GTi gone (woohoo!)

[Andy Beats]

GTi gone now, so glad.
Can’t remember the last time I just didn’t connect with a car at all and didn’t find any redeeming features.
Even the speed was soured by horrible NVH to the point it wasn’t nice to put your foot down.
For the record and anyone else thinking of getting rid it was a 70 plate with 3700 miles and they gave me £20250.
Back into an electric car, cracking deal on a Nissan Leaf, which might not be cutting edge any more but it’s cheap and I wasn’t impressed with a test drive of the ID3, or not to the extent I’d be paying a fair bit more.
The ID3 just seemed ‘unfinished’ and extra money for any type of alloy wheel is a shocker (excuse the pun)

Roll on the daughter’s ‘united’ AW and there will be a third-in-a-row black polo on the drive.

[monkeyhanger]

GTi gone now, so glad.
Can’t remember the last time I just didn’t connect with a car at all and didn’t find any redeeming features.
Even the speed was soured by horrible NVH to the point it wasn’t nice to put your foot down.
For the record and anyone else thinking of getting rid it was a 70 plate with 3700 miles and they gave me £20250.
Back into an electric car, cracking deal on a Nissan Leaf, which might not be cutting edge any more but it’s cheap and I wasn’t impressed with a test drive of the ID3, or not to the extent I’d be paying a fair bit more.
The ID3 just seemed ‘unfinished’ and extra money for any type of alloy wheel is a shocker (excuse the pun)

Roll on the daughter’s ‘united’ AW and there will be a third-in-a-row black polo on the drive.

I can remember the last time you didn't connect with a car - it was the Polo Beats you got before the GTI.

[Andy Beats]

GTi gone now, so glad.
Can’t remember the last time I just didn’t connect with a car at all and didn’t find any redeeming features.
Even the speed was soured by horrible NVH to the point it wasn’t nice to put your foot down.
For the record and anyone else thinking of getting rid it was a 70 plate with 3700 miles and they gave me £20250.
Back into an electric car, cracking deal on a Nissan Leaf, which might not be cutting edge any more but it’s cheap and I wasn’t impressed with a test drive of the ID3, or not to the extent I’d be paying a fair bit more.
The ID3 just seemed ‘unfinished’ and extra money for any type of alloy wheel is a shocker (excuse the pun)

Roll on the daughter’s ‘united’ AW and there will be a third-in-a-row black polo on the drive.

I can remember the last time you didn't connect with a car - it was the Polo Beats you got before the GTI.

True, must just be a Polo thing.

[Andy Beats]

Oh just a wee reminder to anyone getting rid of their car to cancel the GAP insurance too.
Maybe easy to forget, sizeable refund on mine.

[lancslad1985]

GTi gone now, so glad.
Can’t remember the last time I just didn’t connect with a car at all and didn’t find any redeeming features.
Even the speed was soured by horrible NVH to the point it wasn’t nice to put your foot down.
For the record and anyone else thinking of getting rid it was a 70 plate with 3700 miles and they gave me £20250.
Back into an electric car, cracking deal on a Nissan Leaf, which might not be cutting edge any more but it’s cheap and I wasn’t impressed with a test drive of the ID3, or not to the extent I’d be paying a fair bit more.
The ID3 just seemed ‘unfinished’ and extra money for any type of alloy wheel is a shocker (excuse the pun)

Roll on the daughter’s ‘united’ AW and there will be a third-in-a-row black polo on the drive.

Seems a pretty poor deal that Andy. My gti plus was a 20 plate, one year old with 11600 miles on it and I got £20,500 for it. Did you p/ex it at Nissan? Would’ve thought you’d have gotten more for a 70 plate with mileage that low.

[Andy Beats]

Seems a pretty poor deal that Andy. My gti plus was a 20 plate, one year old with 11600 miles on it and I got £20,500 for it. Did you p/ex it at Nissan? Would’ve thought you’d have gotten more for a 70 plate with mileage that low.

Mine wasn’t a + remember.
TBH I don’t care, I wanted rid and I’d have been happy if they just settled the finance.
A few hundred quid equity is just a bonus.

[lancslad1985]

Seems a pretty poor deal that Andy. My gti plus was a 20 plate, one year old with 11600 miles on it and I got £20,500 for it. Did you p/ex it at Nissan? Would’ve thought you’d have gotten more for a 70 plate with mileage that low.

Mine wasn’t a + remember.
TBH I don’t care, I wanted rid and I’d have been happy if they just settled the finance.
A few hundred quid equity is just a bonus.

Ah I didn’t realise it wasn’t a +, makes sense now.

[monkeyhanger]

I still maintain that the Polo GTI+ is an excellent car for the money, we just outgrew ours. Now that you can get a well equipped 204ps ID3 Life or Family for around £27-28k, those fuel savings can make it almost as cheap when the fuel savings offset the additional cost.

It's really grwn on me - the initial "sparse/minimalist look" seems cheaping out, but you really don't need 50 buttons on the dash like the MK2 Leaf stillhas, the haptic buttons work very well and the menus are very logically laid out once you're familiar. I think all EVs will go that way eventually. The interior passenger space is huge too.

Between the 2 cars, our fuel bill has gone from around £200pm with the A4 and Polo to about £18 extra on our electricity bill. We got £115 credit on our Octopus account too, so that's about 8 months free fuel for them. Our car tax has gone from around £630 to zero too.

Performance and driving dynamics of a Golf GTD. I must admit, I wouldn't have an electric car if I couldn't charge at home for pennies, it wouldn't make sense on the money or convenience front.

[PO10ASH]

I still maintain that the Polo GTI+ is an excellent car for the money, we just outgrew ours. Now that you can get a well equipped 204ps ID3 Life or Family for around £27-28k, those fuel savings can make it almost as cheap when the fuel savings offset the additional cost.

It's really grwn on me - the initial "sparse/minimalist look" seems cheaping out, but you really don't need 50 buttons on the dash like the MK2 Leaf stillhas, the haptic buttons work very well and the menus are very logically laid out once you're familiar. I think all EVs will go that way eventually. The interior passenger space is huge too.

Between the 2 cars, our fuel bill has gone from around £200pm with the A4 and Polo to about £18 extra on our electricity bill. We got £115 credit on our Octopus account too, so that's about 8 months free fuel for them. Our car tax has gone from around £630 to zero too.

Performance and driving dynamics of a Golf GTD. I must admit, I wouldn't have an electric car if I couldn't charge at home for pennies, it wouldn't make sense on the money or convenience front.

I don't blame you guys for going EV now that the technology is almost there, I bought my Polo+ in Sept 2020 and while I love the car my bank balance doesn't thank me for driving heavy footed. I'm 28, so always said this would be my last Petrol car before looking at EVs, I've been looking at the ID.3 which I'm hoping to test drive on the 12th Aug when my Polo goes in for its first service but can't justify their pricing currently and more recently been looking at a Tesla Model 3 as the cost I'm currently paying for Polo (£300~p/m) + Fuel (£125-£280 p/m) + Tax (£155pa) means I would still be saving money per month overall.

I think you're right about home charging though, it doesn't really make sense to start looking at EVs until you can charge at home, although charging is still cheaper than fuel, paying a few pounds overnight to charge your car for the mileage it needs is a crazy thought.

I must admit though, apart from the common issues (reverse moo'ing) I still am loving driving my Polo GTI+ as a daily, so don't have any rush to get rid just yet, perhaps when I find the perfect deal or the time is right, I'll continue to enjoy what I've got.

[Andy Beats]

I don't blame you guys for going EV now that the technology is almost there, I bought my Polo+ in Sept 2020 and while I love the car my bank balance doesn't thank me for driving heavy footed. I'm 28, so always said this would be my last Petrol car before looking at EVs, I've been looking at the ID.3 which I'm hoping to test drive on the 12th Aug when my Polo goes in for its first service but can't justify their pricing currently and more recently been looking at a Tesla Model 3 as the cost I'm currently paying for Polo (£300~p/m) + Fuel (£125-£280 p/m) + Tax (£155pa) means I would still be saving money per month overall.

I think you're right about home charging though, it doesn't really make sense to start looking at EVs until you can charge at home, although charging is still cheaper than fuel, paying a few pounds overnight to charge your car for the mileage it needs is a crazy thought.

I must admit though, apart from the common issues (reverse moo'ing) I still am loving driving my Polo GTI+ as a daily, so don't have any rush to get rid just yet, perhaps when I find the perfect deal or the time is right, I'll continue to enjoy what I've got.

The tech was there for me 2017-2018 when I had my 24Kwh Leaf that only did 80-90 miles between charges.
The newer Leaf won’t really change anything apart from I’ll charge it less often.
Just changed to ‘octopus go’ which gives me 4 hours 0000-0400 every night at 5p per KWh.
It won’t be enough to take the car from 0-100%, but it will be enough for my needs as I’d never let it go down to zero anyway.
The wife’s next car (2-3 years away) will be electric too, the Nissan Ariya looking most likely.

[monkeyhanger]

I don't blame you guys for going EV now that the technology is almost there, I bought my Polo+ in Sept 2020 and while I love the car my bank balance doesn't thank me for driving heavy footed. I'm 28, so always said this would be my last Petrol car before looking at EVs, I've been looking at the ID.3 which I'm hoping to test drive on the 12th Aug when my Polo goes in for its first service but can't justify their pricing currently and more recently been looking at a Tesla Model 3 as the cost I'm currently paying for Polo (£300~p/m) + Fuel (£125-£280 p/m) + Tax (£155pa) means I would still be saving money per month overall.

I think you're right about home charging though, it doesn't really make sense to start looking at EVs until you can charge at home, although charging is still cheaper than fuel, paying a few pounds overnight to charge your car for the mileage it needs is a crazy thought.

I must admit though, apart from the common issues (reverse moo'ing) I still am loving driving my Polo GTI+ as a daily, so don't have any rush to get rid just yet, perhaps when I find the perfect deal or the time is right, I'll continue to enjoy what I've got.

The tech was there for me 2017-2018 when I had my 24Kwh Leaf that only did 80-90 miles between charges.
The newer Leaf won’t really change anything apart from I’ll charge it less often.
Just changed to ‘octopus go’ which gives me 4 hours 0000-0400 every night at 5p per KWh.
It won’t be enough to take the car from 0-100%, but it will be enough for my needs as I’d never let it go down to zero anyway.
The wife’s next car (2-3 years away) will be electric too, the Nissan Ariya looking most likely.

Unless it's different I Scotland, Octopus GO is 0030 to 0430. On the ID3, I have my Ohme set up to charge only in that window, up to a max of 80% (general use advised to keep charge no higher than 80%, unless you've got a long journey ahead). I can get 110 miles of range added in that cheap window, around 30kWh

[monkeyhanger]

I still maintain that the Polo GTI+ is an excellent car for the money, we just outgrew ours. Now that you can get a well equipped 204ps ID3 Life or Family for around £27-28k, those fuel savings can make it almost as cheap when the fuel savings offset the additional cost.

It's really grwn on me - the initial "sparse/minimalist look" seems cheaping out, but you really don't need 50 buttons on the dash like the MK2 Leaf stillhas, the haptic buttons work very well and the menus are very logically laid out once you're familiar. I think all EVs will go that way eventually. The interior passenger space is huge too.

Between the 2 cars, our fuel bill has gone from around £200pm with the A4 and Polo to about £18 extra on our electricity bill. We got £115 credit on our Octopus account too, so that's about 8 months free fuel for them. Our car tax has gone from around £630 to zero too.

Performance and driving dynamics of a Golf GTD. I must admit, I wouldn't have an electric car if I couldn't charge at home for pennies, it wouldn't make sense on the money or convenience front.

I don't blame you guys for going EV now that the technology is almost there, I bought my Polo+ in Sept 2020 and while I love the car my bank balance doesn't thank me for driving heavy footed. I'm 28, so always said this would be my last Petrol car before looking at EVs, I've been looking at the ID.3 which I'm hoping to test drive on the 12th Aug when my Polo goes in for its first service but can't justify their pricing currently and more recently been looking at a Tesla Model 3 as the cost I'm currently paying for Polo (£300~p/m) + Fuel (£125-£280 p/m) + Tax (£155pa) means I would still be saving money per month overall.

I think you're right about home charging though, it doesn't really make sense to start looking at EVs until you can charge at home, although charging is still cheaper than fuel, paying a few pounds overnight to charge your car for the mileage it needs is a crazy thought.

I must admit though, apart from the common issues (reverse moo'ing) I still am loving driving my Polo GTI+ as a daily, so don't have any rush to get rid just yet, perhaps when I find the perfect deal or the time is right, I'll continue to enjoy what I've got.

Assuming you're only getting a short test drive (no more than 30 mins), I'd concentrate on sampling the drive and not go too far into the unfamiliar stuff that as an ICE driver you're not used to which may not seem odd until you're used to it. The points below will help replicate a normal driving experience not too far from what you're used to.

Firstly, drive in D mode, not B mode. B mode is that (almost) 1 pedal driving where you'll not need to brake much - you're either on the accelerator, or off it (with a heavy regen braking going on when you're off it) - it just feels odd as an ICE driver, I don't like it even now and it's no more economical than D mode if you read the road ahead well (better not to waste energy than recover wasted energy at 75% efficiency).

Secondly, switch off lane assist (ask the salesperson to turn it off before you set off). If you haven't sampled this tech before, it'll be disconcerting to have it twitch the steering wheel at speed if you do something the system doesn't like such as cutting a straight marked line on a slight bend, sitting close to the lane separation line, coming wide of a car parking on the side of the road etc. You might cone to like itin ownership, but I'd avoid it's interference during the test drive.

Thirdly, get the climate set up the way you want it before you set off. Until the controls are familiar to you, you don't want to be faffing with it on the move.

Finally, the brake pedal travel/feel is a bit odd initially - the first third of the travel feels a bit spongy and weak, as you're in the regen zone, not proper braking, after that the braking is proper, it just doesn't feel as hard and grabby as the GTI's. Once you get used to the braking and keeping an eye on the regen bar, you'll be able to do 90% of your braking under regen only (you probably won't be that adept after a 30 min test drive).

Other than that, I'd be sampling the acceleration from a standstill (no tramping under full throttle), the instant pick-up accelerating from a cruising speed, at any speed and the very tight turning circle making parking manoeuvres a breeze (about the same as an UP).

The touch screen on infotainment unit is very responsive and everything in there is laid out logically (don't expect to know where everything is after 1/2 an hour though).

Basically spend your test drive driving it rather than messing with the superfluous stuff like interior ambient lighting colour options.

[Andy Beats]

Unless it's different I Scotland, Octopus GO is 0030 to 0430. On the ID3, I have my Ohme set up to charge only in that window, up to a max of 80% (general use advised to keep charge no higher than 80%, unless you've got a long journey ahead). I can get 110 miles of range added in that cheap window, around 30kWh

Yes, 0030 to 0430 - my mistake
With regard to the 80% thing there's been debate about that on EV forums for years and the consensus of opinion, backed up by practical experience, is that it can be ignored.
It's along the same lines as people saying avoid regular rapid charging, that's been disproven by people operating taxis as well - they only ever rapid charge and are doing stunning mileages!
Doesn't really seem to matter what you do, the batteries are remarkably resilient.
I didn't only charge to 80% in my previous Leaf and don't intend doing it in this one either.

[monkeyhanger]

Unless it's different I Scotland, Octopus GO is 0030 to 0430. On the ID3, I have my Ohme set up to charge only in that window, up to a max of 80% (general use advised to keep charge no higher than 80%, unless you've got a long journey ahead). I can get 110 miles of range added in that cheap window, around 30kWh

Yes, 0030 to 0430 - my mistake
With regard to the 80% thing there's been debate about that on EV forums for years and the consensus of opinion, backed up by practical experience, is that it can be ignored.
It's along the same lines as people saying avoid regular rapid charging, that's been disproven by people operating taxis as well - they only ever rapid charge and are doing stunning mileages!
Doesn't really seem to matter what you do, the batteries are remarkably resilient.
I didn't only charge to 80% in my previous Leaf and don't intend doing it in this one either.

All the battery tech seems to be a little different between the marques in terms of charging rate stepping (e.g. 100kWh charging only occurs 0-40%, then gradually stepping down to a relative crawl above 80%) and thermal management.

To cover themselves for their battery warranty obligations e.g. 85% SOC after 8 years/100k miles, they've got to cover themselves for worst case treatment of the car - 100% DC rapid charging would seem to cause greater deterioration than slower AC charging at home. Most likely those figures are simulated projections of accelerated use testing, which might.not be fully representative of real usage patterns.

How much worse? I'm sure only the development and stability teams of the marques could give you that answer. I do wonder whether the difference on SOC will be big enough at 3/5/8 years to tell the difference between a car that has done most of its charging at home on 7.4kWh AC vs 100kWh DC.charging?

If so, "only rarely charged DC" could become the new "one careful lady owner" statement when selling.

[Andy Beats]

All the battery tech seems to be a little different between the marques in terms of charging rate stepping (e.g. 100kWh charging only occurs 0-40%, then gradually stepping down to a relative crawl above 80%) and thermal management.

To cover themselves for their battery warranty obligations e.g. 85% SOC after 8 years/100k miles, they've got to cover themselves for worst case treatment of the car - 100% DC rapid charging would seem to cause greater deterioration than slower AC charging at home. Most likely those figures are simulated projections of accelerated use testing, which might.not be fully representative of real usage patterns.

How much worse? I'm sure only the development and stability teams of the marques could give you that answer. I do wonder whether the difference on SOC will be big enough at 3/5/8 years to tell the difference between a car that has done most of its charging at home on 7.4kWh AC vs 100kWh DC.charging?

If so, "only rarely charged DC" could become the new "one careful lady owner" statement when selling.

Going by the Leaf, regular Rapid charging doesn't seem to do any harm at all.
in fact there are many who advocate it rather than avoid it.
It's not something I forsee doing at all in my new one, but only because Aberdeen city and shire councils have started charging for charging.
if it was still free I'd be rapid charging all the time, as I did before (and no deterioration in battery SOH over the year I had it - and it was already a used car)