4 ms·

> That is still a normal car, although very compact We have a VW Up, but it's the ICE (petrol) version. It's a great car for up to four people. EDIT: (just

> That is still a normal car, although very compact We have a VW Up, but it's the ICE (petrol) version. It's a great car for up to four people. EDIT: (just been out and checked the paperwork, it weighs in at ~900kg) It's around four years old and we've done around 36k miles. It cost just under $11k new, everything included (although they're now $15k and you'd better be quick, VW are discontinuing them this year). The e-Up has already been discontinued. It's a fantastic car, it's easy to park, easy to drive, really economical. We looked at the e-Up, but it was significantly more than twice as expensive compared to the petrol version, with a massively reduced range. I'd love to have had enough "spare money" to have picked the e-Up instead of the ICE version, but spending an additional $25k to get a mostly inferior vehicle just wasn't an option. Where do we go from here?

gambiting 4y ago
>>The e-Up has already been discontinued. I don't think it has, at least here in UK the dealers were told to stop taking new orders because they have enough to see them until the end of 2023, but Volkswagen has confirmed they will continue making the e-Up at least until the ID.1 arrives and replaces it. >>but spending an additional $25k to get a mostly inferior vehicle just wasn't an option. So maybe we just lucked out, but we got ours on a lease deal, £199/month with no upfront cost. The petrol version was marginally cheaper at £149/month or something like that - the difference is easily made up in the savings on petrol and maintenance. Of course it means we will never fully own it, but at that cost it beat pretty much any other option available on the market.
- logifail 4y ago
  > I don't think it has, at least here in UK the dealers were told to stop taking new orders because they have enough to see them until the end of 2023, but Volkswagen has confirmed they will continue making the e-Up at least until the ID.1 arrives and replaces it Ah, I've just done more research and you're right, it seems the e-Up has made a comeback, although the list price has jumped to EUR30k/GBP26.5k/USD32.5k. Back when I first saw it the list price was EUR23k > we got ours on a lease deal, £199/month with no upfront cost. The petrol version was marginally cheaper at £149/month or something like that - the difference is easily made up in the savings on petrol and maintenance If we'd had that option I'd have chosen the e-Up in a heartbeat! Well done :)
lelanthran 4y ago
> I'd love to have had enough "spare money" to have picked the e-Up instead of the ICE version, but spending an additional $25k to get a mostly inferior vehicle just wasn't an option. I didn't think that the difference would be that large. Is it just a function of supply and demand (charging what the market will bear, and not cost+profit)?
- gambiting 4y ago
  Apparently(and this is just hearsay so treat it with a grain of salt) the replacement battery for one of these is about 10k euro, so that alone explains a big chunk of difference in price between the e-Up and its petrol brother. Batteries are just expensive and there's no good way around it. (on the plus side, the battery capacity of the e-Up has literally DOUBLED few years back, from 18kWh to 36kWh, and yet the price remained the same - so the market is producing cheaper - per kWh - batteries)
  - logifail 4y ago
    > Batteries are just expensive and there's no good way around it Yup, which means EVs in turn are also just expensive, and there's no way around it. Yet. It's relatively easy for today's politicians to make policy such as effectively banning the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2035, as the EU has done. Will that policy actually stick if EV prices don't fall significantly over the next 12 years? Even when the politicians of 2030-something start worrying about getting re-elected?

gambiting 4y ago

>>The e-Up has already been discontinued. I don't think it has, at least here in UK the dealers were told to stop taking new orders because they have enough to see them until the end of 2023, but Volkswagen has confirmed they will continue making the e-Up at least until the ID.1 arrives and replaces it. >>but spending an additional $25k to get a mostly inferior vehicle just wasn't an option. So maybe we just lucked out, but we got ours on a lease deal, £199/month with no upfront cost. The petrol version was marginally cheaper at £149/month or something like that - the difference is easily made up in the savings on petrol and maintenance. Of course it means we will never fully own it, but at that cost it beat pretty much any other option available on the market.

logifail 4y ago
> I don't think it has, at least here in UK the dealers were told to stop taking new orders because they have enough to see them until the end of 2023, but Volkswagen has confirmed they will continue making the e-Up at least until the ID.1 arrives and replaces it Ah, I've just done more research and you're right, it seems the e-Up has made a comeback, although the list price has jumped to EUR30k/GBP26.5k/USD32.5k. Back when I first saw it the list price was EUR23k > we got ours on a lease deal, £199/month with no upfront cost. The petrol version was marginally cheaper at £149/month or something like that - the difference is easily made up in the savings on petrol and maintenance If we'd had that option I'd have chosen the e-Up in a heartbeat! Well done :)

lelanthran 4y ago

> I'd love to have had enough "spare money" to have picked the e-Up instead of the ICE version, but spending an additional $25k to get a mostly inferior vehicle just wasn't an option. I didn't think that the difference would be that large. Is it just a function of supply and demand (charging what the market will bear, and not cost+profit)?

gambiting 4y ago
Apparently(and this is just hearsay so treat it with a grain of salt) the replacement battery for one of these is about 10k euro, so that alone explains a big chunk of difference in price between the e-Up and its petrol brother. Batteries are just expensive and there's no good way around it. (on the plus side, the battery capacity of the e-Up has literally DOUBLED few years back, from 18kWh to 36kWh, and yet the price remained the same - so the market is producing cheaper - per kWh - batteries)
- logifail 4y ago
  > Batteries are just expensive and there's no good way around it Yup, which means EVs in turn are also just expensive, and there's no way around it. Yet. It's relatively easy for today's politicians to make policy such as effectively banning the sale of petrol and diesel cars from 2035, as the EU has done. Will that policy actually stick if EV prices don't fall significantly over the next 12 years? Even when the politicians of 2030-something start worrying about getting re-elected?