r/ElectricVehiclesUK

The charging situation in South London is so bad - tonight went to the Waddon supercharger at midnight, queue extending to Purley way - not a single Tesla!!

I am so pissed!!

I ordered a Leapmotor B10 back in March. My expected delivery date slot (estimated from Octopus portal) was June- July. The reg. plate appeared on the dashboard about 2 weeks ago and a few days later the delivery date estimation shifted to July- Sept.

From the reg plate check on DVLA the car comes up as registered & taxed (V5 log issued 30/06/26), but no information on actual delivery date yet. I tried Octopus EV customer service and they say they cannot disclose who the dealership/delivery partner is and cannot give me any more info.

How long do people usually wait for delivery to be confirmed after they've received their reg plate number? Is there a way to get more info directly from the dealership?

Hello Car Talk Uk.

This is my first Reddit post. I have narrowed my new company car down to the two below. Can you advise which car is better?

ford Capri estate 125kw style 52kwh 5dr auto

mini cooper electric hatchback 135kw e classic 41kwh 3dr auto

Thanks for your advice.

Hi, just had a call with a prospective EV Installator. He said that, as I will be travelling to multiple sites in my company EV, I should be eligible for £500 off an EV installation through an OZEV grant. Any experience of this? Has anyone had this grant?

My EV is arriving next week. Little city run around and plan to do 99% of charging at home.

What do I need set up for the 1%? I don’t want a million different cards or sign ups but prepped to do something if it’s going to make it cheaper.

New to EVs but looking to make the plunge. What’s recommended ?

I've been preparing to make the leap for a while now and am finally in a position to - previously I was expecting to pay £20-23k for either a Hyundai Kona or Cupra Born, but recently I've been reading about some of the insane deals people have been getting on the new Chinese brands.

I'm not interested in the SUV size/shape vehicles, I can get on board with the crossover size/shape (Kona), but would prefer the lower/sportier option of the Born and would like the total length to be 4.2-4.4m (good interior space for transporting the odd large item, don't need rear passenger space).

I'd like 200+ miles in the battery from full (ideally, but not essential) and 0-60 in under 10s (ideally 8s), neither are deal breakers though.

My budget has some flex and all the better if it's a 0% finance deal, but I've saved the money to be able to buy outright... What deals have people picked up that fit my needs and how confident are you in the company when something inevitably goes wrong? (spare part timeline, difficulty of repair under warranty, courtesy car etc)

I’m trying to decide between two EVs and would really appreciate advice from anyone who has owned or driven either.

Options:

1. 2026 Polestar 2 Long Range Single Motor (Prime)
2. 2026 Ford Explorer Premium (Standard Range
   Battery)

I prefer the extra space and practicality of the Explorer, but I really like the exterior styling of the Polestar 2.

For context:
Based in Kent, UK.
My wife and I commute by train 4–5 days a week, so the car would mainly be used for weekend gym trips, grocery runs, and the occasional road trip (around once every 3–6 months, possibly up to Edinburgh).
We are planning to have kids in the next 2–3 years, so practicality and family-friendliness are definitely factors.

Range isn’t a huge priority. I am more interested in reliability, comfort, ownership experience, and overall value.

I’m also seeing some very competitive lease (carwow) deals, which seem cheaper than PCP. For these two cars, would you recommend leasing or PCP, and why?
If you were in my position, which would you choose for UK/Kent roads, especially with a young family on the horizon? Are there any ownership quirks or issues I should know about before deciding?
Thanks in advance!

So while I was out getting some beer for the match later the wife hoovered the car. On my return I noticed the rear right running light was on. Locked and unlocked the car, started the motor, turned it off stayed on. Opened and closed all the doors, same with the boot, still stayed on. Went to move the car back and forth and as I went forward I noticed the indicator was on. Turned it off got out the car, locked the car. Light has gone off. Got in, put the indicator on, locked the car, light was back on. Checked the front and the light was on there too.

TL:DR If you leave your indicator on when you lock the car, the running lights on the side you’re indicating towards stay on.

Thought I’d share in case someone searches for this “fault”.

I am currently running a petrol renault clio and am looking for an upgrade and needed some help finding good options for £15,000 or under (can stretch a bit if there is a really good option) .

I have been looking online and a lot of people favour certain Ev because they are good family cars however as I am only 20 years old I don't require this .

I have done some research and worked out that most Ev have depreciated around 50+ % in the first 3 years so ideally looking for something more than 3 years old and with less than 60k miles

I have also done some more research and worked out that in super bad weather conditions and poor driving a battery can only work at 60% of its quote capacity so therefore I need a battery that even in poor conditions will still leave 175 + mile range or more just to give a buffer

I also need a car with good build quality and most importantly a battery that will stand the test of time and not degrade massively so I cannot make those longer journeys in the future .

I really appreciate any suggestions and feedback ! :)

Thank you in advance !

Over the last year or so, I’ve been reading online that ZapMap is the best companion app to use and from what I can see, most of the best features are behind a paywall.
I downloaded Electroverse, planned my route and uploaded it to CarPlay. 300 mile drive and one quick 10 min charge to top up, it was so much easier than I’d imagined. Paying work the RFID card was simple as well.
What’s everyone else using as a companion app?
I’m really tempted to try the free trial on ZapMap but I can’t see what else it offers over the likes of Electroverse

I’ve never owned an EV before and I’m looking for one mainly for my wife to commute to work, with around 5–6 road trips a year.
We can install a home charger, and we’d expect to drive around 12,000–15,000 miles per year.
Our budget is £14k–£17k. We’re looking for something that’s reliable, inexpensive to maintain, and offers good value for money.
Any recommendations or advice for a first-time EV owner would be greatly appreciated!

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!

I am in the situation where my lease on my 22 plate Ioniq 5 is up and I need to replace it but it's been a tough few years since I and I have not much for a deposit. Looking online there are cracking deals on 2 year old Honda Eny1's with the finance landing about 280 a month. For they RRP they seem really mediocre but at that price they seem like a good option. Am I just creating problems of future me with one of these?

I’m so new to EVs, my car (Renault 5 52kWh) hasn’t even arrived yet, but I was wanting advice on the apps. For work, I visit sites that are on the remote side, around 200+ miles from home. Do the apps for EVs work out how to get you there exactly and leave you with capacity to get back to the charge point it recommended on the first leg of the journey? I’d obviously look for a charge point where I’m staying, but as I said, some sites are remote so I’d have to go hunting.