First EV - Vauxhall Frontera (extended range)
I finally bought an EV. It was difficult to work out what to get, within our budget, and what would go the distance we wanted on a single charge. We ended up buying a second hand (pre-registered really, only 1k miles) Frontera EV extended range, highest trim (barely cost more than the trim below).
There's a lot of negativity towards Stelantis, especially their older cars. I understand it, but we've got friends who've had an EV Mokka and the Frontera, so we test drove it and decided it was right for us.
What we looked for was:
- Enough range to do our 'normal' trips with one charge (3-5 hours on the mortoway)
- Large boot space than our previous cars (think Corsa, Astra, Mokka for our previous car size)
- Roof rack for transporting my little bike or roofbox/tent in the future.
It was a lot cheaper than buying new and we didn't want to lease for a multitude of reasons. I'm honestly impressed. Here's my 'initial thoughts'
Acceleration
There's a lot of talk about how it's a 'slow' car and doesn't accelerate as fast as other EVs. Frankly this is still better than our old Vauxhall car that was petrol and smaller. I think this is one of those things that people talk about a lot, but in the real world it's been great! Yeah, it's not as nippy going 0-30 or 0-60 as other cars we tested, but it's rare we'd even do that anyway. So overall I'm happy with it.
Range
We sat down and worked out our 'normal' annual journeys, the cost of charging, and the time it may take. It worked out we'd save a lot of money charging at home by having the extended range over the year, meaning it was more cost efficient.
Whilst it is a smaller range car compared to Tesla's and some other cars on the market (which are often nearly double the price of what we paid) we've found that so far on a 3-5 hour journey on the motorway we only need to stop once, which is what we would do anyway on a normal journey and it's charged by the time we've used the facilities and got a drink. So honestly this was a big fear but has proven to be really good! Yeah I'd love to do more with only one charge, but it's honestly not an inconviniance atm.
Trim and Cheapness
There are a lot of reports of people saying this does feel cheap. Yeah, it does. But so did my old car and frankly almost every car I've ever owned. The physical buttons for AC, heated windscreen/mirrors, seats, and steering wheel are great as I can just not look at it and press.
As this is the Ultimate it has a roof bar facility, but we're waiting on these - but it's why we went for the higher trim as I cycle and we want to drive away more. May even do the roof tent thing! Exciting!
The seats are really comfy! Whilst it was a 'novelty' to have the groove for your tailbone, I've never found a car as comfy as this is which is just lush! Really happy with it.
Heating/AC
This doesn't have a heat pump so I know it's not as efficient. Luckily in the winter I tend to be passanger and take a blanket with me even in our old car - so a blanket and heated seats tends to be enough! I'm very excited to try a heated windscreen as I've never had one before! Perfect for the winter!
The A/C does seem pretty good and whilst it does affect range, unsuprisingly, we didn't find it went outside our expectations.
Charging
Charging was SUCH a learning curve. We spoke to someone at our first time charging on the motorway and got told 'oh yeah, sometimes a charge won't work so go to another one' and then the next day had to teach someone else how to charge theres and passed on the knowledge! But now I'm used to it it's so simple! Note to self - make sure the window is shut or it won't charge haha!
Boot Space
The boot space is great! It's not the biggest - it's no Santa Fe! But it's fantastic for our needs. Can get in some landscaping stuff for the garden, some big plants, or just a load of shopping from Costco! The Split Boot is great for keeping charging things and repair/pump things hidden away too, but nice to know we have the extra space if needed.
Mod Cons
This does NOT have all the mod cons! It's quite sparse compared to my parents hybrid for example that they got 2 years ago. They have a HUD, cameras to each side when you indicate, 360 camera, an electric boot and keyless entry.
We on the other hand have Wireless Android Auto (a GODSEND considering the issues we've had in every single car when using a wired version), a rear parking camera, and front/rear sensors, and the wing mirror warning indicators...and that's kinda it.
Keyless entry neither of us wanted - and given some horror stories we were a bit put off by it (and some of the main features in other cars - like my mums having unlock wit hyour phone - are now subscriptions which is rediculous). So this wasn't an issue.
We didn't have parking sensors at all before, so a rear camera and sensors makes us feel like gods. Though in practice we're still only a month in so using our normal mirror and one person getting out to guide methods.
Whilst we don't have the most mod cons, we're content. It's enough - and that's all it needed to be.
Vauxhall App
It's..,surprisingly ok? We heard it was awful, but we can start the climate control (to whatever it was before), check the charge, and the e-Routes map app is suprisingly decent at being able to make sure you can get to your destination with fewest charges but without worrying. I've done multiple 5 hour drives now and it's been fantastic. Again, probably not as good as other manufacturers but it's perfect for us!
___
Overall I'm really happy with this. We tested some 'smaller' cars before - like the Peugeot 2008, Hyandai Kona but wanted something slightly bigger. We've had Vauxhall all our lives, not really by choice often it just sort of happened...and honestly I don't regret this choice. It's not the fanciest car in the world but it's enough for us. Plus we're not scared of it getting a few scratches as it's our car, and we wouldn't have been able to get a nicer car as our 'own.'
Hopefully I'll be writting in a few years about how well it's lasted but wanted to share my thoughts! It was a massive commitment for us but we're so happy to be an EV owner now!