myself, i can only agree with him. It's a great car. We have the 58kWh model and have never had any range anxiety. One point on the B mode, personal choice with the driving experience but the D mode is more efficient as it coasts when lifting the pedal.
B mode is an interesting one, for the vast majority turning on high regen or one-pedal-drive is going to be worse on efficiency, because any movement in the pedal causes you to slow a lot, so you end up having to use more energy to get back up to speed. Even after getting used to it I found my Polestar much more efficient with "medium" regen. But EV journalists and channels go on about OPD as if it's the best thing ever, I don't get it!
The other great thing about leasing an EV through a company scheme is that there's absolutely no worry about battery life. I think Dave is probably paying for more range than he really needs, but I can understand being a bit conservative with something new. Once you've done a few longer trips that rely on public chargers, you get a lot more confident about finding and using them. There are so many more chargers now than there were a just few years ago that it's not the problem it used to be. At first I had to stop at every charger on my route. Now I can filter out any location that doesn't have a coffee shop and at least three chargers, and still have a choice.
This is the great thing with EV's, we as EV drivers already know all of the benefits and it is so nice when you see a new EV driver come to that same realisation. Come on Tim it is time for you to have an EV now!
Yes, I am desperate to get an EV, and with any luck that should happen next year. There are finally some viable options that fit my requirements coming out soon. Up until now they've all been too big and expensive for what I want.
@@TimAndKatsGreenWalk Yep I had an Audi Q5 and realised it was too large topark in most places. Well I could park but if another vehicle parked, I may not get in. I decided to cut down and ended up moving to A Kia E Niro 4+. My Lease was cheaper than what I had been paying and included all servicing and tyres. I now have a Tesla Model 3 RWD Highland and absolutely love it. Super efficient very easy to drive and on the couple of times I needed a charge, it has been ready in 15 minutes, to continue my journey. So many cars to choose from now makes it more difficult, but thankfully 2 to 3 year old EV's are at a fantastic price.
The main takeaway for me was that he was willing and able to change his mindset so that the transition was smooth. People without that ability, or absent an open mind, will always find reasons to avoid things that challenge their blinkered view on life. And with so many agenda driven people on mainstream and social media pushing all the usual myths and legends they just become parrots. One day the same people will assert that they always knew that driving EV gave a better experience. They could start that journey by taking a test drive. And then reject the ancient technology that they presently cling to.
You're absolutely right. Dave is certainly a pretty open minded guy, moreso than a lot of people, for sure. Those other people will come around in the fullness of time, I hope.
Great video and as expected from everyone I know who has gone BEV. Thanks Dave. Think he may be unhappy with the £43k price though as from April it will attract the "luxury car tax" extra. Hopefully manufacturers are going to bring down prices to below this magic figure. And not get any extras that take it over. My wife wanted to swap her Golf but when she looked at the ID3 could not cope with the small back window. Appreciate aerodynamics and swoopy roofs but it is a pain seeing out the back. Hoping EV3 is the answer - but on pricing now tricky to get one under the £40k if you choose a paint option or not base spec. As others have said it is not range anxiety but charger availability anxiety that is the main issue; but the huge strides in main route charging places in 2024 make it a none issue. My Volvo XC40 will only do 200miles but it is never an issue.
Yup, I reckon we're pretty close to affordable EVs becoming mass market with a whole load of smaller cheaper models coming out over the next few years. And as you say the charging network is getting better all the time.
I don't have an issue with a higher level of VED for premium cars but I think it's pretty stupid to set it at the same level for EVs as ICE. I thought we were trying to incentivise the switch? Should be £50k for EVs. On a similar note I believe there are ICE cars paying less (or zero) than the £190 rate for EVs. What's the logic there? Yes, they're cleaner and better than old diesels but they're still putting out CO2. So I'd like someone to explain that to me as well!
I saw something recently where you don’t suffer range anxiety, you suffer charger anxiety, which apart from the Scottish highlands is pretty much addressed from my experience. Ex-demo vehicles are so much cheaper than brand new and there are so many good deals off of list price available for new too
I wish I had somewhere to plug it in, but we have on street parking, and not always our street 😥 I keep hoping we may get lamp post chargers or something similar. We have rapid chargers near by but for everyday use they are just too much.
The comment about never having driven an automatic would be somewhat different of he was familiar with some of the ICE automatics. The reason it works so well as a gearless EV is that whenever you press the pedal the car is always ready to go ... the perfect solution. An ICE automatic needs to anticipate the required gear, and if necessary change the gear ... this can be very frustrating when it gets it wrong! It changes up just as you are approaching traffic and then needs to change down again and then back up almost immediately ... or you spot a gap but the car just isn't ready to dart into the gap. An EV does all those things with ease.
You're right, I've driven a few ICE automatics and EVs are hands down superior in every way. Instant power, none of the sponginess you get with an ICE automatic.
Ive got a v3 58kwh on order. Could i ask how long was his wait time. I ordered last day of sept, and they have quoted me jan! So that 12-16 week wait for me 😢
Answer from Dave: "I ordered on 20th May and the car was delivered on 24th July. Originally from the 20th May I was quoted 16th Sept. So the dates shifted quite a lot." I hope that helps.
£43k for a smallish hatch EV is insane but I guess as a company car your brother in-law Dave doesn't worry too much about the cost of the car itself. TBH when I had company cars I didn't either because it was all about the BIK number. However, now I'm a pensioner & buy & run cars with my own hard earned cash, the cost of a car is much more important to me which is why I would never buy a brand new car. Buying a used EV is the way to go for us & I'm currently interested in a used Skoda Elroq or the smaller yet to be released Skoda Epiq (which could be very similar the Cupra Raval you are interested in) to replace our current Hyundai Kona EV in a few years time. I've still got my large petrol estate car ATM because no one has yet made an affordable large estate EV, the MG5 is not big enough & everything else is too expensive.
Things are definitely heading in the right direction, with more affordable EVs coming onto the market, but as you say second hand is a very viable option too.
The Dacia spring is a massive step in the right direction. I think that starts at 16k, and would make a good family beater you'd get 15 years out of, alot of nice hard plastics that are usually looked down on, but when your dragging kids and dogs in and out of it it'd what you actually need. And a good car of a pensioner on a budget. It's likely going to see you out.
European car makers can't build EVs to sell at a realistic price, you either have to get one through a company scheme or find one with a big discount. When Chinese cars are imported in decent quantities at a lower price (even if tarrifs and taxes are applied) the legacy makers will have to improve their manufacturing efficiency dramatically or they will just go out of business.
Great video - I've been driving my Cupra Born (V2) for just over 2 years(20,000 miles) on a salary sacrifice scheme via my employer. I absolutely love it & would never go back to an ICE car. As you describe, the smoothness of the drive is the stand out feature of an EV, both acceleration & deceleration. My car recently had to be taken down to Southampton (from Norfolk) to have a small battery fault fixed - and during this time, i was supplied with a Mercedes A200 petrol car. While this was a perfectly good car, it felt so slow & unresponsive. It had a 7 speed automatic gearbox, but when you approach a roundabout or junction you have to use the brakes, as just lifting off the accelerator just won't slow the car down enough. We did lots of dual-carriage way driving, with plenty of roundabouts & even lifting off about half a mile before, wouldn't get the car slowed down enough. The acceleration was so varied, depending on what gear the car was currently in, and how much you pressed your foot down, waiting for the gear change down & then rev like mad , before changing up again seemed so bizarre. The only thing that lets down the Born, is the software - it is very laggy, sometimes the infotainment screen just remains blank, so you need to stop the car, turn off & on again to get it restart. Lack of backlit controls is such a basic design flaw its laughable.It would also regularly reset the colour I had set for our ambient lighting to, for no reason. Software updates have to be done via the dealer - no OTA updates.
That's good to know. Interesting to hear about the software, I'll have to ask Dave about his experiences in the V3. I guess those updates can be done at an annual service? Not ideal, as you say.
Got one and it’s been great 16000 miles in. Very happy with it.
Good to hear.
Just got my first EV and absolutely delighted. I was looking at private leases or options through work but eventually bought one second hand outright. 2021 Hyundai Ioniq Electric with 19,000 miles. Under £11k which I thought was great value because most around that amount are too small.
It's not got a huge battery or range (about 180 miles with regen) but we only need it for local journeys. If we go any distance as a family it's probably going to be holiday or camping and we'll need the storage and comfort of our S-Max. If we replace that in 8-10 years it'll probably be for one with 600+ mile range.
Our charger is coming next week then it's onto Octopus Intelligent and our off-peak rate (95% of our usage) drops from 13p to 7p. That's something people don't talk about enough, the drop in domestic electricity costs.
Very nice. That should do you pretty well for most purposes.
Very much like this video! Test drove this one today, and its not the fastest EV, but it feels nice. Good to see that you also enjoy this car. Based on today’s results, my gf is getting this one as well 😊
That's great, I'm glad to hear it!
Our Born V3 has DCC and Michelin EV tyres and we think makes the handling amazing but does hit the range. My wife loves her Born.
Glad to hear it!
Great video and good to hear thr view from Dave as a first time EV owner. As a two year Born owner myself, i can only agree with him. It's a great car. We have the 58kWh model and have never had any range anxiety.
One point on the B mode, personal choice with the driving experience but the D mode is more efficient as it coasts when lifting the pedal.
It certainly feels like a great car to be in as a passenger. I'm looking forward to testing the Raval next year.
B mode is an interesting one, for the vast majority turning on high regen or one-pedal-drive is going to be worse on efficiency, because any movement in the pedal causes you to slow a lot, so you end up having to use more energy to get back up to speed. Even after getting used to it I found my Polestar much more efficient with "medium" regen. But EV journalists and channels go on about OPD as if it's the best thing ever, I don't get it!
The other great thing about leasing an EV through a company scheme is that there's absolutely no worry about battery life.
I think Dave is probably paying for more range than he really needs, but I can understand being a bit conservative with something new. Once you've done a few longer trips that rely on public chargers, you get a lot more confident about finding and using them. There are so many more chargers now than there were a just few years ago that it's not the problem it used to be. At first I had to stop at every charger on my route. Now I can filter out any location that doesn't have a coffee shop and at least three chargers, and still have a choice.
Yeah, it's improving quickly, even in the 18 months that we've had our EV. Still a way to go but heading in the right direction, for sure.
Love my cupra born quick. Handles well ,technology aplenty comfortable on motorway easy to park all round great
It does seem like a great car from my limited time as a passenger.
This is the great thing with EV's, we as EV drivers already know all of the benefits and it is so nice when you see a new EV driver come to that same realisation. Come on Tim it is time for you to have an EV now!
Yes, I am desperate to get an EV, and with any luck that should happen next year. There are finally some viable options that fit my requirements coming out soon. Up until now they've all been too big and expensive for what I want.
@@TimAndKatsGreenWalk Yep I had an Audi Q5 and realised it was too large topark in most places. Well I could park but if another vehicle parked, I may not get in. I decided to cut down and ended up moving to A Kia E Niro 4+. My Lease was cheaper than what I had been paying and included all servicing and tyres.
I now have a Tesla Model 3 RWD Highland and absolutely love it. Super efficient very easy to drive and on the couple of times I needed a charge, it has been ready in 15 minutes, to continue my journey.
So many cars to choose from now makes it more difficult, but thankfully 2 to 3 year old EV's are at a fantastic price.
@@Jaw0lf yup, lots more options than even only a couple of years ago.
Good choice Dave - always liked the Cupra with it's copper accents
It's a nice looking car, I agree.
The main takeaway for me was that he was willing and able to change his mindset so that the transition was smooth. People without that ability, or absent an open mind, will always find reasons to avoid things that challenge their blinkered view on life. And with so many agenda driven people on mainstream and social media pushing all the usual myths and legends they just become parrots. One day the same people will assert that they always knew that driving EV gave a better experience. They could start that journey by taking a test drive. And then reject the ancient technology that they presently cling to.
You're absolutely right. Dave is certainly a pretty open minded guy, moreso than a lot of people, for sure. Those other people will come around in the fullness of time, I hope.
Great video and as expected from everyone I know who has gone BEV. Thanks Dave.
Think he may be unhappy with the £43k price though as from April it will attract the "luxury car tax" extra. Hopefully manufacturers are going to bring down prices to below this magic figure. And not get any extras that take it over.
My wife wanted to swap her Golf but when she looked at the ID3 could not cope with the small back window. Appreciate aerodynamics and swoopy roofs but it is a pain seeing out the back. Hoping EV3 is the answer - but on pricing now tricky to get one under the £40k if you choose a paint option or not base spec.
As others have said it is not range anxiety but charger availability anxiety that is the main issue; but the huge strides in main route charging places in 2024 make it a none issue. My Volvo XC40 will only do 200miles but it is never an issue.
Yup, I reckon we're pretty close to affordable EVs becoming mass market with a whole load of smaller cheaper models coming out over the next few years. And as you say the charging network is getting better all the time.
I don't have an issue with a higher level of VED for premium cars but I think it's pretty stupid to set it at the same level for EVs as ICE. I thought we were trying to incentivise the switch? Should be £50k for EVs. On a similar note I believe there are ICE cars paying less (or zero) than the £190 rate for EVs. What's the logic there? Yes, they're cleaner and better than old diesels but they're still putting out CO2. So I'd like someone to explain that to me as well!
I saw something recently where you don’t suffer range anxiety, you suffer charger anxiety, which apart from the Scottish highlands is pretty much addressed from my experience.
Ex-demo vehicles are so much cheaper than brand new and there are so many good deals off of list price available for new too
Yes, the charger situation is definitely getting better quickly.
Dave is a typical EV driver. It’s provided by the company. No wonder he’s happy. Why not ask him if he’d buy it either his own money or
Plenty of happy EV drivers buy their own cars you know. And yes, he actually answered that question in the video. About 9 mins in.
I bought my own Tesla as my employer didn’t run a salary sacrifice scheme at the time.
I wish I had somewhere to plug it in, but we have on street parking, and not always our street 😥 I keep hoping we may get lamp post chargers or something similar. We have rapid chargers near by but for everyday use they are just too much.
Have you written to your MP or council? The places that have had them put in have been done due to local demand.
This is a huge problem that needs to be solved. I do hope you're able to get something set up in your area soon.
The comment about never having driven an automatic would be somewhat different of he was familiar with some of the ICE automatics. The reason it works so well as a gearless EV is that whenever you press the pedal the car is always ready to go ... the perfect solution. An ICE automatic needs to anticipate the required gear, and if necessary change the gear ... this can be very frustrating when it gets it wrong! It changes up just as you are approaching traffic and then needs to change down again and then back up almost immediately ... or you spot a gap but the car just isn't ready to dart into the gap. An EV does all those things with ease.
You're right, I've driven a few ICE automatics and EVs are hands down superior in every way. Instant power, none of the sponginess you get with an ICE automatic.
Ive got a v3 58kwh on order. Could i ask how long was his wait time. I ordered last day of sept, and they have quoted me jan! So that 12-16 week wait for me 😢
Answer from Dave: "I ordered on 20th May and the car was delivered on 24th July. Originally from the 20th May I was quoted 16th Sept. So the dates shifted quite a lot." I hope that helps.
£43k for a smallish hatch EV is insane but I guess as a company car your brother in-law Dave doesn't worry too much about the cost of the car itself. TBH when I had company cars I didn't either because it was all about the BIK number. However, now I'm a pensioner & buy & run cars with my own hard earned cash, the cost of a car is much more important to me which is why I would never buy a brand new car. Buying a used EV is the way to go for us & I'm currently interested in a used Skoda Elroq or the smaller yet to be released Skoda Epiq (which could be very similar the Cupra Raval you are interested in) to replace our current Hyundai Kona EV in a few years time. I've still got my large petrol estate car ATM because no one has yet made an affordable large estate EV, the MG5 is not big enough & everything else is too expensive.
Things are definitely heading in the right direction, with more affordable EVs coming onto the market, but as you say second hand is a very viable option too.
The Dacia spring is a massive step in the right direction. I think that starts at 16k, and would make a good family beater you'd get 15 years out of, alot of nice hard plastics that are usually looked down on, but when your dragging kids and dogs in and out of it it'd what you actually need.
And a good car of a pensioner on a budget. It's likely going to see you out.
Dave is obviously very happy, car looks great but for £43k it would not be my choice
There are cheaper variants with fewer toys. The Cupra Raval that I'm interested in should come in closer to £25k with any luck, too.
European car makers can't build EVs to sell at a realistic price, you either have to get one through a company scheme or find one with a big discount.
When Chinese cars are imported in decent quantities at a lower price (even if tarrifs and taxes are applied) the legacy makers will have to improve their manufacturing efficiency dramatically or they will just go out of business.
That is quite like likely, I agree.