Farewell

[AEB-UK]

After 19 years as a Toyota believer (Corolla, Prius 2, Prius 3 and Prius3+) I am calling it a day.

I have been waiting and waiting for Toyota to let us have the new PiP here in the UK, and over the past year I have been told several dates for it's arrival, but still nothing definite.

Not even when a demonstrator might be available!

So I decided not to wait any longer, and I've bought a Hyundai Ioniq instead, the all-electric version.

I feel sad about leaving Toyota as all of my cars have been great, and the dealership have always treated me as a valued customer.

Maybe I might be tempted to return to the fold in the future when Toyota have sorted out their supply chains etc.

Perhaps they too could produce an all-electric car, a version of the Priuis perchance?

Good luck and cheery-bye to you all.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Best wishes

[kithmo]

What's the lead times for the Ioniq ?

You must give us a review of it before you go.

[BhxTrev]

I read about the Ioniq just after I bought my Gen4 Prius. I don't think I'd want to be the first to by this new all electric car especially as I was one of the first to buy a Ford Escort turbo diesel some years ago & the car was a complete bag of nails. However, I hope all goes well & please let us have a report. I like Toyota build quality but would be interested in an all electric in future. Maybe a Tesla?

[Heidfirst]

5 hours ago, AEB-UK said:

Perhaps they too could produce an all-electric car, a version of the Priuis perchance?

http://blog.toyota.co.uk/toyota-to-establish-in-house-company-to-develop-electric-vehicles

re. new PiP, in October they said on the Toyota UK blog January 2017 production & sales in the UK from March - too late for you I know.

[AEB-UK]

1 hour ago, kithmo said:

What's the lead times for the Ioniq ?

You must give us a review of it before you go.

Ordered the car on Sunday. They only had one in the signature Blazing Yellow in the UK, so I grabbed it!

Ordinarily the lead time is around 2 months they said.

 

[PeteB]

Feel free to hang around and give us your feedback when you get it and as you gain experience.  I, for one, would be very interested.

I wouldn't have trusted this sort of technology if Ford (or Vauxhall - or the French) made it, but I started my Hybrid experience with an X Reg Prius and never looked back.  270,000 miles in Toyota Hybrids, plus a few in Lexus, Honda Hybrids and a BMW i3 and counting.  Already nearly at 8,000 in my Gen 4 Prius, and still (mostly) loving it.

I seriously thought about the Tesla Model S (despite the £75k price tag), but even with the larger Battery and up to 300 mile range, I wouldn't do some of my journeys without access to Superchargers (none anywhere near the East of England!) - a 20 hours recharge during a day trip wouldn't really work!

Also, once I saw one in the flesh, my enthusiasm waned as I decided after my time with Gen 1 Prius I would never, ever be without a rear wiper again, even with cameras and sensors.  Honestly, £75k and no rear wiper???  Also, after 60,000 miles in a Gen 3 Prius, I really don't want a car without a Head Up Display again.  But mostly, it was the range that killed it for me.

All the best, regards, Pete

[AEB-UK]

Went to have a look at my new car (Hyundai Ioniq Electric) at the dealers today.

Still has on the white transport paper and foam protectors, but looks stunning in the Blazing Yellow.

Apparently I am the first UK private customer for the electric Ioniq.

Will be picking it up on Friday all being well, and I'll report back when I've given it a good drive.

[kithmo]

Excellent, looking forward to your review as an owner. I was considering one of these myself as SWMBO has her eye on my Gen 4 Prius, as I'm semi-retired I don't use it as much as it should be used. She has an 06 Gen 2 which is getting a bit long in the tooth now. 

[PeteB]

On 24/11/2016 at 0:08 PM, kithmo said:

Excellent, looking forward to your review as an owner...

Me too.

Although I'm no longer considering an EV.  I was leaning towards a Tesla Model S with long range Battery before going for my 7th Prius, but the absence of Tesla's very high power SuperChargers from the East of England scuppered it.  300 mile range sounds convincing, and all but 2-3 days a month it would suffice (even allowing for losing 20% by not driving like there's an eggshell on the loud pedal, and switching on A/C or heat).  The rest of the time it would be fine.

I worked out on a couple of 500+ mile journeys I do once or twice a year (often in a single day) I'd spend 30 hours charging (on a domestic supply, half the time on a high powered station - IF I could find somewhere)!

There's a YouTube film of a guy in the US doing a 4,000 mile round trip to take his daughter and all her paraphernalia to Uni.  He only paid for his overnight charge at home before starting, the rest of the trip was on free Electric from Tesla.  

I do love spending 1 minute refilling and then doing over 600 miles on a £40 tankful!

Please don't misunderstand, I love the idea of a EV and if one had met my requirements I might just have spent the £75k.

Due to worsening health, this will probably be my last car, but you never know...

[Harters]

I will be doing the opposite, going from fully electric Renault Zoe to Hybrid Prius.  I love the Zoe, but since Ecotricity started charging it has taken away the appeal of longer journeys now, even though I very rarely used them, plus I want to go back to a bigger car again.  One thing the Zoe has in abundance is fun... I will never tire of the instant acceleration that always leaves a huge smile on my face.

I only do around 6000 miles a year and always within the capacity of the Zoe's range (approx 120 miles Summer & 70 miles in Winter) with just to odd occasion where I have used the public charging network.  I am looking forward to being able to do long journeys again on a whim and not have to pre-plan my route and think about whether I need to alter my route to do a top up.

I thought about the Ioniq, but chose the Prius for the above reasons.  Although the Ioniq has reported longer range, it would still stop me doing any long journeys when I wanted to.

[FROSTYBALLS]

On 23/11/2016 at 5:07 PM, AEB-UK said:

Apparently I am the first UK private customer for the electric Ioniq.

Will be picking it up on Friday all being well, and I'll report back when I've given it a good drive.

So presumably you will be changing your profile from the Prius to the Ioniq from tomorrow.

[AEB-UK]

Well I've had my Ioniq for just over a week now, and I can honestly say I love it.

It's slightly wider than my Gen3+ Prius. It has I think more space in the cabin, but less boot space because of the batteries.

It drives very easily, much like the Prius. The electronic handbrake takes some getting used to though, and I find myself trying to use my left foot rather than my left hand on the button next to my seat .

It has several driving modes (such as Eco) but in Sport mode it really shifts off the line - nice!

Although it doesn't have a HUD, the digital display in front of the steering wheel provides both an analogue image and a digital read-out of the speed, so it's very clear to read.

It also has quite a lot of bells and whistles, such as Adaptive Cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, rear camera, proximity sensor for detecting overtaking vehicles, and quite a few which I haven't played with yet I think.

I'm slowly getting used to driving past petrol stations without having to look at the price of fuel .

Installation of a charging point at home is part of the new car deal, and I'm waiting for Podpoint to provide on for me. I charged the car using the normal 3 pin socket - it works but very slowly.

At the moment the range indication is only 122 miles, but I was told that it takes several hundred miles of use for the system to properly calibrate itself, and I should be able to have up to 150 miles from a full charge.

 

I have loved my Toyotas for the past 19 years, and the Toyota dealership looks after their customers better than any of the others that I and my other half have experienced.

I hope Hyundai can measure up to them - first impressions are that they can't as yet, though we found their hot chocolate exceptionally nice .

I'm not suggesting that anyone should immediately swap their Prius for an Ioniq, but if someone was looking for an alternative of a similar size I think they could give it a try.

 

[PeteB]

Thanks for that, Anita.  I hope you'll stay around and give us updates as you and the car get used to each other.

[Anthony Poli]

I saw the car on fully charged and It looks good.

Have considered going fully electric, but since i have no driveway, that puts me off for now.

[johalareewi]

Our friend (who used to have a leaf) now has an ioniq but went hybrid instead of EV.

[PeteB]

5 hours ago, johalareewi said:

Our friend (who used to have a leaf) now has an ioniq but went hybrid instead of EV.

It's going to be as much about the owner's circumstances as anything else as to which they choose - having an alternative car in the family for longer trips makes an EV more feasible for many.

Nissan did at one time (and may still) offer a deal which gave Leaf buyers 14 days' a year free hire of a conventional car for longer trips, but having got used to a Hybrid or EV, not everyone will enjoy a long trip in an ordinary car (even auto).

I hate having gears even for one day, and my helpful dealer normally loans me a Hybrid these days if I'm not waiting.

I did thin k the BMW i3 with range extender would do it for me, but once I found out I'd be filling up the 1.9 gallon tank every 60-70 miles once the Battery ran low (unless I had time to recharge) that took the shine off.  Finding out there was no spare wheel sunk it completely.

[Sagitar]

On ‎04‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 4:42 PM, AEB-UK said:

Well I've had my Ioniq for just over a week now, and I can honestly say I love it.

It's slightly wider than my Gen3+ Prius. It has I think more space in the cabin, but less boot space because of the batteries.

It drives very easily, much like the Prius. The electronic handbrake takes some getting used to though, and I find myself trying to use my left foot rather than my left hand on the button next to my seat .

It has several driving modes (such as Eco) but in Sport mode it really shifts off the line - nice!

Although it doesn't have a HUD, the digital display in front of the steering wheel provides both an analogue image and a digital read-out of the speed, so it's very clear to read.

It also has quite a lot of bells and whistles, such as Adaptive Cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, rear camera, proximity sensor for detecting overtaking vehicles, and quite a few which I haven't played with yet I think.

I'm slowly getting used to driving past petrol stations without having to look at the price of fuel .

Installation of a charging point at home is part of the new car deal, and I'm waiting for Podpoint to provide on for me. I charged the car using the normal 3 pin socket - it works but very slowly.

At the moment the range indication is only 122 miles, but I was told that it takes several hundred miles of use for the system to properly calibrate itself, and I should be able to have up to 150 miles from a full charge.

 

I have loved my Toyotas for the past 19 years, and the Toyota dealership looks after their customers better than any of the others that I and my other half have experienced.

I hope Hyundai can measure up to them - first impressions are that they can't as yet, though we found their hot chocolate exceptionally nice .

I'm not suggesting that anyone should immediately swap their Prius for an Ioniq, but if someone was looking for an alternative of a similar size I think they could give it a try.

 

I popped in to the local Hyundai dealer on the way home today in the hope of getting a look at the Ionic Electric. I was surprised to be told that it will not be available until May or June. They have no stock and no demonstration car.

I told the dealer that you were already driving one and he expressed extreme surprise.

I wonder what is going on?

[AEB-UK]

Hi Sagitar,

My dealer (Bristol Street Motors, Nottingham) had a demonstrator in white which we tested prior to ordering our car.

When we placed the order he showed us the UK shipping list, and I think it had a total of about 5 for the whole of the UK, and only one was in the yellow unique to the Ionic Electric, which is the one I chose.

I may have been the first UK private purchaser.

It looks really nice (in my opinion) and it's a very nice drive.

Regards.

[Anthony Poli]

Well I've had my Ioniq for just over a week now, and I can honestly say I love it.

It's slightly wider than my Gen3+ Prius. It has I think more space in the cabin, but less boot space because of the batteries.

It drives very easily, much like the Prius. The electronic handbrake takes some getting used to though, and I find myself trying to use my left foot rather than my left hand on the button next to my seat .

It has several driving modes (such as Eco) but in Sport mode it really shifts off the line - nice!

Although it doesn't have a HUD, the digital display in front of the steering wheel provides both an analogue image and a digital read-out of the speed, so it's very clear to read.

It also has quite a lot of bells and whistles, such as Adaptive Cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, rear camera, proximity sensor for detecting overtaking vehicles, and quite a few which I haven't played with yet I think.

I'm slowly getting used to driving past petrol stations without having to look at the price of fuel .

Installation of a charging point at home is part of the new car deal, and I'm waiting for Podpoint to provide on for me. I charged the car using the normal 3 pin socket - it works but very slowly.

At the moment the range indication is only 122 miles, but I was told that it takes several hundred miles of use for the system to properly calibrate itself, and I should be able to have up to 150 miles from a full charge.

 

I have loved my Toyotas for the past 19 years, and the Toyota dealership looks after their customers better than any of the others that I and my other half have experienced.

I hope Hyundai can measure up to them - first impressions are that they can't as yet, though we found their hot chocolate exceptionally nice .

I'm not suggesting that anyone should immediately swap their Prius for an Ioniq, but if someone was looking for an alternative of a similar size I think they could give it a try.

 

I popped in to the local Hyundai dealer on the way home today in the hope of getting a look at the Ionic Electric. I was surprised to be told that it will not be available until May or June. They have no stock and no demonstration car.

I told the dealer that you were already driving one and he expressed extreme surprise.

I wonder what is going on?

Not all dealers are as good by the looks of it, like my local Toyota chain. So I go to one that's over 20 miles away, at least they have customer car park unlike my nearest one.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Sagitar]

5 hours ago, AEB-UK said:

Hi Sagitar,

My dealer (Bristol Street Motors, Nottingham) had a demonstrator in white which we tested prior to ordering our car.

When we placed the order he showed us the UK shipping list, and I think it had a total of about 5 for the whole of the UK, and only one was in the yellow unique to the Ionic Electric, which is the one I chose.

I may have been the first UK private purchaser.

It looks really nice (in my opinion) and it's a very nice drive.

Regards.

Thanks Anita - it sounds like they are just in very short supply.

[cuius]

Waiting for the Ioniq or Niro plug-ins, due next year