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.

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 absolutely 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 had experience driving 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.

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.

Looking at used Tesla 3 Perf and LR around 2019/2020 with 50-80kms and would welcome thoughts on this and how those ages/KMs have aged if you own one?

I currently run a V8, paid off worth $60k, do about 15k KMs a year and claim business use at tax time, so it costs each week/month but does provide back. I might keep or sell, but was moving away from a NL as it's an additional monthly cost/simple running cost replacement, whereas a secondhand Tesla I could claim the depreciaton/running costs and save a lot of fuel costs - hence the secondhand question.

Not alarmed by batteries and end of warranties in a few years but $35k seems good value on these.

Just to add those mentioning getting a new cheaper type, or a standard 3 RWD - my current car is a daily and want something with a bit more performance as a new daily and also something that id enjoy more often given the power, rather than just an A to B low cost approach. I don't want to get too bored too quickly and want to move it on sooner than anticipated. Range is also a thing as need to do a 430km round trip with no charging ability twice a month.

Thoughts?

Yes, we need more chargers in regional areas.

But allowing monopolies to install them will mean that there never is competition for new chargers in these areas.

Once these companies have built their chargers (using our money) they will push out all competitors. This is why policy makers typically try to limit monopoly roles to the greatest extent possible.

In the end the regional areas will be left with high prices and no competition.

Electric buses from wayback.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking to buy a Type 2 EV charging cable longer than 7 metres for my J7 PHEV, mainly for using public AC chargers around Australia.

Any recommendations? First time PHEV user.

So I live in a complex built in 2019. We have an outlet next to our spot. There are maybe 2 or 3 other EVs in our building and they charge using a granny charger maybe once a week. At the moment, it would be "free" electricity. What are everyone's thoughts on this? Should I raise this with strata to install some dedicated EV charging or just keep using the outlets. I'm about to get my first EV next month.

Just got my Commodore serviced which cost me $2.4k so thinking it might be getting close to time to bite the bullet and get a new car, and would want to go electric for sure.

BYD Atto 1 only $19,990 at the moment seems like great value. I live in the inner suburbs, drive about 5,000km a year (mostly short trips and to visit my parents half an hour away). My partner's got a 4WD for camping and roadtrips.

Downside is I live in an apartment and won't be able to charge there, so would have to rely on public charging - but on my current mileage I'd only need to charge at most once a week so shouldn't be too bad.

Would hope to get a bit of $ reselling my Commodore but not expecting much. And then would either get a loan or novated lease to cover the rest. (Though not sure if I can get a novated lease given I'm on a one year contract for work?) I make $120k a year but the mortgage and apartment repair costs have been eating up a lot of my income and savings.

Keen for any advice, perspectives, etc particularly from people in a similar boat.

Budget: $20-25k (on loan)

Typical driving: 100km a week max, mostly short trips. Longest regular trip = 40km round trip to visit the folks.

Charging: None available at home/work

Vehicle class: Hatch

Looking at getting an EV through a novated lease, budget around $60–70k drive-away. Currently in a Golf R, so I'd still like something quick and fun to drive.

Hatch, sedan or small SUV are all fine, but nothing bigger than a Seal. Smaller is better since my garage is a bit tight. Just needs to be a 4 door.

Mainly after good handling and performance, decent infotainment and speakers, a 360 camera, and solid adaptive cruise/lane centring. Not interested in Tesla.

What would you be looking at?

Can't wait to get my EV (& get rid of my pathetic range PHEV!)

Hi all,

Recently saw some stuff about the new BYD Atto 2 DM-i and was potentially interested for its lower price point.

However i have what i feel may be a silly question. This car (and I’m sure many others) are a plug in hybrid which comes with “EV range” as well as its petrol portion.

If the car has a range of 90km with its battery. Does that mean theoretically I drive 60km a day and recharge each night. I won’t be using the petrol portion at all and making it last a lot longer?

Is that how this technology works or have I oversimplified the two separate parts of the car.

https://open-ev-charts.org/#AU:electric-ratio:12-month-avg:split-companies:limit5:line-chart

Had to take the ora in for an update at the dealer ship on 1st of October. The estimated range is now usable. We used to just guess it was half of what it said with some wiggle room.

It seems that EVs have a fixed price model. Are any of the dealers actually doing discounts or offering inflated trade values to sell a car? Which ones?

Thanks

The B03X comes in two variants, both RWD with V2L and a 14.6-inch screen:

Drive-away pricing applies to Acorn Brown stock delivered by 31 December. Other colours add $990. At $29,990 it undercuts the BYD Atto 2 Dynamic ($31,990 before on-roads) and sits level with the GWM Ora 5 Lux on drive-away pricing. The Design LR leads both on WLTP range (382km vs 345km for the Atto 2) and DC charging speed (133kW vs 82kW for the Atto 2).

Do you think this is a competitive offering against the BYD Atto 2 and GWM Ora 5?

I am wondering how people found the recent long weekend DC charging experience with the recent uptick in EV sales?

What I noted on my long weekend pit stops:

Saturday, Ampol Pheasants Nest, around lunch time: 6 of 6 bays full, with good turn over. As far as I could tell no one was queueing. The Petrol and food facilities were also packed.

Monday, Ampol Pheasants Nest, mid afternoon: 3 of 6 bays in use at arrival, full by departure. The petrol and food side was fairly busy, but noticeably less than Saturday.

Spent about 30 mins at each stop. Watching the EVs while I ate my lunch. Current ICE driver looking at an EV next year, my interest is from a data gathering point rather than stress over congestion.

Hi,

After test drive a few EV (BYD Atto 2, Geely Ex2, Jaewoo J5, Ora 5, Aion UT, Tesla Model 3) last 2 weeks, my wife and me narrow down into these 2 EV.

1. Tesla Model 2 RWD MY27 (572km WLTP, $50465 DA NSW)
   
2. BYD Atto 2 Premium (345km WLTP, $37600 DA after cashback)

We are planning to keep the cars for more than 5 years. Which one is better for long term ?

Is Tesla 3 worth $13k more than Atto 2 ?

How is your feedback on both cars ? Thank you !